#but honestly they seem to be pretty on the same wavelength about a lot of the big stuff too haha

[vaguely-concerned]

every time gricko semi-mockingly imitates kremy by going 'and then kremy'll be like 'waddadoo waddadoo fellas etc.', years get added to my lifespan and my skin clears

[reachexceedinggrasp]

Danny 'I don't do weird' Pink frustrates me as a character, because I'm honestly not sure whether he was supposed to have an arc or not.

His primary role is as a foil for Clara's arc and, in aid of that, as a mirror to the Doctor. A solider with survivor's guilt and a man of action who can't stand by when people need help etc., in some ways he and the Doctor have a lot in common, but he's also a very grounded and circumspect personality versus the Doctor's being fantastical and adventurous. Danny isn't curious and doesn't want to pursue new things or experiences, instead he wants to be fully present with and grateful for what he already has. The Doctor is incorrigibly curious and always interested in new things.

Danny is someone who desires nothing more than an ordinary life, and looks for beauty and satisfaction in the normal things and people around him. He wants his world to be small and quiet, he values the mundane things others might take for granted. He's normal, patient, dependable, simple, honest, etc. His reaction to trauma hasn't been to disavow the things which lead him to that event, or to seek out stimulation to avoid thinking about it, it's to be thoughtful and cautious and somewhat rigid so he can always apply the mindset and skills he retained from before he was traumatised.

He's very firm and unbending in his worldview and in his self-image. He doesn't seem to ever reassess people once he's decided what he thinks of them. He's not unreasonable or unwilling to compromise, he is in fact maybe too reasonable, but he is implastic. He's extremely even-tempered except for around his identity as a soldier, which he's prickly about, but still pretty quick to let it go as long as he's not being deliberately antagonised.

So anyway Danny represents this other path, and this opposite response to the horror of war and making a catastrophic mistake, but he never learns, he never grows and he and Clara are never much on the same wavelength about anything. He's supposed to be stability, the things she 'should' want, the 'person she's supposed to like', the safe choice, the presentable life which Clara feels like she has to have. He's orderly and ordinary and that's what she wants from him. She has to control her image, her future, and her options.

And their simple relationship, once it exists, functions well as the contrast to her complicated and tumultuous relationship with the Doctor while the companion power dynamic is being dismantled and rebuilt so they can be emotional equals. But like, the set up is confusingly executed.

Listen- they have zero chemistry, they have nothing to talk about and have to resort to talking about work, every conversation goes instantly off the rails, they rub each other the wrong way, there is never any reason for them to keep reconciling and trying again to connect. Like. You are not hitting it off! and keep offending each other bc you're not compatible! Quit!!

Clara is forcing it, that makes complete sense with what she's going through, she's trying to take control of her life and her emotions, trying to prove to herself she's not pining for the Doctor and at the mercy of his whims for her life to be full and complete. She doesn't want to need him or to be dependant on him. She doesn't want to be the heartbroken sadsack whom he abandoned at Christmas or who will take whatever scraps he'll throw her. She wants to control his position in her life and control how she feels about him. Hence her assigning him a specific day and confining their adventures on her own terms. She's trying to keep the Doctor compartmentalised. Having an Appropriate Human Relationship means she's successfully put the Doctor in his box (lol) and neutralised the chaotic power of her feelings for him. I mean, obviously not, but that's what she tells herself.

But what is Danny doing? Why does he keep pursuing this when it's so clearly not a good match?

Again in Listen, and much more so The Caretaker, Danny illustrates that he does not know who Clara is, he's wildly wrong about her and what she's like, and he's very high handed about it as well. He's convinced that the Doctor is taking advantage of her, that the Doctor is domineering in their relationship, that she is not a person who wants to be put into challenging or dangerous positions, that the Doctor is pushing her to takes risks and become a leader where that's not her nature. None of this is true. Clara was always a decisive, assertive, strongly driven person who seeks out new experiences and naturally assumes a leadership role any time that's necessary; she relishes being challenged and facing the unknown. Her blow up with the Doctor wasn't about him 'pushing her too far', it was about him failing to support her when she needed him and condescending to her as a human rather than treating her with the intimacy and equity their bond and history together demands. It's personal and it's about their emotional relationship. It's not about making hard choices, it's about having to make hard choices without her partner being honest with and emotionally available to her.

Clara was always an adventurous person, willing to be spontaneous as long as it's on her terms, and excited by the prospect of authority and responsibility. The danger and challenge isn't an unfortunate side effect or a risk she has to take to see amazing sights, it's part of the appeal. She lied to Danny by omission when she said she went off in the box to 'see wonders', not just because the real reason is that she's in love with Doctor, but also because she doesn't just want to be a tourist. She wants to get involved and save people, she wants things to sometimes go pear shaped. She enjoys and craves that part of it too.

Danny is also wildly wrong about the Doctor, but this is understandable and would be fine except that he's never corrected? He never learns better? What's the point?

In Death in Heaven Danny goes out still wrong about the Doctor, still condemning him cruelly and unfairly while knowing nothing about him. He had a point with some of his original rant, there was actual insight there, but it's buried in assumptions and bitterness and then Danny keeps tripling down on the assumption. The one which doesn't understand that the very thing he's shitting on the Doctor for (being willing to lead and make hard choices that must be made in order to save people) is something the Doctor has in common with Clara. And always has. The Doctor didn't change her or push her into that, that's who she's always been.

What is the point of Danny calling him a blood-soaked general and mocking him, calling him an officer as a pejorative again, and again because the Doctor is trying to save the planet. Like, memory check, that's what Danny is mad about. The Doctor doing everything in his power to save literal billions of lives. Doing it for no reason, out of altruism. Doing it while always trying very hard not to fight or kill anyone. Doing it even at enormous spiritual cost to himself.

I don't understand how we're meant to find Danny sympathetic in that moment, because he comes off like a complete dickhead. And it's all the more frustrating because in the intervening episodes Danny has been eminently reasonable. As I've discussed before, we're exhaustively shown that Danny is 100% okay with what Clara claims is going on, that he doesn't want to get in the way of her friendship with the Doctor, that if it really were only the relationship she's pretending it is, there would be no conflict. He's the one who encourages her to make up with him after Kill the Moon! He tells her to go on travelling and it's fine!

Even when he discovers she's been lying to him and cavorting with the Doctor behind his back (again despite him telling her it was fine with him!), he's calm about it and repeats for the millionth time that all he wants from her is honesty. The truth. Which is the one thing she can't give him because Clara knows their entire relationship is built on the lie, they're only together because of the lie. The truth is, as Moffatt said, that Danny never stood a chance. There is a conflict between the two relationships and she's always going to choose the Doctor.

And that does come out, she gives the whole speech to Danny, not knowing it's him, finally being honest. And he seems unsurprised by it, which makes sense because on some level he definitely always knew ('do you love him?' 'no' 'really had enough of the lies'), but then nothing comes of that. Clara just soldiers on, going right back to pretending this relationship wasn't a façade doomed from the start, and Danny allows her to pretend. He goes off on the Doctor, but not in a way the Doctor actually deserves at all, and just sweeps her confession under the carpet. Letting her get away with it again. True to form, I guess! he always did. But shouldn't we make progress?

And it's like... I hate that he dies on that note. It feels like he dies in denial. I guess you could argue it contributes to his decision to not come back, but that feels like a disservice to the character. Saving the kid is important to Danny, it allows him to atone for his greatest mistake, but he didn't need to change or grow to accomplish that and it doesn't provide any closure to his actual role in the narrative, which was as Clara's foil. Clara is off the hook, free to go on lying to herself about their relationship. It's not addressed in Last Christmas, either, it's only barely hinted at.

[princess-of-the-corner]

For no particular reason here is some important, totally canon MHA lore courtesy of Smash:

The support course makes most of the stuff for the hero course including comedy props and robotic copies of the staff.

UA occasionally lets people who want to apply there watch classes and even take part in Hero Course lessons.

Momo can perfectly copy others' behaviour if she tries, can stop her lungs at will and is a magnificent opera singer.

Competitive baseball ceased existing after the dawn of quirks but Ochako is a fan anyway.

Fighting game combos are real but only Ochako can do them because her quirk lets her replicate weird physics engine bs.

Bakugo is an expert cook and baker but is also too scary to be asked about it. He's also a pretty good life coach, a favourite of local kids and one of the better rescuers on the team (according to Aizawa)

Endeavor is the most awkward motherfucker on the planet

Mt. Lady wasn't allowed to take hero courses due to her quirk but still decided to be one with some remedial courses to inspire other people with "volatile" quirks. This was a very mixed success.

Disney doesnt exist anymore but its remnant company is still an ass about copyright.

Izuku has a shitton of stuff about Katsuki in his notebooks and made multiple copies of it to hand out/in case they explode. He's also a cat's cradle expert.

The class is generally pretty good at improvised group dances.

All Might drafted up an anime about his life back in his early career and apparently it's Bad.

Midnight has a shonen rivalry fetish.

Shoto has used Half Hot before the Sports Fest but only in love doses and exclusively to attract cats. He also likes hunting bugs a lot (with a similar tactic) and doesn't know how mosquitos work.

Mic knows Muai Tai and wants to show it off really badly.

13's outfit is apparently a uniform UA just has on hand for Reasons.

Gonna respond to these individually so:

Love that! I've actually discussed before on the same wavelength of how the Support Course would be best suited to learn alongside Hero Students so they can see practical applications! I'd like more if they worked together a bit and/or the support students got classes where they just watch the Hero Training classes and take notes.

Honestly being allowed to check out potential schools you apply to does make sense.

Girl has many talents

how do you lose competitive baseball of all things? Like don't get me wrong I have little love for baseball, but why would it go away?

Ochako is best. Just fuckin. That's hilarious.

Katsuki being good at cooking is great but also being good with children? If a hero career never works out then housewife is a great option. (but also something something 'character with abrasive personality and power that's default dangerous and destructive also being one of the best with soft things that take patience like food and children)

This one? Beautiful. He's a loser. I love him.

It seems some bullshit that she wasn't allowed to take Hero Classes like. She can make a good Hero! And while her Quirk application is somewhat niche, it's not out of the realm of being needed. Hell, between her debut scene being fighting a giant villain therefore matching him in size, and the fact that this is a world where things like giant robots can exist, she's def needed. Like yeah she- she needs to learn to be a bit better about property damage but if she'd had gone to one of the schools and had experienced Heroes coaching her, that learning curve would be fantastic.

Disney will be Disney lmao

Izuku. Honey. I love you but that's a bit stalker-y and I would not be surprised if Katsuki blasts you into oblivion for that.

The gang is just all sharing a brain cell

All Might is also a fucking loser I love him.

I 100% think that all Heroes just have something for the shonen rivalry thing because like. Just. You need a close friend you can have a rivalry with to push each other to be the best you can be and then also spar with one another and oh hey getting pinned down like this is kinda hot ain't it? Every Hero has a 'type' and it's 'someone who will be affectionate but also throw me through a wall'.

Shoto using his fire to make himself warm and attract cats is fucking hilarious like baby!!!

Also a fucking loser I love him

That's hilarious actually

[crow-caller]

Hi, I've followed you since Lightlark and I just want to say- this may sound weird (and if so I apologize) but hearing about you being neurodivergent, aroace and such is kind of really helpful to me, because you're cool and have a lot of interesting thoughts and generally seem like a kind of person I'd be happy to be.

I stress a lot about missing out on "normal" life things, like romance or going out on the town to have "fun" (despite loathing alcohol, unfamiliar food, bright lights, loud noise and crowds) or what have you, but you know, maybe it's okay if I eat the same few foods and take joy in my niche passions. Maybe, if I listen to your angel book talks with delight, there's people who would listen to my rambles about dragons or conlangs (or dragon conlangs!) as well?

yeah!!

this is one reason I am pretty forward about this. I have been working to moderate how much personal info I just cavalier share on the internet but mostly I do it because it is a case of me hoping it helps others. I didn't know I was autistic for a very long time, same really with ace and such. I still am questioning much of my identity and have for years, and it took me a while to get okay with just being questioning and undefined. Autism too I was really against ME having at first, because my family is all autistic and difficult so I had a bad idea of what autism was. Now I realize I 100% am and actually I am cool, so it is cool.

So I realize how hard it is to see people at all like you and while I'm having any shimmer of spotlight inexplicably I figure I ought to be telling people you can just sort of get by having a weird self-defined life of whatever you want and it's fine. I'm 26, I'm very autistic and chronically ill, I'm ace and maybe a bit aro and just sort of an adult who is allowed to be all those things. I took a long time to realize this but you act as you want and be honestly yourself, and if you're lucky you can just find a friendgroup on similar wavelengths who will enjoy all of that stuff you do and offer

[scruffyssketchbook]

What type of traits are the main cast(+miku) romantically attracted to?

Blizz: I wouldn’t say he’s outwardly romantically attracted to anything in particular, but he does seem to be attracted to leafeons because of his huge crush on Daisy when they were kids. He’s pretty oblivious to his own feelings romantically. He’d say things like “I like hot chicks!!” But wont react to one unless they are on a Playpoke mag because Flame told him once that that is how he should react when seeing the magazine and Blizz was like "ok!". This changes with leafeons tho. I suppose it’s familiarity? Tho either way, it takes time for him to genuinely become attracted to anyone. Complements will expedite this process.

Dusk: Dusk is into feminine features (and Sylveon). But also!!! He cant help becoming romantically attracted to pokemon that he’s spent a considerable amount of time with. Pokemon who know him and spend time with him, and seem to genuinely care about him. He actually falls for others pretty hard and fast, but he bottles up his feelings and tries to not show them to them. Which honestly just hurts him in the end, but fear is a big factor in it, I suppose.

Eve: Eve is attracted to intelligence and good looks? Idk lol normal tween girl stuff? She doesn’t get easily swept up in romantic words, but she does get swept up when someone does something for her or gives her gifts. If you just try to lure her in with sweet words, she’ll respond with a snarky reply. Gotta put in the effort!

Vay: Vay is not romantically attracted to any traits. Acts of service makes him happy, I guess.

Bolt: Bolt is also not romantically attracted to any particular traits, unlike Blizz, there is no thing that he’s even a tiny bit attracted to out of the gate. He does admire strong willed individuals, but that’s not romantic attraction. I can say that romantic gestures WILL make Bolt very flustered. Like do enough of those and show genuine care for him and he will fall. But! Aside from that? Nothing much lmao. He hates loud, noisy, and destructive individuals though- Like, if you stress him out, he’s like no thank you.

Flame: Flame SAYS he’s romantically attracted to WOMAN. ALL WOMAN, No matter the shape or size. But actually!!!! That’s not quite the case lmao. Flame has only experienced real romantic attraction to individuals that share his hobbies and thoughts. Individuals that are on the same wavelength as he is, regardless of their gender or how they look like. If they share the same views and spend time with each other, Flame will fall HARD (to his dismay). It’s very hard getting close to Flame, as he’s closed himself up to everyone, but if you do break through his hard shell, and spend time with him, you in! Well, unless you remind him of himself. He cant handle being with people that remind him too much of himself because he kind of hates himself.

Daisy: Daisy is romantically attracted to strong individuals. Look STRONG, be HOT, and Daisy will instantly be attracted. But this strength doesn’t just have to be in looks, it could be in other aspects, like your will power, your confidence, how passionate you are in a thing you love doing, etc etc. But ofc, If you butter her up with complements, she will be even more attracted lol. She also likes pokemon with a bit of an adventurous or mischievous side to them, and she LOVES Bad Boys/Girls. Like Villains are her favorite characters. Villain to good guy archetype 10/10.

Dawn: Dawn is romantically attracted to pokemon that have lots of MONEY. (Joking) Dawn is romantically attracted to pokemon that at a baseline- are not horrible. BASICALLY, Dawn has a very high sense of justice, and she despises pokemon that don’t treat others right. You may think this is hypocritical, but Dawn lives by the golden rule “Treat others the way you want to be treated” and if you don’t follow this rule, she’ll TM 15 you into oblivion. Dawn loves complements, and loves communication, she likes loyalty and honesty too. and ofc! Dawn loves a family man lol. She wants a BIG FAMILY, so anyone who shares her want for this and has the other traits is an instant yes for her! Also!!! She doesn’t like overly serious pokemon, or pokemon that hide their feelings from her. Communication is Number one!!!!

Miku: Miku is romantically attracted to Dusk. That is all.

[thealogie]

I read the whole trilogy and I loved the second one--honestly pretty nearly tied with the first for me. tbh I never cared too much about the narrator of the second one as a character (whereas the biologist is an absolutely top-tier character for me). But its like. If the first book is trying to understand and respond to Area X from pure experience with no information beyond what can be gathered from directly engaging with it, the second is trying to approach the same goal with information overload and no experience/direct contact. Biologist vs logician/librarian. The shift in approach and the completely different but stil comprehensive atmosphere clawing at the same fundamental questions really delighted me, enough that I didn't care too much about being kinda indifferent to the main character. Also made me really appreciate the bits you get of the biologist.

(Personally I did fall off a bit on the third book--the trilogy structure is very much 'thesis antithesis synthesis', and by the third book my feeling was 'my dude I'm so entirely on your wavelength I barely needed a paragraph to get me signing off on your synthesis. A whole book of it is a bit overkill'. Still solid though; I'm very glad I read the whole trilogy and didn't stop at the first one).

I love this perspective on it! Thank you! I really do like the idea of suddenly coming at the story from a different perspective. It just feels slow and I don’t feel that the same page turning excitement I loved so much about the first book.

That said, your perspective helps a bit and also a lot of people seem to love the third book so that keeps me motivated to continue. (And I don’t like giving up on a trilogy anyway…annihilation raised enough interesting questions that I want to see this to the end)

[elvendorx]

Hi! I really like your blog! I was just wondering, how do you manage to find canon-based marauders content? I’m pretty new to Tumblr and while I follow the main tags, I’m tired of the short and shallow Siriuses, activist Jameses, and naive Lupins that don’t seem anything like the marauders I fell in love with. And the hatred for Snape and the condescension towards his fans makes me super scared to interact with blogs since I have posted Snape content on my main blog and I feel like I’d be eaten alive. I’m so overwhelmed! Do you use filters to help you? Or is it just finding and following the right people? Thanks for any and all advice!

hello and thank you! <3

a lot of it honestly is just finding and following the right people. the exact balance of that is personal that it will take a while to feel like you're consistently seeing things on your own specific wavelength but it's definitely doable. i think once you find one blog you really align with, see who they interact with regularly, check out those blogs, then check out who those blogs follow, etc etc. i used to systematically go through likes and reblogs on posts i liked, but once you find a few blogs you really enjoy, you'll end up finding more like-minded people quite naturally. and honestly, anyone who expects you to have the exact same tolerances for different characters as they do is probably not going to be much fun to interact with anyway.

i use filters for things i absolutely never want to see but not everything gets tagged/not everything that is tagged is the thing you don't want to see (so much sirius solo art/gen marauder stuff is tagged wolfstar) but it works and i would recommend it for absolute no-gos.

the main tags unfortunately are not safe spaces anymore and tbh if there's anything worth seeing in there, someone else will reblog it so it ends up on your dash anyway. sometimes i look in the prongsfoot tag but if anything look at anti (ship)/anti (character) tags lol and sometimes finding people who dislike the same things as you is also a good way to find like-minded people - hating can work, kids.

specifically for mwpp stuff, in my broad experience, snape fans are often more comfortable with the morally grey thing so they have solid views on snape AND sirius, james and remus, tho obviously you get the ultra protective stans too. but def follow snape fans if you are even slighty interested in snape, it's a great way of seeing how other pockets of hp fandom function. also, you could have identical views on a character as someone but you love them and they hate them, for the same reasons, and i feel like the joy is in finding the same interpretation, it's very fun and just in life it's good to see different perspectives. i got unfollowed a while back for a snape post i can't even remember but it was like 5 people and honestly the right people will probably be cooler than you think about it :)

so really my advice boils down to:

know what you do and don't want to see

know what you can and can't tolerate seeing (things that annoy you or more serious triggers)

find connections through sources you trust

try finding a mix of people who like the same things as you do/people who dislike the same things you do/people who you might not always agree with in judgement but whose analyses and approaches are objective

and eventually you'll have a great balanced lil circle <3

anyway a few recommendations of people i follow who i think offer great hp ideas:

@remus-poopin @narcissa-black-supermacy @ashesandhackles @urupotter @act-more-like-a-dog-sirius

but also consider anyone i follow/interact with a lot an endorsement! hope u have fun exploring :)

[tenrousei-kuroi]

I did read Angel Sanctuary! I never finished it, though. I remember that what got me to start was the author’s art style. Her characters are so pretty!

I’m not familiar with A Cruel God Reigns, but by your description, it’s right up my alley (also, with a brief search, I see it has a very traditional style from the 90s/00s mangas that I find very nostalgic). I’ll definitely take a look into it.

As for the Black brothers, I think I discovered the ship around 2017-18, so there was a fairly good amount of work by then, but Blackcest has definitely grown a lot in the past couple of years. I’ve not read many James/Regulus works, mostly because many have a 'cleansed', fanon version of both – which also applies to the Marauders as a whole – and I have very picky views of Regulus’ characterization (my boy canonically had his own fan board of Voldemort 😭 and as far as we know, he never fully – or at all – quit his bigotry, yet in many works, his Slytherin friends and himself diverge completely from this).

But I do think Sirius/Regulus will remain somewhat popular for a long time. The Black family seems to have an appeal within the fandom that I don’t see as much with other families, such as the Lestranges, for example. Also, the idea of two good-looking, rich boys in a complicated family is intriguing (or at least I hope so; if not, you’ll see me signing up to your mailing list). On that note, I'm still hoping for the day Rodolphus/Rabastan gets popular lol

Anyway, thank you for the link, and I'm looking forward fest postings (ngl, I'm pretty confident in my abilities to recognize your writing style in anon fests. Sometimes I read a title and I think "this looks like a title ten would use". Is it a little stalker-ish of me? Maybe 😅).

Yeah Moto Hagio’s a bit more old school, she was most prolific in the seventies and eighties, and her art shows it. I could be misremembering but I believe her work “Sunroom” is typically credited as the first boy/boy manga kiss. And she’s one of the pioneers of the modern boy’s love genre. Real “culture award winning” sort of author.

Jegulus fics are hilarious to me and there’s a reason I call my stuff James/Regulus when I tag it, because that portmanteau has become its own thing. Whenever I read a Jegulus fic in my brain I’m thinking, “you know you can just write Timotheé Chalamet RPF, right? He’s not gonna’ come for you” 😂 And honestly that fanon “style” is bleeding over hard into the Sirius/Regulus section.

No shade, I’m glad people are having fun. Makes it harder for me to find the kinds of fics I like but I’ll survive lol. There’s just a larger selection now. And popular as it all is, I do truly feel people will move on. Because it’s less an attachment to the characters and more to these seriously altered fantasy versions of them, which can be easily grafted onto the next popular thing.

If you had told fifteen year-old me my weird incest and incest-adjacent pairings where two of the three characters aren’t even alive in canon would one day be as common as they are now I’d’ve thought you were high 😂 yet here we are.

I’ve dabbled a bit in Rodolphus/Rabastan but they always end up coming out so similar to my Sirius and Regulus that I don’t like it. I’ve kind of tabled the pairing until I can force myself to be a bit more creative with them. People already put up with all my Sirius/Regulus nonsense being basically the same, I don’t need to be grafting their dynamic onto other pairings 🤣🤣

When I pick prompts for fests I always try to ignore the promoter names until after I’ve chosen, but it doesn’t seem to make much of a difference, roughly 80% end up being yours anyway. Talk about wavelengths.

And let’s blame 2009 LiveJournal for my pretentious and easily-spotted titles, shall we? Specifically a Sirius/Regulus fic from forever ago called “A Thousand Years Good Wine” which basically flipped something in my brain and I haven’t been able to title anything like a normal human since.

That was a stellar fic, by the way. And if anyone ever ever ever finds it back for me I’ll…I don’t know…write them a 100k commission of their choice or engrave their name on my tombstone or something because that fic is LOST beyond belief and it causes me literal pain sometimes lol.

I’m feeling rather inspired today so I might spend my Saturday night plinking away at one of my fics. Odds are it probably won’t be the one that’s due in three weeks but we can always hope TT.TT

[fightabear]

I am pretty sure the Weiss's whole speech in dirge was recorded from Nero and Hojo due to collecting data and he did not care about Omega. Even in Opera Omnia he does never mention the Omega thing. Just a power that makes him strong.

yeah sorry! let me clarify what i meant.

weiss' speech is definitely a pre-recorded message, but given that it reappears during remake i feel it's just - kind of up in the air as to which of them says it? like we've got three different weisses running amok now.

(was it weiss, or was it it an early attempt at possession from ai!hojo? or now given the introduction of ai weiss it raises the question as to whether or not it was ai weiss being hacked by hojo and that's why that weiss has the flash forward because his data was what was used to make the speech ) i just wonder if it was meant to be something else. i truly don't think nero would be okay with hojo using his brother's image and constructing something from it, so ig it's possible that hojo is playing some really fucked up 5d chess by using ai!weiss to fuck with nero's head even harder.

but knowing them, and honestly even how it's kind of worded, it's also entirely possible that the dalmation duo decided that they were going to film a super edgy speech declaring their intention to wage war on shinra and the surface itself. like it's just vaguely worded enough that i could see that. and then it languished because a goddamn building fell on them and it ruined their christmas massacre plans. and then shinra fell in on itself.

it just falls into that same ???? when did this happen and for what purpose ??? nero did you really need to play this speech on all wavelengths and make your brother the most wanted man on gaia? and it slides back into the question of what the tsviet's overall plan and motivation was before, yknow............ a building fell on them and trapped them.

i have a lot of lingering questions. such as why weiss opted to act when he didn't have a plan to save himself. how did he plan to lead deepground once he was out? what we see of him as a character runs so weirdly counter to the speech that he gives. he kind of goes out of his way to spare people if he doesn't have to harm them and keeps his eyes locked firmly on deserving targets.

my best assumption again comes down to what little remains from online mode + some cut lines. like... nero being kept in absolutely abysmal conditions and seeming to be nearing his breaking point was probably a motivator, and the opportunity to get nero out presented itself and weiss took it without considering that nero is fucking insane and literally can't survive without him and can, would, and does spit in the face of his sacrifice to bring him back from death because he and lucrecia have those strong desperation parallels.

and the brothers of them just started playing hot potato with death.

anyway, tl;dr - i mostly say that i don't know for sure what weiss' intentions were because it's possible he got an elevator pitch of the plan (nero being like okay nii-san i've GOT A PLAN TO SAVE YOU and then not telling him shit about that plan beyond what he needs weiss to do to make it work because nero excels at lying by omission ) but i think hojo was the ultimate mastermind, nero was the fucking unhinged nightmare goblin desperate enough to make it work, and weiss was just along for the ride and is now wandering the final fantasy multiverse and is very concerned that nero is either very dead or is running around loose and has no babysitter.

[lion-of-liberation]

I need to expose my thoughts. I talk and express a lot and yet there’s endlessly more under the surface always. It’s never-ending. I doubt there’s a single person that can handle the endlessness of it all. Some of its mundane, some is significant, some is deeply emotional, but they’re all intertwined and I can’t tell if that’s just what is or if I created it myself. I’m not sure if that even matters either because at this point it’s all real enough that I feel the need to purge it from my brain. I’ll start with some straight forward stuff: what I have self-diagnosed myself with and done nothing about.

It’s honestly embarrassing to think about self-diagnosing myself but… I know me best and I see how different I act in front of any human. It’s almost like I’m never there. Sometimes I am and I love it. But I don’t know why it’s hard to be there. And afterward I regret it and begin thinking about non existence. I’ve challenged myself to type out every natural thought as it comes. I’m not a fan but I need this out. I feel pretty qualified to self-diagnose as I work in the mental health field but do to the nature of what I believe I got going on, I haven’t done anything about this to go find out from an outside source.

This also embarrassing because I feel it’s common. But I hear others using stereotypes and basic examples as justification for their self-diagnosis. I’ve spent years on this. It was 5 years before I said anything to a friend out loud. Anyways… I believe I have ADHD. Stemming from that I’ve developed a propensity for anxiety, depression and imposter syndrome.

Currently, imposter syndrome and depression seem to be taking over. Anxiety used to be a bugger issue, leading to panic attacks and very literally running away. I’m in massage therapy school right now so I feel I’ve learned how to manage anxiety better naturally through this experience.

Depression - my motivation to do anything, including eat or shower has been dwindling for months. It gets better and then gets worse. I know that’s the nature of things but I just want be able to eat at least. I don’t know why something so simple is so difficult for me. Everyone seems to see me as an intelligent and thoughtful person and it just feels like they don’t know me at all. That’s the imposter syndrome right there.

I feel like my brain is full of all these things I want to be and do and I do none of it and my self appreciation just goes down every day. The thoughts of falling into a coma or disappearing have been more and more frequent and starting earlier and earlier in the day.

I feel stuck in some void, but it’s surrounded by mirrors so only I can see me and everyone else sees…something else.

I felt called to type all this out today because something significant yet insignificant happed as soon as I woke up. Someone had deleted me as a friend on Snapchat. I’d never known them in real life. We’d been in each others social media for a few years now. I thought of them as strange and cool, and potentially someone who’d be a friend. It seemed like we were on the same wavelength for a lot of things. He’s even said that once as well. I think people say things heartwarming often thoughtlessly and I’m always the person who takes it seriously and cherishes it. It’s why I hate hearing “I love you.” Anyways I was filled with thoughts that this man could be part of my soul family - a friend I’m meant to have in this life because so many of our interests and ways of being overlapped. I responded to his story yesterday… I guess he hated my response. Maybe something about it revealed to him an aspect of myself he found annoying enough to delete me after 3 years.

I didn’t think I’d be so hurt. But I cried really hard and I’m still crying now. Partly I had a small crush as I often do strictly with males very far from me, but honestly I was holding out hope I’d meet him and gain a new kind of friend. Now that fantasy is demolished and I’m devastated. There’s something good out of this I know. The universe might be pushing distractions out of my way. I’m too good at finding them. Maybe he felt how hard I was hoping he’d be my friend in real life. It all sounds pathetic. I feel starved for deep human connection yet when I make friends I’m so….awkward and feel I have to hide how much I like them. I don’t even like people often. I just don’t know what to do with myself. I’d rather disappear.

I think I’ll procrastinate on talking about what I feel is ADHD in behavior. Specifically the imposter syndrome is what I feel the most. I feel like a joke and disappointment and I’m not sure how I’ll ever change or how to fulfill myself.

[my-lunaberg]

Ive had this thought for a really long time and I never posted it bc I could never really put it into words and honestly, i still cant but fuck it we ball

Its about c!Tommy and c!Tubbos relationship and the fact that Tommy has successfully dragged Tubbo into most of the bullshit he was dealing with at any given time, the exile and the lead up to it being a notable exception

When thinking about them, I couldnt help but be reminded of some of my personal experiences in like, group therapy-esque settings with people who are very loud and outgoing contrasted against people who have low self-esteem and are quieter. Specifically, there was this one person, who Im calling Jay, who was SO passionate about every little thing and who would always drag everyone else in the group into whatever they wanted to do because he was just so loud and so passionate about it that people have a really hard time refusing. And that included people who were otherwise pretty secure in themselves and outwardly didnt have any self-esteem issues. Because when youre dealing with these kinds of strong personalities its not really enough to just be confident, you have to really believe youre right or believe that what you want to do is better

Like, Tubbo does not seem like someone plagued by some kind of self-loathing or insecurity to me, although hes not really a character I really analyze a lot so more seasoned c!Tubbo enjoyers might wanna weigh in on this. He does seem like someone who is friends with and generally on the same wavelength as someone with a really strong passionate personality, so he tends to agree with his friend most of the time and when he does disagree it feels wrong, so he'd rather just override his own opinions in favor of going along with his friend

And to be clear, Im not trying to say that Tommy is manipulative or anything, like, hes very clearly not doing it on purpose, their relationship is just kinda unequal in that way because they dont communicate about this kind of stuff because its pretty hard to do that, partially because I dont think either of them really consciously realize thats whats going on

So yeah, thats all I had to say

[miguenhasthoughts]

05/09

The spring wind rubs along my bare legs. The scent of flowers carried on the breeze. Sun rays trickling down on the back of my neck. The blue sky invigorates the soul. The butterflies are fluttering unable to escape my mortal chest.

This week has been really affirming. Keeping my legs shaved feels so nice. My legs are so soft and I love showing them off. I’ve been keeping my nails painted. Being encouraged to try new make up and it feels good. Waiting on my mascara to show up is less so. Never realized how feminizing mascara can be alone. Now that we ran out I feel impatient to get back to experimenting. I feel more confident being myself out in public and I have been taking in more trans media to encourage me to be more honest and open with myself. My mom has been more curious and opening to learning what I’ve been feeling me and teaching me things about womanhood that I may not have known. It’s really sweet and makes me happy where I want to cry out of joy.

Sam has been feeling dysphoric about their gender and I feel so bad for them. They have a long road ahead of them. They finally have health insurance so getting the ball rolling for them is finally a possibility. I’m happy for them and I want to do everything in my power to make them feel good. Thats always been a priority for me. I love them so much and they deserve to be happy. They are such a good person.

I have two dates this week. It was my third date with May last night and my first date with J tonight. I’m kind of tired ngl. All the driving has been giving me a lot of experience so that’s been good for me at least lol May is so sweet. Our autism seems to be on the same wavelength. She is super supportive and loves to be creative and talking about every little thing that pops in her head. She talks a lot but I like that, I love listening and she is so interesting. We had sex for the first time. I was scared ngl. She was the first cis person I’ve slept with since I started my transition. She was super supportive through it all. Since my sex drive has been so low I haven’t pleasured myself in awhile and my girldick didn’t work this time around. I’m scared it may have started to atrophy. She made sure to reassure me she didn’t mind. She got to be a selfish brat because of it which was still fun. I need to talk to my doctor about this though because I still want my dick lol

We practically napped together after the session and I’m glad we were able to share an intimate moment. It was nice to be able to connect with someone socially, intimately and sexually. I can’t help to get butterflies. She is also quick to get butterflies too. We kind of teased each other about being quick to emotions lol

J has had a lot on their table. Their cat is sick. She’s overworked and she is taking on even more than she needs to. She has a good heart. I told her if she wanted to reschedule she shouldn’t feel bad about it. She invited me over instead so that’s interesting. I’ve never went to someone’s house for a first date. So I’m a little intimidated but they’ve only shown themselves as a saint so I feel like I should not worry. Honestly I think she’s looking for more hands to help with the cats and I love cats so here’s to new experiences lol

Anyways life has been good and I think recovering has been great. As far as the ED. I am eating some but it’s still pretty low. I’m trying to stuff my face but it is hard. I’m still hiding it from my loved ones. I’m afraid May also has a form of ED. I’m catching her doing similar habits and I don’t know if it will be healthy to date them if that’s the case but we will cross that bridge I guess. I lost forty pounds and yet I still feel like a fatass. I should talk to my therapist. I’m not delusional enough to delude myself that this is healthy.

[mangodestroyer]

This is probably going to be a weird rant, but I'm starting to realize that, romantically, and often times even platonically, I tend to attract people who are more conservative (wanting a traditional lifestyle with kids and all that, not liking anything outside of the norm, etc.), neat freak, strict schedule, and somewhat controlling individuals. And tbh, I just don't understand why?

I'm not like that at all. I don't want kids. Never have. My interests are all very weird and I actually find it difficult to relate to many people. I'm socially awkward and neurodivergent. I'm very open-minded, somewhat counter culture, and have been a little open about my liberal worldview (very open about it with people I know). I'm not a neat freak either. I'm pretty laid back. Even if I would like to keep my living space a particular way, it would never be neat enough for the types I attract. I'm just not very orderly.

I feel like I would just be everything these types tend to resent. In fact, they often do end up resenting many things about me and insist that I change. And yet they still want to have me around, ig. I just end up wanting to spend as little time as possible around these types. I feel better when I cut them out. One time I thought someone wasn't like this and was more open-minded and weird like I was, but then they too ended up resenting a lot of things about me, changing their mind about liking the weird things they were previously into, and being exactly like all those qualities I don't like, but still seem to attract. And I'm honestly confused as to why they were ever interested in me (or if they even ever did like me to begin with) because it seems like they could have so easily found someone who was more suitable. Because on top of not being their type, I'm plain and don't honestly have much to offer.

I will admit that part of this might have to do with me not looking in the right places. Not hanging out with the right crowd. I'm not saying I want to be with someone who is a little too adventurous or open-minded. I just want to be with someone who feels like they're on the same wavelength as me. I sometimes wonder if my type is just very rare, or if the single life life with only one or two friends was my destiny all along (which tbh, isn't exactly what I wanted but isn't seeming so bad anymore).

I just have to sometimes wonder if there's something I'm doing wrong.

[darkenforcer]

so that's that. dar doesn't want to acknowledge it, either.

...good! great, even! makes it a hell of a lot easier to convince himself that it meant nothing-- that yuri can bury it without any consequences (it'll cool down eventually; he's done it before, he can do it again).

he could speculate on whatever it is that's making the other man act strange, too, but it wouldn't really make a difference. they both have their reasons, clearly.

"don't worry about it. you've done more than enough already," with the dinner, he means, but it can easily be misinterpreted after everything that's happened. while the double-meaning's unintentional, it isn't untrue; clarifying would only steer too close to acknowledgement, anyway, so it's left as-is.

the electrifying tingle beneath his skin long since fizzled, yuri feels hollow as he picks through his cheesecake, every cursory glance at the miqo'te an awkward reminder of why they're apart. it's almost funny, he knows he would've given in to the pressure if he were only a year or two younger-- shoved the chair back with an ear-splitting scrape and stomped out.

but he isn't, and he can't; dar doesn't deserve that.

what he is doing isn't much of an improvement, to be fair. the message that he's unwanted rings loud and clear (can't blame him, they're on the same wavelength, even now), so he hastily shovels what's left of the dessert into his mouth and washes it down with a drink that doesn't sit right with it, after all.

then he stands, pushing his chair back just forcefully enough to signal repede to his side. there's a pause as he grasps for the correct way to tie this dinner off, but -- coming up empty -- yuri lands on a simple, similarly half-assed, "thanks for the meal."

god, onto attempt number two: "and good luck on your matches tonight, not that you need it. throw in a couple extra punches for me," still a pretty pitiful attempt at sounding like himself, honestly. he doesn't even look dar'khol in the eye. "we'll leave you to it, then. we can see ourselves out," at least i can make that easy on you. 'get it over with' 'n all.

seems like he'll have to take a rain check on that 'next time', too... can't do it until he gets this under control, for both their sakes.

he's not quite sure what to do with it, the bottle he grabbed. it was merely something to keep him in motion, to turn his attention to so as to forget the thought that had previously crossed his mind. even if it might have been something he wanted in that moment... it wouldn't be right to take it. he liked what they had; this rivalry friendship of theirs. the last thing he wished to do was ruin it with -- with whatever this was now.

who is he kidding. he knew exactly what this was turning into, and he was letting himself sink without a ledge to grab on to.

the bottle in his hand had sat long enough without use, the miqo'te opting to pour it into a glass and push it to the side. that would be for him. he needed the excuse to loosen up a little. as for what he'd make for yuri, he didn't know. he didn't have much of an idea for it anymore, nor a want. without needing to say a word, they were already on the same page.

they needed to leave, and dar'khol needed a moment to himself.

they've already gotten to this point, however, so he may as well play it out. just enough to wrap up the evening on as good of a note as he could salvage. though, was that even possible? he's gone and ruined that fairly well.

a downcast smile sat on his face once ears pivoted towards yuri's voice. the excuse to not have anything strong working well enough with dar's lost sense of thought on it. made it easier to stick to something simple, then.

"don't worry, i'm savin' the harder hitters for myself. gotta keep loose enough to fill in at the club later, anyhow." a partial lie, he didn't have any spots lined up that he'd need to step in for... but he'd certainly be making some.

"... didn't intend on keepin' ya so long, can be just as busy as me with takin' up odd jobs." a chuckle follows his words, and he almost wishes he held it back with how half-assed it sounded.

with a quiet sigh to himself, he's rummaging in his fridge. a couple of juice catch his eye, and he decides on mixing them into something to finally present that drink he offered. the glass set asode for himself is taken up, as well as what he's fixed up for yuri. it's placed beside the swordsman's plate before long, but dar remains on his feet with his. he'd choose to be a wallflower nearby, leaving enough space between them both ( and hopefully hide the drooping tail behind himself ).

"it's nothin' special. guess i forgot to buy a more excitin' variety," he murmurs before taking a sip from his glass. "won't take offense if it doesn't sit right with the cake."

if you'd rather leave now, being the unspoken message.

this whole dinner thing was... a mistake.

[ourflagmeansgayrights]

Honestly, Stede is only likable because the show basically forces us to like him. If he was played by any other actor in any other show, we all would hate him.

i mean... yeah? people have been saying for months that stede would be insufferable if he were played by anyone other than rhys darby. pretty sure people have even said that in articles.

when i started the show i actually didnt want to like stede. the opening black screen with the "in 1717, wealthy landowner stede bonnet ran away from home to become a pirate" made me go "oh, ew, some rich guy." and then he proceeded to be an overconfident idiot for three whole episodes—as if i don't see enough overconfident rich idiots in real life. i was still enjoying the show a lot because i found it incredibly funny, but i wasn't rooting for stede at all.

that changed when ed finally showed up. i know everyone talks about how the show really takes off in e4 because that's when the romance gets started, and that's true, but i think there's more to it than that. in the first three episodes stede is essentially alone. his whole "fish out of water" or "muppet in a black sails episode" vibe is played for laughs, but there's also something to be said about how he doesn't actually have anyone in his corner. he doesn't have a true confidant, someone he can comfortably be himself around. so the energy of "overconfident rich idiot trying too hard to make people like him" is there for every scene he's in, which made it hard for me to care about him!

but when ed shows up, it's like someone's finally on the same wavelength. finally, someone who matches his energy and makes stede's eccentricities seem less like a muppet in a black sails episode and more like two old friends just goofing around and having fun. and i do also think that casting taika was also essential to making stede likable—it's easier to play a character who is becoming fast friends with someone they've just met when that someone is being played by your actual longtime buddy.

having a scene partner, for me, was a big part of making me see stede as more than just an overconfident rich idiot trying too hard to make people like him. i mean, that's still true, yeah, but seeing how he acts in gentler moments, seeing how he cares for ed in the bathtub scene, seeing him and ed riffing on each other in the blackbeard's bar and grill scene, seeing all the little moments where stede and ed lean into each other's spaces—all that made stede seem less like a huge douchebag clown caricature and more like a person i could actually empathize with.

anyway lol. did not mean to go off like that. idk what you mean by "the show basically forces us to like him" because like... he's written to be likable, yeah, but it's ultimately up to the viewer to decide how they feel. i've seen plenty of people who dislike stede. and i've seen stories where i could tell the writers wanted me to like a certain character, but i fucking hated them. it happens. i think it's a testament to the ofmd writers that so many people do like stede, because you're right, on another show with another actor he would probably suck. but also, on another show with another actor, stede probably wouldn't be the same character at all. he'd still be an overconfident rich idiot, sure, but the things that make me care about him wouldn't be there

[riddle-me-ri]

So we've had the pengys go through nnn (and honestly props to MOST of them lasting so long cause i know id be pouncing on them just 2 weeks in 🥴) what about the Eddies? How did they do?

A/N: asdfghj uhhh the absolute rush to get this done before november is over lol. Also I’m not gonna lie I was reluctant when I saw @finniestoncrane upload the follow up to her nnn with the riddler’s earlier lol. It just seems weird lol and I don’t wanna repeat what she wrote or seem like I’m copying lmao (even though we mutually agreed we’re symbiotic and often travel the same mental wavelengths, but I’ll do my best), I will say some of these answers are inspired by her though. Please give hers a read when you get a chance! Here’s a link to the follow-up and the original challenge (it even includes daddy oz my beloved)

Trigger Warnings: highly suggestive? Lots of teasing for both parties, mentions of masturbation (blatant hints lmao), and suggestive language that’s about it. 

Also the Riddlers have a ranking system too. Same as with the Pengys: 

1: being absolutely weak, thirsty simp energy, lost on the first day

10: being resilient, confident asshat that managed his impulse control just once for 30 days, but once its over you’ll both be out of commission. 

How The Riddlers Handle NNN

Now, I know what you’re probably thinking, Ri these numbers are pretty high, well…that’s because if there’s one thing most of these Riddlers can’t stand…is to lose it’s almost as bad as proving him he’s wrong. Just based on that principle alone, his resilience is peaked, but then you get whores like Zero Year or baby girls like Young Justice that just don’t make it. Bless them.

Arkhamverse Riddler (9.5 out of 10):

He was close…so close…figuratively and literally. When you first mentioned the challenge to you, he scoffed. Such a childish game, only a baboon would lose at something so primal and pointless. Of course, having to prove how easy it was he took on the challenge. 

Little did he realize just how much feeling your soft warm skin actually effected him. While he was tinkering away at his projects or slamming on his keyboard…he’d see you doing something mundane out of the corner of his eye. You sit on the couch, you watch TV, read a book. Your shorts riding up, the rise and fall of your chest.

Damnit, damnit, damnit. 

He does make it through though, how he did you had no idea. Every time he looked at you it seemed likely he’d pounce but he did pounce finally by December 1st. 

Reevesverse/Dano Riddler (3 out of 10):

This Edward just got used to you touching him. To the idea of jerking one out to you when you were at work or if he got particularly fired up and you were preoccupied with something. You were the perfect thing to relieve his stress…and for a whole month he’d have to find something else? After being spoiled with you?

His online chess games, incessant scribbling in his ledgers, crosswords scattered complete everywhere. Nothing helped, nothing like you. Ed is an absolute mess. Feet, hands, fingers constantly shaking and fidgeting. 

It’s November 5th, you come by and barely greet him with your sweet voice and he’s gone. You probably should’ve brought an overnight bag, you’re not going anywhere for a few days…maybe not for the rest of the month. 

Gotham Riddler (10 out of 10):

It doesn’t matter what it is. If it’s the world’s most complex Rubic’s cube or seeing if he can go a whole month without cumming. A game is a game. 

Edward doesn’t lose to games. When he plays he plays for keeps. Especially if that prize means he gets to keep you under an undisclosed period of time, doing only what he asks. 

He won’t lie though. Ed’s a victim of often counting his eggs before they hatch. Already assuming his win, sometimes he’ll catch himself getting hard at the faintest idea of what he wants to do to you when he wins. Which costs him to swiftly remind himself that the game is still on, he can’t lose himself to his unhinged carnal desires. 

Not yet. There is a game to be won. 

BTAS Riddler (9 out of 10):

Oh, well…this is a different objective to most challenges. Edward can’t say he’s not interested though. He is adamant that it’s an even playing field for the two of you. 

Every time your kisses to his cheek last longer than usual. So will his hand that’s wrapped around your waist. For every tempting kiss there’s an even more persuasive touch to combat it. It’s an alluring power struggle of who can snap first. 

Edward has to admit, you were far more resilient than he gave himself credit for. He finds himself lost in thought of your latest tactics…

He groans in frustration, rubbing the temples of his head. Ed tries to think of anything or anyone else to get his emotions elsewhere and for his second head to calm down. 

It’s November 29th, he absolutely despises the concupiscent mess he’s become over this past month. But he can taste the finish line and it tastes like you. The moment it hits midnight on December 1st. He’s gone and he’s taking you down with him. 

Zero Year Riddler (3.5 out of 10):

This dick head. This candy ass…

Listen, listen, he’s too much of a greedy attention whore to stop getting what he wants. He doesn’t care for some stupid challenge. What good is it if it’s just going to keep him from doing what he wants? That just seems highly stupid and counter intuitive. 

He wants you, he’ll have you, don’t think he won’t make you break your streak as well.

No if, ands, or buts about it. Good luck coming up with a decent argument. 

Twojar Riddler (7 out of 10):

This Edward I imagine has partaken in this challenge, like…just cause? I don’t know I feel like he sometimes gets his kicks by refraining himself from doing tasks that normally compel him. So when he’s with you and you challenge him. He thinks he’s got this in the bag, but that competing with a partner makes things way more tantalizing. 

He didn’t stop to think what would happen if his teasing tricks were ever thrown back in his face. It becomes less about keeping himself in check and more about getting you to lose first.

It’s barely the 10th of November, neither of you have made a provocative move yet. Albeit at this point just about everything you do turns him on. Ed misses touching and holding you, and as much as he hates to admit it, it’s frustrating as hell for him. 

You bent down to pick something off the floor and before you know it, you’re launched onto the couch with Ed instantly hovering over you. 

You both may have lost, but you never felt more like a winner seeing how you made Gotham’s enigma snap. 

Gotham City Sirens Riddler (10 out of 10):

Oohh, this seems fun. 

It’ll definitely break up the monotony of you two’s day to day. Especially seeing as how after particular difficult cases, he either rushes home to you or puts in a call from his office for you to…um…visit. 

The lengths he goes to to distract himself from wandering about you however, proves to be the primary challenge. More often than not he’s rubbed one out at his desk when you weren’t available or he was just too wound up to move anymore. 

You may find a dart board with ten darts in it and littered with various miniscule holes. You’ll see stacks of files. One day organized by alphabet, the next shelved by chronological order. 

Edward is a mess that’s one more bad day away, one more outlandish case from absolutely railing you on the nearest surface. However, he finds relief when he glances at his calendar and sees it’s December 1st. Grinning, he decides to close his office early and come straight home to you. 

Young Justice Riddler (-5 out of 10):

Okay, first of all. How dare you, t-this is just absolutely cruel. The poor baby girl can’t even handle holding hands or cheek kisses?? 

You have to go over the rules with him a few times. One is to make sure he understands, the second is for it to sink in how royally screwed he is…ironically. He tries, the sweetheart absolutely does try but he doesn’t even last a day. 

Ed couldn’t help it, you just looked so pretty and you just had to kiss his cheek cause he “looks so cute.” Whatever blood was there that flushed his face went straight down to his groin and he was bricked up before he even got to the bathroom. 

Telltale Riddler (11 out of 10):

This old bag rolls his eyes at the challenge. Much like Arkhamverse, he finds it extremely primitive and stupid waste of time and energy. He indulges you though, on the sole purpose of seeing you get riled up and flustered. 

You don’t even get to try and tease him or make him break. He’s already somehow three steps ahead of you. He infiltrates your thoughts and gets under your skin like a crusty rugged viper. All of a sudden it became a test more so for you than him. 

He wins by a dumb landslide. Ed chuckled pleased, of course he’d win, you shouldn’t expect any less. Now…his prize?

Hush (DCAU) Riddler (4.5 out of 10):

Much like a few other Riddlers on here, this Ed tries fumbling convince you that he would win. He won’t fall for your flirtatious wiles…however that’s not what he had to be concerned with. 

It would be the middle of the month, like November 20th or 25th almost more than halfway through. He’s bound up tight, his stress on the brink of tipping over, but he tries to remind himself the reward will be worth it. Not to mention the absolute bragging rights…

Until he has a run-in with Batman or he’s the butt of another joke among the Rogues Gallery. His confidence is crushed. You don’t even have to ask him what’s wrong, you can just tell. You’re the only one that can make him feel like he’s worth something, that he is a somebody. 

You make all the mocking sneers, jeers, and cackles go away.

Let the poor man lose, and let him lose sweetly. There’s always next year.