#but like lazy bad analysis lol

[observeroftheuniverse]

A few weeks ago I got pretty high and was absolutely struck by a realization. The reason Scully is always so eager to examine Mulder is yes, because she wants an excuse to touch him, but also because she just wants to take care of him. She jumps at the chance to assess injuries because she's looking for an excuse to take care of him. As I realized this, my high ass just kept thinking "She wants to take care of him! She JUST wants to take CARE OF HIM!! 🥺🥺🥺" like it was some ground breaking revelation and not a pretty obvious element of the dynamic between the two of them. Anyway, that's the post: high me was absolutely THRILLED at the thought that Mulder and Scully just want to take care of each other.

[andersdotters]

Analytically speaking, the best way to get a good grasp of a person's inner workings is to focus your attention primarily to their flaws. Flaws and weaknesses reveal exactly what a person is actually thinking, their opinions, their insecurities, their feelings, etc.

[transmutationisms]

oh i would actually be curious to hear your thoughts on lolita book covers in that case. i do get the sense that some of the covers are designed to uncritically titilate and seem to misunderstand the text, but that could obviously be an assumption on my part lol.

oh i agree that the cover designs tend to run counter to nabokov's intentions, both in the text and in the literal instructions he gave about covers lol. they pretty clearly rely on putting some young girl on display, which is exactly what nabokov did not want to do visually; they also tend to suggest dolores as some kind of seductress (sultry gazes, pouty lips, &c). clearly this is precisely the opposite of what the text tells us about her.

however when evaluating these visual choices i find that many people portray them as some kind of originary and culturally polluting act: that is, a narrative emerges that the problem here is people misinterpreting 'lolita', and then publishing it with covers that will do harm to young girls &c. i think this is lazy analysis and fundamentally makes idealist assumptions overestimating the effect of cultural products (books, book covers) on problems, like the sexualisation of children, that are in fact grounded in material relations, such as in this case the status of children as legal property and the total power granted to adults over them. that is to say, these broader conditions are at root the reason that cultural products like the cover of 'lolita' look the way they do, and chalking it up to individuals not understanding the book is never going to get us very far; and also, although some of these covers are pretty egregious, they are the reflection rather than the cause of the sexualisation of children, a problem that would continue to exist even if every edition of 'lolita' ever printed just said "humbert humbert is an unreliable narrator and dolores haze is a child he is preying on" on the cover.

fundamentally i also think this sort of conversation often elides some more interesting points about whom these covers communicate to and what they say. you suggest they are meant to "titillate"; although i would agree dolores is often shown as sexual, desirable, and seductive, i'm not sure that's the same as assuming the cover is trying to arouse the potential reader. for one thing, to put it bluntly, this style of cover tends to be associated more with books marketed to women than to heterosexual men. and more broadly, and this is something the lolita podcast really fails to understand imo, the phenomenon of people reading 'lolita' and relating themselves to dolores is not mutually exclusive with this type of rhetorical construction of dolores-through-humbert's-eyes. that is, often what appeals about dolores is, i think, precisely the fact that through her, people find a way of discoursing about or simply re-enacting the kind of sexualisation that they are already subjected to or have been in the past, whether or not at a level as explicit and extreme as what nabokov depicts.

i'm not really interested in a simple moral condemnation of the people who design these covers; that critique writes itself. they are obviously bad and facile, and reflective of precisely the culture of child sexual abuse that nabokov's text condemns. but if we are interested in the reception of these objects, or interrogating the cultural meaning and implications of their existence, i just think there's a lot more going on here than what the podcast portrays as a simple sort of 'broadcast' model of mass media wherein the 'lolita' book cover and trope is beamed out to unsuspecting innocents who are then exposed to its nefarious elements. dolores appeals to people for lots of reasons, some prurient, some pitying, some openly self-projective, and these are not mutually exclusive with one another nor are they mutually exclusive with readings that reproduce elements of the very lolita character that humbert creates and uses to silence and re-write dolores. we can be uncomfortable with that and refuse to talk about it but if that's the position someone wants to take then i'm not likely to be interested enough in their opinions to, like, listen to their podcast about this book lol.

[madockisser]

How does Cardan actually look in the books? Cuz I've seen a lot of fanart and he looks different every time. Sometimes he looks like the hottest guy I've seen and sometimes he looks like the bad guy from Lazy Town ☠️

cardan greenbriar appearance analysis!!

LMAOO thank u for the ask!!

as per usual when it comes to my character appearance analysis i can only speculate on facts rather than bias! so here’s what we know:

jude describes him as looking better than the rest (gentry children/ppl, keep in mind that the gentry are the richest most flamboyant of all the fae so this is certainly saying something) even when she has NO reason to feel that way abt him considering how he treated her, implying that he is FINE atleast according to jude’s standards!

but also according to the world of elfhame, if there is beauty, then it is great beauty, excruciating beauty that makes everything else seem dull in comparison. beauty that the mortal mind cannot comprehend, which is how jude describes him, so hes prob an absolute heartthrob, but honestly, there is no way for me to word it that will describe how good looking cardan must be.

like imagine the absolute hottest most beautiful most perfect guy ever and boom. cardan greenbriar.

secondly, she says his hair is black iridescent of a ravens wing, as black as midnight, and his eyes are tar-like, coal/crow black minus the gold around his irises. jude also mentions that when looking into them, she is hyper aware of the alienness of faerie. (is it possible his eyes are fully black? minus the golden irises?)

he has moon pale skin w scars across his chest and back, and he often wears kohl, and wears a scowl/sneer. she also says that he has high cheekbones sharp enough to cut out a girls heart (so cliche but i love to hear it)

he has soft pink lips, long fingers (which jude never fails to mention as often as she can) of which he wears many rings, most notably jude’s ruby ring and his greenbriar ring. he has long black lashes that are so long, they brush against his cheek.

his ears are pointed and usually bear jewels.

he has soft curly hair that falls in his eyes, and jude several times says he looks as though he’s just risen from a bed, so it’s messy but in a sexy way. and based on jude’s descriptions i don’t think it’s very long just bc i think it def would’ve been mentioned, this is considering holly blacks writing style, in the modern faerie tales two love interests have long hair and it is described that way, so i think he’s got a pretty basic cut, yk he’s a prince so he’s well groomed.

as for his animal trait, which all greenbriars have, he has a thin whiplike tail that curls and unfurls as such, it is hairless except for a soft tuft at the end. it sways and wags, revealing his emotions, it wraps itself around jude’s thigh and leg when they are intimate. adorable.

he smiles often, when he is nervous, and jude says he is very charming, which jude thinks is very dangerous. (👅)

jude says that if she didn’t know how cruel they all were, she would be just as in love w them as the rest of the gentry. she says that they are beautiful like blades forged in a divine fire. she also says that cardan is sickeningly handsome. she ALSO says that he is horrifically beautiful. (jude is the realest)

madoc says he is foppish (foppish meaning: a man that pays too much attention to his appearance. LOL) but tbh i think cardans just effortlessly beautiful. and no good w a sword.

we can assume in tcp that he’s pretty scrawny, lanky yk.

as for his height, a controversial topic since ppl cannot seem to decide if they want him to be short or tall, though i remain unbiased, jude is of average height, in tcp she says that she is suddenly struck down by his sheer height.

i believe somewhere it is said that he is about a head taller than her, making him about 6 foot+

as the series progress, he grows not just as a person, emotionally, but physically, as the land accepts him as the high king and he begins training w the roach.

jude mentions that she can feel the flex of his muscles beneath her hand, and she slides her hand against the flat plane of his stomach.

jude says many times how he looks the part of the high king, particularly at the end of twk, when he finally uses his high king powers against orlagh, and at this point we know that being the high king has effectively changed him since his being a prince.

he’s also given up his alcohol and never addictions by the end of the series so i don’t think at the end of the series he looks the same as he did, but that can be a biased take since we don’t know the severity of cardans addictions.

we can assume that by the end of the series he’s a bit more muscular, considering his training w the court of shadows and being king and whatnot, but body types are usually up to the reader!

anyway i skimmed by books for this ask (took me an hour but i did it for u anon) so i hope it’s well done enough, and that it answers your question!! sorry for not getting to it right away, i wanted to answer it well! 🫶🫶 posting more analyses soon i promise i have so many asks to get to, so im sorry if anyone waiting on me to answer them !!!

[cometchasr]

i agree, and i already read TNP

My toxic trait is that I care way too much about the Brambledad wish fulfillment fantasy I've constructed in my head almost entirely out of whole cloth.

[chronotopes]

my feelings on every iteration of Literacy Discourse are so tangled and complicated lol. like.... on one hand i have real and intense sympathy for the fact that it's hard when things change and it's hard feeling people become less responsive to the ways you've taught. especially with Covid Impact and feeling like you have to fix that as a college professor or high school teacher or whatever. that shit sucks! but at the same time my feelings on The Children Being Bad At Lit Analysis are somewhat similar to my feelings on The Children Writing Essays Using ChatGPT. It is not a Hot New Internet Thing that more people like reading acotar than tender buttons. It is not a Hot New Internet Thing that people cheat on their assignments. The question is: how are you responding? That one post about whether you are assigning papers that can be successfully written using the current capabilities of generative AI is the crux of the issue, I think. Is it a moral outrage or is it just a bad and lazy paper that deserves to be called a lazy paper? Similarly: are you getting impotently mad at your students for reading things fall apart with the same tools that they read Percy Jackson Harry Potter Marvel Movie, or are you arming people with the critical lenses that allow them to read a text more substantively? Obviously you can give people all the lit analysis tools you want but you can't make them like it. But that has been true for a long time!! Not every English major actually likes lit analysis! THAT is... probably an acceptable outcome, given that we cannot all be english phds and probably shouldn't be. You can still arm them with better tools than they had and see what they do with them.

[blockgamepirate]

(that post was so banger it finally made me register an alt) Honestly, you are so correct about L'Manberg

I remember regularly lurking around mcytblr and reading analysis and I think I only saw coherent L'Manberg nationalism analysis from, like, Xephyr and a c!Dream blogger/fan. Which is crazy in retrospect, because the ease with which most of the fandom leaned into fictional country hardcore patriotism was/is kinda insane

And the ensuing anti Doomsday stance -- like we all know that terrorism is bad and shit, but absolute refusal to acknowledge that maybe Doomsday trio and co were not punished by the narrative for having done that was because they were right was. sure something!

omg that's very flattering thank you :D

By Xephyr I assume you mean @considermygenderminecrafted ? Because yes, xe has some of the best L'Manburg critique out there, as well as some of the best c!Wilbur critique, everybody should absolutely check it out immediately (altho frustratingly, I just tried to find some of their posts as an example but Tumblr's search function is still absolute garbage (Xeph, do you have some of your great posts at hand and if so, can you just link some of them in the reblogs or something?))

And yes. There are valid criticisms that can be made of the Doomsday Trio's tactics (which even Techno himself sort of acknowledged later), but at the end of the day, they were on the right side of history

(Well Dream's character less so, but I can't even be bothered to try to analyse him at this point because none of his plans make sense to me)

Also nobody ever seems to acknowledge that Doomsday Trio were acting in self-defence, since L'Manburg had already gone after both Techno and Phil, and was at the time trying to kill Dream as well, although he kinda beat them to the punch (possibly because he already knew they were planning to kill him? idk, I'm not sure if that was ever confirmed or not)

But yeah, the argument about them needing to be punished by the narrative was always absurd to me, and it just betrays the fandom's belief that L'Manburg was supposed to be objectively good, despite all the evidence that it very much was not, not even to its own citizens! And possibly also the unquestioned assumption of "state good, anarchy bad"

Meanwhile the actual narrative repeatedly shows that L'Manburg always ends up becoming toxic, corrupt and ultimately oppressive, even under the Good President, while on the other hand the anarchist commune eventually turns into a sanctuary for all sorts of people who need a safe place to stay (even arguably the aforementioned former Good President when he needs somewhere to hide his son from kidnappers)

And yeah, this is why I did get pretty heated about some of the debates at the time, and I kinda still do, because in the process of assuming that L'Manburg was always the good guys, they ended up repeatedly justifying just absolutely horrific state violence as well as excusing early L'Manburg's xenophobia (as comedic as it initially was), which unfortunately mirrors a lot of real world authoritarianism and xenophobia

To be fair a lot of this was probably also protagonist-centric morality, since most of these people also saw the L'Manburg side as the main characters, but then again what is nationalism if not a form of protagonist-centric morality where you see your own country as the protagonist of the world lol

I might actually need to make a proper post now since multiple people have shown interest, unfortunately I'm also very lazy and kinda made my main points in that low effort post already

Which would mean that it would actually have to be a high effort post to justify its existence

[inbarfink]

Okay, this is probably just me being Very Silly but… I think Roleswap AUs are a lot of fun, not just like… as a character design exercise thingy, but as a character exploration and analysis exercise… thingy.

Like, you know, it’s a game of ‘what would this character do if they were in that situation that this other character was in?’, ‘how much would change if those were the circumstances of this character’s life?’, ‘how much do you have to change about a character to make them work in this specific narrative role - and how much you just cannot change without making the character unrecognizable?’

So I’ve had a lot of fun playing around with my Adventure Time Roleswap AUs (you can get a better look at them with the AT Roleswap Tag on my blog). 

And I’ve been thinking if I could do a similar thing for Invader Zim - both because IZ has these clear Four Leads that you can swap around very neatly (actually much more than AT does lol) and… mostly because I’ve been going through yet another of my Literally Can’t Think of Anything but Invader Zim Phases and Roleswap AUs offer an exciting new opportunity to Rotate These Characters in My Head.

(For the sake of clarity, I’ll be using ‘the Alien’, ‘the Kid’, ‘the Robot’ and ‘the Sibling’ when referring to the Narrative Roles of Zim, Dib, GIR and Gaz respectively. So if I’m talking about a Dib-Zim Roleswap I’ll be talking about Zim-as-the-Kid and Dib-as-the-Alien. It might lead to weird turns-of-phrase later down the line, like Sibling!Dib when Dib is obviously always a sibling - but at least I hope it’ll be less clunky and more clear that way lol)

So, yeah, I had some Thoughts and Considerations about the idea of a Zim-Dib GIR-Gaz Roleswap, but all-in-all things fall into place pretty easily. Playing on Dib’s relatively-more-heroic role and his only-sane-man shtick by having him as a kinda Irken Rebel - he might still have the interest in magic and supernatural things that Mainstream Irken Science does not acknowledge, but mostly he’s seeing as ‘crazy’ for such ridiculous concepts as ‘conquering the galaxy just for the sake of it is Bad Actually’ and ‘maybe it’s kinda stupid to pick our leaders based entirely on how tall they are’ and ‘the Tallest are obviously blatantly figureheads and the Control Brains are running the show’. 

And to add insult to injury, it’s not just that his fellow Irkens don’t listen to his ideas - it’s that they don’t even have enough respect to treat him as an actual dangerous enemy of the state. Instead he’s seen as a crackpot and a joke. He’s basically constantly avoiding the obvious Existence Evaluation he deserves because the Tallests keep procrastinating it and pushing it back in favor of more ‘important things���. And, like, it’s not like Dib wants to be executed by the state for the crime of free thought… but it’ll be nice to know that he’s seen as a real threat. 

And of course while he’s better than most Irkens at the whole ‘Space Imperialism is Bad Actually’ thing, he still hasn’t unlearned all of the Irken propaganda about their own superiority (he’s got a Green Savior Complex basically) … and also he's got his own complex about his own superiority. Like, yeah, he’s infuriated by his people’s obsession with height because it’s a stupid illogical prejudice… but also specifically because it makes people disrespect him. When his two lazy and stupid smeethood bullies were made supreme leaders of the empire that was kinda the last straw for him.

Oh, in this AU the Tallests are basically the Same except their colors are switched. So now Red is the sillier and dumber one and Purple is the relatively more competent one. And on one hand Dib is the only Irken who seems to understand how thoroughly unfit to rule these two clowns are but he is also kinda obsessed with making them acknowledge his superiority even though he knows their opinion shouldn’t matter and thus making him the biggest clown of them all, in a way.

I’m still ironing out the details of how he gets to Earth. Something about using his hacking skills to infiltrate Operation Impending Doom 2 to try and sabotage it from within. Then, like, maybe the Earth ‘assignment’ was a trap laid by the Control Brains to get him out of the way. Or maybe he picked Earth because although the Empire sees it as unimportant - Dib thinks it has powerful arcane significance that makes it the perfect foundation for his resistance against the Empire or something like that.

I’m mostly thinking which of these is the snappiest and easiest to explain, but I do enjoy the idea of it being a trap cause it creates the possibility of a “the Alien discovers their plan is a big fat lie” scenario like in ETF, but rather than being utterly despondent and depressed like Canon Zim - Alien!Dib will be joyous and jubilantly validated at the idea that he was considered a notable enough threat to get out of the way with such an elaborate trick.

And Zim as the son of Professor Membrane is also a fun concept to consider. It’s very funny to think of him as still a megalomaniac trying to take over the world while also being just a human kid. He wants to defeat Dib because he sees him as a threat for his world domination plans (maybe not even understanding that Dib is not actually a world-conquering rival) and cause he believes that if he exposes or kills Dib he can get his hands on the advanced alien tech, which is the edge he needs in order to take over the world.

You can justify his world-conquering-obsession as, like, him growing up under the pressure of living up to his father’s legacy and he figured the only way to escape Membrane’s shadow is to go totally against everything he stands for, or that he’s subconsciously seeking revenge against the world and humanity for taking away his father's love and attention, or that he’s hoping that if he becomes an Actual Threat to the world, his dad will have to pay attention to him for a change ,or maybe it’s just ‘Zim is Just Weird Like That’. Or probably some combination of all of the above.

GIR and Gaz slot pretty effortlessly into their new roles. Sibling!GIR could be literally Zim’s little brother, or like, some genetically engineered dog monster Professor Membrane made in an afternoon. But personality-wise there’s no need to change much outside of maybe needing to tone a human version of GIR down just a tad because a human child has some biological, legal and physical limitations that GIR would otherwise lack.

Robot Gaz is basically like ‘Dib stole and reprogrammed a SIR Unit to have Free Will, still somehow struggles with the idea that Free Will means she can disobey him as well’. Pretty much as soon as they landed on Earth she acclimated better than Dib did and developed a fondness for Earth’s junk food and video games. She generally does her own thing and doesn’t really listen to Dib’s schemes to develop Earth’s defenses or harness some sort of supernatural forces against the Irken Empire or foil Zim’s plans or whatever - but mostly because disagrees with Dib’s methods and attitude rather than his goals. 

She does prefer the Earth over the Irken Empire and she does have some affection for Dib despite also finding him so annoying. She just refuses to cooperate with plans she thinks are frivolous or stupid or plainly just for Dib’s ego. When push really comes to shove, when she actually believes Dib and/or the Earth is in danger, she would come to help… usually.

So yeah, that Roleswap works pretty smoothly, but the problem starts if I try to do the two other sides of this Roleswap cube. the 'Invader GIR' and 'Invader Gaz' scenarios. This is where I get stuck... And the thing isn’t that the characters aren’t complex and versatile enough - I actually think the IZ characters are pretty multidimensional in their ridiculousness. 

It’s just that Dib and Zim’s psychology are really designed for them to play the roles of Protagonist and Antagonist - they’re very much defined to their very core by how driven and motivated they are and how much they want to take center stage. Zim's so self-obsessed he pretty much has to take over any narrative you place him in. And like 50% of Dib’s psyche can be summarized as a terminal case of Main Character Syndrome. Meanwhile, while GIR and Gaz have their own motivations - but GIR’s are generally too wild, capricious and frivolous to actually motivate a Plot, while Gaz’s very much defined by how mundane all of her motivations are. So you really have to work extra hard to make sure Zim and Dib, even when relegated to the sidekick role, don’t still find a way to steal the show.

Honestly, doing Zim as the Robot is actually something I think I can make work. If you just play up a few of Zim’s wackier elements - and especially his blind obedience and dedication to his superiors (which in this case would be Alien GIR), I think you can get a version of Zim that is recognizably Zim while still sticking mainly to the Wacky Comic Relief role.

(And for the record, Robot Zim is a modified SIM Unit, which is a Standard Issue Minion. What does the Z stand for? The Z stands for ZIIIIIIIIIIIIIIM, obviously!)

Sibling Dib was kind of a weird journey for me because at first I thought I had an easy solution for it - just Bill-fy Dib! Keep all of Dib’s bolster and UFO obsession stuff, but minus the fact that he can actually recognize an alien standing in front of his face. Probably because he just doesn’t want to admit his sister found an alien before he did - he just refuses to believe GIR is an alien and going off his wild-goose chases against his own phony conspiracy theories.

But… I think that idea is, like, too effective at keeping Dib away from the limelight? I mean, that would basically relegate him exclusively to Comic Relief and someone Gaz could have conversations with and very little plot relevancy. And I think we should be able to do better by Sibling Dib. Some way to keep him away from the Main Character Role, but still have him as a relevant and useful character from time-to-time?

Putting GIR in any sort of lead role is the much bigger problem. Like I said - GIR just too deranged and too uncontrollable to hold most plotlines, even on Invader Zim. And I can imagine grounding him just a tad, you can do, like ‘alien Invader comes to earth in order to conquer it - realizes he likes junk food and stupid TV so much that he doesn’t want to do it anymore, but still lacks any real concerns for human life or morality’. You know, I’m imagining wacky misadventures that are basically in the spirit of ‘what if SpongeBob SquarePants lacked any sense of right and wrong’ - and that will be a viable narrative, but I’m worried it’s getting too far away from the sheer id-like essence of GIR.

On the Kid corner, obviously you can make narratives in which Gaz and her motivations move the story along - Invader Zim Canon did it multiple times. It’s more of a question of how much we can keep this up. Like, okay, this is purely me and my stupid personal hang-ups. But what I’m looking for is an AU that really feels like it could be its own standalone show, and obviously it’s not going to be the same as Canon IZ - like the Invader Dib roleswap is going to have a slightly more standard heroic narrative compared to the total Villain Protagonist setup of the canon - but I want to make sure everyone fulfill their new Narrative Roles to the level you can imagine a Variety of Episode Plots that fit the 11-minutes-and-occasional-double-length format of IZ. 

And with Gaz being really defined by the fact that she cares more for being left alone or the mundane things in life or enacting terrible revenge in the name of the mundane things in life than for any of the sci-fi shit or saving the world- it kinda limits the amount of plots she should be willing to participate in and/or requires a lot of extra Set-Up to explain why she’s emotionally involved in the plot. 

I mean, I can certainly imagine a story about a hedonistic would-be Invader making a bizarre harebrained scheme to get his hands on a ridiculous amount of tacos which somehow spirals into attracting the ire of some scarily competent and spiteful little girl by, like, interrupting her Super Mario Odyssey speedrun or something and so she causally takes down his whole operation. But that sort of setup works better for a sort of hyperformulastic show like ‘Phineas and Ferb’- and ‘Phineas and Ferb’ is lovely, but Invader Zim really benefits from a wide variation of plots and episode structure. 

(That’s also the problem with a Tallests-Zim Membrane-Dib roleswap. Although the idea of an P&F style sketch starring the two lazy goofball Invaders who are just trying to get their incredibly obnoxious and megalomaniac boss off their back and are repeatedly accidently foiled by a brilliant hypercompetent child genius who also somehow remains consistently oblivious to the fact that they are aliens trying to take over the world is very Fun and I should probably do something Separate with it later)

And then there’s the idea of a Zim-Gaz GIR-Dib roleswap which is… I don’t even know where to start. That’s pretty much what that one body-switch-themed guest issue of the IZ Comics used basically because it’s the one that breaks the show’s premise the most thoroughly. The show’s most ambitious and least competent character swapped with its least ambitious and most competent and the most grounded character is swapped with the most unhinged. I am still really stuck on how to make it work?

The only real idea I have for now is maybe taking inspiration from Alien Gaz from that aforementioned comic issue’s characterization - not of Gaz-as-Zim, but of Zim-as-Gaz. Something about an Alien Invader who is genuinely invested in conquering the planet but also she keeps getting distracted? It’s hard to really say when, like I said, that’s really the only thing I have right now. 

Perhaps I need to think about all of this a bit more, or perhaps the real lesson of this Character Exploration Thingy is just that those kinda roleswaps just don’t work with the Invader Zim cast?

[redreart]

Everything we know about Staci Pratt

Some time ago, I wrote all the stuff you can possibly know about Staci Pratt (everything that was deleted and hard to notice from the first play). But it was in another language so I decided to translate it lol.

Also, I'm really inspired by @lulu2992 posts, because I'm still obsessed with fc5 lore as well

So, let's begin. I'm going to use some materials from other people on Tumblr and I'm going to leave links to their original posts and mention them in the credits later on.

Everything we CAN find in the game

At the very beginning of the game, while still in the helicopter, Pratt jokes about our Dep and offers Hudson to drink something from a flask, maybe an alcoholic beverage. (maybe the flask is to blame for the helicopter crash, lol). And note that Pratt is the main pilot of the helicopter (because he sits on the right).

Screenshot by @llazyneiph

Based on everything, we can conclude that Stacy is not affected by depression and probably is not a part of Eden's Gate at this point in the game. Although from another angle we can see that the flask he holds in his hands has an Eden's Gate cross on the other side, I assume Ubi were just too lazy to create another texture just for that scene.

Screenshot by @llazyneiph

While leaving the helicopter to go follow the sheriff Pratt may say something if you stay there for too long.

Staci Pratt: Suck it up, rookie! Get your head out of your ass and get up to the church. The fuck you doing? Follow the sheriff. Jesus...

When we meet Stacy after the failed attempt to put Joe in jail, he is already serving Jacob it is not clear why the box does not work on him, although then in one cutscene Only You from the loudspeaker has an effect on him. The game does not provide an answer to this question, although hypothetically this can be associated with deleted content, which will be discussed a little bit later.

Please this this amazing post by @lulu2992 because it summarizes what I want to say here

at.tumblr.com/lulu2992/i-feel-there-is-something-about-deputy-staci/pxihfpi1xgp4

And just a quick thing about Jacob.

In oasistrings (you can find it here text.farcry.info) Jacob call's Pratt "peaches" just once and I found no explanation except my own assumptions.

But the most obvious reason is that Jacob uses this to break Pratt. I mean he's already in a bad state but Jacob is just pushing it further. But also It's interesting that Staci likes Peaches the cougar. She's the only animal companion that he's positive about. This part is kind of cut from the game though because Pratt usually stays in the bunker. But if you'll have him as a companion with the help of the Resistance Mod he'll def comment on the animal you're with.

Another interesting thing was noticed by @hopecountyradio. Idk myself, but it is really worth mentioning. In the very first cutscene with Jacob, someone is carrying our Dep. @hopecountyradio thinks that it is Pratt who does it.

I've made a little collage so you guys can compare the shoes.

Just a bunch of random short facts that ARE in the game

Staci is 26 years old

He wears a wristband

He used to be or is a catholic because he knows the "Ave, Maria" prayer (you can listen to him praying here, Ave, Maria is the second one) which is most common amongst Catholics in the US (thanks @noire610 for telling me this)

Content that was deleted from the game

Let's start with the analysis of audio. Interestingly, not all of this ended up in the oasis strings.

Let's start with this interesting thing provided by @voices-of-hope-county. There are several dialogues between the peggies, Pratt and peggies, and even Jacob and peggies. All of them are united by the fact that they took place (should have happened) in the Veterans Center. Only one of them is available in oasis strings. I could not find the rest in the text file. Let's start.

Audio 1

Dialogue 1 | Audio 1:

Female peggie: Can you fucking believe that guy? Male peggie: Who? FP: The Deputy… Pratt. He was wandering around behind the cages. MP: The fuck was he doing there? FP: Who the hell knows? Jacob's probably got him off doing some shit. MP: Hahahah… He's lucky to put two words together after what Jacob did to him. FP: Seriously… Sometimes I think it's a mistake to put so much trust in this converts. You should come willing to the light, or be struck down. MP: Amen to that, sister.

Dialogue 2 | Audio 1 (can be found in oasisstrings):

Dialogue 3 | Audio 1

Staci Pratt: Hey… I need to get in. Male Peggie: Seriously? Didn't I just let you out? SP: There's a new prisoner… I gotta go get him. For Jacob. MP: Fine… Get going. Just leave me the fuck alone.

Dialogue 4 | Audio 1 (It sounds like Pratt knows the person he's talking to well)

Male Peggie: Don't this fucking dogs ever shut up? Staci Pratt: They're called Judges. MP: They are still fucking dogs. SP: Have you ever seen them kill? Those are more than just dogs, my friend. MP: Well… They still stank like dogs. Good Lord… Huh… Anyone cleans those cages? SP: Are you volunteering? MP: Fuck no! Haha… Are you kidding? SP: Then stop complaining.

Dialogue 5 | Audio 1 (It sounds like Pratt knows the person he's talking to well)

Staci Pratt: How does it look? Male Peggie: Not good. SP: What does that mean? Do we need a new one? MP: Not sure… We might be able to get away with just replacing the belt. SP: Right… And how long will that last? MP: Well… It might buy us a couple weeks. SP: Or… It may just blow up tomorrow. And then where will we be? MP: Up shits creek without a paddle. SP: So what do we tell Jacob? MP: We'll replace the whole fucking thing. It's the only way to be sure.

They're probably repairing a car because they're discussing timing belt.

Although the last dialogue in the audio does not involve Pratt, it does include Jacob and an explanation of how the converts are treated.

Dialogue 6 | Audio 1

Jacob Seed: Anything to report? Male Peggie: Sir. Truck just pulled up n' dropped of a bunck of new prisoners. JS: Recruits. MP: What? JS: We call them recruits. Soon they'll be a part of our army… Part of the Project. You need to respect that. MP: Ye… Yes, Sir. Of course, Sir. JS: I'm going down to see how the process is going. I'll be back soon.

As we can see there was plenty of stuff that should've happened in Jacob's region.

Audio 2

Staci Pratt: It's just gonna get harder… They want an offering. A sacrifice… I'm trying… I'm trying my best. You have to know that!.. I'm sorry.

Probably was talking to our Dep.

Audio 3

Starts after the prayers somewhere around here

Staci Pratt: The whole time I was locked in that room I just kept thinking about how I got here. You know why I became a cop? To get laid. That was it. It was a whim. And then... after awhile, I tried to convince myself that I did it for the greater good. To help people. But I can't. I know that now. Jacob taught me that... I don't know what I'm supposed to do anymore... I don't even know who I am. I don't know what we're supposed to do now. Protect and serve? Out here? There's no law anymore, Rook. Look around! Someone should've been here by now. Nobody gives a shit about what's happening here. We're on our own. Survival of the fittest. Weak and the strong.

(I would love to meet these badge bunnies in Hope County ngl. Probably Adelaide eas one of them)

Also as @lulu2992 notices Pratt's name in game files is spelled Stacy.

Previous character designs

@hopecountyradio extracted a bunch of videos of Pratt's confession.

The first version is this one:

Also in this vid Jacob has greenish eyes

The second version is this one

Has an amazing Eden's Gate intro

And Staci looks like that:

A general conclusion can be drawn from all three versions, incl. the one that was included in the final version of the game, even though the water is hard to see there. Stacy was electrocuted here, so when we rescue him in the Armory that's another reason why he blows the control panel.

Thank ya'll for reading 🖤 I would love to chat about it and add info if you know something/can provide something I haven't mentioned

I used materials from @lulu2992 , @hopecountyradio , @voices-of-hope-county and text.farcry.info

[obscurori]

A Really Really Long Shang Tsung Tangent

HIIIIIIIIIII ~ <3

I've mentioned it on another post but I feel like getting it out there with more explanation. This is my first sort of think piece or character analysis I'm posting publicly so bear with me lol.

The TLDR is there are villains, there are people who are bad, and there are people that could do better but have a lot of trouble doing so. Not all of them are disordered or have something afflicting their decision making. But Shang Tsung, in my mind and given all the factors, is a villain with ASPD/Anti-social personality disorder.

While ASPD can contribute to what is medically considered 'psychopathy' and 'sociopathy', and from my anecdotal experience those who experience ASPD do not shy from the words, I personally will only be referring to the disorder itself.

I also got a comment about how much of this is him being disordered and how much of is a choice. I want to make it absolutely clear, while my theory of his tendencies stand, all his actions in the game are his choices nonetheless.

I still clown on him for not being able to just grin and bear the cards dealt to him and/or make a friend because... yeah he really just should have. This ramble is me acknowledging that many villains don't fit the description of ASPD, but he's one that definitely is rife with enabled anti-social behavior.

I think a lot about the second chance Liu Kang gave him. The parallels they gave Shang Tsung and Raiden are evident. People born in small pockets of their world, unassuming and uneventful until someone of great power (titans, no less) approach them with a task.

The difference is how they handle it. What is there to handle? Well... a lot, if you have as severe problems with empathy and collaborating with the rules of society as Shang Tsung does. His pre-game biography lists him as 'too lazy for labor' and 'too shifty for honest work', but he can work hard for the right promises as is evident in the game.

Gritting his teeth and doing the work handed to him would have been easier. While Outworld has its issues (prominently, the remnants of the royal's imperialist stand-offs and the ableism that looms in various Outworld characters' narratives), the general wellbeing of the working class doesn't seem to be one of them. But as a huckster, he's isolated, consistently having to rely on his lies, and receiving the consequences.

To be honest, I don't think Shang Tsung didn't try. I can believe it not working out very fast, but I don't think he simply ignored that standard work is out there. He can be arrogant and bratty, but he doesn't dilute his options.

Symptoms of ASPD such as lack of empathy, ignorance to the result of his actions, and disinterest in performing standard work/social obligations are already evident, and would impede on his life whether he is a powerful sorcerer or a nobody. These impact any friendships he could have, his impulse control, and how he regards anyone up to and including himself (who he deems untrustworthy).

But we are social people that want to feel, want to be happy. Anti-social behavior isn't extreme introversion, in fact many people with ASPD are very extraverted and social. It's less about being around people and more about the reactions they're capable of while with said people.

Not all villains have a disorder, obviously. Some have motivations deemed reasonable, and some are just delightfully evil. Shang Tsung starts off very disordered and not entirely villainous, though hardly good. He was someone who couldn't do what people around him thought was so straightforward.

He's in distress over his life as a scammer, but not really how it impacts others. He's unable to connect to them and has a sense of grandeur over them, but honestly most people are doing better than he can. People, to him, are inherently isolating and alienating. He's aware this isn't normal, and can only answer to it with apathy and more lies.

Most people with ASPD don't go in for that diagnosis. They do so because of comorbidities: mood disorders like depression and bi-polar, anxiety disorders such as OCD, and other personality disorders such as BPD. I do think this would have been the case for Shang Tsung as well, if Outworld was a sort of place that would pick these things out about him, but it isn't.

Damashi's approach is so glaring to me as a result. I can make all the wet cat jokes in the world, but it is sad to me that he cannot process the consequences of his actions, only that he is forced to feel them. He expects so badly out of others that he doesn't bother giving them anything good or better from him, which gets him punished, and the cycle starts all over. That's what he figures the woman is about to do.

And that woman could have been anyone. That's already the lesson there, as she is Titan Shang Tsung in disguise. He was given the right words by someone equally manipulative and was just as vulnerable to tricks, lies, and abuse as anyone else would be in his position.

You gotta remember, if she was there just to pummel him into a pulp, he was about to let her.

His decision to follow her is one of desperation and likely depression. Depression manifests differently to those who find themselves alienated, and do not understand people's sympathy and overt emotional responses.

From my anecdotal research, there's a set of words that come up a lot that doesn't show up on many articles or bullet points about ASPD. Numbness and boredom. It's not a normal boredom where you can occupy yourself with an activity or friends. It is a complete lapse of emotional connection and stimulation. If you aren't angry, you are bored. If you aren't bored, you are numb.

Which moves us into the topic of: sensation chasing.

"Damashi" teaches him real sorcery, and what ensues is his development into the conniving and cruel Shang Tsung we know and dread. A true testament to Shang Tsung's wit and manipulative tendencies, along with this new position dissolving his impulse control. Now that he isn't held down by a lack of magic, he treats people like objects toward his greater goals with even less regard than he had in the first place.

Good L-rd you are short.

People are the subject of his curiosity and how he chases off his boredom susceptibility. "Damashi" has a plan set in stone, but Shang Tsung's horrific laboratory is unrelated to "her" demands. The lab isn't just dedicated to his own research, but his sense of morbid novelty. He can already manipulate and use people - creating hybrids out of those already existing is a very "because I can" thing.

Syzoth is one of Shang Tsung's biggest victims of this. Shang Tsung exerts control of him first for his shapeshifting, but proceeds to keep him around and hang his family over his head... because he can. And because he can, he thinks it better to do so. But the more time he kept Syzoth in the cold, cruel, and dark, the more chances he was giving him to fight back or sabotage Shang Tsung - something that ends up happening.

Shang Tsung killed Syzoth's family very early into this. Perhaps even the day the Syzoth agreed to stay in the lab. What does he get out of hiding that? Perhaps it was a sort of inside joke, a chuckle he got with each and every visit. It wasn't for control, and it wasn't to get anything out of Syzoth besides a reaction. He gave himself something by doing it this way, no matter how cruel it was to Syzoth.

There's a lot of other examples obviously about how Shang Tsung treats the people around him, but I think that one's the most important to get out of the way. This post's long enough already.

More evidence of Shang Tsung having ASPD is his primary motive: revenge against Liu Kang. Shang Tsung doesn't dare question why he couldn't fit into a normal life, he only applies new faces to the life he detested and blames them for his problems. Taking responsibility and accountability would mean processing his social faults and how to improve them... something he absolutely refused to do.

When Shang Tsung is faced with "Damashi"'s true identity, he's more angry about being manipulated and outsmarted than any of the plans falling through. He's told, to his face, he isn't the best or smartest. He was a tool, running errands while being conspired against. Instead of registering that and empathizing with the people he used before this reveal, it fuels his internalized cruelty.

When he collaborates with Liu Kang's crew, he clearly tries to suck up to Kuai Liang and even Raiden. But these are people that run on empathy. Caring about people as a whole and having faith in them doesn't mesh with Shang Tsung's view that this whole world runs on fraudulent transactions. In that moment, he fits in with the people around him just as poorly as he did while running a travel cart.

Alan Lee, the voice actor of Shang Tsung, mentions that "Damashi" approached Shang Tsung with a cheat code to life so potent that it makes Shang Tsung determined to own up to his depravity. He describes him as a "madman with pandora's box, mixed with a child to the keys to candyland." He's unpredictable, not just by standard villainy, but because nothing else has appealed to him in life.

Now that Shang Tsung has burned nearly every bridge he had, he wants to own up to that. Because to him, the only other option is the quiet. Boredom. That numbness again. If he spent any longer in that travel cart, he may have frankly committed suicide out of the sheer droll.

He will lie, steal, and carve his way into and out of any problem as he was enabled to under Titan Shang Tsung, and in a way has initiated a new, sad reality of chasing that Titan's shadow.

[frostycatblr-fandom-files]

Sorry, Wrong Comms! : Hunter x Medic!Reader [Chapter 4]

Gif chosen for the bandages on his left shoulder just like in the fic, but he’d have to lose the top to be more fic-accurate lol

Warnings & Information: Intended audience is 13+ (18 if you squint.) Star Wars and real world swearing. More lighthearted chapter than 3. Tryin' real hard to avoid certain fanon characterizations of the Batchers. This whole series is absolutely RIFE with my personal headcanons. Chapter mentions use of "bastardized-Mando'a" for the purpose of having a secret conversation, but translatable words are used. References to medical paraphernalia: stitches, bacta, etcetera. Hunter is strongly implied to be shirtless for the whole chapter. References to medical and recreational drugs. [It took me an embarrassingly long time to finally understand what "spice" was often slang for. There's so much lore to keep track of lmao.] Medic!Reader is invited to have dinner with the Batchers. Hurt and comfort in various forms take place. Brief implications of Medic!Reader having her own bad memories of war and related injuries but it's kept vague. Brief, strong implications of the brothers' having PTSD tendencies. Chapter ends on a light note, I promise.

Word-count: 6,360

Fwreep! Fwreep! Fwre-

"Hush, you." [____] scolded her equipment, mashing the button to silence the alert. She was tired, the inevitable adrenaline crash had finally taken hold and she wanted to do little else than jump into a short shower cycle and then hit the spare cot for fifteen minutes or so in the cramped back room of her clinic that served as an office, chemical lab (and a panic room in the worst cases back when she dealt with the pirates). Hunter had been saved, scanned, sent home about three and a half hours ago, and put on a strict regimen of rest and a short course of antiemetics, painkillers and sleeping aids once the transfusion was completed and he'd had half a carton of jogan juice for his blood sugar levels. 

After they had gone home so Hunter could get some rest (and told he should have some type of lean red meat or eggs if he felt he could eat something), [____] had decided she might as well open the clinic to the public for the rest of the day, even as tired as she now was.

She just had to wait another minute for the analysis to finalize for an elderly Kel Dor client, and then she could have a half-hour on that thin, stiff mattress before she'd have the energy to make it through the last two hours of business and then make her way home. She'd wash up then, she told herself. Better water pressure and the perfect temperature settings waiting for her. Yeah… that sounded nice. Maker, she was so tired, but the energy spent to save Hunter had been well worth it. The analysis looked good enough and passable for the Kel Dor's health to visit their native planet, so she made a note to send a message in the morning, mind otherwise occupied with the events aboard the Marauder; she and the second skin of bacta she slathered on the sergeant had likely found everything. Hunter would be fine. His brothers and sister were going to take good care of him. 

She'd done a good job, ignoring the rookie mistakes. He was probably, hopefully resting now. She could probably do the same and allow herself to sleep were it not for a comlink and a single three-syllable chirp shortly after she hit the cot and closed her eyes, tugging a blanket just up to her shoulder. 

Oh, stars: that was Omega's calling-quirk. 

She sat up slightly, elbow bent at a lazy angle to prop herself up just enough to keep her head off the pillow. Keep herself from falling asleep. "Omega? What's the matter?" 

"Hunter recently woke up from his nap and won't take the medicine." 

Perhaps selfishly, [____] tried shifting the burden of help to someone else, not quite yet pulling the thin, scratchy blanket from around her body as she sat up a bit more. Maybe Omega was having a little difficulty doing this on her own and just called her on the comlink in a panic. "Can you get Tech to do it, hun?" Tech had it handled, she was sure. Maybe Omega just needed a little advice and then she could have a thirty minute snooze. No such luck.

"Tech already tried…" Omega's voice was in a high whine, unassured. "Hunter wouldn't listen to him."

The blanket was now off and she was fully upright. Would asking Crosshair and all his occasional stubbornness be worth stressing Hunter? No, not a good idea. Could Wrecker be persuaded to make a brief show of strength to encourage Hunter to take the medicine under his own power? Unlikely. Echo… well, she could hear the ARC's voice in a rumble of speech with or to Hunter, but couldn't pick out any words. He was probably trying to bargain with their leader, if [____] had to make a guess. Talk sense into him. Something. She didn't know why Hunter wasn't taking the medicine, she realized. And now it'd just be easier to go and see why for herself; her concern and curiosity and sense of duty to her profession was too high to ignore now. Maybe there was something she missed… something that was hurting Hunter that she hadn't yet treated? Some means of comfort she didn't yet provide?

"I'll be there soon." 

Memories of that night a week ago were coming back to her: Cross opened the blastdoor for her when she reached the stoop. She squeezed inside past him. He offered her a blue ration bar and glass of water (citing that Tech had taken notice of (and kindly cleaned up for her) the hastily abandoned stew, meaning she'd never finished lunch). He'd be waiting for her in the common room.

She made her way to the common room, uncertain what she would find.

Hunter was collapsed slightly spread-eagle into the furniture, half dressed, and looking clammy and miserable. The position could have been described as lordly if he didn't look so unwell. There was a faraway look in his eyes under bunched brows and the light rasp of his breath. The medicine she'd given him aboard the Marauder had likely begun to wear off (he likely metabolized it differently due to his genetic profile, something she hadn't gotten around to asking Tech about and merely theorized) and the now-late dosage of the prescribed coursework was set on the low table, waiting. He was probably beginning to feel the pain and didn't seem to realize she was there.

Omega rushed the medic in a flash from some unknown area of their housing, dashing across the room in great relief. "[____]! You're here!"

Wrapping her arms around the youngster, the urgent hug was returned with warmth and comfort. Reassurance. "Hey-hey, easy sweetie. It's okay. I'm here to help as long as Hunter needs me." 

"What about your clinic since you decided to open for a part of the day? These are still your standard hours of operation-" Tech checked his statement against information on his datapad, forgoing a greeting and expressing some of his concerns, which didn't bother the shared friend of the Batch, "- so do you have any kind of proper signage that you are not available to potential patients now that you're back on the planet?" 

"Heh… yes, Tech, I made sure to turn on my sign that I'm on a house-call. Don't worry. I didn't forget this time, so there won't be any negative reviews to scrub from the Holonet tonight." She let go of Omega, grabbing a little penlight and the medicine canisters from the table, asking for Echo to start dimming half of the overhead lights for her so Hunter would no longer have to squint.

"I-I've done no such thing, [____]," Tech offered unconvincingly, the usual crisp eloquence of his voice faltering. "That would be-"

She hardly ever interrupted Tech, but for once it couldn't be helped; her laugh was light and bubbly, catching him by surprise. "You know that I know, Tech. It's okay. Now… let's see if we can't find a way to get Hunter to take his medicine now that I'm here. Thanks for the water, Cross. Just set the ration bar in my bag for now, please. Since you guys put all his medicine on the table I just need to make sure I've picked up the right two…" she flicked the portable light source over the labels of the medicine, the painkiller and anti-emetic. "yup- perfect. Just what I need." 

"Who's tha'? ...a-ad'ika?" Hunter mumbled drowsily, wincing in the soft halo of light from the thin cylindrical device in her hand. Before setting it down, she turned off the light and began pinching open the blister-packaging to the painkiller. "Sorry; hey, it's me, big guy. A little someone tells me we're not taking our medicine. What's going on, Hunter? Pain medication wearing off? Queasy?" He was looking a little disoriented and confused, fresh out of a restless sleep typical of the medicines she'd administered. "No, jus'... not really? Oh, [____]... Wh-when did y'get here?" 

Hunter's confused and woozy smile was to be expected, the medicine cocktails tended to alter one's demeanor and awareness, but stars, if it wasn't at least a little cute seeing him perk up like this at the sight of her. He looked so deliriously delighted once he realized who it was. "Not too long ago. Came because Omega made it sound like everyone needed a little help with you and I wanted to see how I could help."

"Oh…" Hunter started, sounding surprised.

"Shh, take it easy-" She pushed back on his chest carefully, avoiding the large patch of gauze and stitching hidden underneath it, and Hunter realized he had been trying to get up; her hand burned with the coldness of her clinic against his warm, bare skin. The chill felt so welcome against the almost uncomfortable warmth he was feeling - it's why he'd peeled himself out of the top half of his blacks no matter how many times Crosshair dressed and redressed him. Was it the start of fever? Or simply just more side effects of the good doctor's medicine? His senses simply just overstimulated? Why did keeping on his top matter so much regarding ifs about popping a stitch with them uncovered or not: [____] was just a comlink away to come and take care of it. She was a good baar'ur… anyone would be lucky to have someone as sweet as her for a medic.

A sweet, lovely woman… Good and kind [____]. 

"Take it easy, Hunter… let's have one of your brothers help you if you want to sit up before you take your medicine. You're pretty out of it, still, have to be gentle with your movement, okay?" 

Hunter obliged obediently, just looking at her and Crosshair as he stepped around one of the other brothers to come closer. Mostly [____]. "Are you saying Hunter's stoned?" Crosshair mused lazily, a smile dragging in those words over the doctor's shoulder before he lifted the upper half of Hunter's body from the backrest of the furniture by his armpits. Cross was kind and said nothing about the bit of sweat that his hands came away with once Hunter was sitting up. (He'd tease his brother for looking so gross when they had company over when he was feeling better another time, perhaps.) 

"Sedated would be more accurate, medically speaking… but yeah, I guess it does rather look a lot like being stoned. Doesn't look like we're getting much free entertainment like some Weequay pilots who told me they used a little too much spices in their cooking about fifteen rotations ago, though." There were some stifled chuckles from Tech, Echo and Cross around her, and Wrecker boomed with unabashed laughter, to her great confusion. She didn't think her light teasing of the semi-stoic sergeant was that funny. "W-what's so funny, boys?"

Crosshair burst the bubble for their friend, careful not to roll his eyes in a way that made it appear like annoyance of her naïvety. "Those pilots weren't talking about culinary spices, doll. Spice pirates deal in drugs. They probably pulled one of the oldest tricks in the book: lying to the medic about what kind of spices they put in the spice-cookie. It's slang."

[____] just blinked stupidly up at the stoic marksman. "R-really?" Was he messing with her? He didn't look like he was messing with her. (Was he messing with her and just had the galaxy's best poker face?) "You're… b-being serious with me, right?" Crosshair nodded plainly.

"Did you really not know?" Tech asked incredulously. 

"N-no! I thought it was exotic or illegal ingredients this whole kriffing time…" she admitted, feeling so foolish. This whole time she thought spice smugglers dealt in illegal and rare or unusual culinary ingredients. Stars, how embarrassing! 

"Well… if it makes you feel any better, maybe there are pirates out there who are carrying food spices across the galaxy. Yuh never know." Wrecker offered, giving Tech a pointed look when he had put up a finger to say something on that in that clipped voice of his. "Maybe, uh… m-maybe they're like supply runners! Getting spices from someone's homeworld tha' they can't find anywhere else when they feel homesick. A taste of home does someone some good." The idea of it sounded kinda sweet when Wrecker put it like that, something he was good at. He was always so good at trying to find ways to cheer up one of his brothers before they took Omega in as one of their own, and since she'd joined their fold, he'd gotten better at it, according to Crosshair's admittance in-confidence some time ago. (But if the medic told anyone he said that, Cross warned her he would likely deny it if only to spur on his bigger brother to try to refine the quality even further.)

Finally turning her attention back to Hunter, who had been sitting up with just a slight wobble in the last few minutes, [____] emptied the packet into the palm of her hand, producing two pearlescent blue pills that would keep the pain's edge dull and nipping at his heels with puppy teeth instead of fangs. "Here, let's start with the painkillers first. Unless you want to take the anti-emetic so you don't risk feeling like you're about to waste the oral painkillers."

Hunter looked mildly panicked about that possibility, the richness of his warm eyes lost in a worry he hadn't considered until now. The guilt, the embarrassment, for throwing up in Cross's arms before they had made it to the clinic flared up yet again. "The e-emetic…" 

"Okay, we'll take the anti-emetic instead then. Probably should have started with it first anyways. Here… let's get this one open and ready for ya." Speaking soothingly, [____] tucked the pearlescent medicine back into its torn packaging and picked up the other, keeping her voice within that casual cadence. "Just have to let this one dissolve under your tongue; like the melt-away I gave Omega." Distrustful or disgusted looks regarding the thin off-white tablet fell away quickly, and the leader of Clone Force 99 took the prescription item from the medic and tucked it under the fleshy muscle as demonstrated. "Good, just like that. Shouldn't take long to dissolve under your tongue, then we can try these to keep that pain under control." 

"Tas'es funny…" Hunter mumbled carefully, afraid to disturb the dissolving puddle of moistened powder sitting under his tongue. She picked the datapad off her belt clip, glancing over the prescribed coursework for something. "Ah, let's see here… Not a big fan of the candy-like flavoring? I'm afraid it was the only one I had available to prescribe for the time, sorry Hunter. If you don't like it, I'll make a note to avoid it in the future." 

Hunter started to shrug, but felt the stitching on his left shoulder begin to tug unpleasantly with the motion and quickly abandoned that. "Mmp… 's  fine…" It wasn't that bad, he could tolerate it - he didn't want to trouble her over something trivial after everything else. [____] delicately pecked her fingers along the screen of her datapad for just a moment longer, and then clipped it back to her belt without a word, picking up the painkillers and gingerly planting them into his palm. He was quickly stopped by her clamping her free hand above his when he began to pull it back as she reached behind her and grabbed the glass Crosshair had gotten from the kitchen for her to take a small swig of water. "...whu's wrong?" 

"Maybe don't dry-swallow those; they're a rapid dissolve formula. Here… borrow some of my water." [____] held the cup she just drank from out to him, and both carefully ignored Crosshair's teasing quip about indirect kissing when Hunter carefully swallowed down the pair of pills with just enough water. Taking the cup back, she and Cross helped Hunter settle back against the backrest once more and made a note of the time. "Alrighty, good job big guy. I'll keep an eye on you while we wait for that to kick in, you just get comfortable. Let me know if something's still painful in about… ten minutes or so." Hunter nodded lazily, leaning his head back with a weary sigh. His nerves were still so overwhelmed- screaming, frayed and buzzing from the injuries and procedures carried out to treat them. His body ached and he sat there hoping the medicine would give him relief soon. 

"It's okay; fall asleep if you want to. If you can." [____] offered the permission softly, sounding strangely far away for being on the two-seater just a few feet away with Omega while hearing some of his brothers leave the common room. With careful effort Hunter lifted his head from the backrest and glanced over at sister and friend, seeing the former curled into the latter's side with Lula under one arm, studying the datapad with the medic. 

"What's this mean?" Omega inquired, brows pinching together in a scrutinizing expression that looked a lot like one of Echo's scowls for an amusing moment.

[____] laughed softly, a short oh! falling from her lips when she saw what his sister was pointing out. "That's just an unholy mix of a bunch of my personal jargon with the official medical jargon for the kinds of sutures I gave your brother. They're absorbable, meaning he won't have to come back to my clinic to have them removed. Now think back: do you remember what monofilament means?" 

While Omega was puzzling over the datapad for just a moment, the silence allowed the medic to tear open the wrapping to the food she'd been offered and eat it before it became forgotten and smushed among the items of her medbag. "Single strand structure. Like Tech's when you removed the shrapnel." Omega stated matter-of-factly, trying to emulate Tech's speech pattern. It made the medic chuckle before threading her fingers through the blond crop of hair under her chin with her free hand, setting down the half eaten blue travel-ration to do so. Omega adored having her hair played with by those she trusted. The intimacy and care behind such a gesture was proof to the brothers, drugged and undrugged alike in the room, that [____] was truly perfect for her profession. 

Care for one of their own, and you had the rest wrapped around your finger.

"Hey, [____]!" Wrecker called from the kitchen. "Stay for dinner with us! How do you like your meat?" 

The medic balked for a moment, looking surprised by the sudden invitation. "St-stay for dinner? Are you sure? I'd-"

"Awh, 'course! Got enough Kommerken steaks for everyone! Been dying to have these for a while now." Wrecker promised, flashing a jovial smile in the doorway. "You're probably gonna have to stay here to watch Hunter for a while after those ten minutes, right?" If he pointed this out, she'd surely agree to stay for dinner, and then some. Perhaps a game of Dejarik or a round of Sabacc if they could convince her. 

"Well, not necessarily in the way you're probably thinking…? I don't have to engage in any additional medical observation at this point. He'd be plenty fine in your capable hands between the five of you once I've headed home- and sure, I'll stay for dinner - I have faith in you guys." Sniper and ARC trooper shared a glance at Hunter, and then each other as she followed Wrecker into their kitchen. They knew they were thinking the same thing as Wrecker explained and showed the difference in the done-ness of the Kommerken steaks he could prepare for [____] with unfettered glee. They were probably going to have to tell her. 

Wrecker had told him that he let the Loth-cat out of the bag, but Echo knew that she didn't have the full picture. 

Hunter's often borderline-paranoid avoidant nature when it came to discomfort and conflict. 

The way he would run from as many problems as he faced. How he gave the clinic a wide berth unless absolutely unavoidable sometimes. How Hunter hesitated getting involved in directly confronting the Empire like Captain Rex every time it came up in conversation with Echo, and how Hunter dug in his heels on keeping the squad together when he expressed to Hunter wanting to do something to help their deserting brothers. The excessive caution that became stifling if he or Crosshair did not provide a little pushback when the time called for it. While he was often an excellent leader, he was terrible about dealing with emotional and mental discomfort since the safety net of the GAR was cut from under his feet on Kaller. 

And it was holding him back from telling [____] himself about how he really felt.

There'd be little chance she'd understand something outside of common phrases, so Echo figured perhaps some use of bastardized-Mando'a would be safe to use with the medic within earshot. "Gar ganar at rejorhaa'ir kaysh, vod." You have to tell her, brother.

A befuddled "Huh?" was all Hunter could think to say in response to the rough and mispronounced Mando'a. Tell her what? What was Echo getting at?

"Wrecker told her, aboard the Marauder," Echo whispered, squatting slightly to bring himself to Hunter's current eye level. "How you feel. A cuun burc'ya ru'kir susulur bic teh gar." But their friend should hear it from Hunter. The confession from his own lips and heart where he could finish pining over her in unspoken feelings and finally, finally, finally tell her. "Tell her, or I will. Or, I'll let Cross do it." Echo threatened in half seriousness, watching Hunter pale with realization.

"Oh goody, that would be fun, wouldn't it, Hunter?" Crosshair sneered, voice like poisoned honey in mischievous glee. For just a moment, Echo couldn't be sure if Cross was being threatening, or simply being a sibling. 

"N-no, please…" Hunter moaned, weakly pleading with his brothers with a wave of panic rising in his chest, "Don't! I just n-need a little time t-to… f-finish suhm'thin…" A letter. He had a letter he was trying to write… Crosshair would be stomping all over these carefully chosen words and thank yous and apologies to tell her how he felt if Echo was serious… "Gedet'ye, vod… Gedet'ye." Please don't do anything to blow this for him. He needed more time. 

Echo put his hand on Hunter's uninjured shoulder, leveling the end of his scomp with his brother with a pointed expression. "By the end of the week." 

"Hey Hunter! How do you want your Kommerken?!" 

Hunter blanched at the thought of food right now. While the anti-emetic was proving helpful for a turbulent stomach, he didn't think he'd take a chance on anything substantial like a slab of meat and the seasoned, fire-roasted root vegetables he could smell Tech preparing. "Tell him m'not hungry… Cross would you… grab my datapad from my beside?" Hunter should start proofreading that letter if he has two days, glancing at the wall with the calendar. Crosshair was down the hallway before he could change his mind. "Sure. I'll be right back so you can take a page out of Tech's book and study up. Tell Wreck I want mine bloody, Echo." 

"I'm not a waiter droid!" Echo called after him. Sighing, he straightened up and entered the kitchen to join Wrecker and relay the information. "Hunter's not in a state for food just yet. Crosshair wants his steak bloody. I'll take mine well-done, please." 

"Ha-hah! You got it! You want some, Omega?" 

"Ew…" Hunter heard her complain softly. The brothers were working on introducing her to more galactic cuisine they'd come across in their travels well before they met her, with mixed success. She didn't have the same adventurous stomach like Wrecker, but she would humor most of the more unusual offerings at least once when they could afford to be picky with a meal. "I don't know… I'll… try a little, I guess." 

"Atta girl. Don't worry, I'll grill up some nuna drumsticks for ya, too." Wrecker promised her before Omega said she was going to go to her room and work on something she started drawing the other night. Nuna legs were always a safe meal choice no matter where they traveled; the base flavor was almost always the same, perhaps slightly gamey depending on the planet, but otherwise it was prepared and served in a pretty universally uniform fashion. "You're not much of a fan of the Kommerken either, Tech, you want to go with some nuna tonight instead?" 

"If you don't mind." Tech murmured distractedly, turning the chunks of root vegetable individually on the other hotplate to ensure an even crisping. 

"Not at all!" Wrecker rolls his right shoulder once before he turns his attention back to the larger hotplate he's set up to make dinner for everyone. A twinge of pain in his face is not unnoticed by the woman wearing the insignia of galactic healthcare on her shoulder still. "Something happen to your shoulder, Wreck?" 

"Oh, I'm fine kid," he couldn't think up anything in particular from their mission with Captain Rex aboard the prisoner transport ship that caused the pain at the moment, so he couldn't be entirely certain it was anything from their earlier escapade, "don't worry about me… Please. We're more concerned about Hunter being taken care of right now." Wrecker's last words dropped into a low, careful rumble, so as not to be overheard by those outside of the kitchen. Tech nodded in agreement with the sentiment expressed. Ordinarily he would have scolded one of his brothers for neglecting injury or illness (not quite to the same, stern extent that Echo would), but today had nearly gone so south and sideways were it not for the woman currently shoulder-to-shoulder with Wrecker. 

If she hadn't been out there, drifting in space, aboard her medical craft and by some mercy of all holy deities in this galaxy near enough to the Havoc Marauder that they could take Hunter to her, Hunter may no longer be here. The bitter thought of one less brother almost coming to pass choked his throat unpleasantly. Their grievances could wait. Hunter would come first until everyone was satisfied he was recovered and it would be business as usual. 

[____] made a little rolling motion of her jaw in thought, and swallowed down the concerns clambering in her throat she wished to voice. "Okay," she said instead, voice almost regretful. "But I feel I should at least give you something for the pain so it's not bothering you while you're making dinner for everyone, at least." 

Before the sweet giant of a man could wave off the proposed offer, Tech waved to the thick, red-stitched patch affixed to the sleeve of the rumpled, hastily thrown-on (but importantly clean of any blood) uniform coat with a flutter that directed Wrecker's attention to the insignia to remind him she's still wearing the shattered cross so she's still on the job. "I think that would be a sufficient compromise, Wrecker." 

Wrecker just shrugs noncommittally, but nods all the same not long after with some thought. He trusts Tech's judgment of course; he trusts all of his brothers. Every. Damn. One of them. "Righ'. Compromise works… I'll take something for the pain, sure. Thanks, kid."

"I'll be right back then. I have some single doses in my bag." 

"Single doses?" The ARC trooper repeated from out in the common area. "What of? What for?" 

"Probably the big guy's shoulder." Crosshair said in a way that didn't sound like a guess, more of a statement. "Tweaked his shoulder aboard that karking transport." He didn't so much as react to the flinch and stern look from Hunter at his word choice. 

"How'd you know?" 

"Marksmen see everything…" [____] offered with a cryptic thought, rooting through the hard-frame medbag. She didn't elaborate on the less than blithe remark, just chewed on a difficult look in her eyes and the tight grind of her jaw. She'd seen her own horrors from the Clone Wars. The relentless and indiscriminate wrathful arm of brutality and violence that left so many permanently altered even if they survived those three years. Just three kriffing years that felt so much longer. "Found it. Here, got something to help with that pain, big guy."

She broke the thin barrier of foil in the single-dosage blister and took it back with her to the cramped kitchen, giving it to Wrecker who thanked her brightly, using one of her nicknames. "Awh, thanks. Appreciate it!" 

There was a shrill beep, the end of a timer from the opposite end of the kitchen that made Hunter visibly twitch out in the common room, the sound an icepick in his ear canal. 

"That was set for ten minutes," Tech answered the unasked question, calling out above the clattering of ceramic dishware as Wrecker plated the steaks that were done, "you should see if the dosage has helped Hunter. Will the dosage you gave Wrecker need more or less time?" 

The medic made a sound of deep thought at first. "Er, slightly more. Let's say fifteen. Thanks for keeping track, Tech," her thanks was met with insistence that it was nothing, he was happy to assist before she stepped back out into the common area, eyes squeezed in a look of worry when she saw Hunter. "Hunter, how you doin', hun? You okay? Think that painkiller kicked in yet?" 

Hunter rolled his good shoulder, hoping he didn't look too panicked on the outside the way he felt it internally. Great trees of Kashyyyk, that had set off his fight-flight instinct. "Uh, yeah, think it did… Timer just scared the kriff out of me. Could someone ask Tech to use a different timer tone?" It was a default sound, one a touch too close to the primed and ready chime of a detonator. Were it an octave higher, it would have been exact. 

"You hear that, nerd?" Crosshair growled darkly, voice just loud enough to be picked up by those in the kitchen. He'd noticed what Hunter had, felt that same edge in his teeth at the unpleasant alert. "Erase that karking option from the timer settings cause that's sure as banthashit not going to work out for ex-soldiers." 

"Yes, I agree; apologies, everyone..."  

A door slammed sharply down in the hall. Seemed like Omega had been ready to join the group for dinner once she could hear the gritty shuffle of plates, but suddenly changed her mind. It didn't seem like she'd meant to slam the door, either, that was very unlike her to engage in this age-appropriate behavior. "Oh dear..." [____] crooned softly, her face matching the worried expression of the brothers. She skirted around the sofa to stop Crosshair, and both she and Echo prevented Hunter from getting up by pressing down on his unhurt shoulder as he tried to find his feet under him. "No, stay there, Hunter; you're going to be too woozy to walk. Let me handle it, Crosshair," 

The sniper just regarded the thought of checking on his sister with one last look towards Omega's bedroom door, then back at the grown woman again before he relented, his jaw clenching and releasing repeatedly. "If you need help." 

"I'll let you know. I understand it's very unlike her; I'll see what's going on." [____] assured her friends, promising she'd ask one of them to come assist if she felt it was necessary. Silently approaching the barrier of privacy, the woman rapped a knuckle twice on the upper panel. 

A sniffled apology to what was likely believed to be needed for one of her brothers at the door greeted the medic's ears. "I-I'm sorry I didn't me-mean to slam the door…!" 

Oh the poor, sweet girl. Was she scared she'd gotten herself in trouble, or had the sound of the timer scared her, too? Though, perhaps it was a third, previously unconsidered option: Omega couldn't find the energy to be brave any longer. She wasn't as practiced as her war veteran brothers in masking their fear, or waiting until it was a more "appropriate" time to have those feelings. "It's me, Omega. May I come in?" There was no answer. Just a stifled sniffle before the audible swell of a new wave of tears started. "It's just me." [____] promised again.

The mechanism klic!'d as Omega hiccuped that she could come in. The desk light was the only source of illumination for the whole of the room presently turned on, so the medic left it that way. Curled in the deepest corner of her bed furthest from the door, Omega sat with her legs hiked up under her chin, the fabric of her pants tearstained at the knees. What was the best question to ask her first? Did she think she was in trouble for the door? Scared by the timer? Or scared she nearly lost her brother today? 

"Can I give you a hug, sweetheart?" was asked instead, the medic lowering herself slowly to the slightly springy mattress she remembered helping the brothers find when they furnished the house. 

Look, doc, we've… never had comfortable beds our whole lives being soldiers. Just those damn sleeping pods as cadets and then a private room with piss poor excuses for a mattress for those few nights we'd be back on Kamino. So that means we've never had to take care of a kid before either… What kind of mattress is Omega going to need? Help us… help me… figure out how to take care of that kid. Please… please!

Omega nodded with an emotional whimper, weakly climbing into the lap of the grown woman and planted her forehead between the medic's collarbones, crown of her head tucked away and under [____]'s chin. Strong arms that have cradled and carried the wounded, the dying, and the sick thread themselves around the shoulders and little waist of the sole sister to these brothers. 

"It's okay, sweetheart. I was scared too." 

It's all it takes to give Omega permission to cry again. To speak; the scared, child-like mewl of Omega's emotional voice punctuated by hiccups. "I-I thought I was going to l-lose my little brother!" She couldn't pretend anymore. She wasn't the “little sister” of the Bad Batch right now. She was the frightened, older - if not eldest - sibling of those vode out in the common room and in the kitchen who had been raised in secret labs and corners of Kamino and knew little of the galaxy compared to them. So she was being raised by men technically younger, but, by necessity, more mentally mature and experienced men. 

Fingers clawed into the doctor's coat like clingmoss, knuckles going pale with the force of the grip. The strength was mirrored with a deeper pull of her arms, and [____] brought Omega closer to her chest, combing her fingers through the girl's hair. "I-! I thought he'd-!" 

"I know, baby girl. I know. You don't have to say it and upset yourself. C'mere…" She scooped an arm under Omega's knees and repositioned her easily, cradling the child with an ease from years of practice. "... take a deep breath for me, little one. It's okay." If she could get Omega mostly settled, perhaps she could do something about the worried whispers just barely outside the mouth of the hall too. She had an idea. "Breathe in, hold, and then breathe out." She uncurled the arm under Omega's knees and dug around in an inner coat pocket, hoping the itty cylindrical object she felt in there was what she hoped it was. "Take a deep breath in," [____]'s fingers wrapped around the little item and pulled it free, a fabric marker she used to doodle on bandages and casts for pediatric patients. "and breathe out nice and slow… There you go. Just like that." 

"What's t-that?" Omega sniffled, eyes catching on the strange art supply. "I've never se-seen a marker like that before..."

"It's a fabric marker," [____] explained, taking the edge of her sleeve to dry Omega's face, using the distraction to soothe and settle, "I mostly use this to add little drawings on big casts and bandages for my pediatric patients so it makes them feel better. Maybe before I go home tonight you and I could add little doodles to Hunter's gauze; make it all pretty for him. Whaddya think?" The teasing offer and wink worked, the light in Omega's eyes sparking. The idea was silly, and there was a chance that trying to add a cute little doodle or two might be slightly more trouble than would be worth the temporary pain or Hunter would protest to the idea of being doodled on, but it was enough to cheer her spirits for the time being. "You can think about it. Hold onto it for now," 

Who knows; maybe Hunter would allow his sister to add some minuscule artworks if only to get her to smile and worry about him less, "Because I think that's the smell of your dinner ready. Hungry?"

Omega dried her eyes one last time and grinned brightly up at her friend. Her brother's savior. She still had her brother thanks to the woman who had come in and comforted her. "Yeah!" 

[____] smiled and winked at the little youngster still snuggled in her lap, the fabric marker held tight in her hands like a sword's hilt. "Good. Me too; ration bars are only so filling, aren't they?" Her heart sang with the bubbling giggle and one last embrace before both scooched off the bed, Omega calling out to any listening brother in the rest of the house that the two of them were ready to and that she called dibs! to sit between [____] and Hunter at the table this time when everyone sat down to dinner. 

There was a sharp pause before a great shuffle at the dining room table to make that arrangement possible.

Taglist: @dragonrider9905​

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[nosolaceofastraightanswer]

happy pride month!!!! anyway tua pride headcanons cus i want to lol :P *note- i do not identity with all of these labels. i cannot give you a personal experience or defense for these. if i include any harmful stereotypes, lmk. it’s pride month and queer people are valid*

quick overview, analysis below the readmore

luther- he/him cishet

diego- he/him cis and bicurious

allison- she/her cishet

klaus- he/she (they sometimes) genderqueer/enby, pansexual

five- they/he gay and ace. agender.

ben- he/him cishet

viktor- he/they transmasc lesbian

for some i used the canonical pronouns as to not confuse before i get the explanation. <33333

luther- to me he’s like a cishet guy honestly. i still love the pride hc’s other people have, bc most of the time they’re really good. i just prefer this reading, espec. with sloane (QUEEN!!!!). i also don’t like the s1 era fics where everyone hated luther (almost entirely unjustified) so they would make him be a dick to klaus and stuff. like did he drink reggie’s kool aid? yes. but is he homophobic? no. i think a better example in a canonical kid fic of him saying mean things to klaus for plot would be like,, making fun of him for being a druggie or lazy, because that’s stuff that reginald would actually encourage him to say. rant over lmao that just has always bothered me.

diego- honestly this one is back and forth for me, between bisexual and straight. like him and lila being bi4bi is just too fucking amazing, but he does give off straight guy energy sometimes so i’ll put it at a bi-curious. he’s def an ally though, and i can imagine he would do his best to get over his fear of needles to help v with his t shots, or defend klaus from homophobic assholes. although i personally hc him as cis, the transmasc diego people have their fucking shit together because that HITS DIFFERENT. i think done right, it adds so much to his character in AU’s and stuff and it’s just rly cute!! but bisexual diego is a very fanon thing that i like to see.

allison- i think probably straight and cis once again. she seems very comfy and happy in her femininity and gender, and her with ray??? (sidenote almond as a ship name makes me lose it ITS SO CUTE). i think she’s always been a big ally to klaus. i can also see her as pan or bi, but pressured to appear as straight by the constant eyes on her since she was like ten. i mean not only was she the only girl, but also a black girl? she was 100% so insecure during her childhood because people were constantly critiquing her. so honestly i don’t think it would be too out of the ordinary to hc her as queer.

klaus- i mean, we all know this one. as far as i know he has been canonically (though not mentioned in show, more like an interview or something) pansexual and non-binary. if not then it’s VERY FANON. directly through the show, we see his attraction to men through dave and also his enjoyment of more feminine clothes and makeup and things like that. i hc him as genderqueer and just generally chilling out and not really caring too much about labels. like a “i’ll fuck you if you’re hot” kind of attitude.

five- now this one might get me some weirdness, but i don’t see five as a cishet man for my hc’ing purposes. a common fanon opinion is that he’s asexual, which i totally like. i also think he’s gay. i guess that would be homoromantic? and also agender. he said no. no. MEN. i think that any romantic hc that does not acknowledge delores is not doing it right, bc holy shit delores is so fucking important to the understanding of his character!!!!! i believe in the interpretation that delores is himself, but a separated part that he forced himself to view as a separate entity to survive the apocalypse. he kind of fucking tricked himself into loving himself, though unfortunately as many people have pointed out, he doesn’t see himself as capable of good. he doesn’t see that delores is him- he can’t. he was down bad though for his mannequin apocalypse wife okay??? they were in love fuck you???? idk sexuality is fluid. let this old man live his life. he’s so tired. also agender, i think they don’t like being called a boy (possibly childhood trauma, possibly gender) but still is okay with “old man”.

ben- he is the token cishet of the upper numbers trio ( 567 icons real and true ). the jennifer incident was heavily implied if not directly and canonically stated to be a romantic issue, and also him and jill!!!! yes it was weird but it was so cute. bring back umbrella ben istg idc about the themes you messed them up in s3 anyway. i would talk more about him BUT HE NEVER GOT ENOUGH FUCKING SCREENTIME EVER AND THE THEMES THE THEMES HIS CHARACTER THEY DIDN- gets shot

viktor- canonically transmasc, canonically a woman enjoyer, ten out of ten character. i love looking at s1 era fics where people would be like. there is no way this guy doesn’t like women. *lesbian headcanons*. and elliot page just slaying with the queer rep season after season. i think he/they pronouns for viktor is really good and i like it :)). also some people hc them as bi because of harold (or for weird reasons but we don’t talk about that-) but i think it’s more of a lesbian thing personally. now. don’t come after me i’m not looking for he/him lesbian discourse on my pride month fandom post. AND FURTHERMORE elliot page is a king and he doesn’t deserve in any way the crazy hate he gets for being trans. trans men are men, trans ppl are valid etc. that being said, i hc him as a he/they lesbian. RESPECTFULLY. i imagine there were a lot of complicated factors while he was coming out and realizing things about themself. i think the harold thing was wanting to be wanted and loved more that actually wanting or loving, and you know we all gotta have that spicy *heteronormativity* woohoo.

bonus LILA (queen)- bisexual!! also she/they hc’s are valid asf for that. we love a queen who can do both. not sure if this is partial or full canon, or just heavy fandom but idc.

okay byyeeee happy pride month and also have a good juneteenth. black lives matter!!!!!

[pan-magi]

Manga Bonus and Omake Time!

It's June, so I'll do one of the gayest ones. Surprisingly, it's none of Judar's, though they came in very close second hahaha. Nah, I'm going to go over the other magi with vol 19's.

The scans below are mine. I was too lazy to find good copies online, despite cleaning up the images from my shit camera probably was more effort than just finding them. Another note is that they're the English translation from Viz Media. I usually like fan translations a lot of time for analysis because I find it easier to pick apart the more literal translations a lot go for. Alas, I don't have that so these are the same that were published at the end of the volume in America.

These are mostly my own interpretations from this specific scene. Nothing really to back anything up, more-so to explain my thought process because I can and I think it's fun.

Not gonna lie, when I first read that I was like yesss. Fuck gender and sexuality! That's the spirit. And I do think, even though the conversation before is talking about gender, sexuality also applies to the statement since the immediate reply to Scheherazade's words is refuted as Aladdin's perverse behavior is brought up. If she wasn't referring to both then that would be a bigger leap in the conversation. I'm also biased because I am ace, lol.

(for the record, I do see Scheherazade as acespec, and both Aladdin and Yunan under the non-binary umbrella, though not necessarily agender for either of them. I will get my pride Magi hcs up this month. Idk when though so stating this here in case curious.)

(from right to left)

I feel like Scheherazade is doing her best to help Titus out and explain but she should let Titus identify himself.

Titus, you deserve the world. All the future happiness to you to help ease any doubt <3.

This is one of the times gender is the focus on the conversation, and it's about Titus being self conscious on his gender. We see a bit of Yunan's other lives, with some being shown feminine, but that's it. The manga brings attention to it for Titus, although this isn't in the main manga either. The whole conversation and Titus in general gives off big trans energy.

I dunno. I like that they reassure him on who he is. Should have laid off him in the first place, but it's sweet.

(Plus, Aladdin, you are a little shit and should apologize for invading the guy's space when you met and not just for assuming his gender. Bad child.)

I love when they do start to talk about Aladdin, Titus mentions that neither he or Sphintus gets it concerning woman. It could be because they're young, and that's fair. But the more important conclusion:

They're gay, your honor.

Yup, that's what I have. I enjoy that the main talking point was about gender and sexuality, and for me it's easy to see no one there as cishet. The end note is that Scheherazade is likely more wordly than she appears (or wants to be), but I do still see her as ace. I will break down more of my headcanons later; this is long enough already.

Happy Pride Month All. Sharing all my fluffy freshly-baked ace cakes.

[claudeleine]

If lestat is a fictional character then why cant people talk about how he got to dropping louis from sky or to hurting claudia? I find it weirder that he is fictional yet if you want to talk about his existence and the plot and everything that build him up people get upset about it. Or if you think that being abusive isnt lestat's main defining quality like that's weird every other character allowed the grace of being complex but not lestat because if he is complex it takes away from the abuse louis and claudia suffered? Make it make sense

i mean i wouldn't say that every other character is given the grace of being complex except for lestat. i think it's largely the opposite - both within fandom and in-universe. for example: during the trial, lestat clarifies how claudia's turning really went down but also fully admits to hurting louis, and we saw tons of ppl whose main takeaway is that louis is untrustworthy and lestat is a victim. even within the actual scene, that's exactly how it's going down - the audience and the coven paints lestat as a victim and claudia/louis as the perpetrators.

i think where we start to run into issues, in my opinion, is ppl not wanting to really acknowledge lestat's negative behaviors/traits or trying to explain it away to diminish how bad it really was. it's one thing to be like character a did this bc of x, y, and z - so you can just...understand the character and their own internal logic and environmental factors, etc etc etc. and it's another to try to say that character didn't do that thing, or that it's not actually that bad bc there's a reason why it happened. like that's just..lazy and annoying. the latter is what i was referring to. i'm specifically talking about ppl who are also taking away lestat's complexity by diminishing the negative sides of his character.

and i do agree that some ppl can jump the gun and when ppl are just idk doing character/plot analysis, there can be a lot of assumptions made in bad faith that you're excusing or diminishing the behavior rather than just exploring how the character got from point a to point b. but there are a lot of ppl who are also just explaining it all away and effectively both defanging characters like lestat.

there's also a point to be made regarding ppl using language or rationale that's used to justify abuse irl which shouldn't be forgotten too, but that's maybe a whole extra essay. and there's also the aspect of how racism and specifically anti-blackness play a role. and how poc - especially black fans - have to see white fans fawn over lestat despite his extreme acts of violence against black characters. i don't think you can be all that upset that some ppl are going to be less interested in giving lestat a lot of grace.

but to summarize, generally speaking, i think lestat is really given the most grace to be complex but his own fans (and honestly anne rice herself lol) do his character a disservice by defanging him and writing off a whole part of who he is. and that's what i was getting at.

[crueldemonsthesis]

Mb someone has already asked this(IM LAZY. I DONT WANNA TRY AND FIND IT😭) but you said in your pinned comment that you hate crybaby(amen crybaby mid) and that you may or may not elaborate on it, so now I’m asking you to elaborate on it:))))))))

oh shit this is going to be so long. so like. so like. crybaby bad bites my teeth and spits everywhere with my red evil eyes.

so im actually writing bit and im soo sorry for my spelling i ahve really shaky hands and stuff blah blah so yeah. sorry if this is hard to read i tried!

devilman is a very important manga to me because of my own firsthand experiences with war so im not a fan of the weird pubety theme and focus in crybaby.

even as a pubetrty theme theres sexualization of the characters that doesnt need to be there. mikos poor poor floppy boobs. it makes me uncomfortable! also masturbation scene do i need to say anymore

crybabys characterizations of the characters also are just. mindbloggling. akiras the crybaby? ya sure??? like dude next time i go drinking or some shit ill bring my devilman pffdf and take sip everytime ryo cries. then ill die bc im not strong enough.

it just goes places with the characters that i dont understand like. where did u get this from. i do not like ryo being cold anc uncaring it couldnt be further from the original character. bitch is crying and gaying everwhere.

and with miki! i lovee miki uhm. do u see my bio. do u see my profile picture. do u see my blog title. i am lover of miki makimmuraa and supoorter of ehr so that bitch in crybaby make no sense. give miki her knife again let her chase people round with her knife let her shoot a man. let her kill.

i hfate fucking hate what they did with sirene. they made sirenes arc weird and sexual made her a pedophile and then akira rapes sirene which is literally something wthat was cut out form the origianal 1972 manga why is this a plot p oint now. like ill point u to my friend @akisatas analysis or something just go through her entire analysis tag shes smart and awesome.

just what happened to sirene makes me soo angry i could bite mhead off.

i dont like ryos weird racism backstory it feels weird i feel weird bad bad also why does demon posession make hthem sooo dark skinned. like ok maybe its trying to make them more grey. but like. sigh whatever this is real critsicm its just sus.

this is a nything against crybaby this is my fault entirely but i thought that akira was brown and bc im brown i was really excited about it. lol. like before i watched dmcb. now i know.

i am a ryokira shipper lover ryokira always in my head ryo and akira kissing pathtetically my beautiful sons. i dont like what ryokira is in dmcb its. not. good! ryos weird distant and. horrible.

thankx for th e ask mwah. ill just direct you to the analysiss to the actually good posts that are wellthoughtout here, another one, another another one, this one, another one, uhmmm this

[floridakilo]

another little breaking bad thought i had last night...as much as he is an egomaniac i dont think walter showed up to the dea ridealong in episode one with the intent to cook meth at all i think he was just desperate and grasping at straws and looking to live vicariously through the proximity to danger that hank could provide...it was only seeing jesse by chance that sparked everything (ie random chemical reaction motif) and if that didnt happen walter wouldve just found another way to sublimate his ego into some other midlife crisis endeavor, most likely by taking the job at gray matter with elliot n gretchen bc in that scenario that would be his only option...its crazay how things couldve been so easily different due to randomness and i think "lol his ego and scheming" is lazy analysis and it detracts from how poetic the writing is...prior to the meth cooking walter is far from a master manipulator he couldnt even stand up for himself when it came to elliot selling the company and he lets people walk all over him...like he was literally just some lame guy following his sick intuition/latent power complex and when he realized how lucky he got with jesse he doubled down and refused to let go...the entire persona of "heisenberg" literally only exists vis-à-vis the fantasy world theyve concocted through their partnership, symbolized ofc by the larger drug underworld itself...anyway hits laced blunt