#and how in his characterization people make him out to be the butt of a joke or a happy little peon for the council

[ithinkimnormal]

Sorry but It's actually so annoying how much people downplay the crucial role piltover's corrupt council games played in derailing jayce/viktor's work and pretty much putting shackles around their lives. The council is directly responsible for and directly FUNDING so much of the misery that happens in this show, before the story has even started. Before Powder ever finds the gemstone. They single-handedly doom half of the region to death.

Just during the show: Jayce wanted to create magic to aid and uplift the common people, the council wanted trade route instant teleportators to make themselves richer.

Jayce & Viktor wanted to work on technology to help miners and steelworkers and artisans who are trying to survive in the industrial hellscape of piltover and zaun; the council wants it shelved for another 20 years. (yes, heimer is part of the corrupt council - no matter how much his image is laundered by the fandom.)

They are inept and self-serving leaders, elected by themselves and their blood inheritances, utterly obsessed with ultimate profit. You can really see how parasitic their relationship is to the people at the beggining of act 1. Jayce is a token nameless life, so disposable to them that they were going to burn down all of his research and throw out all of his titles, making him not just a lower-house vassal but an EXILE, and the only reason why that doesn't happen is because they realize how much money they can suck out of his work.

This applies to Viktor too. See the way that Heimerdinger tells him over and over again that no other paths can be taken, he has 'fulfilled his purpose' and he should be content to die. See how Mel looks at Viktor like a bug she wants to squash under her palm when he rejects the idea of making weapons for council. See how they speak over him and only address Jayce, as if he's worth less than nothing.

You are only as valuable as the profit you're willing to create. You are a problem that has to be dealt with as soon as you refuse their orders. They have the power to ruin your life, and if they find an excuse, they will. This is a direct threat pointed at Jayce & Viktor during ACT2, when Jayce is pressured into becoming one of them to protect 'the bottom line profit' and, personally speaking, to avoid that ire being redirected towards Viktor. He's pushed into compliance and told a target has been painted on his back.

Arcane jayvik are doomed in big part not for wanting to do harm, but being forced to exist under the beck and call of billionaire leeches. They are both immigrants. They are both struggling to get a degree and keep themselves afloat and they want to help people so goddamn much but they have to keep postponing their dreams to serve uncaring masters. I really wish there was more fan content focused on these very real bonds of understanding and solidarity between them.

When Viktor says 'Jayce will understand' that's not a fluke; he's lived in this environment for years. He knows Jayce is being pushed down the same way that he is and that deep down they've been kept captive by the exact same people. When Jayce agrees that Viktor should do whatever he needs to do to keep himself alive, he means that from the heart.

[misssmina]

Characterizing Characters

Bakugou Katsuki.

I’ll be using the source material to create a simple list of traits he has already, then based on those traits, things we can infer about him based on those behaviors.

SourceMaterial!Bakugou is a hothead, we know this. However, at UA, his anger is almost never unreasonable. He is regularly the butt of his classmates jokes and teasing, which makes him argumentative. Outside of that he is just a very competitive teen with a grumpy disposition. He is pre-irritated.

SourceMaterial!Bakugou is rarely malicious in his words. Most things he says seemingly comes from a place of indifference. (Calling people extras, taking a long time to learn names and quirks, etc.)

SM!Bakugou is a goody two-shoes, despite his mouth. He sleeps early, studies hard, has been seen yelling at his classmates about making sure to eating well.

SM!Bakugou is socially awkward. He doesn’t just struggle with being nice, he struggles with being appropriate in general.

SM!Bakugou has great deductive reasoning skills. It helps in battle as well as him learning about interpersonal relationships.

SM!Bakugou is half decent with kids, he makes a point of analyzing and understanding their behavior to relate to them.

SM!Bakugou is a tough love kind of guy, but he actively acknowledges his classmates strengths.

SM!Bakugou has mission anxiety from both times he was held hostage.

SM!Bakugo regularly pushes his physical limits, regardless of injury or wellbeing.

Now we can make some inferences based on the information we have already.

ProHero!Bakugou found better outlets for his anger. MMA, quirk ranges, general exercise, etc.

ProHero!Bakugou still hates the press, but has learned how to conduct himself professionally. His interviews give the same cold feel as Aizawa’s.

ProHero!Bakugou would hold youth self-defense classes featuring different heroes, to prevent incidents like the sludge villain from happening again.

ProHero!Bakugou would take on many mentees and sidekicks. Feeling he’d be the best person to whip them into heroes.

ProHero!Bakugou would not give lots of verbal praise to his mentees and sidekicks. He’d just give them more responsibilities as the are able to handle them.

ProHero!Bakugou would have similar scaring to ProHero!Sero. Scars from injury and muscle damage would be most prominent on his shoulders, biceps, and forearms.

ProHero!Bakugou would work very closely with ProHero!Kirishima, ProHero!Jirou, and ProHero!Uraraka. Relying on their skills in combat, reconnaissance, and rescue, respectively.

Now, some personal headcannons I have. 💥

Bakugou rolls his eyes, A LOT. Mainly to keep himself from saying something out of pocket.

He cracks his wrists a lot, and his fingers are always sore.

He is a momma’s boy, but he’s an easier child for his father.

Bakugou is a polyglot.

Bakugou wouldn’t date another hero, but not a regular civilian either. Maybe someone in the medical field?

Bakugou has cuteness aggression with animals and his friends think it’s hilarious.

He takes Yaoyorozu with him to events because, “She’s the only one with any sense around here.”

Bakugou has gotten in trouble for modifying and tinkering with his gauntlets without approval.

Let me know who I should do next. I may do a secondary post the further I get into rewatching the show.

[fountainpenguin]

Any tips for writing Cosmo? I'm struggling a bit with writing him and I'd thought I'd ask you since I enjoy your characterization of him (and while im here, who is the hardest fop character for you to write?)

Thanks, I'm glad you enjoy my take on Cosmo! He's got a pretty messed-up backstory in my works and I enjoy him :)

?? In the editor, my pics are arranged "a reasonable way" - next to each other, multiple in a line - but in the queue, they're... standalone, and thus a huge mess. I'm so sorry. I hope it doesn't post that way.

Talkin' Cosmo

This post talks a lot about Cosmo in my 'fics, and I have other Cosmo inspo resources at the bottom if you're interested. I'll give some brief notes before deep-diving into what I've done with him.

Cosmo has his clumsy moments, but he's a very good and protective dad! And that's very important to me.

"Mission Responsible," "For Emergencies Only," "Super Zero," "Farm Pit"

He's here for the fun AND the disciplining! He's on top of both! He's trying to equally protect Foop as much as Poof despite their past grievances! He took a laser for his son in "Playdate of Doom"!! D:

Also, Cosmo in "Formula For Disaster" - I will take a grenade or bullet for everyone in this room. Please let me take a bullet for you.

What is UP with Wanda's multi-season one-sided beef with Foop? lmao. He's always polite to her (Calling her Auntie Wanda compared to Uncle Idiot & tolerating her grabbing his collar and yelling in his face). Who would have beef with a baby who's always apologizing and saying thank you? sdklfjsdfj... (Kick his butt, Wanda) Cosmo's seemingly fine with him and even asked for Foop's business card, but Wanda does not like him. Foop brought Timmy some food he's proud he made and she put him to sleep "until his true love kisses him" without telling him that was the condition of the caramel apple she handed him, and then she told the camera that they were all going to live happily ever after... savage... Girl, that is not very "You have to learn how to forgive people after they try to destroy you" of you. Rules for thee, not for me... I love her, but that's really funny. Cosmo's pretty chill with him. I do not think Foop's relationship with Anti-Cosmo is particularly good. Like??? idk why I'm even asking what's up with her beef- It IS canonically Wanda who wants to kill Timmy's parents (S4's "Fairy Friends and Neighbors," plus she nearly kills Mrs. Crocker in S9's "Fairly Old Parent" and only stops because Timmy warns her he's "not going back to jail with her"), but... Wanda, he's a toddler.

Also, Cosmo even adjusts his body language sometimes because he's trying to copy and improve!! Love that for him!!")

"Mission Responsible"

Shout-out to Cosmo in "School of Crock" smiling and tearing up affectionately when he thinks Poof came out to him... regarding Poof "wanting to marry a cat") and he states that he's both accepting and proud of him. This is not what Poof said, but it's the thought that counts.

Cosmo, they could never make me listen to "He's a deadbeat dad" slander <3

He has his lapses in judgment, but he cares deeply about both Poof and Timmy and works hard to be a good parent to them (and later Chloe too), send post.

The other thing you need to know about Cosmo is that he is SALTY as ALL HECK. But... he plays it in a way that I'd call plausible deniability (considering the "dumb" persona he's set himself up with).

Ex: Cosmo has strong feelings about Timmy's parents (He goes into a panic in "Sooper Poof" because "Those two have no idea how to raise a child!" but he usually keeps that on the downlow. I said above that Cosmo seems chill with Foop, but it's worth noting that he spends an excessive amount of time "trying to get a sprite off Foop" at the end of "Spellementary School" by slamming him with a frying pan, and he says words that imply he's playing dumb about it... Interesting...

Cosmo's way of treating people is very different from Wanda grabbing Foop by the collar and screaming in his face, or cheerfully announcing her plan to put him in handcuffs, or when she slapped Juandissimo in the face with her purse in "Stupid Cupid," or (although I don't consider very-late-series Juandissimo to be an accurate portrayal of his character) when she shoved him in "Fairy Con" and snapped that if he didn't back off, she'd "kick him in the butt-issimo."

Wanda intimidates, presumably because Big Daddy raised her that way. Funnily enough, Mama Cosma also tends to use intimidating (Ex: Being outright mean to Wanda, kidnapping Wanda's dad) to the point that she seemingly spooks H.P. and Anti-Cosmo enough to make them back down when she takes Poof from them. but Timmy straight-up grabs her by the collar and yells in her face, and I think that's funny.

Words cannot explain how funny it is to me that neither Cosmo nor Anti-Cosmo are fans of direct confrontation... but Cosmo handles it by getting up close to bother you, pushing the envelope, and Anti-Cosmo will run away. Ex: "When Nerds Collide" - A.C. pours salt on Jorgen's shoes, tells Anti-Wanda he'll be back for her, then scampers off with a look of terror on his face. This man will only taunt you if you're locked away or he has back-up. He's very easily spooked.

Anti-Cosmo when one fairy (Jorgen) stands between him and his wife: PEACE OUT, BABE!

Cosmo when his family's in genuine danger:

Cosmo does not like head-on confrontation if it can be avoided, as he's much more into mind games or distraction tactics (like suggesting Jorgen scramble the fairies, or showing Jorgen a slideshow presentation to stall for time).

Anti-Cosmo always opts for running over fighting (Literally all his episodes except "Oddlympics," which is the only episode where no one threatens him directly unless you count Cupid poofing up angry cheetahs, which... fair) or else he just plain shuts down ("Fairly Odd Baby" & "Anti-Poof" are good examples).

LOVE his streak of looking confused in the background when he doesn't want to speak up. He's always a little nervous and I think it's funny. Even if you break into his house, he won't even yell at you. You can just do it...

Cosmo 🤝 Anti-Cosmo

Big "I don't know what I'm doing" energy

They just cover it with opposite personas... Anti-Cosmo pretends he knows everything and Cosmo pretends to know nothing.

One of my favorite scenes truly showcases Cosmo's saltiness. In "Jerk of All Trades," he offers to show Juandissimo to the room he can stay in (after Juandissimo loses his corporate housing)...

... and promptly throws him in the freezer. Hey, what??

Keep an eye out for scenes where Cosmo seems smug, because those tend to be the best examples of his plausible deniability / clever subtleties

The beef Cosmo and Juandissimo have with each other cracks me up... I like the OG canon that Juandissimo is terrified of Cosmo. In an early script for "Fairy Fairy Quite Contrary" (linked), he straight-up says Cosmo is the only one he's afraid of because he's a "warrior" and "a cunning and calculating foe." Like ??? Excuse me?

-> Part of this did make it into the final version with Juandissimo whining to Remy that he's "lucky to be alive" after Cosmo almost turned his hand into a fist! Why is Juandissimo always flaunting his muscles but then he'll whine that Cosmo spooks him... sdlkfj.

- My secret headcanon is that Juandissimo was once witness to Cosmo losing control (as Cosmo is confirmed in multiple episodes to be extremely powerful and dangerous) and he realized then and there that he never wanted to be on the receiving end of that fury. But nobody ever believes him that Cosmo is scary, so he just cringes and whines in the background.

"Bird Song" (Florence and the Machine) is one of my Cosmo inspo songs for that reason.

Also, I live for the scene in "Super Zero" where Cosmo is holding Chet Ubetcha (whom he was taking to find his car) while Chet reports about how Cosmo is a terrible superhero...

... so Cosmo straight-up says "There's your car" and drops him into a volcano. Incredible. No notes. Saltiest boy in the world. It plays rent-free in my head...

He can be salty for a variety of reasons, but it seems to flare up especially when he's being territorial of his family or space

[Very long post (11k words from here) - Click at own discretion]

Major Cloudlands AU story spoilers up to where we are in the 130 Prompts; if you've made it to "Sentry," you've seen it.

So... Let's get detailed!

[Basic overview, cnt'd from above; the spoiler bits come later]

Cosmo is a mama's boy! We know that pretty well from canon; it's one of his most obvious traits. However... he won't leave Wanda for her (as much as his mother antagonizes him).

- He's VERY loyal to Mama Cosma, to the point of sneaking her into his and Wanda's underwater castle in "Hassle in the Castle" and not telling Wanda about it.

- I think "Presto Change-O" and "Odd Squad" showcase his attachment well- He's reasonably concerned for her and very caring, but he's clearly living his own life at home.

- When he darts out on Timmy in the former episode, he first assures Timmy that when he and Wanda are back, they'll "all do something really fun and magical together." After Mama Cosma recovers from her 9-hour flu, he doesn't make Wanda wait around and takes the lead in getting them out of there (with a cheerful good-bye to his mom).

Context: My Cloudlands AU 'fics strive to be "as canon as possible," and I'm particularly proud of a scene I wrote in "I Just Live Here" where Foop reflects on family relations (and we see evidence of Cosmo and Wanda's relationship straining due to insults):

Once he came clean about his marriage to a damsel she couldn't stand, Mama Cosma couldn't keep her hands out of his life. She threads her son's mind with all sorts of poisoned commentary and doesn't seem to feel a smidgen of remorse. Like… wow. I lie, cheat, and manipulate people too, but when I try to imagine my own mother fighting tooth and nail to split me apart from my friends, that just seems unnecessarily cruel. It's weird. I know my auntie has done her best to tolerate it (holding her tongue and temper in a way that even I admire), but once when I was lurking around Timmy Turner's house before he came home from school, I heard she and my uncle break into a fight. Well… More of a scolding, really. After three or four minutes of listing her grievances against Mama Cosma, Auntie Wanda simply burst into tears. "I can't go to her house anymore. I can't keep going to these fancy lunches in Fairy World. But I worry all the time that if I don't go, you won't come back to me. Mama Cosma can really stick her hooks in you. I just don't feel like you respect me anymore, Cosmo, or like you believe living with me is an improvement over being a mama's boy and staying all day in your childhood bedroom. I need your support when she bears into me. Can you do that?" "I'll try to be better," was his response, stunned and shaky. I'd felt that way myself, curiosity getting the better of me as I floated as near to the window as I dared, my ear pressed against the wall. I could hear my uncle's fingers fiddling with his tie, wrapping the fabric around and around his wrist. "I don't know, Wanda… She's my mama. I know she can be a little harsh sometimes, but she's just getting a little old and cranky. She wouldn't do anything to really hurt me…" "She's been flinging insults at me for years." "… This is real? It's not all just some smart people test about sarcasm or irony or hidden underlying meanings? I'm not good at picking up clues, Wanda… You know that." Then, more quietly, "I'll try… It's just that sometimes I have a hard time keeping up with what's going on. I never feel like I'm in on the joke, and then when I finally am, it's like everyone thinks it isn't funny anymore. And what's more confusing is that sometimes, people say something I thought was kind of mean and everybody laughs, but then other times, everybody gets real quiet and uncomfortable. It's really hard for me to figure out the difference before the words are out of my mouth. And I don't always know there's something wrong unless it's explained to me with puppets or words… but I'll try. Can you keep being patient with me, even when I mess things up all over again?" "Every time, Cosmo. I love you… SO much…" Well. That had been an awkward thing to overhear. But I know why they had that discussion when they thought they were alone in private. I don't blame my auntie and uncle for trying to keep the trials of their marriage away from their son and two godkids. They're doing what they can to provide stability. My own parents could likely learn a thing or two from them. My father shouts a lot when he's upset, and my mother often floats there and takes it, not saying a word. I've overheard breaking plates and sometimes the frustrated pounding of a hand against the wall, but… Well.

I really like this scene because I think it's a good balance of Cosmo being insensitive, but at least somewhat justified in his confusion and misunderstanding ("But... you also say mean things to me" and/or "People think it's funny and I don't always get when it isn't"). It allows me to treat their bickering as canon while also showing them working things out in the background.

It's got Wanda standing up for herself and Cosmo wanting to be better... and I like my set-up of them talking where they know Timmy wouldn't hear, and Foop's just flat-out eavesdropping. Makes me laugh. Everyone here is spot-on, imo.

"Crocker of Gold" is an episode I like for Cosmo's misunderstandings- That's the one where he dresses as a leprechaun and Crocker catches him and demands gold, so Cosmo takes gold from real leprechauns and leaves them a note. They're upset with him, and both Timmy and Wanda are shocked he left a note. Cosmo claims it would've been rude not to. He generally is following a social script... it just might not match the circumstances he's in. I like to think that he skates through life trying to be polite, salty, under the radar, or playing dumb. Those things have gotten him this far in life, so he defaults to them. -> I showed a screenshot earlier of Cosmo changing his body language to match Wanda's. I don't think it's common for him to want to learn new things or change his behavior, but he's all-in at being a good dad and tends to mimic what he sees Wanda do. He follows role models. -> Jorgen is clearly his role model in "Cosmo Rules," since Cosmo also opts for a military get-up while defending Da Rules despite that not being required (Juandissimo didn't) -> In "Oh, Brother," Cosmo lists things that a brother can do for you- Drive a getaway car, lend you bail money - which he's probably saying because his older brother is a con artist. -> In "Something's Fishy," he even mimics Schnozmo's catchphrase: saying "Two words!" followed by something that's not two words. Hilariously, both of these happened in Season 5- Long before Schnozmo was introduced in Season 7. -> And by that logic, it's not surprising Cosmo can be rude and speak his mind a lot since Mama Cosma and Schnozmo are both known for that. Heck, Cosmo gets under Juandissimo's skin in "Fairy Fairy Quite Contrary" by mimicking him, and it was his own idea to do so.

Notably, in Poof's POV section of this same story, he says he and his dad visit Mama Cosma's without Wanda, and shares this:

When I'm with the Cosma side of my family, Mama Cosma lets me put my feet up on the furniture if I want to. I definitely can't do that at my granddad's because my nonna would have a fit. Mama Cosma doesn't care if I eat in the living room, even on her couch while we look at old scrapbooks of my dad and Uncle Schnozmo when they were kids (Plus old yearbooks of her and Papa Cosma… but my papa died when my dad was only two, so I never got to meet him). There's definitely… a weird vibe at Mama Cosma's prim and frilly little house, though. She loves my dad and he'll usually spend the whole visit with me when we go, but my own mama won't set foot anywhere near my grandmother's house anymore. When I was a baby I didn't really get it, but then I learned to read and figured out why. Mama Cosma frosts all her cookies so they say my mother's name with large Xs or strike symbols through them… or if not that, then symbols of raging fire. I feel really bad not eating her cookies because she always works so hard on them and they taste so good, but I feel like I'm betraying my mama when I do. My dad gets quiet and evasive about it, but… he just tells me not to worry. He says I can do what I want, and that if I don't want to eat them, he isn't going to force me. So there's that. I've seen my dad get confrontational before, but he's usually pretty tame around my grandma. I brought up the cookies to my mama once and she tersely said we'd "talk about it when I was older." So I asked Timmy while we were filling out coloring books and he told me everything. Mama Cosma can't stand my mama… Timmy says it's because my mom "took away her little boy" by marrying her, which is what led him to move out of her house and into a new place with my mom. It's weird. There's a nagging feeling in my gut that makes me suspect that's not the whole story. I'm not even sure I want the whole story, so… I guess I'll take my mama's word for it. She'll tell me "when I'm older."

They are brothers, your honor...

Mama Cosma is important to Cosmo. She may not like his wife, but she was also his sole caretaker for tens of thousands of years (knowing what we know about the war between Fairies and Anti-Fairies taking place 90k years ago, since "Balance of Flour" is its anniversary, and we know Cosmo and Wanda have only been together 10k years).

I like to think Cosmo wants Poof to know his grandma since Cosmo and Wanda were cut off for so long. Cosmo has a paternal grandpa on his canon family tree ("77 Secrets of The Fairly OddParents (Revealed)" - Grandpa Gonzo - but Cosmo lost his dad young and I don't think he's close to his grandfather.

Family's important to Wanda too - she's very close with her dad - and I think she and Cosmo both make sacrifices for each other's happiness and Poof's sake, even though it's hard on them both.

Again, I like to play Cosmo as a mama's boy trying to balance the complexities of his life... Allowing Wanda space away from his mother, but also letting Poof have the chance to meet his grandma, but also telling Poof that if he doesn't want to eat the I Hate Wanda cookies, he doesn't have to.

I also think it's worth nothing that Cosmo tried his dang hardest to be very positive about his pregnancy and childbirth.

- He had a lot of hormones messing with his mood (leading him to be confused when he batted Timmy into the basement while in bear form, then returned to fairy form and couldn't find him), but he was super grateful for his pregnancy (Handled his morning sickness without disgust & we see him apologize for inconveniencing Timmy several times). - He didn't even resent Timmy for snapping at him and telling him to get lost, which is nice since Cosmo has a history of petty grudges. During his contractions, he's the one telling Timmy and Wanda to remain calm and to enjoy "this beautiful moment." - Even while actively giving birth and clearly in a lot of pain, he insisted childbirth was a wonderful experience (fighting for a smile through his tears, his eyes red around the edges as he held and rubbed his belly... Doin' his BEST to get through it). - I think it's interesting how positive he was since sometimes he can be very pessimistic (Ex: "End of the Universe-ity" when he points out that "Fairy powers are totally lame and limited and will last 5 more years, tops" compared to Dark powers).

I have to showcase Cosmo's happy moment followed by /double blinks in confusion as his newborn is taken from him.

Every one of these faces is precious... He's a daddy! Thank goodness he has his precious baby! His hair is still extra ruffled from his stress and strain! He's in his hospital gown! His baby is his world! His godkid is delighted, and Cosmo is so happy to have his two boys in his life! ... oh no. help him.

Does Cosmo have his feet spread under the blankets the same way Peri, Anti-Cosmo, and Anti-Wanda all spread their feet in A New Wish to support heavy books? That's funny... He has a big baby in his lap...

I think... that covers my overview of How I Suggest Writing Cosmo In General:

- Mama's boy who's thoughtful, salty, a good dad, and doing his best to keep his marriage together because he loves his wife (although he does struggle to find the line for his teasing). He's not big on confrontation, though he'll stand up for his family when push comes to shove. - He does get jealous, but he and Wanda BOTH admit to having crushes outside their relationship; I don't think it's entirely fair to judge Cosmo for his fantasies without also judging Wanda, who's equally blatant in multiple episodes and has very questionable interests. I like to think they both know the other wouldn't really go for anyone else, though I do agree I'm not the biggest fan of these jokes. - He loves both Timmy and Poof. I didn't touch much on Timmy in this post since it's long and there are many good episodes of their dynamic (Timmy has a tendency to trust Cosmo and leap without looking). - Looks for role models to mimic. For better or worse, he grew up with Mama Cosma and Schnozmo, so he can be overbearing, sly, and rude. Loves his baby and his family very much. Very protective... Please let him take a grenade for them.

I think if I were to personally start my take on Cosmo from scratch, I'd ask this:

- What am I depicting Cosmo do? Who taught him this behavior? -> His mom was overprotective of him, so he probably read it in a book, got it from a kid at school, or picked it up form his mom or brother. - If it's none of these things... Why is he doing that action? (If he's older, maybe he got it from watching a godkid or reading a comic book). Is he following a social script from his culture? -> That's a good opportunity for worldbuilding. - He might've put in a lot of work, because something about the behavior is important to him (or was in his past). Since he's often associated with cars ("School's Out! The Musical" flashbacks, "Cosmonopoly," he's the car in "Odd Squad," his racecar bed in "Hassle In the Castle"), -> I've always imagined his car was the one thing he had that was truly his, and it represented freedom from his mom. After all, two episodes confirm he was driving in his younger years (and we know from "Transparents" that Wanda lacks experience)

These are good starting points if you're looking to develop a deep Cosmo portrayal with layers of backstory, though you can always keep it simple (especially for short one-shots).

I do think nailing down your interpretation of Cosmo's backstory is a critical aspect of deciding how you portray him in present day (as with any character). Everyone's vision of his story will be different, leading to their own take on Cosmo (and potentially Anti-Cosmo).

⭐ Here are some backstory jump-off points!

- "This Is Your Wish," "School's Out! The Musical," & "Cosmonopoly" are three episodes from the OG series episode covering the main story beats of Cosmo's backstory (Implied to have lost his dad young, grew up with his mom, forced into military school against his will, sunk Atlantis (9 separate times as of "Something's Fishy"), marrying Wanda). - "Double-Oh Schnozmo" debuts Cosmo's older brother, who clearly takes advantage of him. Schnozmo was off the radar enough that he didn't know Poof existed. Cosmo has great faith in and respect for his brother, and is heartbroken when he realizes Schnozmo took advantage of his trusting nature- There's a moment as he's talking through it that you can SEE the moment he breaks... That to me is quintessential Cosmo.

Cosmo, having just said "He must think I'm the biggest fool in the world!" and freezing up one beat before he hurls his ham into the forest and takes off to be alone... He knows. Their past, their fond memories... How much of it was real to Schnozmo? Does his brother even care for him? He splinters.

- Neither Cosmo's mom nor Wanda's dad knew their children were married until "Apartnership" and "Talkin' Trash" (respectively), though Blonda seemingly did in her debut. Cosmo implies at the end of "Talkin' Trash" that he wants to take over the Fairywinkle family business?? Also, it's heavily implied Big Daddy was going to let Cosmo stay with Wanda when Wanda moved home, and it's important to me...

- Speaking of family, Cosmo found out in "Cosmo Rules" he has von Strangle blood. In my canon, he trains to take over as Keeper of Da Rules after Jorgen after he leaves Timmy and Chloe (and it's probably something I'll carry for him to New Wish 'fics since he could be doing it in his godparent retirement era- especially since Jorgen's more mellow in New Wish). There's lots you can do with that!

- Anti-Cosmo was old enough to represent his people in a truce attempt during "Balance of Flour" (canonically 90k years pre-series, as it was the anniversary in that episode), heavily implying Cosmo and those older than him fought in this war.

- Cosmo claimed he never went to Spellementary School (in the episode of the same title), but in "Love Triangle," he confirms he had a role in the school play.

-> He becomes a "pageant parent" to Poof in this episode, hovering around him and making Poof run his lines over and over even though Poof is clearly uninterested (Wanda even using the words "You know Poof doesn't want to be in his school play"). He reminds me of his overbearing mama!

- "Truth or Cosmoquences" depicts Cosmo's high school years. Juandissimo claims he met Wanda during high school, they're confirmed to have dated, and Cosmo taunts Juandissimo in "Fairy Fairy Quite Contrary" by claiming he "lost his woman to an idiot."

-> Juandissimo is on good enough terms with Cosmo and Wanda that he attends, like, 5 different parties at their house in the OG series (including the baby shower Wanda's family didn't show up for) - I don't normally see people treat "Cosmonopoly" as canon, but I personally like it; I use the diner as the place Wanda started to fall for him since she wasn't very happy about being hit by his car. - Cosmo confirmed he designed his Cosmonopoly game to remind him of the day he met Wanda. He heavily implies he went to Pixie World to do his laundry that day (Pixie Woods is a location next to the laundromat). In my 'fics, I depict him sneaking out to get time for himself and using his laundry time to write his books. Funnily enough, Pixie World's laundromat was already established in my works even before this, because Rosencrantz works there. -> This potentially plays into the Pixies having Cosmo on their radar & Cosmo implying he met Sanderson sometime before "Pixies Inc." (i.e. he told Sanderson that if he "doesn't recognize him, it's probably the hat").

- Officially, Cosmo was designed with a 50s aesthetic. You could draw inspo by researching the 1950s. What hobbies or special events were popular?

- He's likely to have Megan Bacon trauma (a past godkid of his from "Past and the Furious"). Canonically, the past versions of Cosmo and Wanda are AWOL when Timmy looks for them in the past because they were hiding in her closet.

-> She's still alive (and fairly young) in present-day Dimmsdale, having gone on to open a notable restaurant seen in many episodes: the Cake 'N Bacon. In "Vicky Loses Her Icky," this restaurant was inexplicably across the street from Timmy's house.

-> Funnily enough, I don't think he really showed what I'd call "Vicky trauma" in the OG series, despite the fact she did mess with him. That's more of a New Wish thing, but I do think he had Megan trauma.

- In Season 5's "Hassle in the Castle," Cosmo and Wanda keep portraits of all their past godkids, including those they had poor relationships with (with these replicas of MaryAnn and Pierre specifically wanting revenge on them; MaryAnn claims they "deserted her."

Cosmo and Wanda instantly recognize MaryAnn when she's running around the castle, even though she killed Archduke Ferdinand and it's been a while since they've seen her. Even Cosmo? Who's not always the best with names? -> That said, we do know Cosmo snuck Mama Cosma into the castle in that episode and her door is down near the portraits. Him sneaking his mom in is a whole other can of worms. Also, they have Crocker's portrait in the Hall of Fame, not the Hall of Infamy!

- And if you want to go all the way back to Season 0, Cosmo and Wanda claim in "The Zappys" that their godparenting career is "speckled with failures," which Cosmo seems sad to admit.

- In both the OG series and New Wish, Cosmo and Wanda have separate beds. Cosmo's is a racecar:

Hilariously, this is one of the episodes Wanda blatantly tells Cosmo she's daydreaming about Juandissimo. For all the bickering and irritation and "the ol' ball and chain" and "naggy wife" jokes... I do think it's funny that they're both completely open about having crushes on other people. Totally fair if people have a strong dislike for that part of their characterization, but I can't help but respect the sheer confidence and closeness they have to admit those things and that it won't ruin their relationship.

-> We know from "Stupid Cupid" that Cosmo finds Juandissimo hitting on Wanda annoying, but lets him flirt with Wanda because he keeps sending her food, which Cosmo eats because Wanda doesn't want.

-> Shout out to Cosmo in "Truth or Cosmoquences" when Juandissimo hit on Wanda and Cosmo instantly broke character from his façade as Britney Britney's husband and shoved himself between them... and then had to back down when Juandissimo innocently asked why he was so huffy about him merely asking for a dance with his unmarried secretary 🥺

Season 6's "Wishy Washy" gave us teen Cosmo and Wanda, where we see Cosmo with braces and a skateboard. He confirms to Timmy that at this point in his life, Wanda wasn't his type (because "he likes 'em with a little more swirl in the curl.")

I've always thought it was funny that Cosmo likes to say "swirly" when he's absentminded, like "Portals are swirly." Man's always thinkin' 'bout swirls...

I drew him and teen Anti-Cosmo once!

- After Cosmo started disguising his nose with magic ("The Boy Who Would Be Queen"), but before Anti-Cosmo chose to do the same. - Specifically, Cosmo went through a rebellious teen phase (slipping away from his mom to go play & later pick up a job at the diner, planning to buy a car himself). - Anti-Cosmo became excessively devoted to my zodiac-themed Anti-Fairy culture (He's wearing a shirt depicting the Fae zodiac & wearing bracelets to symbolize being born in the year of Water).

It's very important to me that teen Cosmo and Wanda refused to play along with Timmy until he uses reverse psychology on them by insisting they're not meant for each other. And that SNAPS them to attention... At their core, they've always had their rebellious streaks. They do not like being bossed around.

Honestly, if you're only going to pick one thing to focus on... I think the most critical detail to consider when writing Cosmo and Wanda is that they eloped without telling their parents. If you think about how they left their lives of being coddled behind for each other, you can take that anywhere.

Anti-Cosmo's backstory is pretty unknown, but you can use parts of Anti-Cosmo to build a take on Cosmo as well.

For example, Anti-Cosmo's mother might be very harsh to him since Mama Cosma coddles Cosmo. Or, you could argue his mother's completely absent from his life since Cosmo's is always around. I like to think she really wanted Anti-Cosmo and Anti-Wanda to get married. I personally play her as both physically abusive and emotionally overbearing. Cosmo crushed on Wanda for a long time, but I really enjoy slow burn A.C./A.W. as they slowly move from being annoyed by or disgusted with each other to admiring, respecting, and loving each other. I gave Anti-Cosmo bipolar disorder (due to his extremely high-energy moments in "When Nerds Collide" (where he rapidly flies in a circle 13 times in a row while still talking... yes, I went frame by frame and counted) and "Balance of Flour" (where Anti-Cosmo was unable to sit still while in disguise and revealed himself in front of everyone by running off and laughing). In his other episodes, he's in a mild state. -> Fun Fact: Technically, Anti-Cosmo has a magical parallel of bipolar rather than what humans have, and he treats it by rubbing Fairy pheromones on his face. In-universe, Fairies consider him to have divus displacement disorder (D3) and consider him "a Fairy in an Anti-Fairy's body" while Anti-Fairies believe he was born with his soul intertwined with a nature spirit's (whom he called Clarice in his youth). A.C. has a habit of drifting near H.P., who has strong-smelling pheromones. Anyway... My Cosmo has depression - especially postpartum depression - as a parallel. He struggles with a lot of personal issues, especially regarding his magical strength (Ex: turning his dad into a fly as a baby, leading his dad to never be seen again in the series).

Here are detailed examples from the backstory I gave my Cosmo because... I like talking about him:

Cloudlands AU Cosmo - #ridspoilers

Major spoilers up to the end of where we currently are in the 130 Prompts; if you've made it to "Sentry," you've seen it

I treat "77 Secrets of the Fairly OddParents (Revealed)" as canon, meaning Cosmo's deepest secret - that he's the author of Astrophysics For Morons and several other books - is something he has ISSUES telling people about... which I tie into "Wishology"'s canon of portraying stars as ancient Fairies.

Yeah... Cosmo writing stuff that his culture hates does not go well for him in my work :'D

Cosmo struggles a lot with his love of books, hence why this is a secret for him. In Cloudlands AU canon, Fairies tend to have a brawn over brains culture and Anti-Fairies a brains over brawn one; Mama Cosma sent him to military school against his will to try to push him towards the brawn culture.

During / after the war with the Anti-Fairies ("Balance of Flour"), Fairies weren't exactly charmed by brains or Anti-Fairy culture sympathizers, and Cosmo - who used to write political commentaries and kids' books that broke culture down in easy to understand ways - became an instant target, leading us to this scene:

"Let them come for me." Cosmo raised the point of his wand against his temple. "These memories are all that I have left. Look, it's simple. You don't want my insights on politics and religion leaking any further into the world, and I don't want you in my life ever again. So if you take one step forward, I'll blast them out here and now. You can tell Adelinda that you were left to scrape my time keys off the floor." "So I am the bad guy now? We've opened the castle for refugees like you! Art, history, all the science you could ask for… The charts, the maps!" Cosmo bobbed gently up and down, but otherwise didn't move. He didn't even blink, the wand still pressed thumb-deep into his head. "Yeah, right! You've von Strangled every scrap of success I ever had out of my hands. Why would this be any different?" A scowling Jorgen shifted forward then and Cosmo threw out a hand. "No further! Or I'll wipe my memories here and now!" Jorgen braced his staff against a jutting piece of the wall, leaning beside it with folded arms. "The revolutionaries are out there hunting for those who threaten society with radical ideas, Cosmo. Your stories of gas balls and tongue lashes towards the Council are the reason you've landed in their sights. You can burn your books, but erasing private memories hurts no one but yourself. Plus, I can still take you to the Pink Castle anyway. It seems a very foolish trade you are fighting to make." Cosmo narrowed his eyes. "But when you get me behind those walls, you're going to scramble my mind up anyway, right? Because you work for the Fairy Council? At least if I blast myself, then I don't let you get to have the satisfaction…"

"Repeat"

After this point, Cosmo started erasing his memories on the regular and became a lot more unstable and unhappy with himself.

That said, I do think the war helped give him a purpose, lifting him a bit from the depression of his younger years over missing his father. He finally felt like he had something worth fighting for and was making up for the harm he caused, now out there protecting his people.

It's around this point in time that Cosmo - looking for a new career and now a smidgen more confident in himself (and looking for a new passion in life) - switched to the godparenting major, where he ended up doing a trial program with Wanda for Erg.

Erg being the godkid they claimed to have 50k years ago in an episode where they're celebrating their 10k years of being godparents, implying Erg was a special one-off case... Checks out since 50k years ago would've been well before they were married ("The Past and the Furious")

Cosmo grew increasingly infatuated with Wanda from here on out, and learning to be a godparent also kicked off his love for children.

I like to play Wanda as "better with" wish-themed playtime and adventures while little kids tend to think of Cosmo as "more fun" when they're playing with toys. He's pretty imaginative. I like to think Wanda's humor is high-brow and flies over little kid heads (Depending on their age). One of my favorite headcanons is that Cosmo owns a lot of toys and likes to leave one with each godkid. Probably a bunch of toys his mom gave him since she coddled and fawned over him so much, so he's rehoming them.

So /claps hands. We've set Cloudlands AU Cosmo up to want a baby. Can u see where this is going?

I personally treat the baby H.P. and Anti-Cosmo raised as 100% canon. I made him the counterpart of the candle model!

Here's some 2018 art, though I need to redraw / redesign now that my art skills have improved. Btw, I saw someone say they were sad this screenshot was fake, but :'D... I assure you, it's 100% real. It's in Jorgen's presentation of "Fairly Odd Baby" when he specifically uses the word "raised" to speak of Anti-Fairies and Pixies with children, and he shows this photo plus a flashing sign labeling H.P. specifically as "Bad," implying the kid has a connection to Anti-Cosmo in species, but H.P. was the real threat. I don't know why they drew H.P. with those glasses or added shading either, but it's real.

Let's talk Westley first! If you remember he's living with Blonda and showed up in "I Just Live Here..." congratulations! Poof slept in his room when he stayed with his Fairywinkle family for spring break that year.

He leans in to kiss me on both cheeks. I blink up at him, wide-eyed, and he pats my shoulder instead of ruffling my hair. Even though I have really, really ruffle-able purple hair, so I'm kind of glad he refrained (I don't like anyone but my parents and Timmy touching my hair, except I sometimes let Gary do it, and I really hate combing out the tangles). "Go back to sleep, cuginetto. We can talk more in the morning."

He was raised by Jorgen and Binky, specifically (playing into "Fairly Odd Baby" canon where Jorgen tries to take Poof from Cosmo and Wanda, telling them he'll raise him and will only let them visit him for one day every other millennium, plus Jorgen shows himself holding a baby in his slideshow presentation).

Binky dropped out of godparenting to be a stay-at-home caretaker for him on Jorgen's behalf.

Reminder: Binky and Jorgen are a gyne-drone pair. They don't live together, but they're basically in a QPR The Origin of the Pixies chapter "Inner Workings" is a good peek at their dynamic (back in the day), though H.P. refers to Binky by his surname (Abdul).

Westley is extremely bitter towards his bio parents and, while he respects Binky, doesn't particularly like him or Jorgen (or Cupid) as all three played a part in removing his chance at "a real family." He cut ties and changed his family name to Periwinkle.

AKA, before Poof was born, Westley went into modeling in Fairywood and Blonda took him under her wing. Blonda considers him a nephew

Poof looks up to him a lot names things after Westley - notably his egg baby in "Two and a Half Babies" - and that was canon in my work for years before A New Wish, sdkflj...

If I had a nickel for everyone in this family who changed their name to Periwinkle...

Frayed Knots is a 'fic about how Anti-Cosmo got to the point that he ended up with Talon - Westley's anti-fairy counterpart - and why H.P. is the one helping him raise him... Short answer? Anti-Cosmo wrecked his life for that child and a lot of people have issues with him because of it :'D But H.P. took him in...

Talon sneak peeks from late Frayed Knots!

“Yep. Talon, your dad’s out of it. Which is perfect, because that means I can do this.” H.P. clamped his hands around Talon’s waist and tossed him into the air. Talon squealed with surprise and apparent delight, and H.P. caught him when he came back down. “You are adorable. Oh yes you are, my Cú Chulainn. Yes you are.” “Again!” Talon cheered. “Nope.” There was a pat like H.P. placing small anti-fairy feet back on the floor. “One free sample per pup. If you want more services, you have to pay for them.” “Again!” H.P. sighed good-naturedly. “All right. One more time, Cú Chulainn. But, only if I can trust you to keep this our little secret.” “No! I’m going to brag to all the others that you tossed me twice. I had my fingers crossed about the promise.” “Oh, you’ve got me there,” H.P. told him in monotone. He rustled Talon’s hair with his huge hand. “Go play.” Talon trotted away, laughing. I clenched my claws deeper in the ruffled fabric. He never laughed for me like that.

&

Talon stomped his foot. “I don’t wanna go back with you! I want to stay here with my other dad!” H.P. and I looked at each other. Then he dropped his attention to Talon again, bending on one knee. “Talon, you’re adopted.” “Really,” I cried, “you’re starting with that?”

Also, shout-out to older Talon in Pink and Gray-

"I hate the inheritance traditions!" Talon's wings exploded behind him, flapping wildly. "It's not fair! You weren't even supposed to become High Count after Anti-Bryndin. Everyone only agreed to let you lead the Anti-Fairies because you have green eyes, but when it's me, your son, who should inherit after you, they're not going to listen, are they? They're not! You don't want me to be your heir! You only keep me around because I'm the only anti-fairy who's been born since the fairy baby mandate cut off all your other options. Or else you'd just dump me on H.P. forever so you don't have to look at me anymore and think about all your old mistakes. You want another kid because I was born with red eyes like some kind of commoner!" "Talon, enough." Anti-Cosmo swept his arm to the side. "You'll wake the hotel. Worshipers have traveled a long way to visit the Water Temple." "Look at me! Look me in these eyes and tell me it's not true!" Anti-Cosmo clenched his teeth, but didn't glance away. "I said, that's enough now. I broke the law to give you a healthy life, child. One would think you'd respect me for that." "The people," Talon snarled, stabbing a claw vaguely in the direction of Anti-Fairy World, "should accept me as your heir, no matter what color my eyes are." "I don't disagree, lad, and I don't intend to argue with you. However, you must realize that it isn't within my power to alter the expectations of an entire society." He stepped forward, fur bristling. "Bet the gossip's true! Bet you were unfaithful. Bet you had me with some hired anti-will o' the wisp for a handful of coins. Is that where I came from? Are you even my real father? Do you ever plan to tell me anything?" Anti-Cosmo tightened his grip on his wand, but regarded the furious anti-fairy with cool collection. His hand twitched, but he kept his arm low. "I will not argue with you, Talon, and I will not succumb to your goading. I am your father, Anti-Wanda is your mother, and despite your legitimacy, you did not inherit our spirit-blessed eyes. That is all you need to know, apart from the fact that if you do not hold your tongue, you will lose your inheritance tonight. Do not try my patience further." Talon simmered a moment more, then swung around and stalked away down the hall. "Telford Anti-Westley Anti-Lunifly. You have yet to be dismissed. Don't you dare turn your back on your High Count while he's trying to converse with you!" "'Trying,'" Talon said, and kept walking.

& "Health Bars"-

"What did you bring me?" Talon asks, looking up. Anti-Cosmo's eyebrows shoot into his hair. "'Bring you?' Why, I wasn't even aware you would be here tonight." Talon sticks out his tongue. "H.P. always brings me stuff when I see him." "True," I acknowledge. In my head, Anti-Cosmo's hitpoints drop into yellow. Anti-Cosmo gives the younger anti-fairy a pitying look. "Then he's spoiled you into being a selfish little brat, I'm afraid." And to me, narrow-eyed, "Thanks for that, actually." "Whoa. Hey. It's not my fault you deprive him of modern technology when he goes to stay in Anti-Fairy World. We agreed from the start: If you want to raise him Zodii, then I get to expose him to pop culture. Go ahead– ask him about memes. I've trained him well."

I just love him and my messy 'fic drama so much... Talon, my beloved.

Because this is a notable part of Anti-Cosmo's backstory - especially the conflict Anti-Cosmo and Talon have - it played into me giving Cosmo that aforementioned dream of wanting kids, which led me to scenes like:

"So, when can I meet Nixie?" Saffron frowned in the rear-view mirror. "Oh, did I not send the letter? You sounded like you'd read it over the call. You seemed fine with it." "L… letter?" "I changed my mind about adopting her out. Jorgen said he'd waive my file at the station if I trade her to him instead of you." He slammed so hard on the brakes, Saffron's glossy lip tube flew past the windshield.

"Repeat" - Cosmo's failed attempt to bring Nixie into his life... Nonetheless, he didn't give up

So... I found an episode with an interesting detail, and I really latched onto it and built my images of Anti-Cosmo and Cosmo around it. Simple enough start!

I lucked out in finding something I thought was super interesting to delve into (especially at a time no one else in the fandom had mentioned it... or at least not in 'fics tagged H.P., because I think I read all those and most if not all of the Anti-Cosmo ones available back then, at least on the sites I used, haha).

Even though I don't consider "The Fairy Beginning" canon as a whole (due to it violating too much established canon), it's still canon in my works that Cosmo stayed with his aunt and uncle for a while and lived under their stairs, which is... hoo boy.

"No, I didn't! I didn't do anything wrong!" Cosmo tightened his arms around Westley's back, beneath the baby's tiny fluttering wings. "It's not me or my fault, okay? It's just… just… Look, it wasn't supposed to happen this way!" Holding babies left him breathless, and Cosmo tried to shift his weight to hold him a little better. Westley kicked him in the chest. "I know I can't keep him, but you can't let Jorgen take him away." "Oh heavens, that's a real baby. There is a fairy baby in my house right now. I'm gonna be sick." Blonda floated backwards, one hand on her stomach and one on her mouth. The sleeve of her robe slid down to her elbow, dangling like a fish fin. She turned a full circle, pacing in the air, then swept back and grabbed him by the shoulders. "The A.B.B.'s been out for weeks. How hasn't Jorgen found you yet? Tell me you haven't been on the run alone. At least say you have another friend in the world besides my sister and me." "O-okay… Uh, we haven't been by ourselves all this time. Is that the right answer?" Blonda leaned her head back against the whitewashed wall. "Oh, Darkness devour me…" Cosmo bit his lip. "We were staying under my aunt and uncle's stairs for a while, b-but I know they're getting close…" As the breathing lines clenched up around his throat, his fingers curled into the yellow towel a little tighter. "Please, Blonda… Can we stay? And can you help me find milk without showing my face at a store? I ran out, and Jorgen wants to take him away so he can teach him to fight and bully everyone. I can't watch that happen! And… and Cupid will just throw him in a cage for the rest of his life. And I'm scared! If Jorgen takes Westley to his fort, then Anti-Cosmo will waltz straight in and waltz out with him again. A-and babies can't waltz!" "What… Where did you even find…? Babies are illegal in our subspecies without Eros consent. And the Eroses never consent outside the exhibit stock. Did you break into the Nest and take one of their kids?" "Blonda, I… couldn't just let them…"

"Repeat"

And from there, we get this art of Cosmo, Westley, and Nixie:

And this bit from "Told You So"-

"He went for milk," Florensa repeated as though in a daze. Sanderson… sighed. He replaced the silk cover on his crystal and dropped his eyes to his desk. Had his elbows always been this pointy? His arms looked thin and scrawny, barely able to hold his weight. He leaned against them anyway and brought his eyes to hers again. "Forgive me for the small talk. My question may be useful to you… Has your son experienced a major drop in energy? An increase in time spent sleeping? A lack of interest in his usual favored activities? I can't imagine he's in the most whimsical of moods right now." "How do you mean?" "Well… Last time I saw him was at Fairy Con. He floated on sagging wings, looking distressed out of his mind. H.P. had me report it. Even for a fairy, I noticed he expressed considerable emotion during Jorgen's speech. Dm. Cosma, I didn't mean to eavesdrop, but I think I heard your son ask if he could go back on forget-a-cin. Is this true? Pardon me if I am insensitive with this subject, but… How is he handling the separation from his kids?" There it was… cold and dark between them, like a smooth stone dropped into an unmoving pond. Florensa's blue eyes sharpened like snakeupine quills. "Those… those LEECHES under Jorgen's wing are not my son's children! That miserable SHREW forced responsibility on my precious boy! Oh, I'll wring his little blue NECK until he turns purple from it all!" Sanderson stared blankly back at her, too tired to argue. Now would have been a really good time to have his shades. Could she read his thoughts from his eyes? He tried again. "Has Cosmo spoken lately about the kids? I seem to remember he tried to disappear after Westley was born. Fairy World put out an A.B.B. It wouldn't surprise me if he still thinks about them sometimes. Perhaps he went looking for them. Or went to challenge Jorgen." If Jorgen had crushed him into oblivion with one of his mighty fists, that too might explain the shattered wand. Florensa's wings bristled up. "We don't talk about the kids at home," she snapped. "It wouldn't be good for his health! My son is… He's… he's… Well, he's been under so much stress in the workplace! You know how it is, particularly at his age. I just hope he's not been hurt." Hurt? Sanderson grimaced. It was all too easy to imagine Cosmo flattened into pancake form if he set foot anywhere near Westley or Phoenix. The pair were still the talk of Fairy World to this day. Two common fairy babies… the youngest of their subspecies. The first ones born in 370,000 years. They had to be 40 millennia by now. Jorgen bragged about them at every social opportunity, like he'd finally filled a void deep inside him that godchildren never could. And Anti-Cosmo, of course… Well, Anti-Cosmo had been elated with how things turned out. That was sarcasm. Ha ha. Ha ha. But still true, to some degree. Emotions can be hilarious. From the way he fawned over Anti-Westley (Well… "Talon") with his hands clasped against his cheek, you wouldn't think Anti-Fairy World's bachelor king actually lost his first wife over the whole affair. Or his daughters, for that matter… Anti-Saffron had taken both Anti-Miranda and Anti-Phoenix when she left him. As far as the media could guess, the High Count lived by gritting his fangs to bear it.

Aaaaaaaand this plotline in 130 Reasons Why I'm Fairy Trash! :')

"A firstborn will always have more magic than their siblings. Up to two layers of magic can wrap themselves around the core. If the child is the father's firstborn, they'll receive one extra layer, and if the child is their mother's, they'll receive two." Poof's head snaps up like a spring. His hand jolts after it. "But it's okay if they don't… right?" His question seems to catch Serena off guard. "Uh. Well, there's nothing wrong with not having the layers. Younger siblings can be equally as healthy as the firstborn. The extra magic is simply a small benefit the first receives." "Um, what happens if you're a firstborn who doesn't have extra core layers?" "Then that person isn't actually a firstborn." "… What? Are there any exceptions?" "To the firstborn bonus? I don't believe there are any. At least, I've never heard of one." Denzel keeps his head low, scratching out notes, until the silence between the two fairies drags on way too long. Uhh… He looks up again. Poof stares back at his grandmother, shock bleeding his face out to white. She hovers at the front of the room wearing the same look of confusion that Denzel himself might have shown to dancing chipmunks on a ceiling fan. "That's… not true," Poof croaks back. His voice wavers on a string. He drops his head to the desk, wrapping his stubby arms around his head. Um.

"Looking Back"

"Am I adopted?" Poof blurted, not answering the actual question. Auntie Wanda's brows shot off her head. She looked at Cosmo. Cosmo stared back at her, wide-eyed and frozen

&

And he laughed, throwing his arms out too the side. "Poof, do you even hear yourself? Or did you just flunk anatomy class? Only firstborns get extra core layers." "… Aren't we firstborns?" "Do… do you not know?" The mental damage Poof took after those words slammed straight into his brain a second later. Foop flinched back, gripping his hair in one fist. Poof's heartbeat spiked- hot, fast, and undeniable, because a cold cloud crashed into Foop's chest like a clenching fist. A spark of purple fire flared like a spooked rabbit in the depths of Poof's eyes. He's not joking. "Has your dad not talked to you about this?" Gary made an attempt to suggest they call it quits for the day. Foop only half heard him. "Poof," he spluttered, "what? You know my Vatajasa name is Fry-sün d'ichord. Did you think I use the title 'second child; second son' ironically!?"

"Sentry"

Finley was just, like… taunting me and saying that I'm adopted." The memory flares tears in my eyes. I sniff, sort of pathetically, and wipe my eyes on the back of my hand. "But I'm not… I'm a Cosma and a Fairywinkle." "Adopted," Big Daddy repeats. He flicks his eyes from my crown to shoes. They coast along the freckles down my sides. He shakes his head then. Firm. "You wouldn't have the gene for lateral spots if you weren't a Fairywinkle. Your pheromones match the family's too. Cherry almond. Even if yours are underdeveloped, I can sniff that on you from here. Forget about it, Poof… There's no doubt about it. My little cannoli Wanda is your mother, as sure as I'm your granddaddy."

"I Just Live Here"

😬 ... Yeaaaaaaah...... I've been planning this since 2016.

So, hmm.. I wonder why I drew this during my music meme years ago...

Yeah... Yeeeeeeaaaaah... That's rough, buddy.

Also, no matter the universe, Anti-Cosmo is notoriously bad at paying child support and consistently has a rougher relationship with Talon than H.P. does :'D

I also want to point out that when you're introducing characters and major plot points, take the time to consider how they fit into the world and play off other characters! Talon and Westley influence a ton of people, including Anti-Cosmo, H.P., Anti-Wanda, Cosmo, Wanda, Poof, Foop, Blonda, Big Daddy, Jorgen, Binky, Cupid, Sanderson, each other... etc. And all this from two photos of two characters who were onscreen for mere seconds, several seasons apart, and don't have speaking lines or even animation...

The big follow-up & "tying loose ends" 'fic for Poof's "Am I adopted?" anxiety is the upcoming Don't Let Your Babies Grow Up to Be Pixies - named after a song Wanda wrote, according to "77 Secrets of The Fairly OddParents (Revealed)."

It's Poof POV and parallels Foop's war POV in "You'll Never Know." I'm looking forward to posting it, but it's massive and - despite everything this post covers - still contains a lot of major Frayed Knots spoilers related to Cosmo's trauma that we didn't even touch on here, so... it's my baby. Huge personal favorite, though <3

The night before you sent this Ask, I actually sketched potential animatic panels for the Big Fish song "Showdown," even though I don't plan to make an actual animatic. It's been on my Poof inspo playlist for YEARS and was haunting me...

btw, if you like this song... I'm not telling you to do anything, but I AM telling you the songs for this musical regularly disappear from YouTube and have been on and off for many years

Cosmo Wrap-Up

So... [inhales].

When it comes to writing a fan portrayal of a character, there's no replacing doing your own personal study, whatever that means to you - watching episodes, reading 'fics, studying other people's analyses - as you strain out your own version of him.

I think backstory is a really good jumping point for deciding what kinds of things you want to do with Cosmo, and how it ties into how he acts in canon.

Obviously, there's a lot going on in Cloud!Cosmo's backstory... and this despite the fact he's one of the characters I rarely put onscreen. He's one of those "characters who haunt the narrative" for me.

... I barely touched on Nixie drama in this post, but if you can guess where THAT'S going... congratulations! It's been heavily foreshadowed in my lore since the start and is super messed-up :'D.

Frayed Knots, my cruel beloved...

My Cosmo is super specific, and the many intricate layers at play here definitely influence how I write him. Which is a fantastic jumping off point for me if I ever get stuck.

Key points that come from the backstory I've given him include:

- Cosmo growing up without a lot of life experience, so he looks to others for advice. This can easily lead him to trouble if he follows the wrong crowd. - Tension between Cosmo and Mama Cosma, especially in regards to her being annoyed at Wanda and wanting Cosmo to marry someone who's "better for him" - Cosmo doesn't give up easily & is willing to take matters into his own hands. However, he does have his breaking point and massive amounts of trauma and anxiety, which he covers by wiping memories from his head - Cosmo is overprotective of his car because it's one of the only things in his life that's exclusively his and which he has control over (Setting us up for drama in "Repeat" when Poof panics about how he crashed the car... which spirals Poof into his vegan lifestyle, where he punishes himself by cutting meat from his diet despite being a carnivore, so that's a whole thing) - Cosmo is smart in a very specific way related to the stars, cars, energy, electricity, and the Fairy baby ban history... things that aren't necessarily common for godkids to ask about. Also, some random smarts leak through his fractured memories - Cosmo struggling with self-hatred because "he used to be smarter" and gets upset he can't remember things well - Cosmo in hiding (Ex: Only pays with cash to avoid being traced; I have an upcoming scene where he starts panicking about how he's slow and holding up the line and Poof steps in to help) - Cosmo's memory problems (Regularly on forget-a-cin) - Cosmo being clingy towards Wanda and/or struggling to make friends and trust others (especially in academia) - Cosmo's postpartum depression (Struggles with snappiness, loneliness, and fear that Poof doesn't like him) - Cosmo and Wanda having their second kid (Dusty) very early compared to the usual distance between siblings in Fairy society - Cosmo desperate to soak up time with his kids / godkids (Leading him to grant Timmy's secret wish to freeze time - Canon event) - Cosmo and Wanda being really anxious about Poof's relationship with Goldie, who comes from a species known for "tempting drakes away from their parents to join harems" (à la "Opinion" when they try to discourage Poof from dating her) -> And the change of heart Cosmo and Wanda have later in "All I Ever Wanted" when they tell Poof they support him and don't want him to elope and cut them from his life like they cut their parents. -> And Cosmo being extremely "dad" and gentle with Poof in that piece when Poof has his anxiety attack - Cosmo will absolutely have a breakdown if you ask him directly about Westley or Nixie, which is why he and Wanda are waiting until Poof is older to bring it up.

Actually, here's a scene about that last one!

“My friends said I’m not a firstborn because I don’t have the extra magic layers around my core. Am I really your first kid?” My dad screamed. No words, just a scream. I jerked back, and he whirled around and slammed his hand into the wall. It slid down, and he went with it in a shaking mess on the floor. Mom took my elbow and guided me from the room, promising we’d talk later after she made sure he was all right. I hovered in the next room, hands clapped to my mouth, not sure what to do. That evening, Mama came to find me. “Poof-” “I don’t want to know,” I blurted, plugging my ears. I clenched my eyes shut. “Just tell me I’m a weirdo who was born without the extra layers. If I’m not your first, I don’t want to know.”

Don't Let Your Babies Grow Up to Be Pixies

:'D ...

[Laughs in Frayed Knots] - Cosmo honey, you've got a big storm comin'...

For anyone wanting to write Cosmo, I suggest finding some moments from the show (OG series, New Wish, whatever) that you find interesting and want to delve into (or that you use to define your personal view of Cosmo- Who he is; what you like about him).

You might end up wanting to write a backstory 'fic, and if you don't, at least you'll have a good idea of what you envision his story being like, which can shape creative interpretation of his character.

A loose outline, thought web, or note sheet might be helpful- I usually make Tumblr posts or write one-shots to work through my thoughts.

Obviously, a lot of the stuff I listed above are things the series never delves into. I like the freedom of making stuff up for Cosmo, exploring what makes him tick in my own way, but there's nothing wrong with keeping it simple like "Well, my Cosmo was a small town kid who didn't really leave home until he fell in with Wanda."

Whatever you do, I'm sure it'll be interesting! Feel free to tag me when you post your 'fic so I can check it out <3

Other Cosmo writing resources:

- My brief bio of Cosmo

- Let's Talk Cosmo - Early character study

- My "Cosmo can be a tricky character to write" video clips + my analysis of them (I always meant to do one of these for other characters, but never got around to it~)

- Personal analysis on Cosmo's depression - I write Anti-Cosmo with bipolar disorder and this has been an interesting parallel.

-> Cosmo's postpartum depression is particularly fun for me and was glimpsed in "Repeat" flashbacks where he was hiding emotions from Wanda & working through his "Why would the baby like me if I don't even like me?" struggles. I always wanted to make its own 'fic about it, but it was very depressing, so I stopped :'D whodathunk...

- I like this scene in "I Dream of Cosmo" where Cosmo is trying to pull the reins in on Timmy's Dad :)

- I also like this scene from "Desperate Without Housewives," which takes place in Season 9 (after Jorgen stops wiping Crocker's memories in Season 7*. In this scene, now that Crocker's memory isn't wiped anymore, Cosmo blatantly outs himself as a fairy and Crocker just :|

* very heavily implied; my interpretation of the ending is that Jorgen actively exposed Crocker's relatives to Fairies to power the Big Wand and why would he erase Crocker's memory if he's doing that, but it's not technically confirmed... However, the episodes after this do seem to depict Crocker extremely sure of Timmy's fairies, no longer theorizing, and Kevin... also seems to have some memory immunity? Unclear, but if Cosmo was acting Like That in "Chip Off the Old Crock" because he was trying to pull the same joke with Kevin he pulled with Denzel, that's flippin' hilarious. But Timmy's Dad doesn't know and I like to think Crocker is covering for Cosmo in front of him in this scene when he nervously laughs Cosmo's comment off

Characters I Find Tricky to Write

I'll try to keep this section short since this post got out of hand, but thanks for asking!

I do think Cosmo is very hard to write. I'd probably say he's the most difficult for me. I can talk all I want about what I think his character IS, but that doesn't mean I know what to make him SAY in any given scene- especially considering I tend to write drama stories, and that's not a good playing field for him (He's better with adventure or romance or humor).

Secret knowledge I have from a close study of Cosmo I did once upon a time - he favors long sentences, not choppy ones. I feel like it's easy to default to "This character doesn't have deep thoughts, so I'll just have them say something quick and random." I'm sure Cosmo has his fair share of short comments, but recognizing his long sentences changed something for me. Made me think more carefully about how specific he's going to be.

I think he worked great in "Repeat" when he was the POV character and had to move things along - he had no choice & his internal dialogue was able to cover for the characterization his dialogue couldn't - but I don't do well when he's a side character and I need him to "say something funny" to sound like Cosmo.

Not one of my favorites to write, but that's because I like making characters clash and have long conversations about complicated topics. Cosmo isn't necessarily a fun one for that, or to see get in an emotionally heated situation with. I think he'd just leave... ... but I liked "Repeat" when he COULDN'T leave us, so we were privy to all the secrets he wouldn't say.

You might be surprised, but I genuinely like writing Anti-Cosmo long and rambly- I get to do this in Frayed Knots (which is a completely unique narration tone from Origin of the Pixies, which is informative but blunt).

I especially liked Reedfilter Rules Chapter 2, when he uses some VERY heavy (as in flowery) and long-winded language for his internal commentary. Sadly... a lot of people aren't fans of reading that kind of thing :'D And I do not blame them... but I enjoyed it.

That chapter took YEARS of on and off attention to finalize because I wanted him to be perfect before I locked myself into a certain style for the rest of the AU, but honestly... I'm not sure I can - or should bother to - mimic that for future chapters.

idk. I think it's fun, but my goal was to write RR!Anti-Cosmo's internal narration distinct from Clouds!Anti-Cosmo's, and I think I succeeded. Just not sure if it's worth doing twice to that extreme.

One of the comments Frayed Knots tends to get is that it's exhausting... not only for length of its own merit, but also because Anti-Cosmo rambles about worldbuilding and it can make readers free pressured to retain the info and/or it just confuses or bores them. And I totally get that...

... but also, I cannot emphasize enough that Knots' style is like that on purpose. Have you met this man? He SHOULD be bothering you- he's REALLY annoying and he talks a lot. And also, if you get lost along the way, I think he'd find that amusing and would do it more. lmao. get wrecked.

/whispers loudly - His whole thing is that his mom and stepdad think he's annoying and they're not especially nice to him - in fact, they both outright abuse him - and they don't really feel bad about it because he is just THAT bothersome, which is why he falls in with people like H.P., Blonda, and Anti-Wanda - who "just get him" - down the line. Hilariously, Wanda does not have patience for him... as much as he has a crush on her and wishes she did.

Sorry to everyone who takes his longwindedness as clumsy, frustrating writing. You're correct, but so am I. If I have to sit here in his annoying head for 8 years of writing this 'fic, you have to sit here with me <3

Genuinely though, rambling is A.C.'s thing and I like doing that in his other POV stories, like "Yellow Flower Number 9" (linked below). He literally stops shopping to dump his woes on a cashier and I think that's very fitting for him. Man loves his monologues...

I write a lot of H.P.-Anti-Cosmo interactions, but because I strive for canon-compliancy, I can't allow H.P. to call him by his "A.C." nickname until he canonically gives it to him in "Fairly Odd Baby" (A.C. seems surprised by the nickname, but says he likes it).

- You wouldn't think it would matter, but the amount of times I've had to sigh and fix a draft with the nickname is not 5. - Compare with "Yellow Flower Number 9," where he calls him A.C. like 4 times in 20 minutes, lol.

Hmm, hardest character... Ooh, I think it's Jorgen. I really like how I wrote him in "Whatever," specifically here-

Jorgen's hand shot forward. He grabbed Juan in his fist and squeezed until the fairy shrieked and started spitting pleas. Then Jorgen jerked his hand over to Seneca. She flinched back. "I am not here to wait around and answer all your pathetically obvious questions. That is what he is for. You can ask him. As for me, I have two appendixes to separate and a great deal of paperwork to do." He dropped Juan to the floor, then crashed his walking stick (Star staff, sun staff) down too. The force of it sent a shockwave across the clinic.

- but I'm extremely self-conscious of him in general. I don't use him much.

Oh, Chloe takes a ton of attention. She has a super specific speech pattern of using contractions to start her many, many follow-up sentences to her thoughts (She builds on her thoughts and elaborates in a series of addendums).

She speaks her mind and is kind of "deadpan snark" about it, but in a happy way. She also has very weird phrasings. Fascinating.

I wrote about her speech pattern HERE, but she's unique for sure. I'm quite pleased with how I wrote her in "This Is a Box."

I also think Vicky can be tricky to balance realism with what a threat she is... particularly if you're trying not to lampshade the consequences of her actions (although the show does). I look forward to writing her in combination with Dale especially. I have free reign to push Dale way past where I can realistically push Timmy without Timmy reacting, so I think that might be fun.

I had a lot of fun writing Trixie in Chapter 4 of Come What May, when Kevin meets her at Shirley's Pizzeria (and I enjoyed Tad, Chad, and Veronica both in that chapter and the previous). Kevin meeting the popular kids was one of my favorite topics in general :)

I struggle with Kevin flipping from high energy to extremely self-deprecating. I tend to play him as dead inside, which I do think is accurate, but I do think Come What May is missing the humor that comes from being the guy who kicks down a door yelling "Yo, yo, you! Crockmeister in the hizzy!" or answers his phone with "This is the Crockmeister; crock to me!"

I'd love to finish this 'fic, but it always feels depressing to me :'D I was going for "quirky middle grade adventure," but I ended up with gloom and creepiness. Idk what to do to make it fun and I hesitate to touch it if it might bring me down, so I procrastinate.

I think I need to practice my Mark Chang voice to make him more fun and quirky instead of stating plain facts.

Also, for the longest time, I felt kind of guilty that I write Anti-Cosmo as an overly anxious loser when (afaik), most of the fandom don't consider that even close to their vision, so I felt like I was bashing on their favorite even though I was genuinely trying to write him the way I see him, but... sldkfj. vindicated!!

Thank you New Wish for reminding me he really is that much of a cringefail loserboy <3

No matter what happens with the series from this point on... "Battle of Big Wand" Anti-Cosmo, you will always be famous to me.

[findafight]

The "Robin would never date Steve's ex who broke his heart" take is FUCKING stupid for a lot of reasons.

First of off, the autonomy you're taking out of Robin with this.

Like she's not Steve's sidekick, she's not his yes man, she's an indepent girl who should be free to date any girl she wants.

She would never let her friendship with him ostacolate her love life.

Why the fuck she should do that?!

No one would.

And also, Steve is actually the one who hurt Nancy the most (slut Nancy Wheeler).

And if you think for a second that Robin would ever take Steve's side, then you're wrong.

Just stop centering everything around Steve, and stop reducing Robin to be just his sidekick, 'cause she's FUCKING not.

Hi! So. Pretty sure you found the most recent post I made (on April 6th) tagged anti rnce (and ONLY anti rnce. Not even stranger things. Just anti rnce and my personal original text post tag and a quip about choosing violence. So clearly if that’s how you got here you chose to not just send a post you disagreed with to your friends to rant about but came into my inbox and tried to start shit)And if you didn’t I truly don’t get how you, clearly a rnce fan, found me.

I’m going to be honest. Neither of us are going to change each other’s minds. I don’t like rnce for a lot of reasons, from i just don’t see a romantic spark there to a lot of the shippers being kinda shitty. I don’t care what you ship, really, just that. Claiming it’s canon or should be canon endgame etc gets annoying. And that a lot of the times the way I’ve seen the relationship portrayed (because, contrary to possibly popular belief, I have actually tried to read some fics for them. It’s also such a commonly untagged side or background pairing that I am subjected to it like that often as well) there’s so often weird terf or radfem red flags and alarm bells going off. I’ve seen someone harassed by rnce shippers for calling them out and then those shippers loudly regurgitating terf talking points like it’s fucking funny. I know all fandoms and ships have bad eggs but holy shit.

There’s been a few posts about how for some reason rnce fans try to portray people who don’t like it as making Robin Steve’s sidekick, when really we are acknowledging the facets of her characterization other than her lesbianism. Just because she likes girls doesn’t mean that’s the only thing that matters to her!

Yes, Robin liking girls is part of who she is, it influences how she acts and what she talks about, but it’s not the ONLY thing about her. She likes old movies, she enjoys pop and new wave music, she does her make up in her best friend’s car, she forgot to mention she never learned to drive because he forgot to ask if she could, she thinks combining into a super being with said best friend would possibly solve most of their problems.

Robin is a character who makes her own choices! She chooses to butt in at scoops, chooses to stay with Steve in the bunker to hold off the Russians, chooses to tell him her deepest secret, chooses to apply for jobs with Steve once they heal from the mall, chooses to spend a lot of time with him! And that’s rad. It gives us insight on who she is!

Whenever I’ve written or talked about Robin choosing not to date Nancy, I’ve always made it perfectly clear that it is Robin’s choice. Because given what we see of her in two seasons, Robin is loyal, and greatly values her friendship with Steve. Like. Regardless of how Steve feels about it, and I do think of Robin was legitimately interested in Nancy and Steve thought she had a chance, he’d encourage her to go for it. (Steve isn’t blindly encouraging Robin to hit on Vickie. He has high suspicions that Vickie is queer in some way too! She likes boobies!) I think Robin would think twice about it just because how much she encouraged stancy to get back together in s4.

Honestly, it makes me sad seeing how many times “why would robin choose her best friend’s feelings over getting a gf” is said because like. I value my friends’ feelings all the time. If I thought something I was doing was or would hurt them, I would reevaluate. Why WOULDNT Robin consider her best friend’s feelings? The first person she ever came out to? Who made her feel safe and accepted? Who made her laugh when she felt most vulnerable? Who she encouraged to get back with his ex? Romance is not a level up from friendship, it is not the endgame of life, it is not superior to any other relationship type. Treating friendships as less important to romance is something to reconsider and reevaluate.

Your last point. Anon, who is centring Steve now? Sure. He fucked up in s1. Literally no one denies that. He fucked up and he worked to make things right. He cleaned up the graffiti, he went to apologize to Jonathan, and he presumably apologized to Nancy, because she decided to date him for eleven months after that. I highly doubt there wasn’t heavy gossip about the graffiti or their breakup/makeup. I do agree that before Tina’s party Steve wasn’t helping Nancy as much as he could have, but Nancy wasn’t communicating to him either. They weren’t in the right place for each other. If we consider the alley the breakup, how is that not still breaking his heart? Yes Nancy was on a noble crusade, but it still had collateral damage. It’s something interesting about her character!

Robin wouldn’t be on board with the graffiti. But like. Steve’s changed and apologized since then. And She wasn’t there? She’s just here for the aftermath of Steve’s reignited feelings for Nancy. Idk. Both Steve and Nancy hurt each other in s1/2. It’s not a Steve v Nancy thing? It’s just an acknowledgment that of the two, Robin is closer to Steve. She’s more likely to consider him. She’s not omniscient to everything that happened or the persons feelings and reasons for doing it.

I’m sorry you don’t think friendship has an equal or greater value than some romantic relationship, it must suck. I also hope you find better things to do than to come to someone’s inbox and try to start something over a ship you like that they don’t.

[kamwashere]

spideypool fic rec list please!!!!

Paradise (spread out with a butter knife) by Sarah_Sandwich [T, Graphic Depictions of Violence, 72K]

He sighs from where he’s prone, arms akimbo, and roof gravel digging into his spine. “I lost my job. My… other job. The one that actually pays the bills.” He doesn’t want to dwell on why he’s telling Deadpool of all people. Surely it has nothing to do with his desperate lack of friends. MJ is in California chasing her dreams, Harry’s undergoing treatment for his mental health and isn’t allowed visitors (not that it matters since they blacklisted Peter after last time), and Gwen… Well. And it’s not like he can talk to Aunt May without her worrying about him starving to death under a bridge or something so… Deadpool it is. Man, when did his life get this pathetic. OR: The one where Peter and Wade are literal soulmates but don't realize it for literal years because they're literal idiots.

✦ kam's notes: My favoritest SMDP fic. It’s a soulmate au and it has one of the best characterizations of Peter and Wade. It burns so slow and so good. My favorite thing about this fic is how unique but somehow familiar this universe is. Peter is bad at being an adult and Wade is larger than life. I love the transition from strangers to friends to best friends to partners to roommates to soulmates/heartmates to lovers. I could not recommend this enough. 

Peter Parker's Home for the Wayward Villain by BeanieBaby [T, 90K]

A really long redemption story.

✦ kam's notes: The mother of all SMDP fics, in my opinion. It’s spideypool + a lot of fun side couples and cameos. Peter is Tony’s adopted son and he has no powers. He adopts a bunch of villains like Loki and Magneto. So fun and one of the first SMDP fics I’ve ever read!

Quackery by CAPSING [M, 3K]

In a world where the first words your soulmate will say to you appear on your left wrist at your tenth birthday, Peter gets the short end of the stick.

✦ kam's notes: It’s not a Spideypool fic rec list if there are no works by CAPSING. It’s a soulmate AU where Peter gets a duck-related soulmate mark. It’s funny and light-hearted, but with Deadpool-typical angst.

you grow up and you lose touch by scarlett_starlett [M, Graphic Depictions of Violence, 52K]

Peter always thought that when he had kids, there would be someone by his side. Instead, he has a mouthy mercenary acting as a chef every night for him and his newly adopted son and a narcissistic billionaire philanthropist paying child support on the sly. But Peter figures it isn’t all bad, especially when Miles loses that dullness in his eyes whenever Wade slips on the banana peels he ‘strategically’ places all over the apartment for Peter as a joke.

✦ kam's notes: Normally don’t like a kidfic but this one is too adorable not add. Peter and Wade co-parenting/co-mentoring Miles! Love the dynamic between Wade and Miles, it’s so silly.

TheRealDeadpool posted by JessJesstheBest [T, 6K]

Carly Shep @Spider-butt Sooo… has anyone else noticed how cozy Spider-Man and the Merc with a Mouth seem to be lately? (14 retweets, 74 likes) Or the Isn't it Bromantic comic run from the perspective of in-universe social media

✦ kam's notes: What it says on the summary. Very cracky and sweet. I like the outsider POV element of this.

BF(F) by HexxBunny [T, 10K]

Five times people thought Wade and Peter were a couple which, seriously, where did they get that from? They are not a couple, stop asking. They are just friends now, and did plenty of friend stuff. Like kissing.

✦ kam's notes: Peter being in denial: the fic. It’s very fluffy. A lot of kissing. The Avengers make an apperance. 

Pizza Parker, Booty Double by vulcanhighblood [G, 1K]

The pizza delivery boy has hips that don't lie, and a booty belonging to Spider-Man. All Wade has to do now is find proof that Peter is the webbed wonder...

✦ kam's notes: The famous “Deadpool recognized Peter outside the suit based on his ass” fic. There are some dubiously-consensual groping but it’s all in very good fun.

that's all it is, man by scarlett_starlett [T, 5K]

"It’s just a leap of faith. That's all it is." (or: Peter B. Parker returns to his New York and actually believes that he won’t mess it up again; not this time, not with him. WARNING: Spoilers for the Spider-Man: Into the Spiderverse movie. Read with caution.

✦ kam's notes: Another scarlett_starlett fic! Possibly the best Peter B. Parker/Wade Wilson fic, in my opinion. I love love love their dynamic in this. The banter is 10/10. Wade gives  some much-needed appreciation for Peter B’s dad bod. 

Parallel Horizons by mokuyoubi [E, 10K]

When Peter B Parker enters the collider again to return to his own dimension, he’s dumped out a week into the future, but still in Miles’ universe. Repeated attempts to return home only speed up the damage done to his body by the glitches, and leave him stranded 2 years in the future. Enter Deadpool, who’s seen a lot of versions of Spider-Man, but never one so in need of a friend. He vows to save Peter’s life, whether he likes it or not. Along with Miles and Gwen, they work to repair the damage, and find out what’s keeping Peter from being able to return home. And maybe Peter finds he has more in common with the strange Merc than he could have anticipated.

✦ kam's notes: Another Peter B./Wade fic. Wade is very helpful and charming, how could Peter not fall for him? The other Spideys also make a cameo. Some Liv/May crumbs in here, too.

liminal spaces by brawlite [Series, M, 18K, Unfinished]

New York City is full of liminal spaces. Somehow, Peter always seems to find Wade in them.

✦ kam's notes: This one is technically a series. There are three works in here and they’re all so good. I love how intimate these fics feel and there are some great Peter retrospectives here. 

an itch you can't scratch by jilliancares [G, 8K]

5 times Wade bumps into Peter Parker + 1 time he realizes Peter Parker is Spider-Man.

✦ kam's notes: Oh my God, this one! Wade keeps meeting Peter and keeps feeling like he’s forgetting something. The moment he realizes is my favorite part of this fic. Definitely recommend!

Another Trip Around the Sun by isaDanCurtisproduction [M, 31K]

Peter likes Wade. A lot. Like-likes him. But this is a problem, see? Because Wade has no idea who is behind the Spiderman mask. And then they go to a New Years Eve Party hosted by Tony Stark, get completely wasted, and suddenly this does not seem to be nearly as much of a problem as Peter originally thought. Because Peter always makes the best decisions while drunk, don't you know? Especially when his decision involves getting into Deadpool's pants.

✦ kam's notes: The miscommunication fic to end all the other miscommunication fics. Frustrating, sexy, and a little angsty! 

Halo by Pancake22 [T, 5K]

Convinced that Spider-Man is hiding in plain sight as an employee at Parker Industries, Deadpool explores the building in hopes of spotting his friend amongst the sea of corporate drones. All to offer him a job opportunity, of course. That was it though. Honest.

✦ kam's notes: SM/DP compliant. Identity reveal. Enough said. 

It Had to Be You by fancastical [T, 20K]

Or, Five Times Deadpool Recognised Spider-Man and One Time He Didn't

✦ kam's notes: A frustrating, bordering on cracky identity reveal fic. Peter is a troll, Wade loves him anyway. The ending is super satisfying, I promise. 

Don't mind just shamelessly plugging my own fics—

my heart is wild (and my bones are steel) [T, 9K]

Out of the corner of his eyes, MJ quietly takes the seat across the younger Peter, swiftly sliding into his place. He visibly relaxes, resting his forehead against hers. They belong together in a quietly intense way. Longing burns hot inside of him, like a branch caught in a forest fire. It’s strange. Even if this version of Peter has lost virtually everything, he still finds a way to be envious of him. He thinks of Wade. For some unfathomable reason he isn’t quite ready to examine yet, he misses the idiot. No Way Home, but in Peter-Three’s perspective.

all the skeletons you hide (show me yours, i’ll show you mine) [M, 16K, WIP]

A wave of affection and longing almost makes him stagger on his feet. Just seeing him in that suit—looking less than impressive, scratching his butt—makes him realize just how much he missed him. “Wade,” Peter cringes at how his voice catches, “Hi.” Wade turns around, turns back, turns again and does a double take. He eyes Peter up and down and to his surprise, turns away snootily. “Sorry cutie, any other day, I would be super into this hipster nerd slash skater boi with an I you’ve got going on—devastating combo, by the way—I’m sadly not in the mood.” Peter, fresh out of his multiversal escapades, gains a new perspective in life. One that includes a certain mouthy mercenary, perhaps? The problem is, the mercenary doesn’t seem to remember him. Like at all. He has a sneaking suspicion it has to do with that spell thing Peter-One was talking about…

‣ Both are a part of the new york isn't new york without you series

[kad00dle]

Got any earthworm Jim headcanons? Personally I believe that Jim is autistic/neurodivergent, he’s just so me fr

also I LOVE Psycrow in your style how fluffy and shaped he is :3

Thanks for the ask, and I’m glad you like my Psycrow doodle! 

As for headcanons, I had to sit down and think about it. With EWJ having different characterization across media, it’s kinda hard NOT to have my own interpretation...but idk if it’s "headcanons" or "something I saw once in the cartoon/comics/graphic novels and amplified it by 20x.” Either ways, I ended up writing more than I anticipated (sorry!). I never wrote out something like this, so hopefully it isn’t too much of a bore to read. 

Anyways, EWJ headcanons:

Villains primarily work alone with their own agenda as priority. The villains in-canon seem to be working in allegiance w/ Queen Slug for a Butt, but I’d like to think they work more as individuals with occasional alliances for their own benefit. For example, Psycrow is technically a bounty hunter in-canon so yeah he’ll work for anyone with money (with the head on Jim being more of a personal vendetta cuz petty) but at the end of the day he’s his own boss. I especially like to think Professor Monkey for a Head as a neutral being in that he’ll work with anyone if it fits his interest or funds his fucked-up experiments. A while back I had a fun thought of what if the suit glitches and Jim goes berserk as a side effect, and maybe the professor would study him NOT as an ally but because he built the suit and is genuinely interested in studying his finest creation (and use that info to make more berserker suits for his own evil agenda). 

The Princess is painfully awkward in social interactions. The GN (and the show?) touches on how she has little positive interactions with other people before making friends, so I imagine her coming off too intense or uncomfortable around people. Imagine a contrast of Jim being he’s TOO trusting and gullible but also affable and approachable (see: the bar seen in the GN) compared the Princess’s pessimism and militaristic mindset making her not as approachable.

On that note, Peter is probably the best w/ dealing with other people, being the middle ground between Jim’s overly trusting, sociable nature and the Princess’s extreme cautiousness. 

Jim and the Princess often disagree with their different ideologies, but learns to see from the other’s perspective to become more rounded people. The first GN touches upon it with Jim’s “i love everyone” vs. the Princess’s “trust no one” mentalities, and a panel explicitly address their clashing viewpoints (“That’s the problem with you! Everything is about this fight and you never stop to enjoy what you’re fighting for!” “Because if we don’t fight, NOTHING will be left to enjoy!”). I thought it was an interesting take on their dynamic and a chance to flesh BOTH characters out while developing their relationship but I don't think Doug did much with that nor do I trust him to do it well . I can see them arguing about how they view humanity, and after some adventures, the Princess learns to stop and smell the roses and learn to trust others’ intentions while Jim learns that not everyone has others’ best interest at heart (but that’s why it’s all the more important to fight for what’s right). They’re both black-and-white in ideologies, but together makes up a whole person. someone please write this fic i need it

Peter is the go-to guy for suit/ship maintenance. Don’t want to make him Tails to Jim’s Sonic, but I figured he’s smart enough to pick up on the suit’s quirks and can reattach/fix minor errors during their adventures.

Psycrow and the Professor probably goes drinking together often. Kinda like frenemies. Tried inviting Evil or the Queen once, but they’re either a bore or annoyed by their antics.

The Princess can’t swim. Insecktica seems like mostly terrains with little to no bodies of water, so she probably wouldn’t have learned how to.

Genderfluid Jim/Jim is the BEST ally. Many had said this before but he’s an earthworm why would he care about heteronormativity. But aside from that his schtick is that he loves life and saves the universe so people can live their best lives like he would; he would WANT people to be comfortable in their own skin! He would want people live their best lives and love their best loves! I don’t think he knows or care that society has clothes considered “girly” or “masculine;” if a dress makes him look and feel awesome then dammit he’ll wear it.

A complete disregard of canon, but the Princess is basically Samus Aran. Spoilers for the GN #2 (if anyone cares): apologies for those who enjoy it, but the Princess being an Earth fairy/human hybrid was not it for me. I may feel different about it if Doug ever elaborates on this (i doubt it) but it kinda kills the sci-fi vibes of the series for me. Instead, maybe the Queen kidnaps a baby from a space colony she destroys, and commissioned the Professor to infuse royal Insecktican blood into the baby as a fucked up bioweapon experiment. It’ll explain her bug-like features and super strength, as well as add a layer of personal complex of being raised as a weapon of war and destruction, seeing the worst in people, and why she struggles with building connections with people. 

There’s probably more that I can’t remember right now, but these are just of it. 

Honestly at this point idk if I actually enjoy EWJ canon material or just steal the characters and make my own stories lol 

(Joking, ofc! I do enjoy the series! Honest!).

If anything, the biggest joy i get from the series now is reading other people’s interpretations and characterizations of these stories. I feel the love y’all have for the characters, as well as just being really enjoyable reads! 

For those who made it this far, thanks for reading and feel free to share your own hc in the comments!

also sorry for all the gn slanders

[seaslugsapphic]

I get migraines too and hope SO much yours has already faded--they're the worst! Okay, so I'm the anon who suggested that maybe we should lower our expectations where Nisaac is concerned because while the writers will likely feel obligated to shove them back together eventually, they really don't seem interested in showing that Isaac feels regretful or even loved Nigel in the first place. I saw a poll where a fair amount of fans are now hoping Nigel and Isaac both find other people instead and can't blame them. So yeah I wasn't trying to be a downer just kind of preparing us so we won't be as disappointed---I really don't think we're going to get good Nissac stuff until maybe around the season finale, and even then it won't feel very authentic or earned because they've made Isaac so much more of a jerk this season while really acting like he never cared for Nigel at all.

Thanks Anon. Honestly I thought about you right after the episode was over and about how you said the writers weren’t done having Isaac hit new lows, and I feel like I owe you an apology 😅. You were right, and this low is LOW. I really felt like the premise for this episode had so much potential to move Isaac’s story forward and give him meaningful development. Now I feel like…

Isaac is becoming so unrecognizable from the character he was in earlier seasons. Both in his characterization and in how the writers treat him. He feels like this season’s punching bag and he’s so stagnant.

Honestly he feels like he’s now the character that I feared he would be in season 1 when he was first introduced. He was the butt of the joke, perpetual closet case with no room for growth because his sexuality needed to keep being played for laughs. And that’s all I initially expected him to be, like so many other queer characters on television. But what I loved so much about this character is how quickly he subverted those expectations! Season 1 gave him room for development and his growth was so well paced and so heartwarming to watch.

Now it feels like we’re back to before all that. Like the writers can’t let him grow out of being an incompetent jerk because they need to keep playing it for laughs. And the plot of Isaac taking more time to really know himself and what he wants out of love that was set up in the S3 finale has been seemingly abandoned (or at least shelved)

I am so confused by these choices. And I agree with you. I also don’t see a path for a satisfactory ending for nisaac at this point. I’d love to be wrong! I’d love to be pleasantly surprised by next weeks episode and by the rest of the season, but I’m not getting my hopes up again. We’ll see what happens 🤷🏽‍♀️

I’ll end this here because I’m probably going to end up making a deep dive post about this character anyway.

But yeah Anon

[bitch-butter]

i've had it: a Web-focused analysis of episode 8

my babes, my babes, what can I say?

Over the years I’ve seen a lot of people saying that in “The Patrol” aka “The Last Patrol” Web is depicted as “trying to get himself taken off the patrol ”. Many long years I have rested, but now i have, in all essences, Had It with that take in light of my recent brush with death (not really, but it adds some gravitas right?).

It's Everybody's right to their own opinion, but I am here to host a Formal Rebuttal of this pervasive interpretation, because I never (even in my pre-webgott days) read That Scene as such, and I feel that this reading makes even Less sense within the full portrait of the episode. I will defend my stance with appropriate screengrabs, but unfortunately due to Max being made singularly of butts and capitalist dupes I am not able to screengrab anything that isn’t already grabbed or put on Youtube. I have much, but not Everything, so bear with me.

(This will not be a litigation of why the episode chooses to detract in myriad ways from the historical record, but suffice it to say that this episode makes a lot of choices re: who was on the patrol, why they were on the patrol, and who showed up when that are not Exactly accurate but does suit the story that they were endeavoring to tell. I’ll leave it at That.)

So, let’s get into it.

I. What is this episode about?

I spoke “briefly” but not that articulately about why episode 8 is my favorite episode on my good friend Sarah’s podcast last year, and I still stand by many of my reasons for doing so, but I’d like to highlight one element in particular. 

This episode is coming hot off of the heels of one of the most harrowing episodes we’ve seen up to this point, “The Breaking Point”, and in that episode we see not only exactly what it has cost our guys to be in the Bois Jacques for so long, but we also see how this has in many ways made their bonds with each other even closer. They leave that conflict feeling tired, overworked and underfed, and incredibly protective of one another, and because we the audience got to see that we in turn feel protective of them as well.

Which is why I find the choice for Web being the main protagonist of the episode so inspired. 

We are thrust immediately from this harrowing experience, as well as the lived-in dynamic with our main guys, into following a guy who disappeared from the show entirely in episode 5, which not only makes us suspicious of him but it runs up against our instincts to bond with our protagonist. We know immediately, even if we’re on a first or second watch, that Web was not in the Bois Jacques because of the visual language used to characterize him as well as his own opening narration, and as such we immediately don’t want anything to do with him because we too feel protective over our guys who were in the actual fight and we don’t want to waste our time with guys who don’t get it. 

Trust and belonging. Those are the core themes of the episode in my opinion, and we see it with several characters (Lt. Jones and Web are in much the same boat because they have no trust and they don’t belong and so they have to earn them both back; Vest is trusted but he doesn’t belong not only because he’s not a guy the audience is that familiar with but because his job in the context of the show removes him from being that close to our core group). The episode is as much about those things as it is also about combat weariness, how our main guys are acclimating to the idea of the end being near, as well as the ultimate brutality and inhumanity of war on a micro level (Web’s ending monologue is a great example of this, and read in conjunction with Sink’s decision to try and send the patrol out again is a pretty good indictment of the depersonalized and mechanic way war works for a lot of people). 

So, in essence, this episode is about getting the other guys, as well as the audience, to trust Web. 

II. Web is a Good Character (you guys are just Mean)

How do you get the audience to trust your character (even if they don’t like him)?

They manage to accomplish this at least in part by trying to show us that even if his plans are lackluster his intentions are good, such as his initial - albeit inappropriate - happiness at greeting everyone, his reveal of who was being initially selected for the patrol, and his successful attempt to get Malarkey taken off the patrol. We see a few times that his actions have consequences, but for the most part we are able to Understand the train of thought that informs the choice. He sees that the other guys are distrustful of him and no longer want him around due to his absence from the previous episodes, something that clearly throws him off balance, and so we can progress through episode 8 with his primary motivation being to get the core group to trust him again and as such regain his sense of belonging.

We see it right away in the episode, where he greets the other guys only to be quickly dismissed and chastised for assuming a familiarity that is no longer there, and again we can infer from Eion Bailey’s performance that he not only understands that he’s made a mistake but is already internalizing that his decision to remain at the hospital was most likely the incorrect decision. 

This goes directly into the motivation for telling his fellow platoon members that some of them have been selected for a patrol that most likely will be disastrous, which we can clearly see he doesn’t want to do but does in order to attempt to gain his footing back within their ranks. 

This isn’t entirely successful, as the other guys seem to read it more as Web being first annoying at not wanting to tell them and then secondly unreliable because he told them in the first place. And again, we can read in Bailey’s performance that he quickly realizes that regaining his standing is not going to be as simple as he thought that it would be. 

His next attempt at ingratiating himself is tied inextricably to the issue at hand. To reiterate, we the audience as well as our characters of interest have become protective over one another in the wake of the previous episode, and one of the characters who comes out of “The Breaking Point” particularly fragile is Malarkey. We have context for his emotional placement that bleeds out from the previous episode, and a lot of visual weight is given to the fact that Malarkey in particular is exhausted, depressed, and would benefit heavily from a brief respite from being on the front lines. Other characters express this sentiment In Webster’s Direction, and in search of another way to endear himself to the rest of the platoon he sets out to kill two birds with one stone by i. Getting Malarkey off the patrol ii. Getting Lt. Jones the experience he needs to hop up the ranks and go away. 

This attempt is successful, but backfires again when Martin is placed in charge of the patrol instead of Jones. It is possible Web should have anticipated that due to the other man’s inexperience they wouldn’t have let him lead it to begin with, but we the audience should ideally still be interpreting at least the initial intention of the decision to be a good one. He sees that the other guys want Malarkey off the patrol, so he gets Malarkey off the patrol.

This brings us to the moment in question.

III. Let’s Break it Down: Part Un

INTERIOR - A ROOM IN lol i’m joking but what if i did do it like that 

It is quickly revealed that Web’s plan has failed, at least in part. Martin has been appointed to lead the patrol, and is clearly no more eager to do it than anybody else is (except Lt. Jones), and Web clearly looks remorseful towards putting him in Malarkey’s place.

In an act of revenge he appoints Web to be translator, and Web is also not that jazzed about it but appears to accept it with a Tiny Little joke. 

The scene progresses to planning the attack, and we get a few visual cues to indicate that this is a no good very bad idea and everybody hates it before the meeting ends and we hear Liebgott make a jab at Web’s attempt at a joke re: his German capabilities, to which Web gives my favorite reaction in the whole episode where he clearly wants to look directly at the camera like he’s on The Office and clowns his way out of the room.

Hard cut to everybody leaving the building, with a few of our guys in the background as Web moves into the foreground away from them (he wants to be with the cool kids but he’s Not one of the cool kids). We hear but don’t entirely see Grant saying the line “Webster. Tries to get out of everything”, but it’s loud enough that we can assume Web himself also hears this, and he has a small moment of looking back at them in response before he advances to address the officers. 

He points out that both he and Liebgott speak German, and we the audience infer that having the two guys who speak German on the same patrol would be a bad idea because both of them could get taken out and then the company would be shit out of luck. Speirs is quick on his feet, and as Liebgott, Grant, and Jackson pass by he stops them and tells Liebgott he can sit this one out. Liebgott accepts, winks at Web, and gives him a joking thanks. 

Web gives him a tiny half-smile, thanks the officers, and walks away, clearly not loving the fact that he’s going but not appearing resentful.

FINIS

That’s the scene of the crime. So, with this narrative context, let’s get to our second suspect.

IV. The Liebgott of it All

In black and white terms, the principal Antagonist to our Protagonist in this episode is Liebgott, even if we can all agree he’s a king and Web is Himself. 

In Web’s intro to the episode he’s the character we see giving him the hardest time about being away from the company, when Web is gearing up to spill the beans about the patrol Liebgott is the one stirring the pot, and in the patrol meeting he’s the one making fun of Web for downplaying his German. Liebgott gets more weight in this episode than he has in any previous episode, and we are meant to extract from their numerous interactions that even if Liebgott is a guy that has been mostly on the fringes throughout the show up to this point he is going to be the one that makes the ultimate decision about whether or not Web will be accepted back into the group. 

We have an automatic trust for Liebgott because we’ve seen and known him from the very first episode, he’s had individual moments sprinkled throughout the show, and narratively we’ve mostly seen him displaying his competency, humor, and principles. These are all things that the audience is missing in a relationship with Web, so like the other guys we’ll trust Liebgott’s assessment of Web more than we’ll likely trust Web’s intentions at face value. This gets tricky, because Liebgott is not immune to his own pettiness, and even if he Was capable of reading Web’s actions in good faith he is still going to have reservations because up to this point we have no reason not to think that Web stayed out of the fight On Purpose. 

So, Liebgott gives Web a ton of shit throughout the episode, and the audience can take that as an indication that Web is not worthy of regaining his place in the group. Web also seems to realize this. If he wants to be back in the mix the person he’s really going to need to impress is Liebgott. As it goes on Liebgott’s exact intentions with Web are a little dubious, because at some points he does seem to internalize that he may be being too harsh or too resistant on Web. After Web gets outed as having told the other guys about the patrol Liebgott appears reserved, not taking pleasure in his embarrassment.

And after hearing Chuck’s pivotal line we can hear Liebgott brush it off with a “whatever” as he clearly looks towards Web in the foreground.

There are things at play in regards to how Liebgott is feeling about his own pettiness towards Web, but whatever reservations he has are not powerful enough up to this point that we take too much notice. 

This, Web’s knowledge of it, as well as the throwaway line from Chuck, all inform the decision to approach the officers after the patrol meeting.  

V. Let’s Break it Down: Part Deux (boogaloo électrique)

What We Know: Web is ostracized from the group and is trying to get back in, Liebgott in particular doesn’t want Web back in the group because he’s missed a formative event for the company and feels he doesn’t deserve it, and there’s a patrol that nobody wants to go on because They’re Tired looming in the distance. 

With what we know (above), what we know happens in the scene (see part III), who these characters are plus their narrative intentionality (parts II and IV), and what the episode is presumably supposed to be about (part I), gives us a pretty clear indication of what Web’s intentions are when he approaches the officers. Web wants to be back in the group, Liebgott is the one he has to convince, and to put a cherry on top he clearly hears Chuck talking smack by saying he tries to get out of everything. 

He prompts the officers by pointing out that Liebgott speaks German as well, and we Must assume he does this with the understanding that there’s no way they would take him off of the patrol over Liebgott. 

Though we’ve seen Web make plans and have them backfire we can’t infer that he’s that stupid just based on what the show has told us about Web thus far. Socially awkward? Yes. Stupid? Not really. 

There would be no way he’d think they would take him off and keep Liebgott on, and he already approaches with the knowledge that if he does earnestly try to remove himself from the patrol that would forever damage his standing in the company and he would never, ever be able to get back in with the core group. You know, that thing that’s motivating everything he does in the episode. 

It wouldn’t make sense in any measure for Web to be going up to them trying to get himself removed. It wouldn’t flow with his actions in the episode, his motivations, Liebgott’s mini-arc of excluding him, and it certainly would not serve the overarching themes of the episode which are Trust and Belonging. 

The perfect button to this conflict is the wink that Liebgott gives Web after being told he can stay behind. There’s a brief moment where he Just looks at Web, and there’s a definite understanding that moves between them that this isn’t the end of the road for Web’s attempts to get back in but that an Important Step has just been taken. 

Web gives him that half-smile, accepts that his work is not done, and they move to their separate corners. 

The culmination of these sort of swirling themes comes during the patrol, when we get a few different moments of Liebgott waiting across the river displaying clear alarm at what he’s seeing. 

Given our context for Liebgott in this episode, and his primary relationship within it being with Web, we can assume this is the moment his feelings about letting Web back into the fold turn. He sees Web took him off the patrol, is now in a precarious position, and as we’ve had a few flashes of his backtracking his own pettiness towards Web we can assume this is the final straw. 

He was fine holding out on Web up to this point, but he doesn’t actually want anything bad to happen to him just because he indirectly influenced Web into proving himself (even if Web was always going to be trying to prove himself). 

So with the completion of the patrol two big things have occurred: Web has weathered a harrowing experience that cost the life of a beloved member of the company and as such got a small, small taste of what the rest of the company experienced in the Bois Jacques, and Liebgott has come to accept that Web’s intentions are good and he can be trusted again.

After this occurrence we see that at least as far as the other guys in the group Web is - for the most part - accepted back. Martin defends him against Cobb, and in that we can assume that the heavy lifting portion of Web's attempts to rejoin Easy have been successful. But the main character that Web, as well as the audience, is interested in is Liebgott. He's presented the greatest barrier to acceptance, and a lot of weight has been placed on he and Web's dynamic in the episode, so we have to wait and see how he will react to Web's newfound acceptance.

That leads them both perfectly to the end of the episode, where our visual cue to this is given: Web approaches the transport, Liebgott offers him his hand, Web takes it. 

Poetic Cinema.

Web has regained trust, and once again he belongs.

VI. I've Had It

I own the fact that I’m feral about this episode and for the most part people don’t seem to like it that much, which is fine and I’m not here to convert anybody. Additionally, I own the fact that Web is my son and I think he’s hilarious and everybody else thinks he’s The Worst. However, I just don’t think that This particular criticism holds much water when we give it the actual reading that we’re meant to be giving it with the weight of the narrative, what we’re being told about individual characters, and the overall themes of the episode. 

The truth is the truth, and we can’t All be champs. 

Lol jk bc truly if you feel as strongly about this as i do (which seems doubtful lol) I am not anti-debate and I would welcome hearing why people seem so Deeply convinced of Web doing all of this just to try and get himself taken off the patrol. 

(Answers I will Not accept are the kind that use Web being annoying as a basis for a read on his character motivations because girls that’s Not It.)

And so it is ~

[ponett]

What's your current thoughts on the franchise's handling of Amy?

i think they're still figuring out how to balance amy as a character after years of her either being extremely inconsistent or heavily sidelined. but finding an interpretation of amy that pleases everyone is impossible, because you're caught between sega wanting to change with the times and hardcore fans treating even the absolute worst the franchise has to offer as deep and thought-provoking sacred texts that must never be deviated from. there are ALSO insane SonAmy shippers ready to get VERY MAD at you. so i don't envy the people whose job it is to find that balance

right now i think ian's take on amy is MOSTLY good, but not quite 100% there. even after weening her off of the baffling military officer role she had in forces there's still a liiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiittle bit more sally than i'd like in how he writes amy. i don't think he's trying to turn her into sally - he often cites amy's characterization in sonic adventure 1, and i see that - but sally was clearly a formative character for ian when it comes to writing leading women. and based on where sega's already been taking amy, he defaults to leaning on the archetype of the smart, compassionate, hyper-competent, butt-kicking action girl with leadership potential. again, i usually have fun with his take on amy, and i'm glad she's a hero in her own right these days rather than being in sonic's shadow, but this is something i notice

i think the better example of how to write amy right now is the way evan handles her in the comics. she's 99% the same, but i think evan is less afraid to bring out the more colorful and/or potentially grating aspects of her personality here and there, which gives her fuller range as a character. the bubbly attitude, the way she can be a little too in-your-face, her temper. things that a lot of '00s sonic media took too far, and were thus downplayed by various writers in the 2010s

it's such a small moment but i actually think back to this panel from early in evan's run at idw all the time

credit also goes to adam for drawing these priceless expressions, of course. but it's like... fun that amy can still be a LITTLE annoying to sonic from time to time? but they still come off as friends, as opposed to amy chasing sonic around and saying they're gonna get married and him running away because she has cooties. evan seems a little less concerned about making sure amy always looks cool and has a little more fun with her here and there. she gets to be a little more silly and flawed. i like that a lot and hope it continues

[misscammiedawn]

Story Time - Call Me By My Name(s)

Story time are a series of personal life story posts about our history and experiences. We make an effort to voice them but the full text (and some images) are underneath.

It's late spring 2019 and we are standing in the lobby of a local hotel. It's long past 2am. Likely closer to 4am. We are wearing our movie theatre manager uniform, fresh from another lengthy shift that goes past 1am. The odor of popcorn clings to us like a phantom.

One of our two closest friends is mopping the lobby. We had stopped by on the way home to visit him at work. Our mind is drifting as we talk. Our imagination is conjuring images of streets and buildings half a world away.

"By the way [my husband] and I started calling you Camden when [your wife] isn't around. I didn't know if you would mind."

He said it so casually. Though it was the most natural thing in the world. They likely had no concept of how cataclysmic that moment was. For the first time in our three decades on this planet someone had given us permission to accept a name that we dared not claim ownership of.

It was offered without thought. Without expectation. Without cost.

Nothing could ever be the same after that moment.

And he was just mopping floors. Unaware of the gift they had just given us.

This conversation took place half a year before we formally came out of the closet. Those in our inner most circle; people who were closer than blood; were aware by now that we were closeted. It was hardly a well guarded secret.

Our chosen name was not difficult to guess either, as we shall soon learn.

But in that moment it came as a sobering surprise all the same.

Our two closest friends. Our family recognized us as a woman and without being asked, without being told; knew the name of that woman was Camden [Dawn].

(Rest of text below readmore)

-

The name Camden was first whispered into existence in 2001; on a Sonic The Hedgehog online community of all places.

The community had a fun little gimmick where everyone's screen names were attached to a character in an ongoing shared fiction that represented the message board. Every time the theme of the community changed, even for April Fools, it was treated as happening to our characters in this shared fiction.

We were young. It was silliness for the sake of silliness.

The admins and mods were a ruling council in charge of the "city" and its inhabitants.

One of the admins was our childhood best friend. Gossiping about the community had become one of our biggest bonding points and we would often tell her what was going on in the community when she was too busy with school to browse for herself.

We cannot recall if the term "Lackey of the MoFo" came from others or was something we branded ourselves with but it stuck.

Our character within the shared fiction was the Jarvis to their Avengers. The straight man. The butt of jokes.

In a world of loony toons, fursonas and Sonic OCs we were the normal and non-powered human.

Craig the Lackey.

In story he was a normal kid. Raised in an orphanage, which says interesting things about how we viewed our parents after our stint of homelessness. His characterization was that he was "sane" within that wacky world, that word, "sane", came up often in posts about him.

He worked hard, was the butt of jokes and just repressed it with a smile on his face. Took it and kept on marching forward. Much like the person writing his posts.

He was kind, helpful, well behaved, stuck close to authority, did as he was supposed to. He was a good boy.

But every now and again when we browsed the community we would get upset. Early signs of our BPD no doubt. Moments where our repression couldn't stick and we lashed out.

People noted this was what happened when we got Stressed.

and as everything that happened on this board was lore, Stressed Craig was added into the roster of characters. An alter ego who we turned into when we got too stressed out.

The term we used on the board was "ego shard". Alter would have been more appropriate but we were decades away from being diagnosed with DID at the time.

Of course. This isn't about our disorder. This is about our gender.

We had mentioned that forum events were canon within the lore of the ongoing story in the forum, correct?

2001 was when the Pretty Sailor Soldier Sickness event happened.

Every person on the board was encouraged to make a new account with a Sailor Moon inspired version of their normal character with the lore saying that a virus had spread through the forum turning everyone into a magical girl. Those who pretended they were immune were mocked in posts and written to be in denial in the lore.

We created our avatar ourselves using an SNES sprite of Sailor Jupiter.

We named her Camden.

Camden, Stressed and Craig made up the first original characters we ever wrote. They were all "me" in every real sense. We did not lie. The character we played was just ourselves. The guy who had to work hard to keep a roof over his head while he struggled to pay the bills. Not yet 20 and already with the weight of the world on his shoulders. The stressed version was something buried that was yet to be unearthed.

The Sailor version?

Why did it feel easier to write her? More fun?

We depicted her as an alcoholic. She was angry. She didn't care about reputation or having to do work. But she was desperately lonely and unfulfilled. She felt like she was living half a life. She knew she was not Craig and somewhere in her heart that made her feel the deepest sorrow.

We could only enjoy the pockets of gender euphoria sandwiched in the truth that we were a man. We were a good boy. We were not allowed to be angry about our situation. We were not allowed to lie.

She represented a lie. A version of us that was everything that existed in our hearts that was not allowed to come to the surface. The lie she represented was that the mask we wore, Craig, was a performance. The obedient and respectful son who we needed to be to avoid rejection and pain and poverty.

...but we had already been rejected, hadn't we? Holed up in our eminent domain, alone in the world spare for the people in our computer and at work?

Pretending to be him didn't protect us at all. Did it?

...aren't you tired of being nice? Don't you want to go a little apeshit...?

The Sailorness event ended. All the events ended. People went back to their regular posting.

But we kept the Sailor account. Why not? In the lore the Sailorness Sickness had been quarantined to its own district. But we did not recall the virus creating clones. So if Camden and Craig were truly two people then we'd have to justify that in canon.

We'll spare you the story but the key thing to note is that since 2003 until we left the forum in 2012 the three versions of us were one. Born as Craig, yes, but converted to Camden via the Sailor Sickness and as there was no cure, Camden she remained. The Craig and Stressed after this point were psychic projections that even Camden did not know she was transmitting. Craig continued to be the "main" account the entire time. But as we typed each post we knew all too well he was just a projection of Camden. Someone who still, to the end of her time in that story, believed that Craig was the one who got to live The Life. Someone who always felt like she was not allowed to express herself or become or exist.

If the posts did not exist in archive it would be difficult to believe we had written such direct metaphors for our gender and dissociation 20 years before embracing either one.

-

Camden stuck with us. Like a longing presence that itched within our mind. She made no sense outside of the context of that one forum and yet the idea of her remained bouncing within us. Begging for recognition.

Begging to be the one with The Life.

Her chance would come and then be denied when our first World of Darkness tabletop campaign was being prepared. We were so nervous about this new and scary hobby and wanted to play it safe. Play a character we knew.

Camden seemed as good a pick as any. Something about being able to present live at a table was alluring in ways our egg brain could not comprehend. We pitched the character Camden Dawn.

Our wife did not like this idea. She stated discomfort at the idea of us playing a female character... and... though the gravity of this event would ripple through years, though ultimately this discomfort that never truly went away would contribute to the ending of the marriage, I shall not dwell upon the negatives or speak ill of someone I loved for most of my life.

I can not assume her motivations and find it unfair to editorialize over our past like this.

Suffice... Camden was put back inside and instead Tyler Dawn was the character played. Camden was made to become his older sister. A non-playable character.

Tyler's plot could fill its own Story Time segment, particularly in how he was a window that the Friends-we-called-Family used to witness our gender identity and potentially our undiagnosed dissociative disorder.

Years after the tabletop game had ended and we had run our own sprawling tabletop game about mad science and isolation; Camden started featuring in our custom playable characters on mobile games, Pokemon Go being the most recognizable example.

We were compartmentalizing our gender expression and identity heavily in this portion of our life. Much of it is still not fully clear this far into therapy but Dawn had come into being and had her online life within online kink communities. Her own name had not yet been selected, though she had a few she cycled through such as Sapphire and Honoria.

Cammie had long been accepted as this immature ball of affection that was called Kitty, so normalized as part of our general expression that no one even questioned the fact that the pet name only felt appropriate during certain moods.

Wynn, though not recognized as her own entity at the time, was identified as "Miss Manager"; the movie theatre boss that friends would see us transform into when our phone went and we were forced to put out fires, sometimes literal.

It was the Camden/Craig divide that remains the hardest to spot as more and more as the years went on the repressed gender identity became harder to ignore and the South London boy who acted the way his father expected was away from his roots, culture and origins.

It makes those pockets of time where we could type our name as Camden and play a woman on the privacy of our cellphone all the more comforting.

Our tiny little Family of friends could see the screenshots and trade requests. It was never supposed to be a secret. It was just private. As not to trigger that ever present discomfort our wife displayed at our female presentation.

So it would go on.

And then the other couple in our little circle began calling us Camden.

...and we couldn't go back...

To this day we do not know why our ex-wife resisted the name so hard. When we went to an event in 2019 presenting as Camden for the first time, she argued that the name itself is what bothered her and even pitched Kitty as an alternative.

Maybe she resented the privacy of Camden? That she was a name and a part of our presentation that she was not privy to? As I mentioned... at this point the line between Craig and Camden was a blur. Again. I will never know. Gender and identity were topics we were not able to be fully honest about that side of discovery. I truly have no idea how it looked from the outside and have, after divorce, apologized to her for our inconsistent and unfair behavior; noting the fact we cannot tell how fair we were even capable of being given the hidden nature of our disorder.

Even still.

The first time our Friends who were Family spoke our name was love and recognition.

...

The day she called us "Camden" was the day our marriage truly ended.

We have spent a lot of time turning over that event in our head. Each alter viewing the memory from their own perspective and putting their own spin on it. We have recalled it so many times that there's no way it is a factual representation of what happened anymore.

She wanted us to tell her what to do. What to say. To find the right words.

A concept so many who denied our gender have tried and failed in the years since we came out. To learn the language and perform the act of acceptance. Not change the way they thought. Change the way they behaved.

Maybe it's unfair to hold someone to that standard but we made it clear in the argument that lead to the event. We couldn't tell her what to say or how to behave. We told her that hearing the name Camden made us happy and feel recognized and comfortable. That we wouldn't force it but it was lovely when it is offered.

Maybe the way Camden remembers it is the true way and we used the wrong words, failed to bridge the gap.

Maybe the way Wynn remembers it is right and we were callously twisting the knife, refusing to let her off the hook or give her an easy out.

Maybe Cammie is right and we were panicked and trying to placate and were too terrified to stand up for ourselves.

It doesn't matter.

The result is the same.

"Camden!"

Funny.

In that hotel lobby the name was spoken so naturally and normally. Like of course the name of the person standing here was Camden. It's always been Camden. Didn't you know that?

The universe realigned itself to ensure that truth was sealed into all of time and space. History rewrote itself to make true the entity within this heart who over an imperceptible shifting of states had replaced the entity whose name matched our birth documents. Craig was a mask. He always was.

A spell had been cast in that lobby in the middle of a summer night and even though we consider Camden as an identity to have been created in our late teens. The 4th alter in our system. She became our the face we wished to reflect to the public. In a way she always was. Ever since she emerged to handle things when our family kicked us out. The body just needed some time to catch up.

On that October afternoon when our spouse spat those same syllables at us. Demanding to know if it was what she wanted us to hear; a different spell was cast. History shifted again and this time bonds that felt immutable were broken. The past changed to reflect the fact that there was no future.

...it's so sad how quickly that can happen. Hearing a single sentence or reading a a few words can just shatter a heart and ruin everything.

We left her a week later. Started going by Camden full time within 3 months.

...the Friends who were Family we left a couple years later. The spell that time was "I do not want to be bloodbond, family-style close." and I'll be fair to the man who wrote it... I legitimately do not believe he knew those words broke us. That it made us feel like that powerless 17 year old being tossed out on the streets again. A fucking stupid reminder that even to those we considered Family we were expendable, disposable and ultimately unwanted.

That's my baggage to bear. Not his.

Either way, I couldn't honor his wish. I still can't. So I did the only thing my heart could tolerate. I left.

I'll always be grateful for the fact that the pair of them cast that first spell that allowed us to claim the name we so desperately longed to hold. Maybe we never needed that external validation and recognition but it felt like we did. It meant the world and so much more.

To us that original magic spell was the most dramatic shift of our life. People knew us and loved us and trusted us so much that they could see our hidden face and knew it by name. But it was spoken so casually. So thoughtlessly.

Just a "by the way" inserted into a conversation. One of hundreds of casual reminders of affection at a time when they were needed.

It sincerely wasn't a big deal to them.

Then again, in 2019 "it wasn't a big deal to them" was this magical and beautiful thing. That's just how much they loved us. How could they see us any other way?

But... maybe it wasn't a big deal to them and he honestly had no idea how big of a deal it was to us.

I guess we'll never know.

[irish-urn]

For the ask game:

001 - Dasey

002 - Derek and Casey

Dasey:

when I started shipping it if I did: Oh, boy. That's a question, now isn't it? I low-key shipped them when I first found Dasey fanfiction waaaaaaay back in my undergrad (so, like 10-12 years ago?). But it was super low-key. I got BACK into Dasey majorly in the spring of 2021 and stumbled upon fanvids and fanfiction of them AGAIN and because I was laid up health-wise, I got obsessed.

my thoughts: I have a LOT of thoughts about Dasey???? I think they're fascinating characters and I adore them both as individuals and as a couple. I think their physical comedy (and by that I mean they're complete lack of personal space) is hilarious; and I think they have insane chemistry. I think Derek knows Casey better than anyone, and Casey gets Derek better than anyone; and I think they're both stupid and stubborn enough to never acknowledge that. I think they're far more alike than they are different, and I think I need to continue my rewatch of the show because I'm gonna end up writing an essay about them.

What makes me happy about them: I think it's how good of a team they can be. I've always been a BIG friends-to-lovers shipper, but even more than that, a "we're partners and i've got your back" shipper. And even though Derek and Casey TRY to pretend to they hate each other, we have sooooo much evidence of them being protective of the other, of them going out of their way to help the other (usually complaining the whole time, but c'mon), and of them kicking serious butt when they do work together. It just makes something inside me purr.

What makes me sad about them: THEY'RE KIDS IN AN AWFUL SITUATION and they don't FEEL like family, but everything in their lives are telling them they're supposed to be; but they CAN'T be, and if they TRY to be together, they might hurt their FAMILIES who they LOVE so MUCH; and I think you catch my drift.

things done in fanfic that annoys me: ...I really hate OOC-ness, but the MOST OOC-ness I hate is when people make Derek to be, like, abusive? Or completely inconsiderate of Casey's boundaries, and you get into non-con. I just... Nope.

things I look for in fanfic: EXCELLENT CHARACTERIZATION. Good bantering, that push-and-pull that they both have... I also think they have at least mildly kinky sex, and I support this.

Who I’d be comfortable them ending up with, if not each other: Well, all of Casey's boyfriends SUCK except for Sam who is an excellent person but not good for her. And I'm pretty sure her husband in LWL isn't doing a good job either. So they'd have to create a WHOLE NEW CHARACTER for her--

I don't mind Derek/Sally, except I think they'd have to work things out as adults better. I dunno; the show purposely shows us that Derek and Casey are far more important to each other than any of their significant others (that's been stated by the creators, btw), so yeah. No one.

My happily ever after for them: THEY GET TOGETHER AND THE FAMILY ACCEPTS THEM AND THEY STAY TOGETHER FOR, LIKE, 60+ YEARS AND BICKER AND BANTER AND LOVE EACH OTHER THE WHOLE TIME and whether or not they have kids depends completely on their choices and Derek calms Casey's panic attacks, and Casey reminds Derek of his worth, and I cry.

who is the big spoon/little spoon: THEY. SWITCH. I think most of the time Derek is the big spoon because he's kinda sexist, no lie, but I think when he's having a bad day, he likes getting spooned. Casey likes being held, but she also likes holding him. So, uh... 80% of the time Derek is the big spoon.

what is their favorite non-sexual activity: Honestly, I think it's arguing. But in, like, a fun way? With bets and competition and teasing and flirting; I strongly believe that they would just have a lot of small arguments and that would keep the big fights small too. And Casey likes debating and Derek likes challenges.

Derek:

How I feel about this character: MY BLORBO???? I LOVE HIM??? HE'S SUCH A LITTLE SHIT; I ADORE HIM???

All the people I ship romantically with this character: Well. Casey, obviously. And to a certain extent, Sally.

My non-romantic OTP for this character: ...Derek&Lizzie. I know, I KNOW that Derek & Marti are like, gold, but I think his interactions with Lizzie are superb.

My unpopular opinion about this character: ...do I have one? I dunno. I have a lot of opinions about his relationship with his parents, but I wouldn't call them unpopular, more... me looking at things differently than some others do.

One thing I wish would happen / had happened with this character in canon: I wish, in LWL, people (Genora) recognized how much he had grown. Just because a person likes to have fun and tease and passes off some of his responsibilities to people he knows will do them (see: Skyler and Casey, but they also ENJOY doing these tasks most of the time), doesn't make him immature. He was SUCH a good dad and was taking steps to improve Skyler's life, and maybe their lives weren't traditional, but she was healthy and loved and appreciated and he had raised her as best he could; and honestly, his relationship with Skyler was much better than his with George, I'm just saying. Derek is clever with a large heart, and I wish people in the show saw that more.

my OTP: ...Dasey.

my cross over ship: I don't like crossovers? *shrugs*

a headcanon fact: Derek is a dork. He's a big ol' dork. I HC that he knows an awful lot about very certain things because he gets hyperfixated -- reword: Derek has undiagnosed ADHD. There. That's my fact.

[corellianhounds]

Toro Calican Lives AU — Behind-the-Scenes Character Analysis

Words: 2k

Antiheroes like Madmartigan from Willow and Han Solo and Toro Calican in Star Wars face hardships and problems because of their choices. We like them because they’re fun and funny and dynamic and interesting to follow, but they’re underdogs specifically because their flaws lead to the mistakes and choices that land them in hot water, and the narrative doesn’t reward them for the problems they get themselves into. Madmartigan is stuck in a cage and left to rot because he was a criminal, and the rest of his problems before he chooses to do the right/heroic thing come from his own bad choices and abrasive personality. Han Solo was frozen in carbonite and hung up as a decoration indefinitely because he was a drug smuggler who dumped his supplier’s shipment in the lake when the cops showed up and had bounty hunters sent after him, and his absurdly good luck just happened to run out out when that criminal history caught up to him at the most inopportune time. Toro Calican, in canon, gets killed because he chose to double cross a master hunter in the pursuit of fame and glory, despite the fact he was young, inexperienced, alone, and because he arrogantly— incorrectly— thought he had the upper hand.

Though I’ve tweaked his character enough to make him more of a good guy in the Toro Lives AU, I was never going to erase his flaws and I never wanted for Toro and Mando’s dynamic to come across as every movie with a young and cocky rookie apprentice accompanying a stoic and taciturn supervisor as he learns the ropes, but the rookie doesn’t actually have the skills he boasts and is more of an immature comic relief who has to mature and learn his lesson from the father-figure type mentor (who leaves the narrative in some way) in the end. I think that’s overdone and runs the risk of falling into clichés that we’ve seen a thousand times already, and it does these characters a disservice by not showing more complex depth to their characters and histories. Mando already HAS a kid, so to split that focus by having the same character relationship with Toro takes too much away from the main characters of the story, and frankly I just don’t find entirely immature adult characters funny or interesting in the first place. I want for all of these characters to feel like people, not a pile of stock character clichés anybody could have written

If Toro’s going to be funny, it has to be because he or the situation is genuinely funny, and he can’t be the butt of the joke every time or he’ll either become a pushover if he lets it happen, or he’d logically become contentious after a while if he doesn’t. Things people get teased for have to be partly rooted in truth, or it’s just pointless antagonism that doesn’t work as humor anyway because there’s no joke to be had, it’s just an untrue statement at their expense, and for him to keep up with other people’s teasing (or genuine mockery, as will be the case when we get to The Prisoner), he has to be just as quick-witted or clever right back.

That dynamic is true of any interaction he has in this universe because he IS sort of characterized as the underdog and antihero type, so there are going to be things a lot of people have or can do that put them at an advantage over him in some way (age, experience, resources, authority, skills, physical strength or prowess, people on their side), and to balance the cast out and make him interesting and not just along for the ride, he needs to have resources or skills or qualities they don’t (youth, energy, money, connections, skills, daring capabilities and a better chance of recovery should he fail) to keep from the disparity being too great and taking too much focus away from the adventure

So really he’s closer to Jay in the first Men In Black movie, in that he’s already coming to the table with some skills and know-how, but he’s being introduced to a setting foreign to him where he now has to use those skills in different ways and figure out how to apply them based on new information. In the one episode we have of Toro, he IS able to recall Fennec’s last known location by memory, his observation skills have potential but just need more experience and polishing (not noticing the Tuskens right behind him vs remembering the briefest moment he saw the kid and making the connection while Fennec talked), he’s a quick-thinker and has good reflexes, he’s capable of finding/acquiring resources and knows how to handle them, he’s got a decent poker face, and he does actually hold up against Fennec for a little while in a hand-to-hand fight AND proves to be quick on the draw against her at the end. He’s honestly not entirely dissimilar to Han Solo in a lot of ways (the biggest difference being their class background and the influence those had on them)

Giving him some depth and history isn’t hard, and it makes him more interesting for Mando’s character to interact with and bounce off of because if Toro DIDN’T have any skills, knowledge, or potential, Mando logically wouldn’t have agreed to bring him along. He shouldn’t have to babysit a capable adult guy if Toro was just a whiny kid with zero life experience, and there’s no reason he would agree to give this kid room and board (and training) if Toro is ALSO annoying on top of that

Jay in MIB is as much an active participant moving the plot along as Kay is, and he’s interesting to watch and listen to because he has a different perspective than Kay and Kay genuinely likes him. He specifically chose Jay to train him not just to be his partner but to be his replacement. They’ve got different backgrounds and abilities that complement each other’s and allow the story to focus on the bigger adventure, their dynamic being the background/interpersonal character development part of the story that makes us care about the bigger picture. Jay’s own jokes, teasing, protests, and arguments, humorous or otherwise, are always grounded in something true and come from understandable motivations behind why he says or does them in the first place. Jay’s funny but more importantly he’s smart, and he’s able to justify everything he says or does. There’s never a moment where he’s annoying just because the writers wanted some comic relief and didn’t know how else to get that across. There is also humor that comes at his expense, but he’s not there for everybody else to dogpile on him. None of the teasing or treatment he gets from others feels mean-spirited or puts him at an unfair disadvantage in the scene— He can dish it out as much as he can take it, and the narrative allows him the freedom to do so without punishing his character for it (ex: Being called nicknames he said he didn’t want, but getting away with calling the other characters by nicknames too, pushing back against or reproaching authority when they’re out of line and frequently being objectively right or justified, his instincts or hunches or initiative being rewarded with the desired result, etc.)

Toro’s still more of a rookie in this universe, he’s not the exact same character as Jay (because Jay is already a seasoned cop), but giving him more depth based on what we DO see of him and grounding him and his background in something still understandably human hopefully sets him up to be dynamic and interesting, driving some of that forward momentum in the story. Stories are always more interesting when the characters are the ones driving it based on internal motivations and choices, not just being moved around by the plot. The circumstances Toro will end up in will almost always be because he made decisions that got him there, even if that decision is to go with what Mando decides. It’s only interesting to watch their dynamic develop if both of them are still making those choices.

What further differentiates Toro from Jay’s character is that I do give him more of the antihero qualities like I mentioned above. Right now he’s in it for his own self-interest. The areas where Toro’s character is immature are rooted in selfishness (a quality responsible and mature adults work to manage because being an adult usually means having other people relying on you); my own headcanons and background I’ve come up with have him established as a rich kid who set out on his own to make a name for himself, but who is still young and privileged without the boots-on-the-ground life experience of having to be self-sufficient and know his way around the galaxy.

The rich kid background means he’s got the money he left with and some connections he can pull later, but a life of privilege also means he’s been afforded an education, has had opportunities to diversify his skills in specialized areas other people don’t even have access to, has resources or knows where to gain said resources other people don’t, and most importantly, he’s had a lot of leisure time at his disposal growing up where he could just choose to go do or learn something whenever he wanted. (In Toro’s case, that meant doing the equivalent of drag-racing, stunt-riding motorcycles, learning how to shoot and familiarizing himself with firearms, and general mischievous/daredevil antics one can get away with when you both have the money to afford it and aren’t paying your own health insurance).

But this means that what he lacks is in not quite knowing how to relate to working class people, not being accustomed to being unable to just BUY stuff whenever he needs it, not having the kinds of wilderness or survival skills born from necessity, and not having had to refine his interpersonal skills so he doesn’t come across as rash, arrogant, impatient, rude, and annoying. Regular people don’t have as much money or resources and are more likely to rely on one another, which means learning how to navigate personal relationships and conflict so they don’t lose those connections and the resources/knowledge those people provide. Disposable income and a life free from the stress of simply surviving allows you the freedom of choice and the freedom to leave at any time, which means you may have less legitimate problems in your life but you’re also less likely to have deeper long term connections or patience with people/circumstances in general.

Toro’s used to instant gratification, but because of his particular upbringing (backstory for later) he was ALSO pushed to develop the sharper skills he does have; however, that means he’s more likely to be impatient and individualist by nature, and since his whole objective was striking out on his own to make a name for himself because bounty hunting seemed like a cool choice of profession, he’s selfish and stubborn almost by default because he doesn’t have the life experience that would have curbed that impulse sooner. He wants to do his thing, his way, and he wants to do it now.

That being said, I wanted Toro to be smart. He’s not a spoiled prince to the point of Kuzco in Emperor’s New Groove (because he wouldn’t have left a life of luxury otherwise)— Mando wouldn’t have the patience to tolerate him if that were the case. Part of Toro’s intelligence is in being able to see reason when it’s provided. He’s willing to listen to other options or explanations provided they’re good enough to justify why something has to happen how or why or when it does. He’s not so arrogant as to think he already has all the skills he needs to do this job— If he were, he wouldn’t have asked Mando for help in the beginning or admitted to the job with Fennec being the very first he’d ever taken with the Guild. Sure he’s prideful and wants to save face, but what 25 year old guy doesn’t?

The interpersonal conflict comes in because his flaws and traits collide with Mando’s less talkative, less sociable nature, meaning Mando’s not always going to tell Toro every detail of a plan at first, which sometimes causes Toro to protest or ask more questions than Mando may have patience for himself. He wants Toro to follow instructions when they’re given and stop questioning everything (partly because Toro DOES just need to learn to listen and not insist on his way all the time, and partly because a lot of what Mando does is second nature to him by now and he doesn’t always have a gauge for what other people may or may not know). Their conflict isn’t necessarily because they dislike each other, it’s because they’re just different. That's what makes them interesting and compelling to watch.

[f0xgl0v3]

I need to rant about my favorite characters and how I’ve characterized them, and my Camp Jupiter/ PJO Romans are-Imagining-

*Correction; I just rant about Octavian from HoO the entire time; I’ll post an Luke one and a Jason one and some other characters maybe later. Along with those Camp Jupiter things.

Guys this is written stream of consciousness (I think); so sorry :[ (I also kind of project of these characters but that’s what happens with faves)

Octavian-

My boy- my darling little guy. I love this little deranged war criminal; uncle Rick did him dirty; he was used as the butt of the jokes (like many of the Romans, I’m doing an entire Camp Jupiter re-imagining that I’ll probably post here) but he was a plot device too- but I love my guy. He’s poorly written (in my unprofessional opinion) he doesn’t have any characterization other than “I don’t like the Greeks, they aren’t cool >:[“ and I’ll be honest; I like Rome better (I am biased) but after we get a character written like Luke Castellan (I know- I know we aren’t supposed to like him, but like- cmon, hear me out) where he’s written pretty well in my opinion, with a clear tragic story and motivation. Octavian feels like a very watered down more comedic Luke; in the worst way. But I; as someone who needs as much information on something as I can and I’m not satisfied with just that, have scanned through the wiki; looked at all of his scenes and giggled in his general direction, and this is my head-canons (and probably art too let’s be honest) on the little guy

Octavian Cesaer-

My boy is 100% mixed in my heart. In my brain his father is Black and his mother is white.

BIG family; my man’s is the 8th out of 9 children (Julia; THAT Julia is also his younger sister. I saw that head canon somewhere and snatched it)

He has a really good and close friendship with Michael Kahale; they are genuinely good friends, and Octavian enjoys his presence

(In my Camp Jupiter AU, re-imagining? Idk- but in the thing, I’m re-searching actual Roman legion structure and rankings, etc. because from characterization of the Romans they would not be up to change anything about the legion) but Octavian’s working to try and rise up to the most important role (Praetors aren’t the most important position in my brain for the re-imagined) and only supported Jason’s name change idea begrudgingly is because that would make him Primus Pilus; and he wanted the promotion. (This headcanon may change once I continue to fiddle with how I want to interpret C.J)

Cannot keep his hair legion-regulation, Octavian has a rough love-hate relationship with the hair. He *really* does not appreciate it at times. It’s overgrown and pushed to the left.

I like to think of my Octavian (Octavian 2: electric bogaloo) as being somewhere on the Autism spectrum. It’s another head-cannon I adopted somewhere and have just clung onto. It tickles the right part of my brain.

Knows everything about Rome; like actually. And Troy; he really liked the Aenead(?) when he was younger, if anyone asked his favorite Trojan was Hector (it was totally Andromache, he felt really bad for her. And sobbed during Hector’s farewell. Yes I am somewhat projecting).

His family pressured him a lot into his roles, he does genuinely like his Augur role.

This man lives and breathes the legion. Genuinely loves his home and wants to protect it; just ends up coming off as kind of paranoid.

He didn’t get much attention as a kid (with his 8 other siblings) so he tries really hard for his voice to be heard and over-explains and tries to be very clear when he’s wanting to get his message across. Most people interpret him (as said MANY times in the books) as kind of desperate to be listened to and a little whiny

Really takes his rules seriously and doesn’t like when people don’t follow him. There has been a many ‘but that’s not fair >:[‘ with my little guy.

Octavian is a REGULAR at the build-a-bear in Berkeley. He mostly uses them for Auguries when he needs something fresher. But he does sometimes keep them (he impulsive buys anytime they have a bird one, he also literally stayed up refreshing the website when he saw the, “Wolf Pup build-a-bear online exclusive” and was one of like the first people to buy it.

https://www.buildabear.com/wolf-pup/029368.html (the plush in question if anyone wants a visual)

He bleaches his hair. That’s it :] I’m un-equipped to try and talk about a hairstyle I think he has because I am not the person to talk about black hairstyles without making a fool of myself. Though he does really like Hair rings, he thinks their a cool way to have some nice casual looking added bling to his usual outfits

This man wears majority of Hand-me-downs. Those shirts SWAMP him because his older brothers just had to be good archers

On that note about Archery- Octavian sucks at archery but is pretty good with other long-ranged weapons. Any spear/javelin/pole arm and he’s got it (based off of him being able to spear Gwen, from what I think was a ways away) and I’d like to think if the situation is dire he can throw his dagger pretty well.

He’s currently got the strongest prophetic powers in his family; and his family (I think this is mentioned somewhere- I dunno it’s late) goes back to being related to Augustus Caesar (the guy)

Isn’t a good artist. He doesn’t like not being good at anything artistic when he has things he really does want to paint or draw that don’t come out how he wants them to.

Octavian has problems with anger, totally. Stabbing stuffed animals isn’t really a good method to let out anger

People don’t give him enough credit for his part on the raid of mount Tam; sure Jason did the whole ‘topple Kronos’s black throne’ (which is a genuine achievement that Jason deserves and I love him-) but he also led the first cohort to battle against majority of the monsters; the first cohort were the first ones to storm of course-

I love him he’s so silly and goofy <3 uhhhhh. He’s also a people pleaser

He has a disappointed-mother-resting face.

Does the thing with the nose bridge pinching way too much.

He tugs on his hair when frustrated or annoyed or anything.

That’s all for now :3, I just wanted to get some of that out there. If anyone does pay attention to this account my next posts are probably going to be either Octavian art, more Calliope design things, or more likely stuff on my Re-imaging of Camp Jupiter/New Rome as someone with Ancient Rome as a special interest I really want to make my version of Camp Jupiter

[sitp-recs]

Reparo by amalin

Harry/Draco (2008, Explicit, 85k)

Voldemort's final defeat does not mean Harry Potter's troubles are over; far from it. In the aftermath of war, he returns to a Hogwarts that is fractured and divided, but this is no break that can be fixed with a spell. New owls, fading scars, surprising alliances—and along the way, the hardest task of all, to live with it.

'I'm just saying, it's a good thing I never switched to your side,' Malfoy added, sounding more than a little delirious from the pain. 'Never could produce a Patronus. Wouldn't have made the cut.'

I’ve mentioned this fic on a few reclists before but I hadn’t been able to reread it and write a proper rec until now. For those who enjoy old school Drarry, this is excellent 8th year food - quirky, fun, with vivid settings, organic slow burn and fabulous characterization. I reckon unredeemed Draco is not everyone’s jam but for those who enjoy him let me tell you, his proud and pathetic Malfoy voice is an absolute delight. He’s pretty insufferable, prejudiced, arrogant, holds grudges and has that annoying dramatic flair colouring his every interaction. It’s rare to see him embarrassed or caught off guard from Harry’s pov which is why blushing moments feels like a victory for both Harry and us. From bullied Death Eater to the Slytherin champion to Harry’s fuck buddy, he’s complex and fascinating and so deliciously in character I can’t help but lmao at his awful personality. I like this take because it makes me remember that people don’t change that much, or that quickly, especially when they’re so young.

This fic is an 8th year romance with brilliant Gen vibes for the most part, which I love. The Hogwarts routine feels so familiar and I’ve had a blast with their early interactions, all that cute snarling banter and fantastic dialogue keeping me amused and engaged at all times. There are moments that made me pause and appreciate the supporting cast, like the Christmas scene with Andi and Narcissa, or Slughorn’s party - his aloof voice is so on point it feels like he’s jumping out of the books, and Harry soothing Ron’s insecurities about his relationship with Hermione was a very nice touch.

Speaking of characters, I can’t not mention Draco since this is his party, but the Golden Trio is also a delight: this perceptive Hermione (“you got a Malfoy look, you start to look sort of confused and wistful and eager all at once”) who takes notes for inexistent surprise exams + this feisty Ron who instead of exploding just celebrates that his cock is bigger than Draco’s are just perfect. And young Harry has my whole heart - he’s snarky, impulsive and classically oblivious, drawn to Draco in ways he’s not able or willing to explain, and he never disappoints in his classic “do first, ask later” philosophy 😂 his fire and sass complement Draco’s brilliantly, it’s hilarious how he quickly learns how to read and handle him.

The fuck buddies dynamics are as awkward and intense as you’d expect from two horny, traumatized and inexperienced 18 year olds. They butt heads and go for it, never talking it out but finding more about themselves in the process. Despite being so different (and boy do they argue about it) Harry and Draco somehow click together emotionally and physically, with their skinny, scarred, imperfect bodies. Harry can be his true self with Draco and gives back just as good as he gets; they’d be in the middle of an argument then quotes such as “the color of the sky reminded him of Malfoy, a bruised, determined gray” come and take your breath away!

If for nothing else, go read this if you’re looking for a different 8th year vibe, where no character is traditionally nice or easy to love. They’re all both light and dark, sweet but sharp around the edges, and we learn to care for them despite (or maybe because of) their flaws. This story leaves me nostalgic over those good old Hogwarts fics with lots of sneaking around and no heart-to-heart moment, which rings true for two lost boys figuring out who they are and what they want in the post-war. It’s messy, confusing, awkward and dramatic, but also very relatable and real, their future together left open and full of possibilities. Enjoy!

Read on AO3

[bohemian-nights]

can we talk about how it was book daemon that spoke out against just attacking KL with all of their dragons and said that they should fight smart? show!daemon would never and i hate how they ruined him. in the book he's incredibly cruel, yes, but also strategic, intelligent. when he was a young man he was hotheaded and impulsive but by the time of the dance he was in his 50's, more mature and calm. in the show they made him into a bloodthirsty lunatic to make maegora look good. and it's funny considering how in the book it was rhaenyra that was wayyy more vengeful , impulsive and bloodthirsty. they had to ruin every single character in hotd to make maegora look good because in f&b she's literally the worst. like she's the villain of the entire dance she's insane.

i loved book alicent and her anne Boleyn vibes so muchhh ! book alicent actually fit the "girlboss" stereotype so much more than miss maegor so of course they had to ruin her character completely.

and the whole "friendship" plot? what is this bs???? i wanted anne boleyn vs bloody mary! why do people assume that feminism is always about how men are the true villains and women are the hopeless victims? rhaenyra and alicent are not victims, they are overprivileged power-hungry women that hated each other's guts and were the leaders of their factions. they are not friends. they were never friends. there is no need for them to be friends. this is so stupid.

nettles is one of my fav characters and i'm terrified for my girl. they will prob make her a "victim" of daemon or vilify her to make maegora and dumbmyra look good. rhaenyra was always the villain in nettles story, she's racist and tries to kill netty even though she never betrayed her and fought for her cause (while miss maegor sat on her ass in dragonstone).

maegora was so useless during the dance, she did NOTHING. that's prob why i lean towards team green - say what you will about aegon, (i'm not even talking about the show version of him) he fought until the very end.

Everything you said anon x1000 👏🏽This show really has become the how Miss Maegor(and to a slightly lesser extent Alicent) was wronged by the patriarchy show. Everything else has been put on the back burner, storylines, and characterization have been taken away to prop up this racist flop. She is the opposite of a girl boss(yep book!Alicent fits that description better).

I’m not going to get into how other characters have been butchered, had their light dimmed, or look outright idiotic to make Missy Anne look better(Aegon, Laena, Baela, Rhaena, Helaena, hell even some of Corlys and Rhaenys actions don’t make sense). Or how certain characters who show the true nature of her character are nowhere to be found(Nettles; her almost victim).

Daemon wasn’t perfect in the books, but he comes off as almost mentally unstable in the show. At best one can liken him to a spoiled toddler throwing tantrums and lashing out cause his big bro doesn’t love him/ solely focus all his attention on him. They are actively taking away what little redeeming qualities he has(competent military man, loving husband to Laena, Nettles🙃) to turn him into some big baddie.

Alicent has been made into a weak and confused woman when she was a fully functioning capable woman in the books. To be honest, Olivia Cooke’s acting is probably saving this character because her actions from episode 8 on don’t make any sense. (Why the hell would anyone still want to be friends with someone who cared less about their child being maimed)?

Ryan keeps saying Fire & Blood is biased(debatable considering we have three different accounts of events and one of them is from someone who would lick Miss Maegor’s butt free of charge), but the version of the Dance he’s telling definitely isn’t the truth. This is crap borderline fanfiction(I’ve read better fanfiction).

[sweetescapeartist]

My Examination of MasakoX's "Android 18 Made Me SO MAD [ RANT]" Video

A very good video. Only issues I have is that he (& maybe others) mention scenes from the DBS anime continuity, then talk about the DBS manga continuity as if they connect. They do not. Here are 3 main points I want to address...

MasakoX skipped over the fact that the manga version has always been insulting Krillin & K18. Anime had Ribrianne insult Krillin's appearance and 18's love for Krillin, then 18 proved Ribrianne wrong (& the K18 haters Ribrianne represents) by kicking her butt with the power of love. The manga events have Ribrianne give Krillin backhanded compliments, 18 doesn't defend him, no power of love. All done by Toyotaro just to insult Krillin.

MasakoX misremembers GT (as many do). That one scene where 18 cries over Krillin? Thats nice and all when out of context. In full context, GT 18 (& GT Marron) treated Krillin bad in almost every scene they were in up until that point. Krillin dying after that was more so 18 feeling regret for how bad she treated him.

MakasoX says it is Toyotaro AND Toriyama's fault. In a way it is. But its Toriyama's fault due to him not being very involved in the DBS manga. Toriyama is more involved with the DBS anime while he is mostly hands off with the DBS manga. HOWEVER, Toriyama tried to correct the Ribrianne insult that Toyotaro put in the manga. (The link mentioned previously) The truth is that Toyotaro is a Krillin hater (as MasakoX eluded to). Toyotaro is to blame for the constant mischaractization of Krillin & 18. And Toyotaro being a GT fanboy is the reason for this. GT 18 contradicts what Toriyama wrote in the original manga and what we see in the DBS anime continuity. Toyotaro's innacurate charactization of 18 & Krillin reflects the GT version's innacurate charactization.

So with full understanding...

Toriyama is rarely involved in the DBS manga continuity.

Folks need to remember to point out the continuity differences between the DBS anime & DBS manga.

Toyotaro (a GT fanboy) is a Krillin hater who sabotages Krillin's characterization as well as mischaracterizing 18, making 18 more in line with her out-of-character DBGT counterpart.

Toyotaro has mischaracterized Krillin & called him weak, cowardly, hideous, & now a cheater. And Toyo has innacurately depicted Krillin as weak, unskilled, & cowardly.

For some reason, MasakoX and others refrain to put most if not all blame on Toyotaro. Maybe its because they lack a little information (not an insult to them) or because they know they have DBS manga fans & Toyotaro fans in particular who are subscribed to them so they dont place the blame on Toyo as much? One of the two or a bit of both possibly.

Regardless, good video. If MasakoX was more informed about certain GT scenes & differentiated the DBS anime & manga continuities, it would have been a great video.

Also, I DO NOT hate MasakoX or Geekdom101 or some others. I give constructive criticism which means I point out the problem and offer a solution. If I offered no solution, I would simply be a hater. That's not in my nature. But other content creators who hate on Krillin and blatantly lie then try to cover themselves when I present undeniable evidence that they are lying? I don't hate them either. I just feel nothing for them. Hating is an emotion and shows interest in a person. I have no interest in those people. They are nothing to me. Even less than an gnat.

EXTRA:

Krillin is a pervert who suppresses his desires. So, 18 suspecting Krillin of wanting to cheat makes some sense. Gotta remember that Krillin called Videl cute (twice) & 18 gave him a look.

18 just doesn't want her perverted husband looking anywhere else when she & her infinite energy can provide him whatever he desires. Would Krillin cheat? No. He is a character that is very loyal to not only his friends but his wife too. Plus if he did, 18 would kick his butt. Another reason why he wouldn't is because 18 has insecurities & traumas. Krillin wouldn't want to hurt her in any sort of way. But with how Toyotaro hates Krillin... yeah. That was to make it seem like DBS manga Krillin has another negative attribute about him.

I'm sure some of y'all have watched videos about how the Japanese culture views cheating & how men often cheat or go to a prostitute. With that in mind, 18 hearing Krillin talking to a woman references Japanese culture. But it's just weird that 18 didn't know Sergeant Nutz was his boss after he had worked under her for at the very least half a year. As most things Toyotaro does, it's written without much thought for a wack joke & doesn't make sense.