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c23-may · 3 years ago

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@c23intros

{tyler posey, twenty-five, cis man, he/him} || david castillo is a mutant with the ability of telepathy. they’ve been in new york for six years where they spend most of their time as a record store clerk. when i think of them, i think of listening to alice in chains religiously but heeding none of the warnings, lying awake at night with no choice but to hear the whispers of everyone around you… unless…, puka shells & flannel, and a babyface hiding a damn good time!

hi y’all ! i’m may ( 22 // est // she/her ) and i cannot wait 2 Get This Started™ ! spoiler alert that i’m a loser who’s only read the comics but,,,, i am still so sexy in my own right 😩

QUICK FACTS:

full name: david alan castillo

date of birth: december 13th, 1972

zodiac big three: sagittarius sun, sagittarius moon, pisces rising

gender & pronouns: cis man & he/him

sexual orientation: bisexual

enneagram: 6w7 (?)

mbti: xstp

temperament: melancholic-sanguine

ability: telepathy

affiliation: n/a. sees the pros and cons of both factions.

various inspirations: ...most of alice in chains’ discography, emma frost ( marvel comics bc xmcu did her dirty -- nothing like her personality tho alfdskhjlasd but similar developments in uncovering their abilities ), booster gold ( dc ), dewey finn ( school of rock ),

BACKSTORY:

triggers: i can’t remember the word but a kid gets kicked out, brief mention of suicide, brief mention of murder (against mutants), drug/alcohol abuse, implied addiction

david grew up in a fairly average household. his grandmother ( father’s side ), his father, his mother, his older brother, and his younger sister ! they were taught to be polite... compassionate... be great conversationalists. overall, be the type of person someone would want in their life.

the castillos never put their political views on blast, especially regarding mutants. at dinners, they would simply agree with the view of whoever they were with. if asked directly, they would say they didn’t have much of an opinion. it got them out of a lot.

their views were put in full-swing when the x-gene lying dormant in david’s brother, hector, finally activated ( so to speak ). and it was nothing that hector could hide, either. a pair of feathered wings began developing and, try as they may, there was no stopping their growth. by the time his wings were to half the span they’d wind up as, he’d been kicked from their home.

so it was... a real shame that it was around this time that david began to hear whisperings. because that was the only logical explanation -- voices that didn’t belong to him, thoughts that didn’t belong to him... he would prefer insanity over the other -- and, given his genetics -- more likely possibility: he was in the early stages of a mutation.

trying to go about his life in a normal way -- a way that wouldn’t alert his now obviously anti-mutant parents -- to his mutation was growing harder and harder. when he could hear them ask how his day was, as well as the unasked ‘why has he been acting so unusual?’ -- when he could start to hear them speculate over him more and more, worrying that he was like his brother, but nothing had yet to physically manifest.

his grades began dropping, too distracted by the noises of his classmates in a perfectly silent setting. his friendships began dwindling, the unspoken always being way worse than the spoken. the headaches, the nosebleeds... oh, he had to come up with some interesting excuses !

it wasn’t until he was sixteen, still trying to control the power on his own, that he learned how to focus in on one voice and one voice alone. there were murmurs, there were always murmurs, but his grades began to improve again! thanks, carl with the straight As! he also began learning the other side effects of his powers... and, for the most part, they were pretty dope.

however, his younger sister, olivia, began thinking worrisome thoughts when she turned fourteen. it was clear that she was gaining a mutation of some kind -- but, just as david was still unsure of what his mutation was called, she was unsure of his. however... it became pretty apparent when a knife flew across the kitchen, narrowly missing their mother, followed by a nice and thought-out ‘oh fuck,’ that she was moving things with her mind... and thank god their mother missed that one.

although her power was no more visible than his, in its early stages, it was outwardly more obvious. although david had been struggling more inward with all the voices and all the knowledge, she was struggling to hide it ( and also not kill people ). so, david did the only think he thought would help them both:

he confessed to his parents. to which he knew they’d kick him out... but not before he went ahead and proved he could read their minds word-for-word, then started a distracting fight between the two about his father’s non-existent but very believable mistress. “and why should i trust... you?” ( clearly she meant ‘a mutant’ ) as she thought up the answer he was hoping to conjure: ‘but why should i trust my husband?’

((((((((by the way y’all he doesn’t know this but he was actually mind controlling them manz does cool things and he doesn’t even know it)))))))))

unable to create links yet, david just had to take their brief fight as an opportunity to tell olivia, with great haste, that he knew and he would send for her when he found somewhere safe and it would be from someone named johnny apple okay love you sorry about the mess

around eight months later with on-and-off letters to and from olivia, a system he wished he’d formed with hector -- because where was the guy? -- he wound up in new york. he’d heard of xavier’s school for gifted youngsters before. of course, instead of trying to get an in, he just... started shuffling around it. it was, for the most part, a safe place for mutants -- so the closer he was, the better ! he sent for olivia, recommending she try to get an in, and that was that for his brotherly duties... as he saw it... for the time being...

yes, he had to continue focusing on himself. so much time lost to concern, he still didn’t know shit about his own powers and he’d had them for over four years. he knew it was ‘telepathy,’ but that was about it. he didn’t know everything that came and went with it -- all the cool tips and tricks. the way he could enter someone’s mindspace, the way he could project memories, the way he could do so many amazing things that he didn’t even know existed.

in a much larger city, with a much larger crowd, with a much more diverse set of figures... it got loud, almost unbearably so, but he tried so hard to grin and bear it because he knew that would be the only way to learn about it. to hone it. there were so many mutants around who could help -- it was safe.

then... it got worse. trying to control who he was listening to one afternoon, he picked a man in a suit in the subway. ‘there’s nothing left for me.’ and, in a motion that was quicker than a rabbit but seemed slow as a hare, he stepped in front of an oncoming subway car: ‘why did i-’

there was also the man with the gun ( very anti-mutant ) who, when david warned the store owner about him, just got a shrug... before killing all the known mutants in the store, including the owner.

basically people thought terrible things and did terrible stuff ! and david had the bad luck of hearing and witnessing !

so with his only goal being cursed... he decided he’d do whatever it took to dull it down. and if that meant going against everything his favorite band told him not to do?* the higher the bac, the lower the voices.

*jk we aren’t dipping into heroin that’s A Lot but the heart of it remains <3 don’t become an addict <3

after experimenting with every illicit substance he could find, he came to the conclusion that downers worked beautifully for shutting off the voices, uppers were a coin-flip -- they could make it worse or they could make it better, and psychedelics... distracted him enough to forget about the voices.

although he still desperately longs to figure out how to control his powers -- to find his brother, to be good to his sister -- they exhaust him so much that he’d rather start becoming a shell of who he was than go back to that.

CONNECTION IDEAS:

a mentor ! dear god, a mentor to teach this kid how to use his powers because manz is not blocking it healthily. doesn’t even have to be a telepath, just someone who #GetsIt

his bro ! sent to the main !

his sis ! also sent to the main !

‘party friends’ ! aka, they enable him without realizing it. because he just seems like a good time !

good / bad influence ! someone to be the good to his bad. or, if we want to go personalities and not habits, someone to be the ernie to his bert.

regular customers ! probably get into heated debates over the best bands and artists of the time. on his off-time, he has nothing against nirvana. but if it’s his on-time ? and you say nirvana is the band that defined grunge ? he does not care if your god is dead, he will go on a tangent about how green river created the genre, mudhoney improved upon it, and alice in chains wrapped it in a neat little bow. and if he learned you thought courtney killed kurt ? an immediate ‘well i’d rather have more albums from hole, anyway.’ #feminism

he has had it with all the nirvana fans in the store ! apparently grunge ain’t dead after all ! where’s the ska !

bandmates ! joint connection with sonjay “jay” khan ( letfreakfly ) -- this person would be their bassist and vocalist. they take heavy inspiration from the grunge scene ( david would kill for layne staley and jerry cantrell and mike inez and sean kenny of aic, jay really digs nirvana, they both really like all the other grunge acts ranging from the rest of the big four (soundgarden & pearl jam) to hole to stone temple pilots to green river to screaming trees to mudhoney to- ) and call themselves ‘morpheous’ in partial honor of their mutant heritage. they’ve been together for about a year and are currently just playing their practice spaces and a couple small venues, but maybe someday...

anything and everything else ! from friends to exes to fwbs to people he pretends to be jehovah’s witnesses with !

#c23intro #i am!! so pumped!!

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roxyaddams · 5 years ago

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Shrekstuck- A Shrek Homestuck AU

(I'm aware of how terrible this)

Okay so:

Character info!

• Fiona- Pieces (fushia blood), heiress, Knight of Life, Prospit. Shrek's matesprite. During the day, she transforms into her god teir form. (Her dream self died on the quest bed thing, like what happened with Aradia, exceot Prospit wasnt destroyed. It is unknown how her dream self died.) She uses throwing knives. Land of Rays and Fear.

• Shrek- Cancer (mutated lime blood, bottom of hemocaste), Lord of Heart, Derse. Fiona's matesprite. Shrek uses a mace. Land of Bog and Self.

• Donkey- Shrek's lusus. Eventually becomes Donkeysprite. He has the ability of speech, and others besides shrek can understand him. Dragon/Dragonsprite's matesprite (can lususi have matesprites?????? Unsure but i dont care. This is a shrek au, why are you expecting logic)

• Charming- Scorpio (Blue Blood), Derse, Prince of Time. Shrek's kismesis. Charming uses a wand given to him by fairy godmother as his weapon. Land of Oil and Waves.

• Dragon- Fiona's lusus. Eventually becomes Dragonsprite.

• Arthur- Fiona's morail, trans, Jade blood, Sylph of Hope, Prospit. Lusus died when he was little. He uses a rapier. Land of Mist and Lakes.

• Fairy Godmother- Was Charming's friend, but then died. Later becomes Fairy Godsprite

• Merlin- Sorta a parental figure to Arthur, took him in after his lusus died. Becomes Merlinsprite

Plot under the cut (if there is one bc tumblr mobile is mean)

[[MORE]]

Shrek is a mutated limeblood, and as a result, is meant to be culled on sight. To prevent the grub from being culled, his lusus, Donkey, took him to a swamp, where the imperial drones would not look. Donkey is not a normal lusus, and while he does his best to care for Shrek, he is very immature. So, most of the time Shrek was forced to hunt for food, and fight against swampbeasts to survive.

Just after Shrek turns 5 sweeps old, he is awoken to the sounds of voices outside. He ignores Donkey, and looks outside. At least 100 highbloods had set up camps in the swamp.

The antisocial troll storms out of his home, and yells, "WHAT ARE YOU DOING AT MY HIVE?"

An teal blooded grub approached the troll, and explained that a rust blood, who goes by the name of Lord Farquaad, had killed the Condense and taken the throne.

He had exiled all the highblooded trolls, and sent them to the swamp. Shrek would like for everyone to screw off, and so he and his lusus begin travelling towards the Conden- Lord Farquaad's palace.

When he arrives, the outside is barren. He goes into the castle however, and finds Lord Farquaad sitting on a throne, a line of several low bloods standing before him. Shrek sees an array of colorful blood splattered upon the walls.

"The one who brings back the hieress shall be compensated greatly," Farquaad tells the trolls.

Heiress? Why does he need her?

Shrek dismisses the thought as quickly as it came. He marches forward. "Excuse me? Are you Farquaad?"

Farquaad tilts his head in confusion. "I am. And you are?"

Shrek pauses for a moment. With the hemocaste in disarray, and a lowblood in power, he doesn't have to worry about people finding out his name. He enjoys this moment of relief, before reminding himself he is here to get his life back.

He shrugs. "I'm Shrek. And you have sent all the highbloods to live right outside my hive, and I want my swamp back!"

Farquaad was silent for a few seconds, then spoke, "Shrek, was it? I have a deal for you. If you retrieve the heiress and bring her to me, I will relocate the highbloods."

"And I can go back to the way it was before?" Shrek questioned, considering the offer.

"Down to the last slime-covered toadstool." The rustblood replied.

"Fine. I'll go find the heiress and bring her here."

*cue traveling montage of Shrek and Donkey until they reach the castle*

Shrek dons a nearby suit of armor, not knowing what to expect from the heiress.

Donkey and Shrek get separated, and Donkey encounters Fiona's lusus, Dragon. Dragon is infatuated with Donkey, and Shrek climbs to the highest room of the tallest tower.

There, he meets Fiona, the heiress to the throne.

Meanwhile, Farquaad is busy plotting. He plans to ask the heiress to be his matesprite, and announce it publicly to consolidate his power. Soon after, he would kill her, and pin it on another rustblood, leaving him as the emperor of Alternia.

Shrek and Fiona get down to the first floor of the castle. When they hear Dragon, Shrek ushers Fiona out of the castle, and he then goes to best the monstrous lusus.

(this part happens pretty much exactly how it goes down in the movie)

Shrek, Fiona, and Donkey begin their journey to Lord Farquaad's castle. Shrek and Fiona slowly become friends, and Shrek thinks he may be flushed for her.

When they are attacked by a few anarchist lowbloods, Fiona finds out Shrek's blood color. However, it does not bother her like Shrek had feared.

During the days, Donkey and Shrek set up camp while Fiona makes her own, not wanting to be near the others during the day.

On the last day of their journey, Shrek decides he is going to confess to Fiona. Meanwhile, Donkey hears some strange noises coming from Fiona's camp. He bursts in and sees her in her god tier form. He is initially confused, but she explains, saying she believes it to be some sort of mutation. She says that she believes it will be cured when she finds her matesprite. (She believes in magic) Shrek shows up and is outside Fiona's camp, and overhears her say, "But who could ever be flushed with such a disgusting mutant?"

Heartbroken and betrayed, Shrek goes to Farquaad's castle, and feturns at nightfall with Farquaad and his guard.

(The whole scene here goes down pretty similar to how it does in the movie)

Shrek storms off without Donkey, stating that Donkey never did much for him anyways.

Shrek returns to his hive, where all the highbloods have been removed.

(Cue the whole hallelujah sequence, except w/o wedding stuff)

Dragon breaks free, and finds Donkey. Shrek and Donkey reconcile, and then go to Lord Farquaad's castle.

Shrek bursts in and professes his flushed feelings for Fiona. Fiona is quiet for a few moments, and goes over to him. Farquaad is shocked, "Don't tell me you actually have feelings for that mutant!"

As he orders his guards to take Shrek away, the sun rises, and Fiona transforms into her god teir form.

Farquaad orders his soldiers to kill the mutants when Dragon shows up and eats Farquaad.

Everyone celebrates the fact that they just staged a coup. Fiona takes her place as Empress, and abolishes the whole hemocaste system, and stops all the culling.

Things begin to improve, and Shrek and Fiona are now matesprites. And they all lived happily ever after.

Until one sweep later.

With equality between the trolls, everything has seemed much better on Alternia. Most of the time, Fiona does not have to do much as Empress, and instead spends her time helping others. One day, her childhood friends (who she only talked to online) Arthur and Charming ask her if she and Shrek want to play a game that Charming found called Sgrub. Fiona and Shrek agree. None of the teens are aware of what this desicion shall bring.

Shrek enters the game first, with Fiona as his coplayer. Donkey is killed by a nearby meteor, but Shrek is able to revive him by prototyping him with his kernelsprite. He enters the Land of Twilight and Mask. His quest is to awaken the mask.

Fiona enters the game after him, Charming as her coplayer. Dragon died about half a sweep before, and Fiona prototyped the skull of the lusus. Fiona entered the Land of Rays and Fear. Here, Fiona is unable to contact anyone, and Charming can only see her, but is unable to message her at all. Her quest is to revive the dawn.

Charming enters the game next, with Arthur as his coplayer. He prototyped the ashes of his friend from when he was younger, and she becomes Fairy Godsprite. He enters the Land of Oil and Waves. His quest is to learn the waves.

Arthur is the last to enter the game, with Shrek as his coplayer. As a grub, Arthur's lusus died, and he was taken in by an older troll named Merlin. Right before Arthur entered the game, Merlin prototyped himself. Arthur enters the Land of Mist and Lakes. His quest is to release the tides.

When Fiona enters the game, she is fully god teir. The first to ascend to god teir after her was Shrek. He was injured by a Dersian named Puss. Shrek made it to his quest bed, where he collapsed and died, and then ascended to god teir.

Charming and Arthur both finished their quests early on in the session. Charming ascended to god teir before Arthur, by doing the deed himself. He then traveled to the Land of Mist and Lakes and "helped" Arthur ascend to god teir.

It took Shrek and Fiona much longer to complete their quests. Fiona completes hers last, restoring life to the planet, and clearing the sky in order to revive the dawn.

They all travel to Skaia, where they battle the Black King.

(Insert battle here)

They defeat him, and claim the ultimate prize.

(Also I'm aware that there isn't a space player, but I didn't think it really worked with any of the characters so I'm just going to say that the game provided them with a frog.)

Okay now it is done. I'm so fucking sorry for making this yall.

#shrekstuck #this is so fucking stupid #homestuck #homestuck au #shrek au #shrek and donkey #shrek #princess fiona #normally i would ignore shrek the thirds existence but it gets a pass today because i needed more characters

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settle-down-frohike · 7 years ago

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1/2 | First off I LOVE your fic. I wanted to jump in on the clutter conversation bc to me, that indicated she's not living there -- yet. CC said something in the s.10 EW article about how the house was dressed to reflect the state of his life: in IWTB work/clutter was contained to his office; in s.10 is desk has been dragged out to the living room and the clutter has taken over the entire house.

2/2 | I personally dont want her to have moved back yet because I’d like, for once, to actually see her make the decision to be with him – or to see him convince her to come back. Those moments are always left to the imagination – which has, admittedly, at least been good inspriation for fanfic. But it’s likely our last chance….

Ok first, thank you!!! I haven’t written in quite some time and I miss it!

I have to agree that I don’t think she’s made it her sole residence just yet, she’s said as much when talking to work, so as far as the bureau goes it isn’t, but she refers to it as “our” home when speaking personally so I’d be willing to bet that’s where she spends more nights than not. Passing out on the couch together is a kind of habitual pattern that comes with comfort, and if they were in the early stages of spending time together there I’m not sure either of them would be relaxed enough for that yet, despite their age ;) Between now and season 10 (which, I’m so confused about that. Where did we technically leave off in s10, does anyone know???) something has changed. He is more openly flirtatious and she’s certainly more receptive. The chip on his shoulder we saw in MS1 has softened it’s edges considerably. Mulder is getting better, whether it be therapy or medication or meditation or whatever, he’s getting better. In Founder’s Mutation, the house looked much the same as it does now—and yet empty. Devoid of life. Now, there’s even more clutter, the kind that only 2 busy working folks can make as they throw together a hasty supper and then crash on the couch ;) And as far as Scully audibly choosing to go back to living Mulder, we probably won’t get that, we know we won’t. Big moments between the two of them are often left to be assumed, so most likely we’ll have to speculate how the conversation goes. I’d guess that Scully, ever the pragmatist, might even keep her apartment as a second space for the two of them closer to work. I imagine though that her things and her presence will gradually take up more and more space, until it was as if she’d never left, and they’ll never really have to address it. He’s never had to ask her to come home, she knows he wants her there. Scully is much more a woman of action than words. She’s letting him know her choice by making it at the end of the day, (almost every day) she’s choosing him. It blew my mind to actually hear her say, “…and I need you.” As far as verbal declarations go, thats a pretty big step for Scully. She freaking said she needed him. Not something to put her back up against, not to get back to work, not the truth, not science or proof or a hot bubble bath. HIM. MULDER. FOX MULDER. She admitted it. Out loud. I’m still squealing about that can you tell?? Anyway. You know what I want, dear anon? Everyone alive. I want William home (yes I know thats a stretch). I want Mulder and Scully to have the chance to be the parents they deserved to be. I want sex (haha, yea right). But mostly, everyone alive. And taking unremarkable naps on an unremarkable couch in an unremarkable house.

#well that got wildly out of control #lol #sorry!#anons

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sangfearmoved · 7 years ago

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☾, ♥?

Generic ™ hc questions || accepting ✧

☾ - sleep headcanon

if you think this chick EVER sleeps, you’re in for a rude knockout. soda hasn’t slept more than four hours straight for at least five years, for a multitude of reasons.

first off, it’s habit. she’s been waking before dawn since the first campaign — she never wanted to explain her midday disappearances to resha, her roommate at the time, so she often arrived at valley just after the sun rose, and didn’t get back until after dark. it was easier for resha to wonder if soda had existed at all than to deal with constant concern.

sometimes, there were exceptions (the octostriker at bluefin, where she got the discolorations on her calves: she’d gotten up early that morning and ended up pulling an all-nighter through that stage, hence why she was unable to dodge effectively), but she did them as early as she could help it. that’s also why she’s mutated into a morning person.

second of all, she’s a very light sleeper, which is also the campaign’s fault. soda’s really in tune with her environment, and especially after losing her eye, she relies heavily on sound to clue her in (despite squids actually having subpar hearing). two of her five senses are half-compromised, so she’s been forced to adapt accordingly, but the result of this (and her paranoia) mean that the slightest sound or change in her environment can wake her up.

thirdly, she dislikes sleeping, simply because she can’t be productive while she’s doing it. soda hates wasting time, and considers sleeping the greatest offense of it, so she gets by on as little as possible.

as a result of the lack of it, though, soda rarely actually functions at full capacity. she’s learned to function at the greatest capacity she can, but between all her injuries and lack of sleep and food, it’s nowhere near her full potential (which is kind of lowkey terrifying if you think about it).

♥ - family headcanon

oh my god there’s so much i haven’t said on her family i have no idea where to start………i mean, most obviously, she doesn’t have the greatest relationship with them in the world. her parents were never directly abusive, and she was never disowned, but they both were greatly disproving of her wild child nature and overprotective. a lot of her suppressed anxiety is from her dad, and her goal in life (to have/raise a stable family) is primarily influenced by her mother’s values and soda’s own experiences with isolation and companionship.

her brother is the only reason she ever went to inkopolis in the first place. soda adored him when she was a child (he was the only person even remotely close in age, and he’s six years older than her), but he ditched the family as soon as he was able — adonis is more liable to take initiative when dissatisfied, simply because he’s more self-confident than soda. that didn’t quite compute to her, though: soda’s a lot more family-oriented than she lets on; she also stubbornly wants to believe the best in people, though that’s largely been repressed since.

the plan was to 1) turn 14 2) use her pickpocketed cash to buy a ticket to inkopolis 3) find her brother 4) return home. obviously, it didn’t quite turn out like that, and she ended up flat-out disowning her family at the end of the campaign. she doesn’t meet him until the beginning of s2 and the beginning of his own character arc, and it takes until the stabilization of hers before they even remotely get along again (though the original idea was that they never met again, and tbh i’m still kind of playing with that).

overall, family, both hers and as a concept, fuels basically all of her character. i can’t tell you their purpose in her story without opening a huge can of worms that i’m sure you don’t have the patience to sit through, even if i could properly articulate in the first place, lmfao. i’d be glad to talk about her family more?? but you’ll have to give me something specific if you want more bc it’s way too broad to just throw out there, rip.

#paranoidocto #✧┊ ▐ inboxed.#✧┊ ▐ meme response.#✧┊ ▐ here is what you left for dead (hc.)#hoo i'm not editing these at all so like #lmfao hope you like badly articulated hcs???#thanks 4 sending it in tho asjhgjf

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sombytaco · 7 years ago

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Why DaveKat is Narratively Important

Let’s talk about DaveKat because I have nothing better to do!! So, whether or not you personally ship or agree with davekat, this is just going to be about how, from a narrative standpoint, it is 100% vital to both Dave’s and Karkat’s storylines and personal character arcs, let’s start with:

Knight Class- So, bit of class/aspect analysis because the fact they both Dave and Karkat are both Knights is absolutely VITAL to their character development and their connection to each other. Something Kanaya said, that classpects are not necessarily chosen to suit the strengths of each player but rather to challenge them in a way that is most beneficial to their personal growth? That is completely correct, Dave and Karkat being some of the best examples in the comic. The aspects are the elements which the game, and therefore the universe(s) are made of - literally. Like, these are the constructs out of which the world exists, the building blocks so to speak. However, they also represent more metaphorical concepts, Life=Optimism, Hope=Belief, Heart=Soul, so on and so forth etc. So paired with the Knight class, the active pairing of Maid class, we have to examine how exactly the aspect *applies*. Obviously, being active, the Knight class is self serving (more on active vs passive or knight vs maid specifically if y'all hmu with some asks I’d be happy to explain more in depth), there’s also a metric shitload of symbolism involved in the name. I’ve been reading this comic for almost five years and the sheer amount of symbolism never ceases to amaze me, but the absolutely loaded amount of metaphorical value behind this class has to be in my top 5. The classic “knight” iteration, sword and shield type of deal, is instrumental in the interpretation of how Dave and Karkat wield their abilities and grow as characters. The weapon is obviously the way in which they wield their aspects, but the shield is so much more interesting: it’s their PERSONA. Part of the blatant parallels between Dave and Karkat’s story arcs is how they allow others to perceive them in regard to their own internal struggles, they both put up a persona to protect themselves. For Dave it’s his “coolkid” facade, he doesn’t let others see his emotions, feelings, or motivations because he’s so wrapped up in this delusion of irony and toxic masculinity that he feels it would be a weakness to show himself for what he is, one that could very possibly (at the hands of Bro) get him severely injured at best, dead at worst if he fears for his life which is a distinct possibility. Karkat suffers in a similar way, his persona is this image of the overly aggressive, “shouty/angry” guy, he’s loud and obnoxious because he’s trying to keep people at arms length, similar to how Dave doesn’t let anyone in. Karkat also has similar motivations behind this persona, because of his blood color he knows he will be in immediate danger if people get too close, look to closely, care too much, so if he can shout and seem just as bloodthirsty and aggressive as other trolls, he can both keep them away and keep himself free of suspicion. So, they have their shields, their personas, this is how they protect themselves from the world. Let’s talk about their weapons.

Aspects- As I mentioned above, aspects are the literal elements that make up the world, but also have a more metaphorical meaning. In the same way that Heart=Soul, Dave’s aspect Time is not only literally representative of time, but metaphorically representative of PROGRESSION. Karkat’s aspect of blood is therefore, while literally blood (possibly a reference to his mutation), also more symbolically representative of UNITY. Now, let’s see how those apply to each players personal struggle, because remember that’s the key here, how their classpects tie in to their character arcs. Dave is troubled by his aspect at multiple points throughout the storyline, severely disturbed by dead Dave’s and essentially haunted by the multiple loops he has running, in what is a single day to his fellow beta players likely feels like *weeks* for him, he’s not progressing in the game, he’s running all these loops and doing so much and yet he’s not really going anywhere. He’s like a broken record, if you will. Dave doesn’t see himself as a hero, broken sword symbolism aside because I cannot get into that rn lmao that’s way too loaded and this is long enough, Dave *can’t* see himself as a hero because in his mind, Bro was a hero, and he will never live up to it, so why bother. Easier to just run his loops and do whatever Terezi says because she’s probably right and anyways it’s just easier to do something menial and meaningless that doesn’t move anything forward because he would probably fuck it up anyways, right? Dave is so stuck in the past, haunted by his loops, haunted by the legacy of his Bro, haunted by dead Daves, he is terrified (whether consciously or subconsciously) of moving forward, of Progression. Alternatively, Karkat’s aspect of Blood, or UNITY trips him up in similar ways. Karkat’s relationships are…complicated. It’s been *headcanoned* that he comes across as pale towards most of his friends, because despite how hard he tries to act loud and aggressive, he’s a big softie who cares way too goddamn much about everything. Terezi also represents his biggest struggle with Unity and relationships, he “wanted her in every quadrant like a desperate fool”, and she played along for a while to see if he would settle in any one quadrant, but when he never did she moved on. This is a huge blow to Karkat’s self-esteem, he thought he was being so suave and smooth just like his romance novels and movies, but really he was pushing her away either knowingly or unknowingly. On the topic of his romance novels, his obsession with relationships also shows him trying to compensate (more on this in a sec) for his lack of capability in the area, as if he’s studying them to get a better understanding of how relationships should work because he really has no idea. In his very first conversation with Sollux that we see, he ends by affirming that he hasn’t gone too far right? They’re still friends? Because underneath his loud, obnoxious persona, he’s just acting the way he thinks he’s supposed to in this hyper-aggressive society. Sound familiar? It’s because Dave is doing the same thing. They’re both using their personas to survive, to appear the way they think they should to other people, because when it comes to their aspects, they’re fucking terrified and don’t have a clue as to what they’re really doing.

Storyline Parallels- So, I’ve seen a lot of good analysis of this and I doubt any of what I’m saying will be news to any of you, but I’m gonna put it in my own words as best I can bc this shit is imperative to understanding why DaveKat works so perfectly in the narrative. Dave is obviously working an uphill battle the entire story to overcome the hyper-masculinity (see also: toxic) that his Bro has ingrained in his psyche for 13 years. Not the least of which is some deeply rooted homophobia. Dave fronts constantly, accusing others of being gay, accusing *Karkat* of being gay pretty amusingly. Obviously he pokes at this in other people because he’s so insecure about it in himself, he struggles heavily with his sexuality the way so many pre-teens do, only he’s fighting against a decades worth of anti-gay propaganda basically so there’s no room for him to search within himself too deeply without feeling deeply uncomfortable because obviously that’s Wrong and Bad and that’s not how society works in his world. Similarly, Karkat struggles with the quadrants which is practically unheard of on Alternia. It’s such a clear parallel to human homophobia that like. I’m left speechless when I think about it honestly. Their struggles are so overwhelmingly similar and parallel to each other sometimes I just have to stop and appreciate it. But back on topic, his whole life, Karkat has grown up with this over idealized concept of romance, the quadrants, and he obviously knows something is wrong with himself from an early age. Karkat’s obsession with romance novels is no coincidence, he’s clearly always felt off when it comes to that and so he most likely reached out to these novels and movies to get a better grasp of the quadrants, consuming what was essentially romantic propaganda to overcompensate. The problem is, in studying these works, he latched onto the wrong thing which is so funny to me. He’s reading these trying to understand, to make himself fit into this system because that’s what society is like *cough* heteronormativity *cough* and yet he latched onto quadrant vacillation like it’s the holy fucking grail of romance. Like oh, okay, this is normal? Obviously people do this, as long as they switch within the bounds of the system it’s Okay™ and even romantic in some occasions. Only, this is fiction he’s reading and if you try to apply the logic of romance novels to real life…well, we all know what happened with Terezi. He was constantly pushing the boundaries of vacillation, he was red for her, he wanted to act black on occasion, he cares so much about everyone it’s impossible for him not to be pale, and we see him (though I doubt he realizes he’s doing it) trying to auspistice for her and Gamzee in the pre-retcon timeline by staging a sort of intervention. He “wanted her in every quadrant like a desperate fool” and I don’t understand how people put Karkat into the quadrant system!!! That line is so IMPORTANT, not even taking into account that we know his dancestor, who shared his blood mutation which may have had something to do with his irregularities, loved the Disciple “beyond the quadrants”. It’s. So. Obvious. Karkat is overcoming the stigma of wanting to love beyond the quadrants in the same way that Dave is struggling to overcome the loaded idea behind being Not Straight. They’re both overcoming these extremely similar prospects and it’s an absolutely stunning feat of narrative that as an English major it makes me fucking weak in the goddamn knees like Hussie is a lot of things but this? This is fucking genius. I’ve never seen two characters written together in such an in depth and parallel way before.

Opposites Attract- So we’ve talked about their similarities, let’s talk about their differences and how those differences are also actually poorly disguised similarities. Karkat is obviously a Loud Boy, thats his coping mechanism. He keeps people out and away by being loud and aggressive. Dave needs to cope for similar reasons, to protect himself he needs to keep people out and away but he does it in just the opposite way, he gets quiet. He doesn’t talk about his shit. Sure, he’ll go on the rambling metaphor when the occasion calls, but although he’s always talking he’s never really saying anything. Karkat is an almost compulsive over sharer, like, the boy (bless his heart) has zero filter. Dave will talk your ear off just as well, but I’ll be fuckin damned if he says anything worthwhile outright (his many, many Freudian slips aside). It’s also interesting to note that while I’ve seen people talk about how part of the reason Karkat doesn’t fit into Alternian society is that he’s so human, as its stated in the narrative that after seeing this soft species, that shares his blood color and stupid, stupid compassion, even *Vriska* admits that Karkat seems to fit in better with them than he ever did with trolls, we don’t see the same for Dave? I’ve rarely, if ever, seen the situation flipped, in that Dave was more suited for Alternian society the same way Karkat was more human than troll or at least had severely human aspects. Obviously Dave’s romance is still very human in that he’s a big ol’ fan of monogamy (he and Karkat both faced problems in their relationships with Terezi romantically when she became involved in other quadrants, these boys love monogamy I’ll fight), but his upbringing? Yikes. Lusii are supposed to, while still protecting their trolls, prepare them for the harsh and violent world. Whether they had to kill other trolls and Lusii to feed them, or learn how to fight to fend off other trolls on their own, there was a shit ton of fighting in their pre-pubescent years. Trolls are a hyper aggressive, violent species that learn to fight basically as soon as they can walk, which is exactly what Bro did to Dave. Dave could fight practically from the second he crawled off the meteor, I doubt a day went by without a sword in his hand for some reason and god knows he suffered through enough strifes. Both boys were brought up just thoroughly *wrong* for their societies in a way that ensured they would never feel like they truly fit in.

Finally, Romance- In the final culmination of all this, let’s actually talk about how they work together as a couple. So, they have this overwhelmingly similar upbringing and life experience, what happens when they finally meet up? Dave thinks it’s hilarious that Karkat is always yelling, “get a load of this guy I was telling you about, Rose”, and while I have no doubt he thought Karkat’s shitfits were the funniest thing since Colonel Sassacre, there had to be a part of him that was just in awe of how someone could be so free with their emotions. Like, he’s angry? And you know it the second he walks into a room?? This is an entirely new concept to Dave, my son, who grew up with an insanely passive-aggressive psychopath who would sneak up on him and fight him with a crazy fucking puppet like what the fuck?? Dave has always had to be on edge at home, Bro was quiet so you never knew when he was upset and you never knew when he was coming for you. With Karkat, that’s such a non-issue it’s like the issue dined and dashed, no bill and no tip, vanished into the wind. You can hear Karkat stomping down the hall five minutes before he even gets into the room, and once he gets there oh boy he will Let You Know What The Problem Is. Why is Dave always provoking Karkat? Literally just to hear him yell because it’s so goddamn refreshing to know exactly with 100% certainty what someone is thinking, no irony, no bullshit, just genuine fucking refreshing annoyance. And for Karkat, well here’s the guy he’s always wanted to be, right? Cool and suave, the romcom hero who could smooth talk the paint off a wall. Only, Dave isn’t actually cool in the way he pretends to be, he’s not this smooth suave hero, he’s not even just a hero. He can’t be. He’s just…a kid. A kid like Karkat who has issues like Karkat and talks just as much when he’s nervous as Karkat and he’s relatable even though he’s trying not to be. He’s trying so hard to be what society wants from him he wants to be the tough guy with the sword but he’s just so not and that’s so refreshing! Karkat realizes he’s not the only one who’s trying to live up to some buttfuck impossiblestandards and he realizes…that’s okay. He doesn’t have to be anything he’s not. And they figure that out together.

So pardon me if I don’t understand how you can put Dave with John, or Jade, because they don’t fit. The narrative literally doesn’t benefit in any way for them to fit, and if it’s your personal preference then by all means go for it who am I to stop you, but there is no benefit to them being together. They will not grow from it, John is explicitly someone who doesn’t seem to focus or care much about romance even? And Jade has no concept of anything Dave has gone through, she couldn’t even begin to understand. Same with Terezi and Karkat, or Gamzee and Karkat or John and Karkat or whatever, Terezi likes quadrants. They make sense to her and she enjoys them, Karkat cannot bring himself to deal with with that and they’re so much happier as just friends. I’m not even getting into Gamzee, I’m not even gonna dip my toe into that discourse because everyone likes different characters for different reasons and I won’t begrudge you of that so I’m just gonna stay away. So again, if you ship those then that’s fine! Go for it! This is just an analysis of why the narrative, in my personal perspective, supports DaveKat and why I personally think they are good and healthy for each other and help each other grow as people.

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