#and no their canonical child does not exist i dont like him.

[buzzingroyalty]

happy valentimes i went and dug up a bunch of my old mlp nextgens to redesign after many many years

[thebirthofvenusfly]

i dont think ive made a ramble post about isabeau so here is a ramble post about isabeau

bro is THE most emotionally mature member of the team. like bonnie is a literal child, odile has trouble with half the emotional spectrum, mirabelle is consistently on the verge of a panic attack and siffrin is... (gestures around in their general direction) That. Going Through It. so like isabeau is without argument the most emotionally mature and available member of their party.

does this mean he is perfect and his entire life is all rainbows and glitter? HELL NO and not just because rainbows probably dont exist* (*they exist but they arent... color... right...?)

we know isa has had some self-worth and exploration issues growing up. though he's in a much better place now, and tbh still more consistently healthy in terms of emotion than any other party member, he does still fear if continuing to change and grow will cause him to lose what is dear to him (with siffrin being no small example of that). it's something he's still coming to terms with in some ways; change is destruction, and to move forward means to inevitably leave some things behind. but that doesnt mean he wants to lose the connections he's made leading up to this point either.

his entire backstory isnt really touched upon (to be fair, is anyone's? maybe bonnie's the most, but they're like 12, there's only so much to have recounted in their life so far.) iirc, adrienne has mentioned isabeau having siblings and im fairly certain it's either canon or popularized that he's a middle child (re: commonly forgotten and overlooked role in the household. source: i am a middle child :,) ). his exploration with transitioning and growing into more of the person he wants to be is clear, but going off of hc of his home life and mixes of adrienne's q&a answers, he was an afterthought among his household more often than not. then he strikes out on his bravery alone, becoming a defender, and ultimately losing those connections w other defenders too when he is the only one to pursue the quest to stop the king at mirabelle's side.

isabeau has spent his Entire Life having to leave things behind and destroy parts of his lifestyle that he's known to move forward, but when he meets the party, it's the closest he's ever been to anyone (and THIS much IS canon; the party members' relationships are the closest they've ever been to Anyone, save for some other family members like Nille to Bonnie, or Odile to her father, and presumably Siffrin to their guardians, etc). what does he have left, if not them? who does he have left, if not them?

let the man know some joy for a while

[emmkitt]

stop calling mephone4 a child.

my credentials(/silly): mephone4’s biggest fan + someone who sees mephone as representative of myself. i am also an autistic adult. (relevant)

i went on an autistic tirade rambling about this in a discord server but i wanted to compile my reasoning and stuff here into a tumblr post because this is very important to me.

alright. lets start with the most commonly used argument.

calling mephone a child is ableist.

now i certainly agree that some children CAN act the way mephone does. however, i think it’s harmful when your ONLY argument as to why he is a child is ‘because he cant spell’ or ‘because he creates fantasy worlds in his brain as a means of escapism.’

I think the issue is, we are reducing these very real symptoms of mental disorders to ‘oh he’s just acting childish,’ instead of understanding them for what they are. autism and dyslexia are not cured the second you turn 18. it doesn’t work that way. giving in to the stereotype that only children can act this way… i dunno man. it really rubs me the wrong way.

i think it’d be better to view him as an adult with these symptoms because, well, VERY rarely do we ever get representation of an adult with mental disorders in media. at least not in a way that’s not villainizing them or mocking/infantilizing them. (sidebar, mephone IS NOT THE VILLAIN. he did bad things, yes, and should be held accountable for it, but he is NOT. THE VILLAIN. he is an abuse victim, and his way of acting is actually very good representation of the way abuse victims may go on to mimic actions of their abuser.) cobs (mephone’s abuser btw) LITERALLY infantilizes mephone IN CANON. IN THE SHOW. WHY ARE YOU LISTENING TO COBS. WHY ARE YOU ACTING LIKE COBS.

bro didnt go to school

i didnt know how to title this section. basically, people reducing him to a child because he doesn’t know adult things are MISSING THE POINT.

HE WAS RAISED BY COBS.

do you think cobs had ANY interest in teaching him ANYTHING about the real world? about how to be an adult? about how to ride a bike or pay taxes? NO. dude popped into existence knowing nothing except what Cobs WANTED him to know. he was meant to just work for Cobs and do tasks all the time and that was IT. OF COURSE his knowledge is going to be limited to what Cobs taught him. that DOES NOT make someone a child. GO REWATCH THE SHOWWWW.

suspend your disbelief for once in your life oh my god

i dont understand how people are able to suspend disbelief for LITERALLY EVERYTHING ELSE in fiction. such as murder/death, supernatural creatures, the universe itself as a whole, etc. but when it comes to age, the real world standards MUST be applied, no exception. Like since Mephone was canonically created 14 years ago in-universe that means he is 14 years old. we are completely ignoring the fact he is a fictional talking sentient phone robot for a minute.

and adding in the ‘he acts like a child’ argument for a second… season 1. what 1 year old do you know that can walk and talk and create an entire game show?? he has practically acted the EXACT SAME WAY his entire existence, therefore that argument falls completely flat.

it would be DIFFERENT if in-universe they had established rules, where this age means this and that age means that, but the ii universe DOES NOT HAVE THAT. meaning people are free to interpret age however they want. it would ALSO be different if mephone was canonically stated to be a child (we’re getting to that) OR portrayed to be childcoded. which…. he isn’t.

okay so by these rules all of the contestants are younger than mephone.

the agreement amongst child mephone believers seems to be ‘creation date = birth date = real age’. so bot is like 3 years old. the unvitationals are like 2. all the contestants are somewhere between like 4-14. but wait- some season 1 contestants ACT older or younger than the others? no. no theyre ALL 13-14 only. no exceptions. every newbie in season 3 is like 4-5. every newbie in season 2 is like 10. makes perfect sense.

do you understand how ridiculous that is. WE CANNOT , i repeat, CANNOT APPLY REAL WORLD STANDARDS TO A FICTIONAL UNIVERSE. oh my god. they are holograms. they are robots. they are in a weird plane floating in the vastness of space that has a picnic table that can generate food, and the ability to revive dead people, and ghosts and talking corn and. and all of THAT is fine. but god forbid someone interpret the talking phone as an adult. I DONT GET IT.

b-b-but cobs called mephone a child…

once again, common arguement. i strike thee down with a ‘MANIPULATION TACTIC.’ i feel like this has been covered enough and better in other mephone rambles so im not gonna get into it.

personal section

this is more of a personal experiences and opinions thing. less based on fact. agree or disagree idc this is just my experience.

once again, like i stated in the beginning, i see myself in mephone. a lot. I am an adult. i have autism. i have the tendency to act ‘childish’ sometimes due to my condition. im bad at being an adult. i struggle with tasks that are probably easy for other adults. i’m not a child. it’s very disheartening- i WANT to be viewed as an independent functioning adult, despite my condition, but when even a FICTIONAL PHONE who acts just like i do gets reduced to ‘child’ because he acts similarly to someone who’s mentally ill and has been abused. it HURTS MAN. he’s just trying his best:[

anyways conclusion

idc. you can headcanon whatever you want cause technically nothing is confirmed, but this is more food for thought for the people immediately jumping on the ‘child mephone’ bandwagon.

unless someone is canonically stated to be a child or is very heavily child coded, i don’t think its wrong for people to interpret them as an adult.

if sometime in the future mephone is canonically confirmed to be a child like. in universe. ill probably be disappointed.

i am a firm believer in age doesnt work the same way in ii as it does in our universe. theyre all fictional creatures. they were not created by conventional means. you dont have to apply our world’s standards to it.

anyways uhh. ramble over lol

[bonefall]

What are your thoughts on Crowfeather's Trial? I already know how you feel about my other least favorite super editions so I'm curious about your opinions on this one lol

I think at best it's just okay. Like...it feels like they're going "see!! We're holding him accountable!!" But then they just kinda...dont?? Like I didn't feel any differently about Crowfeather by the end than I did when I started. There's parts I like about it but overall it just fell flat for me

Like how am I supposed to like this guy when he's just constantly a dick?? he can't stand Harespring for some reason, there's a moment where he's like "I wish my son was dead" and when Nightcloud goes missing he barely gives a damn and doesn't bother to even try and look for her

Anyways I'll forever be mad that they gave this guy a whole super edition and he'll probably have the most dramatic death ever while Leafpool suffered her entire life (and afterlife) and got killed off screen. Hoping he gets jumped by rats and dies from infection

I'm not a big fan of it. It's one of the better written SEs and has a clear goal in mind, but every time I have to encounter it, it feels like it's sidelining the characters who actually deserve to be explored in favor of Crowfeather Sadboy Whinging.

Breezepelt has 12 books detailing how being mistreated by Crowfeather is making him worse, and showing that social alienation is pushing him towards the Dark Forest. Nightcloud was demonized by the old team even though they wrote Crowfeather deflecting all the blame of Breeze's behavior onto her, giving the new team a great opportunity to correct the mistakes of the old writers... and they decided to focus on Crowfeather instead.

And, mind you, they conveniently leave out massive details about how BADLY Crowfeather was abusing his child.

There's this one part of the book where he learns that Breezepelt broke his leg as a kid and he feels like shit for not remembering it, and it's supposed to be a big moment where Crowfeather realizes he was apathetic and careless. But he WASN'T just apathetic and careless. We see him TEACHING his child xenophobia in order to mock and offend Leafpool, smacking Breezepaw around for being 'rude' (the way Crowf always is), and screeching at him for having basic needs like hunger or rest.

Crowfeather WASN'T just a sad, sad boy who didn't pay attention to his kid because he was too busy pining over Dead Wife. What he did to Breezepelt wasn't just neglect; it was physical and emotional abuse.

The book DOES ultimately hold him responsible for how Breezepelt turned out, yes. But it doesn't properly focus on WHAT made Breeze come out the way he did. It wasn't genes, it wasn't Daddy Not Smile At Me. I can only assume the reason why they didn't address how ghoulish Crowfeather actually was is because they knew that being honest and direct about him abusing his child would make him unsympathetic.

Which is a problem, because, y'know, you can just make it Breezepelt's Trial and NOT have to thread that needle??

And furthermore... the book is trying to show Crowfeather addressing that he's kind of an asshole and moving on from it, earning deputyship as a reward for his growth, but what the book really demonstrates to me is that Crowfeather is a dickhead who actually shouldn't have ANY power at all. I don't understand why people would trust him or want him as their leader. I don't see any reason to think that he would be responsible with the lives of an entire Clan of people.

Before I hear clown shoes; if you think that means I "just don't like" that he would be an ""interesting leader,"" pile yourself back into the car with your 30 other jesters and drive away. I mean that it feels completely wrong that any character in-universe would look at the person who exists in Crowfeather's Trial, and say, "this is a person who would help me effectively rule."

What he does, all-book-long, is show that he's an emotionally unstable loose canon borderline incapable of self-reflection. Other characters have to directly tell him "you should try being less of an asshole" and "maybe be nice to your family sometimes?" while he comes up with bullshit reasons to seethe at every character who wanders into his line of sight.

I massively resent the fact that even Leafpool has to mommy his baby ass towards the end of the book. After he spends a good part of Po3 and OotS finding roundabout ways to snipe at her for not giving him exactly what he wanted. It falls on HER to be the one he can ask for advice on how to fix the family he treated like shit his whole life.

no that's not hyperbole she literally. textually. is compared to his mother.

and he can't even be gracious about it, he's instantly all huffy and offended, completely proving her point. Why the hell would anyone make this guy a deputy? The man needs TWO motherly figures giving him the exact same basic advice and a dedicated super edition before he adjusts his behavior even slightly.

(watch him get Boring Leader Syndrome the minute he inevitably becomes Crowstar, too)

Sooo, in a nutshell;

It's one of the better SEs. unfortunately.

Crowfeather is held accountable for being the problem in his own relationships, thank god

but it doesn't fully hold the actions we SAW in the main series books accountable, seemingly purposefully leaving out the worst things he did.

Another WC book where a male character gets an insane amount of sympathy and rewarding that female characters are NEVER deigned deserving of.

Should have been Breezepelt's story. I strongly dislike how Breeze's "redemption" was based on his shitty dad saying sorry. He deserved an actual character arc struggling with ever trusting WindClan again after they took his dad's judgement about him at face value.

Absolutely awful that Leafpool is killed between books and given a trial where they consider sending her to hell when they finally DO get around to showing how she died, while Crowfeather gets an SE about the whole world holding his hand so he can fix the family he broke in 5 easy steps.

Its biggest problem is that it is about a character whose actions you can go and read about. It doesn't deliver on the setup of 12 books of Crowfeather being an absolute git; it's a good story for the version of Crowfeather the new team seems to have created in their heads.

Doesn't stop me from manifesting him getting an infection and having a Sandstorm-tier disrespectful death in the upcoming series, lmao.

[beannary]

OK so I dont really like this but this 2012 tmnt mermaid au has been driving me INSANE so here are some mermaid designs for the boys (which I might change if I draw more stuff for this au) and some lore for the au under the cut!

also Donnie is ftm and Leo is mtf and those are the facts! (Donnie did do top surgery on himself, do NOT ask me how he did that underwater safely)

(just a quick note: I am using some japanese mythos for the mermaid part but I'm also being loosey goosey with it alskjdfh)

ALSO slight tw for cannibalism? or like cannibalism adjacent behavior

There is a yokai described in Japanese literature called the ningyo, a creature that is half human and half fish. Legend says that if you capture a ningyo and eat its flesh, that you will be granted eternal life. Hamato Yoshi and Oroku Saki were familiar with these legends, though Saki always believed in them more than Yoshi. Saki believed in the legends so much that he became obsessed with finding the legendary ningyo and becoming immortal after consuming its flesh. Yoshi accompanied his brother on these ventures, more out of a sense of familiar duty and a need to watch out for his younger brother than an actual belief in the ningyo.

And of course, it just so happens that the brother who does not at all believe in the existence of yokai would be the one to find one. Yoshi encounters Tang Shen, a ningyo who has been living throughout the local freshwater river system. And suddenly Yoshi realizes that Saki's quest for murder might actually come true since apparently these ningyo are very much real. So now whenever he accompanies Saki on his hunting quests, he does everything in his ability to try to dissuade Saki from his plan, and when he realizes that isn't going to work, he starts to sabotage Saki's efforts. And Yoshi does this because well he kept in contact with Tang Shen, and the two became close friends, and son fell in love, bridging the gap between yokai and human.

They can't get married, obviously, Tang Shen is fully a yokai, but they build their lives together and eventually Tang Shen falls pregnant with their daughter Miwa. The two weren't entirely sure what to expect of their child, but Miwa turns out to be a completely normal human child.

Over the years as Yoshi and Tang Shen's love and family grew, Yoshi started pulling away from his birth family, and more noticeably, from Saki, who was you know pretty angry with Yoshi who seemingly disappeared on him with no explanation. Saki channels his anger into his search for the ningyo, and it takes three years but eventually he does finally find one.

Around three years after Miwa was born, Tang Shen and Yoshi welcome in four new kids! Quadruplets! Three boys and a girl. And these four, unlike Miwa, seem to all be fully ningyo, which very much surprised Yoshi and Tang Shen (both the fact that there were four kids and those four kids are all mermaids) but hey, they knew their genetic situation would be weird and they were fully ready to hop into raising these four.

It's only a few days after the birth of their quadruplets, so soon after that they haven't even given them names, that Saki stumbles upon the home of Yoshi and Tang Shen. And He Is Pissed. Not only did his BROTHER ABANDON him but he abandon him to start a family with this yokai? The yokai that he's been hunting all this time? And Saki, like in canon, kills Tang Shen and Miwa. (Or well you know, he kidnaps Miwa and renames her Karai but Yoshi thinks Miwa is dead)

Yoshi manages to get away with the quadruplets in the chaos, and he tries so hard to establish a new life for himself in Japan, but no matter where he goes, Saki manages to find him. Eventually Yoshi gets desperate enough to flee the country, and he finds himself in New York City!

But meanwhile back in Japan, Saki did in fact end up eating Tang Shen but idk how he realizes it but he figures out that he didnt get immortality, and so he concludes that oh, Tang Shen must have been tainted somehow by her relationship with Yoshi, which sucks because now he has to find a whole other ningyo to get immortality. Luckily he happens to know of four ningyo that he would be more than happy to kill, which is basically Saki's drive to finding and killing the Hamatos.

Anyways that's all I have so far!!!! I'm trying to think about how they would live in NYC, if they can somehow become human (in maybe like an H2O just add water situation) or if they are stuck in the water all the time.

I'm leaning towards them being able to shed their fish tails if even only for a small amount of time, just so they can still be ninjas and train on land, since I think Yoshi would still want to train them to defend themselves. I think that if they can be human for a bit, they still get dried out really easily so they can't stay out of the water for very long, probably not long enough for them to go to school full time, so they still live super isolated lives. Or maybe Yoshi figures out a way to train them to fight in the water? Idk suggestions are appreciated!

They do eventually meet April and Casey, I think April is gonna be on the swim team and so she's a fairly strong swimmer (for a human) and so she spends a lot of time in the water with the hamatos which they appreciate a lot! I think maybe Yoshi isn't a super strong swimmer so as much as he tries to spend time with his kids he can't really.

Casey is still on the hockey team and he can't swim, the hamatos try to teach him but they fully dont know how to swim with legs and so they are Bad tm swimming teachers salkdjfh.

[theninth09]

people dont actually believe that theo killed his sister, do they?

like okay. the entire pack and probably theo himself think that hes responsible for her death, but the pack hates him and doesnt trust him for valid reasons and theo is traumatized and holds guilt over her death so hes probably convinced himself that he did kill her. i just dont believe thats true.

in s5b when hes with stiles in the tunnels (i forgot why they're down there but whatever) and stiles tells him "oh yeah, the guy that killed his own sister when he was nine?" and theo argues back "yeah. i was nine. i had no idea what was going on." and that he also still believed santa exists so obviously he believed the dread doctors when they told him she wanted him to have his heart.

first of all: this is s5b. hes long dropped his act and he has no reason to lie in this moment. he knows that stiles wont fall for his lies and hes stopped lying and transitioned into threatening and intimidating anyway. theres no good reason for theo to lie to stiles here: theres no actual benefit that would come from that.

and his behavior points towards him telling the truth. instead of deflecting or making a joke, or any of the stuff he usually does to get his way, he starts explaining and defending himself. he seems almost agitated that stiles claims that he did kill tara and argues why he didnt.

and ofc stiles doesnt believe him and tells him "i think you pushed her. i think you liked it." which is, sorry, utter bullshit. i understand why stiles says this (yk. theo killed his bffie and all that) but i think stiles is purposely turning everything that he knows about theo into something evil. he doesnt want to believe that theo was a victim of his circumstances, because that would make him human, that would explain why he became the person that he is. its easier to fall back onto the "hes just purely evil" argument, because then he can hate theo for what he did.

stiles is smart. thats his whole thing. thats his whole thing with theo, that he was "smart enough not to trust him" as theo says to the sheriff in s6a. stiles knows that theo was a child, that its likely that theo got manipulated and groomed by the dread doctors. but, i think, he decides not to care about that, to ignore that. he hates theo and he wants to hate theo, but if he starts looking at the reasons for why he did what he did, he'll begin to understand him. and while he'll still never forgive theo, that will reduce this fury he has for him because, newsflash, theo was a CHILD.

people argue that tw doesnt show us enough of his back story to back this up and yeah, i kinda agree. we dont get enough of his story because teen wolf ALWAYS does this. with every character. they insinuate something, they start something interesting that could give their characters depth and then they abandon it and its like the characters just forget about it. all this show has is small details for fans to focus on if you want to analyze anything, because this show is objectively not good enough to actually do that.

+ theo is a side character. he wasnt even meant to stay as long as he did and cody did his best to work with the material. if your argument is that theres missing context and only vaguely shown stuff, im sorry but thats so stupid. thats not a good argument for in canon. "oh but we never see theo do this or that" HES A SIDE CHARACTER. he wasnt even supposed to come back! and tw is not a very good show! obviously they added more depth to his character in s6 because cody came back. like yeah theres stuff that doesnt make sense (like the show saying he didnt have a heart condition), because his back story got added as an afterthought in s6. you cant only look at s5 and judge his character based on that. his depth comes from s6 and its not the characters fault that the show has bad writing.

and if you simply dont like theo, cool. i dont like a bunch of characters in tw. but i find this argument that hes actually evil and deserved getting tortured and whatever exhausting and annoying.

if you dont have empathy for his character in s6 bc you just hate him, fine. i dont care. but if you're talking about this in a more analytical way? fuck off. he was a child, the show points towards him getting groomed and abused by the dread doctors and guess what? even during his villain arc, hes still a child. yes he should take responsibility for what he did, im not excusing any of that stuff. but theres reasons for why he did all that.

and again, dumb tv logic reasons, but most of the villains getting away unscathed, fucking peter hale and deucalion being allowed to just kinda wander around while theo is in an eternal time loop of torture? like this technically erases the packs rule of not killing because i dont think its weird for me to argue that getting non-stop tortured without the ability to die is objectively worse than actually dying. and yeah, tv logic, but if you think that (in canon, not just bc you personally dont like theo) he deserved that, idk. weird. very weird.

[quinnyundertow]

The first time that y / n interacts with toji he basically sexually assaults her, do you think that he has the capacity to take advantage of someone in that way? I dont mean to offend you when asking this, because I look up to you a lot as someone who writes very well. But I think that this facet of a character being brought up is very interesting, because people don't really like to talk about how sometimes their favorite characters (that are canonically bad people) can do bad things that aren't just killing other people. Their favorite characters can do bad things like raping people. And I think it's really interesting how you picked up on that, I guess this is my long winded way up asking you to expand upon it because I really appreciate the thoughtfulness put into the way you write these characters.

I want to preface this by saying this is my opinion from my character studies. I don’t want to debate or argue with anyone about his character and why he is the way he is. Now on to the long response.

No offense taken at all. Toji is such an interesting character because he’s very realistically human. It’s going to take me delving into his character to answer this. Toji was created in a horrifying environment (Zenin clan) that had no respect for women or life. He was born and trained to be a killer of curses and people alike. He was told he was nothing because he lacked powers a sorcerer would have while being told he was still better than women and non-Zenin’s. Talk about a chaotic and confusing environment. Despite it all, miraculously, he fell in love and forsook everything he was taught growing up. He clearly respected and loved Mamaguro. He went straight and narrow and stopped being a hit man for her. Unfortunately, they lived happily ever is not the way this story ends.

In the second phase of Toji’s life, post mamaguro he falls into a deep depression where he forsakes any and all things that made him human. He refuses to consciously let himself care about anyone (including himself) because he can’t take the agony of losing someone he loves again like that. He shows this to the point where he has moments where he “forgets” Megumi exists. He falls back on what he was taught growing up and feeds his darker emotions. He’s known as the sorcerer killer, and he shows his total disregard for life by killing Kuroi a completely unnecessary death in the hidden inventory because he didn’t care enough to hold back. He takes a job to murder a child (Riko) because he wants to stick it to sorcerer society. He’s self destructive and kills just to drink and gamble all the money away. He’s also according to Gege a womanizer that sleeps with older more wealthy women for money.

Here’s the thing a lot of people refuse to see. Toji doesn’t have to do any of these things; he chooses to. If he truly wanted to destroy sorcerer society he could have. He could have wiped out the Zenin clan easily. If he wanted to just gamble and drink 24/7 he could rob banks or the rich. Instead he chooses to debauch himself and sink into every indecent thing he knows; it’s like an advanced form of self harm. He drinks to forget what a piece of shit he is now and to forget what he’s lost (mamaguro) and what he’s running from (Megumi). While killing, strategizing, and gambling for a brief high. He has moments of clarity, right before he dies and when he sells Megumi off, but those are few and far between.

So back to the original question. Does Toji have the capacity to sexually assault someone? Rape someone? In my opinion, Absolutely. He would do it, enjoy basking in the animalistic side of it and absolutely despise himself for doing it afterwards.

Why do I think this? He degrades and abuses Suguru (a child) and enjoys it. He’s sadistic and enjoys mocking and beating him when he’s already knocked out. He only doesn’t murder him because it would be inconvenient to deal with the curses Suguru holds in his body. Toji has proven he knows right from wrong and that he doesn’t have to be a hit man to survive. He’s already done these things before and is choosing not to.

All these factors considered he can and does still choose to hold back or be a “good” person at times. He acknowledges he’s a shit father by selling off Megumi saying he’s better off that way despite knowing how bad it is even to the blessed. He holds back from murdering the man he bumped at the gambling salon because it wasn’t worth the effort. He doesn’t kill the Zenin clan because he still cares about them despite everything. Finally, he sacrifices his life for his son at the end of it all.

Gege is a master character creator when he takes the time to (allowed creative time and freedom to). Which is what makes Toji such a fun character to write. He has shown the capacity to be good and evil. He has the capacity to change if someone gives enough of a fuck and if he allows it.

Thank you for the question and you’ll have to see how our YN fares in this next arc. ☺️

[friendbreakfast]

theres never a time where the Scooby Gang hating on Scrappy will make sense, i feel. like think about it. in-universe, what did Scrappy ever do to make them hate him that isnt what he already did when they used to like him?

literally all the jokes in modern Scooby Doo where the entire gang is like "oh we don't talk about Scrappy ¬¬" feel so meanspirited for something that just literally does not make any sense.

the ONE TIME Scrappy did something evil was because James Gunn hated him for no reason other than "he was written into the show at a time where the writing was less good", and it was in a movie that isnt even canon to the cartoons, so even that cant be a reason for the characters to hate him.

like i dunno, i might not care about Scrappy himself that much (i dont dislike him either) but what i do care about, is that the characters are basically mandated to never ever bring up a part of the series' history unless its to shit on it for absolutely no reason and act OUT OF CHARACTER at that to be mean to a character that is literally a CHILD, where the writers could instead like, write Scrappy better? the writers could bring Scrappy back and make him better as a character instead of just ragging on his existence every time they get to even aknowledge he existed.

like they brought back Flimflam, a character from a show Scrappy existed in, and a character most people also agreed SUCKED in that show and was just as if not more annoying than Scrappy.... yeeeet Flimflam was written better there, and people really liked him in that movie. and yet still, the only time they mention Scrappy in that movie is like "Hey, where's Scrappy?" and everyone answering "Who's Scrappy??" like COME ON, you FIXED FLIMFLAM and couldnt bother doing the same with the one most overhated character? so overhated, the trope that means "character everbody hates" is called THE SCRAPPY.

like come on, isnt that exaggerated levels of hate??? am i wrong on thinking this??

[ultimateloserboy]

no offense to adult yellow believers but it makes me laugh a little since people who think that he is an adult think it’s supported by canon when the vast majority of casual viewers automatically assume he’s meant to be a kid. every person i’ve watched the show with has assumed yellow is a kid

(this reply is specifically targeted at a group of people!!! not everyone and not u anon!!)

it genuinely bothers me how so many people are obsessed with trying not to “infantilize” him when canonically youre supposed to laugh when plates fall on his head or when he says shit like “green is for go.” like. how can you shame a community for portraying a child-like character as childish…. to pretend he acts like an adult is honestly delusional and may i just say. i think it comes from many peoples idea that children cant be smart— but also that neurodivergent people cant be “childish” and you cant acknowledge that child-like behavior without somehow infantilizing them, when all youre doing is saying what happened.

yeah i really do see where people are coming from with the physical age thing because i also think he isnt young physically— but i feel like people got too obsessed with “not infantilizing him” that they started seeing him as a completely different character… characters can be children or childlike without being infantilized— and when this was a popular belief at one point it was actually incredibly annoying how you couldnt characterize him CORRECTLY without people throwing bricks at you???

i think in an attempt to fight ableism or something people wrapped around and have actually spread pretty harmful ideas around yellow. at least in my opinion. the idea that you have to PRETEND hes mature in canon so you can see him as a complex person is actually really bad?? you should see him as a person even with his immaturity??

the moment yall realize that yellow was never intended to be representative of a real life disorder is the day yall will understand that youre not helping autistic people, you’re actually bringing them down. when you say its bad to portray yellow acting the way he does IN THE FUCKING SHOW— youre just gaslighting people and telling autistic folks that they arent allowed to act that way because its a stereotype and thats bad!!!

i hate how the internet has reached this conclusion that autistics that fit stereotypes are harmful or just straight up dont exist. you can view yellow as autistic AND the way he is canonically. some autistic people dont grow up. thats ok. its not ableist to admit that, in my opinion. its more ableist to pretend those people arent real. they absolutely are and theres nothing wrong with them or acknowledging them (properly).

but again hes not intended to be autistic, so that statement is irrelevant to him canonically.

the main three are physically ageless but its very obvious what their mental states are. if you leave it at that life is much easier dude

[popponn]

things about sae.

it's sae's turn in my brain microwave. i want to understand you, underlashes senior. headcanons +observation+ rambling. spoilers, will be updated as time goes on.

scathing, mean af vocabs. pretty rude even as a child. but compared to rin, his cursing seems to be much tamer.

is REALLY focused on soccer. but also said in the character interview to not "only be able to/focus on soccer like him".

but in his introduction to u20 shows that he seems to value someone who goes all in to soccer. and it's kind of in line with the things he "admits" and chided. example a: shidou and isagi being individuals who are undeniably soccer obsessed (though on isagi's case as they haven't even talk, if i remember correctly, this might be more because of isagi's way of winning through "making use of luck"). example b: things he said in the u20 introduction in response to sendou.

headcanonish but this guy is giving me "burnout gifted child" vibe with all the prodigal status, expectations, and being hit in the face by the world. like what are you. are you satisfied by marina??????

there are few moments where he displays something that is pretty close to 'praise', but say it not to the related person/group himself. (i.e. his thoughts of blue lock in locker room, his comment about "dont switch out any of the u20 member".)

like is he being not nice on purpose????? honestly probably. headcanonish, but if seeing his way of giving comments to rin pre-spain, it's been like that since he was little. (i will check rin's ln again later)

in contrast to rin having "natural luck", this guy seems to more " making/seeking luck". but idk yet, with only ice cream sticks as clues. sae backstory and ln spin off when.

his eyes during the confrontation with rin in that snowy night are pretty expressive. but since visual cues leave a really wide room for interpretation + bllk tendency to subvert things, i will not comment. but honestly i really agree with the sentiment that sae was hurt by rin's words, but in the end the discouragement seems to come more from a place of "i don't want you to get hurt so just go home and don't play soccer anymore" (very very hc and more of an interpretation, as sae's pov is still non existent)

aka yeah, this guy is shit at displaying concern and any sort of care. headcanon but. do you see the vibe??? with rin???? like it's similar. what is this genetic.

simple fashion, but pretty trendy and chic(?).

this guy seems like a family guy who misses his family a lot. (please make up soon with your lil bro)

watches chibi maruko chan. has habits that genuinely reminds me of old people (drinking tea, looking at sea, thinking of family).

people at blue lock think of him as someone who seems to be good at study, but looking at the pattern of hyperfocused people in blue lock it either goes two way: a) his skill at everything else is questionable at best, abysmall at worst ; b) he is an all-rounder indeed.

but then again there is also the third type aka "good at football, still functional at everything except communication and emotional management skill".

his way of talking in jp is, to put it simply, pretty casual like guys his age. the thing that are the rudest part of it was his choice of words and the fact that he seems to talk like this to everyone. even his elder. and also the way he is very blunt in expressing his opinion.

but somehow that bluntness is gone when it came to showing vulnerable emotions. talk about emotional constipation.

if his character interview is reliable and unbiased, as it is from sae's own pov, his relationship with his parents seems okay.

genuinely wondering about his parents' canon response to his and rin's cold war.

does he even have friends. no like seriously.

his brother and him are really similar in many ways. rin is probably copying him in some ways tho—that, or rin's own issues. or sae's own issues.

please just make up with your brother. (2)

after spain his bang is gone. as in he just pushed them up. in u20 it still went down sometimes in a few panels.

he likes numbers. maybe he really is smart.

genuinely looking at him like "please get a hobby" not even as an insult but out of genuine concern. this dude has so many issues and the burnout child prodigy vibe is real strong with this one.

but not fully his fault. pretty much live alone overseas, probably with no friends his age and just a manager as his support system, went through a crisis, is a (probable) family loving guy with his family far away from him, then came home to his beloved lil bro he spoiled and dotted on and shared a dream with saying hurtful things to him on his lowest point. and not supporting his new decision and dream. from sae's pov, it's brutal.

i can defend rin on this too tho. honestly please talk to each other, itoshi bros. or acknowledge that maybe neither of you were in not in the best state of mind during that confrontation.

seems logical and he does likes numbers. but honestly, he just acts as he wants—look at how he talks to journalist, how he has 0 hesitation to leave an ongoing match.

went to spain at 13 according to rin's spin off novel. also mentioned to "hate to lose" and seems to be a strict perfectionist.

must be noted however that how rin sees him seems to be very biased. a bit of rin analysis/hc, but there seems to be "putting nii chan on a pedestal" going on there. how their childhood truly is from sae's perspective is still unknown. on rin's part tho, seems to be a very nice period.

is rich. so the snobby rich condescending guy aura is probably not that far from the truth. his sense of money seems to be a mess, as a few hundred millions is a small amount for him.

this guy seems to be picky with who he respects and he really doesn't hold back in disrespecting someone he doesn't. even higher ups and older people.

does skincare canonly.

doesn't seem to have friends so far...? (nel arc, before pxg match) but if we look at how rin is now, unsurprising.

in rin's novel, rin's physique is mentioned to be "better" than sae's actually. with how "rin wins in luck" while sae "loses" motive exist through the ice cream sticks, probably this motive will come up again when sae appears again.

[damnfandomproblems]

Agreed with most of #6472 until the race, mental disability and height thing.

1. As a POC woman, just do your research if you're making a POC character. I'm not personally offended, but I don't speak for everyone.

2. As someone with autism and anxiety; DO YOUR RESEARCH. PLEASE. Like as long as the portrayal is accurate and research was done, I think a lot of disabled people would appreciate representation but idk. I dont speak for everyone.

3. SHORT PEOPLE EXIST. JUST BECAUSE SOMEONE IS SHORT, IT DOES NOT MEAN THEY ARE A MINOR OR "MINOR CODED" HEIGHT DIFFERENCES SHOULD NOT BE AN ICK.

I think the last three could be rage bait, but idk. Just my opinion.

Posting as a response to a previous problem.

Going to include a few more responses to the same problem below:

Anon:

...is this a parody?

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Anon:

"If your ocs looks young, they are a child." I am 25, last week someone asked me if I was in high school. Some of us just look young idk what to tell you.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Anon:

Bait used to be believable

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@theofficialkai517:

I'm not a regular OC maker, but I feel like there will be some mixed-bag responses. But in most cases that I've seen "actual [way older than teenager] looks to be way younger than they are" has been a canon thing, not an OC thing. Aang from Avatar and Elena from Elena of Avalor instantly come to mind. It's not just teenage-appearing characters, either, there are several adult characters that don't appear to age past their 30s despite being millenia old, or can change their age and appearance almost as they please. The gods from Percy Jackson (though some of them may not be the best examples to prove a point against you, LOL), many dragons from fantasy & sci-fi novels, vampires, so many different archetypes... I am not standing for or against this-- though the specific ones that I mentioned were trapped at their ages and don't remember much of anything during their times of not aging, and I do ship them both with teenagers they are friends with in their shows; and the archetypes/character designs I listed... Is a mixed bag, to be fair-- but it's not just about OCs, and you can't fault OC designers for following a pattern that has been their for a long long time, whether or not that character has a romantic bond with another character, or has friends who are all the age that the character appears to be.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Anon:

what the hell does that mean, anyone 5'7 or under is minor-coded and shouldn't be shipped?! lots of adults, females especially (and including myself) aren't anywhere close to that height in real life. and it's okay to ship minors with other minors; there are millions of high-school love stories out there. besides, are we supposed to know a character's height right off the top of our fucking head or something? even if it's an oc. like, most of my ocs if i ever were to create more would probably be closer to my height because that's what i find "normal," or i just want somebody to dump all of my struggles on. it's literally not pedophilia to ship fix-it felix and calhoun together (first ship to come to mind, sorry), despite him being very very short. not much of this shit even happens with ocs, i've seen most of what you're bringing up in the media that's actually put in front of us.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Anon:

re 6472, specifically this line: "Anyone under 5'7" is minor coded and shouldn't be shipped." What the metric fuck are you smoking? I swear I'm gonna short-circuit.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Anon:

Okay, so many things. And I am sure others have probably brought this up too, but hey.

The "1000 year old dragon/immortal being with the body of a child trope" isn't just used by fans and makers of OCs. It is often a "trope" used by creators themselves; if it makes you look like a creep/has inherently pedophilic tones/only creeps are okay with this kind of thing, then call me a fucking creep. So many wonderful medias have characters who are older than they look, even going to J.M. Barrie with Peter Pan. Not many people seem to mind that they don't know how chronologically old Peter is, they just find whimsy in the fact that he will never grow up. The same goes for Avatar: the Last Airbender's titular character, Aang, who is chronologically 112 but has the appearance and mannerisms of a 12-year-old. It is meant to portray his redemption and his friends' hope, not to be creepy or pedophilic.

I can't quite help you there. There are some executions of that trope that work, and some that don't. But please know that most of this was perpetuated by actual creators and authors than us fans and our OCs. If you want to raise a fuss, try and go to Stephanie Meyers first before pointing your finger in our faces.

"if your ocs looks young, they are a child [...] it is simpler that way. You do not need to overcomplicate your ocs." First off... Completely false. I cannot be the only person who still looks 14 but is actually far older than that... If it happens in real life, it can happen in fiction and with OCs. We are not children, those characters are not children. It is not "overcomplicating" an OC. Besides, some people don't want simple with their OCs, they are putting their hearts and souls into them and just having fun.

Nobody should have to ask "approval" to write a character that is a different race than them. Yes, it can end disastrously... But it also couldn't. If people had to ask approval to write a character who is Latino or black or East Asian when the writer is white, or any other variation of one race creating a character of another, there would never be any diversity in anything ever.

There was need for you to elaborate on that. Some of the best ADHD/autism representation I have seen in characters has come from neurotypicals. I have a loved one who has never had anxiety or depression before but can spot-on name most of the signs and symptoms just from watching me live through it. As long as you're not adding harmful traits to one mental disability or another, I have no reason to be offended. Maybe just try and do your research, but even then, nobody is allowed to police you. Again, nobody should have to ask approval or be worried that they're not writing a character good. Also, it's easy for signs of one mental disability or other to slip through in a character without it being openly stated. Sometimes things happen unintentionally, it was never meant as a slight towards someone who has the mental disability strongly hinted at.

"Short characters are basically minors"... Ex-fucking-scuse me? What the fuck? "Anyone under 5'7" is minor coded and shouldn't be shipped"... Just stop. Stop it right here. 5'7" is a major ask, especially in a fictional world where heights often aren't known to viewers/readers, and your OC can be whatever height you wish on them. It's a major ask even in the real world. Because why the fuck are only tall people allowed to be shipped? When hobbits exist, dwarves exist, elves (like, Christmas elves) exist... Some fictional species aren't designed to grow taller than, like, 4'10", let alone 8 inches taller than that. Half of the females I went to school with didn't make it past that height; it is unreasonable to tell people that they cannot create characters to be shorter than a certain height if they want to be able to ship them.

Sorry for the long rambles, but most of that was BS and needed to be called. Yes, there is room for a lot of moral ambiguity when it comes to characters who are coded one way or another... Especially when it comes to age/immortality/disguising oneself as another age/etc. But if someone is doing any of these things and it drives you nuts, either block/mute/ignore them or, in the cases of 4 and 5, maybe gently message them with "hey... I wanted to let you know that I have/am [insert mental disability or race here] and that [character] doesn't quite match up to what they're supposed to be. Can I offer you some guidance in writing them?" and if they say no... Just leave it be. This is fandom, not politics.

[we-will-all-be-stories]

Camp Half-Blood Tumblr Dash

🪻flower-child Follow

okay but does anyone actually know where nico di angelo goes half the time?? like the man drops off the face of the earth for months at a time and no one bats an eye

🗡️stabsmcgee43 Follow

no but fr he leaves for like three months and comes back with a power upgrade, a new sister, and is apparently a senator for the romans?? who exist for some reason???

🥜for_peanutbutter Follow

so apparently he and will solace just got back from fucking tarTARUS! and this wasnt even his FIRST TIME THERE?! wHAT!?

🎯beau-and-arrow Follow

ngl i thought he was in the mafia up until a week ago

#apparently he works for his father?? #i cant even get my godly parent to claim me #and he's out here living in the underworld with his dad and step-mom

79 notes

🐎ifelloffapegasus Follow

being 12 years old and choosing a dagger as a your weapon of choice because you want to be like Annabeth Chase even though you're shit at fighting is simply a canon event that cannot be interfered with

42 notes

🎆call-me-andromache Follow

oh to be drinking hot chocolate in a New Rome cafe while studying for my DSTOMP exam

🪙one-million-drachmas Follow

hey op how about we don't romanticize the camp that literally tried to erase the greeks from existence

🎆call-me-andromache Follow

well excuse me for wanting to live past the age of 18

14 notes

🎆call-me-andromache Follow

#i dont even know who my godly parent IS #let alone have i ever even gone on a quest #who do you think i am, percy jackson??? #why would you make a school for demigods if you were just gonna deny them #tbh i didnt even know the roman gods even interacted with their children #where are they getting their letters from?

98 notes

😶‍🌫️one-time-hypnos-dreamt Follow

I got turned into an ear of corn by a child of Demeter but they didn't know how to turn me back so I had to live the rest of my life as a talking vegetable until one day when Persephone (of all the gods??) came to camp and took pity on me so she turned me back into a human but now I have corn silk for hair because of it

325 notes

💄totallynotanaphroditekid Follow

i found a squirrel during capture the flag last night and it wont leave me alone does anyone want a new pet? i named him paris after that dude from the iliad

🏃‍♂️shesarunnershesatrackstar Follow

bro drop him off at the hermes cabin after dinner tonight

💃dancing-drakon Follow

as the hermes head counselor pls do not bring him to our cabin

🦉wise-mind Follow

So are we just going to ignore the fact that OP, a child of Aphrodite, named the squirrel PARIS

💄totallynotanaphroditekid Follow

get off my post im trying to start something

21 notes

[graceful-not]

SORRY IM INSANE??????? WHAJT THE FUCK??? I CANT EVEN FOCUS ON WHATEVE NYA AND JAY ARE DOING RIGHT NOW THERE'S ANOTHER FUCKING ZANE???? MY BOY???? EXHO???? DI WE EVER SEE HIM AGAIN??? ISTG IF THEY JUST LEAVE HIM IN THIS LIGHTHOUSE AFTER THIS WHY ARE THEY NOT FREAKING OUT?!?????? HE WAS STUCK HERE THIS WHOLE TIME?? WHY DID DR JULIEN NOT SAY ANYTHING IM INSANE?!?!?? HES SO RUSTED IM. I. ok I actually really like the steampunk vibes VS zanes more modern ones but HUH???? JULIEN JUST LEFT HIM HERE?!?!??? ok good they're fixinyg him up but ????? WHYAT???? I LITERALLY. HUH. HUH SO DOES ZANE HAVE ABROTHER THEN??? IVR NEVRR HEARD OF TJIS GUY WHICH MEANS HE ISNT RLLY IMPORTANT BUT I. THERE ARE SO MABY GODDAMN IMPLICATIONS THIS SHOULD BE SO IMPORTANT I. WHY ARE THEY BRUSHING THIS OFF??? I UUST GOOGLED IT AJD HE WAS SUPPOSED TO HAVE AN ARC BUT IT WAS TOO COMPLIXATED SO THEY CUT IT??? WHY ADD HIM??? THE ROLE COULD BE FULFILLED BY TAI-D WHY WOULD YOU GIVE ME TJIS AND THEM RIP IT AWAY FRO ME. IM SO WORKED UP IM DOING THE FLAPPY HAND STIM AND I /NEVER/ DO THE FLAPPY HAND STIM. WHAT THE FUCK. WHAT THE FUCK. IM INSANE ABOUT ECJO?? AND THEN THEY JUST LEAVE HIM??? I DJONT GIVE A FUCK ABOUT NADAKHAN WHRE IS MY BOY? MY SON?? WAS HE JUST IN THE SECRET BASEMENT WHILE JULIEN GREETED THE OG ZANE?!?????? I CAN'T DO THID WHAT THE FUCK. THIS IS SO TRAGIC. WHERE IS HE GIVE HIM BACK TO.ME. WHY WERE THEY ACTING LIKE HES JUST SOME CONVENIENT WEAPON OR TOOL HES A WHOLE ASS PERSON?? LIKE THEYRE SO NONCHALANT ABOUT IT ALL "aww awesome we have another Zane at our disposal!" HES A WHOLR PERSON. HE HAS FEEKINGS??? LIKE HE FEELS THINGS HES NOT JUST A COOL WEAPON??? IF THAT WAS A HUMAN CHILD THEYD HAVE BROUGHT HIM WITH THEM???? I CANT DO THIS WHAT THE FUCK

ECHO ECHO ECHO MY SON IS BACK MY BOY MY SON MY DARLING MY SWEETHEAR COME HERE I NEED TO PICK YOU UP AND KISSYS YOU. he seems. okay with being in there??? has he ever left the lighthouse??????? does he KNOW what's out there??? HE CANT HAVE UNTIL JULIEN LEFT BC OF THE KRAKEN THING SO??? HAS HE EXPLORED SINCE THEN IS THAT WHY HE SEEMS SO CONTENT THERE??? HE DOESNT MIND BEING LEFT THERE?!???? I DONT UNDERTSTAND. HES JUST CHILL. LIKE *salutes* yessir! NO ECHO!! ASJ QUESTIONS!! I LOVE YOU BUT RHAT WHOLE SEQUENCE WAS FOR NO REASON HE ADDS NOTHING TO THE REPLACEMENT NINJA TEAMM. WHY DID THEY GIVE ME THIS WHOLE ASS CHARACTER WITH 300000 IMPLICATIONS AND THEN JUST NOT MAKE HIM RELEVANT AT ALL!! HE DIDNT EVER NEED TO BE THERE I HONESTLY WISH HE DIDNT EXIST BC NOW IM GONNA BE THINKING ABT HIM FOREVER!!! WHAT THE FUCK!!! ZANE WHY ARE YOU CHILL ABOUT HIS EXISTENCE "I see you brought some friends" YOU SHOULD BE FREAKING YOUR SHIT RIGHT NOW!!!! WHAT THE FUCK???? YOUR DAD BUILT THAT DUDE THATS SO FUCKED UP. TJATS UR BROTHER. THATSUR FUCKING BROHTER. AND THEN THEY JUST RESET TIME???? SO HES STILL IN THAT GODDAMN LIGHTHOUSE IM INSANE??? HES STILL IN THERE IS HE FUCKING ALIVE??!???? WHAT??? IS HE OKAY??? IM INSANE IM LITERALLY INSANE. AND UR TELLING ME TJEY NEVER MENTION OR DO ANYTHING WITH HIM AGAIN?!??? IM INSANE ABOUT THIS. IM INSANE. I CANT DO THIS WHAT THEFUCKN????? AUUAUAUAU. WHAT? HUH. WHATA???I need to find contebt of him right nowwhy is it all just shipping with Morro. good for them I guess but I don't CARE about the gay ghost what the FUCK is echos DEAL!!! WHAT IS UP WITH HIM???? ITS LITERALY ALL CITRUSSHIPPING ART WHERE IS ANY SPECULATIVE LORE??? WHAT ABOUT HIM AND ZANE WHATS THEYRE DEAL WHAT IF THEY METM WOULD TJEY BE BROTHERS?? IM HAVING SO MANY THOUGHTS RIGHT NOW. Zane deserves a little bro dude... another one I mean. falcon and Tai-D can be bestfriends. I'm insane I'm fucking insane. I love Morro and all but goddamn that's really all there is here shdbsjdb. it's cute and all but very "what if errytjung was ok and they were alive and we didn't have to worry about canon" but WHAT ABOUT THE OTHERS??? DO JAY ABD NYA JUST NEVER TELL ANYONE?!?!?? THATS A WHOLE ASS SAPIENT BEING??? HES LITERALY CONSCIOUS??? WHAT THE FUCK. YOU LEFT A WHOLE ASS PERSON BEHIND THATS SO FUCKED UP. IM INSANE.

[trancylovecraft]

Listen ik I'm pretty one sided in these requests, but you are of one of the FEW ppl writting for Arthur and honestly ? You are the best out of them imo.

So might I request headcanons for a platonic yandere Illuminati!Arthur who remembers Section 13 and thus joined Lucifer to take his revenge with a darling from True Cross ?

(If you really, really want : Maybe HCs for that brainrot scenario we had a while back on ao3 comments where Illuminati!Arthur goes up against the exwires + reader when they rescue Izumo and decides to keep them 🥺👉👈)

(AOEX) YANDERE! DEMON/ILLUMINATI! ARTHUR A. ANGEL x OKUMURA! READER + EXWIRES: Headcannons

RECEIPT ✂- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

BARISTA'S NOTE:dawwww :D Im genuinely SO happy that you requested this like OMGGEDGJD the ideas from that thread are so so good and im excited i finally get to put them on paper.(dw about requesting him, i love him too) i hope you dont mind but the concept matched up EXTREMELY WELL with the yanplatonic shiro concept and i kind of mixed it in here, THANK U!!! FANDOM: Blue Exorcist PREQUEL (Yanplatonic Shiro x Reader + Rin, Yukio)

Thank you for ordering!

Come again soon!

BEFORE HIS BETRAYAL

Arthur in canon is a very loyal man. He despises demons from the very bottom of his heart so it would take a lot for him to defect to the other side.

Following on from the Yanplatonic Shiro Concept, This takes place before Satan possessed and eventually killed him. Shiro is still overly protective of you, Rin and Yukio. He's still the paladin and he keeps a very close eye on all of you.

You, Still being the little princess of the family, The youngest with your demonic heart still sealed within the hilt of two twin daggers. Shiro babies and protects you the most which is why this is a difficult conversation..

You found out about demons on accident, When one of Shiro's familiars (That were killed straight afterwards) accidentally bit you, Giving you a temptaint.

Shiro doesn't know what to do as you confront him about the existence of these creatures. He tries to tell you that this is apart of your illness, That you're hallucinating these creatures but you don't buy it any longer.

You're this close to finding out about his manipulation towards you and your siblings, So Shiro has to act fast and give it up. He tells you that demons do exist and that your illness must've been caused by one of them.

You, Being the young impressionable child that you are, Buy it immediately. Instantly you get excited about it, Asking so many questions. Where do they come from? Does he fight them? Can I fight them?!

Shiro doesn't tell you who your real father is, He doesn't want to go there yet.

Now that you know, That makes you and Yukio the two that know, Excluding Rin. You're excited since you have something new to talk about with your older brother. While Yukio is a little shocked that you've found out, He is happy that he can talk to someone else about it

Though your last question is not one that you let go of quickly. Shiro is displeased day and night after you keep coming to him, Begging him to fight demons.

Shiro keeps denying but he knows he cannot keep it up for long, Him spoiling you has gave you a bit of a demanding streak. You won't give up, And as much as Shiro hates it, He knows that you won't either. If he keeps denying, He knows you'll find a much more dangerous way to fight demons.. Without him.

So he has to give in.

But with him as the paladin and already training Yukio, It gives him very little time to train you. While Shiro is content with this, You certainly are not and ask for more time to train. And hey! Shiro just can't resist when you smile like that, Like Yuri did.

So Shiro needs to find someone that can and it's not an easy job. He has to find someone that can protect you, Can cater to your needs and most important of all: Keep him informed of your whereabouts.

Which is where Arthur comes in.

Arthur, He is proper. Arthur can kill demons effectively. Arthur is a good protector. Arthur is loyal, Like a dog. Arthur obeys the paladin, Aka Shiro. Which in other words, Makes him a perfect fit for the job.

Arthur, When approached with the job, Is hesitant at first. Him at the time being an Arc Knight being approached by the paladin, Requesting Arthur to take his daughter under his wing.

Did Shiro even have a daughter? Arthur isn't sure but he won't question it, If it's an order from The Paladin (Who can do no wrong in his eyes) then Arthur will take it with pride!

And now he has an apprentice, Namely you.

Arthur at first would definetly be a little bit cold to you. Though I suppose the right word would be awkward, Mostly due to the fact that your hyperactive and naïve personality would be rather hard to get use to with Arthur's knight complex.

Though, After a few missions, Your relationship does start to change.

You really want to become an exorcist, Just like Yukio and your dad! So you make sure to put in as much effort as possible when doing your tasks, Always listening with your full attention when Arthur teaches you something.

Arthur appreciates it greatly, It's good to know that you have some discipline in you. So much so that he starts warming up to you, Even trying to make a few jokes here and there.

It sucks that you're just as oblivious as he is when it comes to humour. At least that's something you have in common.

As his apprentice your job mostly consists of following him around to take notes, If it's a lower ranked demon then maybe you'll be able to exorcise it! Arthur thinks your too young to take on middle-class or especially high-class demons. But a small Greenman or two should be fine.

Arthur reports to Shiro every hour on the hour, Always detailing what you're doing and where you are. Arthur is a little suspicious as to why Shiro is so worried but he chalks it up to just a worried parent.

Arthur grows to like you a lot. Despite your few flaws (eg. Your slightly spoiled personality), Arthur goes blind to it and believes that you are just the sweetest thing, Taking pride that it is you who is his apprentice.

Especially when you gush about him to your brother, Yukio. Arthur may or may not have overheard you telling him about his skill and how happy you are to have him as your master.

It makes him feel an insane amount of pride, Always returning the favour when introducing you to other exorcists as his "Talented Apprentice."

Yukio is happy for you, While he doesn't particularly click with Arthur, He's happy your happy while Rin still has absolutely no clue about where you have been running off to you.

So far, Everything is normal, Great even. Your master is one of the most powerful people in the order, Your father though controlling still cares and loves you.

But, That all changes the day that Satan possesses Shiro. The day that you find out exactly who you are and where you come from. You feel helpless as you scream, Being dragged into the Gehenna gate while the demon possessing Shiro cackles the entire time.

You feel helpless even after it's all over, After Rin unsheathes Kurikara and you have no choice but to pick up The Twin Daggers, Destroying the Gehenna Gate at the cost of your humanity.

You sob, Falling to the ground over Shiro's charred corpse and crying with Rin by your side. You hug each other tight, Rin terrified and you too.

Rin is horrified when he finds out that Satan is his father, The only thing he can do is hug you, Hoping to both comfort and find solace in you.

Yukio comes back home to find his father dead and his two siblings weeping, Huddled together and terrified. Yukio can't do anything but join you, Crying for the loss of your father as the sun finally rises upon all of you.

Its only you three now, Only you three against the world.

BECOMING DEMON ARTHUR

Arthur comes upon the scene only a bit later after Yukio does, Wanting to check in since you hadn't text him a "Good morning" like you usually do. The start of his tendencies marking here.

But when he finds what happened, Sees you, Rin and Yukio crying next to the corpse of the Paladin, He instantly switches into overprotective mode. Not just for you, But for your brothers too.

He rushes over, Instantly coddling the three of you and demanding to know what happened. Rin explains what happened through his tears, Explaining what happened and that they're the spawn of Satan.

Arthur is shocked, Horrified as he realises that his apprentice was the child of the demon that killed his parents all those years ago. Fifteen to be exact.

Fifteen, The exact same age that you three were. Arthur feels disgusted, You were conceived on the blue night, Most likely in the bowels of Section Thirteen.

Section Thirteen.

Wait, What was Section Thirteen again?

Arthur doesn't know what it was or why it came to his mind, What was it? For some reason something inside him started to resonate, Like it was something more than they were letting on.

But he had no time to fret over it. It doesn't matter if you were the children of Satan, You were sweet, You were enough to prove that you weren't your father, The one who killed his parents.

He would take care of you three, He'd make sure nothing would get to you.

But that night after contacting the Vatican of what happened (Excluding your heritage), After Rin contacted Mephisto and set the main story into motion is when it happens.

A nightmare, A horrid nightmare. Flashes of things he doesn't remember. Clinical white walls. Flames the colour of sapphires, Flames, They were everywhere. A blinding light, One he almost walked into.

Arthur woke up in a cold sweat that night, Heart thundering in his chest as he tried to register what that bizzare dream could possibly mean. He wasn't able to get to sleep that night, Nor was he able to let it go so easily.. It felt so real, Almost as if he was there.

These nightmares continue each night, Over and over again showing flashes of new places and people that he doesn't recognise. It tortures him, Makes him go near insane.

The next morning after checking on you and your brothers well-being, Arthur heads off to find out what that dream could've meant. But he doesn't go to the Uzai's or even the library under the academy.

No, Arthur heads to the deep keep.

Arthur has gained access due to his status as an Arc Knight, Though that access must be curated with piles of paperwork and permission from the Grigori.

But Arthur doesn't care, Not like his usual righteous self. These nightmares are more than they appear, They nag him.

And what he finds in there is horrifying.

Experiments, Horrible inhumane experiments. Children used in the name of furthering Demon Kings, All killed and tortured. People cloned and killed.

And it was all done by the organisation he was set to lead.

Arthur throws up at the pictures, Gags at the descriptions of what happened. And worst of it all, The worst thing that he had found was that his parents, The reason why he had become an exorcist didn't even exist in the first place.

No. Arthur was a clone, A clone of none other than The King of Light, Lucifer himself.

Arthur breaks down, Not able to handle it.

He's a demon, He's what he had swore to eradicate. Arthur feels so much in a single moment. Disgust, At himself at the vatican at everyone who had kept this from him.

The Uzai's especially, The one's who were the famed family of the order and the ones who had taken him in. They had lied to him, They had used him. They were monsters.

Demons. How could someone so righteous like him come from them? This is where his delusions start to kick in. If he, So righteous and good came from the demons then..

Maybe he had been looking at this wrong way the entire time.

You stay up late one night, Resting in the old boys dorm that you had moved into with your brothers. Rin is asleep while Yukio is up late doing exorcist reports and studying for the coming school year.

You're wandering through the dormitory, Heading towards the kitchen for a late-night snack when you first hear the banging on the door.

Who could be up at this hour? Banging at an old dormitory's doors? Despite the odd feeling in your stomach, You make your way over and open it up.

You're surprised to find Arthur there, Supporting himself against the doorframe once you open it. You should be excited to see him, But you're really concerned to see the state of him.

He's dishevelled, His hair is a mess and his skin is damp with sweat. His pristine white uniform was barely done up, A stark contrast to his usual self as he use to pride himself on his appearance.

You're worried for him, But have no time to ask if he's okay as he instantly starts to ramble. It's almost obsessive, The way his expression looks paranoid and neurotic.

But his words concern you more. Arthur demands that you get your brothers, Get your stuff and get out of this place. It's not safe for any of you! Not with what the order did to those other kids, All those clones. He needs to get you all out of here, All for your safety.

You're terrified as he grabs onto your wrist, Pulling you forward towards him. You scream for Yukio, Who instantly rushes down the stairs at your call with Rin following afterwards, Woken up by the noise.

Rin instantly rushes to help you, Yelling at Yukio to call someone from the Vatican. Arthur, Being the Arc Knight that he is, Makes it very difficult to fight him. Rin instantly being disarmed from Kurikara.

Yukio is horrified as he pulls out his gun in one hand, Phone in the other as he desperately explains to Shura what is happening. Arthur wasn't in his right mind, Yukio telling Shura to bring backup. Arthur needed to be restrained, Obviously going through something.

Arthur is inconsolable as he tries to tell you all what happened, But it only comes out as undecipherable ramblings. Why aren't you all listening to him?! This place is evil! You need to come with him right away, It's not safe for any of you! He'll protect you!

But once he hears the conversation between Yukio and Shura, Arthur instantly starts to panic. The order cannot come here! They can't know about him being aware of Section Thirteen! Who knows what they'll do to him, What they'll do to you?!

Once Rin goes in to try attack Arthur, To try and save you from his grip is when suddenly all the lights turn on in the dorm. They're blinding, Most certainly going over their limits.

They explode, Glass shattering and falling down to the floor. You all cover your heads, A blinding flash in the room.

Once it fades, You find that Arthur has vanished. Gone into thin air.

DEMON ARTHUR

Now before we can make headcannons of what happens with Demon! Arthur. I find it suiting that we establish him first.

Arthur would've awakened some hidden power that night, Gaining some passed on power from Lucifer and the stress from finding out about Section Thirteen most likely activating it as a defence mechanism.

Also along with his demonic side..

I imagine Demon! Arthur to be draconic in appearance. Mostly due to the original tale of King Arthur. Uther Pendragon was King Arthur's father, Dragon literally being in the name with it meaning "highest commander; head leader; top of the command chain" which will mean something later.

Plus I like the symbolism of a knight becoming a dragon, Sue me.

I like to think that Arthur would start to change overtime. He'd grow greyish-yellow scales in certain places (eg. Around his eyes, Shoulders, Knees and Hands) and if we're feeling risky, Some horns to match.

I'd also assume that Arthur would gain pointy ears, Claws and maybe even a tail like a normal demon would, Something perhaps similar to Amaimon's reptilian tail.

Personality-wise? Yeah, He'd change too.

Demon! Arthur would definetly gain a sadistic streak, Not as if it wasn't there when he was fighting demons, But I'd say it would definetly become more prominent and focused towards Humanity.

He'd definetly become more strict and serious too, Demonic instincts kicking in and becoming much less tolerant of disrespect. I'd even consider that he'd gain a temper, A sort of disciplinary one.

His saint complex has definetly become much more egotistical, Taking much more pride in the fact that he's a demon now and a powerful one at that.

He'd become the highest ranking demon of light, Just below Lucifer, Of course. Gaining the abilities such as Light Manipulation, Creating illusions with the light and other stuff like that.

And we're not gonna forget about Caliburn here, His precious sword would definetly be much more powerful now. I'd even suspect that the hair he'd need to exchange with Caliburn would no longer become usual since Arthur is higher in rank, Caliburn needing to obey Arthur.

So yeah.

hes fUCKING TERRIFYING.

SHIMANE ILLUMINATI ARC

Months later, After the festival fiasco and the declaration of war made on the True cross. You're now on a mission to get your friend, Your classmate Izumo back. Who had been kidnapped by the Illuminati.

Not to mention Shima, Who had been revealed to be a spy for the Illuminati the entire time. You feel betrayed, Confused and horrified as to why he would do this.

Before then, You've made a good life for yourself. You've made friends.

Bon, Shima and Konekomaru basically became your brothers outside of your actual brothers. They were your best friends and despite the rivalry Bon had with Rin at the start, You had befriended them quick and your relationship with them developed even quicker.

Shiemi was the person you spent the most time around, Often joining her and Yukio for Tea. You also do your homework together, Always learning something new from her everyday!

Izumo and Paku are the girls you sit with everyday at lunch. Even though Izumo often shoves you off, You know that you've grown on her, If only a little bit.

You love your friends, All of them, Which is why when Izumo got kidnapped you and the rest of the Exwires went off to get them back. Both Izumo and Shima, You'll bring them back whether they like it or not.

So you and the rest of the Exwires head off to the Illuminati base. You break in, Get separated and fight your way out of the rooms and do the entire charade of fighting for Izumo.

The doctor, Gedōin. He does his whole charade as well. After loosing Izumo's mother and Izumo as a whole, He puts on the mask and becomes the squid demon that possesses him.

You all defeat him, It's a massive fight. The only difference between here and the manga is the Kyoto Squad not showing up, Leaving the rest of you to fight

It's an exhausting fight, But you all finally manage to get him down. Once you do you're all tired and numb, Out of ammo and done-for Ability-wise. You're glad it's over.

But then, Through the rubble and the dust, Is when you hear footsteps.

They're loud as thunder, Making everyone jerk up towards where they're coming from. Despite they're aching muscles, Everyone dusts themselves off and ready themselves for another fight, You included.

Bon aims his rocket launcher at the destroyed opening where the footsteps were coming from. Konekomaru readies a sutra, Izumo readies Uke and Mike, Shiemi prepares Nee while You, Yukio and Rin begin to bare your weapons.

A voice calls out, One that's familiar and makes you freeze up at the recognition. Your brothers recognise too. The grip Rin has on Kurikara starts to shake while Yukio's eyes go wide, Aiming his gun higher.

Arthur still hasn't revealed himself, But the footsteps grow closer as he starts to degrade the people who dared to step foot in this place. Sadistic as he vows to destroy whatever threat may be opposing him, You can already hear Caliburn being unsheathed.

Arthur steps out from the dust in all of his glory. Standing tall and demonic in all his glory. Caliburn stands tall by his side as he marches out, Ready to strike down the intruders with a single slash of his sword.

You're horrified. You had known of your master's disappearance but you had never expected this! You can barely hold up your daggers to him anymore, Staring at him with a mixture of disgust and betrayal.

Rin is disgusted too. He's exhausted but he holds his sword up to Arthur anyways. This was the man who had taken care of them for a while after Shiro had died, Now betraying them in favour of the Illuminati.. Rin can't believe it.

Yukio too, He's debating whether he should pull the trigger right here right now. How could Arthur do this? Why would he do this?! This may also stem from the conversation he had with Lucifer earlier.. The one where he was invited to join him.

The rest of the Exwires were aware of the Arc Knight's disappearance. Bon and Konekomaru angry that such a righteous man would go over to the otherside, Shiemi terrified and exhausted, Izumo angry while Shima watches from the side-lines.

Arthur, In the time that he had disappeared, Had been taken in and cared for by the Illuminati. With his powers awakened, Arthur had rose in the ranks to the title of "General" within the Illuminati's arsenal.

He's become much more powerful, So much more than all of you combined. And every single one of you can feel it, His power rolling off of him. You're all terrified, But you raise your weapons anyways.

But it's when Arthur finally marches out and stands atop the pile of rubble does he stop his speech, Stare down at the group ready to fight in front of him and stop.

These are kids.

These are kids and the Order had sent them out here, Out here into a dangerous facility to fight alone.

And worst of all? You are there, Standing in the middle of them.

Arthur is horrified, He can only just stand there staring for a straight minute while he processes what was happening. The order had sent kids here, Used child soldiers.

They were using kids, Just like they did in Section Thirteen.

Instantly his demeanour switches up. The sadistic, Serious monster that was going to kill them instantly mellows down. His expression softening almost with pity as he looks at you all, Concerned even.

You might of forgotten him, If only for a little while. But Arthur certainly remembers you.

He's missed you this entire time, His apprentice, The one who couldn't do no wrong and the one that didn't deserve what The Order would do to you. Arthur regrets not being able to take you and your brothers with him that night.

But now he has a chance to change that. Arthur instantly gawks at the sight of all the Exwires below him. Getting angry as to why they were sent out here alone, Who authorised it and why there were no adults around.

You get angry at him, Demanding to know why Arthur defected and Arthur just responds with saying how The Order is corrupt and evil.

The rest of the Exwires hold no time back as they start to fight him. Bon and Yukio starting to fire their weapons while Izumo and Shiemi send out their familiars. You and Rin rush into the frontlines, Baring your weapons as you begin to attack.

Despite his transformation, Arthur is still Arthur at his core and retains most of his personality. Most importantly his delusional yandere traits.

As soon as you all attack him it just makes it worse. These kids have been traumatised! They've been used by the order as weapons and are acting out of fear! How horrible this is, Arthur needs to save them.

Arthur believes you and the Exwires just need to be shown some love, His tendencies spreading to not just you but to the rest of your friends as well. Arthur won't take any other explanation. You're all so scared, He needs to save you all.

I'd also headcannon his traits also mixing in with his demonic instincts too. He's grown lonely, And him being a clone of a demon king has subconsciously made him search for kin of his own to rule and protect.

And Arthur wants to protect you all, He wants to keep you safe. So you and the rest of the Exwires are a perfect fit.

So when Arthur manages to lock Rin in a chokehold, Sheathe Kurikara and hold him hostage. You all back away, Terrified of what Arthur might do to him.

Arthur doesn't say a word as his hands move to specific pressure points on his body. Behind the ears, Atop his head. Mostly giving affection in the form scratches and pets.

Though Rin struggles, He starts to feel himself melt. Arthur's learned in his time as a demon that other demon's have certain weak points, Places where they could lower their defences. It didn't help that Rin was exhausted from the fight before, Giving in to the affection.

You all watch horrified as Rin starts to melt in Arthurs hold. Arthur takes no time in telling you all that'd you'd be much safer/protected with him, That he only wants to help and you shouldn't be afraid of him.

Rin, Mumbles in agreement. Rin is tired, He's been through a lot both with the previous arcs and the death of Shiro. It's been tough, And for some reason this feels nice, Feels like he's being loved. Maybe this isn't so bad, I mean he use to be our friend! He can't be that bad..

You and the rest of the Exwires are horrified as Rin falls for Arthur's words. But you can't do anything as if they attack Arthur then they have a chance of hurting Rin.

Arthur has gained the yandere trait of manipulative once he becomes a demon. Easily playing to Rin's demonic instincts as he taunts the rest of the Exwires with how good of a guardian he could be! He knows what he's doing as Rin finally passes out, Still held tight within Arthurs arms.

He'd target you specifically, Asking if you still care for him as your master. If you still look up to him and trust him with your life. You can't answer him, Conflicted as he's still the man you admire, The man who taught you everything you knew.

He asks Yukio if he still trusts the order, If he still listens to his superiors without question. Yukio who is still conflicted from earlier events cannot answer.

The rest of the Exwires are faced with questions of their own. If Izumo still has anyone to go back to, If Bon and Konekomaru still have good home lives, If Shiemi is so willing to be taken advantage of by the order.

Arthur finally gives you all an ultimatum. You and the other Exwires come with him and Rin doesn't get harmed. If you don't, Rin will be taken away alone, At the mercy of whatever demon might get to him.

You and the others have no choice, Rin would have an easier time escaping if all of you were there and not just him. You're all exhausted, Unable to fight and for some reason you feel like Arthur wouldn't take a no even if that was your final answer.

So you go with him, Arthur activating some knock-out gas in the laboratory systems. You all fall unconscious and Arthur takes no time in collecting your bodies, Dragging you all off somewhere else.

Somewhere you all won't be escaping for a long time now.

[electricprincess96]

Asking out of curiosity, but why do ya dislike Damian Wayne? I ask this not in a acussitory manner mind, as my only exposure to Damian is in non comics material such as those animated movies he popped up in. More so curiosity cause he seems to be a very controversial character among the main comics fandom itself.

He is controversial. There are a few reasons, some I could change my mind on with better writing and others would take a lot more for me to get behind him. I'll start by saying if you're reading this and are a Damian fan don't continue, you aren't gonna like what I have to say so don't both hate reading for the sake of it.

Firstly the concept of the Bat Family for the most part up until that point was about Found Family. Let me be clear I'm not saying it was sunshine and rainbows and they all got along great all the time BUT it was about broken people finding each other and trying to work together to make a difference. The very concept of giving Bruce a blood son ruins that, you need only look at most Damian fans when the debate on who should be Bruce's successor comes up, they will always say Damian despite the fact he has shown NOTHING to prove he deserves it, their only reason is he's the blood son. While yes being both biological and adopted kids is a thing that exists and most real people can do it and it works most DC writers are not adopted parents and dont know the specifics of how you depict that balance and it shows. It reeks of weird blood purist, anti-adoption vibes that just aren't good. Like the rise in "bad parent Bruce Wayne" towards Jason and Tim and some of the others (not sure he knows Cass's name anymore) conveniently corrolates with demon brats creation. Coupled with the fact on more than one occasion writers have seemed to make it seem like Damian does indeed mean more just cause he's blood related. I just don't like it. I wasn't overly fond of Helena Wayne (although she was better cause she was from another world instead of the canon one) and I don't like Damian for the same reason.

Secondly he was forced as Robin. As I said in a recent post up until Damian the role of Robin had only really been changed when it was necessary. Jason was made Robin because DC wanted Robin to be a kid again but readers liked the storylines they were getting with young adult Dick Grayson so they promoted Dick from sidekick and created Jason Todd. Likewise when Jason died there was no Robin, Dick wasn't about to go back to being Robin and Jason was dead thus Tim was created to fill a role that needed filling. Even Stephanie was made Robin due to Tim being unavailable for a long period of time (i dont remember the specifics but i think it had to do with his family finding out about Robin) so even when she lasted not even a year, she was still filling a vacamcy instead of being forced into a role that was already filled. Damian however was just created. They had not taken the proper steps to develop Tim out of being Robin naturally (and before people come at me with "oh he had plenty of time" Dick Grayson got FORTT YEARS and Damian is coming up on nearing 2 decades so shut up) and thus his creation has directly led to the problem we have right now in DC were we have TWO Robins cause they demoted Tim back to being Robin when Red Robin didn't work out (and 3 batgirls but that ones Barbara Gordon's fault). Coupled with the fact his introduction came right after the revival of Jason Todd thus basically screeching to a halt any real meaningful development that plotline could have had because suddenly DC had a shiny new toy to play with. Damian's creation was a turning point for Batman comics and not a good one, because it contributed to the derailing of multiple characters arcs and plotlines and some have still not fully recovered.

Thirdly his character upon introduction was already redundant. He's a child raised by assassins.... OK well we already have Cassandra Cain. He's a Robin willing to kill and will really test the Bat Fams moral compass. OK well as I said we'd already revived Jason Todd and he was already taking the fight to the Bat on the no kill rule. Literally the only unique thing he had upon introduction was that he was a blood relation to Bruce which I personally do not think should mean anything. But DC starting from that point going forward started to have a horrible undercurrent of blood purity. The only thing I can think that he is semi unique on is being biracial but even then not entirely his since Cassandra is biracial as well AND they never do anything with him being biracial. Plus if they really wanted to they could have reconned one of the existing Robins to be biracial without derailing multiple other characters plotlines.

Fourthly. He's an obnoxious and annoying brat 90% of the time. Like I get it, being raised by Talia (although there's conflicting information on of he was actually raised at all since the timeline does not seem to add up for his age and at one point he was grown in an artificial womb and artificially aged but that's been retconned but the timeline still don't add up if he's not artificially aged somewhat. His back story is a mess I ain't gonna make heads or tails of it) will inevitably result in a very arrogant child afterall Ra's and Talia's egos rival Lex Luthors. BUT they want us to believe at times he can back that up. And I'm sorry I don't care how skilled you are as a child assassin, you are still a child. Like in the Animated movies he should not be able to beat Deathstroke in a straight 1 to 1 fight. He just shouldn't. Both are highly skilled assassins sure but Slade is like 6 times Damian's age, double his size and at least 3 times his weight. There is also the fact that his dark, brooding, arrogant, cruel character sort of worked when he was Dick Grayson's Robin cause it was flipping the established dynamics for Batman and Robin. But when he's Bruce's Robin it doesn't work, we no longer have that little bit of sunshine that Robin is meant to bring to Batman (and don't think I haven't noticed how Batman's character has got crueler and darker since Damian became his Robin) while Batman is meant to be a guiding hand for Robin to keep him on the right track.

Fifthly. For Damian's character arc to really work/make sense ot has to be acknowledged that Talia is not a good mother. At best she's deliberately raising him in a dangerous environment and at worse she is actively abusive. It's the only way you can justify half of his character traits and why he's even here in the first place. Here's the issue for all I dislike Talia as a character... I don't believe she's an abusive mother. One thing that seems to be consistent for Talia was that she did love her family. Talia's flaws for me are in her inability to choose a side and her entitlement towards Bruce and other men (well and the whole worldwide genocide of anyone not League of Assassins). Now I am more willing to accept this one as just being how new Talia is but I don't blame some of her fans who feel miffed about this however they do have to acknowledge that there's no real way to do his story without her either being an incompetent parent or a down right bad one (but don't worry Talia fans Bruce is also awful nowadays so she's not alone there....)

Now his arrogance and overall unlikable character can absolutely be fixed with good writing. I hated him in the Animated movies (kid you grew up in the mountains leaving to kill you SHOULD NOT BE LECTURING BRUCE FUCKING WAYNE ABOUT STOCKS) but I'm quite liking him in Boy Wonder where it's actually tackling his own sense of entitlement and showing that he needs to learn from his predecessors rather than acting like he's better than them purely because he shares dna with Bruce.

BUT the conceptual issues I have won't go away quite so easily. It's why if I'm asked if I could wipe one Robin from existence, it will always be him. He could be written wonderfully, he could get a comic run that is the best written thing ever and I will still always say him when asked that question. And I know I'm not alone on that.

[sophsicle]

About the Tom riddle ask (I’m not the person who sent it, but it got em thinking). Do you think he cared about the idea of his mom as a child at least? Or maybe his dad before he met him? He interests me in his youth. I can also see him caring about Nagini. Maybe he met someone at the orphanage that he cared about but lost and that strengthened his desire for power and his hunger for full control over everything, including any potential past or future attachments he might make.

Also, out of curiosity, what quality or characteristic drew you to write so beautifully about Slytherin that you think is lacking in Tom?

just from like, my point of view, his feelings about his mom, while complicated and important, aren’t enough to carry a story, because she dies basically immediately after he’s born so there’s no active relationship to write about

As far as canon is concerned, Tom has no relationship with his father who doesn’t even know he exists really until Tom kills him, which again is like, not disinteresting but, isn’t a relationship that can carry a story

You could make up an oc he meets in the orphanage, but what’s the tension, you know? I guess if you could pull a grant Chapman and like, write an oc that feels natural enough and is also fleshed out enough that the readers are invested in them enough to make them want to read the story but idk atyd has Sirius, that’s the tension of the relationship between remus and grant that really makes it compelling so idk what Tom and this oc would have

I guess he could have cared about nagini tho she is just a vessel holding his soul so, that makes it less compelling to me, it’s still essentially just him caring about his own immortality

The reason I am drawn to Salazar is because a) I like playing around with the idea of witch hunts and how that would impact magical peoples’ views and relationships with muggles b) the four founders are friends at some point who decide to found this school and then have a falling out and that is inherently an interesting premise to me

I just dont think Tom riddle has that? Like there is nothing about his character that doesn’t feel like it could be filled out in the background, he does not have main character energy to me