#and like. i know this is so unreasonable. obviously we have to be present in the lives of people that care for us

[rosekasa]

there is something so. intensely frustrating about feeling incapable of showing up for people the way that they want you to

[cinnabeat]

im Also seeing a lot of people conplaining about how obvious baals staged thing was and like. its obvious to US bc the entire manga we've seen baal be Evil and Have Ulterior Motives so its obvious but its not obvious to the characters themselves bc why would it? they have no reason to suspect and those who do wouldnt be able to call it out bc the vast majority took it at face value bc (surprise surprise) demons dont actually react the same way people irl do and its been established they like cool and strong people

[whereianonymouslypostfics]

Boundaries

Pairing: Wanda Maximoff x reader

Word count: ~2.6k

Summary: Y/n stands up for her wife, and gets in trouble for it

A/N: We'd all do this, right?

Warnings: angst, slurs, violence, fluff

You hadn’t meant for everything to get so out of hand. Honestly, you usually did a much better job of controlling your anger, but it had been a rough week for you, and this asshole had really hit a nerve. 

You’d been stuck at the compound all week because the clinic was closed for repairs. The power had gone out suddenly during a surgery last week, and this exposed all kinds of electrical issues that needed to be fixed. Given that this process involved having an entire team of people present and the power to be turned off while they worked, you were getting a paid vacation. This usually wasn’t something to sniff at, but the fact that your wife was so busy this week and barely had anytime to see you made it seem like more of a curse than a gift. 

You’d spent a lot of time in your rooms because you didn’t really feel like navigating the crowds of people downstairs. They all worked for your wife, some in a roundabout way, but that meant that they were involved in some sort of crime that you didn’t want to think about. You didn’t believe that they cared enough about your presence, or hell even knew who you were, so you’d allowed yourself a daily trip downstairs to frequent your favorite restaurant at lunch. 

It's not until you make a rather impulsive decision that you realize maybe it would be better if people knew who you were. 

Downstairs it's hectic as always during lunchtime, even when you go near the tail end, so you’re waiting patiently for your friend Larry to have time to help you. You’re probably fourth in line, if the group that’s loud and obnoxious is all together, and you try to block them out by scrolling mindlessly on your phone. 

“So what assignment did we get stuck with this time?”

“Damn, Hawk, didn’t you pay any attention during the briefing?”

A long silence is the only answer his friend, and you unfortunately, need to know that he most certainly did not. You don’t really care to hear what they’re about to say given how extensive your wife’s reach is in this city. They could be talking about something as mundane as patrol or as horrifying as murder.

You wish you’d brought your headphones, but they’re still charging and nothing quite kills the mood like having ‘battery low’ chirp during your favorite songs. 

You watch with an impatient scowl as the brunette in front of you finally just shrugs before offering his friend a smile that makes your skin crawl. 

“Barely, I was still thinking about my run-in with the boss.” 

This makes you frown but you only get a moment to consider who he’s talking about before another member of their group, a blonde with a bad haircut speaks up with a disbelieving scoff.

“Oh, come on, you didn’t run into her. You just stared at her like a creep when she walked by.” 

“Yeah dude, come on, when are you going to let that go?”

You’ve abandoned even the pretense of scrolling through your feed when your suspicions are confirmed a few seconds later. You really wish this creep would just order his food and get out of your sight, but that was obviously unreasonable of you. 

“It’s hard, man. Come on, don’t tell me you don’t find Maximoff smokin’ hot.”

You’d gag if it wouldn’t draw their attention, but seriously. Ick. You tell yourself that he’s just some hormonal dude who doesn’t have a chance in hell with Wanda. Believing this is made easier by you going to your texts and opening the last conversation you had with your wife which was annoyingly two days ago.

You’re smiling as you read her response to your latest request for a dog, and you follow dutifully, almost absentmindedly as the line begins to move. 

“Well, no shit, but she’s married, and a lesbian right?” 

You have to bite your tongue to stop yourself from laughing or flat out saying ‘no shit’ in response. You really should have brought your headphones.

Wanda was dangerously close to running as she left her last meeting to head back to her rooms. She was hoping that the fifteen-minute break she had would be enough to check on you because honestly, she was so sick of not seeing you until she finally managed to call it a night well past your usual bedtime. Usually it wouldn’t be so bad, just annoying, but you weren’t working this week because of a problem at the clinic, and she wanted to spend time with you. Of course, her busiest week of the year just so happened to fall during your impromptu vacation, so it had honestly been days since she’d talked to you before the late hours of the night.

She was trying to fix this now, but as she wandered into their private rooms, she realizes you aren’t here. The television is off and the bed’s made, but there’s no note saying where you went. She’s not sure why she expected one since she doubted you would think she’d have time to stop by. Wanda sighs and checks her watch before she decides to try and push it and check downstairs for you. She’s well aware of your near obsession with one of the restaurants on the first floor, so she figures if you’re anywhere, it’s there. 

You were hoping that this brunette, Hawk you think it was, would have a reasonable response to being told that his crush or whatever is married. For once, your normal underestimation of most men, wasn’t unfair. 

You’re forcing yourself to look at dog pictures when you hear an exaggerated sigh that can’t mean anything good. 

“Yeah, yeah. I’m sure I could bring her around…”

You’re mid-eyeroll when he says something that makes your blood boil.

“One way or another.” 

“You’re fucking disgusting.” 

You are made aware of the fact that you hadn’t said this in your head when the four men turn to stare you down. You resist the urge to flinch and instead you glare at the brunette who’s crossed too many lines for you to forgive at this point.

You all miss when it’s their turn to order because you’re all too busy glaring at each other. Hawk turns to face you fully and sneers before he takes a step toward you.

“What did you just say to me?” 

You can feel your frustration growing and it’s certainly surpassed any sense of self-preservation you have at this point. You close the distance so you’re practically standing toe to toe before you repeat what you said, but a little bit louder in case he truly hadn’t heard you. Which you sincerely doubt.

“I said, you’re fucking disgusting.” 

You ignore all of his friends muttering under their breath and keep your focus on the now glaring brunette. You wonder how stupid you’re being going against someone like him who you’re unlikely to talk sense into. Not to mention its potentially four to one. Maybe two if Larry steps in which you hope he doesn’t. 

“How about you mind your own fucking business?” 

You smile and it surprisingly doesn’t fade when he shoves you hard enough to make you take a step back. You don’t notice Larry’s caught on to what’s happening, and you laugh in Hawk’s face before stepping forward like he hadn’t even pushed you. 

“Believe it or not, dumbass. This is my business.” 

You see confusion briefly before it turns into an annoying smugness that makes you want to punch him. You honestly should have left this alone, but you’re in it now, so you either have to back off and run away with your metaphorical tail tucked between your legs or…

“What? Are you telling me you’re a dyke too?”

Your smile fades at the slur which unfortunately makes him smile, but you recover quickly before shooting him a saccharine smile.

“For sure, and as a dyke I can tell you that she would never go for a disgusting piece of shit like you.” 

You’re ready for him this time, so when he reaches out to grab you, you sidestep him before punching him in the face. You wince slightly because damn that hurt, but you immediately curse yourself for turning you back on his friends. 

Two sets of hands grab you and you faintly hear someone shouting in protest as you face Hawk and his already reddening face. You don’t have time to feel smug about it as you try and fail to shake off the duo behind you. 

“You’re going to regret that you little bitch.” 

He grabs you from his friends and raises his fist to punch you, and you’re about to kick him in the balls when you hear a familiar voice. 

Wanda had made good time and when she arrives downstairs to see the crowds of people she realizes that she won’t have much time to catch up with you at all. She walks towards the food court and the restaurant that you’d eat at for every meal if you could. She stops in her tracks when she notices what looks like an argument playing out between some people waiting in line. 

She sees the man behind the counter, someone you’d befriended quickly, scowling and shouting at a group of men who are surrounding…

“Hey! Let her go!”

Wanda hurries to close the distance between them and she watches as all of the men except the one with his back to her flinch and immediately step away from you. The brunette who’s still holding onto you and only seconds away from hitting you, turns to practically snarl at her.

“She fucking started it, the--!”

He trails off as he finally notices who’d interrupted them, and he drops you immediately as his eyes widen in horror. Wanda just glares at him as she looks between you and the group of men you’d somehow gotten into an argument with. She considers just letting it go and getting you out of there, but her curiosity gets the best of her.

“Oh, and what exactly did she start?” 

You wait with bated breath to see what Hawk says about what happened. You truly don’t believe he’s dumb enough to admit that he’d been saying such disgusting things about his boss, to her face. That said, fear makes you do dumb things apparently. 

“She was butting into our conversation about you—”

He trails off as his eyes widen even further and his friends hiss under their breaths as they continue to take small steps back. One of them even turns around and tries to order something, but Larry just shoots him an incredulous look.

Wanda frowns in confusion and she tilts her head as she regards the sweaty brunette in front of her.

“Me? Why on Earth were you talking about me?” 

You can’t help yourself and you grumble something that’s only meant for your wife, but of course they all hear it. 

“Drooling over you, more like it.”

You watch in awe as Wanda seems to realize what she’d walked into and makes a decision on how to deal with it in a split second. She glowers at Hawk who’s the only one of his group that’s within reach, not that she even needs to grab him to keep him still. He’s petrified and as still as a statue as Wanda takes a step toward him. 

“What’s your name?” 

Wanda could look for his ID badge, but that’s not nearly as satisfying as having him say it. She only has to wait for a split second before the brunette is mumbling his name just loud enough for you and Wanda to hear. You see your wife consider dragging this out, but like you, she just wants to get out of here. 

“Alright, Hawkins, here’s the deal. I’ll be keeping an eye on you. If you step out of line again, you’re gone, understood?” 

The brunette’s fear is dimmed a bit by his anger and confusion at being chastised for participating in an argument that he didn’t even start. He doesn’t get why you’re not getting into trouble, but Wanda’s happy to fill him in and render him speechless in the process. 

“Also, I’ll be reporting this incident to your superior. She’ll decide your punishment for manhandling my wife.” 

Wanda doesn’t wait for a response, she doesn’t need one, before she reaches out for your hand. 

“Come on, detka.” 

You grab her hand and don’t look back as you leave the stunned group in the dust. The only one who’s not surprised is Larry, but he’s already sending the men away without food. That at least makes you feel better about not getting any either. 

“Not exactly how I wanted to see you in the daylight for the first time in days.” 

Wanda is still practically dragging you toward the elevators, so you can’t tell if she’s upset with you. You don’t have to wonder too long though as she offers you a rueful smile before she presses the button and leans against the wall with a sigh. 

“Definitely not, but I’m glad I showed up when I did.” 

It’s your turn to smile and your face heats up in embarrassment as you follow Wanda into the elevator. 

“Yeah, thanks. That got a little out of hand.” 

Wanda just hums in acknowledgment as she scans her badge and presses the button for your private floor. She figures she can be a little late to her next meeting given the circumstances. She waits until the doors are shut before turning to you with a frown.

“What did he say, Y/n?” 

You frown too and just shake your head before deciding that its not even worth repeating. You tell your wife that he’d just said something gross about convincing her to sleep with him. Wanda’s still frowning when you arrive to your floor without food, but she’s quick to follow you out and into your rooms.

“I’m surprised you said anything.” 

You can’t blame her for saying this because honestly you’re still surprised too. It wasn’t even something new and different that Hawkins had been saying. You’d heard it before, but for some reason today you just couldn’t put up with it. Maybe you were just fed up with male arrogance and his claims about turning your wife’s head made you want to punch him. 

You eventually just sigh before you collapse onto the couch and shake your head in defeat. 

“Me too, Wands, but come on. He called you smokin’, how cringe is that?” 

Wanda surprises you by laughing and it actually makes you smile before you remember you’re supposed to be pouting. You wait until Wanda sits down beside you and reaches out for you wordlessly. You don’t hesitate to move closer to her and let her wrap her arms around you. You sigh in relief, happy to be in your wife’s presence, even if the circumstances that led you here weren’t pleasant. 

“What? You don’t think I’m smoking hot?” 

You laugh out loud at this and turn so you can face your wife before leaning in to kiss her. You pull away too soon for either of your liking, but you know she likely has things to do, and you don’t want to get too distracted.

“You’re gorgeous, but that’s only one of the many things I love about you. He was just focused on your looks which despite being what they are is…ugh.” 

Wanda smiles at you and she kisses your forehead before quickly glancing at the clock in the kitchen. She needs to go, and she hates herself for it. 

“I love you too, detka. I love you for coming to my defense, but maybe next time make sure your odds are a bit better?”

You roll your eyes but still smile as you lay your head against your wife’s shoulder. You don’t care if you only get a few minutes. You’re going to enjoy the time you have with her for as long as possible. 

“Will do, Wands.”

Masterlist

[hahahafangirl]

gotta put my thoughts down before i forget it but the thing that did it in for me is how spy x family is ultimately and uniquely a “children-focused” work, where the major stakes require that we pay attention to the lives and dynamics of young children so that — specifically — we have to genuinely engage with and invested in their inner lives, motivations, desires, thoughts, emotions, etc.

i think this is a very unique focus in the shounen sphere, where the audience and creators are centered about adolescent boys (the shounen genre, in its name) and thus have a very wide scope of focus that nonetheless has “aged” past “childhood”. usually media about children and childhood are sequestered in its own genre (children’s shows like doraemon, magical girl anime like precure series, etc.) aimed at a different target audience who are in the same demographic as the main characters in the shows. this is, obviously, not a bad thing. but i appreciate the “genre-breaking” focus that spy x family have because it inspires a sort of empathy to children, who are often not the most favorite group of people for the typical demographic of shounen readers, that is specifically vital in today’s climate. (can’t say much about japan itself, who historically has been dealing with declining birth rates, but oh i can speak for the american individualism— ironically where sxf is also very popular in) another thing about this is it’s drive home how intertwined the family life is, and should be. agent twilight and thorn princess’s plot-lines are clearly shounen-esque (a spy fighting for world peace, an assassin weeding out traitors) but they are nonetheless inextricable from the family- and anya-focused story, because by choice or circumstances they are anya’s parents. they’re a part of a larger societal fabric that embedded them in relationships to others — children being one of them. i think that’s pretty neat.

another thing, specially about the depiction of children in sxf: they are fictitious yet realistic enough to portray real children and inspire sympathy for them. a lot of asian home media in general have the problems of portraying young children as “problems”: annoying, loud, privileged, dumb, ungrateful, etc etc. these are such complaints about children that are unfortunately way too common and way too ungenerous and mean-spirited; none of these tropes are present, even in a media full of scions and heiress. complaints about them being brats (red circus bus hijacking arc) was rightfully framed as unsympathetic and unreasonable (they’re children! they can’t help where they were born into— it goes both ways.) i think the crux of this beautiful balance sxf struck in portraying nuanced, dynamics children is sympathy. they can be loud, they can be whiny, cry at the drop of a hat, has too much energy, gross, have bad grades, clingy, inconsistent, academically unmotivated, ran off randomly— and that’s fine, because we know why they do it, we are given space into their inner thoughts, something so rarely afforded to real life children at times. but they can be motivated, they want world peace, they want to have genuine friends, they want their friends to be happy, they have crushes, and most of all they love their parents and they love the people around them.

i think regardless of everything sxf is a work that understands that children are full of love and the majority of the things they do are out of love. i think that alone makes it incredible in the current socio-econo-political climate where sympathy is spared so little and humanity spreads so thin children barely gets what they deserve. i suppose that’s the sort of war we are entrenched in.

[distort-opia]

I JUST FOUND OUT THAT JOKER AND SUPERMAN SWAPED BODIES?? (it's a very yaoi plot wtf) HOW IS IT POSSIBLE?? HOW DID BRUCE REACT??WHY DOES IT SEEM LIKE SUPERMAN AND JOKER HAVE A KIND OF UNCLASSIFIABLE TENSION BETWEEN THE PAST FEW YEARS?? 😭 (sorry, just wanted to know if you know which comic that happened in, you don't need to answer the rest, XOXO)

Hah. Yeah that is a thing that happened, in General Mills Presents: Justice League (2011) #9. Fortunately we do see how Bruce reacts, because Bruce swaps bodies with Lex Luthor. It's a fun little issue with some interesting tidbits:

Love how Bruce is like "Joker's got ADHD on steroids, my guy. He can handle your powers." But also, seeing as Joker had no issue with controlling Superman's body, he could've easily done more damage-- but he only chooses to do some ultimately harmless pranks.

Actually, there's been more Superjokes crumbs recently, most notably in Action Comics. In a story arc that has a magic spell turn everyone into a Bizarro version of themselves, Joker is obviously... the only truly sane one left, because he got reversed. Clark goes to him for help in order to stay lucid, to be able to fight Bizarro within his own mind. He dies over and over (a cheeky reference to Emperor Joker, methinks), and seemingly Bizarro has won, when Joker pretty much saves the whole planet by talking Clark back into sanity:

Action Comics (2016) #1063

Did I mention this is some of the most nuanced Joker writing I've seen in recent years? :)

It's all very sad, Clark even calls Bizarro Joker a "friend" afterwards.

I do agree there's a kind of tension between Superman and Joker, simply because they're both important people to Bruce. There's similar narrative tension between Joker and Dick, for instance. Or Joker and Selina. All of them play different roles in Bruce's life, but something Dick, Selina and Clark have in common is tethering Bruce to the light; keeping him sane, helping him walk the line between the best and the worst of himself. It's obviously interesting to put them in relation to Joker, who's... well, trying to make Bruce worse, but also representative of Bruce's darkness, a twisted mirror of him. This is why the premise of Injustice: Gods Among Us is so good, too-- it's literally the product of a Superbatjokes triangle. Bruce thinks Clark is so inherently good and infallible in that goodness, that it pisses Joker off and makes him jealous, so he goes out of his way to prove that Superman can be broken. So then Superman kills Joker, who Bruce cared about, even "loved" (to quote what Clark himself accuses him of). And Bruce can't get over it, despite having excused murders from loved ones before, being quite unreasonable in his treatment of Clark and arguably pushing him further into becoming the worst version of himself... when he could've tried to help. (It kinda sends me that Batman/Catwoman also had Selina kill Joker. But only when Bruce was dead because otherwise Bruce would've been mad. Do you see the pattern here, lol.)

Sorry, ended up rambling. But yeah, Clark and Joker have had some interesting interactions for sure!

[brawlingdiscontent]

I've been seeing a lot of Armand discourse lately about different interpretations of him and which are wrong and unreasonable and why - and one thing I'm not seeing reflected is the utter ambiguity of his character as presented by the TV show.

We start off thinking he's a totally different dude and then all of a sudden he's like "PSYCH I'm the vampire Armand!" and Louis' like: "you know that guy I've been mooning about for the past seven episodes? The love of my life is actually this other guy!" What does the audience do in this case? Do we believe Louis? Do we mistrust him given his false memories that Daniel's just exposed?

The show doesn't give us Armand's POV, we only see other characters' perspectives of him, including Daniel's one of suspicion, and Louis' which fluctuates and is defined by inconsistencies. We know what he says about himself, but also from the moment he appears as Armand, in the very act of appearing the show frames him as a liar (or at the very least, someone who may engage in deceptive practices/be withholding something)! And this confusing ambiguity is only validated by the story as it goes on, including 2.5 and the twist in 2.8. Did Armand mess with a significant chunk of Louis' memories without his consent? Possibly! Did he only alter the end of the 1973 altercation and only because Louis asked him to? Also possibly! Did he always love Louis and never intended to manipulate him and this was all an unfortunate tragedy? Could be! Was he hung up on Lestat and insincere and manipulative with Louis from the start? OR pining after Daniel all of these years? Maybe!

And bringing out evidence to support any one interpretation of Armand's motives or beliefs is complicated because as the show (and 2.8 in particular) has demonstrated, this evidence could be later redacted/invalidated!

Absolutely there's an argument to be made for nuance, which the show tends to present us with, and for duality, the "both and-" which rings true to the complexity of the characters it constructs: Armand could be manipulative AND traumatized AND sincere in his intent all at the same time!

While some outcomes are less likely, there's so much about Armand that we simply can't definitively confirm until/unless the show more explicitly addresses this from Armand's and/or a detached, 'objective,' third-person POV. Sometimes folks have extra insight from the books/behind the scenes, but I also think it's a totally fair viewing experience to take what's being presented to you at face value without doing extra research (and in this case the show presents multiple possibilities).

I'm obviously not talking about racist takes here (and things get trickier when we're talking about patterns of responses that may be strongly informed by biases), and the most extreme takes can feel a bit far-fetched, but in general there are so many interpretations of the character that can't be definitively claimed to be wrong.

'How can you interpret him as x?' Pretty easily, actually. He is ambiguous! inscrutable! (And while this runs the danger of an Orientalist framing, I think the show avoids this as it seems to argue that he's not these things because he's Asian-- but because he's Armand! - and also because of the vagaries of the show's particular chosen storytelling devices).

TL;DR: Re: Armand, there is so much that the show has yet to clearly define about the character, making many possible interpretations valid. In the meantime, maybe the only thing we can agree on is that he didn't give a shit about Claudia!

(P.S. that last line is a joke!)

[saintsenara]

Trick or treat!

thank you very much for hammering on my door, anon. i didn't love the costume, though, so you're getting the scariest thing i can think of...

in defence of won-won and lav-lav

the inspiration for which came from the following anon:

obviously, ron and lavender are not, in the eyes of the text, a ship we are supposed to root for.

the doylist text treats the relationship as a semi-punishment for ron - something intended to chastise him [notice, for example, how he and lavender are frequently described in the narrative as being laughed at by other students] for the crime of being so rude to hermione [and dismissive of her desire for him] in the opening half of the book.

and, specifically, to chastise him for being immature - and for being unable to express his feelings for hermione in any sort of sophisticated way. his relationship with lavender is the final stage of the arc which begins in goblet of fire when he fails to ask hermione to the yule ball - in which his approach towards his attraction to her is petulant and childish and he doesn't "deserve" to be with her until he's resolved it.

ron being poisoned - and calling out for hermione on his sickbed - begins a different narrative arc which continues throughout deathly hallows, in which ron is shown to be attentive, compassionate, chivalrous, and so on, until he proves himself worthy of hermione by remembering that slaves exist and gets his girl.

lavender serves - then - as the anti-hermione. she's the final boss of ron's flop era, stopping him from moving on to his true love. and he knows it - hence him getting the ick when lavender does such unreasonable things as "call snape a cunt" - and longs to extract himself from her clutches, but she's such a powerful force of teenage cringe that he can't.

until harry adds a little liquid luck to the mix, that is.

the watsonian text lacks the overt sense that ron and lavender's relationship is a punishment, but its view on the two of them as a couple is broadly aligned with the doylist narrative.

harry is aware that ron and hermione fancy each other, and he doesn't deviate from this opinion even after ron and lavender start going out - his view [which ron does nothing to disabuse him of] is that ron's attraction to lavender is purely physical, that they have nothing in common and don't really talk to each other, and that ron wants to break up with lavender but doesn't know how. he also makes no effort to include lavender in his friendship group [instead, he regards her as something which prevents him from enjoying hanging out with ron] or to get to know anything about her beyond "likes divination" and "parvati's friend".

ron and lavender's relationship also serves the secondary purpose - in both the doylist and watsonian texts - of laying the groundwork for harry and ginny getting together in the latter stages of half-blood prince.

[which some readers might otherwise feel had come out of nowhere... although i do actually disagree with that assessment.]

the emphatic presentation of ron and lavender as embarrassing, superficial, horny teenagers is a narrative device which enables both harry and the text to insist that his attraction to ginny is the complete opposite: not just a flash-in-the-pan teenage romance, but a mature, profound, passionate, sophisticated, end-game love story. the text has locked in on ginny as mrs potter the second she's rude about ron and lavender's kissing technique.

and so the fact that lavender brings something very important - and very positive - to ron's character development is often overlooked.

ron's defining character trait is that he's someone who feels a great need to prove himself. this contributes both to his positive and negative characteristics - it's why he's daring, loyal, and brave, but it's also why he's disinclined to take initiative, prone to sulking, and a bit of a show-off.

and it's also why he feels jealousy very profoundly.

ron's jealousy - like most people's - is rooted in a sense of insecurity. he's jealous of the attention harry gets because he's worried that nobody will ever think he's so impressive [which also connects to him being worried that he's the least-loved of his siblings]. he's jealous of hermione's relationship with viktor krum because he's worried that he could never command hermione's attention in such a way. he's so easy for the locket-horcrux to manipulate because he thinks it's self-evident that - as the apparition of hermione says - nobody would ever prefer him over the boy-who-lived.

this narrative arc concludes with ron learning to move beyond his insecurity - something the epilogue lampshades by having him quip that the crowds gawking at harry are really there for him. he stabs the locket, banishing the physical manifestation of his insecurities, becomes proactive about communicating his feelings for hermione, and acknowledges that his belief that harry's life is cool and swashbuckling is a fantasy, and that true heroism is often hard and boring.

harry and hermione are - unsurprisingly - key figures in this journey of self-discovery.

but so is lavender.

there seems to be a common view in this fandom that hermione is the most emotionally literate and most mature of the trio. this former view is plainly nonsensical [if any of them have the emotional range of a teaspoon, it's little miss "why are you upset your rabbit's dead?"...] and the latter always seems, to me, to be based in essentialist stereotypes about girls being more sensible and maturing faster than boys, instead of the idea that hermione - specifically - has a more diligent and rule-oriented personality than harry and ron.

[i'm always struck by how hermione is - in many ways - the most child-like of the trio. deathly hallows begins with harry clearing his trunk of the ephemera of childhood so he can pack for his mission. hermione's packing involves taking her schoolbooks along as comfort items...]

as a result, the fact that hermione and ron behave equally as petulantly towards each other before their end-game arc begins is often overlooked. he tends to cope with feeling insecure by lashing out at other people's insecurities [i.e. when he does the impression of her bouncing up and down in her chair and makes her cry because she laughs at him] and so does she [i.e. her zeroing in on ron's lack of confidence in his quidditch abilities when she says she's attracted to "really good quidditch players"]. he acquits himself badly when it comes to krum, she reacts in exactly the same way [scoffing, sulking, giving the silent treatment, casting aspersions on the object of his affection's character etc.] to his crush on fleur.

lavender - in contrast - just likes ron. there's nothing deeper going on. she just thinks he's hot and funny and she wants to be around him. harry may see her attraction to ron as ridiculous and embarrassing, but she doesn't. she wants to snog him in the middle of the dining hall - fuck what anyone else thinks!

and this experience - of being uncomplicatedly adored, of being thought wonderful without "wonderful for the average person, of course, not wonderful by the standards of harry potter/international quidditch superstar viktor krum/the slug club" being tacked on the end - is good for ron. it improves his self-esteem [harry takes the piss out of him looking pleased with himself when lavender laughs at his jokes etc., but part of why harry is so gagged is that these moments don't conform to the standard of harry being the person people notice first - or, indeed, exclusively] and allows him to begin to see himself as someone who's worthy of being desired as he is.

and this helps him move beyond expressing his jealousy through sulking and cruelty - at bill and fleur's wedding, for example, he is still jealous of the idea that krum is attracted to hermione, but he responds to this proactively by asking her to dance with him, instead of [as he does at the yule ball] doing nothing to express that he wants to spend time with her and then blaming her for not reading his mind - which then leads into his arc across deathly hallows of moving beyond jealousy entirely.

i don't - though - see ron and lavender lasting if the canon end-game pairings are deviated from. harry's observation that ron and lavender don't have anything in common beyond physical attraction is demonstrably correct. harry's view that lavender wouldn't mesh well with the trio [or with him and ginny as a couple] is harsher, but also true.

but nor do i think we should want them to last.

this is something i say a lot, but fandoms in general are really bad at thinking about romantic relationships which aren't epic love stories - which is unsurprising, since the media from which fandoms spring is exactly the same.

we're bad at recognising that one night stands which don't turn into anything, or second love, or friends-to-lovers-to-friends-again, or "this lasted six weeks and neither of us were sad when it ended", or "i'm sixteen and i want to kiss this fit boy, i'm not going to marry him!" still trigger character growth. a high-school relationship which makes everyone in a ten-foot radius cringe might not last - and nor should it! - but it can still be transformative.

lavender transforms ron's life. there is no romione without her.

[and nor is there any of the locket getting stabbed, so take note, ronmort nation.]

and she deserves our respect.

[jiraisupportgroup]

is it okay to be jirai kei if you can't afford the clothes and your parents won't buy them for you does that make you a fake jirai?

♡ short answer ♡

Jirai kei isn’t about the clothes themselves; it’s a community based in accepting & de-stigmatizing mental illness / mental health struggles.

♡ absolutely unreasonably long answer ♡

(Disclaimer: I am not Japanese nor do I speak Japanese. All of this is what I’ve gathered from other people on the internet in my own research when I was first looking into jirai-kei. I could very well be wrong or just talking out of my ass here - I would take my word with a grain of salt.)

Jirai Kei was loosely formed in 2019-2020. It is primarily based out of Kabukicho which is generally considered the red light district Japan, although the Japanese government is trying to change this.

Kabukicho used to be mostly known for soaplands & host clubs & bars & concept cafes - generally more adult or night-life activities. It still is home to these kinds of places, but before the Olympic Games held in 2021, the Japanese government wanted to clean it up and make the area more presentable to foreigners. Starting around 2017-2018 (from what I can tell) they started adding things like movie theaters, bowling alleys, just overall more general-audience attractions to the area to try and make it more consumable. This did start changing the image of the area; it was now seen more as a cool place to hang out - especially for those who were old enough to participate in the host clubs etc. The downside of this is that although it was seen as a cooler area to hang out & it’s image was more positive - there were still plenty of adult or night-life centered things there & many “catch-guys”. Not that this is necessarily a bad thing, but it did kind of make a perfect storm.

Since Kabukicho was starting to be seen more as a cool hang-out spot, a lot more younger teenagers started wanting to go there. And especially once the pandemic hit and most places were closed down (while many establishments in Kabukicho chose to stay open) the sentiment of “I hate where I am right now, my life here sucks, I want to go to Kabukicho where things seem like fun” got even stronger.

This led to an influx of runaway teenagers going to Kabukicho. Additionally, a lot of runaways in Kabukicho were very fed up with their living situations (hence, why they chose to run away in the first place) and mental health during the pandemic was not great anyway since there was a pandemic going on obviously that’s going to negatively affect people’s mental health. Even further: in 2022, Japan lowered the age of adulthood from 20 to 18, so even more & younger people could participate in the nightlife scene. Again, not necessarily a bad thing; however, it meant a lot of the runaways going to Kabukicho with little money, poor mental health, and generally not knowing what they want to do with their lives were now surrounded by catch guys & night-life workers. Night-life workers make a lot of money. A lot of these kids needed money to support themselves, especially if they didn’t want to go back to their hometowns.

Now, am I saying all adult work is bad or all jirai’s were adult workers - no absolutely not. However, this environment is what kind of started the ball rolling.

Alright so we have set the scene now wtf is jirai kei.

Jirai kei stems directly from the derogatory term “jirai onna” literal translation “landmine woman”. This is a term pretty much used to say “that woman is going to pop off” (like a landmine) & was leveled towards any woman with mood swings, intense emotions, poor coping mechanisms, etc. Keeping in mind that Japan does not have a great medical or social infrastructure for dealing with mental health - and that many people’s mental health was greatly impacted by the pandemic - it is not surprising that a lot of people were in this position. In western circles I’ve seen people tie this really heavily to BPD specifically - but the term isn’t specific to bpd - it’s really anyone who has an emotional outburst, or that the people using the term derogatorily think would have one.

So a lot of people decided to reclaim this term & spin it to be their own thing. Kind of saying “yeah, so what? I am a landmine. My mental struggles are real. They are my reality. And if you don’t like that or think that’s ‘wrong’ fuck you. I’m not going to sugarcoat myself for your comfort”. Additionally the idea was also used as push-back for the societal views around mental illness. They’re pretty much signaling “being mentally ill or facing mental struggles does not mean we are bad people, it does not mean we don’t deserve love, and we should not have to hide our mental struggles or go through these things on our own”.

So if it’s a subculture based around accepting and fighting for mental health, where does the fashion come in?

Most of the fashion you’ll see in jirai kei tags are girly kei, dark girly, ryousangata (loose translation: mass production), or extensions of larme kei (another Japanese fashion which is really similar to girly kei but slightly different). Why is that?

These fashions are generally mass produced & easily available in Japan. Think about Liz Lisa and MA*RS for example. These are BIG brands. They’re not niche or hard to find. Additionally, the style is very popular. Ryousangata is considered SO mass produced that “everyone looks the same” (it’s actually quite popular amongst fans of boy groups). It’s not like a strange or niche or overly special style in Japan.

Especially not in Kabukicho, a lot of people working at concept cafes & the like would wear these types of styles because they’re easy to get, easy to style, and super overly adorable. The fashion also works GREAT for runaways in Kabukicho. They’re capsule wardrobes you can make like 10 outfits with 5 pieces of clothing so it works really well if you’re living out of a suitcase. Also it’s a pretty inexpensive, easy to obtain & super cute so it’s very appealing to these teenagers.

From what I can tell these fashions were most popular in Kabukicho and spread out from there, which is why you’ll see a lot of people say that if you’re dressing in these styles people will assume you work at a con cafe or other night-life-adjacent work, but the style has gotten much more popular over 2023-2024 so this doesn’t seem to necessarily be the case anymore.

However, since these styles were associated (albeit not exclusively) with Kabukicho & con cafés, etc, and because a lot of people in this area were drained from types of jobs or runaways & living in a culture where they’re told they should not talk about or show their negative emotions - the term “jirai onna” would be used against many people in these fashions.

Now, again, this term was not exclusively used for everyone dressed in this style, and not everyone dressed in these styles was considered that, but the link is definitely there. Jirai Kei is not completely removed from dark girly or ryousangata, but it is definitely more nuanced than “jirai kei is dark girly+”, that’s just not the case. Especially now that jirai subcul is much more popular - and a lot of the fashions you’ll see in jirai subcultures are barely girly kei / dark girly / ryousangata, if at all. I’ve seen jirai subcul people wearing just t-shirts and shorts.

However; especially in western societies, a lot of people falsely associate jirai kei with dark girly WAY too heavily. My best guess is because we don’t see ryousangata regularly. A lot of people have only seen the style in a “jirai kei” context. They are related to each other, jirai kei does have links to dark girly, but the fashion style itself is not necessarily “jirai kei”. It’s a common style in Japan - it’s not a common style in other parts of the world - so people mashed the two together in one concept because they don’t know otherwise.

This is where a LOT of discourse in the Jirai Kei community stems from - I’m not going to go too deep into it because everyone gets extremely mad about it & im not trying to open that can of worms and spill it all over the table.

I’m sure you’ve seen posts mentioning “fashion landmines” and “lifestyle landmines”. “Fashion landmines” being people who just like dark girly or ryousangata and mistakenly identify the fashion itself as “jirai kei”, and “lifestyle landmines” being people who hold to the values of accepting and raising awareness of mental illness / struggles that was the movement which started the reclamation of the term “jirai onna” to begin with.

Tldr they don’t like each other and people get really mean about it.

All of this being said: Essentially, yes. Dark girly and ryousangata and girly kei are related to Jirai Kei, but no, you do not have to have the clothes to be a part of the community. The clothes are secondary (and honestly optional) to the community’s values.

Thank you for coming to my TED Talk lmao

[decepti-thots]

Ultra Magnus for the headcanon asks, please!

Headcanon A: realistic

I think that while the existence of the Magnus armour stuff is officially only known by a very tiny number of people in Autobot high command, it's not nearly as unknown in an unofficial sense as one might assume, and a not insignificant number of people with some amount of security clearance and/or regular interaction with Magnus know about it and gossip. Obviously we have two concrete canon bits of proof for this (Bumblebee shouldn't know, but was told by at least one Magnus armour wearer, and Ratchet guessed despite never being told), but I think it's gotta be something that over the years has spread enough that it's a little bit of an open secret tbqh. The guy keeps dying and then popping back up with a noticeably different personality. Any medic treating him has the same opportunities as Ratchet to notice. They're robots where the concept of a loadbearer is a clearly known possibility and the propaganda possibility is not that hard to infer! I feel like the number of people who guessed that something was up cannot be anything close to zero, or even just a couple higher ups. Like. It's been gossiped about. You know.

Headcanon B: while it may not be realistic it is hilarious

Due to spending two years in direct collaboration with Verity, he has a baffling knowledge of the very specific segment of Earth pop culture that appeals to a teenage girl from the USA in like the late 00s/early 10s. Specifically a rebellious nerdy one. He legitimately knows more about it than he ever knew about Cybertronian popular culture. This never comes up until he offhandedly mentions some random thing within earshot of Swerve that is so incongruous it causes him to mentally bluescreen. How the fuck do you know about that Magnus. What the hell.

Headcanon C: heart-crushing and awful, but fun to inflict on friends

Magnus is going to carry the guilt of dismissing Rewind's insistence Dominus was somehow alive the whole time with him for the rest of his life. The realization that Rewind was right but they confirmed it too late for him to do anything about it until the very second it was too late, in a time and place where Magnus was present and might have been able to make a split second decision that helped if only he was there, must be such a fucking thing for him. Let alone that as Ultra Magnus, if he had believed like Rewind did, he'd have possibly had the resources to get answers much, much earlier, if he'd tried.

Realistically, he had every reason to assume Dominus was dead. Rewind was being unreasonably optimistic, especially when the comic implies that Minimus was cut off from the literal sparkbond they had in a way that in any other situation would be definitive proof Dominus was dead. But he wasn't! And he missed every chance to intervene by like, the tiniest margin. You have to assume that on some level he's got some fucked up feelings about that.

Headcanon D: unrealistic, but I will disregard canon about it because I reject canon reality and substitute my own

I know Roberts said he thinks that Megatron becoming an Autobot without all the code-test stuff that Tailgate went through wasn't an issue because realistically, Megatron would know it back to front. I don't even disagree with him, I absolutely believe that he would, it makes sense. But it's objectively too fucking funny to imagine Magnus putting Megatron through the 'you WILL listen to my three hour lecture on the syntax of this one sentence being Extremely Legally Important' gauntlet and I simply choose to believe this did happen but off-panel and Magnus absolutely kicked his ass about it in terms of sheer Knowing His Shit about it. Way too funny to pass up tbh. Megatron thought he knew and understood it very well (and to be fair: he did, compared to every not-Magnus person), but he got grilled. Magnus quite enjoyed rebutting every single interpretation Megatron had by way of ludicrous pedantry.

[weebsinstash]

Omega Reader being one of the only if not THE only Omega in an entire Spider Society of Alphas and Betas 😩❤️

Alpha F! Reader in a Spider Society where you're the only female Alpha and Miguel is Having Confusing Feelings because oh shit you can get him Pregnant Pregnant? Like you're packing? Hmmm.... 😳

Reader who is a normal human and doesn't understand or is maybe like "curiosity killed the cat" about "oh wow Miguel can purr and growl? What else can he do 😳" and you're totally unaware he can like, TELL when you're ovulating and you cant even tell when he or anyone else scents you (imagine hobie scenting you to piss miguel off lmao) 💦

Reader who is one of the very few Omega in a Spider Society of normal people but your pheromones actually still affect everyone lol so like yeah some people are yandere already and others are like "you know i dont know what it is but Reader is looking real submissive and breedable and im usually not even into that shit" 😏

Reader being a "late bloomer" where you thought you were like, a normie who didnt present, and you're suddenly struggling to function because all these people you've been bonding with suddenly all have special smells that make your knees wobble sometimes and occasionally your boss gets a little bit of a growl in his voice and you're suddenly thinking, "could I fuck him raw and just take plan b. I really want an extra large super sized buffet style creampie from this man" (and also angst/possessiveness because maybe you're really upset and want to go back to "being the old normal you" and you start avoiding people who mysteriously want to spend more time with you now more than ever, and I'm also a sucker for 'new Omega wants actual surgery or drugs to not be an Omega anymore even if it's blackmarket shit that could kill them') 🙏

I'm also a fan of like. "You burned me or deserted me or I quit the group we were in together because of how you treated me and after some time has passed now that you want me back I'm actually a single mom now and here's my cute adorable little baby that I won't let you even sniff at even though the dad isn't even in the picture"

Like I'm not a parent obviously but there's some real visceral horror in the concept of like being pregnant and you're surrounded by people like unreasonably obsessed with the fact you're pregnant, like to an extremely nosey controlling "all but hijack your life" degree. You put your baby down for a nap and go to check on then 5 minutes later and they're FUCKING GONE and you start absolutely losing your mind and its like "oh no it's fine, Peter B just felt entitled to break into your place because he wanted Mayday to meet her new sibling and spend time with their Uncle Peter"

Reader is in their home dimension maybe even refusing to be a Spider anymore and you've STILL got people CONSTANTLY literally warping to your location and robbing you of any and all privacy. You get woken up in the middle of the night by your baby crying and suddenly abruptly it stops and you turn around PANICKED and. There's Miguel bottle feeding them "because you've been so tired, let me help you 🥰" and you're freaking out because, one, Miguel what are you doing in my bedroom, and two, is he giving your baby fucking formula instead of your milk without your consent. Like. They're constantly touching your kid and borderline kidnapping them and they're just like "oh my gosh look how flustered you are, what a good protective mom 🥰" meanwhile you're contemplating actual fucking murder

[dozyisdead]

first of all, i must say thank you for your discourse here about williams and alex and also logan, bcs i didn't see that a lot on other platforms.

i agree with most of your points, especially in how alex's career in williams after carlos join the team. i think it's gonna be a test too for alex, and to prove that he's indeed a good driver. okay, we know he has the potential, but we don't really know how far he can go. williams in 2023 is quite good, no? i mean, at least he finished in p7 which is good compared to this season.

i watched a youtube video, talking about what williams want to achieve, like james vowles's idealism (sorry), that's why he treats carlos like that (if you know what he has been said about carlos this summer break), but still, it's not nice to do that, when logan is still on the team. i think they also place money on adrian newey to come, but they aren't as rich as aston martin so that plan is off. sad to say but I'm kinda excited to see them in 2025, although im tired of their tractor 😭

thank you and sorry for yapping in your page 😭

Hi hello! I've been so invested in the other events that have happened and completely forgot about this.

Yes! I think this is going to be a great test of his skill next year, especially with the potential upgrades Williams might bring. We saw recently that Alex was disqualified because his floor was illegal, but he did incredible otherwise. As with Carlos, he's a great "midfield" driver to compare Alex to. We've seen him in comparison to Max, where Max was obviously the number one driver and Red Bull's priority, and he did not perform up the standards set for him.

We've also seen Alex in comparison to Logan, who was picked up from F2 a bit early (In the general public's opinion). In addition, at Williams Alex was clearly the number one driver, I mean they gave Alex Logan's car for Australia. Then, Logan was given Alex's REPAIRED car, and it took them basically a season and a half to have the same upgrades at the same time. In summary, we see a prioritized Alex and a pushed to the side Logan.

basically, two extremes in the field, and even when Latifi was at Williams that was also an extreme, on the same end as Logan (Though there are different circumstances as Latifi's was a skill issue and Logan's was a support issue), meaning the results have been skewed due to outliers. His actual stats are affected the most by his teammate, as with any driver, so we don't have a true rating of his skill level.

And I think that yes, the 2023 car was a good car, but I also think it's due to the fact that Alex has had longer at Williams and can get a general sense of how the car is, and therefore he was more prepared to race, while 2023 was Logan's first season and therefore a learning curve. Not to mention, there's already a learning curve when you're driving a bloody Williams.

I've stayed away from Williams for my own mental health (I get unreasonably angry when I see J*mes V*wles's face, he looks like a Who from Whoville) and therefore haven't seen what he's said. But I'm going to say this every time, the way they handled the news and even more present news was a mess. it was disgraceful, utterly idiotic, and disgusting. Posting an announcement about your incoming driver, and multiple at that, before thanking your outgoing driver? Messy with a Capital M.

Also, don't apologize for yapping! I'm here for it! Literally my favorite thing to do is to talk to y'all!

[am-i-the-asshole-official]

WIBTA if I sent a complaint about my upstairs neighbors to our buildings management despite never having communicated with them directly? Okay so I live in an apartment building. My upstairs neighbors regularly have loud parties (?) It doesn't always sound like it, but at least loud music playing, and sometimes that includes stomping around (assumed dancing) and loud talking/laughing or rarely fighting. This usually occurs on weekend nights, from friday to saturday or from saturday to sunday (most common I'd say), and can last for hours. Sometimes it's just during the day/afternoon, which, annoying, but sure, it's day, can deal with it while just being annoyed.

At some point, this was mainly an issue when I had sleepover guests, since they would sleep in the living room, opposite side of the flat I sleep on, and usually where all that originates (assuming they are also doing this in their living room) But I feel like it has been getting progressively worse, both in volume and times this happens at. It's currently 3.45 am on a Saturday, and they've been going since at least 3, probably earlier, but that's when I woke up/became aware enough to actively notice it. (Proofreading and it's now 4.10am, still going strong up there-) Now, I'm not one to call the police, especially when there is no actual danger or physical harm that can't be dealt with otherwise effectively, bc ACAB, but I've taken several clips with audio tonight because I'm fucking tired and am heavily considering sending the management company for our building a complaint about them. The issue I'm not clear on is mostly...that I never really talked to them directly. I know they've gotten complaints and stopped before, and I've left a note together with a guest of mine in front of their door before. Yet it remains a recurring occurrence. I've never actually knocked or rang the doorbell to directly ask them to stop. I live alone and am afab in my 20s, all I know about my upstairs neighbors is that it's two men (though there's definitely sometimes people over, as I said sometimes these occurrences are definitely parties). At most I will have one friend over who's also afab on these occasions. (We are both trans/nb but p much present as our assigned gender in current circumstances) I also have social anxiety, though I don't think it's particularly unreasonable to be worried to confront unknown men, who will know where I live as well, about literally anything considering we live in a society TM. (Obviously I don't know that it wouldn't just go over very easily however, exactly the issue that you can never rly know that- like ik most people would probably react chill or at best annoyed I'm interrupting them or whatever but there's always a chance to run into the exceptions TM)

I don't need to work on the weekends (though other people in flats around us might, idk) but I still gotta like, maintain my sleeping rhythm ideally, and you know. Generally pleasant to be able to sleep at night if you would like to- I do not know what actions they would or could take if they do consider the complaint at all, but I'm not really assuming they'd like, cause them serious issues regarding their living situation, it's more likely at most they get a letter/some shitty little flyer to not loudly party in the middle of the night get put up in the hallway/at the building doors. But again that's my assumption and not a fact I know for sure, I could be completely wrong about that, and I don't know if there's potential other complaints.

So, WIBTA if I sent clips of the loud music in the middle of the night and a complaint to our building management without knowing potential consequences, even though I have not tried to communicate with my neighbors except a singular note one time?

What are these acronyms?

[57sfinest]

What do you think about Evrart Claire? You mentioned you think about him in one of your tags I think.

okay i will first direct to you to trusted mutual @sydmarch for the most in-depth evrart thoughts with the appropriate warning for nsfw lmfaoo

but like. evrart is one of those characters where you have an initial knee-jerk reaction to them and then you kinda have to reevaluate after all is said and done because you get a LOT more context on them as you go.

most shallowly, you're meant to see evrart as the slimy "fantastically corrupt" union (mob) boss who sits in his office embezzling and making others do his dirty work (the hardies as his enforcement, you as his little errand dog, you get the point). however, a first point i want to make is that comparing a justified labor or civil rights advocate group to a "mob" is such a ubiquitous piece of capitalist/bigot rhetoric that it should automatically clue you in to the fact that something else is going on here. also taken in context with the fact that kortenaer poses as a scab to break the strike, further framing the union as a lazy, entitled, unreasonable splinter faction of stupid socialists-- obviously we know that the people who made this game are leftists, so it's not just Ough Unions Bad. there is Something Else Going On! because we are seeing this union strike filtered primarily through the lens of someone who is, consciously or not, a moralintern lackey! even at his most self-aware, calling himself the moralintern's bitch, harry does not have enough awareness of the world and his role in it to recognize how he is being manipulated by the various agendas at play here, and that affects our perception of it.

i think evrart presents as corrupt and weaselly on purpose! again syd has said a lot of this already & i've added some stuff in their tags, but i'll reiterate here for convenience. he is aware of the rhetoric people can use against him and he uses that to his advantage. he's using his personal reputation as misdirection. we see in dialogue that even joyce, an ultraliberal diehard capitalist who obviously dislikes the union, concedes that it was respectable in and of itself before the claires came in:

and we can infer that a lot of that might be because the union was *less effective before the claires took charge*. of course a capitalist will respect an ineffective labor union! but on top of this, the claires' open "corruption" give anti-union people an easy target for criticisms that serve to legitimize the union itself. oh, they say, well, the union is alright, it's just the claires that are ruining it. it's misdirection and it's genius. evrart's reputation isn't a concern if the union is doing its job, right? and here's another thing: i think people will trust open corruption more than they'll trust altruism that seems to good to be true. especially in a world with something like moralism, where this organization has killed millions and will kill *millions more* for a "greater good" that is literally just the status quo. if evrart's corruption is an open secret, as joyce puts it, people feel they can trust him *because* he's transparent about the bad things he supposedly does or supports or whatever. at least he's honest, right?

this makes the juxtaposition of evrart with joyce SUPER interesting, too. i think they both have that 'honest about their bad traits' way of going at people- joyce with her self-aware but relentless ultraliberalism, evrart with his intentionally misrepresented agendas. of the two, i think people tend to like joyce a lot more, despite her and evrart using pretty much the *same exact tactics*, and i think that tendency is largely explained by the intersection of gender and fatphobia and ingrained capitalist rhetoric, but i digress.

yes, the way evrart's little tasks are presented makes them *feel* slimy- you're evrart's peone, you're a little bitch dog running his errands to get a gun you never should have lost to begin with, he knows how to help and he's toying with you- but it's on purpose!! you can be joyce's little bitch dog too and it's not framed anywhere near as scummy. It Is On Purpose. because if evrart pretends to be the "socialist" mob boss, maybe it really does get martinaise the youth center, or enough money to, you know, fix the crumbling buildings that could kill the tenants at any moment. there are genuinely good things he is sincerely trying to accomplish. he is curating his image exactly as he needs it to be to get things done and that's partly why joyce hates him *so much*.

and of course this isn't to say that the claires never do anything wrong. contracting dros to kill the previous union head, for example. if i had to pin evrart's major sin, i think he's an "end justifies the means" type of guy. the other union head candidate needed to die for progress to be made. the fishing village will have to go so we can build martinaise up properly. some people, if not willingly cooperative- like harry- need to be used for their status regardless. we see the union at the opposite end of "for the greater good" as moralism: where moralism wants to stall the world, the union represents ruthless progression. why else the red-vs-blue juxtaposition of the union vs the moralintern and its financial interests? the red banners draped over shipping containers?

[longitudinalwaveme]

I Diagnose Basically Every Flash Villain

For the sake of simplicity, I'm going to organize the Flash villains by symptom type.

Dissociative Identity Disorder (commonly referred to as Multiple Personality Disorder)

Rose and Thorn: Rose Canton, has two alters, the mild-mannered Rose and the villainous Thorn. Since she is a Golden Age character, we know relatively little about her life experiences prior to becoming Rose and Thorn, so it's impossible to say if her Dissociative Identity Disorder stems from childhood trauma (as it often does in real life). The fact that most of her appearances are in Golden Age comics that I haven't personally read means that I'm also not certain how her alters presented themselves, though from what little I know of the character, it doesn't appear that either of her alters was unaware of the other. Nor did either of her personalities appear to experience amnesia during the period when the other was in control (though this is not a diagnostic trait of the disorder). It seems likely that the Rose personality was the original one, and that the Thorn personality developed later, and it is also clear that Rose was very distressed by the actions of her alter---so much so that she would ultimately commit suicide in order to prevent Thorn form harming her children, Jade and Obsidian. I am also not sure if her alters are able to "talk" to one another like Harvey Dent and Two-Face can, although what little I have read of her seems to suggest that they are not able to do this.

Mr. Element/Dr. Alchemy: Albert Desmond has three alters: Albert Desmond, Mr. Element, and Dr. Alchemy. According to Flash vol. 1 #216 ("The Curse of the Dragon's Eye!"), neither Dr. Alchemy nor Mr. Element manifested until Albert turned twenty, meaning that Albert is undoubtedly the original personality. The two malevolent alters emerged as a response to what I can only assume were chemical alterations in Albert's brain, produced by his body's sensitivity to the fluctuations of a distant, pulsating star. This is ridiculous, of course, but if we accept the rules of comic book physics, I suppose it's not too unreasonable to assume that the pulsating star could have affected his brain in such a way that it produced the symptoms of DID.

Albert's situation is also further complicated by the second Dr. Alchemy, Alvin Desmond, who was initially stated to be Albert's astral twin, but was later revealed to be Albert's darker impulses, given life and independence by the Philosopher's Stone. This obviously has no real-world parallel, but, again accepting the bizarre physics of the DC universe, it wouldn't be totally illogical to surmise that Alvin is one of Albert's alters (given their relative behavior, probably Mr. Element) given physical form.

In addition to not having its roots in childhood trauma, it is apparent that Albert does not have dissociative amnesia when his alters come to the fore; instead, he is usually presented as essentially watching in conscious horror as his alters run amuck. It is less clear to me what Dr. Alchemy and Mr. Element remember of the periods during which Albert is in control. Mr. Element treats Rita Desmond, Albert's wife, like his wife (he reacts angrily when he sees Barry Allen alone with her in Flash vol. 1 #216), but Dr. Alchemy either does not view himself as sharing this relationship to Rita or is so evil that he doesn't care if he hurts his wife, since he abandons her to die in Flash vol. 2 #230 ("The Fury of the Fire Demon!"---Barry saved her life).

Whichever alter was given physical form as Alvin clearly displayed signs of dissociative amnesia once he was given his own body, because, while Alvin is aware that he shares some sort of relationship with Albert, he believes himself to be an entirely separate person (which, at this point, he actually is!), rather than as Albert's alter.

Except when Alvin was literally an entirely separate individual, Albert's alters did not display the ability to "talk" to one another. This is something that some individuals with DID report experiencing in real life, and it is also found in Harvey Dent/Two-Face, but this was not a symptom that Albert displayed. Unlike Two-Face, in other words, the alters are never fronting at the same time.

That being said, Dr. Alchemy has displayed very few signs of Dissociative Identity Disorder in the past few years. Rather than two (or more) personalities fighting for control, there seems to be only one personality; one who could be classified as having Antisocial Personality Disorder. I suppose that it isn't outside the realm of possibility that the Dr. Alchemy we've seen from Geoff Johns' run onward is the Dr. Alchemy alter having taken full control over the shared body, and that the Albert alter is locked somewhere inside his mind, but since there's no indication of a struggle between personalities, it seems more likely to me that Geoff Johns was simply intending to retcon the character into a man with Antisocial Personality Disorder, but without DID.

Magenta: This is another case of two alters. The original personality, Frances Kane, suffered serious trauma when her brother and father were killed in a car crash, one that was the result of her powers kicking in for the very first time; trauma that was only compounded when her mother decided that she was possessed by the devil and disowned her. Wally West, who started dating her not long after the Teen Titans helped get her wild magnetic powers under control, further complicated things for Frances. Both Wally and Frances were suffering from both mental illness and the pressures of being a hero, and, as a result of this, their relationship was tumultuous and ended badly not long after Wally became the Flash.

While Frances' initial symptomology wasn't explored in great detail, it seemed that she subsequently struggled with PTSD-like symptoms as the result of the aforementioned trauma, and, as such, her teammates suggested that she get therapy. This sounds like a good idea, but unfortunately, the therapist that she ended up going to was evil, and used Frances' pre-existing symptoms to induce an alternate personality. The therapist then manipulated this new, more aggressive personality to commit crimes for her until Frances was rescued from this disgrace to the psychiatric profession by her fellow Teen Titans.

Unfortunately, the induced secondary personality didn't go away, and would continue to plague Frances and Wally for a long time---though as of 2016, Frances does seem to be in reasonably good mental health.

Frances is unique amongst the three villains with DID in that, while she had pre-existing trauma, her alter was iatrogenic rather than naturally-occurring. Dissociative Identity Disorder often comes under fire in real life for being a condition that it is easy for psychologists to intentionally or, more commonly, unintentionally induce in patients, so it actually is realistic for Magneta's DID to have been induced by a psychologist.

Neither Magenta nor Frances appears to suffer from dissociative amnesia when the other personality is fronting. They seem to share all of the same memories (especially where Wally is concerned); they simply interpret and react to those memories differently.

Magenta and Frances also do not appear to "talk" to one another; they do not co-front.

With all that being said, it is important to note that while basically all cases of Dissociative Identity Disorder in comics involve a "good" personality and an "evil" personality, this is not what one typically sees in real life. This makes it very difficult to figure out if the "good" alters would be found not guilty by reason of insanity in real life. In comic book terms, I have no doubt that all three of them would be sent to Arkham if they lived in Gotham, since comic book insanity has a very loose relationship with real insanity, but I'm actually not sure how cases like these would work in real life, since I'm not even sure if cases like these would be psychologically possible in real life. I will, however, say that they would probably be more likely to be found not guilty by reason of insanity than most versions of Two-Face, due to the fact that Harvey Dent and Two-Face sometimes co-front and argue with one another. This indicates that Harvey Dent could, theoretically, stop Two-Face's actions, and is therefore legally responsible for not doing so. In contrast, Albert, Frances, and Rose do not co-front with their malicious alter egos, and, in the cases of Albert and Frances at least, they immediately put a stop to any criminal activity the second they regain control of the shared body. Because the "good" alters are either fully in control or fully submerged, there's less sense that they share culpability for the actions of the evil alter(s)-especially since there are currently no drugs that exist to treat the main symptom of Dissociative Identity Disorder (namely, the existence of alters), and we know Frances at least seeks out therapy pretty regularly in spite of her very bad initial experience with psychiatry.

Psychotic Symptoms

Murmur (Dr. Michael Christian Amar): Murmur's exact diagnosis is never specified, but given what we're told of his symptoms (auditory hallucinations which instructed him to murder people and cut out their tongues in order to make them quiet; killing at least twelve and possibly up to fifty people; cutting out his own tongue after a nervous tic caused him to incriminate himself on the stand) strongly implies that he's supposed to have Schizophrenia (since most writers aren't aware of the fact that Schizophrenia is not the only mental illness that can include psychotic symptoms). The nervous tic could be another psychotic symptom, but it could also be evidence of a tic disorder, like Tourette's; it's quite common for a person with one mental illness to have more than one. (For example, I have both Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder and Social Anxiety Disorder.) And, of course, given the sheer number of people Murmur killed, it's very likely that he would also be diagnosed with Antisocial Personality Disorder, especially since he displays no remorse over any of the deaths.

If Murmur was in Gotham, he would definitely be sent to Arkham Asylum, since the only prerequisite to being declared insane in Gotham appears to be displaying a flagrant symptom of a mental illness, but in Central City, he was not declared insane---and that's actually almost assuredly what would happen in real life, as well. While it is possible that he could be declared not guilty under the "irresistible impulse" definition of insanity, most court systems in the United States currently use a variation of the "M'Naghten rule", which defines insanity as a person who is so impaired by their mental illness that they were unaware that what they were doing would constitute a crime. For example, a person with schizophrenia hallucinated that their next-door neighbor was about to stab them with a knife, and then killed that person in what they honestly believed to be self-defense, would probably be found not guilty by reason of insanity under this definition, but someone like Murmur, who murdered people because hallucinatory voices told him to shut them up, would probably not be considered legally insane. In effect, the law treats a person who kills someone because hallucinatory voices told them to in the same way it would treat a person who killed someone because their drinking buddy told them to: in both cases, they knew that they were breaking the law by murdering the person, and they did it anyway.

Depending on how psychotic Murmur was while committing his crimes, he might also be declared guilty but mentally ill, which would basically mean that he would be sent to a mental institution until such time as he was no longer psychotic, and would then be transferred to a regular penal institution to serve out the rest of his sentence. Either way, though, as Barry Allen said in The Flash: Iron Heights (2001), "A "nervous tic" [or a hallucinatory voice, for that matter] doesn't force someone to cut people's tongues out, Mr. Cossi. It doesn't make them insane---or absolve them of their actions." So uh....yeah. Congratulations to Central City's justice system for knowing the actual definition of insanity.

Pied Piper (Hartley Rathaway): Towards the end of Barry Allen's run, the Pied Piper ran a fairly extensive campaign to ruin his foe's life----but, as his scheme went on, it became increasingly apparent that he wasn't emotionally stable. He was very agitated and on edge, and, when his plans ultimately failed, he had a full-on mental breakdown. He openly hallucinated, engaged in behavior that was very unusual for him, and seemed to display some degree of avolition and disorganized speech as well. In other words, he experienced a psychotic episode, and, unsurprisingly, the comic itself stated that he was suffering from "a classic case of borderline schizophrenia" (Flash vol. 1 #339, "Warday!"). This is a term that was once used to describe the combination of borderline personality disorder and schizophrenia, and, since the comic in question was published in the 1980s, it isn't surprising that it would use outdated terminology.

In effect, then, the comic is telling us that Pied Piper suffers from schizophrenia and borderline personality disorder.

According to the DSM-5, the diagnostic criteria for borderline personality disorder include at least five of the following symptoms:

Frantic efforts to avoid real or imagined abandonment; this does not include suicidal or self-mutilating behavior covered in criterion 5

A pattern of unstable and intense interpersonal relationships characterized by alternating between extremes of idealization and devaluation

Markedly and persistently unstable self-image or sense of self

Impulsivity in at least two areas that are potentially self-damaging (eg, spending, sex, substance abuse, reckless driving, binge eating) [5] ; this does not include suicidal or self-mutilating behavior covered in criterion 5

Recurrent suicidal behavior, gestures, or threats, or self-mutilating behavior

Affective instability due to a marked reactivity of mood (eg, intense episodic dysphoria, irritability, or anxiety usually lasting a few hours and only rarely more than a few days)

Chronic feelings of emptiness

Inappropriate, intense anger or difficulty controlling anger (eg, frequent displays of temper, constant anger, or recurrent physical fights)

Transient, stress-related paranoid ideation or severe dissociative symptoms

And...yeah, that actually does sound a lot like the Pied Piper, especially prior to his reform. And, since the treatment Piper received for his nervous breakdown was, ultimately, successful in curing him of his psychotic episode, maybe it helped him to deal with some of his broader symptoms of borderline personality disorder as well, and that's part of why he became nicer and chose to reform around the time Wally became the Flash.

However, I don't think the schizophrenia diagnosis is applicable in this case. While schizophrenia is the most well-known psychotic disorder, it isn't the only one that can induce psychotic symptoms, and it's rare for a person with schizophrenia to experience only one psychotic episode. Since the Pied Piper's breakdown was brief and appeared to be the result of stress, and he didn't seem to display any residual symptoms after he recovered (at least after the initial Kadabra-impersonating-Reverse-Flash-induced relapse), I think it's more likely that Pied Piper was suffering from a different psychotic disorder---perhaps Brief Psychotic Disorder---or from a mood disorder accompanied by psychotic symptoms.

That being said, after Pied Piper went through the trauma conga line of having his parents murdered, being hypnotized into believing he was responsible, being sent to prison, getting abused by the warden, going on the run, joining the FBI, having the Top mess with his mind, going undercover on a mission that went disastrously wrong and resulted in the death of Bart Allen, being chased all over the DCU by everyone, watching the Trickster get shot in front of him, and then having to drag the Trickster's corpse around a desert, he understandably had another psychotic episode and started to hallucinate that the Trickster's dead body was talking to him. But once again, the psychotic episode seemed to be pretty brief, and he was somehow able to recover without many noticeable residual symptoms---which, again, seems to point away from Schizophrenia. Again, I do think he has either some kind of psychotic disorder or a mood disorder with psychotic symptoms in addition to the BPD, but I don't think it's Schizophrenia.

So, would the Pied Piper have been sent to Arkham before he reformed? It's hard to say. Just wearing a costume isn't sufficient to get you sent to Arkham (Catwoman and Black Mask aren't sent there), but I can't rule it out as a possibility even before his initial psychotic episode, especially given how emotionally unstable he was as a villain---and, since Gotham either has a completely different set of standards for insanity or is just so corrupt that all the costumed criminals can bribe the courts to get them declared insane, that emotional instability might have been enough.

In the story from the 1980s, it appears that Pied Piper was probably deemed incompetent to stand trial, since he was sent to a psychiatric hospital immediately upon his arrest. Presumably, he was tried for the crimes he had committed in the period leading up to his mental breakdown after he had recovered, though this was never directly stated anywhere due to the chaos surrounding Crisis on Infinite Earths. This is all reasonably consistent with what we might expect in real life. His second mental breakdown came after he had reformed, and as such there wouldn't really be a need for a trial in that case (since presumably the FBI had him legally cleared for breaking prison when they hired him).

The Top (Roscoe Dillon): Roscoe Dillon suffered from a very long period of psychosis, one which lasted from Flash vol. 2 #121 to Flash vol. 2 #216. The psychotic break was heavily suggested to be the result of trauma, but, thanks to retcons, there are two contradictory explanations for what the initial trauma was. When Roscoe's psychotic break initially happened, it was clearly implied that he had gone insane as the result of being attacked by the soulless bodies of the Rogues who had died in Underworld Unleashed, but, in Flash vol. 2 #215, Geoff Johns retconned things so that Dillon had been psychotic since before Barry Allen died in Crisis on Infinite Earths, and that he his psychotic break had occurred as a direct result of Zatanna brainwashing him into being good. Notably, when Wally has Zatanna "fix" the brainwashing, Roscoe is immediately presented as being sane again.

In terms of symptomology, Roscoe displayed signs of hallucinations, delusions, strange behavior (in spite of usually being rather fastidious, he seemed unable to maintain basic hygiene during the course of his long psychotic episode) and disorganized speech. There's no doubt that he was suffering from psychosis, but, as underlined previously, that doesn't automatically equate to schizophrenia, which means we need to look at the context clues in order to determine what the most likely diagnosis would be.

Schizophrenia is, of course, a possibility. Unlike the Pied Piper, whose psychotic episodes were both relatively brief, the Top's psychosis lasted for what seemed to be at least a few in-universe years. That being said, the rather rapid onset of his psychosis and his seemingly immediate and complete recovery upon being un-brainwashed would both be somewhat unusual in schizophrenia, and, while his psychotic episode was very long, there isn't really any evidence of him having had any previous---or subsequent--- psychotic episodes. Of course, it's quite likely that Geoff Johns was intending for the Top to have schizophrenia (since that's the only psychotic disorder most writers know about) and just didn't realize that the symptoms he was having the character present weren't especially consistent with it, but in the spirit of the initial post, I will take the symptoms as signs that might indicate a disorder other than schizophrenia (other than the ubiquitous diagnosis of "comic book crazy", which is probably the true diagnosis of most comic book characters with a mental illness).

And if I had to diagnosis The Top with a specific mental illness (other than Antisocial Personality Disorder, which wouldn't explain his psychotic episode), it would probably be Bipolar 1 Disorder, and my reasoning for this is primarily based on his very first appearance, in Flash vol. 1 #122 ("Beware the Atomic Grenade!"). In order to be diagnosed with Bipolar 1 disorder, a person must experience at least one manic episode---and, while it was absolutely not the author's intent, the behavior the Top displays in that issue is surprisingly consistent with the behavior one might expect in a manic episode. He displays an unusually elevated mood (he's much more giggly and unrelentingly cheerful in his first issue than he is in all his subsequent appearances, and he doesn't even seem upset when the Flash carts him off to jail), he displays mood-congruent delusions of grandeur (deciding that succeeding in a few robberies means that he'll definitely be able to take over the world, and also apparently believing that he can blow up half the world and be safe on the other side), he seems to display at least some flight of ideas, he seems unusually driven even by supervillain standards ("One coup after another! Can't slow down while I'm at the top of my form!"), he's extremely talkative (admittedly, the Top does like the sound of his own voice, but talking to himself for like a full page is a bit much even for him), and his attempt to take over the world is much riskier than any crime he commits after this initial appearance, suggesting a degree of impaired judgement.

Again, this was not intentional on the part of the writer, but if we take his first appearance as as The Top having a manic episode, then Roscoe's subsequent psychotic break could in turn be attributed to another mood episode, this one with psychotic features. More specifically, since his psychotic break was the result of trauma of some sort, I would hypothesize that it was either a depressive or mixed-mood episode with psychotic features.

Would the Top be sent to Arkham if he were in Gotham? Absolutely. He's clearly mentally ill, and that's all you need to be declared insane in Gotham. In the real world, he would almost assuredly not be declared insane, since his mental illness doesn't impair his judgement to the extent that he doesn't realize he's committing crimes---and, indeed, since we saw him in the state prison, and then in Iron Heights, it's clear that he wasn't declared insane in Central City either.

That being said, I am somewhat surprised that he was found competent to stand trial after Flash vol. 1 #121, since he was very obviously both psychotic and incoherent when he was arrested, and didn't seem to be any more put together when we next saw him in Iron Heights.

Zoom (Hunter Zolomon): Hunter Zolomon has had a ton of trauma in his life. He grew up with parents who barely ever spoke to him, on the day he was going to leave home for college, his father murdered his mother and was then killed by the police (and he also learned that his father was a serial killer), and, as the result of making a bad call while on a case for the FBI, he was shot in the knee and his father-in-law was killed in front of him. And then, to top it all off, his wife divorced him and he was fired from the FBI. In short, while it wasn't explicitly shown before he became Zoom, I'm pretty sure that Hunter was at least dealing with some PTSD-like symptoms before he even moved to the Twin Cities; and, while I'm not sure he was clinically depressed, he definitely seemed to have some depressive symptoms.

Then, as if all that wasn't enough, he was eventually attacked by Gorilla Grodd, who broke his back and left him paralyzed from the waist down, and when he asked his friend Wally West to go back in time and fix things for him, Wally refused (understandably, but it was still clearly a blow to Hunter) . And if that STILL wasn't enough, when he broke into the Flash Museum to try to use the Cosmic Treadmill himself, it blew up in his face and he ended up in the hospital again.

In addition to the never-ending trauma, Flash vol. 2 #197 also seem to indicate that the time powers Hunter gained as a result of the Cosmic Treadmill exploding in his face negatively affected his mind.

As such, it isn't especially surprising that Hunter started displaying symptoms of psychosis, including delusions and hallucinations (which seemed to draw on PTSD-like flashbacks). Again, there are a number of diagnoses that could be responsible for this psychotic episode, but I would say that the most likely is Major Depressive Disorder with psychotic features. In addition to the depressive symptoms he displayed both throughout his life and more prominently after Grodd broke his back, there's also a distinct suicidal undertone to his attacks on Wally, since his idea of making Wally a "better hero" pretty explicitly includes getting Wally to kill him.

If Zoom was in Gotham, he would be sentenced to Arkham Asylum. Once again, he's clearly mentally ill, and in Gotham, that's all you need to be declared insane. On the other hand, I'm genuinely not sure if he would be able to successfully plead insanity in the real world. While he seems to be aware of the fact that he's committing crimes on some level, his delusional belief that he is "helping" Wally is so strong that it really does seem like there might be a genuine question as to whether he recognizes that his acts are objectionable---though him being found guilty but mentally ill might still be more likely. Although given how openly psychotic he is---and appears to remain---I think that he might be found incompetent to stand trial altogether.

Pyromania (and Cryophobia)

Heat Wave (Mick Rory): The classic version of Heat Wave would be diagnosed with a simple phobia---specifically, cryophobia, a fear of the cold that's so overwhelming it negatively impacts your day-to-day life. As with many phobias, Mick's fear of the cold stems from a traumatic childhood experience; specifically, when he was nine years old, he accidentally closed himself inside of a meat locker and nearly froze to death before he managed to get out. This, obviously, would not get him declared insane, even in Gotham. Probably.

However, when Geoff Johns elaborated on Heat Wave's backstory in Flash vol. 2 #218, he established/retconned in that Heat Wave also suffers from pyromania, a much more severe mental illness.

According to the DSM-5, the criteria for being diagnosed with pyromania are as follows:

The person deliberately and purposefully sets fires on more than one occasion.

He or she experiences tension or affective arousal before the act.

The individual has a fascination with or attraction to fire.

He or she feels pleasure, gratification, or relief when setting fires, witnessing fires, or participating in their aftermath.

The fire setting is not done for monetary gain, as an expression of sociopolitical ideology or anger, to conceal criminal activity, to improve one’s living circumstances, in response to a delusion or hallucination, or as a result of impaired judgment.

The fire setting is not better or reasonably explained by a manic episode or other disorder.

Johns' Mick displays every single one of these symptoms; he is, in fact, a textbook pyromaniac. This would, naturally, be sufficient to send him to Arkham (Firefly is one of the patients there, after all), but it would probably not be enough to get him declared insane in real life, unless he was tried in a jurisdiction that used the "irresistible impulse" definition of insanity. He might be declared guilty but mentally ill, though.

Substance Abuse

A lot of the Rogues have been shown drinking alcohol or smoking, but there's really only three villains where I think there's sufficient evidence to suggest that they actually have a substance abuse disorder.

Captain Boomerang: According to the DSM-5, in order for an individual to qualify for a diagnosis of alcohol abuse disorder, at least two of the following symptoms must be met:

Drinking more alcohol or over a longer period than originally intended.

Unsuccessfully trying to cut down or control alcohol use.

Craving, or a strong desire or urge to use alcohol. (Wanting a drink so much it’s difficult to think of anything else)

Drinking that interferes with responsibilities at home, at work, or at school.

Continuing to use alcohol even when it causes problems with family and friends.

Giving up important social, occupational, or recreational activities because of alcohol use.

Repeatedly using alcohol in physically hazardous situations.

Developing a tolerance to alcohol (needing more alcohol to get the same effect).

Experiencing withdrawal symptoms such as shakiness, restlessness, nausea, or sweating after stopping or reducing drinking.

Given how often Digger is shown drinking or getting drunk, I think it's fair to say that he qualified for the diagnosis.

During Ostrander's Suicide Squad run, Digger was also identified as having Antisocial Personality Disorder; specifically, he was described as a low-functioning sociopath. Given the behavior Digger regularly displays, I think that diagnosis is quite accurate.

Obviously, though, antisocial personality disorder and alcohol abuse disorder are not enough to get someone declared not guilty by reason of insanity, not even in Gotham. Even if he decided to move to Gotham, Digger wouldn't have to worry about Arkham Asylum.

Mirror Master I (Samuel Scudder): In order to be diagnosed with Tobacco Use Disorder, an individual must display at least two of the following 12 symptoms within a 12-month period:

Tobacco is often taken in larger amounts or over a longer period than was intended.

There is a persistent desire or unsuccessful efforts to cut down or control tobacco use.

A great deal of time is spent in activities necessary to obtain or use tobacco.

Craving, or a strong desire or urge to use tobacco.

Recurrent tobacco use resulting in a failure to fulfill major role obligations at work, school, or home (e.g. - interference with work).

Continued tobacco use despite having persistent or recurrent social or interpersonal problems caused or exacerbated by the effects of tobacco (e.g. - arguments with others about tobacco use).

Important social, occupational, or recreational activities are given up or reduced because of tobacco use.

Recurrent tobacco use in situations in which it is physically hazardous (e.g. - smoking in bed).

Tobacco use is continued despite knowledge of having a persistent or recurrent physical or psychological problem that is likely to have been caused or exacerbated by tobacco.

Tolerance, as defined by either of the following:

A. A need for markedly increased amounts of tobacco to achieve the desired effect.

B. A markedly diminished effect with continued use of the same amount of tobacco.

Withdrawal, as manifested by either of the following:

A. The characteristic withdrawal syndrome for tobacco (refer to Criteria A and B of the criteria set for tobacco withdrawal).

B. Tobacco (or a closely related substance, such as nicotine) is taken to relieve or avoid withdrawal symptoms.

Given that Flash vol. 1 #146 establishes that Sam smokes four cigarettes an hour, and the fact that he was shown smoking more than any other Flash villain, I think that it's safe to say he qualifies for this diagnosis.

There's also a good case to be made that Scudder has Narcissistic Personality Disorder. In order to be diagnosed with NPD, an individual must display at least 5 of the 9 following symptoms:

a grandiose sense of self-importance

a preoccupation with fantasies of success, power, beauty, or perfect love

a belief that they are "special" and can only be understood by other special people

a need for excessive admiration

a sense of entitlement, which may include an unreasonable expectation to be treated favorably or for others to comply with their demands and expectations

behavior that is exploitative and takes advantage of others to achieve their own ends

a lack of empathy or an unwillingness to identify with the needs of others

a tendency to be envious of others or a belief that others are envious of them

arrogance, haughty behaviors, and attitudes.

Scudder's pretty much 9 for 9 here. Who would have guessed that a guy who named himself "Mirror Master" would be a narcissist?

Neither NPD nor a cigarette addiction would be sufficient to have someone declared insane in the real world, but, given the precedent set by the Riddler....NPD might be enough in Gotham. Granted, Riddler is sometimes also portrayed as having OCD, and thus an irresistible impulse to leave clues, but still.....

Mirror Master II (Evan McCulloch): Famously, Evan McCulloch is addicted to cocaine. Since cocaine is a stimulant, that would mean that he would be diagnosed with stimulant use disorder.

That being said, McCulloch's issues extend far beyond the cocaine addiction, and, in many ways, the addiction seems to be just another symptom of a larger problem.

As established in Flash vol. 2 #212, Evan has lived through a lot of traumatic experiences, including accidentally killing his father, finding his mother dead from suicide, and being sexually assaulted by an older boy in the orphanage where he grew up (before killing that kid in self-defense). That, naturally, raises the possibility of a diagnosis of PTSD, the criteria for which are as follows:

Criterion A (1 required): The person was exposed to: death, threatened death, actual or threatened serious injury, or actual or threatened sexual violence, in the following way(s):

Direct exposure

Witnessing the trauma

Learning that the trauma happened to a close relative or close friend

Indirect exposure to aversive details of the trauma, usually in the course of professional duties (e.g., first responders, medics)

Criterion B (1 required): The traumatic event is persistently re-experienced, in the following way(s):

Unwanted upsetting memories

Nightmares

Flashbacks

Emotional distress after exposure to traumatic reminders

Physical reactivity after exposure to traumatic reminders

Criterion C (1 required): Avoidance of trauma-related stimuli after the trauma, in the following way(s):

Trauma-related thoughts or feelings

Trauma-related reminders

Criterion D (2 required): Negative thoughts or feelings that began or worsened after the trauma, in the following way(s):

Inability to recall key features of the trauma

Overly negative thoughts and assumptions about oneself or the world

Exaggerated blame of self or others for causing the trauma

Negative affect

Decreased interest in activities

Feeling isolated

Difficulty experiencing positive affect

Criterion E (2 required): Trauma-related arousal and reactivity that began or worsened after the trauma, in the following way(s):

Irritability or aggression

Risky or destructive behavior

Hypervigilance

Heightened startle reaction

Difficulty concentrating

Difficulty sleeping

Criterion F (required): Symptoms last for more than 1 month.

Criterion G (required): Symptoms create distress or functional impairment (e.g., social, occupational).

Criterion H (required): Symptoms are not due to medication, substance use or other illness.

More specifically, Evan's PTSD appears to be of the dissociative variety, since he does seem to display signs of what's known as derealization (persistent or recurrent experiences of unreality of surroundings, e.g., the world around the individual is experienced as unreal, dreamlike, distant, or distorted) even when he's not actively using cocaine.

In addition to the cocaine use and PTSD, there's also an argument to be made for McCulloch having Antisocial Personality Disorder.

I'm pretty sure McCulloch would be sent to Arkham Asylum if he lived in Gotham, more due to the PTSD and associated dissociation than the cocaine use, but I don't think he'd be declared insane in real life. Maybe he might be declared guilty but mentally ill if he was in one of his particularly weird phases, but he's way too cognizant of his actions to be considered legally insane.

Dissociative Disorder

Professor Zoom the Reverse-Flash (Eobard Thawne): In addition to the really, very, extremely obvious Antisocial Personality Disorder, I think that Eobard Thawne has experienced at least two dissociative episodes in his life. Specifically, during the Return of Barry Allen storyline, when a young Eobard Thawne traveled through time to visit Barry Allen, the stresses of time travel, combined with the shock that learning that he was the Reverse-Flash and that his idol would one day kill him, Eobard entered a state of dissociative fugue, losing his memories of his past life and then taking on the name and identity of Barry Allen. His memories eventually returned when Wally West confronted him with his Reverse-Flash costume, but when he subsequently returned back to his native time after being soundly thrashed by Wally, the stress of time travel induced partial dissociative amnesia; he completely forgot about his first trip to the past and would never remember it.

Eobard is also a creepy, obsessive stalker to both Barry and Iris Allen, but to a large extent that's probably attributable to his ASPD.

In the real world, dissociative amnesia of the sort Eobard displayed, where he still clearly has the memories of all of his most heinous crimes, would not be at all sufficient to get someone declared legally insane, and, of course, neither would ASPD. That being said, given the way that Gotham treats the Joker, and the similarities between Eobard and the Joker, I have this horrible feeling that Gotham would totally send Eobard to Arkham.

Personality Disorders

Personality Disorders alone are not sufficient to get someone declared legally insane in real life, but since Gotham's legal system seems to operate under its own totally unrelated definition of insanity, I unfortunately have to go through all the characters with personality disorders anyway.

Blacksmith (Amunet Black): Blacksmith has Antisocial Personality Disorder, but Gotham wouldn't send her to Arkham. She's a lot like the Penguin, and he never gets sent to Arkham.

Gorilla Grodd: Grodd also has Antisocial Personality Disorder, and if he was in Gotham and for some reason couldn't be extradited back to Gorilla City, he'd probably end up getting sent to Arkham under the "Clayface/Mr. Freeze" rule, which states that Arkham is apparently the only penal facility in Gotham capable of housing the more physically abnormal inmates.

Abra Kadabra: Abra Kadabra definitely has Narcissistic Personality Disorder; he's even more of a showboat than Sam Scudder. I get the feeling that he'd probably end up in Arkham because of his flamboyance and obsessive need for applause.

Girder: ASPD. He'd end up in Arkham under the "Clayface/Mr. Freeze" rule.

Golden Glider: I think a case can be made for Golden Glider having Paranoid Personality Disorder. In order to be a diagnosed with PPD, an individual must display at least four of the following symptoms:

Suspects, without sufficient basis, that others are exploiting, harming, or deceiving them.

Is preoccupied with unjustified doubts about the loyalty or trustworthiness of friends or associates.

Is reluctant to confide in others because of unwarranted fear that the information will be used maliciously against them.

Reads hidden demeaning or threatening meanings into benign remarks or events.

Bears grudges persistently, being unforgiving of insults, injuries, or slights. 

Perceives attacks on their character or reputation that are not apparent to others and quickly reacts angrily or counterattacks. 

Has recurrent suspicions, without justification, regarding fidelity of spouse or sexual partner.

Does not occur exclusively during the course of schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, depressive disorder with psychotic features, or another psychotic disorder, and is not attributable to the physiological effects of another medical condition. 

Golden Glider became a supervillain specifically to get revenge on Barry Allen for the death of the Top, so she certainly meets the "bearing grudges" criteria. In Flash vol. 1 #261-264, she reacts angrily to being administered a psychological evaluation and treats it as a personal attack, which would seem to meet a few of the diagnostic criteria, and she certainly reacts violently to any perceived threats. Furthermore, in Flash vol. 2 Annual #1, Golden Glider accuses Captain Boomerang, Weather Wizard, and Trickster of having blown the whistle on her without any apparent evidence, and in her debut issues, Flash vol. 1 #250-251, we also saw that she was willing to pre-emptively knock out her brother and leave him to the police in order to ensure that he wouldn't try to interfere with her revenge plans. This, combined with her experiences as a child with an abusive father, a frequently-absent mother, and a brother who ultimately left her alone with her father, makes for a pretty good argument for at least some level of paranoia.

Would Golden Glider be sent to Arkham? I'm inclined to say yes, if only because the sheer intensity of her rage. Which, given her reaction to the proposed psychological tests, would probably just make her even angrier.

The Character With No Clear Mental Illness Who Would be Sent to Iron Heights Purely on the Basis of the "Clayface/Mr. Freeze Rule"

Tarpit (Joey Monteleone): Joey doesn't seem to have any mental illnesses as such, but the fact that he's a giant flaming tar monster means that he'd probably get sent to Arkham by default if he lived in Gotham.

Characters I'm Pretty Sure Wouldn't Be Sent to Arkham

Captain Cold (Leonard Snart): Len doesn't have any clear mental illnesses at all (maaaybe you could make an argument for PTSD or alcohol abuse, but that seems like a stretch), and he's so pragmatic that even Gotham would send him to Blackgate with no questions asked.

Weather Wizard (Mark Mardon): He's moody, and does seem to have occasional flashbacks to his brother's death, but there's nothing in particular that I can pinpoint for him. He doesn't really get as much focus as you would expect. And he's not quite weird or flamboyant enough to get sent to Arkham.

Trickster I (James Jesse): Unlike his television adaptations, James is neither psychotic (as in the DCAU) or psychopathic (as in the 90s show and the CW show). Weirdly, he might still get sent to Arkham anyway, if only because of how much he plays up the wacky screwball angle and how bad Gotham is at understanding mental health.

Trickster II (Axel Walker): There's a definite argument to be made for Conduct Disorder, but Axel's effectively just a teenaged punk. Even Gotham wouldn't send him to Arkham. Probably. I hope.

Gotham seems convinced that anyone with a clown theme is insane, though, so who knows.

Peek-a-Boo (Lashawn Baez): Arguably some trauma and depressive symptoms, especially after she was abused at Iron Heights and her father died, but nothing that would get her sent to Arkham.

Fallout (Neil Borman): Again, I can't rule out PTSD or depressive symptoms, given the horrible way his family died and the equally horrible way Warden Wolfe used him to power Iron Heights, but he doesn't do anything sufficiently weird or violent for him to get sent to Arkham.

[starrrbakerrr]

Just reread the books as an adult and I must say as an adult it’s actually really hard to be nice about Gale. As a kid I was trying to be balanced and nice about the love triangle but as a grown adult woman I’m like “I don’t agree with your politics and also if any guy treated any of my friends the way you treat Katniss, I would stage an intervention”. And also Katniss never smiles around him 😞

I'm also doing a reread right now because I finally got hard copies of the books! It's going very slowly though lol

I really don't remember my exact feelings about Gale when I first read the books (I was in 6th-7th grade), but I don't think I ever liked him. I also remember hating how the movies emphasized the love triangle when reading the books it was obviously always Peeta.

I reread the books last March and as an adult I picked up so much about him. I think when I was young I was mostly anti-Gale because I loved Peeta/Everlark so much, but rereading as an adult I'm really able to specify what I dislike about Gale. He's just so... annoying.

On his politics, I'm actually a teeny bit sympathetic towards Gale because I don't think all the responsibility for Prim's death should be wholly on him. The severing of Katniss/Gale's relationship is so much deeper than him killing her sister. It's a plot point and dialogue that's been misinterpreted because of the movies. I think the way they presented it cheapens the story and it cheapens why Katniss ultimately chose Peeta.

Regardless, I can't help but dislike Gale. It is how he approaches his relationship with Katniss for me, and as you said how he treats Katniss. Whenever he speaks I'm annoyed. What bugs me is the entitlement he feels he has to Katniss. And some things he says give me the ick.

Knowing there’s people legitimately ship Everthorne is wild to me like 😭

Thanks for the ask!

(below is a tangent on the anti-Gale rhetoric. It’s a defense of one moment I think his hate is a bit too unreasonable so read with caution i guess)

I saw someone say on Twitter that Gale should be vilified for saying that killing people isn't much different than killing animals, and I think that person missed the point of that part in the book. And as some who likes literary analysis outside of my personal feelings for characters and ships, I kinda love that Suzanne wrote this. The dialogue:

“Katniss, it’s just hunting. You’re the best hunter I know,” says Gale. “It’s not just hunting. They’re armed. They think,” I say. “So do you. And you’ve had more practice. Real practice,” he says. “You know how to kill.” “Not people,” I say. “How different can it be, really?” says Gale grimly. The awful thing is that if I can forget they’re people, it will be no different at all.

In the movie, the line sounds brutal and violent and I think part of it could be delivery. In the book, to me, Gale doesn’t say that with confidence or with the belief that humans are dispensable, but “grimly.” And in the movie we don’t get Katniss’s inner thought that even though what Gale said was callous it’s valid because this is the world they're living in - a world that is violent and where Capitol citizens don’t see children as anything other then prey. These characters are extremely desensitized to violence and death. In Catching Fire, Peeta and Katniss curl up on the couch with a mug of warm milk to watch Haymitch's games like it’s a movie.

I think there are a lot of moments to dislike or have distaste for Gale, because I have many. But some of his hate goes overboard and people mostly on twitter and tiktok bc they see the movies as canon solely put the blame on an 18 y/o with immense trauma instead of the adult leaders who have never experienced life like him - Coin is from D13, Plutarch and Snow are from the Capitol.

And to call Gale worse than Snow and to excuse a lot of Snow’s actions, even making shit up about Snow like he cared and gave genuine condolences to Katniss about Prim, or say he didn’t murder Lucy Gray as a defense against Billy Taupe like the murder attempt isn’t just as bad, is seriously gross. I’m kinda glad tbosas and hunger games hype has died down on Twitter because the takes were increasingly getting worse and more illogical.

[flagellant]

perhaps this is in bad faith, but don't you think it's plausible that ms appleton was just a government food scientist who was sent to japan as sort of U.S. ambassador and given a generic, americanized name? we know that resources were scarce during the war and that many changes had to be made, or simply were made to cut costs, in the production of lots of things at the time. it just makes sense when you break it down that traditional shoyu is time and labour intensive to make but improves the taste of even outright bad dishes. at a time when people were forced to eat whatever food was available to them demand was likely very high to the point of unreasonably outweighing supply. either officials at kikkoman reached out to american food scientists for a solution or they offered one up themselves, given the fact that food science was undergoing a huge international renaissance led by the americans during the 30s, 40s and 50s. americans have a tendency to synthesize food. they also tend to feel strongly about imposing their culture on other countries. it seems more to me like this is a story about the american government taking extra steps to obfuscate the story of how they semi-successfully tried to be the final nail in the coffin of widespread, traditional shoyu production. less like some kind of yakuza conspiracy somehow centred on one woman. just the perspective of someone who's felt compelled to do their own research. it's my opinion that the way you're presenting your findings leaves massive gaps as well as leaps to get over them. i can't speak for the things you haven't shared publicly, obviously, but it feels a lot like you're dancing around the point. good luck to you in your research, regardless of my own feelings.

I think I agree that you're either arguing in bad faith or simply aren't really paying attention to a wider picture here. It's common knowledge that postwar economics in Japan were heavily influenced and remain to this day connected to organized crime and the Yakuza as an old tool of the imperial/noble order. We also know for a fact that the CIA worked with the yakuza during American occupation in order to manipulate political culture and economic structures.

It's also a common conspiracy in Japanese circles (or at least so it appears, and I want to be clear I am not voicing this as more than preexisting theory/belief, so I will not directly source to give complete credibility; consider this as context for why I might be interested in investigating further, just in case) that Empress Michiko and the Seifun Milling Company had close under-the-table connections with America, which would further influence the traditional shoyu brewing culture.

Like, I feel as though if you seem to be aware enough that America's treatment of Japan was one of extreme hostility and cruelty with little-to-no care about the nation or its people, solely using it as a means to enforce American/Western ideals and principles onto an unwilling populace and using violence and illegal organized crime syndicates to fulfill those goals...then why are you acting as though it's sus of me to look at a single woman in 1947 having this much power/control over Japanese-American relations when you have said yourself that shoyu is the single most important ingredient for Japanese food of all time, and only moreso during war rations/scarcity times?