#and the important one: is this canon to her storyline? not sure. i think... unlikely. but even if it was it might be a bit one-sided.

[starflungwaddledee]

did you know that coo is canonically lonely? {shipaganza prompt by @veveisveryuncool}

[firadessa]

Please acknowledge Bleakwatch Chronicles, Tinker Bell and the Lost City. I understand that BW chronicles may not have as much fans and are turned off by the art style. Also the author never posted (Zack Loran Clark) much promo for the book unlike Allison, nor mentioned anything about DF on his IG page. It is intended for a younger audience. However, I am much more excited for this book as it pertains to the movie universe. So please, just clap if you believe if you will.

As this is the first book to come out since 2017 that is labeled as "Disney Fairies" and the second spinoff- like this is important. You don't have to buy the book or give it the free promotion, but acknowledge the existence of it at least. WoS is not labeled as DF, if it matters.

Here are some of the reasons why I am more excited for Bleakwatch Chronicles than I am for Wings of Starlight by Allison Saft (Clarion x Milori YA Novel):

It's a post canon story implied to take reference to the cancelled Tinker Academy movie where TB goes to study at the Tinker Academy on the mainland. The art seems like they took references especially when directly compared to the concept art. WoS is a backstory.

It releases first, BWC releases in November 2024 and WoS releases in Feb.

It seems like more of original concept to me, literally because of the new concepts like the Flutterpunks and the implied secret cities of the Bleakwatch and Clockwork Capital.

New characters like Quin and Ozwald will be joining TB on this journey.

It expands on a old concept, and tweaks it in a way that makes more sense. IMO, an idea like a Tinker Academy seems to hold less weight because before the events of Tinker Bell fairies couldn't go to the mainland to spread nature, and it's implied they always stay. It is also implied in GFR that Tinker fairies don't typically go to the mainland even if TB's inventions help them in the intensive summer season (the song implies that's why she's there- it's implied in the first movie she goes there whenever she has a job) Vidia is dismayed by this and says "this is why Tinker fairies don't go to the mainland" whilst TB is checking out the car. In a deleted storyboard for Tinker Academy it is implied that it is a prestigious academy that FM gets into before the events of Tinker Bell, yet to me the idea of underground London tinkers makes more sense to me than the academy. Think about it, it's implied that TB and FM are some of the most brilliant Tinkers in pixie hollow and yet the Tinker population is small. (only Clank and Bobble greet her and we see no one in green outfits) Why do you think that is? I personally like the idea of rogue Tinkers who would scavenge on the mainland for parts and self-exile themselves from Pixie Hollow. It explains why FM calls the lost things junk, if the difference in mindset between the mainland tinkers and the pixie hollow tinkers was that the mainland Tinkers are considered "scraps" (get it) while the PH tinkers are considered more put together and community driven. It makes sense that TB being a brilliant Tinker that outshines even Vidia gets such an audience if brilliant Tinkers do not normally last in PH because they are seen as too curious and ambitious, opting to start their own community of outcast Tinkers in the mainland. Vidia's talent switch in The Pirate Fairy also implies that Tinkers have the gift of thought, and literally think differently (regardless of personality) then their non-tinker peers because it's their talent. There is much potential for this storyline as it adds more nuance to the Tinker Bell movie and the dynamic between the nature and non nature talents, something I think it would benefit from. It makes a lot of sense if the edgier steampunk designs came from a secret Tinker counterculture and not a secret academy imo.

The implication of this book suggest revitalizing the Disney Fairies franchise, possibly not just as a "brand". Not sure what that could mean but it's interesting

IMO, Wings of Starlight has more of a "booktok" vibe I'm getting from it. I'm not just saying that because it's YA, but given the (beautiful) cover design it feels more targeted for what Disney thinks grown fans of Disney Fairies might like based on whatever market research was done (and you know it was). WoS has been receiving better marketing and there are people out here that don't even know two books exist. I'm not saying the book looks lazy, slapped together, or unoriginal- or it will just be corporate and bland, I mean I'm a Disney Fairies fan I don't believe that everything is corporate greed lol and like to see creativity in the "unexpected". But I hope that future Disney Fairies books won't just be going for what is "trendy" to reel people in and instead invest in creative storytelling *in general*, in other words I hope they keep concepts and genres broad and inclusive enough so we have the potential for more creative stories. Not just expanded stories on specific characters and stories like the Twisted Tales series, or sticking to specific genres for this specific niche audience in a way that feels too specific. I feel like there has to be some sort of balance struck, or DF may be a little stuck for a while and may still have "missed potential".

On expanded stories, like I said, Disney has done a lot of that and there is an audience for that. However, I prefer the idea of post canon more than a backstory or expansion. From what I know, we know some details of the Milarion backstory and it will be adding more layers and expanding on the dynamics of the existing characters, where the new book seems to be more lore driven in focus.

I don't like Secret of the Wings that much in terms of lore as a lore fanatic. I feel like this book could also retcon other things when possibly trying to explain things that make sense in SOTW. If BWC is good, I can imagine myself thinking about it more after it releases but I can just imagine myself thinking more of how I felt and my emotional reaction after WoS with fading interest afterward, it just sort of feels like the book could resonate with me more y'know? and I got a pretty good gut feeling for that sort of thing.

Underdog bias, just acknowledge it's existence. Do that with the NG graphic novels from 2022, heck the whole Never Girls series. Do that with the whole DF franchise if you are new here somehow. That's it, that's the post.

The mystery. What is the mysterious pocketwatch and who's on the cover?

Copy and pasted plot summary- Tinker Bell loves nothing more than solving a problem. For her, red buttons demand to be pushed, treasure maps need to be followed, and lost things ought to be found. So when a strange fairy crash lands in Pixie Hollow and leaves Tinker Bell two clues to find a mysterious necklace on the Mainland, she really doesn’t have a choice but to help. However, her journey takes an unexpected turn when she discovers a hidden city of fairies living below the streets of London.

In this city called Bleakwatch, she’ll meet the Flutterpunks, the most infamous band of trinket scavengers around. Helping her may just give them their biggest score yet. But when the Flutterpunks’ plan goes haywire, they’ll be forced to choose between a big payday or saving their new friend.

When their adventure takes them inside the glittering Clockwork Capital, Tinker Bell and the Flutterpunks will uncover a villainous secret that threatens all the fairies in Bleakwatch. It turns out there’s more at stake than just finding a missing necklace, and it’ll be up to Tinker Bell to set things right. Luckily, that’s what tinker fairies do best!

[aristaspark]

Shipping discourse (Kenlynn/Dinostar)

Ok, so two days ago I commented under a youtube video the reasons that shows, at least to me, why I think Kenlynn still has very high chances of being endgame (I might post my reasoning later).

I was happy because a dinostar shipper even replied to me, agreeing with a lot of my points (love that kind of interaction).

And then another person replied, saying that they doubted I was right and that there was no way they would have made Darius fall in love with Brooklynn for nothing or throw him under the bus like that.

I'm talking about this because, replying to them, I was finally able to put into words what the problem in the reasoning of a lot of people who are sure Dinostar would be canon for the simple fact that the writers had introduced the storyline was. In the end, I'm thankfull for that comment. So here's what I answered to them:

What I meant is that it's possible they will go with Dinostar, although what I have observed tells me it's very unlikely, but it's also largely possible they will go with Kenlynn, and broke them up to better bring them back together (that's the conclusion my observations have led me to), or even that she'll end up alone, idk. I try not to look at this from a shipping standpoint, but from a story standpoint, because I think that's what the writers are doing with the characters. The ships and how popular they are isn't their focus (Or we would have gotten Dinostar a long time ago and Benji back in camp cretaceous), it's clear what's more important to them is to tell an interesting story. I don't think they see Darius having an unrequited love as "throwing him under the bus", but as something that can happen, even to the most deserving of love people. In Chaos Theory, they are clearly tackling very mature and human themes and are putting the characters in very uncomfortable situations, (death wish, amputation, family death, paranoia, attempted murder, conspirations, depression...), so I don't see why they would stop at showing what happens when you fall in love with one of your best friends, but as much as they love you, they just can't ever love you that way. It's totally on par with what the show is, so it wouldn't have been "for nothing", actually I think it's a lot more probable than Brooklynn getting with Darius. Although I'm a Kenlynn shipper, I think I only pointed out what was in the show in my reasoning, what made me think they're going for Kenlynn. What I meant by that is that, unlike what you said, "there's way", at least when you look at what's in the show (and the promotional material, to me that letter is one of the most compelling piece of evidence, because like... why did they do that?) That's not to say I'm not biased, I totally am, but what I don't do is think they wouldn't write a storyline just because it's not satisfying for the character. Brooklynn lost her arm, Kenji thought his girlfriend of six years died and saw his father get killed and is now very unstable, Ben is paranoid... but Darius having to come to terms with his romantic feelings not being reciprocated is unimaginable? I think that's where I'm coming from.

[lildoodlenoodle]

Not to be That Bitch but I’ve seen people talking about this so,,,

Who is actually most likely to die in BTSV?

Yep, yikes I’m going there. Again all theories so I’m open to conversation/opinions on this!

Jessica - She’s not gonna die. There’s no way. Spiderverse is known for breaking boundaries but they aren’t going to kill a pregnant woman.

Miles - Again spiderverse is known for breaking boundaries so killing a protagonist is not outside of their range but I do not think they can kill Miles because of how integral he is to the trilogy and general synergy with comics and video games. Miles is too important of a character outside of this film in a monetary and societal way for them to kill him off in my opinion. He is the character that people associate with ‘Anyone can wear the mask’

Peter B. - The man has a baby. They aren’t gonna kill him. It just isn’t gonna happen. Nor will they kill said baby.

Hobie - They won’t do it. I love him but I don’t think his death would be enough of a catalyst or whatever. Like I just can’t see it. Not to say he isn’t important to the story but with the role he takes on, his death wouldn’t make sense.

Ben Reilly - I’m not even sure he’s currently alive lol. Gwen broke his watch and then tossed him into a random ass dimension. He’s probably fine… He’s fine.

Noir - unlikely. It wouldn’t have the emotional impact a death would need in the next movie. If, for whatever reason, multiple members of the team die then I could see it, but just him? No.(either way bro’s been resurrected multiple times in the comics, he’s fine.)

Ham - ok I could see it, but only in the comedy angel wings ‘death’ way. Like it wouldn’t be real, it’d be a gag.

Peni - ugh I can kinda see this ngl. She was the only member of team B we saw in the society and had a speaking role. Maybe I’m jaded but doesn’t bode well for a young female character… she will most likely be fine though.

Pavitr - People have said it and I do understand it. I don’t think they’ll do it but I could see it happening in a couple of different ways. His death would have be a perfect mid-late movie catalyst simply because of the parallels between him and Miles, ‘being spiderman is easy!’, and inspector Singh and Gayatri ‘escaping’ death. Will be crying in the theatre.

The Spot - I’m 50/50 on this. Like he could totally be too far gone where the only way out is him imploding but also he just wanted attention 😢

Gwen - God I can see this happening. I really hope it doesn’t but,,, Specifically, her saving Miles or one of his parents and that somehow being it for her. Her home storyline is tied up, her only remaining loose thread is with Miles, and once that’s done her ‘arc’ is over, and also the foreshadowing. Like if it happens that’s how it’s gonna happen and it’ll parallel when Miles was saving inspector Singh and that moment where we can’t see him god,,,,,,

Miguel - I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, I don’t know what they are going to do with this man by the end of the next movie. Dude has put his whole being into his canon events theory, cause remember he genuinely believes or is in heavy denial about this. I don’t think being visually proven wrong will fix anything for him. I genuinely believe it’ll destroy him. I could definitely see him dying in the next movie by saving Miles/his dad in some desperate attempt to do the right thing, or taking down the spot with him type thing.

Jeff - Look, we all know it’s a possibility. It’s like algorithmically predestined, so it definitely could happen and I wouldn’t be surprised necessarily. But do I actually think it will happen? No. It’s too built up, especially with Miles going to 42 where his dad IS dead.

Rio - I’m gonna be so honest, she’s more likely to die than Jeff. SORRY! She’s the one that dies in the comics, she’s the one alive in 42, and she has that big speech about Miles not being with her any more and to look out for himself for her. I really hope they don’t do it, I really hope cause I will sob in the theatre but if one of Mile’s parents is going to die, it’ll be Rio.

[nalyra-dreaming]

With the deliberate, controversial OOC horrors of 1×05 do you think show needs David Talbot too?

1) Show has no intention of putting Louis aside which is why Anne hastily created a bland, icky as hell(even for AR standarts) character for Lestat to indulge. No one liked it and afterwards she did a 180 degree when she is mentally in a better place finally let Loustat their individual and couple growth. Also in Amc universe design there is a seperate show so introduce DT as member of the order in Iwtv then sending him to seperate show makes more sense to me.

2) DT's understanding and forgiveness of Lestat's violent act emotionally helped Lestat. Guilt was choking him and he got the one thing he desperately needs.But for show he is already wrecked w guilt and self hate for hurting his only one. Failing Claudia remains but the forgiveness,acceptance he needs are Louis's. Only Louis can bring light to Lestat's darkness. It surely will be addressed bw Loustat too. Earning Louis's trust

I would like to add to Louis's comments about Lestat to Claudia.

"Give us a hundred more years for this.Taking everything we want, killing everyone we want. No one says a shit.I can see us just like him. "

"Cause he is all sorts of fucked up. Cause he would kill her in a second if i were to take him as he is. And i probably will."

Fundamentally Louis understands Lestat. Their problems came from rejection, withholding and not communicating.

3) I know everyone is like oops Sam almost spoiled DT arrival but Sam also hinted Louis will get arcs from other characters as well as Daniel which is confirmed w Rolin & Mark Johnson hinting Louis's position will be iniative and center unlike books.

4) It feels like Merrick arc is hugely gone, Memnoch is practically unadaptable so what is even point of DT storyline wise? Once AR makes peace w Louis she throws DT away anyway.

I don't think the show needs David outside being the Talamasca head general, no.

I think Daniel will do most of the chronicling, and Louis should definitely be more involved in TtotBT.

I ... could see them bring in David then, but I do not think they will do so the way Anne did in the books, and I also don't really see much story for him left in the books, then.

I mean, in later books he and Lestat have a bit of an interesting dynamic stemming from the turning, but... I don't need that.

And I really, really would prefer Louis getting certain (extended) arcs.

I agree that Merrick is likely done, Memnoch will only be picked for parts. Which, btw, I'm a bit disappointed they didn't even mention losing some of their luggage in Berlin, which would have been all that was needed to tie into the canon "book of hours" *sighs* Ah well. And if they do anything from Memnoch, then Louis can just as well do it, it's not important it would need to be David... in fact, it could take on a very desperate twist with Louis.

[cloakedsparrow]

When did Jason & Damian Meet?

More random DC thoughts while tending to my goats:

Jason died shortly before his sixteenth birthday and Tim arrived a few months later, aged thirteen. Rounding Jason up a month or so for convenience, this makes a three year age difference.

Batman Annual 25 states that Jason was dead for six months “until time decided to set things right” (because he wasn’t supposed to die but Superboy Prime fucked up the timeline similar to Flash in Flashpoint). Then he spent a year in the hospital/on the streets before Talia takes him in. Then, he spends a year with her before she drops him in the Lazarus Pit and immediately gets him away from Ra’s. After that, he goes through a series of teachers before returning to Gotham for the events of Hush and Under the Red Hood. This had to have taken around a year at least.

Tim is fifteen during the attack in Titan’s Tower, which takes place during the events of Under the Red Hood (sometime between Jason revealing himself to Bruce and taking a Batarang to the neck). If we go by the timeline shown in the Annual, Jason should be nineteen, which would be a four year age difference. Which means either one of those ‘one year later’s is wrong or Dick was right when he guessed Tim was twelve in A Lonely Place of Dying and Tim lied about being thirteen.

So we’re looking at an age difference of either three years or four years between Jason and Tim. This is the important point.

Damian turns thirteen shortly after Tim died (and was immediately resurrected by Dr Manhattan but the family didn’t know that and it doesn’t really matter here anyway). DC really made sure no age was stated ever during the A Lonely Place of Living storyline, even with Zor-El asking after why Tim had to step in and save Batman as a child. However, after Tim returns, Bruce barges into the hospital room and identifies himself (among other things) as “the boy’s legal guardian”. Which would mean Tim isn’t emancipated like he was in New Earth and, most importantly for this train of thought, is still a minor. So he’s most likely sixteen (as he was in New52) or seventeen (as he was when New Earth ended). It would make no sense for DC to have gone younger.

That makes a three or four year age difference between Tim and Damian as well.

Which makes a six-to-eight year age difference between Jason and Damian.

So if we say Jason was seventeen when Talia took him in, then Damian would have been anywhere from nine to eleven. Certainly old enough to notice his mother stressing out (over Jason) and possibly ask questions. Jason wasn’t cognizant the whole time he was with the League and Talia appears to have kept him pretty secured as well. At the time, Damian had been canonically adopted out (he was retconned back into Talia’s custody later), so he’s never mentioned, but it’s during Jason’s post-Lazarus training period that Talia leaves her father (and works for Lex Corps), and near the end of Red Hood: The Lost Days, is tortured by her sister in Death in the Maidens before rejoining the League. There’s no way she left Damian behind for all that, so she either has him with her or has left him in the care of someone she trusts while she sets up their new life (before it gets derailed by her sister).

All this means it’s very unlikely that Jason ever met or even knew about Damian. It’s possible Damian saw, or at least knew about, Jason, but it’s also possible that he never did.

Since Damian didn't exist as a character during the time DC was bringing Jason back and establishing his post-death character, it’s probably more convenient for them to go with neither of them knowing about the other.

Personally, since DC set Damian up as unbelievably spoiled at his introduction and proceeded to show him being very nosy and lacking boundaries with those of interest to him or that he cares about (spying on Tim, spying on Bruce, disguising himself as Jon’s school bus driver, etc), I think it would have been easier for Talia to tell him about Jason (probably leaving out the Bruce connection just in case) but refuse to let him see Jason than try to keep the whole thing from him. So I headcanon that Damian knew of Jason. He was always curious about him because of the way his mother spoke of the older boy: with love, pride, and concern. However, he didn’t get to meet him until after he was living with his father and Jason starting coming around.

Jason had no clue Talia and Bruce had a child that she’d been taking care of the whole time.

[aurorialwolf]

hwhhehehehehehhehwhw guess who has another redacted next gen oc to shareeeee :D This time, it's William's daughter!! Exciting stuff Rest below the cut so I don't spam anyone's dashes

- Her full name is Emilia (aka Emma / Emily) Solaire

- She is William's only child, and heir to his throne, as Alexis has shown disinterest in ruling and Vincent has split from the clan

- I'm not sure who here remembers, but the fandom once had made up a listener name for William's 'listener' (he doesn't and may not ever have one, but we all thought that it would be cute to make one), who was unempowered, and that's sort of who I think her other parent would be, though this current rendition of her doesn't have as strong a connection to her other parent

- Unlike the other vampire children, she was not turned by her own blood when she accessed her core at puberty, but was instead born vampiric, due to her dad's Old Blood status (the turned by own blood thing was made up by me and is not canon, vampires prob cant even reproduce in canon lmao)

- So; imagine a toddler running at vampiric speed into the most dangerous part of your backyard. This is how William feels. He should be thankful he's an old blood and can keep up lmao

- I imagine William being a somewhat good parent, but I also think he wouldn't be up to speed, and would raise his children in a more old-timey fashion (he wouldn't beat his kids at all though because I say so), which means Emilia is very,, old soul seeming. Would fit in with the bingo ladies /j (she is a littleee bit modern but doesn't have a lot of tech and is out of the loop, acts a lot different to those her age, sort of distant? learned from William how best to be regal and stuff, so she's diplomatic)

- She has a very difficult time making friends because she had vampiric status since birth, and is not able to make friends with kids her own age easily (I mean, think about trying to introduce your vampiric 8-year-old to a normal 8-year-old.. thats scary as shit)

- She's the youngest out of all the Solaire kids, being two years younger than Adrian (the oldest) and one year younger than Vivienne (not Solaire, but associated)

- She's hella bossy because she's always had high status and has a difficult time seeing others as equals because she's literally never been at their level.. Portia (Porter's kid) and Adrian (Alexis's son) are her personal guards, and she makes them entertain her

- Portia is much less afraid to speak her mind, and does so regularly, to the point that Emilia reprimands her for saying treasonous things, lol, much to the chagrin and fear of Adrian, who has been taught to revere those in higher levels of the hierarchy than him, and begrudgingly goes along with all of Emilia's orders

- Emilia also has a hard time seeing mortals as important, or at all on par with herself, as she's always been immortal, vampiric, and she sees her and her typical peers (all vampires) as eternal, or at least veryyyy long-lasting, and simply views mortals as a blip in her likely long life. She grows out of this, with Samuel's (Sam and Darlin's kid) help, as he is part mortal, and helps her see the importance and power of mortals via the Shaw Pack, who is still aligned with the clan in the future (in my mind at least) though she's always still a bit high-and-mighty

Now onto the interesting plot for her personal storyline :3

- Once she reaches ~18, she decides she wants the throne, and conspires to overthrow her father. She recruits her guards and outside players to help her, so there's herself, Portia, Adrian, Samuel Jr., and Vivienne.

- Samuel only agreed because she promised that, if she came into power, she would ensure the safety of the Shaw Pack by devoting some of her people to protect them, instead of just using the reach of her power to imply protection (cough cough William), and yk, she certainly knows how to get Samuel under her thumb because it immediately worked lmao

- Vivienne agreed because Samuel did, and she harbours more loyalty to the Solaire House than she would generally let on, secretly desiring a place among vampiric peers, having been denied that since her turning.

- So, their plan goes as such; (let me clarify they are totally underestimating him and are overconfident lmao) - Samuel will take out Porter early, to prevent interference - Alexis will not be around on the day they plan to execute this, so she isn't factored in - They will catch William while he's doing his usual walk through the woods in his remote estate, when he is unlikely to have a way of contacting help with him, and is too far away from Dahlia to escape to safety - Samuel will be the first to attack, given his general magical prowess, granting him an advantage in distracting William, and a better chance to evade initial parries. He also has a source of daemon / demon blood, and will coat the edge of his sword in it, which will severely weaken William - Adrian and Portia will come up next, them and Samuel forming a triangle to contain William in the area, slowly weathering down his defenses - Vivienne will be taking her time throughout this to charge up a strong burst of electro magic, and will wait until the perfect opening to unleash it directly on him, hopefully immobilizing him, given that he already has da/emon blood in his system. - Then, they will surround him, and Emilia will come up, manipulating blood magic to keep him disadvantaged (since I hc William has formed the ability to control Solaire blood, and his daughter has also learned to do so) - Then, she politely asks for the crown, and should he refuse, they kill him (atp, if everything goes right, he will be severelyyy weakened by the da/emon blood and the lightening strike, making this somewhat possible) - Bam! Throne is taken easy as pie There's multiple possible endings;

1. She gets the crown without fuss because William doesn't mind granting it to her (after he's been defeated)

2. He gives them a run for their money but eventually agrees, but is not defeated at any point

3. They somehow manage to kill him, and she ascends to the throne with blood on her hands

4. He defeats them, and imprisons all of them, granting mercy but insisting on rehabilitation of some kind

5. He defeats all of them and is not merciful, only sparing Emilia and possibly Vivienne (given she's the least dangerous and not in the clan), he's a bit biased lol Number 5 is unlikely, 2 and 4 are most probable (depending on how well things go) Taglist: @vegafan69 @darlin-collins @kxemii @professionallyyappin @sereh624

[unethicallypleistocene]

Character breakdowns for Samwise Gamgee and Scott Summers please?

Heck yeah!

Samwise Gamgee:

How I feel about this character He is the light of my life and I would die for him. Enough said.

All the people I ship romantically with this character I'm a fan of Sam/Frodo! I've read a lot of wonderful fics that explore their characters with a romantic pairing, and I think that angle really works.

My non-romantic OTP for this character Frodo again! I honestly think that Frodo and Sam belong together in any capacity, and their relationship is just so deep that I can read it as both romantic and non-romantic. It's always Frodo and Sam, Sam and Frodo, and I don't think they'd have it any other way.

My unpopular opinion about this character It's definitely been talked about on Tolkien Tumblr but the "Sam is the real hero of LOTR" take is still kicking in the wider world, and I really don't agree. Besides the fact that Sam would break out his frying pan if anyone tried to downplay what Frodo did, LOTR is fundamentally about good and evil and it represents them in different ways. The Shire in its tranquility and safety is an expression of goodness, as is Sam's love for Frodo. Frodo's struggle and journey with the ring was the result of his desire to preserve that goodness, which was absolutely a heroic act, but that heroism isn't the point of the story.

One thing I wish would happen / had happened with this character in canon. I love fics where Sam gets to sail with Frodo to Valinor. I understand the thematic importance of him staying in the Shire, but I just can't picture them remaining apart for the rest of time. I also think Yavanna and her gardens would have been great fans of his :)

Scott Summers:

How I feel about this character So far the most Scott content I've been exposed to has been X-Men '97 (I've only recently started getting into the comics and I haven't read many Scott-centric storylines) and the films (which did him dirty imo) but I think he has the potential for some really interesting character explorations, especially during the early days of his mutation manifesting.

All the people I ship romantically with this character I haven't seen any version of Scott who isn't with Jean Grey, and they kind of have an aggressively normal vibe when they're together. I think it's a funky contrast to everything else, so I'm not against it.

My non-romantic OTP for this character I don't think I have one at the moment! I'll have to wait and see.

My unpopular opinion about this character I haven't got many Opinions on him, and they're unlikely to be unpopular.

One thing I wish would happen / had happened with this character in canon. I really wish the alternate timeline movies did more with him. He's pretty dang important as far as X-Men go, so I'm not sure why he was sidelined so hard. I'm going to stop before I start ranting about some of the other writing choices, haha.

[kasarawolf]

FANFICTION FACTS PART ONE. LOTS OF HECKIN READING AHEAD IF YOU ARE INTERESTED IN THIS SORT OF THING.

And unlike Twitter, I can write more stuff on here! :D And add more updated info, since most of this I posted in late April.

1. Current chapter count is 80 titles. It was originally 60! But some of the chapters, I had to split into separate parts either to keep the emotions high or to leave cliffhangers. 

(I was originally shooting to hopefully start uploading Arc 1 later this year and all arcs at least scripted out, but with events that have happened at home, I am not sure if that will still be happening. My writing production has slowed down biiiiggg time. The drive is still there, but I am exhausted. (originally I was writing 50 pages + a week. but since I started my job again and the family matters, It’s dropped to maybe 5 at most. Not good at all.)

2. There are a total of 5 Arcs. The Arc Names are as follows and may have been too spoilery, so I removed parts or their whole names entirely BD

Time Breakers Arc --- Burnout Arc --- Lovestruck Arc --- ??? ---- ???

I have played around with the idea of other Dragon Ball stories or maybe even future arcs, (Future arc’s I have written down some ideas!) but that will all depend on if I can live writing these five lol.

3. Characters sexual orientations are not specified in the story. The only time so far in the story is when some male side characters are talking about a pretty new Patroller, but “she’s into chicks so out of their league” but Tufu being a dumb, still tries for that anyway and says to her, “he also loves women.”  And when Kota is asked what kind of girl he likes in an interview, he responds “Why does it matter what sex they are? As long as they got a good heart-besides I am not really looking to date.“ I do have head canons for the characters, (some canon characters) but they mostly just stay in my head and most likely will not appear in the story lol.

4. Some chapters are very long. The pivotal, important chapters run at around 30 pages plus, but I have been chopping them down. The lowest page count currently is at 19.

5. This story has a PG-13 to PG-18 rating. Not all chapters are rated this and most are in the 13 range. I have tried toning down the chapters that are PG-18, (I even wrote alternate PG13 versions of the 18s) but comparing them to the 18 rated ones, it did not have the same omph factor and the characters lost their bite. Too tame. Kota’s mouth is a pain in the ---

6. For those who are not a fan of reading, I will be adapting it into comic form later on.

7. THIS STORY HAS the male lead is in a relationship with another man. So if that makes you uncomfy, this is not the story for you. (and heck, my art in general is probably not for you lol) Because somehooww, I still manage to get followers who think Kota and Fu are just bro’s and get so shooken when they see em all lovey dovey XD Like yeah, they bro’s, but they bro’s that smooch haha.

8. Kota’s character was created back in 2009. He may be older, but that’s when I started uploading his first art works to the internet. He was always written as Trunks son, and Kota had a different storyline than his current, but for a brief moment, I had a thought that he may have been Future Gohan’s kid that Trunks was raised with instead. That got thrown out really quick! Character design still looks relatively the same, mostly because I am sucker for the first designs for my older oc’s and don’t like doing drastic changes to them.

[fillingthescrapbook]

Watching the second season of Shadow and Bone.

While, in my opinion, it's better than the first season... I feel like the show also has a big pacing issue. And I kinda think it's the fault of the Crows storyline.

Granted, I haven't finished the season yet... But while the Crows in the first four episodes have been engaging--they're kind of pulling focus in the worst possible way in the second batch of episodes. Aline and Mal are better in small doses, sure. Not because of the actors. They're brilliant. But because their characters aren't... Let's just say there's a problem in the foundation of their characters and how they are tied into the main premise of the story.

What was I saying?

Ah, yes. The Crows are pulling focus in the second batch of episodes--and it's taking screen time away from Mal and Alina that are now necessary because we need to see how they develop. And, as I understand it, the second season has combined the plot of more than two books--so it's all the more important for the main story to get its necessary character defining moments. So while the Crows were created as better characters, that doesn't mean they should take the spotlight away from the main story thread.

Also: Kaz Brekker's flashbacks and guilt would work better on a season where he is the main character. In this season? I want to fast-forward through them ninety-nine percent of the time.

And: The Darkling getting minimal screen time feels right. I feel bad for Ben Barnes, sure, but Kirigan is the villain. And, in my opinion, he works better when there's an air of mystery about what he's doing and what he's planning next.

Edited to add;

I finished the season. If Netflix picks it up for another season, I'll probably watch it.

My main problem with Season 2 is similar to my problem with the first season; the show had one too many storylines that they want to tie together in the end. It worked a little bit better this time because Nina, the Heartrender, was lumped in with the Crows. So Matthias the Fjerdan's standalone plot had, at the very least, connections to the B-plot. Unlike in the first season where they were completely separate.

Season 2 would have been better without the Crows, if I'm going to be honest though. The first four episodes were light on the Alina main plot, which kind of killed necessary introductions for the new characters as well as development for the returning characters. The Crows were engaging then, but only because we were following something that happened in the books. When they were roped into what the A-plot was... It was clear their plot was just being stretched so they appear in all the episodes.

I stand by what I said about the Darkling. He did work better as someone who pops in and out from the shadows. I still feel bad for Ben Barnes though.

In an ideal world, Season 2 would've been six episodes long and the Crows wouldn't be a part of it--because Netflix gave them their own show that was gonna come out six months after the second and last season of Shadow and Bone.

Although... With how the showrunners left the season we got... I am actually intrigued at how they move forward. I checked the books' wikipedia and we're mostly off book-canon now. And that excites me. Because the people behind the show clearly do not like how the Alina plot played out in the books, and the changes they made to her story did make her more interesting and more engaging as a character. So I'd like to see where they take the show next.

[elrxiel]

How do you imagine their story to be now? How it could fill the entire book and still stay true to canon without being the repetition of ACOSF? Gwyn won't be the saviour of Ilyria (at least let the Emerie have that!). She won't defend Koshchei on her own, she is not connected to any characters or objects (or we don't know it yet, but I'm talking about what we know from books so far) but you know who is?

Elain. The seer. The part of the Inner Circle. The Archeron Sister. The girl who still seems to have so many secrets to tell. The one who has an unrequired mating bond with one of the most important characters and clearly has strong feelings (that are mutual) for the other, as an important character. The one who literally had visions about Vassa and Koshchei and who knows about what else. Who is beloved by Cauldron itself. Her own sister suspects her of taking spy lessons from twins, god damn it. She is mastering her powers, she has a possible love triangle to face, she may be something more than we think she is. There are so many amazing possibilities that fit perfectly to the canon.

Not to mention, it would be only logical for SJM to make the next book about Elain - you know, the third Archeron sister whom the books are actually about - not Gwyn.

Gwyn can still be significant to the story, she may get her POV or her storyline expanded but tbh it is very unlikely for SJM to make a next ACOTAR book about Gwynriel when Elain, whose powers are still a mistery, who has untold history with crumbs planted in several books, is literally right there.

I honestly still am not sure which ship will SJM choose - Elucien oflr Elriel (I have my preferences obviously) but for SO MANY REASONS both of the stories have so much more sense than possible novel about Az and Gwyn, a story about trainings, ribbons, his burning desire to make love to Elain, more trainings, singing and more trainings.

If Gwynriel is endgame, how exactly did SJM pitch it?

SJM: I have a great novel idea for Azriel and this new female character to get together

Bloomsbury: Awesome! Are they mates?

SJM: Yes! I'm going to reveal it in a bonus chapter and here's the kicker- he's not going to act like her mate at all, even when she's in danger. :)

Bloomsbury: Okay...you're so good at the enemies to lovers trope, are they at least enemies?

SJM: Nope. They're friendly acquaintances. :)

Bloomsbury: Cool... but there's some discord between them that creates tension before the relationship begins, right? You do that for all the relationships you write.

SJM: Nope. They already have mutual respect for one another and have never had any conflict. The only barrier to them getting together is that they need to realize they're attracted to one another and then they're good to go! :)

Bloomsbury: This sounds very out of character for you, Sarah. What happened to Elain?

SJM: Oh, he got over her and turned to the only available single female left in his vicinity. :)

Bloomsbury: Alright... do they have complementary powers?

SJM: Among other things, she emits light and glows when she sings. :)

Bloomsbury: Doesn't light make Azriel's shadows- his defining characteristic- disappear?

SJM: Yes! And I plan on writing a full length novel about these two getting together.

Bloomsbury: Sounds great...

This is all i can think of when i hear people argue that the NEXT book is gwynriel. How would that even be possible? If it's happening at all, it'd be the last book so that SJM could actually create something interesting with their storyline.

[mysaldate]

AThane and the symbolism behind the outfit

This has been on my mind for quite some time, pretty much ever since AThane was introduced to the game but it was only with the comic coming out that I realized just what was it that looked so important for me in his design. Yes, I’m not very fast on the uptake sometimes let me ramble xD

As usual, this will probably be a fairly long post so I’m putting it under Read More just in case. And yes, I know this is the Brutus month and tbh, I do love ABrutus and his story is amazing but I don’t really have much to say in terms of symbolism etc.

The Awakened heroes so far didn’t really have any MAJOR changes to their design. Sure, ATalene tied her hair back and got an extra pair of fluffier wings, and AEzizh got buffer and more blue and pink than red and purple but it wasn’t anything huge. There really wasn’t much going on in terms of theme or symbolism that wouldn’t already be there in their original form. Yes, ATalene looks more angelic than the old version and yes, AEzizh now ascends from a ball of demonic purple energy but these changes only emphasize what was already there, meanwhile AThane’s design completely flips the script on his previous aesthetics and feel.

Since his introduction to the game, Thane stood out as being one of the few Lightbearers with a darker theme to his design. Sure, he wasn’t the only one but it was still somewhat of a staple of his. His outfits consists mostly of dark blues, grays, and browns, a lot of them a little faded, and though he’s on his guard, his expression is somber. This goes double for his in-game model. And unlike the other darker-themed characters, he doesn’t really have much to lighten the overall feel up. Estrilda has her flag which has brighter colors and a nice rim of light (and her insane amount of revealed skin which also brightens the pic), Hendrik’s colors are overall lighter and he has more gold on his outfit, his hair being white also adds to a more positive mood, and we could go on. Standing out from the lineup would be Morrow and Scarlet but those are fairly late additions and their palettes are more purposely contrasting than the somber darkness we see in Thane.

In a way, this is tied to Thane’s mental state at that point of his story. After losing Baden, and blaming himself for it, Thane fell into fairly deep depression, one he only somewhat got out of after he started training Estrilda. But going off of the Solemn Vow storyline, even that didn’t exactly get him out of that state much and while he did come to genuinely care for her, how much of his teaching was because he cared and how much was because of his self-assumed debt to the Rayne family is still unclear. I think it’s safe to say that with Baden, a part of Thane died as well. And while Baden wasn’t exactly dead, there is no canon confirmation that Thane would know about that. This is one of the things I really wish they would’ve made into a webcomic since we are apparently getting some comics for some awakened heroes and it would allow for more emotional connection compared to the Voyage of Wonders and plain text description.

Furthermore, and the picture above is inverted since I can’t find the correctly-facing one, Thane lost his right arm at the same time he lost Baden. This isn’t enough to end his swordsmanship even if it was his dominant hand but no doubt was this a major blow for both his sense of self-worth and his everyday life. Again, this is already very symbolic of what happened to him because of the loss of Baden – he didn’t die but it would forever be in the back of his mind like a haunting reminder of his failure. For all means and purposes, Thane’s story could’ve ended there, leaving him agonizing over that one moment where he lost his... ehm “best friend” and his arm, the moment of his ultimate failure.

And then came his awakening.

Immediately, the first thing you notice is how much brighter this design is compared to the original. AThane is still wearing the same black suit but now with more gold, and his cloak has brighter colors. Even his hair – and a new goatee – changed from gray to blue. The addition of lighter shades, whites, and the overall light-feeling aesthetic also marks a big step for his mental state and character development. AThane moved to a brighter place. It is very fitting that Thane’s design choices are affected by him losing Baden, while AThane’s are directly tied to finding Baden again, and being able to prove himself worthy of him.

The motif for AThane’s outfit appears to be the peacock, both based on the colors and on the shape his outfit took. Peacocks are, among other things, universally considered the symbol of pride and confidence but various cultures assign them other meanings as well. In Native American cultures, peacocks could be used self-esteem, refinement, beauty, or even sexuality. Hinduism associates peacocks with prosperity, good luck, and protection. And finally, in Chinese history, peacocks were used to symbolize power, beauty, and even divinity.

It is therefore fitting for AThane’s theme to be so heavily leaning into the peacock motif for several reasons. Not only has he gained new power – and it was the power to protect – but he gained a connection to the divine by merging with the elemental wind mark. This was most certainly a tough choice, Thane avoided it for as long as he could, knowing how much of a strain it was sure to put on him. It was no sooner than he saw Baden ready to sacrifice himself for him AGAIN that he made his choice, thus ultimately making this choice about love. Now, whether you see Thaden as platonic or romantic, there is no doubt that some kind of deep love runs between the two. Last time, Baden was the one to act on it and take a tremendous risk. This time, Thane is the one to take the risk, not willing to fail Baden again, even if it costs his life. And finally, we get to the final point of AThane’s design.

Notice how the right side of his cloak is so heavily decorated with the feathers while the left side is relatively plain, the feather design instead appearing on his sleeve. This is the part I newly realized and that really knocked the air out of me once it clicked. By his self-sacrifice, AThane not only made up for his previous mistake, but he gained wings. His arm won’t ever come back, much like Baden will never be human again, but there is now something to substitute it. Now, I’m sure I don’t have to get into the common associations when it comes to wings, but let me just bring up a few most common – and most interesting – ones.

Wings symbolize protection. In multiple official arts of AThane, he seems to be using his missing arm as a way to deflect blows, the shoulder piece serving as a bright shield. This also tracks with how he even gained this new power – in an attempt to protect Baden, on a mission to protect Estrilda, and ending up giving him the determination to try and protect the world.

Wings symbolize freedom. In AThane’s case, it’s the freedom from his haunting past, and the ability to overcome it. It’s a freedom of his weakness and of the fear that he would end up losing everyone again. I wouldn’t be surprised if after this, we saw the character developing deep relationships and let himself get close to people again. He might even feel free to express himself some more. One thing I certainly hope to see once we finally get to the culmination of this arc is Thane, completely exhausted after the battle, perhaps hurt, but looking over the people who helped him get there, and smiling, or perhaps even laughing, letting all the stress and responsibility wash off of him.

And finally, wings symbolize purity and divinity. I touched upon the divinity before but I want to mention it briefly once more because angels as we know them are often intimately tied to both of the previous ties. But furthermore, they are gentle, often self-sacrificing creatures who serve as protectors, soldiers, messengers, and more. This role is fitting for a character like Thane who was a soldier, a castellan, a detective, an arrand boy, and now finally also a protector. It also symbolizes a rebith of sorts. With his rise from the dark depths his mind was in before, he can now fully embrace a new calling.

AFK Arena (luckily) doesn’t have a habit of killing off playable characters but if it did, I believe it to possibly be the perfect culmination for AThane’s arc. This is just my opinion so absolutely feel free to yell at me. I simply think that AThane gaining wings and then possibly falling in the final battle, possibly shielding his allies instead of going in for a reckless offensive, would be the most fitting end to his character development, showing us just how far he’s gone. From someone who needed others to die for him, to someone willing to protect others with his life. But even if this is not going to happen any time soon, simply the fact that he was willing to risk it for the mere chance of being able to save others is already an incredible step forward.

Well, that would be it for this analysis. I plan on going more in-depth about why the characters were picked for their particular elements too but since we only have two so far, that might have to wait. Speaking of which, we’re left down to fire and water, and Wilders and Graveborn. I wonder who will take which element? Wilders already have a character associated with fire, and Graveborn have multiple water-related characters so seeing a switch would certainly be interesting. There’s also the Daimon song video that has the grave symbolized by a large body of water so that could also be a hint... Well, we’ll see in two months. Until then, let me know what you think.

If you’ve read this far, thank you very much, you have no idea how much it means. I’m sorry for being so long-winded and hope you at least found it interesting. If you’re curious about the sources for some of the claims I’ve made in this post, hmu either in dms or send in an ask. I hope to see you soon, possibly with a lighter post this time!

[aphelea]

Welcome to What If They Were Evil, or, going through a bunch of characters and thinking, what if they were part of the Neverseen? Is this likely in canon? How would that change things if it were?

Today we're going through the Gay Adult Crew (tm). (Aka, Livvy, Prentice, Quinlin, etc.)

Livvy: Livvy has the necessary anger at the Council to be part of the Neverseen, but she very clearly doesn't have the necessary anger at humans. So, is this likely in canon? No. But it's fun to think about. Her presence during the creation of Project Moonlark makes for some interesting possibilities if she were to be a double agent. She could alter Forkle's plans for Sophie to benefit the Neverseen without him knowing. And she could easily extract important Council information from Quinlin, since they're married. Also, she has close connections to the Vackers, which could be useful.

Prentice: There is 0 chance of him being part of the Neverseen in canon, on account of the fact that he literally doesn't show up anymore. Where did he go, Shannon? What happened to his supposedly major storyline? Nobody knows. But, anyway, if he were to be part of the Neverseen... well, the Neverseen would likely know a lot of classified Black Swan secrets. Also, Tiergan and Wylie would be devastated. The thing is, I don't think there really is any logical way for him to be a Neverseen member in canon? From the start, he's essentially the Face of the Black Swan in the Lost Cities' eyes. The story wouldn't make sense if the Neverseen knew what Prentice knows. So I have to rate this one a Not Likely.

Quinlin: Okay, honestly? I'm not convinced that he's not secretly Neverseen in canon. He's pretty much responsible for finding Sophie in Book 1, and he seemed to be keeping pretty good tab on the fires. I just can't figure out what his motive would be. Maybe heartbreak thanks to Alden. Anyway, if this were to be true, I honestly don't think anyone would really be too affected? I think it would only push Alden and Della further into their isolation, sadness, post-Alvar hole. And Livvy would only be angrier at him than she is already.

Della: She's a talented spy, canonically. It wouldn't be hard for her to sneak around for both groups. She's close to high-ranking members in the Black Swan, has a powerful position in the government, and is part of the most influential family in the Lost Cities. And if she were to be part of the Neverseen? It would throw everyone into a frenzy. The Vackers would probably lock themselves away, like they did with Alden's mind break. Grady and Edaline would be devastated; after all, that would mean that one of their closest friends was directly involved in the murder of their daughter. The Collective wouldn't be sure who to trust anymore, since a traitor was able to swear fealty to them. Actually, I think Neverseen Della would be even more of an upheaval to the main crew than Alvar's reveal—but there's one crucial, missing component: what's her motive? She doesn't have reason to hate both humans and the Council enough to join the Neverseen. Unless there's something we don't know yet.

Elwin: Let's play a game of "Make All of Keefe's Parental Figures Evil Because Why Not." Anyway. I believe canon makes it pretty clear that he's not a Neverseen member, unless he's really good at hiding it. It's possible that he was a Neverseen member before Gisela took control and then left, which is why he didn't turn Keefe in. But, the issue is as seen before: what's his motive? What reason does he have to play a double agent of sorts? Highly unlikely, in my opinion. But it would make everyone very, very concerned.

Juline: She hates the Council but likes humans. So that's 50% of the way there to Neverseen Beliefs. It's unlikely that she's actually part of the Neverseen, given that she's a major part of the Collective. But if she were? It would devastate Dex. Dex's reaction upon finding out his mother was Black Swan was already angry, so his reaction to this? He'd be furious. Maybe it would push him across the line to go absolutely crazy against the Neverseen. I'm talking Arsonist Sophie level crazy. Which would be fun, but also, we already had one major reveal with Juline. It's unlikely that there would be another.

[wjbs-aus]

Since I'm (probably) near the end of the new Saints Row, I can safely say that I love it and personally would put it as either second or joint-first on my personal SR ranking, and it's the best game I've played this year at time of writing. But because nuance, I'll be going into more detail below.

(spoiler warning for all but one of the missions prior to The After-Party).

I found the new named Saints far less annoying than I thought I would, and personally I would die for Eli.

Speaking of Eli, the LARP storyline is really fun, and it's personally my favourite part so far, especially the fact that the other Saints get roped in, leading up to the massive battle against Gwen. Also, the bit at the end when the Boss does all the silly poses while shooting the king was really funny, especially the aftermath where the petrol station clerk awkwardly asks the Boss to order something and they respond in-character.

I honestly think Sergio's death was kinda anticlimactic, like you're told you will fight him and you get ready for a huge fight that just... doesn't happen, and he just gets anticlimactically killed off in a cutscene; the Boss isn't even the one who does it! It doesn't help that I also think Los Panteros are the least-interesting of the three gangs (or two gangs and one megacorporation), just being the Brotherhood but orange and aztec-themed.

For the moral choice in the AI tank level, I chose to fire Marshall. I'll probably shoot him on my next playthrough.

The mission where you have to steal the sculptures was really difficult and I had to get my brother - who is better at driving games than me - to do it.

The city is amazing, and honestly it's my favourite sandbox in the entire series. I love all the fake brands, I love the armadillo sculpture-trail, and I love the fact that there are proper strip-malls in a Saints Row game (mainly because strip-malls are an injoke between me and my brother).

The Boss might be canonically non-binary in the new timeline, which is very cool.

I am very dissapointed that - as far as I can tell - importing a Boss made in the Boss Factory doesn't carry over the outfit, only the character (although it did give me the opportunity to fiddle around with my Boss's fashion).

The existence of a Saints of Rage arcade machine in (at least) one part of the map, as well as an associated T-shirt, implies that Johnny exists as a fictional character in the new timeline.

Oh! Speaking of references to stuff that doesn't exist in the new timeline, the in-game Volition shop sells an Agents of Mayhem shirt, which I'm fairly sure is the first time I've seen someone acknowledge that game since it came out (not counting me buying it and playing some of it a year or two ago).

It is ridiculously easy to become OP.

It took me ages to realise that the MDI building is boot-shaped.

THEY DIDN'T DEPICT REPLACING THE CEO OF MDI AS A WHOLLY GOOD THING! THEY ACTUALLY ACKNOWLEDGE THAT WHAT'S-HER-FACE ISN'T WILLING TO FULLY TRUST THE SAINTS JUST BECAUSE THEY HELPED HER BECOME CEO, AND THAT SHE PRIORITISES THE COMPANY OVER THESE FOUR RANDOM ZOOMERS!

I like how the Boot Hill mission is literally just Super-Ethical but less frustrating and with a better announcer.

The Cutting Edge materials are really disappointing. I was expecting them to work like normal colours but with a different visual effect, but they colour the entire thing you apply them to, so applying them to clothes looks really tacky.

I want a Collective helmet in real life.

The Hidden History stuff is really fun and I like that they're actually putting effort in to establish a consistent timeline, unlike the original one which was an absolute mess. Also the glove-guns are OP as hell, especially when you unlock the special attack for them.

I have more thoughts, but I can't really think of any right now, so I'll add them as an addendum when I've finished the final mission (and also the other one I have to do first).

[shipcestuous]

SPOILERS for possible future plot lines in HOTD!

DON'T READ THIS if you don't want to know about characters and stories from Fire & Blood that the HOTD writers MIGHT integrate in the show!

...

...

Okay, now, with that HOPEFULLY out of the way... XD

There's been discourse in the HOTD fandom about the character of Nettles, who may or may not (I don't think anything substantial has been officially said about casting) appear in season 2. In the books, she is said to be a young lowborn girl with no apparent Valyrian ancestry who tames a dragon by using her wits rather than calling on any ancestral bond, fights on Team Black, and becomes Daemon's lover, drawing Rhaenyra's wrath on herself to the point Rhaenyra claims she seduced Daemon through witchcraft and tries to have her murdered.

The discourse, from what I have seen, is mainly about how much truth there is that story. Some take it at face value. Others think that Nettles couldn't have tamed a dragon without Valyrian ancestry and claim she's really Daemon's bastard daughter, so the story about her relationship with Daemon and Rhaenyra's jealousy is either a historical fake, a misinterpration of an innocent platonic father-daughter bond on Rhaenyra's part that led her to make a tragic mistake, or Mysaria or someone else purposefully whispering lies into Rhaenyra's ear to turn her against Daemon.

Most of it, of course, comes from Daemyra antis on one side and diehard Daemyra shippers on the other. Although it would be disingenuous to act like some in the "Nettles is Daemon's lover" camp don't genuinely want the unchanged storyline for representation (Nettles is already canonically described as dark-skinned in the book, unlike the Velaryons, and she's not only a fearless warrior but smart enough that she might have figured out on her own how Valyrians first approached dragons before coming up with blood magic, so "oh no, it only worked because she's a secret Targaryen, lol" would take away from that) and some in the "Nettles is Daemon's daughter" camp aren't just squicked out by their age gap in the book (I'm not sure how old show!Daemon is supposed to be at this point, but in the book he's like fifty while Nettles is seventeen).

That said... I'm a contrarian by nature, so even though I know that's never going to happen on the show, all this back and forth (especially when it gets aggressive on both sides) just makes me want a version of the story where "Nettles is Daemon's lover" and "Nettles is Daemon's daughter" are somehow both true at the same time. Partly because it would be kind of hilarious to spite both camps in one go, possibly while squicking out both those who watch a show about the Targaryens only to condemn any canonical incest AND those who make an exception for Daemyra but then turn around and condemn any fanon siblings or parent/child incest ship, and partly because I do actually feel it could be interesting from a narrative and characterization standpoint.

I've seen the picture of Daemon hugging his daughters after Laena's death and I really, really wish they had kept that scene, but without it actually being in the show, Daemon doesn't look an especially caring father to Baela and Rhaena. We know very little about their relationship, basically just that when they were children Rhaena felt Daemon favored Baela over her because Baela already had a dragon, that he agreed to Baela becoming Rhaenys' ward but kept Rhaena in Dragonstone with the rest of the family (because there are wild dragons and also Syrax laying eggs there? Because he couldn't bear to separate himself from both his daughters? Because there weren't any advantageous opportunities to have her fostered by an ally?), that Baela knew to contact him in case anything of political importance happened while she was in Driftmark, and that he agreed to betroth both of them to Rhaenyra's sons. So, what would it do to the relationship between all three of them if he found out he had another, illegitimate daughter? And that daughter tamed a dragon without having ever been taught anything about the Targaryens' history as dragon-riders or any of the command in High Valyrian? And he hit it off with her because of her reckless bravery and spent part of his time mentoring her and teaching her about those subjects? And then... he even fell in love with her, making her not just a daughter but something more? It would be even crueler than hooking up with Nettles while Rhaenyra's in the middle of a war to defend her birthright, imo... and tbh I just can't resist twisted, complicated, heartbreaking angst!

I also want to point out that there IS a third camp that wants Nettles just cut out of the series altogether and replaced with Rhaena for a "young black female character with an important connection to Daemon tames a dragon using her smarts" story, and I think that could also be an interesting variation from an incest shipper's perspective. Did Rhaena's fears as a child ease as she grew and matured or has she kept feeling the unfavorite compared to Baela all this time? Did gaining *counts* three stepbrothers and two half-brothers through Daemon's marraige with Rhaenyra make her feel more insecure and possibly overlooked? In that case, getting a dragon by showing off her cunning and then fighting alongside her father could make her feel more appreciated by him and also make them grow a lot closer... and doesn't that sound like an intriguing father/daughter plot? ;)

Lots of father/daughter possibilities! I wouldn't be surprised if they left her out altogether but if they don't, it should be pretty interesting, especially in fandom. Daughter or mistress?

I like your analysis of the possibilities with Daemon/Baela or Daemon/Rhaena!

[traincat]

Disregard my last ask because the latest issue raised a troubling question that I, as a black man, feel the need to clarify with you, a woman. That whole whole Ned Leeds/Betty Brant business is sexual assault via deception right? Like you know more about Clones and Spider-Man 616 than I but I feel like that’s besides the point because it happened to Betty. She is carrying the child of whom she thought was her dead ex-husband. And Ned clone has to know he is a clone. He has to know. Unlike Ben and Kaine, he has the awareness and information of the Jackal and the awareness of his progenitor’s death.

Or am I reaching too far and reading too far into things?

I'm glad you came back and asked this specific question because it's definitely something I have a lot of thoughts on, and I’m glad you asked my thoughts on it as a woman because I think this is one of those comic book storylines that’s hard for me to divorce that fact from -- the fact that I’m a woman definitely plays into how I view this storyline specifically and how it effects me, in ways I don’t think were necessarily intended by some of the writers involved in its ongoing arc who were not looking at things from the same perspective I’m coming at them from. I definitely don't think you're reaching or reading too far into things -- I think that is what's being presented on the page, albeit likely without authorial intent. Just as like a general disclaimer, I'm not closely following Spencer's run for the sheer reason that I'm not enjoying it very much, although I'm aware of the general directions it's taking through friends and social media. But I actually think this Betty/Ned issue goes back pretty far.

First things first, I think Clone Conspiracy really wreaked havoc on how Spider-Man as a series has always handled clones. Pre-Clone Conspiracy, there was a very clear clone narrative going on: clones are their own person, they are not direct copies or replacements of the original. You see this with Ben Reilly and you see it with the Gwen Stacy clones. Clones are treated as their own individuals, even if they have to struggle to get to that point -- there's even an issue of Spider-Man Unlimited where Ben and Betty go on a date. Betty doesn't know that Ben is Peter's clone -- he's introduced as his cousin -- and they both reflect on how you can't go back to the way things were. So even though Ben has all of Peter's memories regarding his initial romance with Betty, the narrative makes it clear that Ben and Betty cannot recapture that connection or that exact relationship.

Here's where Clone Conspiracy changed everything, in my opinion for the worse: Clone Conspiracy's clone narrative is that these clones are, essentially, the original person. I believe the Marvel wiki still actually lists the end of Clone Conspiracy as 616 Gwen Stacy's issue of death instead of Amazing Spider-Man #121, because Clone Conspiracy treated that Gwen not simply as a clone with all of the same memories, but as essentially Gwen resurrected through a cloning process. The Billy Connors who was cloned is treated as the same Billy Connors who was killed by his father in Shed (Amazing Spider-Man #630-633). And the clone Ned is treated as the same as 616 Ned. This is a mess, to put it simply, because it goes against all the previous Spider-Man cloning narratives and, honestly, most popular sci-fi clone narratives, and it's seriously undermining decades of good Spider-Man storytelling in ways that Slott didn't address and that Spencer seems unwilling to. It probably wouldn't have been a very big deal -- a frustrating one, but not a big one -- if all of the clones had perished at the end of Clone Conspiracy, but they didn't. Billy Connors escaped, and it's immensely frustrating to me to see Peter treating the Connors family reunion as something he can tolerate when Curt Connors ate his kid, and the Ned clone slithered away in the gutters to, I assume, spite me personally.

Which brings us to the current Betty Brant storyline in Amazing Spider-Man, where Betty has showed up heavily pregnant and informed Peter that the child is Ned's.

Yeah, I would say this is in fact the worst possible part. (ASM (2018) #67) Just speaking for myself, I'm generally not anti-pregnancy or baby storylines in comics, but this one is making me very uncomfortable for reasons beside Spencer being apparently unable to find any way to fit Betty into his stories without her showing pregnant.

So I'm actually going to take this back way, way to when Betty and Ned first got married, with some explanation of who Ned Leeds is for the uninformed, because, especially with the MCU's Ned Leeds in the mix, he's not exactly the world's most well known Spider-Man character. (I’m sure @ubernegro, who is much more well read on Miles Morales’ canon than I am, has thoughts on how the MCU’s Ned borrowed heavily off the character of Ganke Lee with a 616 Peter Parker character’s name pasted over him.) Ned was initially introduced as Peter's competition for Betty's affections -- Ned was older than both Peter and Betty, a working reporter, and presented as the more "stable" option compared to Peter, who of course Betty vastly preferred before circumstances tore them apart. Ned and Betty married in Amazing Spider-Man #156 and jetsetted off to Europe for Ned's job. This is where the cracks in the marriage began. Betty later reveals that she felt abandoned by Ned in Europe, to the point where she was able to come back to New York without his immediate notice -- as a woman, it's very easy to read their relationship at this point as being one filled with, if not abuse, then emotional neglect. Betty and Peter have a quick extramarital affair at this point -- Peter has just broken up with Mary Jane and Betty claims she and Ned are separating -- that persists until Ned returns and punches Peter over it.

(ASM #193)

(ASM #229) Betty and Ned reconcile off panel shortly thereafter, but that's pretty far from the end of the story. It's implied that the problems Betty and Ned previously had start to develop again, namely that Betty feels abandoned by Ned, that he is inattentive and, again, as a woman, it's hard not to read it as emotional neglect, if not abuse -- yet. Betty does start another affair at this point, this time with Flash Thompson, and Ned starts acting strangely. It would later be retconned that he was suffering the effects of hypnotism by the Hobgoblin, but like I said, that's a retcon, and what was happening at the time was that Ned was acting erratically in part because he was the villainous Hobgoblin. Ned becomes controlling, threatening, and verbally and physically abusive towards Betty.

(ASM #284)

(ASM #283) "I suppose you think it's all right for a wife to cheat on her husband!" "No -- but I won't let you hurt her, either." Leaving aside that Peter also had an affair with Betty, something he's conveniently forgetting in the above panels, I've always really liked this exchange, because the narrative makes it clear through Peter's response to Ned that, whatever the audience may think of Betty for cheating on Ned, it is reprehensible for Ned to publicly humiliate her and/or physically abuse her as a response.

Then Ned Leeds dies in Spider-Man vs Wolverine and he's revealed as the Hobgoblin posthumously shortly thereafter and that remains canon for years and years until it's later retconned out, as comics are wont to do. But that's not really that important for this conversation -- my point being, at one point in Spider-Man canon, it's made fairly clear to the reader that Ned is an abusive husband. He emotionally neglected and abused Betty several times over and physically hurt her at least once on panel, with the clear intent that the reader should realize that he is physically hurting her. So for me as a reader and as a woman, this has always been a really uncomfortable relationship. I have a problem with later Spider-Man comics claiming that it's "not Ned's fault" that he abused Betty because of the retcon that he was hypnotized, and I have a problem with the MCU making Betty and Ned into a cute summer fling in Spider-Man: Far From Home, because I feel like Ned's clear abuse of Betty either gets excused or entirely glossed over. And I don’t think the initial abuse storyline is bad -- I think there’s some amount of value in portraying Betty as a woman who marries too young, who experiences a terrible marriage, and who then spends years recovering from that marriage, which was the case up until they retconned Ned’s abuse of her as a side effect of him being controlled by the real Hobgoblin. What I’m specifically uncomfortable with is the post-retcon attitude that since Ned didn’t really mean to abuse Betty, it’s perfectly fine to portray the relationship in a positive light when even before Ned’s abuse became physical that wasn’t the case. I think that’s ultimately really irresponsible storytelling.  As a reader, I’m not against soap opera style storylines -- someone getting impregnated by a cone of their ex-husband seems pretty par for the course. But there’s so much additional context here that I still haven’t entirely processed how I feel about this Betty storyline, except that what I feel isn’t positive.

So yes, I would agree with you when I say I think there’s quite a lot of deception involved in Betty’s pregnancy storyline -- the Ned clone didn’t tell her he was a clone, even though he had full knowledge of that fact, just as he had full knowledge of how badly the original Ned treated Betty over the course of their relationship -- that renders their sexual encounter and Betty’s pregnancy uncomfortable for me as a reader, to put it mildly. I don’t think it’s out of character for the Ned clone, given that he acts much like the original Ned: he’s selfish and controlling, withholding information from Betty to suit his own needs. The tragedy of Ned and Betty isn’t that Ned died, as more recent Spider-Man stories like to portray it -- including this one, where Betty doesn’t have the knowledge that a) the Ned she reunited with was a clone and not the original and b) that that clone later died. (ASM #816.) The tragedy is that writers continue to force Betty Brant into Ned Leeds storylines instead of letting her as a character grow past him, and that the only way Spencer thought to include her, one of the longest running Spider-Man characters, back in the story was to have her appear starry-eyed over carrying the child of (the clone of) her abusive ex-husband, and the tragedy is that nobody writing more recent Betty and Ned interactions seems to realize that Ned was a villain not because he was briefly the Hobgoblin but because of how he treated Betty.