#anti punisher max

[spooky-donut-ghost-house]

In my honest opinion Garth Ennis doesn't understand The Punisher

Garth Ennis' take on The Punisher is that he is a man who is utterly obsessed with violence and war and really never cared about his wife and kids and really just use avenging them as an excuse to start killing again because he's a sadistic killer and says that he worships and prays to war

That's.... really fucking edgy and not at all who or what Frank Castle is

Frank Castle is a traumatized war veteran who after all the pain and sorrow he endured in war (wether it was the Vietnam war or the war in Iraq it depends on which version you are reading) finally gets happiness by having a family until one day they are taken away by a drive by shooting caused by mafia hitmen which this event basically breaks Frank and essentially makes him lose all will to live and essentially sets him on a war path to avenge his family and make sure no one goes through the same pain he did until the day he dies

He doesn't kill because he enjoys it he kills because what else is there for him to do? How can he go back to a normal life when the one thing he loved was taken from him?

He is a tragic Rambo-esque character who essentially has nothing left to lose and spends every waking moment killing criminals because there is nothing left for him

He's completely numb to everything around him but not because he's a heartless killing machine but because he's a dead man walking Frank Castle died with his wife and kids and all that remains is this numb broken shell of a man that is now The Punisher

This is why I feel like Jon Berenthal's portrayal of Frank is the most accurate he's a broken man with nothing left to lose whereas Thomas Jane and Ray Stevenson's (rest in peace) portrayals of Frank are more akinned to Garth Ennis' version of Frank

Frank Castle isn't a sadistic killing machine who is in love with death and violence and war

Frank Castle is a broken man who kills criminals because that's all that he can do

Ennis' Frank Castle isn't Frank Castle he's American Billy Butcher

Bottomline: Garth Ennis doesn't understand Frank Castle

[californiaboytoybilly]

the sibling dynamic we deserved between billy and max

[roscoehamiltons]

shook that they actually penalized max for once ngl

[aretheyqueer]

Anyway I sent you that ask but I’m not like boiling over mad about it, it’s just like. The experiences of men and women are different but it is because a woman’s experiences breaks off from the default, which is the male experience. I do not think things can be that clean cut when it comes to gender identity but for cis men? The intersectionality of being black and disabled makes sense, the intersectionality of being black and a man doesn’t. That is called anti black racism. And it is foolish to act like the ways black men are seen, as violent, aggressive, poor, untrustworthy, older than they are as children, aren’t applied to black women too

what are you talking about

well its about this post and normally I try not to give attention to angry anons but I'll talk a bit about it

misandry. a difficult topic for some. it seems that a lot of people believe that in order for misandry to exist, misogyny has to not exist. but that's not true. both exist at the same time and both affect everyone.

men are seen as more violent than women, and if you combine that with the "black people are more violent" mindset, you get a violent black man stereotype, which is different from what a black woman experiences. doesn't mean one is more oppressed than the other. but one of them has been affected by misandry as well. one of the people I know is a black man and because we get "violent black person + violent man" together, people cross the street in order to not pass him on the sidewalk. he has been told to his face by women things like "you're actually cool, I thought you were going to hit me when I first saw you...", which they somehow think is a compliment. this is not only because of racism or misandry, but because of both at the same time.

generally speaking in the US, women get away easier with crime than men. there have been cases where all the evidence shows that the woman killed someone, only for it to be randomly decided that she didn't. this is a combination of pretty privilege, and difference in how men and women are treated. white people also get away with crime easier than black people. it's not ridiculous to think that these combine, that black+man (violent+violent) has different expectations of how much evidence is necessary and how harsh the punishment should be.

when a trans man transitions, it's likely that he will feel a change as he starts to experience male privilege. but things aren't as great as a man as they tell you on the internet.

men and women have different beauty standards. generally, it's seen as unattractive if a man is chubby, has acne, lack of muscles, beard growing in the wrong places etc. (even women who "like dad bods" often go for the conventionally attractive men). now, as a trans man basically going through your second puberty, acne, fat redistribution, hair growth - it can all impact your appearance in ways that you don't actually like.

and this happens. some trans men experience these "ugly" changes, and suddenly they go (literal quote) "people are so mean to me now!" becaaauseee... society has different expectations of men and women, and when men don't meet those expectations, they are treated differently. not only because they're "ugly", but because they are "ugly" men.

a lot of women don't like to admit it, but they can be really horrible to men. there's this assumption that men have it easy, which leads to a couple things:

"Ugly" men are treated horribly by women

Every ugly man is assumed to have worse morals than handsome white men

Women's abuse against men isn't taken seriously

Remember the Johnny Depp and Amber Heard case? There was a lot of evidence that a man was being abused by a woman. Him literally taking her to court and showing the world that men CAN be abused by women and there are things you can do about it, was an inspiration to other men that had been abused. But then you open twitter, and... people are demonising him because he has "started a culture where men take women to court over every little thing". You hear that? That's misandry, baby. (btw, rape and abuse accusations have been used against men to take advantage of the "trust all victims" mindset. it's horrible to do something that causes distrust against women who speak up, but it is an unfortunate truth. this happens both off the internet and on the internet.)

Now...

It's important to step out of radfem and "hate all men" bubbles sometimes, because while their purpose is to support women, they are frequently spaces where misandrists thrive. there, it's normal to think every man you pass wants to rape and/or kill you, and it's normal to laugh at and make fun of ugly or weird men.

men and women have different experiences. disabled men and disabled women have different experiences. trans men and trans women have different experiences.

and that's ok. we don't need to have a competition about which one is worse. misandry being a problem doesn't mean that misogyny isn't. we can fight both at the same time.

I would encourage people to think about what they mean when they say they hate all men. if you tense up when you walk past men. how quick you are to believe that a man is a rapist before you've seen the proof. how you define an ugly man, and how you think about ugly and handsome men differently. if you've ever made fun of a man for having traits that you praise women for. if you've ever forgiven a woman for something that you would have never forgiven a man for. etc.

there aren't any titles or stuff in this post so I don't know how readable it is. but if you got this far, cool.

tldr: misandry is real and it is amplified to the max when a man is a minority or doesn't meet the expectations of what a handsome man is, go talk to a man in your life about it

[quindread]

THE COTTAGECORE MARI AU PROMPT THAT NOBODY ASKED FOR

Pairing: Daminette (edit: they’re like 19/20 in this, post high-school)

Rating: It has mature themes, you have been warned. But it’s pretty tame at the same time. Violence + Sexual Themes

________________

Mari is diagnosed with PTSD and anxiety disorder after she quite literally removed her beloved city’s supervillain (and her dear partner’s parent) from the plane of existence. Like she removes the suffering from the minds of all of Paris and has Gabriel written off in a car accident a year after his wife’s disappearance. Only her Court (Adrien, Kagami, Zoe, Alix, Max) and the Order remembers. Mari and Adrien decide not to pursue a relationship. They’re both healing and are decidedly better off friends - siblings in everything but blood.

Lila, who was not punished due to her not really being a miraculous holder and upsetting the balance, continues to slander Mari. Her class isn’t hostile but has no desire to interact with the “new and mean Marinette” Lila was painting her to be. It’s still a huge betrayal given the fact that Mari was supportive and very generous to these people.

So here’s how her new housing arrangement works: have you ever wondered how Gina can afford to travel around the world without a job? Yeah, I think she came from money. Like, old money - real estate old money to be precise. Passive income and such. Hearing about her Fairy’s situation, she offers an unused property at the countryside of Metropolis.

Marinette’s therapist and parents approve of her vacationing there for the summer when they realize that her stressors and triggers where all environmental. So off our girl goes!

Note: She does not have the mother box with her anymore, just Tikki, Plagg, and Kaalki. (She does have unrestricted access to it as the Grand Guardian though - she trains with the Order once a week in Tibet until she doesn’t)

Mari is aware of the Supers and was relieved that the Kwamis don’t show up in x-ray visions and with the fear of them eavesdropping she learns FSL to communicate with them.

The townhouse and the verdure around the property inspires Mari to start a garden. The quiet oddly soothes her and when she feels lonely she goes into town or the nearby farmer’s market where she charms the locals. She meets the Kents - they love her! Martha enjoys baking with her. Lois uncovers her identity as Jagged and Clara Nightingale’s exclusive (and reclusive) designer - they bond over fashion trends and the gossip surrounding the industry. Clark and Jon were another story.

She figures them out having sensed the same soul in Superman and Superboy in this father-and-son duo. They x-ray her as a precaution and finds the mysterious cracks and evidence of past injuries that should have killed her. There’s a very anti-climatic reveal that Martha and Lois are not privy to with respect to Marinette’s wishes.

At least one Kent would be in her home during the day. The Kwamis are free to roam around when it was Clark and/or Jon visiting. She ends up bonding with Jon who also grew up too fast (metaphorically and literally).

She ends up extending her stay in Metropolis indefinitely. Her parents also decided to open a branch of their patisserie there which Mari managed. They visit her as often as they could.

Mari was dismayed to find that no, Metropolis had no schools with both a fashion and business degree - that’s how she ends up in Gotham University.

Jon tells Mari about a Damian - a friend of his.

J: He’s…. uh… he has a big heart.

M: …

J: He’s a bit of an asshole(?)

M: Ah.

Mari meets Damian who reminds her of Kagami - antisocial and proper. They share a few business classes and are both members of the art club.

Mari is still this ball of anxiousness and has only allowed Mia “Maps” Mizoguchi and Katherine Karlo into her life, the former she learned was close to Damian - she didn’t mind when she and the girls met up with Damian, he was quiet, honest, and minded his own business. Through their hangouts Damian finds out about the friendship between Jon and Mari.

He’s hesitant to befriend her at first due to the conflicting rumors about her: due to her timid personality she had a split reputation. One side called her sweet, shy, and kind. While the other calling her arrogant, high-maintenance, and rude. He soon finds out that the latter half were spread by cliques who’s offer of friendship she declined and men she rejected. He was glad that he relented to Maps’ insistent invitations - she was a decent person to hang out with and it didn’t hurt that she was pleasing to the eye. (She also enjoyed sharing her vegetarian salads with him - he starts appreciating it more when he learns that she picks the vegetables straight from the garden she grows.)

As her luck would have it, a robbery unfolds at one of their favorite coffee spots. Mari and Damian - who were both pretending to be civ - try to find a way to protect their friends. The robbers recognizes Damian as a Wayne and takes him and another GU(a school for rich and affluent people’s children) kid - Marinette - who had stood in front of her friends.

They’re gagged, blindfolded, and carted off to who knows where. Damian discreetly activates a distress signal and the bats spur into action. Mari, aware that she was sturdier than Damian, draws the men’s attention to her (she purposely pisses them off and gets beaten up when they start to pester Damian).

M: [removes her gag somehow] Really? A ski mask? And in black? How boring can you get?

*Damian shaking his head furiously in the background*

Kidnapper(KN): Shut up, girlie!

M: You know I always wondered how Kidnappers could have a secret a warehouse as a hideout. It’s not like you can afford the rent—

KN: Are you trying to get yourself killed?

M: You’re backed up by some politician aren’t you?

KN: H-How the fuck did this bitch know?

M: There’s literally a stack of campaign papers behind you.

KN: Wha—

M: That’s some shit graphic design by the way. I’ve seen grade schoolers that can do better.

KN: [points a gun at her] Shut up or I’ll blow your brains out.

M: You wouldn’t.

KN: The fuck do you know—

M: You need me alive to get ransom from my parents.

KN: …Nobody said you had to be in one piece though.

M: Touché—[get slapped hard]

*Damian basically starts convulsing in the background*

M: …Damn. You punch like a cunt—[And the kidnappers basically start to rough her up]

The bats arrive in five minutes and it’s Red Hood that finds them first. He sees these mf’s beating up a woman and goes ballistic(pun intended). Red Robin and Spoiler has to forcibly restrain him when he starts to use his fist instead of his guns.

M: [bleeding and bruised] And that’s how you deck someone, you amateurs.

D: [who was released by Black Bat is confused, mad at himself, and in awe] You blithering idiot! Why the fuck would you aggravate our captors like that?

M: [delirious] It was either you or me Damian. Can’t have your pretty face damaged now, can we?

D: [Is floored and very concerned] And what of yours?

M: … dun worry—my assets are…elsewhere… [passes out from the pain]

D: …

Later, his family would tease him about the flirting when he isn’t all sensitive about the incident.

Winter break comes, most of the Batfam visits the Kents(they have a penthouse/some ridiculous property in Metropolis) as a tradition. The Kents went to visit Gotham and stayed at the manor last year.

(Batfam who went: Bruce, Dick, Jason, Steph, Cass, and Damian)

They visit Mari too. Dick and Steph are absolutely thrilled about her cottagecore lifestyle. So much so that they match her aesthetic and begin helping out in the garden - they send pictures to Alfred who request they bring back fresh produce.

Jon and Jason plot to get Damian and Mari together. Unbeknownst to them that Damian was already resolute on courting Mari like the decorous man that he was - he didn’t know what he was doing but Mari’s flush when he initiates flirting tells him he’s doing okay.

Because of his childhood, Damian was never the type to be touchy but imagine his shock when he finds out that one of his more prominent love languages was physical touch. He realizes he’s touch-starved almost immediately when Mari starts giving him small touches like a hand against his bicep, she had a fondness for touching his hair which never failed to deliver a shiver down his spine, and hugs from her are comforting - she felt like home.

Meanwhile Mari does not have any idea how she survived the early stages of Damian’s advances. He was blunt and did not pull his words with insults but it apparently translated to him being verbally open with his affections.

M: I always wanted to be the Knitting Fairy while growing up.

D: Does it not please you that you became a garden fairy instead?

M: Huh, that doesn’t sound so bad.

D: Well, you certainly look the part.

M: [turns into the same shade as the poppy beside her]

And then when the tension between them became more prominent he wasn’t shy with dropping innuendos too.

M: [open’s the door for Damian, haggard from lifting sacks of garden soil] Oh, I didn’t know you were coming so early. I’m a bit of a mess. Sorry.

D: [Tilts his head] You say that as if I wouldn’t appreciate you sweaty and tousled after a rigorous activity.

M: [self-combusts]

And when the touching began?

M: Damian, what color do you think looks better with this shade of blue?

D: [places a hand on her side while looking over her shoulder] I think the a more neutral cream would do.

M: [stops functioning]

Their first kiss?

Pulled straight out of a book that Marinette only read in the privacy of her bedroom.

They’re teasing each other, it evolves to a game of cat and mouse with Damian skillfully evading her. She corners him by turning on some of her sprinkles. He gets wet, growls in the way he would in Mari’s dreams, and pulls of his shirt. She’s too distracted by the hard planes of his stomach to notice him prowling towards her like a beast moving to claim his prey. He picks her off the ground with ease - he’s a foot taller than her - and takes her to the sprinklers.

(I’m going to write this part out properly, maybe to inspire myself or a potential adopter of this prompt)

“Nononono!” Marinette shrieks as the first round of water splashes her. She writhes but Damian had her arms held down her sides.

“All is fair in love and war, Ya Amar.” She ignores the endearment in favor of closing her eyes as the sprinkles rotate in their direction again. But she knows what it means. Ya Amar. My moon. His moon. The water had nothing on the chill that ran down her spine

The water stars seeping into her intimates and she’s soberly aware that the light fabric of her dress would betray her. It doesn’t take long for Damian to discover that fact, he releases a strangle sound. She opens her eyes, he snaps his eyes from where he was clearly looking at her chest. He scrambles to drop her.

“Shit— I’m sorry. This was not my intention—“ he starts but she’s faster. Her now free arms grasps his shoulders and without a second thought, she drops her lips to meet his. Damian inhales sharply and he tilts his head, temporarily breaking the kiss before raising her higher and pulling her by the back of neck - he kisses her with hunger and passion that has Marinette melting further against his chest.

She wraps her legs around his back and he moves to tightly grasp both the back of her thighs. She would worry about bruises later when she didn’t have Damian’s tongue caressing her own. He drops them to the ground and Marinette does not release her hold over his waist. She whines against his lips when she feels the consequences of their activity.

His hands start wandering as he greedily collects and files the sounds that leaves her lips. He begins to trail kisses down her neck to the neckline of her dress that now clung to her body like a second skin giving him his first peek at the maddening shape of her body. And just when he trails a finger against the underside of her breast a loud noise pulls them apart.

Jason finds them and the sight in Mari’s garden has him dropping the shovel he was asked to bring over.

J: Fuck! No, don’t stop! Hell—I’ll leave—I didn’t see shit!

D: [moving to cover Marinette who covered her face in embarrassment] Fuck off, Todd!

J: I’m sorry! [slams the door shot]

D: Tt.

J: [shouts from inside the house] Use protection!

D: Todd!

They started officially dating that day and Jason had no reservations in sharing that he definitely cockblocked his little brother much to Mari and Damian’s horror.

Both keeps the PDA to minimum in school but it was very clear how amorous they where in “private”. There is a table in the art hall that Mari can’t quite look at without blushing to her roots.

She finds out he’s Robin after her first encounter with his alter-ego. He confesses his past when she confronts him. There’s fear of abandonment in his eyes when he gazes at her after his spiel but she kisses his worries and doubts away. She even goes to show her appreciation for his years of service to Gotham.

Her reveal happens when she unceremoniously drops a vial in Jason’s hand claiming that it would remedy the effects of the Lazarus pits with continuous use - it was completed after a year in the making.

Cardinal joins the Batfam occasionally as part of Batman’s contingency plans. They respect her choice as a retired super-soldier and try to keep her out of the business which she appreciates. She is officially initiated as a member of Justice League Dark as an informant/magic specialist and a wildcard.

Years later, she legally inherits the property from Gina when she and Damian get engaged. Damian moves in with her and she lives her cottage life all while being a reclusive designer that comes out once in a while for fashion week.

FIN

AN:

Maybe there’s a Lila take down somewhere but I don’t have the energy to write her at all. We all know its Damian and Tim that makes sure she never sets a foot in high society ever again.

Ig add some details about learning to healthily cope with her anxiety disorder under the guidance and love of her found family? (I have a similar illness but me and my therapist are still figuring it out so I have little idea how to write this) Her PTSD does not need further discussion (miss ma’am had to kill someone) but her anxiety disorder stems from the fact the she’s a person who’s in charge of world-ending powers - everyone and even yourself can become untrustworthy. She starts to get nervous from misreading body languages and everyone is suddenly out to get her.

[notacyborg]

Thoughts!

I really hate Gerrard and how he is treating everyone, everyone, and this isn't anti-Eddie, but my dude, you are a boot licker to the max, like not even Hen and Chim are as bitched out as you are. I love you, man, and I'm going to put it up to you dealing with Chris. Gerrard punishing Buck for saving that girl and her mom was some bullshit. Then, telling him the grown-ups will handle the bees when he is hell competent at his job is just putting lives at risk. Got I hate that man. Oh man, Buck saving him from the circular saw! But cracking his skull on the pavement. So either the golfing is a nightmare, or golfing is a thank you and trying to win Buck over. Is the bitch going to be down for the count... Buck is going to have consequences for this; I can speculate what they might be. Gerrard will either try to pull Buck in because of it or suspend him for assaulting a superior. 2. YAY, House hunting, but how dare they put Athena through this bullshit, ohhh they are pulling a Jeffery Epstein. This could be interesting. Oh man, she's going to have to fly; I hope we have a certain flying firefighter to talk her through landing. 3. The bees are great, but man, Buck, your praise kink is showing; I need a fic now where Tommy just praises Buck in a daddy-dom way for how good he did or just comforts him after the bullshit with Gerrard. But like I really do wonder what the fallout from tackling Gerrard is going to be. I really don't think he's sustainable for network TV in the long run because of how horrible he is. I do want to know what his Connection with Ortiz is, and if he got her Hen's file. I think Ortiz is going to be the long-term problem this season. 4. I feel so bad for Eddie, the shit with Chris and his mom, and his mom not even taking the camera with her to sing happy birthday, and like the way she's talking to Eddie when Chris isn't there is fucked up given what's going on. 5. The Buck Tommy scene is everything I wanted, freak4freak and geek4geek. I can't wait to see them work through their baggge and have a few hurdles and how much they grow, I'm not getting my hopes up, but I hope they are long haul and that Hen calls them U-Hal Lesbians by ep 6. Maybe Buck Tommy End Game.

[mrprettywhenhecries]

Interesting things I've learned about Billy and Max from reading the Runaway Max novel

Thought these would be worth sharing for those who haven't read the book, but like me, crave more Max & Billy backstory/lore.

Billy antis DNI

putting under a cut for spoilers

Billy's dad was a security guard at the bank where Susan Mayfield worked as a teller in San Diego, and that's how they met.

Max's mom has not so great taste in men, so compared to the other losers she dated, Neil seemed way better in comparison, at least at first.

Neil thinks Reagan is "the best thing to happen to America since Eisenhower". Figures.

The first time Max met Billy she thought he was super cool because he had an earring.

Max really hoped Billy would be a good brother to her 😢

Billy's car smells like hairspray and cigarettes. That tracks lol

Max's dad sounds super cool, but I can understand why Susan divorced him. He was into some kinda shady shit.

Billy's never been in a serious relationship. He dated a different girl every week, but seemed pretty disdainful of them all. -- "It was like he hated them, except he still took them up to the Sunset Cliffs to make out." Though honestly, it seems like Billy's just disdainful of everyone.

Once Billy got in trouble with the cops for trespassing at a construction site with his friends and Neil gave him the choice of losing his car for two months or signing up for junior ROTC and Billy willingly gave up his car.

Like Tommy, the main reason Billy hung out with his "friends" in California was because they basically just did whatever he said.

After Tina's Halloween party, Neil went off on Billy when he got home for not picking up Max after trick or treating (plus coming back drunk/high). Max left the room, but could still hear Neil hitting Billy. She tries not to care, but she still does. 🥲

Billy canonically works on his own car 🥵

Once Billy Max a cigarette after she told him smoking was bad for him. Susan caught them and went off on Billy, though he thought it was funny. However when Neil got home, asking what was going on, Susan lied, telling him it was nothing. Max had expected her to rat Billy out, but she didn’t. It was then than she realized that her mom wasn’t afraid of Billy, that she was afraid for him.

The first time Max had seen Neil actually hit Billy was after he’d gotten a speeding ticket. Her mom left the room and Max half expected Neil to stop when he realized that Max was still there, but when he took off his belt to use it, Max yelled at him to stop.

Neil only used her outburst to taunt Billy, saying he was weak and needed a girl to stand up for him.

After it was over, Max asked if Billy was okay, but he turned on her, embarrassed that she’d seen, and told her to get away from him. That’s when Max’s illusion that the two of them were in this together was broken.

When Billy said “You know what happens when I get angry. I break things.” is a reference to him breaking Max’s friend Nate’s arm because Nate had stood up for Max.

Billy had said it was an accident, that he’d been showing the boy a wrestling move that went awry, and the adults believed him.

Afterwards, Max's friends avoided her.

When their parents decided to move to Hawkins, they gave a lot of excuses for why—a new start, to get Billy away from his bad friends, to give Max more room to run around and be active—but it was really because Billy was acting out so much and they didn’t know how else to control him.

When Neil and Susan told Max and Billy they were moving to Hawkins bc the bank gave Neil a transfer, Billy cornered Max later in the laundry room and grabbed her by the arm. He blamed her for the move, thinking she’d told them the real reason behind her friend’s broken arm. She denied it, but Billy didn’t believe her.

The day that Billy saw Max with Lucas at the arcade he backs over her skateboard with his car ‘on accident’ but she knows it was his punishment.

Neil tells them that Billy will have to drive her around from now on, though he’d basically been doing so already.

Max decides to try to run away to her dad again, this time from Indiana, but she needed a lot more money for a bus ticket. She asked her mom for some money to go clothes shopping and her mom believed her. However, after Lucas showed up at the house asking her to come with him, she decides to stay in Hawkins.

Overall, it was a good read, a little hard to read at times during the abuse scenes, but I appreciated the back story and the insight into the characters. I was kinda hoping however that there'd be more info about what happened after Max knocked Billy out with the tranquilizer.

[therainscene]

There’s a genre of anti-Byler argument that I like to call But It Was The 80s.

I’m sure you’re familiar with it: Will getting his heart broken would be good rep actually, because that’s just what it was like in the 80s; Mike being queer too would be unrealistic, because there weren’t that many gay people back then; and did queers ever really experience joy prior to 2015 anyway?

...But I think it’s worth taking a look at what the show is trying to tell us about being queer in the 80s. Stories, especially ones with fantastical elements such as monsters and superpowers, aren’t obligated to be perfectly realistic so long as they resonate with our experiences.

So how does Stranger Things resonate with queerness?

Every season so far has given us an iconic moment in which a character tries to stand up to a monster and is horribly punished for it:

In S1, Will loads a gun and faces the Demogorgon in self-defense... but he can’t fight it and gets dragged into the Upside Down.

In S2, Will takes Bob’s advice to tell the Mind Flayer to go away... but it gives zero fucks and consumes him anyway.

In S3, a small act of compassion from El inspires Billy to betray the Mind Flayer... but he’s immediately killed for trying.

In S4, Eddie decides that he’s done with running, so he distracts the bats to buy his friends more time... and succeeds! But at the cost of his own life. A waste, given that his friends’ plan to kill Vecna didn’t even work.

The show even brings this (lack of) progression full circle by paralleling Will and Eddie’s disappearances:

If we read the monsters as metaphors for the overwhelming force of bigotry and conformity in the 80s, it seems as though the show is telling us that there’s no point in trying to fight back, because it will crush you back down every time.

Indeed, we see a more literal but subtle version of this message play out in S3′s rain fight -- Will tries to call Mike out on losing himself to comphet, but Mike defensively lashes out at him, (unintentionally) reminding Will that he doesn’t have the right to question heteronormativity. Devastated that not even his plan to be Best Friends Forever with Mike was an acceptable compromise, Will takes that reminder to heart.

This definitely resonates with what it felt like to be a queer adolescent in the 80s... (and 90s... and 00s...) but it’s an awfully bleak message. Is that really the story Stranger Things is trying to tell?

The rain fight is the lowest moment in Will’s arc -- it’s only uphill for him from here.

In S4, he repairs his friendship with Mike and accepts that this is the best he can hope for, which is exactly the sort of bittersweet note a bleak story about the reality of being gay in the 80s might end on... if Will didn’t have a whole season’s worth of uphill journey left to do.

Let’s take another look at those iconic monster-facing moments. Was there really a lack of progression there, or were they, too, building up to something?

In S1, Jonathan and Joyce aren’t home and the phone isn’t working, forcing Will to face the Demogorgon by himself.

In S2, Will is emboldened by advice from an ally... but that ally, though well-meaning, has no idea what he’s talking about, and isn’t there by Will’s side when the time comes to actually face the monster.

In S3, El’s act of compassion is too little too late, and Billy doesn’t have time to fix his mistakes and team up with the party.

In S4, Eddie ignores Dustin’s demands to regroup with him, and faces the bats alone. The rest of the party are working as a team to fight Vecna... but interestingly, Will isn’t there to help them form a plan.

The problem isn’t that the monster is undefeatable -- it just can’t be defeated by any one person, nor can it be defeated without the guidance of its victims who understand it better than anyone else.

Yes, in S4 they have Max, who provides some helpful insight, but this is her first time dealing with Vecna -- she doesn’t have the level of experience that Will does. Compare to S1, when Joyce reaches out to Will through the lights for advice on how to rescue him -- he provides a little insight, but ultimately, Joyce doesn’t get the information she needs until she teams up with someone with lived experience.

This principle isn’t unique to queerness, of course, but it certainly resonates strongly with queerness.

The 80s may have been a godawful time to be gay, but it’s hardly as though gay pride didn’t exist. The progress that we’ve made since then was only possible because the LGBTQ+ community banded together and fought for their rights -- in the 80s.

And that’s the deeply homophobic core of But It Was The 80s as an argument: that queers shouldn’t remember the work done by our elders or be inspired to do the same, but instead swallow the lie that cishet society benevolently decided on its own to stop being homophobic. That we should be thankful for what scraps they’ve granted us, and wait patiently in the closet for them to grant us more.

Where Will finds himself at the end of S4 -- grateful that at least he’s loved platonically and too beaten down to ask for more -- is precisely where the heteronormative audience expects him to be. His queer arc has satisfactorily resolved itself, as far as they’re concerned, so in S5 he might as well die or become a villain or whatever.

Or, more charitably, he can unlock his powers and be the hero, but only on the condition that it’s strictly a metaphor for coping with trauma and he doesn’t get all gay about it.

But he is absolutely going to get all gay about it.

Will’s story, much like Stranger Things as a whole, isn’t about accepting the bleakness of being an outcast in the 80s -- it’s about staring that bleakness in the face and saying: “Unacceptable. I deserve to be happy on my own terms.”

[scudevils]

Why do i feel like Bianca is getting sm hate for being held to higher standards than other drivers…like everyone is SO QUICK to forget when as a result of something Max said a whole ass country got involved 😭😭.

Or when DR said the n word, and all the shit he’s said abt women on podcast, it’s so quickly forgotten but when its a women she’s torn apart online.

I feel like the only driver to be “cancelled” is checo for the whole monaco thing, obvs there’s mazepin because HE GROPED A WOMAN, Vps seems to be only driver actually punished for being racist, but apart from them that’s all i can name:

If we’re gonna talk abt anyone then let’s talk about Max saying the r slur, and in general associating himself with and defending, racists (the piquets), daniel saying the n word, charles being anti blm, and then lance quite literally putting his hands on his pt.

Absolutely Bianca should be getting backlash for her actions, but the amount she’s getting in comparison to how ppl react when it’s their fav male drivers is very revealing.

honestly i do see the point you are trying to make, especially in the sense that drugovich also liked some shady posts towards lance but i can’t recall many people talking about it, but also i think it comes down to the fact that bianca is very much an influencer as well as a driver, she knows the platform that she has and liking those tweets, not even one but a few, is a bad look for her (also deleting her apology which is just :/).

and like you said there are many instances where some of the male drivers were let off the hook pretty easily, the max/mongolia situation, and also max saying the r slur (also towards lance my boy can’t catch a break), daniel too saying the n word which i rarely see people bring up. but that still doesn’t mean we can’t hold bianca accountable for liking tweets using ableist language, especially directed at a fellow driver, and then deleting her original apology.

there’s a tiktok someone brought up on twt similar to this take so i’ll tag it here for anyone who wants to watch!!

[seraphtrevs]

I'm going to go roll the rock away from Nacho's tomb in a minute to see if he's better yet, but before I do, I feel like talking about why we got Nacho Christ in the first place.

Both BrBa and BCS are heavily thematic. They have a point beyond things just happening. BrBa is about toxic masculinity and its life-destroying effects. Walt insists over and over that he turned to crime for the sake of his family, but in the final episode, he confesses to Skyler that he did it for himself. He “protected” and “provided” for his family not for their sake, but in order to feel powerful. That quest for power destroys Walt, his family, Jesse, and a shit-ton of other people, from the addicts he supplied with dangerous drugs to the people he killed (both on purpose and by accident).  Toxic masculinity, says Vince Gilligan, is bad.

So what is BCS trying to say? I don’t think the premise is as explicit as BrBa, partly because I’m pretty sure they didn’t start the series with this intention. But as they found their identity, it slowly started to take shape. BCS is about the folly of vengeance.

BCS 6x09 is in many ways the real finale of BCS—the end of Jimmy’s pre-Saul life. And just like BrBa made its premise explicit in its finale, BCS has the characters reference its theme directly, too. When Mike promises Manuel justice for Nacho, Manuel looks at him in disgust and tells him, “What you talk about is not justice. What you talk of is revenge.” The next scene finds Gus trying to make a human connection before realizing that his quest for revenge endangers anyone close to him, and he will lose them just like he lost Max. His life will always be empty of love and companionship. And Jimmy and Kim have lost each other, their lives and marriage torn apart, all because they wanted to get back at Howard. Revenge, says Peter Gould, is bad.

(courtesy cut for the tl;dr)

There were a lot of things that sent Jimmy down the slippery slope into becoming Saul, but two acts in particular turbo-charged his downfall. Even after Jimmy defeats Chuck’s attempt to kick him out of the law, he’s still angry. Humiliating Chuck at the hearing was a means to an end, but manipulating the insurance agent to hike HHM’s rates was pure vengeance, done solely to hurt Chuck. That action indirectly leads not only to Chuck’s suicide, but also to their final conversation when Chuck advises him to let go of his guilt and accept that he’s a bad person deep down inside and will never be anything else.

Jimmy’s big second act of vengeance is against Howard, which ends with him losing the love of his life. And once Kim leaves, Jimmy embraces the worst parts of himself, which leads to him enabling Walt’s reign of terror. Revenge has poisoned his life.

Mike’s story also illustrates the anti-vengeance theme. Before the show even begins, Mike had taken his revenge by murdering his sons’ killers. It made him feel better temporarily, but ultimately it did not give him peace. Instead, he chases more vengeance, against Hector this time, which ultimately leads to his downfall.

Even Chuck’s story ties in with revenge. Chuck wanted to punish Jimmy—for stealing from their parents, but also for being more loved than him (in his warped perception). This obsession with taking down Jimmy leads to his disgrace and death.

So what does this have to do with Nacho Christ? A lot, because Christ symbolism is often used around themes of forgiveness—the opposite of revenge. But BCS has a more nuanced point of view than turn the other cheek. BCS’s Christ figure dies cursing the people who wronged him. Clearly the point isn’t that Nacho should have forgiven Gus, or Gus should have forgiven Hector, or Mike should have forgiven his son’s murderers.

Instead, BCS says the alternative to revenge is to forgive yourself. But forgiving yourself is not an easy action, because to truly be at peace, you have to make amends where you can. Nacho’s crimes put his father’s life in danger. He made amends by sacrificing his life to save his father. Jimmy makes amends by publicly admitting to his lies and telling the truth at last, which leads to the loss of his freedom.

An important point is that neither Jimmy nor Nacho made their sacrifices just to punish themselves. Self-punishment does not lead to forgiveness, although the price of truly being able to forgive yourself is sometimes steep.

Nacho was backed into a corner. He could have instead gone down the path of revenge by letting Gus kill his dad and then swearing vengeance on Gus. But that would have been pointless and not given him any relief from his guilt. Instead, he chose to sacrifice his life in order to get his dad out of the danger his action put him in. Nacho’s death wasn’t a punishment—it was just the natural outcome of the action he had to take to make amends.

Likewise, Jimmy going to prison wasn’t the point. In order to be an honest person, Jimmy had to start telling the truth, not just to himself but to the rest of the world. A consequence of telling that truth was prison time.

The show goes out of its way to demonstrate that point with Kim’s story. Her Floridian exile is a punishment she concocted for herself, thinking that suffering would make her feel less guilty. But it doesn’t. Inflicting pain on herself does nothing to make up for what she did to Howard.

In order to forgive herself, Kim must make amends. What does finally help is confessing to Cheryl in order to help restore Howard’s reputation. The consequence of her confession is that she’s put herself in legal jeopardy, but that isn’t the point. The point is she's doing what she can to make up for her actions, which allows her space to forgive herself.

At the same time, self-forgiveness doesn’t always involve a high cost. Mike’s path to self-forgiveness was to be a supportive presence in Kaylee and Stacey's lives—to take on the role Matty would have played if he had lived. He didn't need to buy them a house with dirty money. He just needed to be there. But ultimately, facing his demons and taking on the hard work of processing his grief was too painful for Mike. Instead, he took refuge in revenge and became even more lost.

So that's why we needed Nacho Christ. He is the negation of the cycle of vengeance.

[suleikazuleika]

Someone else here on Tumblr brought it up, but yeah, they're absolutely right:

The Acolyte is a Rashomon-style mystery.

If you've never seen Rashomon before, it's on HBO Max. Go watch it.

But nobody comes out spotless when this trope is involved. And it's clear that these four Jedi carry a guilty conscious, something perhaps punishable by the Council.

Now before we go off and claim the show is "anti-Jedi," we don't know the reason why this coven was exiled while other Force religions were allowed to thrive during this time.

It could be that they were involved in human trafficking of some sort, causing the Jedi to investigate. It could very well be that the fuckup these four Jedi made was spooking the coven into action, harming themselves in the process.

Or the reality could be much, much worse.

As for the Sith... Do we know for certain they're actually Sith?

Vern brought up the possibility of an ex-Jedi being the master. The Jedi Temples do hold Sith artifacts, including lightsabers.

This could be a former member with a grudge, banking on the imagery and mystery of the Sith. It would also explain certain dialogues in the Phantom Menace.

Finally... That mask is creepy af.

[redbelles]

5, 18, 69, and 76 for the fic writer meme!

5. how many wips do you have? what fandoms/pairings are they for?

yeah i've got wips

kidding! (mostly! not really. but only kind of. it's fine!)

i have just. so many fucking wips. don't wanna talk about how many i have because it's embarrassing, actually! this is absolutely because i consider anything i've written words for/thought about for more than a hot minute a """wip""" but that's a me problem, so here, have semi-comprehensive list of wips i'm determined to finish this year:

the chimneys hardly ever fall down masters of the air; post-war john/gale/marge

gonna stand here in the ache the punisher; post-season one frank/karen

our hands are cold, the moon sets low asoiaf/got; post-season eight jon/sansa

butchered tongue still singing berserk; post-canon guts/casca

something in the night gilmore girls; keg max!au jess/rory

don't you hear me howling, babe? shadow & bone; season one canon divergence darklina au

the second hand unwinds (time after time) stranger things; post-season four hellcheer au

and then, for fun, some wips that aren't top priority atm:

prophetic perfect tense dune; always a girl!paul atreides au

i've walked for miles top gun; post-canon icemav road trip au

more than kin and less than kind hotd; rhaenys flambés the greens at aegon's coronation au

the knife i turn inside myself dune; irulan/feyd post-kanly hatefucking + marriage of convenience au

18. do you enjoy research? which fic of yours required the most research?

yeah! i'm a nerd at heart and also i have a burning need to be canon-compliant with both canon and reality, so i love getting into the research weeds when i'm all in on a fic!

the most """research""" i've done for a fic was, astonishingly, for the fucking,,,,, robert baratheon story (that started life as, and i cannot stress this enough, a joke). i spent so many hours on a wiki of ice and fire i'm pretty sure i made up at least 40% of the site's traffic during the calendar year time it took me to write the damn thing. extremely normal behavior!

anyway! i'm actually in the opposite situation with chimneys, which is super weird. i know a staggering amount of information about the post-wwii usaaf/usaf, and i have to actively stop myself from a) infodumping about things like the development of the american bomber fleet and b) trying to make the timeline accurate, because the entire premise of the fic relies on me Ignoring what was actually going on. anti-research. insane! everyone pour one out for @sluttyhenley— she's spent the last two months taking one for the team and letting me rant at her about curtis lemay so i can get it out of my system and spare everyone who's there for porn instead of a dissertation on strategic bombing doctrine <3

69. what are your favorite fics at the moment?

first of all: nice 😏

second: i feel like i've blathered enough about my own fic today that i'm gonna take this as a question about what i've been enjoying as a reader, so! some recs!

moon's low (can't say no) by @meyerlansky delicious introspective curt pov that nuances an already insanely interesting scene! love this for me! in related news, i am barking and frothing at the mouth as i wait patiently for the follow up to dancing cheek to cheek (to cheek)! tumblr user meyerlansky comin' in hot with THEE definitive curt biddick voice!

never saw the sun shining so bright by @sluttyhenley absolutely shrieking about this series! marge deserves the world! and also both of the buck(y)s! good for her.jpeg! i'm lucky enough to be getting snippets of this as m writes it, and i cannot wait for the next few installments to go live

careful fear and dead devotion by @everyangel another john/gale/marge series i'm currently losing my mind over! the marge voice is so delicious, and i love the pre-war angle that underpins the first fic! cannot wait for more!

enter night by @rhaegang monsterfuckers and barry keoghan enthusiasts rejoice! the writing is top notch, the sex is blisteringly hot, and the tension and pacing are superb. rhaegang truly never misses

nothing safe is worth the drive (follow you home) by @yoursummerfrost i never really had a buffy phase, but i came across this fic the other day and boy howdy does it have me by the throat. deeply emotional, very sexy, and written with so much love it's got me thinking about giving the series more than a cursory "well, it was on when i was home sick from school way back when" watch. also! i've devoured every buffy fic they've written since i found this one and i'm happy to report that they're all incredible!

76. how do you deal with writing pressure, whether internal or external?

mature answer: i try to take a step back and remind myself that this is a hobby i am doing for fun and for free and i should calm the fuck down about it

follow up answer: and if that doesn't work, i whine ceaselessly at my writing buddies until i'm over it

send me some fic writing asks!

[dreddedwheat]

Back to the Dredd-tomes: Judgement Day

Okay, so-!

Brief introduction: I used to have a previous blog that focused on my youthful fanboyism of the 2000AD and Judge Dredd universe. A few misstimed clicks a year or so back and that all got nuked, and it basically killed my enthusiasm for writing stuff up, since I lost a metric ton of amateur analysis, fan-mixes and other stuff that most people would usually forget.

There was a lot of back and forth with good folks like @judgeanon (who I credit with helping support what is a vanishingly small online discussion around Dredd and 2000ad in general), which is now sadly mostly lost. Usually for the better with my more immature antics, hence the fresh start and fresh name to go with it.

However, after a Christmas filled with a sudden surge of - probably ill-informed - Dredd buys, I decided to get back into things. That means actually talking about the comic that was formative for me as a fan of both comic-books and fiction in general...

JUDGE DREDD

And where better to start than the biggest, the meanest, and the best/baddest (depending on who you ask) Dredd epic, JUDGEMENT DAY. (Spoiler warnings, images courtesy of the 2000AD site and Google Search.)

So, let's get into a basic overview of this contentious Dredd epic...

The Story so far: Judge Dredd is a law-enforcer in Mega-City One, a massive post-apocalyptic metropolis. As a Judge he's authorised to deliver instant sentencing on the spot, no jury or court necessary. He's judge, jury and executioner, and he is the law, but you probably already knew that.

Johnny Alpha is a Strontium Dog, a mutant bounty-hunter that wants to break free of life on an increasingly anti-mutant Earth. Taking on the bounties no-one else will touch, he utilises his unique 'Alpha Eyes' to see through walls, sense other people's intentions and more. He always gets his man.

Alright, now that introductions are out of the way, let's get into it. For the uninitiated, a Dredd 'epic' is a pretty standard description for a big summer storyline. This all started with the "Apocalypse War" back in the eighties, a storyline which defined not only Judge Dredd but also British Boy's comics.

For American fans, and British comic readers of a certain age (like me) it's hard to imagine a time when most British comics were simply lukewarm re-treads of the same adventure stories you'd read in the fifties, sixties and seventies. Of course, not all of these were bad - far from it - but like many things in Britain during the eighties they were a victim of a stuffy, uptight and squeamish society.

2000AD proved to be a seminal title in many ways, mostly in introducing borderline graphic violence, mature storylines, cynical themes and more complicated heroes. Judge Dredd, a tyrannical authoritarian supercop who nonetheless has strong principles and heroic intentions is the most emblematic of that.

However, for most of his lifetime Dredd had been a relatively straightforward and heroic figure. And although a direct criticism of this was not far away - in the form of the Democracy Now storyline - the Apocalypse War was perhaps the first time we saw Dredd on a firm backfoot.

The lantern-jawed hero was put thoroughly on the defensive when the Sovs, a pastiche of Soviet-era Russia, attacked and destroyed a large portion of Mega-City One. It was a grand war story depicting the Judges of the city waging guerilla warfare and culminating with a particularly chilling page where Dredd retaliates using the Sov's own nukes, obliterating hundreds of millions of people.

Yee-ikes, even nowadays this is vicious stuff. Now imagine this in a mag that's being sold next to "The Beano" on shelves and you can imagine why this was considered such a definitive storyline.

But, okay, why am I telling you this? Well, put simple, Judgement Day is a result of the inherent love that writer Garth Ennis, best-known now for titles like The Boys and Punisher Max, had for this storyline. At least that's the prevailing thesis put forwards by people like JA, God knows that online discussion of Dredd is hard to come by no matter what.

Regardless, this should set the stage. By now, Mega-City One has fazed many crises and successive near-extinction events. Most recently - at the time - Necropolis, where the Dark Judges (we'll get into them) invaded and took control of the city's Judges, attempting to carry out their campaign of omnnicide before being narrowly halted by Judge Dredd, McGruder, Cadet Giant and the everlovin' Psi-Judge Anderson.

So, stage-set, where does that lead us?

Judgement Day is, in simple terms, Dredd vs Zombies. Pretty cliché now, but back in the 90s this was still a fresh and rather bloody concept. And regardless of what one thinks of Ennis' writing, the art is stunning and graphic, with Dredd mainstay Carlos Ezquerra taking center-stage. Although I'd argue that Dean Ormston is at least second-best if not better, with some mouthwatering - pardon the pun - depictions of flesh-eating zombies cribbing from giallo films.

Judge Dredd - and the rest of his post-nuclear world - suddenly face an overwhelming undead assault from the necromagus Sabbat. Resurrecting billions of corpses, Sabbat wages all-out war on the Mega-Cities, and all seems lost until the arrival of Johnny Alpha...

Alpha and Dredd had already met in the story "Top Dogs" where Johnny and his partner, the time-displaced viking Wulf Sternhammer, narrowly escaped capture by the lawman. Naturally, they don't get on too well.

Regardless, Alpha proves instrumental in helping Dredd - and a coalition of international Judges - finding and destroying (or near-enough) Sabbat in a bloody showdown in the Radlands of Ji, a part of post-nuclear China.

In-between we have lavish set-pieces of Dredd and his fellow Judges fending off hordes of the undead, flashes to other parts of the globe and other judges playing their part, as well as fantastic art throughout.

So, what's the problem?

Well, the main issue is that, as JA pointed out in his own posts on the storyline, Judgement Day is very much a 'blockbuster' event. And sadly, it's as close as 2000AD has ever gotten to emulating the American comics ideal of the big crossover event. And NOT in a good way. Although you couldn't criticise it for being slow-paced and overwrought, it has many issues that mark it out for fans.

For one, the storyline - as I only recently found out - ran consecutively in both 2000AD and the Judge Dredd Megazine, the latter a solely Dreddverse-focused publication. Now, obviously, the issues with asking people to buy two magazines, monthly and weekly, aside this also meant that the fairly fast-paced movie-style storyline was constantly being broken up.

Add onto that the ridiculous stakes ("Billions of people are dying! Planet Earth is on the brink!"), an at-times-confusing tone (Sabbat's zombies performing a Disney-esque musical number during the climactic showdown), the destruction of various international Mega-cities - few of which we'd even had the chance to know - and the borderline fanservicey pairing of Dredd and Alpha, and we have a recipe for...not a disaster, but something that's a bit of a messy moment in the Dredd saga.

Because, yes, Dredd's story has been continuous, and while not concrete generally the broad-strokes have always been pretty solid (usually a tweak to a character's origin or what they said and did here, but stuff like the Apocalypse War is almost untouched). Judgement Day really feels like a moment where a lot of potential areas of the world like Brasilia, Mega-City Two and others were, quite literally, nuked off the face of the Earth. We also saw some interesting side-characters gored under the zombie hordes, such as Oz Judge Bruce and Judge Dekker.

Basically, Judgement Day slammed the door shut on potential plotlines, was shaky in terms of the publishing angle and overall had more of an overwrought Hollywood blockbuster than intense action-thriller. It also came hot on the heels of Necropolis, and arguably was part of a quick-succession of world-shaking crises such as Inferno which, as far as I can tell, numbed readership going into the 2000s.

Sabbat also stands as quite a weak villain. He rarely appears until the finale, and his backstory - a downtrodden teacher's pet turned murderous necromancer - may be an amusing reference to the aforementioned "Beano" but it's also a bit of a silly one for someone who's meant to be our big, brutal bad-guy, and not in a good way. He's not a bore to read, but sometimes his moments of simpering arrogance can undercut what is essentially an apocalyptic moment for the world of Dredd.

However, even more frustratingly, Judgement Day is also a massive stepping-stone in terms of the-then current Dredd plotline, making it very hard to ignore. It effectively marked Chief Judge McGruder's last major heroic moment, the first time we saw Judge Hershey take up the mantle of Chief Judge and perhaps the most definitive Alpha/Dredd crossover.

I think it's a testament to the overall high-quality of major Dredd storylines that Judgement Day holds up as well as it does. But it also bears all the hallmarks of something that would work well in a vacuum, but which has a messy place in continuity. I'd loved to have seen a non-canon take on this, perhaps allowing us to bring in characters like Wulf Sternhammer - who was sadly offed before this storyline was written - into the zombie battle royale.

There's also some usual holdovers of poorly-aged stuff that was endemic to British comics at the time. Hondo-City, Ciudad Barranquilla and other areas get equal billing but some traces of their stereotypical origins remain. This storyline did go some way to fleshing out the wider world - as much as it obliterated it - of Dredd.

Yet I can't deny that, in the moment of reading, Judgement Day is enthralling. It's pure, gorey action and fanservice. I just wish it didn't cast such a shadow across later stories, and that it hadn't taken so many interesting places and people with it in the process.

Picking this story up, you know what you're getting, and if you're along for the ride...you'll have a hell of a time.

As it stands, Judgement Day is a weaker entry writing-wise but still well-worth picking up for the art and general premise alone. If you're a new Dredd fan and want something a bit lighter than the commonly-cited "America" storyline, this is a fine way to get into the fast-paced and more action-focused content of 2000AD without needing much forward knowledge.

FIN

[jknerd]

GRINCH

(My humanly adaptation of GRINCH^^)

Full Name: Ethan Grinch 

Age: Immortal

Gender: Male

Occupations: Holiday Mascot, Monster Celebrity, Krampus’ business partner (both as singer and Naughty Begone Foundation)

Relatives: Max (pet), Martha-May Hoovier (eventual wife), Cindy Lou Hooper (goddaughter)

Interests: Punishing abusive adults and bratty children, Hash brown, solving world hunger (tell NO ONE), Jazz dance, inventing

Character

Ethan Grinch, known as The Grinch or Mr. Grinch, is a “dark fairy” or bitter spirit who despise holidays, especially Christmas. He is also Krampus’ business partner—in both as singer and co-founder of Naughty Begone Foundation—and is occasionally helping him. In previous life, he was once a human born as orphan during Industrial Era of England. The orphanage was too poor to provide every children decent Christmas dinner. With no one to adopt him, Grinch was forced to leave orphanage and work at factories. When returning to help the orphanage, he discovered it was knocked down and replaced with mansion of rich family. Looking for the orphanage family, he wandered. However, he couldn’t find the nuns or the orphans. Discovering abandoned puppy, he named the little one “Max”. But due to the cold weather, they were freezing to death until they were found by Santa Claus, his wife and their son Krampus. Turned into spirits, Grinch and Max were able to reside in the high snowy mountain. However, due to the past, Grinch had never opened his heart to Christmas season.

In Fairly Oddparents AU: While Krampus would go to world tour as famous singer, Grinch would be notified who are the “naughty” adults and children. These informations would give him an opportunity to ruin the Christmas of said people from “naughty list”. Just like “Vick DeVil” sang by Chip Skylark, Krampus had a song named “The Mean One”, dedicated to him. Grinch also occasionally babysits Baby New Year, making sure the baby never cries and sleeps in peace. Martha May Hoovier, the celebrity of Fairy World in this AU, has enormously romantic feelings for him. Eventually, when Krampus got him out of work at Christmas, Grinch was surprised of Martha’s marriage proposal, but he accepted. Much later, according to Jorgen, Grinch and Martha May become fairy godparents of a human girl named Cindy Lou.

In Grimm Adventures of Billie & Manny AU: According to Sado and other reapers, Grinch was described as most anti-social and cruel individual when necessary. When Grinch visited Grima, he doubted that mortal teenagers could ever make her as their legal reaper guardian until he encountered Manny. Both Manny and Grinch take a liking of one another, sharing a lot in common. One of the reapers, named Catrina, is close friend with Martha May, who is Santa’s Toy Factory Worker. Finding the two cute together, Catrina, Billie and Irina would attempt to set them up.

In Courage the Cowardly Girl AU: Unlike Krampus, Grinch wasn’t quite a friendly individual who doesn’t tolerate trespasser. Courage attempted to explain her reasoning in entering his mountain, but Grinch already knew that her entrance in his cave means she asked for his holiday misfortune to be removed from Muriel and Eustace. Grinch made a deal that if she scarified her Christmas season and work for him, he will remove the curse. Learning of his past, Courage received a help from Cindy Lou—the only child spared from Grinch’s grumpiness—to find relatives of orphans he lived with. Due to her dedication and her past as orphan, Grinch decided to set her free before the Christmas Day and lift the misfortunate spell from Eustace and Muriel.

In Danni Phantom AU: Grinch is described as “Bitter Spirit of Holidays” by the Ghost Writer. But Grinch turns out to be Sam’s favorite during his and Krampus’ duo debut. In ghost realm, Grinch resides in same snowy region with Frostbite, hence Grinch has snow/ice powers. 

In AAnA AU: Finding Culdesac as perfect place to make many lives’ Christmas season miserable, Grinch spilled the beans to both Santa and Krampus about bullies of Peach Creek. He was seen laughing when Kevin and other popular kids were turned into ugly scarecrows. Although they eventually learned the lesson, Grinch would always wait for another annual chance to crush their Christmas spirit if they began act the same as usual.

In Hazbin Hotel ’n Helluva Boss AU: Grinch is quite popular with the sinners in hell, mostly the ones who have heard stories or myth about him. Alas, he also becomes one of Charlie’s guests in Hazbin Hotel. Grinch bonded with Husk most of the time and didn’t like Alastor invading his personal space. Eventually, Grinch admitted to Charlie that he hated Christmas because it reminds him of his previous life as orphaned mortal who couldn’t get enough money to save the orphanage from demolition and inability to afford decent Christmas dinner/gifts for the orphans. Feeling better, Grinch leaves the hotel but left decent gifts for each staff. At some point, he hired IMPs to murder the corrupted British family of the noble who was responsible for demolition of orphanage he was raised in.

In Caty & Dolly: Caty and Dolly had hold Christmas dearly, but it wasn't because of Santa Claus, Christmas dinner, gifts, or the tree. Shreck and Logan, the respective love interest of the conjoined girls, tried to figure out what is the best gift for them. Eventually, they find out about their childhood Christmas "guardian", reveals to be the Grinch himself. Witnessing baby conjoined twins, Grinch felt sympathy for them and decided to send gifts to them; warm blanket, two pairs of mittens, and two Santa hats. Grinch then MENACINGLY threatened Shreck and Logan he would personally wipe them out of "Nice" or "Naughty" list "permanently" if they ever upset the girls, indicating he has a power to end them.

In Spongebell AU: Grinch appeared as cameo in McKrabs as a customer during Christmas season. Bell's pet cat Gary was able to recognize him as "inhuman", but his gaze were enough to scare off the poor cat. 

[unlimitedhearts]

in an effort to combine my two hyperfixations rn, this is the Insomnia Spidey trio's favourite persona games:

Peter loves Persona 3 FES. It's just hard enough that he has to keep notes about how to effectively min max his party. He's not looking up guides, he's building the optimal guides. The man makes Makoto sick on purpose to max his social stats. He's on playthrough 5 bc he refuses to cheat on his girlfriends just to max their social links. The mans has built the guide on how to fill the Persona Compendium. He laughs every time he sees Elizabeth try and go up the down escalator. He stans Akihiko and Mitsuru. He's a little bit of a stealth goth bitch. He has no sense of time management in real life, but you can bet he's got every event planned out in his days in P3 FES. That's not even mentioning the story of a protagonist giving everything he has in service of the people he loves, up to and including his life. No no reason he's mega into that. No reason at all.

Harry Osborn loves Persona 4 Golden like Yuu loves Nanako. This is his baby, that he's nurtured since the day it came out. Sad? Play Persona 4. Happy? Play Persona 4. Anxious? Time for another Persona 4 playthrough! Marie being a melancholic romantic poet speaks to his soul, and you BET he's played this game so many times that he's got the schedule down PAT for maxing out all of his social links the first go around. He keeps saying that every time he plays he finds something new to love about the game, but this is a damn lie, he knows this game front to back to sideways. Marie and Yosuke are his favourite social links.

MJ lives for Persona 2 Innocent Sin + Eternal Punishment. IT'S THE PERFECT YIN AND YANG YOU GUYS. One story leads into another, the story is about futility of high school and how hopeless time feels to the young, and then the oppressive survivalist nature of early adulthood! Min maxing is not her thing, but the mystery that surrounds the story, the characters at the heart of the plot, the idea that capricious gods play with humanity like toys as a part of a bet. All of it speaks to her rebellious nature and anti-authoritarian bent. She also loves that Tatsuya and Maya have the chance to be canonically bisexual. These games harken back to when JRPGs had good story and didn't need schedules to 'min max' your 'friendships.'

BONUS ROUND!!!!

Miles is a fresh face. He's a simple guy with simple needs. Persona 5. He hasn't played P5Royal and he's probably not gonna any time soon. He's played it fully through casually a few times. He loves the characters, he loves the idea of getting back at corruption and hitting the adults that fuck kids over where it hurts. One day he will play Royal and he will get to the second trimester, and it's going to mess him up so bad he's going to gain a hyperfixation. And Peter will see himself in his young protoge all over again, and will ask, "Hey if you want a day-by-day schedule to max out all your confidants and do all the mementos missions I wrote one. I'll send it you." Secretly tho he likes the dancing games the best. These soundtracks hit hard.

[politics-project]

Hi guys!

I’m going to be discussing more recent events that were caused by systemic racism before the Black Lives Matter Movement was created.

War on Drugs:

‘The War on Drugs’ is a saying used to talk about the government led initiative that aims to stop the illegal drug use, distribution and trade by dramatically increasing prison sentences for both drug users and dealers.

Background Information:

The rise of recreational drug use in the 60’s was probably a contributing factor to what led President Nixon’s focus on stopping some kinds of substance abuse but it’s not as simple at that. In June of 1971, Nixon declared a ‘War on Drugs’, stating that drug abuse was ‘public enemy number one.’ Nixon signed the Controlled Substance Act in 1970 helped officially classify and regulate dangerous drugs. Schedule 1 drugs are considered to be the most dangerous. Marijuana, LSD, Heroin, MDMA (ecstasy) and other drugs had this ranking.

“The Nixon campaign in 1968, and the Nixon White House after that, had two enemies: the anti war left and Black people. You understand what I’m saying? We knew we couldn’t make it illegal to be either against the war or black, but by getting the public to associate the hippies with marijuana and blacks with heroin, and then criminalising both heavily, we could disrupt their meetings, and vilify them night after night on evening news. Did we know we were lying about the drugs? Of course, we did.” - John Ehrlichman (domestic policy chief) (1994, Harper Magazineh)

Nixon increased federal funding for drug control agencies and proposed strict measures, like mandatory prison sentences for drug related crimes. President Reagan in the 80’s reinforced and expanded upon Nixon’s Drug policies. He passed severe penalties for drug related crimes in Congress and state legislatures led to large spike in the prison population in relation to nonviolent drug related crimes. Congress passed the Anti Drug Abuse Act in 1986, which established mandatory minimum sentences for certain drugs.

It’s Affects:

The “War on Drugs” aimed to reduce drug use and help public safety however all it did was majorly contribute to the skyrocketing prison population. Nancy Reagan’s “Just Say No” campaign created a culture of public fear around drugs. Zero tolerance and mandatory minimums policies led to the growth of the US prison population. In 1972, 161 per 100,000 people were incarcerated, by 2007 the number had reached 767 per 100,000 and in 2021 the number had dropped slightly to 639 per 100,000 people. Even with that slight decrease the amount of people in prison is almost four times as high as it was fifty years ago.

46% of incarcerated Americans were convicted of drug related crimes and while 14% of the population is black, black people represent just over 38% of the prison population with higher proportions in some states.In 2019, officials noticed that 81% of those convicted of crack related offences were black. Many believe this is because of the disparity in sentencing guidelines between crack cocaine and powder cocaine and where powder cocaine is more associated with white populations.Five grams of crack cocaine trigger an automatic five year sentence where as it took five hundred grams to merit the same sentence.The result has left many in the black community“bared from a wide range of employment, educational, social security and other benefits”

Link to Theorist:

This links into the theorist Karl Max in that he had the view that law enforcement (among other institutions) only serve the people in power and that crime control and punishment is to sustain systems of oppression such as systematic racism.