#because he hasn't said his identity. in canon.

[natjennie]

ok I have such a bad memory istg this is just because I don't remember but. is riz canonically aro/ace? I know his whole conversation with his dad was pointing there, but I only vaguely remember that it being "canon" came from.. an adventuring party? of the seven? I don't know if it was officially said somewhere other than that. and not to rain on anyone's parade! but brennan mentioning it out of game without murph even there kind of feels like. not canon. idk something about it always tickles my brain wrong when people talk about it, but I don't remember the specifics of the adventuring party. please someone refer me to more information.

[thatbuddie]

"eddie isn't queer/gay," you say. "he is straight in canon, so him being gay is just a head canon. it's ok for others to think of him as straight because that's what he is."

let's ignore for a second the fact that eddie has never ever ever ever not even once, said in canon that he is a heterosexual very straight guy. seriously!!! he has never once said it!!! if i am "assuming" he's gay then you are also "assuming" he is straight even though he has never once said it!!

how do you think we got bi buck as canon? like i am serious right now, answer the question. how do you think we go bi buck canon? evan buckley was never conceived to be a bisexual man at the beginning of 911. the reason we have evan buckley as a canonically bisexual character today is because us, queer fans of 911, interpreted him and headcanoned him as bisexual. i would go even further and say that it was us, BUDDIE FANS, who interpreted him and headcanoned him as bi. even before the writers were explicitly writing him as bisexual. we read his actions and his story and his identity and said: "this is a bi character!" and the writers looked back and realized that it made sense! and so they started writing him explicitly and canonically as bi.

was it wrong of us to headcanon a character as bisexual then? like for all intents and purposes we were reading a "straight" character as bi. were we doing something wrong? how come you are not complaining/chastising us/shaming us for how we took evan buckley, an otherwise straight character, and saw him as bi? is it because it now serves a purpose to you that he is bi?

also, taking characters that aren't confirmed queer and reading them as queer is what the queer community, and specifically the queer fandom community, has been doing for DECADES. look up the history of queer coding, i am begging you. it has been through the means of queer coding and the perseverance of people that are engaged in it that actual queer representation in media has increased. and let me tell you right now, eddie diaz is, undoubtedly and undeniably, one of the most queer coded characters there is. whether you think this queer coding is conscious by the writers or not. eddie diaz is queer coded.

and i want everyone who says things like "eddie diaz is not a queer character. he is straight in canon. it's wrong to assume a character is queer without the character saying so" to know that this is exactly what straight and homophobic people say. you are using the SAME rhetoric that has been used to shame queer fans for decades for seeing themselves and their experiences in fictional characters of all types. in fact, us, queer fans (and again BUDDIE FANS), were told so many times by straight fans that we were wrong for reading buck as bisexual. and where are we now? where did reading buck as bi take us? oh yeah, to having bi buck in canon.

so please just stop with the "eddie isn't queer in canon" comments. if you don't want to interpret eddie as queer then that is your prerogative. i will be judging why that is, for sure, but it is your right. but be honest about it. it has nothing to do with whether or not he is straight (which hasn't been said) or queer coded (which he so obviously is seeing as so many of us can very easily read him as queer). it's a personal preference and you're not engaging with canon better because of it.

[dropoutconfessions]

It makes me incredibly angry when people say "Riz is canonically aro/ace" and act like you're a horrible person if you ship him with people. Like. Nowhere in the show is it ever stated that he's aro/ace. The conversation people reference as him being "canonically" aro/ace is just him expressing his lack of very specifically sexual attraction, and even then the response from his dad (and by extension Brennan and the show as a whole) is that it's okay, and that it's specifically unclear whether he's ace or whether it's just not something that's happened for him in specific yet. It is intentionally vague as to whether he is ace or not, and there's genuinely zero indication in the show that he's aro other than that he doesn't have a love interest which could be completely unrelated.

Right so I'd like to share my opinion on this for a brief moment. I am still fully here to give people a voice, but this is just, an issue that kinda hits close to home since I'm demiaro.

The most annoying thing in a lot of media is when representation is shoehorned in as a list of labels and buzzwords we're given. Queer people should not have to turn to the screen and say their full identity in order for them to be canonically queer. That's what subtext is for. That's what good writing does. Is not spell it out for you when it's not necessary to do so. They do not need it to be spelt out for it to be very clear that he's ace/aro.

I am going to assume ignorance here instead of assuming malicious intent. The idea that the reason he isn't ace, is because "it's not something that's happened for him in specific yet", is an extremely common thought process behind asexual erasure. I'm sure that's not what you intended, but that is something to reflect on in general.

Both Adaine and Riz have yet to have relationships or display crushes (not counting junior year since most of the evidence comes from sophomore year) . Adaine hasn't gotten an entire nightmare sequence / arc around dealing with here friends all finding partners and leaving them alone. Adaine hasn't expressed or had conversations about any lack of sexual or romantic feels to the extent Riz has. Adaine is headcanoned as ace/aro by some people. Riz is more than that. Riz is very much canonically ace/aro if you do the slightest bit of character analysis. There's accidental coding and then there's Riz Gukgak.

List of every single Riz trait that is hella ace/aro coded

A lack of sexual and romantic attraction to other people (I'm not counting the time where he said he was kinda into Sexy Rat, that whole scene was a bit, and absolutely insane)

Making up a partner/crush in order to fit in (I have 1000% done that and so have a lot of acespec and arospec people)

A fear of being left behind by his friends because of a belief that they will find partners and move on from him, largely caused by alloromantic culture's insane emphasis on how the most important relationship is a romantic one

The fact that almost every other fantasy high pc has been in a relationship or a crush (kristen had tracker and gertie, gorgug had zelda, unit, and mary ann, fabian had aelwyn, ivy, and mazey, adaine had oisin and possibly zayn depends on your interpretation, and fig has had ayda and a string of professionals in a variety of fields across seasons 1 and 2) with only riz as a single character

The fact his sophomore year arc was entirely about his lack of sexual/romantic attraction and fear of being left alone because of it

Like not even a joke, it was that and his dad, that was the whole arc

His junior year arc was also about his obsession to stay together as a friend group, which like I mentioned above, is very clearly based in his asexuality and aromanticism

I am not going to stop people from shipping characters ever. If you want to rewrite character sexualities, that's fine by me, I'm a big believer in "Don't Like, Don't Read". I am not gonna pretend like characters are not their sexuality in canon so that people feel justified in writing their stories. People who rewrite character sexuality can do so without making everyone else assuage their guilt for them. I know I'm on the "piss on the poor" reading comprehension website, but it's not hard to tell Riz is ace/aro in canon, and pretending otherwise doesn't help your case.

[creampuffqueen]

We need more yangvik headcanons!

you're right we absolutely do. here's a random collection of headcanons about them separately and together <3

yangchen has a very phenomenal singing voice (which is kinda canon) but doesn't really recognize it

despite having lived in the earth kingdom for several years, kavik has an abysmal spice tolerance

since she has to spend so much time appearing formal for all her meetings and work, whenever yangchen gets away from that she sits in the weirdest positions possible. i'm talking backwards, upside down, you name it. she will not sit in a chair properly if she doesn't need to

again, already based of canon, but her sleep schedule is completely wild as well. she's wide awake at 2 a.m but falling asleep at her desk at 4 p.m. she goes through periods of being basically nocturnal. and periods of not sleeping whatsoever

conversely, kavik is a very deep sleeper, and not a morning person in the slightest. he can wake up early if he has to, but will do so with a high amount of complaining

yangchen is extremely competitive, especially in regards to physical sports/games (airball captain, anyone?) when she's in the zone it's kind of scary honestly

kavik and yangchen are very close in height. during the events of the books kavik is slightly taller, but at some point afterwards yangchen has a late growth spurt and ends up being just barely taller. she never lets him forget this

the two of them are honestly just. huge fucking nerds. kavik is a math nerd, yangchen is a history/politics nerd, together they can nerd out for hours, and frequently do

before they actually get together they have a bit of an unspoken arrangement of occasionally falling asleep together. it happens by accident a few times while working late, and both enjoy it way more than they want to let on. it begins to happen more frequently, especially as they subtly begin to recognize how yangchen has less nightmares whenever it happens

it takes yangchen quite a bit to start recognizing her feelings for kavik. both because of her trust issues and also because she hasn't ever really had a close friend like him before, and isn't sure what kind of feelings constitute as romantic vs. platonic

continuing the above, i also headcanon yangchen as being both demisexual and aroflux. for those unfamiliar with the terms, demisexual is where someone needs a strong emotional bond with someone before their feelings can develop further, and aroflux is a romantic orientation where someone's ability to feel romantic attraction fluctuates. (at least, i hope that's a good definition of those terms; these are not my personal identities so i've had to do a bit of research on them). all that to pretty much say yangchen has a bit of a complex relationship with romantic feelings

though despite this i do consider yangchen and kavik's relationship to be explicitly romantic. regardless of how yangchen feels on the daily about romance, they have a really deep, caring bond that is always there

both of their favorite colors are blue! yangchen really likes a deep ocean blue (the color of kavik's eyes) while kavik prefers a lighter sky blue (the color of yangchen's tattoos)

^^^^^ seriously they're so obsessed with each other

as much as they love just making out whenever they have the chance, i also think they both have a lot of love for non-lip kisses too. kavik always loves to kiss her forehead and eyelids, and loves when she kisses his chin/jaw. yangchen loves to kiss his shoulders and hands, and loves when he kisses her wrists

and last but not least, a couple of my sort of... distant future headcanons? i guess?

personally i don't see either of them wanting/having kids, for all kinds of reasons

also i know that it was "confirmed" that yangchen lives to 155, but that is something i will never, ever, accept or believe. i've already posted about how it was a stupid fan theory, and unfortunately said stupid fan theory became "canon" for some reason. (again, not accepting it). not only does it do a huge disservice to yangchen's character, it also doesn't even make sense within the wider atla timeline or universe. believe whatever you want, but i will be out here believing that yangchen lives to a solid but normal age, somewhere in her 80s-90s

again, everything in this post is just a headcanon, so feel free to accept/reject as many or as few as you'd like! it's all just for fun, really. thank you so much for the ask, i hope you enjoy!

[mantequillamcwhoremick]

Chaos in Chaos Plan

Alright, we've covered Mysterion in this post, it's time we cover Chaos😁😁😁

[The same disclaimer as for Mysterion's design goes for this one; no pressure to stick to these ideas if anyone is ever tempted to make fanart (i would explode).]

Anyways, let's get to it.

General Inspiration/Concept

Unlike Kenny, Chaos/Vic/Butters (I'm just gonna call him Chaos) has a lot more resources at hand to put together something inherently stylish, neat and practical. He can bribe or blackmail specialists to tailor his outfit components as per his request (remember that among the affected businesses in South Park there's some clothing stores. This isn't a coincidence🤭), so he's free to be creative.

Plus, unlike Kenny, he isn't climbing buildings or running around daily; he has errand guys who can do that for him. He hasn't needed to fight Mysterion face to face yet either, so if his priority is style over practicality, he can do that.

Doesn't mean he doesn't need SOME practical elements to his outfit, though...

The Mask/Helmet

Butters' canon helmet thingy looks pretty cool already, but the problem is that in any other medium that isn't South Park child play, it just isn't believable that his identity will remain hidden with that thing.

Especially in Chaos Plan, we have Kenny as Chaos' main hunter, and Kenny knows Butters arguably better than anyone in the world. It needs to be believable that Kenny can't recognize him, and the only reason Kenny hasn't ALREADY figured him out bc of his speech patterns, mannerisms and smile, is because Kenny would rather be in a coma for five years than acknowledge the similarities between Chaos and Butters.

So what I'm thinking is a full-cover helmet that somehow references his canon helmet & with the option to remove the visor and the part in front of the mouth, just so it can look like Chaos' canon design a little.

The next best thing that came to mind with a similar shape is a motorcycle helmet, repurposed and fixed up a little for his needs. Removable visor and mouth part, and in silver of course to stick to his canon aluminum foil color palette. Probably with a cute little red plastic gem stuck to the forehead part as the red thing in canon. The darkened visor could serve as a nod towards Vic Chaos' dumbass sunglasses that he wears indoors too.

I really like the idea of it being a repurposed biker helmet because of Butters' canon love for motorcycles (specifically Harley Davidson) as revealed in the episode "The F Word". I also like the idea of Chaos spending hours and hours scrolling through amazon or something to find the perfect biker helmet

Let's ignore that I haven't described this thing as a biker helmet in the text up til now because in all honesty, I wasn't exactly sure what I wanted it to be either. But I'm getting attached to this idea bc it makes it believable that you can't recognize his face and also relates to his canon interests. Also a biker helmet would look hot on Vic Chaos

Clothes

As I said, he doesn't need to be equipped for mobility or anything, seeing as he sits in his office 99% of the time as his evil plans come to fruition, so I like the idea of Chaos just wearing the suit that Vic Chaos wears in Post COVID. Same color palette and everything. Maybe some variants, like the one he wore in "Franchise Prequel" with a tie, because his rich scammer ass can buy whatever perfectly tailored suit he wants. And if there's something Butters isn't, it's boring.

Does he have another outfit more fit for physical fights? Who knows. Maybe. Or maybe he's just the kind of batshit insane madman who doesn't care if his 2.000$ suit gets a little scorched or ripped in a fight with Mysterion. But I guess we'll have to wait for future chapters to find out.

One detail I really like is the idea to add a shirt collar chain as a nod to the chain thing Butters has hanging from his cape in canon. Something fancy made of silver, to really hammer in that "new money scammer dirtbag" idea. Also imagine Mysterion yanking Chaos towards himself by that stupid chain in a fight

Feel free to let your imagination run wild here lol there's all sorts of cool designs that can be milked out of these things.

I think that's all I can say for now so as not to spoil anything still coming in the story🤭🤭 Hope this wasn't too short/boring lmao

EDIT: JEWELRY‼️‼️‼️ ACCESSORIES‼️‼️‼️

I CANT BELIEVE I FORGOT TO ADD THIS!!!!!

The collar chain was only a very specific beginning, but definitely not the last of it. Chaos definitely has pimp tendencies; the whole Victor's Bar thing in Chaos Plan is based off of his "kissing company" in "Butters' Bottom Bitch". so he does NOT skimp on shit that signals he has money and bitches.

Look at his stupid ass little gold chain!!!

I imagine him having a wide array of all sorts of jewelry; gold, silver, gemstones. Give him rings, brooches and pins, a belt buckle. EARRINGS! Very important. Sparkly earrings. With a stone or just a pure gold or silver one. Small or a fat lump. A silk hankerchief tucked neatly into the front pocket of his suit. An unnecessarily fancy watch. Anything is possible.

Give him some fat rings that make his punches hurt a BITCH when he fights Mysterion, even if he doesn't match Mysterion's force. He might even have several stacked one one finger because he CAN!

Canon Butters puts on a tutu to dance alone in his room. Victor Chaos was put into a mental asylum and still wore a perfect mustache, sunglasses and a suit. He may be clinically insane, but he'll always have STYLE!

[astro-can]

ninjago headcannons

RONIN VERSION BECAUSE I LOVE HIM

In the game, Ronin is mentioned to have a wife and a daughter. Unfortunately this isn't canon in the real timeline but I am in LOVE with the idea of father Ronin.

100% girl dad. This is why he looked after nya when she was manifesting her abilities.

sure, he's a huge dick and pain in the ass sometimes but you know what he isn't? A BAD DAD

"MCDONALDS! MCDONALDS! MCDONALDS!" "HELL YEAH LETS GET MCDONALDS" *buys 25 happy meals*

he is so dilf core

i mean what

who said that

he's got huge fatherly instincts. Yeah, he usually dgaf when the ninja are in trouble (unless money is involved) but if one of them aren't feeling very good and he happens to notice that, he goes into father mode

nya is feeling left out because she's the only girl? Ronin hears out all her rants and introduces her to his own daughter (who happens to be the same age) and they go on shopping dates together

cole is having trouble controlling his ghost abilities? Ronin gives tips and helps him concentrate (albeit a little harshly), but in the end, cole really improves keeping himself stable

zane short-circuits and starts malfunctioning? Ronin is immediately pulling out his toolbox and fixes him, even adding in premium things like data and upgrades PIXEL for him

jay wants to impress nya? Ronin (begrudgingly) lets him fly REX and lets him take nya on cool flying dates. (...but if jay breaks something, he's banned forever. it hasn't happened yet, but it probably will.)

kai needs to burn off some steam because he's stressed? Ronin brings him to a junkyard and gives him unsupervised access to firecrackers, flamethrowers, small bombs, etc etc and tells him to go wild (see below)

lloyd is feeling upset and guilty? Ronin sits him down and gives him therapy. sure, a bit rough on the sides and he still makes snarky remarks, but makes sure that lloyd hears what he needs to hear. it leaves lloyd feeling a lot better about himself.

Ronin's family is sort of a Spy x Family type thing. He's a thief, and his wife pretends to work as an employee at city hall but she's actually receiving secret missions from the government. they aren't exactly rich, so they both need to work dirty jobs to get money. they end up finding out about each other's identity but they laugh it off and help each other with missions sometimes.

Ronin's daughter is a lot like nya. she's a machine fanatic, good at judo, can steal your wallet in an instant, and insanely smart. she's very aware of what her parents' real jobs are but keeps her mouth shut bc she loves them both and knows that theyre doing it to keep her alive.

her dad disappears for days or weeks at a time but he always comes back with her fave things (probably speckled with blood but she doesn't care) and makes sure to spend time with her afterwards, so all's good.

ANYWAY

THAT CONCLUDES MY HAPPY RONIN HEADCANONS

[foolsocracy]

Hi, hello, I’m new to your blog. I’ve made myself at home. Lovely carpet.

Can I please know more about your spider Robbie pie? Can’t seem to find the silverware.

but of course, kind anon

Spider Robbie is an au in which Robbie Robertson takes up the spider mantle after the death of the one before him. He is the third, following Ben Urich and, most notably, Peter Parker.

This au is very much canon divergence from Eyes Without a Face, where Peter makes it in time to save Robbie from his original fate but dies in the process. Peter is shot while rushing Robbie and the others out. In his panic and elation at finding Robbie physically unharmed, Peter outs himself as the Spider Man to his best friend. Robbie stays with him as he bleeds out and resolves to continue to hide Peter's identity.

Peter is buried and remains that way for... an undetermined amount of time.

Robbie is left with a mask, a jacket, and the question of just who was this other half of his friend. As he learns more of who this... Spider Man was, he gets more and more involved in the spider's cases and conflicts. Robbie gets more sure of his own abilities and makes a bit of a name for the Spider Man within his own community, though the people of Harlem are largely unaware that the appearances of a masked vigilante match the interests of one Robbie Robertson.

It is to be noted that none of these aforementioned abilities are spider-god-induced powers like Peter's. Robbie, especially at the beginning of his spidering career, leans more into Urich's role than Parker's. To me, Robbie has been passionate about the press and journalism in a way that Peter never was. For Pete, his job as a photographer and reporter was a job he took until he could get into college and study science. Robbie has a way with words and communication that Peter frankly lacks. Of course, that isn't to say that Robbie won't be kicking ass, because he will. It will just take him a bit of time to get some of those skills as he's, well, a normal guy. Not everyone can get their biology scrambled like Pete.

And just because Robbie hasn't been scrambled doesn't mean he's completely separate from all things supernatural either!

I think the marvel noir universe is at its best when there's a magical, supernatural undercurrent. This concept isn't super prevalent in the actual comics, but HoplesslyLost on ao3 has done some really cool world building with it.

I think in Robbie's case, where he would be the narrator, "magical realism" would be an interesting avenue to take it. I use this term in particular because I most closely relate it to Toni Morrison in my head, when I first learned about it through her work in high school. For Morrison, the concept was inseparable to blackness and I think for Robbie, where his blackness is so central to his character and his motivations, drawing on that could be more of a service to his character. It feels better to do that than ignore how incredibly racialized his society and story is. It will make his relationship with the spider god, Peter (who I will get to very very shortly), his community, and his own mythos as The Spider Man really interesting and complex.

So it's been established that Robbie doesn't have spider powers. And we all know that Peter did-- or should I say does. One of the spider god's abilities is to bring Peter back to life. She does this in the comics, but not in any of the runs from 2008-2010 (the runs that make up this au). When Peter dies on Ellis Island, he does not think he is coming back from that. Waking up again is a surprise.

Here's where I think the au really takes a left turn. Do I think the Spider God is purely evil and spiteful and has it out for Pete? No, not really. Will I be ramping said traits up to 11 for the au? Yeah, I guess I might. This is because I love a little bit of horror and the came back wrong trope. I will hopefully be fleshing the spider god out in the near future, but I really haven't given her the many hours of thought I have the other characters. For that I'm sorry spider god </3

Peter digs himself out of his grave, more spider than he ever has been. For much of his new, waking life he is more animalistic than not. There is clearly something wrong with him; his joints are too flexible and loose, he's got some eye-shine going on, his skin is pale and his veins are starkly dark beneath it. He's possessed. Someone is puppeteering him, someone who knows a lot-- almost everything about him, but it's clear that the someone isn't him.

And Peter--- the body, it can't be Peter. At least, that's what Robbie thinks when the figure catches his eye the first time. Because Peter is dead and buried, and he has been dead and buried for weeks.

[snakeunderyourboot]

It's my birthday, so I am going shamlessly to promote my fics because I CAN

Hiii, my name is Snakey or Zmiya, or full SnakeUnderYourBoot and I have written several fics in Ukrainian for malevolent! Here they all are, for you to check it out, if you want. You can use translator to read them <33

Возз'єднання (or "Reunion") by SnakeUnderYourBoot "During which no words, except their names, were said" OR My first malevolent fic about John getting his own body and his reaction to the first seconds as human being. He gets a hug from Arthur which is a win for him!!!

Catch me while I am falling by SnakeUnderYourBoot "Any second Arthur will fall to his death and John cannot do anything to stop this. And John could not do anything to stop it. Only...only he can do something. Or John catches Arthur when he falls" OR Taking place immediately after Intermezzo, but before episode 41. The boys are angry at each other and Arthur doesn't listen to John and almost falls to his death from a cliff. Thankfully, John now has the ability to catch him, when he falls.

Очі, що виблискують на сонці (or "Eyes, that glitters under the sun" by SnakeUnderYourBoot "After the events with the Order of the Fallen Star, Noel doesn't waste time after returning from Spain, trying to find Arthur and John. At some point, he has to give up on their search, until he receives a letter from them, asking to meet up in New York. Sitting in a cafe where he and the boys had their first real conversation just a year ago, Noel cannot wait to see them again. Their reunion may be threatened by an appearance of the eldritch entity, that only pretends to be human" OR Post-canon, Noel waits to meet up with the boys. Everything is great and good, until a weird entity that only pretends to be human approaches Noel and tries to start a conversation. I wonder, who could it be:))))

Leaving the Mark in Your Universe by SnakeUnderYourBoot Faroe and Jane get out of Eddison. They try to reach another town that hasn't gone crazy, but strong storms stop their plans. They have to stop in the middle of the forest and look for shelter in the old hunting cabin. There, they talk about life, the future, choosing yourself, and carvings on trees. OR Basically, my take on faroeverse. Takes place after season 3 but before season 4. The girls stop at the hunting cabin in the middle of the woods and talk about identity, past, choices, and future. They also do carvings on the trees.

I also do art, you can check it out in my profile under the tag #snakey art! i'm not sure how much stuff I am going to post this year, because it's probably going to be the busiest year of my life so far, but we will see

Okay, shameless promotion is over, BAIIIII

[comradeboyhalo]

It's crazy how literally everything about why Bad is fucked up can be linked to Atlantis. I don't even think the Federation is half of his trauma.

He lies compulsively about everything, but his whole identity is built on a lie. He's just made of lies. Yes, he lies because he's mischievous, but I don't think he can stop lying. He is so fearful of his past catching up to him, that, for 11,600 years, he's been lying about not being a demon. Telling someone what species you are is just introductory level knowledge. And Bad cannot even reveal that much to others. When we're starting with this much repression, is it really a surprise that he can't ever be truthful? And this, of course, all began because he's terrified that people will find out he destroyed a city.

He has a "family first" mindset that isn't exactly original, but it is unusually intense. He is very much the type to burn the world for his loved ones, and he's very willing to act on it. Every parent had heavily grieved the loss of their kids, and many of them unleash this grief in destructively. No parent has swung so far dark that they actively tortured another being. This is NOT to say Bad loves his children "more", this is only to prove that Bad's extreme is just so far removed from everyone else's. This can all stem from the fact that Bad's relationship with loss has, in my opinion, permanently fucked up the way he forms attachment.

So, everyone in Atlantis dies. Great. Bad tries to live. He forms friendship with more mortals. They die. He forms new friendships. They die again. This repeats for thousands of years. The only exception to this rule is Skeppy, and his relationship with Skeppy borders on co-dependency. His "obsession" with Skeppy feels so foreign to other islanders, and it should be from a mortal standpoint. But Bad has to be careful about who he lets in to avoid loss, so if he can love one person freely, then of course he will love them with everything. The same can be said for Dapper and Pomme. They're his children, and he loves them without any of the paranoia he subjects to anyone else. And then every single attachment gets taken away from him. He doesn't have an anchor anymore. It's not surprising he's forming an unhealthy dependency on Ron, and he's not going to give a fuck about anyone's feelings or morals if it means getting his family back.

The same can be said for his paranoia. He's overly paranoid because he was forcibly summoned to a place where everyone around him died. This is canon, confirmed by cc!Bad himself. He's been like this BEFORE getting dumped on murder mystery island! And if his paranoia is worsening because of the island, then of course his "worse" is going to feel drastically more intense than others'. Everything here is just validating pre-existing habits.

All of this is a cocktail for emotional disaster. Bad has been hard at work repressing everything for 11,000 years, and is losing everyone he uses to keep himself sane. I'm not even sure how he can heal from the loss of Dapper and Pomme, even if temporary, because he hasn't even begun to heal from Atlantis. It makes his friends' desperation to save him that much sadder. They're out of their depth with this one, the first step has to be made by Bad himself, and nothing he has done has convinced me that step will happen.

[nightmare-foundation]

Yknow, I feel like part of the reason why people don't understand Ozpin as well as they probably could is because they... don't understand how the merge works. Let me explain.

The fandom has this expectation that Ozpin will take over Oscar when the merge is finished, and that Oscar will just disappear. Honestly, I think this is an extremely inaccurate reading of the merge based in bias and listening to unreliable narrators.

"But Oscar says he's afraid of disappearing, and expects it to happen. Isn't this reliable?" <- good question. No, I don't believe it's all that reliable. Oscar is experiencing the merge for the first time, and has no clue how it'll end; because of this, and his personal fears, he draws conclusions, and that conclusion is "I'm going to disappear into the collective of lives that is Ozpin." I also don't believe that this specific sentiment has been said by Oscar since v6, but it's been a while, so I can't remember.

Meanwhile, though, Ozpin himself never said that he was going to take over Oscar and that Oscar would disappear. When it comes to talking about the merge, Ozpin always frames it as Oscar gaining, rather than losing to him. Oscar will inherit my memories and muscle memory, you're recollecting my longest held memories and gaining control over my remaining magic, etc. It's almost framed as if OSCAR is taking from Ozpin, rather than the other way around.

"But Oscar has been changing throughout the volumes, if Oz isn't taking over, why is he changing?" <- another point. Oscar IS changing, but it's more superficially. His vocabulary is widening ("plummeting immediately" for example), his mannerisms have changed a little but mostly in the confidence department, and his voice has lowered, plus the inherited magic and memories. But his actual personality and deepest parts of his identity hasn't changed; he's still wise in his own way, notably different from Ozpin; he's optimistic but still realistic, for one, and he's very contemplative, and expresses importance in the individuals, vs the many as Ozpin does. He also still has his own unique brand of sass, his unique strategies and planning (how he handled the situation in Monstra), etc. He still identifies as Oscar, and the biggest change is definitely the gained confidence.

But, harder to notice, especially if you're not insanely obsessed with them like me, Oz has also changed, arguably more than Oscar. At this point, his entire voice has changed; the cadence of his voice, the timbre, his vocabulary and how he words things, etc. If you compare Ozpins current voice and Oscars, both Aaron Dismukes version and Shannon Mccormicks, they sound nearly the exact same. There's VERY little difference- at times, Oscar seems a little more formal than Ozpin! Oz's mannerisms and facial expressions have changed a lot as well, adopting more of Oscars (wider eyes, softer looks, lots of movement with his hands without their cane, honestly likely more that's escaping me rn). He also talks to the other characters as peers now, though it's hard to tell if that's from the merge or character development. I'd also mention how Ozpins worldview has drastically changed, but that's from character development and canonically, Oscar inspired him, but basically he's completely picked up Oscars views and beliefs (even if he's a little hesitant at times, he still trusts Oscar).

But basically... they've both changed, arguably Oz more than Oscar, both from the merge and character development. And it seems to me that it's more likely that Oscar won't disappear? Especially when you consider Ozpin saying "I understand. I went through the same panic and confusion you are." <- this is talking about the merge in v4, when Ozpin just appeared in Oscars head. Obviously, he'd have to be referring to being an ordinary person (likely a teenager) suddenly having a voice show up in your head. Ozpin identifies AS Ozpin- not as any previous incarnation (though he identifies with the memories too), so I doubt he identifies as Ozma. Thus, this implies that they change.

Also, soul in rwby IS identity. Aura is your soul but tangible. Thus, if two different souls merge- that inherently implies a change of identity. The souls change, thus the identity changes. Plus, Ozpin literally says IN v5 that "I am the combination of countless men, living, dying, and reincarnating, and i am changed- but my memories stay with me." It seems that the only constants are their memories, magic, and immortality. Everything else changes- "I am changed."

So I definitely don't think that Ozpin just takes over and absorbs his hosts. Everyone who thinks that's how it works in-universe are unreliable narrators; Ironwood, Leo, Qrow, Salem, even Oscar himself (though atp I think he might have an idea that he won't disappear, but he still doesn't want to change, which is reasonable). Oz's inner circle members wouldn't know in-depth how the merge works, bc a) Oz tended to lie to them and b) i doubt that's something he wants to discuss anyways. Salem wouldn't know because when Ozma told her, he'd only reincarnated once, and he only had the God of Lights really vague, cryptic words to go off of, and Salem herself has likely only been informed by people who wouldn't know how the merge works anyways (Leo). And i already explained why Oscar is also an unreliable narrator about it too.

Light and Jinn are also hints as to how it works too; they imply the hosts don't disappear by saying "Until then, you will reincarnate, but in a manner that ensures you are never alone." And "As the centuries passed, he learned to live with the people in which he had been paired." So naturally, the hosts don't disappear, and everything else says that Oz changes.

Another, smaller note, but you can tell with the other Oz's seen in The Lost Fable that they all act differently. It's more obvious with Ozma and Ozma 2.0, but you can tell with the rest of them (and even the hermit in the story of the seasons), since they all have different mannerisms and, for those who speak, they kinda speak differently as well. They're also vastly different from how Ozpin acts, both from the beginning of rwby to now, and they act differently from Oscar.

TL;DR: the merge isn't a takeover on Oz's part; they both change and, at the end, identify with whoever the host is (hence the name change).

[blushblushbear]

Can you do general Scale headcanons pls?

if Batman existed in his universe, he would probably be a Robin

is actually a tea guy, but he's not snobby about it

had a very weird childhood

was adopted into an assassin order at a young age and never looked back

lived in different parts of Asia for a while

really likes the life he ended up in, but he does sometimes wish he could've just been a regular guy

is actually working towards being just a regular person who does regular things (like bowling)

this is not fully because of you but he'd be lying if he said meeting you didn't give him a new lease on life

he kinda wants to start a new chapter of it all ya know??

a chapter specifically with you in it

likes floral and herbal flavors

is 50/50 on mint though

has a high tolerance for spice that he trained to have

also a high tolerance for poisons but same thing

can speak a little bit of a few other languages, but he's not fully fluent in them

doesn't actually watch a lot of anime, but is very interested in doing so if you're down

doesn't own too many clothes that are not either assassin uniforms or disguises

he's not gonna ask you to take him shopping for new clothes, but if you offered...

this is totally a big huge secret that is not a secret at all but he's kinda wrapped around your finger

has insecurities about his masculinity

(I'm not saying trans, but I am heavily implying it and would be down if it was ever made canon)

knew magic existed before meeting you but had never experienced it first hand

misses being a dragon sometimes

loves eating fruits and veggies as a snack

(this is gonna age me greatly, BUT DO Y'ALL REMEMBER OG Japanese Iron Chef where the chairman would take a bite of a raw bell pepper in the intro??? yeah, that's Scale unironically)

ya know what, fuck it, he watched og iron chef

I feel like Japanese, Chinese, and Spanish are the main 3 languages he's the most comfortable with (also a little bit of french but his pronunciation is ASS)

was a vegetarian briefly as a teen

still trying to figure out who he is past his assassin identity/persona

always trying to push himself to be better in some aspect of himself-- usually in the past it was physical and mental, but now he's also leaning more towards mental/emotional

he tries to always find peace within himself

mostly cause he was the only constant throughout his life

also danger

but also in his line of work you can't trust anyone (not even yourself lol meme)

hasn't listened to a lot of music, but the main things he knows are classical/traditional music and pop

is not a kpop stan, but he does love him some kpop

also jrock but like--- old school jrock

early 2000's jrock

also oldies pop (looking at your Brittney, we're old now... *sigh* hit me baby one more time...)

has gotten drunk before, but only to test his limits

he thinks he's a very smooth drunk

he is not

alcohol is actually the one thing he doesn't have a high tolerance for

but he genuinely thinks that he does

(not that he gets a lot of times he can show it-- you 19 y/o CHILD)

is really really into cuddling and being held actually

also really into just chill lazy days at home with you

just chilling together in pjs, sharing a blanket, catching up on shows, ordering Chinese--- good stuff

kind of wants a cat or dog, but semi-retried assassins can't afford just an adorable target (see: John Wick)

does want to retire someday

also maybe wants kids

he's not sure yet

about a lot of things actually

he's a pretty dangerous guy living a pretty dangerous life and just cause he quits it doesn't mean it quits him ya know???

he will 10000000000% go John Wick or Liam Neeson on someone's ass if they mess with his family, but he'd prefer his loved ones not be in danger in the first place

btw you're the first person he's truly gotten close to who was not also a fellow assassin

also he totally considers you family by this point

only knows a handful of memes, but is actually very memely minded

has only scene the first star wars movies, has not seen the prequels, but if he did, he'd love them

actually does play video games a bit but is not always up to date with what's the newest thing in the gaming world (he's a busy guy, but also hand helds can travel well so)

actually still gets butterflies and heart flutters when you kiss him

likes to try and charm you/make you swoon and honestly I can't ever see that stopping

he WILL get taller, but only a little

can last 2 or 3 full days without food water or sleep (though he's a total and utter mess by the end of it and needs a day to recoup)

has tried to read Jane Austen at least 5 different times but can't get past how they talk...

has a lot of pictures of you, some of which he took without you knowing

you are his phone bg and he looks at pictures of you often whenever he hasn't seen you in a while (and a while can be from a full day to a few hours)

is worried he's putting you in danger...

if anything ever happened to you cause of him he'd probably have a full on melt down

gets vaguely annoyed every now and then, gets well and truly angry almost NEVER

is actually very chill

also very blunt sometimes-- dude is mostly a realist honestly (crazy cape and daggers not withstanding)

owns SO MANY knives, daggers and swords

some of which are cursed!

has given you daggers/knives/swords/etc as a gift

low key is thinking of proposing with one, but he'll cross that bridge when he gets to it

loves a good fantasy novel

travels A LOT, and is actually really good on a plane

somehow manages to always have his phone charged

has taken on fewer assassin jobs lately, mostly cause he's preoccupied with you <3

wants to go on every cliche date with you under the sun

ice cream, movies, dinner, bowling, skating, ice skating, moonlit walks on the beach, trips to wild new places, dancing, flirty sword fights

has imagined many a romantasy scenario with you and himself-- enemies to lovers, bodyguard and royalty, rival assassins, target and assassin who falls in love with the target-- wait that last one is just real life

doesn't always tell you that he loves you, but does it more than you'd think and when he does he makes sure you know he means it

has threatened someone over you (say another word and you'll end up swallowing a knife, asshole)

looping back to the cat, will probably end up adopting a random street cat that he picked up on one of his missions cause it was small and alone and it's big eyes reminded him of you and he just couldn't leave it all by itself out there in the big scary world-- no, it had to come home to meet you

[acourtofthought]

Giving gifts to Gwyn while supposedly in love with Elain and also feeling a spark in his chest for Gwyn feels a lot like emotional cheating and that's triggering to me because I was cheated on by my first boyfriend.

Therefore I request no e/riel artwork during ElainWeek because of it especially not of her wearing said necklace.

See how that goes? It's very easy to play this game, using our past experiences as a way to police what others can share.

Also, Sarah doesn't need to like Tamlin for others to create Tamlain content, that's literally not how fandom works 😂

Sarah also clearly doesn't like the idea of e/riel either considering she had Rhys (someone she loves) hand Az his ass in the bonus, shutting that shit down like a Spirit Store in December yet that doesn't seem to stop Elain Week from turning into another e/riel week.

Sarah once made people believe in Tamlin and Feyre then later told us Tamlin's behavior wasn't appropriate. It seems clear some are still stuck on e/riel in exactly the way many of us thought Feyre and Tamlin were happy in book 1. They're missing how Sarah spoke of Tamlin being the bad guy after Feyre ended up leaving with Rhys, how she revealed the true issues with his behavior in the book which had Feyre's endgame romantic arc. Therefore trying to claim Az's actions towards Elain and Tamlin's towards Feyre's are different doesn't hold any weight because they're at a different point in their setup, Elain hasn't had her romantic arc book yet. The foundations are identical though. Now that we see the path Tamlin went down in book 2 it's really strange how some miss the similarities with what she's doing with the e/riel ship. Feyre and Tamlin had cute moments until she later showed us how toxic they were together. We didn't notice those issues in ACOTAR but she really delved into them in the book after.

Just because Az will not end up written to be a bad guy like Tamlin doesn't mean he wasn't starting to demonstrate the same behavior towards Elain, something he was in CANON called out for by Rhys and Amren. Sarah halted Az turning into Tamlin by pulling the plug on e/riel on Solstice. She halted Az turning into Tamlin by pulling the plug on Moriel. But we saw her write Az as getting into physical fights (or willing to) over these two females, not giving credit to these two females for what they're capable of, getting into fights with their friends over a female (just like the Tamlin and Lucien situation). Of course Az isn't as bad as Tamlin, but the key word to that is yet. Tamlin's rage caused him to explode a room. Rhys knocked Az from his rage before Az did something he regretted. He was on the exact same path that Tamlin was before his behavior escalated and that's why Sarah introduced a new possible love interest for Az. One we see him finally have a healthy and natural reaction too. One he's not overly fixated on being protective of (a major issue for Az just as it was for Tamlin).

Gwyn doesn't have to change Az, she hasn't even done anything but be herself. Az is just different around her all on his own.

Tamlin with Feyre:

Az, Az with Mor, and Az with Elain:

Az with Gwyn:

Just because Bloomsbury added a number for the Domestic Abuse Hotline it doesn't mean that domestic abuse is the only thing that triggers people while reading these books, we all have different experiences so we view the characters a certain way. (Bloomsbury is not a Board Certified Mental Health Professional, correct?). For some of us we do see Az acting a lot like Tamlin at times and time will tell if Sarah agrees, that she purposely wrote him as coming close to falling victim to the same issues but pulled him back just in time.

Therefore any group claiming their trigger is more valid than someone else's, claiming one trigger is more serious than another, is making themselves more important than the rest and is not an all inclusive group no matter what you're trying to convince yourselves of. To gaslight they'll say we're making light of domestic abuse while in reality they're the ones carelessly using abuse as a way to promote their fictional ship by tearing down others (i.e. Gwyn can't have a kinky sexual relationship because of her SA sending the message that SA survivors can't enjoy certain forms of sex).

Someone is always going to be triggered by something, even if it's something you personally enjoy so who is anyone to elevate themselves to judge and jury?

Shaming an actual person by saying they're gross for liking the idea of something in a make believe world, that they're not welcome because of their "disgusting" fantasy is you creating actual abuse to an actual person versus something that only happened to a make believe character of a make believe species in a make believe world.

And yes, horrible things happen to people in real life but Fantasy Books are not real life therefore your real life morals need not apply.

So basically a good tagging system / Master List would be a good way for all to enjoy without people having to be left out because of someone's trauma.

[heartscrypt]

For the miraculous au

would it not be silly and goofy if when not as superheros and in their like school. normal teenage life. like. yaknow. in canon. jamil has a big (in denial) crush. bc hes ladybug. idk where im going with this

i love your miraculous jamiazu au i think thats the main idea from this ask

using this ask as an excuse to pull out the love square map (i'm actually fucking crazy)

OK SOOOO. so. i was not kidding when i said the love square was different from the show. ive kind of swapped around the dynamics from the original to fit the characters better

everything under a read more so as to not intimidate anyone with how severely ill i am about them

jamil -> azul: in contrast to the mlb canon jamil will NOT have a big ginormous stalker crush on azul. in fact he does not like azul and will often clam up / go quiet around him. will excuse himself from interactions with the other and generally avoid the hell out of him because he thinks the other is so clearly hiding something and he does NOT want to get wrapped up in it

azul -> jamil: think pre-book 4 incident where azul's had an eye on jamil for a very long time. if anything he has the big ginormous stalker crush. but honestly its not full on crush territory (yet) because jamil refuses to talk to him and he hasn't interacted extensively with the other. however does think there is something going on with jamil avoiding him and relentlessly pursues him in response

scarab -> léopard: scarab just instinctively works better with léopard by his side. there's sort of an implicit trust between the both of them that the other is fully capable of whatever they set out to do which is. really nice. and they rely on each other in the heat of battle which is strange because scarab's ego means he often takes a lot of shit on himself under the idea that he's the only one who can do it. but also léopard is just an enigma to him because they'll work so well in battle but out of battle léopard's constant flirting gives scarab a headache... but it's also kind of flattering. in a way. because léopard is constantly Looking for him and shows a lot of interest in who he is as a person which doesn't happen a lot for scarab in his civilian form

léopard -> scarab: léopard is a mercenary which means that he's not partners with scarab. he just happens to "run into" the other "by coincidence" (not coincidence) and you know. he's so benevolent. why not help scarab out with the akuma. he is charmed by how much scarab is NOT like a hero. scarab thinks like a villain and is unafraid to use and manipulate others in order to accomplish his goals. but the end result is perceived as heroic of him. léopard wants him so bad for this it is fucking CRAZY he thinks scarab's capabilities and range are so attractive and will constantly make passes at him whenever they cross paths

jamil -> léopard: from jamil's experiences with léopard as scarab, jamil finds that léopard may actually be tolerable when he's not flirting constantly. jamil's still not keen on letting this guy save him from akumas (because jamil is scarab and by god if léopard ever finds out he saved scarab in civilian form he's going to be so full of himself) but he trusts léopard and is willing to let his snarkier side show, more than he usually does when he's jamil

léopard -> jamil: léopard is ecstatic at the fact that jamil is actually talking to him. yes it might take a whole other secret identity and a leather bodysuit to do so but. you know. a win is a win. uses his position as léopard to pry for more info from jamil, but it's always a push/pull back and forth where jamil seems to tolerate and even occasionally be amused by hus presence but will shut him down once he gets too close. his infatuation with the other in civilian form is fed by these small interactions he has with the other that shows there's more to jamil that meets the eye

azul -> scarab: azul is scarab's biggest supporter. naturally. praises the superhero's diligence and duty to the city loudly and vocally to anybody who will listen, and wants to get scarab involved in his future business ventures. may intentionally put himself in situations where the other will come save him so he can entrap the other into talking with him in civilian form to see if he can get any more clues into scarab's identity. also desperately tries to impress scarab when unable to transform with the skills he learned from being léopard.

scarab -> azul: scarab, drawing off his experiences as jamil, finds azul's persistence a little daunting and definitely a danger to his secret identity. however it's also odd to see a second side to azul pop out when he's trying to impress scarab. almost cute. if he didn't fail so much at it. gets scarab reconsidering his civilian form's thoughts on azul because azul somehow seems Less fake or. worse at being fake whenever jamil is scarab.

[royboyfanpage]

Do you think there's an in-universe reason why Roy has never really had a serious relationship? He's "dated" (not really), and mostly slept around, but he hasn't had truly serious relationships. Even with Donna—it wasn't like she was his "girlfriend" and he was her "boyfriend". But we see that he's always sleeping around and flirting

Hi, thanks for the ask!

This is a difficult question because I don’t think there is one broad answer. Roy’s had three main romantic relationships- Jade, Donna, and Kendra- and all of them fell apart for different reasons. Jade and Kendra are the most self-explanatory in my opinion; Jade and Roy have never reached a point where they’d be able to sustain a relationship together, and him and Kendra were just a mess. Since Donna is his most consistent love interest, I’m gonna use them as a main reference.

Donna and Roy were obviously very young the first time they got together, it was very much “puppy love”, which I think was a big part of what made their relationship in Titans 1999 both happen and fail. However, it’s pretty clear that Roy did genuinely love her. How canon this scene is is highly debatable considering it’s from an issue that is very OOC, but I think it does have some merit in this context as a demonstration of Roy’s commitment to their relationship.

And when they’re together later, it’s once again clear that Roy was expecting a serious relationship with Donna through his upset that Donna wasn’t expecting that.

This came about at a very bad time, and their relationship was only really so Donna could feel more grounded amongst her rampant identity issues, which she later admits to

I don’t think it’s an issue of commitment issues on Roy’s part- on the contrary I think he’s a very committed person, despite what some people believe, which can lead to him entering or staying in relationships that aren’t necessarily healthy (while he did break up with Kendra after she said Carter’s name in bed, there were issues in their relationship prior to that that he was willing to ignore). I think the issue is Roy can tend to ignore problems at the beginning of relationships that then later escalate to much larger ones- the biggest example of this being, obviously, with Donna in Titans 1999 and with Kendra- which inevitably results in the relationships failing.

[tiny-smallest]

Sonic Movie Universe prediction: Robotnik is an orphan because of GUN

I think what was supposed to be, tonally, a silly throwaway line is actually winding up to punch us in the face later.

Bear with me.

I barely remember the first movie since it was so long since I watched it, but aside from one, maybe two, of the comic universes, this line is the first time we have ever gotten anything at all about Ivo Robotnik's personal backstory. And it's that he's an orphan. In a story series that explicitly sets him up with a human identity- none of that Eggman stuff as his identity, not even a whisper of the name until it's a silly insult Sonic throws out later- this movie bothers to give him a Normal Human Society Firstname Lastname and a job.

(Okay, so Robotnik isn't exactly a normal human surname. But it's established canon that is the family name so. Suspension of disbelief.)

A series that we know will later delve, at least a little, into the story of Professor Gerald Robotnik WHO IVO APPARENTLY, ACTUALLY, DEFINITELY KNEW IN THIS CONTINUITY, AS HE HAS A SPECIFIC GRANDPA NAME FOR HIM AND NEARLY CRIES.

The original line was a ridiculous rebuttal to Tom during the fight in the house during the first movie. "Rub that in my orphan face," he says in response to Tom sharing a detail of his childhood during Silly Action Scene Banter. While there is a sort of tension there since the movie universe makes no bones about Sonic being an actual child and he is confirmed to be an alien, thus making the danger present of government capture and experimentation very real and kind of horrific, the scene as it plays out isn't overly out of character for something you'd expect in a Sonic movie. And although Robotnik is the threat here, he plays a large part in also keeping the scene lighthearted because of how utterly he fails to respond like a normal human being to literally anything. The comment about being an orphan at least makes sense based on what Tom said, but it's still weirdly personal and, therefore, kind of inappropriate to say. Like dude back up you're trying to kill a child why are you sharing your trauma with me that's uncomfortable.

Which brings me to the obvious point of that line- it's not just to make the scene funny, it's to show us how set apart from other humans Robotnik is. This is a man who has no idea how to interact with anyone, like, absolutely nobody, and every single scene he's in reminds us of this, including this one.

Now that the third movie has explicitly drawn a line between Shadow's backstory and themes of pain and loss, and we see Gerald Robotnik weeping over what I think is Maria's body in the aftermath of the murder (jesus that's dark) I have to connect a few dots of my own.

The first movie had another piece of foreshadowing they threw at us, this one way more obvious: at the end of the first movie, a government agent is sent to speak with the Wachowski couple. He tells them that Ivo Robotnik has been thoroughly erased from existence. As far as any documentation of him ever existing on Planet Earth, there is none. He hasn't merely disappeared- it's like he never was.

If they did this to Ivo after this catastrophe it's not a stretch to think they did the same with Professor Gerald. Hell, I thought that after movie number one. "That has to come up later- we have a character the government explicitly turns on in this series. Like, as a major plot point. The defining moment in several characters' stories. No way does their ability to erase someone not come up later."

But now I think they went a step further.

They've already murdered a little girl and broken an old man in their efforts to contain the genius they were frightened of.

Personally, I don't think it's a stretch to think that Ivo Robotnik, very young himself at the time most likely, is an orphan because GUN decided to eradicate the entire family line in an effort to prevent anyone like Gerald Robotnik from ever existing again.

Except. The son survived. Well shit. Uh. Stick him in an orphanage and keep an eye on him, I guess.

And where does he end up as a adult? A branch of the government. Where they can keep an eye on him.

(More than that, if they did erase Gerald, Ivo clearly remembers him... so Ivo may have joined them specifically to look for traces of the grandfather he knows existed and who doesn't seem to have any records proving that whatsoever. But that's Ivo's motivations and we're talking about GUN's, so, moving on.)

It's likely based on his sheer intellect, assuming Ivo wasn't embellishing too heavily, that he didn't have to grow for very long before that brilliance was obvious. Though the government's decision to let him live was strategic, weighing the gamble of assassination with the gamble of him inheriting the genius and deciding that risking him having the same genius as his grandfather was better than trying to kill him at this point, the gambit ultimately failed. Even though he was more than likely still only a child, they'd let him live too long. In just a few short years he quickly became a very real threat to the government- as in, if given a reason, he could be a very real threat. And nothing Ivo does is ever subtle or quiet, so his genius was probably very loud, and there was likely lots of attention, making an assassination impossible, because if there would be too many questions before, there would be an insurmountable amount if he died or disappeared now.

So, since they couldn't kill him, they continued to keep an eye on him and took him on at the government when he was old enough with the intention of keeping their enemies closer. Except all of their caution still wasn't enough and he went rogue the first time he was presented with the opportunity to grab at power they didn't already have, power capable of things beyond their wildest imaginations- a monster of their own making.

Ivo, who never asked for what happened to him, very likely a victim of circumstances he had no hope of ever controlling, who responded to this trauma by making his choice that power mattered more than anything- more than morals, more than hurting people who are just like he was once. That shaping his own world after all the horrors he planned to do in pursuit of that may finally, finally "be enough."

(Be enough for what, exactly, Ivo. You never did explain that. "Who knows? Maybe that will be enough." Elaborate.)

Whether he knew the truth about why he had suffered or not, Robotnik made his choices. He stood at that crossroads that demanded he make a choice about what kind of person he was going to be in the face of all the pain and loss, and he made his choice. This movie is about Shadow making his.

If this movie really wants to beat us all to death it won't just draw comparisons between Sonic and Shadow, but Shadow and Ivo Robotnik.

(If this movie wants to exorcize our souls after we're dead, if it intends to be a trilogy and not make more movies in following the original vision for Sonic Adventure 2, it'll place Ivo at a new crossroads, and this time, he'll make a different choice.)

(Especially since Professor Gerald, in a much worse state of madness and malice than Ivo, who the movie is setting up specifically as someone Ivo loves, admires, and almost certainly misses, probably won't.)

[slotumn]

I think it's possible that because Rhea has spent her important developmental years as young adult around humans + overall spent more time with humans (and pretending to be one) than other Nabateans at the beginning of canon, and as a result, acts and thinks and even subconsciously sees herself somewhat closer to human than Nabatean.

It's hard to scale nuke dragon ages to human ones but I don't think she was older than the human equivalent of preteens when the Zanado massacre happened, and based on that it probably means she spent early part of her adolescence running from the Elites and gathering other Nabateans + later one establishing herself as a saint at Enbarr and winning over Wilhelm and co. Saint Seiros as we see her at the opening movie is probably in the human equivalent of late teens~early 20s— the insane drive and peak physical performance stage of your life.

I don't think she was completely cut off from her birth culture in those years since there were other Nabateans she'd gathered, but it wasn't an environment where she could be open about it— and after she took on the identity of Saint Seiros, it probably means she spent just as much, if not more, time connecting and talking to humans than others of her kind.

At any rate, this results in her thinking and acting like she is something close to a regular human, rather than a big near immortal dragon shifter. It's even more prominent when you see Indech and Macuil, who have very clearly drawn a line between their existence and the humans'. Seteth isn't as severe, but I think that's partially because he lost his ability to transform (+has a daughter), hence he had to adjust to being more humanlike out of literal physical necessity.

Meanwhile Rhea retains the ability to turn into a living flying missile launcher slash anti-missile system, however you would not be able to guess this based on how she moves politically.

And this is not because she can't do politics, she clearly can based on the War of Heroes, it's just that she keeps doing everything how a human with a human mindset and outlook would. Even if there are factors like the Agarthans still lurking around and contacting humans to butcher her into another Relic (or her fearing that they would, even if it's not actually feasible)/running low on transformation juice and needing to save energy behind why she doesn't make the specific move of revealing herself to be the Immaculate One, there are other places where she tries to adhere to regular human standards about it even though she doesn't really have to, and it would arguably be easier for her not to.

Most notably, becoming and keeping her position as Archbishop— she's the founder of the religion, she could have said some shit like "the goddess blessed Saint Seiros to be immortal so now she gets to be archbishop forever," yet she does not do that. People would already know she doesn't age at a regular rate too, she was already around in public life as Saint Seiros 100+ years when she became archbishop, but instead of leaning fully into that she claims Saint Seiros had a kid(!) and pretends to die every once in a while to act as her own descendant.

The behavior doesn't make sense if Rhea has completely internalized her divine/"different" status and is trying to rule over humans from that perspective alone; it does make more sense if she was already halfway mentally assimilated into the human way of things when she came into power, and she only internalized human standards further as she pretended to be one for centuries. Of course she hasn't forgotten that she's Nabatean, but again, for any line she draws between herself and humanity, it's not so severe and literal like Macuil and Indech's are.

Tl;dr there are lots of "what if a human had a god complex and fucked things up" characters but Rhea is a "what if a divine being had a human complex and fucked things up" character