#doesnt even have to be the main plot just something where they have some nice father son interactions i beg 😭

[scorpiusmalfoylovesoscarwilde]

does anybody have any fics that feature positive Harry and Albus content 🥹🥹 I just wanna see some nice father son bonding but its all so aNGSTY lemme see them GET ALONG JUST ONCE feel like it would heal my soul and solve all my problems guys 🧎‍♂️🧎‍♂️

[mdhwrites]

It really does feel like the writers just kind of dont care about the world. When i first saw it, i was really interested in just how wild it was, a whole world based of hieronymous bosch? Cool.

But then they just contradict themselves, dont do anything with it or it just doesnt make sense? for example:

-In the first season the world is presented as this brutal, hostile place, where walking down the street can get you killed. Characters dont know what hugging or shaking hands is. The schools are brutal, teachers being downright vile at points. In season 2 they have a whole school dedicated to darwinian logic. But... later the teachers are suddenly nice, the world feels less hostile and they have therapists? what? in a place where you get thrown in prison for writing fanfiction?

-Some jokes are made that are 'haha get it cuz not human' but they make no sense. They have bard magic, walking guitars and bands, but when they have to look after luz, they suddenly think nightmare noises are a banger? Or how willow makes a '40s cartoon' joke, gus has a pb&j samwich, etc.

-Potion magic makes no sense. How is it a coven when you can do it WITHOUT magic. what happens when you get branded? do you just lose all magic? is it a pity coven for bad witches?

I feel on its own these things are nitpicky, but when they pile up it just feels like they were only thinking about making the place LOOK cool while having zero substance.

So you're correct that a lot of these are either nitpicks or just really lazy jokes on the part of the writers. In fact, the lazy, fish out of water jokes came back in S3 and make Amity just look like falling in love literally drained her brain out of her ears. However, that doesn't make them invalid, especially in a show with little worldbuilding. They pile up into making the whole thing feel like a construct.

Luckily, you don't have to go to nitpicks to point out that the writers didn't give a shit. Dana herself is one of the worst writers as far the worldbuilding goes. After all, she wrote Reaching Out.

She was the one who treated being a Wild Witch like choosing not to go to college.

She also co-wrote The First Day where, you know, they don't even acknowledge that multi-tracking is explicitly illegal in this society so why would an EC funded school EVER allow that?

There's SO MANY of these sorts of things peppered throughout the series that makes the ONE part of the world building we ever get, that is anything close to making this world actually unique besides implications, a straight up lie. It'd be like if Avatar made being able to multi-bend something you chose seven episodes in and suddenly slaughtered the entire point of the Avatar being special. It doesn't though because WHY WOULD YOU DO THAT!?

And there's no way to call this a nitpick. It's the hard basis for one of the main cast, even though Eda's status as a criminal is ALL OVER THE PLACE in S1, especially for people giving a shit about it. It's effectively the core of the villain's plot and the society they created. Any crack in the coven system becomes a crack in your main plot... And when it was first introduced, rather than nine, their were hundred, a fact that persisted into S2 when a character VOICED BY DANA talked about joining the Cute Cat Coven. You know, a coven theoretically not affected by the draining spell.

It's even important thematically. It is the oppression that Luz is supposed to fighting against. The way that self expression and being true to you is repressed is through the coven system and the laws surrounding it. Those need to actually function for those themes to feel like they have weight or they fall apart. It's part of why TOH struggles with thematic consistency because self expression doesn't feel like a core part of it when no one gives a fuck what you do. When there is no actual pressure to conform and hide yourself. At least, not for a story like this.

It's probably the biggest reason why when I hear people exclaim that TOH has great worldbuilding I just have to look at them funny. After all, none of this is even new or actually unique *gestures at Dystopian Fiction in general and D&D wizards school of magic* and it's told like shit. And for a story like this, your fantasy epic about sticking it to the man by showing how special you are, it NEEDED to be told better. It needed to have point.

But it never did and it just makes the writers look either like they didn't care or are just incompetent, let alone when the show director themselves is shooting their core concepts in the head.

======+++++=======

I have a public Discord for any and all who want to join!

I also have an Amazon page for all of my original works in various forms of character focused romances from cute, teenage romance to erotica series of my past. I have an Ao3 for my fanfiction projects as well if that catches your fancy instead. If you want to hang out with me, I stream from time to time and love to chat with chat.

A Twitter you can follow too

And a Kofi if you like what I do and want to help out with the fact that disability doesn’t pay much.

[jackienautism]

like . ok. im not gonna sit here and lie and sya that abi is an extremely fleshed out and complex character- because shes not- BUT. BUT. its like another sam moment where YOU HAVE TO LOOK IN T HE RIGHT PLACES TO SEE MORE SIDES OF HER CHARACTER;..............

to say that kaitlyn is more complex than abi isjust :????????? wrong kdsnfsgdlfgdfgd f LIKE SORRY FOR SAYING SO. BUR IT SWRONG

its not by much but! atleast abi has moments where youre like ... oh you actually have flaws and have Negative things associated w/ your character. (her indecisiveness, her going to camp to learn how to interact better w/ ppl, her seeing emma as something shes not etc etc)

AND EVNE JUST.... i could go on and on abt it but even kjust her relationship w/ emma ALONE? better thanwhatever the fuck kaitlyn has going on man. theres SO MUCH substance to emma and abi and i feel its not played upon much in this fanbase (as for a lot of things here :/ esp in relation to th egirls lmao)

HOWEVER . what they did w/ abi was suhc bullshit. her entire arc or story or w/e ONLY revolves around some guy. and if said guy didnt have the plot of turning into a werewolf? abi wouldnt have gotten like anything else. they treat her like shit, like genuinely

and dont even get me started on how like ? abi is one of the main targets for the rest of the group lmao. theres just SO MUCH you can do w/ that! but the game refused to play on it! they have it so in chapter 2 that almost everyone gangs up on her for not being as socially competent as everyone else and nothing comes from it????? play on her insecurities regarding the situation! play on that trauma! LIKE

to say that kaitlyn has mroe than abi is just plain wrong imsorry. in fact, KAITLYN IS ONE OF THE REASONS WHY ABI LEAVES THE CAMPFIRE IN THE FIRST PLACE????? SHES A PART OF THE PROBLEM. YES i know she becomes quite nicer to abi following that moment but. THAT STILL DOESNT NEGATE THE FACTTHAT SHE WAS AN ASSHOLE TOHER IN T HAT MOMENT. YALL ARE SUPPOSED OT BE HER /FRIENDS/

ppl just cant be normal abt "nice" female characters like seriously. im tired!

i feel like i have more to say but ill leave it at that for now. ill respond to the kaitlyn stuff now

basically what im saying is: abi is FAR from being completely fleshed out, but based on what canon gives us? shes sooo much more than kaitlyn, and thats absoliutely at the fault of the game, in regards to both abi AND kaitlyn

[racingcore]

Logan needs more confidence please and not the team fucking him up sometimes. But i have seen many Logan fans on here on tumblr. maybe my circle just doesnt overlap much of his if you get what i mean?

Well, I was talking about more visible and impactable fb, like ig or even tt, something that let him quickly get fb which is noticeable by teams and could bringthem money. Buy, you right I saw a lot of Logan's fans here.

about Kmag, if they bring in ollie and decided to keep hulkenberg idk where he will go. so thats why i was unsure about it.

Oh, I'm semi-sure hulk going to audi, soo that where I was coming from with kmag seat.

well here we go. for 2025 only. not perfect and just from top of my head. i am biased.

Exactly what I mean it to be absolutely biased no logic included.

So, for 2025 i agree with Ferrari: lewis and charles. But I'd also love to see max and charles for mischief and the plot)

Rbr: max and checo are well. But I also would love to see oscar as max teammate.

McLaren: I don't know, don't like the team currently, but I'd like to see violent version of carlando lol)

Mercedes: george and seb❤️‍🔥. george and carlos (once again just for drama) and agree with george and alex would be also nicceee)

Am: I actually lobe their current lineup

Vcarb: Yuuukkiii and Liam (my pookies)

Haas: out of the grid replaced or bought by some other team. Don't like them from the beginning. But to be serious ollie obviously (child abuse 🙄) and kimi (double childe abuse) because I like their team from f2. No logic involved with two chaotic rookies in one team. They could still McLaren from carlando as well actually. Also I'd like to see oliie with charles in ferrari.

Sauber: hulk and kmag. Love that duo this year. Completely menaces together. Let's add some horrific pitstops here, because it's truly to violent to make 2 babies going through this.

Williams: zero thoughts. I'd let for those who left play actual musical chairs to take this two seats. Well one seat, Zhou take the first.

Alpine: they are perfect, lmao. I wouldn't change anything. (Pierre, I love you, babe, but it's too fanny to change. You're a brave man, you could handle it one more season)

hi anon! i went to sleep last night after replying to your previous ask. replying now cuz well the chaos of the race is well far behind.

oh you are right about Logan in that case. He should have a nice PR thing going on cuz you know the other driver on the grid who is not doing good and is gunning for the main seat is just here cuz of PR value and looking to get the seat out of it.

yes yes i am semi sure about Hulk to Audi too but that makes me think that for next year they can keep Hulk and bring in Ollie and Kmag has nowhere to go.

So, for 2025 i agree with Ferrari: lewis and charles. But I'd also love to see max and charles for mischief and the plot)

lmao can you imagine Max in Ferrari? the absolute shit roasting that will go behing the scenes and Charles defending too. PR ferrari videos but they are just Charles and Max on crack cuz they dont even have to act XD

i want george and alex just cuz of their lore ngl

i agree with pretty much everything after except about pierre. i need to see that pookie in a nice car pls 🥺

[lesbianyosano]

manifesting Fukufuku dying in each others arms -> I am losing it slowly anyway thoughts on the newest chapter?

this has been sitting in my askbox since september and im really sorry anwsering took so long, but ive been trying to articulate how the last few chapters/last episode made me feel and im still not sure, because there have been so many bizzare choices made by both asagiri and the ppl behind the anime i still cant wrap my head around it fully (this got stupid long sorry)

starting with fukuzawa, i made a post a while back talking abt how i was assuming he was going to die/why it'd make a lot of sense, and there were really two main reasons for that; 1. he hasnt had anything interesting to offer for the story for a while and 2. his ability actively stops other important characters (mainly atsushi and kyouka) from further developement. the first thing is now gone which im pretty happy with! i love fukuzawa a lot so it's nice to see him finally have a purpose in the main story and im excited to see where it will go (also fukufuku you will always be famous to me <3333333), but the issue of his ability is still very much here. ive seen ppl theorize that all men are equal is just him lying and there is no ability but i honest to god would hate that, bc it would seem like such a shallow twist. atsushi's conflict with the tiger is central to his character so if it suddenly got revealed that a huge reason why he's even capable of using his power is just placebo "believe in yourself" bullshit i think i'd tear my own hair out. so im still thinking fukuzawa may get killed at some point, esp with the position he's been put into now and how much he seems to not want it.

and as for the "chuuya was never a vampire" fiasco, i honestly have no words, it was so unbelievably bad. ik there's been a ton of posts about how "its actually good" bc fyodor's death was caused by his inability to trust, and dazai's belief in his allies is what put him at an advantage, which is nice yeah, but it doesnt change how fucking stupid of a plan that was. if their goal is to kill fyodor, why not do it in that flooded room? fyodor escapes solely bc chuuya gets him out but if he was concious the entire time why not just leave him there? why continue to pretend? im usually not a huge fan of getting angry over plot holes when the narrative and themes are whats more important, but this is just so blantantly stupid. it feels like asagiri just wanted a plot twist for a plot twist's sake. mersault in general is so poorly constructed as an arc (dazai communicating via his heartbeat,,,, give me a break) but at least you'd hope it would end in a way that makes you excuse all of that, and then it doesn't. i think this post sums up how i feel about this than i ever could

and the fact that its december and we are STILL behind the fucking anime asagiri be so for real. it's easy to see now that the constant half chapters and short releases were a deliberate choice to have the anime catch up which i dont love, but fine, whatever. but now??? what the point of half releases? these chapters have been ready for a long time, and there's no way asagiri and the editors and whoever else is involved arent aware of how frustrated the readers have been for years now. the only explanation i can think of is that maybe the manga will have a different arc conclusion and ctheyre trying to idk, make it seem like we're following the anime closely? idk this shit is so stupid

overall this past arc or two have been bad, there are some elements that make them enjoyable still, but there is no theme consistency and overreliance on cliff hangers (that ppl still somehow buy). it feels like there are no stakes to the story, and that's really bad. maybe it's why i was hoping for fukuzawa to be killed alongside fukuchi idk, it'd finally feel like something is changing

on a brief positive note i quite enjoyed fyodors death, weird catholic freak, ofc nikolai is cradling your arm like this. i was a little suprised to see fyodor killed just yet (bc he always needed to die for the story to be able to wrap up eventually), but given the jesus quote, he may as well come back in some way tbh

[nohara-rin-dot-mp3]

@ava-likes-fanart some fanfic recs

Araived on ao3 has some rin fics that are pretty darn good imo! i have. no idea what counts as depressing but i'll give it my best shot???

in the end is an amazing character study that has. *squints* a melancholy tone throughout? and it does end with rin dying. but like. idk. she does tend to do that. really really good fic though.

crack me open pour one out is an edo tensei fic where kakashi is trying to save rin and bring her back for real, and rin does not want to be brought back which. might be depressing???? literally i have to clue lmao its some really fun kakarin though. characterization is completely on point.

to the heart (but we beat on) is a rin-gets-reincarnated-into-bnha fic. probably the least depressing out of all of these??? maybe?? by my admittedly skewed standards?? idk it leans towards hurt/comfort mostly i think. so. yeah??

all the things we will become by ringwil is a very nice and sweet infiltrator!rin fic about rin learning to love and be loved. and she does die at the end (it's technically canon compliant as is 90% of rin fic cuz you cant contradict whats not there babyyyyyyyy) but i think its not too sad??? idk i like it.

six degrees of separation by OneshotPrincess is a general team seven roleswap fic that doesnt focus on rin. but i think she just gets some really nice characterization here even without being the central character. im also just a sucker for rin-sensei aus T_T really fun alternate worldbuilding in this one.

she never made it to the ocean by OpensUp4Nobody is depressing even by my standards but my god is it worth it if you can stomach it. it's a really cold depiction of root!rin (awesome take on rin in general) that doesn't pull any punches. quite literally the rin fic of all time WILL rip out your heart and stomp on it in a terrifyingly detached way. iirc the author also posted a companion comic with it that goes hard as hell.

bracelets. by Mothervvoid is some really cute rinko (rin/anko) that mostly focuses around the absence of rin which might be depressing???? i just thought it was kind of cute

reaching for something without knowing it's there by chadsuke takes place entirely after rin's death and is about shizune trying to find closure + understand it. happy ending! also some fun kakashi + shizune interactions.

"is it wrong to want more?" by childsoldier is some short + sweet prose about rin. great rin masks, great morally-dubious minato, just a fun read overall. i mean she dies at the end. but its rinfic i feel like thats a given for most of these lolll

the nohara rin-centric tag in general is a great place to start, cuz there's not a ton of fics in it. so it's pretty easy to scroll through and pick up some favorites. if you scroll through her main character tag make sure you put on filters. because there's a lot of junk where she only has a few lines and exists only as a plot device. T_T man i wish people would tag properlyyyy

and uh ive personally. written. some rinfic

normal amounts.

the most non-depressing ones??? as far as i can tell?? are probably. uh.

we’re gonna be well which i KNOW is just pure untouched fluff because i wrote it specifically to be that. tenzo + rin bond while making banana bread. mostly just an excuse for me to write idle chatter.

fellas, i think this goes beyond simple mis-remembrance is peak comedy. to me. rin also tells obikaka to kill themselves multiple times so millage may vary but i personally find it hillarious??? so.

a handful of teeth is my take on a rin survives au. and possibly the happiest and most well-adjusted rin i've ever written. she's getting better here!!! a little depressing at times but overall hopeful??? i think??

throwing fuel to the fire of that greco-roman dream is pure self indulgence in that i locked rin-sensei kakashi-sensei and obito-sensei from their respective universes in a room and studied them like bugs. they're so funny. i don't think this is depressing?? although the ending is a little downer?? maybe? idk i thought it was funny.

mating dances (and other strange sights at cafe minato) is a modern coffeeshop kagurin (kaguya/rin) au. pure crack. literally just me putting them into situations for fun. they're very silly here. NOT DEPRESSING EVEN A LITTLE BIT!!!! told entirely though obito's pov as he does his best to understand the strange mating rituals of nohara rin in her natural habitat.

[heartfelttry]

i am replying to JacFrostIsReal's video here (about the Joker, how fictional mysteries being unsolved are just as valuably and narratively important as fictionally solved ones, "Mediocre White Man Syndrome"™, how she loved Red Hood Joker, and a bit about Two-Face. intrigued? yes, good, go watch her tiktok, go give her engagement please) bc this got way too long for a comment, or even a comment thread wHICH IS SAYING SOMETHING FROM ME (I LEAVE COMMENT THREAD MONOLOGS LIKE NOBODY'S BUISNESS) but ill put it under a read more out of politeness (edit: new link to JacFrostIsReal video here, reactive to potential tiktok-ban 😔)

my reply's bullshit of a summary: but yeah, the below is a Joker headcanon about "the true Joker's identity" and how i personally reconcile with the three main Jokers types (not identities. but types. we got what i call "Adam West Joker", "Agent of Chaos Joker", and "Grim-Dark Joker". this trio. here. that's what i mean) with all this hullabaloo of canon trying so bad to go "but what's his name, what's his story??" and me smacking DC's hand away from this Schrodinger's Cat of a cookie jar labeled "Joker" with this hc, happily, every time. enjoy?

reminder that i am dyslexic and i havent REALLY edited this stream of consciousness, so, like, be nice when i inevitably mispell/make typos lol also this was originally going to be a tiktok comment-thread so some odd things like "dead" are censored here and there before i realized mid-way "this is too long. i cant do a thread this long" lmao rip im just too exhausted today to edit atm. disability, chronic illness symptoms, c'est la vie lol

omg i have had the most wild TOTALLY HEADCANON answer to this, all bc im like "i wanna make a Gotham OC fanfic (.......yes the one with Kaycie that's kinda the only other post in this blog, stfu, lemme finish), but im too sickly to do it rn. ill just plot it for now on and off" and part of my plotting was "how do i want to approach Joker and his 'true identity' bs??" bc taking what canon from where for this fic was important to me as it was part of the plot i want to do. but like?? there's some comics i love where i just.. ignore their idea for Joker's backstory. cognitive dissonance that. but i implement other canon from those comics. v much cherry-picking; idgaf, thats THE way to go about comics. so i was like "what canons am i cherry-picking for this fanfic version of Joker?" and my eventual idea became my hc foR ALMOST ALL CONTEMPORARY JOKERS EVER and ill share it, sure, i love to info-dump

bc i came up with an answer that (admittingly idk ALL OF THE INTERNET EVER so maybe i independently came up with the same idea as someone else, but, this is my pitch, totally original to me specifically as far as i am aware:) makes both all the "real" Jokers "canon" and also NONE of them canon, and instead re-inforces the mystery of nobody knowing who the fuck this guy is

and that's that he "heals quickly" by seeing Professor Pyg (at 🔫point probably) and just.. getting a new fucking whatever's-broken

leg-broke? amputate and replace. wrist arthritis? amputate and replace. so on and so forth

but we dont see scars or anything bc, in my hc, he brings some of that acid with him when he sees Pyg (from when he first fell. we know he likely knows its ingredients since, tons of comics, he re-creates it for Harley) (also i like how this idea brings Pyg more to the forefront by proxy. bc Joker's laughing gas and Pyg's "perfect" people are such traumatizingly similar victims who are done in by two totally different people. my squeamish heart is so glad Pyg isnt Well Known outside of comic fans, but the nerd inside me doesnt get WHY he hasnt been part of pop culture osmosis alongside Joker yet wtf). so the acid is like an Even More Fucked Up Version Of The Lazarus Pit but that doesnt grant you immortality and has more cons than it could ever be worth, but Joker loves his "daddy/mommy vat" (you cannot tell me he doesnt call that vat some cringe parental nickname lol, i just wont buy it). the acid does bizarro healing-fast, no-scars nonsense. and the Joker's upped usage of it explains why his skin tends to chemically paper-white and Harley Quinn's (who also fell in the vat in some stories) tends to be her in white make-up. so: his skin-tone then isn't make-up, it's his skin, all bc he keeps re-applying that acid shit, whereas Harley only did it ONCE. and it didnt fuck her up as bad since she doesnt come back for more when she could just let her bones heal. (plus, him doing this stuff?? to me, it connects him a bit further to "The Joker's Daughter", like him replacing bit of himself foreshadows how she wears his face as a mask...)

...anyway, BUT AS A RESULT, he is leaving DNA of all these other people that are "the true identity of Joker". but like. they both are not Joker (theyre victims of Joker and Pyg) and ARE the Joker (theyre part of him). so all those idenities?? none of them are probably the true og Joker who first went to Pyg with a body that was 100% his own (and was using white make-up at the time) with a small vat of the acid going 🔫 "i have a commissioned offer for you that i wont let you refuse, Pyggy". theyre probably just a List Of Victims. you could even then argue all these versions of "the Joker's backstory reveal" are then just forensics and profilers trying to piece together "how did [Name] become the Joker?" and sensationalizing their interpretation, and the comics are "people trying to canonize those theories as fact via their fictional adaptation of this theory" (im aware this is loopy in a multi-verse way buT SHHH SHHH SHH); all having no idea yet that every [Name] there was actually a victim of Pyg and Joker's. how could they know? how could they guess the "reality" within this hc is that the Joker is a personified Ship Of Theseus?? he's like a mosaic from the Byzantine era, of how many pieces of other people he has; or like a stain-glass sculpture; or like the Creature from "Frankenstein" if Viktor Frankenstein became the Creature himself bit by bit. maybe the Joker has even had parts of his brain replaced with other people's (to the point that it becomes "who knows whose brain this originally was" to which all "hey science doesnt work like—"/"iTS COMICS THO. WE HAVE THE LAZARUS PITS ALREADY, THE ACID CAN BE A FUCKED UP PROVERBIAL MEWTWO MAN-MADE VERSION OF RA'S AL GUHL'S MEW. LET THE PSEUDO-SCIENCE HAPPEN. IT'S COMICS. HE CAN SURVIVE THAT MUCH BRAIN TRANSPLANT ON REPEAT NOW" arguments are kinda nullified with) with this glaze of The Acid ontop to allow the blend to Work— bc he keeps using this acid, causing himself to potentially develop ťúmóŕś and needing them removed (and maybe Pyg does secret lobotomies or some shit and sees "what if i replace this part while im at it..??" to see if this makes the Joker "more bareable" to be around, idk). as a result of this absurd desire to never have an injury delay him: even upon his hypothetical autopsy, they'll never know his true identity. forensics and profilers who had been having debates analyzing evidence to "uncover" who the Joker is will be revealed to have had a vast misunderstanding of the dark truth

BUT SAYING THAT?? i still miss past Jokers. before people tried attaching a name to him (that's part of the motivation for me with this hc, just going "actually?? yOURE ALL WRONG, TO ME, SPECIFICALLY" lmao rip). like. for one, i miss shitty-at-villainy chaos "im literally the luckiest fucker alive" gremlin Joker (legit? Jason Todd's situation?? proverbially Joker being a "i am eating the chess pieces whenever Batsy isnt looking, and he is confused how i could be winning"). like he isnt a master-mind. he's lucky as hell, he is legitimately Murphy's Law as a bratty villain, the most legitimate "agent of chaos" a person could be, he has no plans, he's flying by the seat of his pants and keeps going "oh sick, im in THE most optimal place somehow so Batman cant kill me for what i just did". liKE WHAT DO YOU MEAN HE STUMBLED INTO BECOMING A DIPLOMAT AFTER JASON TODD'S ḌẸÄṬĤ?? HE GOT SO LUCKY, GOT IN THE PERFECT SITUATION SO SUPERMAN HAD TO RELUCTANTLY GO "dont do it, Batman, itll cause an international incident, ẃáŕ, Jason wouldnt want that, he wouldnt want civillians to ḍịẹ in his name" TO THIS GRIEVING FATHER—??? absurd. dont even talk to me about the Adam West TV show version of Joker (i miSS HIM AND EARTHA KITT CATWOMAN THE MOST), i miss when he was just a silly goofy guy even more than his agent of chaos phase, ugghhhh.. "Adam West Joker", this man was my Megamind before "Megamind" (minus the whole "happy hero ending with the girl" part). just a dude who never won, always was foiled, up to dasterdly Doofenshmirtz hijinks, no grim-dark wild shit yet. i loved him, i miss him

so my hc doesnt work as well on those variations of the Joker, predominantly "Adam West's Joker" as i sloppily label him (i know its oversimplification shhhhh). buT IT DOES WORK ON GRIM-GRITTY EVIL-MASTERMIND-4D-CHESSMASTER JOKER and thats probably all that matters to these Mediocre White Man Syndrome™ variants. idk

[[ quick, here's an edited bit from a DM where i realize i forgot a point i LOVE about the mystery of who the fuck "Adam West Joker" was: ]]

(which. i forgot to go into that i think there's at least one comic who mentions this brand of Joker in an existential "maybe he isnt a person, maybe he just appeared from the universe. maybe Gotham made bad luck personified" or some shit, im not a big fan of "he is not human"-Joker but i am a fan of "yes, people even thought of the Doofenshmirtz variety of the Joker as more myth than Once Possibly Mundane (even tho he's just a guy that no one knows and that that forensics tech just is incapable of recognizing. meaning this man was so normal before he became This that he was THAT off-grid and unrecognizable, like THAT harmless of a person, like what?? and now people in-comic-world are having such a hard time grappling with these unknowns that they're going "what if he is just not a fucking person. he's murphy from murphy's law. alive. how does anyone beat that" whEN HE IS JUST A GUY?? A GUY THEY JUST KNOW ***NOTHING*** ABOUT?)". i love that version of him. he was my Megamind before "Megamind" lmao (...anyway i might copy & paste this "he's just a guy. it drives them insane that they cant prove that he JUST A GUY that theyre mythologizing him— even before Red Hood lore and grim-dark shit got added" belatedly into that post now. but yeah i just forget from what comic exactly bc ✨️chronic memory loss✨️ + 🌈library🌟 lol rip)

but yeah. i do want to mention the Red Hood thing is kinda new, relatively, to Joker's lore; he was originally a true fucking mystery where we didnt get even THAT vague bit of Red Hood. he just.. showed up. what was his trauma? who knows. why is he like this, why does he look like this?? who knows. like, okay, that's badass and funny as fuck, good for "Adam West Joker", love that. i miss "nobody can find out SHIT about this man" version of Joker so badly; all we know is his "ɗīę laughing" thesis

but yeah. Red Hood (Jason) and Red Hood (Joker) is stiLL SO SO SOOOO important to me that, though im still like "Joker is a total mystery. forensics finds NOTHING on this lil Adam West co-star/pre-Megamind-before-Megamind-but-no-hero-ending of a guy" is a canon multi-verse version of Joker to me, i happily accept that Red Hood is a part of "agent of chaos" Joker's lore and "grim-dark mastermind" Joker's lore. 2 out of 3 aint bad. but my hc about Joker going all 🔫 "fix. me." to Prof Pyg works A+ in grim-dark Joker lore. and my hesitation about "agent of chaos Joker lore" is that, to MEEEE, my Pyg hc only works if its "agent of chaos Joker lore after Jason Todd đīēđ (or at least, like, if he started just before Jason ḍịẹḍ and was building up to Jason's said ɗęąţĥ); bc before JT ðıəð/before Joker started building up to brutalize Jason like that, Joker wasnt AS vîôłêňť as he became to be known as... (still massively violent. but not AS much, like he was a bit of clutching-his-punched-gut "they'll all see" type for a bit beforehand if i recall accurately.) but post-JT? yeah, my Pyg hc could quickly apply". so again: 2 out of 3 multi-verse variants? aint bad, ill take that happily

but yeah, feel free to adopt my hc for any time someone goes "he's Jack Oswald White/Jack Napier/Arthur Fleck/whoever-the-fuck", thats what i do. bc then, yeah, "they're all Joker" but also none of them are with this Ship Of Theseus hc. whos the victim, whos real? nobody knows. my preference is obviously "all the people science has found have only been victims; nobody has found the og Joker's true identity" bc i liKED THAT MYSTERY AND THIS IS ME RET-CONNING IT. but i gUESS if you had a favorite version of "who is the real Joker" then the og COULD be that one. but like. why would you?? the mystery is so much better (...tO ME, but whatever), like imagine a Spencer Reid type of guy coming out and "actually, considering the commonalities in how all these people disappeared? implies they were ALL likely victims of Pyg and Joker. for years, we were arguing and accusing the victims of being the murder; it's probably the Joker's biggest, cruellest joke. because, really, we're back where we started. nobody truly knows the real name of the man who 'collaborated' with Pyg for the first time. and we may very well never know". like? how does that not excite the fuck out of you so much more?? headcanons are headcanon, but yours baffles me if you prefer Knowing The Joker's True Name to any of the variant versions or my hc version of Nobody Knows Who The Joker Is Or Where He Came From. jac is so super right, i love her

anyway. uh. pray the universe gives me a medical treatment That Fucking Works at nullifying my chronic illness symptoms if you want this fanfic to ever be a thing so i can write this plot-twist of a hc about "who is the Joker" into a story. feel free to adopt the hc tho. i ask vaguely for credit if you want to copy my hc one-for-one, but MOSTLY what i want is to be @'ed so i can squeal and giggle and see what you made lmao

but i dont anticipate this hc will go viral or something. very unlikely, in my mind. im just saying that as a safety-net in this proverbial trapeze act of a post lol

buT ALSO THANK YOU JAC FOR EVERYTHING YOU SAID ON TWO-FACE, I COULD NOT AGREE MORE. i went from a Joker fan to ".....ew too many people like the Joker in ways i dont, i feel gross now, i need a shower" and came out the other side of that as a Bruce Wayne/Batman × Harvey Dent/Two-Face truther bc they are doomed yaoi in the silliest and most tragic of senses, theyre foils, your honor, i love them (also if we are gonna keep Catwoman × Batman going, imma need sO MANY MORE PEOPLE from both DC and fans being inspired by Eartha Kitt's Catwoman design bc Eartha Kitt is a badass, go look her up, find out why she got replaced as Catwoman on the Adam West "Batman" show, ive been obsessed with this woman since i was like 8 years old and the world neeDS TO JUMP ON MY BANDWAGON ALREADY. i need more Black, Eartha-Kitt-looking Catwoman in my life stat aND, BATCAT, MY LIFE WILL BE YOURS) ....anyway, go watch Jac's video, go give her views, comments, engagement, she's so great and i want to (a) see her do more Gotham FYP skits (tho the Mob Waitress one is so close to a Gotham absurdism that i am happy with that, Jac, dont think i dont get excited when that series appears on my fyp) and (b) do more Batman breakdowns, bc i love hearing women of all backgrounds talk comics, comic-movies, comic-shows— but esp girly-girls. it itches my brain. i need more of it. go give her love, immediately, please

[reliquiaen]

Adding on to a few points:

Subplots. Are excellent, yes, we love them. Consider that all the subplots don't have to be about your main cast. Give the parents something to do, have the barista be doing something that develops whenever they appear. You'll have a main, core cast, and then the b-cast that supports them and it really REALLY helps to flesh them out juuuust a bit so they don't feel like props. It doesnt have to be super detailed, job drama, family drama, bad breakup, whatever. But giving them a subplot makes them feel stronger and also takes a load off the main cast.

Speaking of cast: don't be afraid to drop some names even if the characters never actually appear. Keeping your cast at just the right number to prevent the story from getting out of control is hard. And it'll depend on you personally (and I mean, if it's fanfic, it'll depend on how many characters the source material has so... grain of salt etc) and how many you're comfortable handling. I find the trick to be something along the lines of 'screentime'. Who are your core cast? Focus there, and allow for interactions with others outside that as necessary. You might find some random you threw in for a one off conversation actually serves a purpose in more than one situation, and it's better to reuse side characters where possible instead of constantly adding new faces.

This idea about word count and chapters and all that. Like yeah okay, use them if it helps, but it's also totally valid to not care at all about any of it. Don't set a limit, don't set a minimum bar, don't write with chapters. I'm admittedly a much more flexible writer when it comes to long fics, but I... Don't use chapters. I open up my doc and I write one scene at a time, not always in order, and when all the scenes that matter are down I'll go back and check the transitions make sense. It's only once I'm done that I think 'where do I make the chapter cuts'. This won't work for everyone, obvs, but I find it helps my writing feel more cohesive overall. Doing it by chapter feels like a monster of the week style show for me and we don't get on.

Don't be afraid to cut stuff out, also. When I'm doing long fics I keep a whole folder for cut content specifically so the story doesn't balloon wildly. You don't have to delete it, post out-takes or use it to springboard a separate stand alone fic. But try and keep the main story focused.

Re: world building. Keep a journal, physical or digital doesn't matter, and ask questions. If you've got friends who'll listen, talk to them (or rubber ducky can help sometimes). All that matters in the story itself is that it will make sense to the reader. But keep track of all those cool little details and answers to plot holes or mentioned-in-passing factoids because you never know. It might be useful later, or it might make for a nice lil one shot.

Do you have any advice and how to write a long fic?

I'll encourage long fic writers to add on in the notes, but as someone who tends to prefer short and medium-length fic, I'll tell you how I go about it.

Get a premise that you just absolutely love. You're going to be writing this thing for months, if not longer, so you want it to be something you're willing to spend a lot of time thinking about.

Embrace subplots. You'll have your main plotline that you want to see through from beginning to end, but you can also weave in some subplots here or there. The way I do this so that I don't get lost down a rabbit hole is that I always make sure that every chapter has at least 1 thing that moves the main plot forward and then if I want to spend 1-2K with some side characters doing something fun I can do that as well. Subplots can extend for the length of the full narrative, but they can also just last a chapter or three. If you're used to writing short fic, these might give you that familiar feeling of "completion"

A chapter is only as long as it needs to be. Don't get hung up on having a consistent chapter length. Don't get hung up on hitting some arbitrary number every time. Instead, figure out what the next part of your story needs to include and write however many words it takes to get that chunk across. Varying your chapter lengths is a normal thing to do and not something to stress about.

The next thing that I find important personally may or may not be relevant to you, but I find that I can't plot anything in much detail. If I get too into the nitty gritty with my plotting, it just feels like I've already written it. I need to keep it at the level of "And then A and B meet C and hijinks ensue." I can figure out the particular hijinks later. It's the characters meeting up that's the next important thing for me to figure out. Getting too far ahead of myself is a death knell for me in writing long fics, but there are other writers who swear by it. Test out different ways of approaching it and see what works for you.

As someone who tends to write more briefly, another feature that's common to longer fics is more extensive descriptions. People spend time painting visual pictures of the setting or the characters or the actions that are happening. Write the more bare-bones style that focuses more on dialogue (if you're like me) and then go back and read through what you've just written and see if there are opportunities to add in more detail. This can lead to some really interesting characterization choices and also help you out with worldbuilding.

When it comes to worldbuilding, you don't have to get it all on the page. You just need to share what's relevant for the reader in that moment and what is useful to lay out now so that it's already there in a future chapter. You can have an encyclopedic knowledge of how your world works in your head, but it's not actually necessary. No one is going to be quizzing you later - and if they do, you can always figure it out at that point.

Most important for me when I'm trying to get myself to the end of a longer fic, have a friend or a group of friends who are also into what you're writing - or at least willing to hear you get excited about it. Being able to get excited about your work is so important. It's like a bottle of water being handed to you on mile 10 of a marathon.

[kozykricket]

some more minecraft thoughts (unorganized AF wow)

yknow, i think a lot of people kinda forget like... how daunting game or.. really any media creation can be, with Scope in general, and generally making something requires some things to be cut, in order to like, say... focus on the main plot of a movie, instead of getting caught up on trying to do Everything Good. to focus on the strengths and do them Great... instead of opening up more cans of worms now you apply that to minecraft, where its whole strength is that there IS so much to do, its strength IS that it has like, everything... and really its no wonder they... have some difficulties developing it sometimes

well, yknow, ironically they have to cut things, but thats because they want to do everything Great instead of just Okay, but they also at the same time want to... do everything, which will ultimately take quite a while. to do everything that they could do...

in a game like minecraft, the backlog is endless, and figuring out what to prioritize is definitely a MASSIVE factor for like... well, lets take fireflies. of course they wanted to do fireflies, and to update more biomes to be more pretty. you see how joyous the devs sounded talking about that stuff?? of course they want it just as much as we do. but ... to open up a can of worms that is a whole mob that they want to do justice (even a mob as "simple" as fireflies) is to uh, put a bit much on their plate, considering they were already working on a lot of their backlog and had opened a massive can of worms with the ancient cities... and then you also factor in the Marketing and Stuff that wants them to get the update out ideally for around the summer and... to move on to the next update and... agh i guess what im tryna say is like, people seem to sometimes act like gamedevs cut things because they ... dont want to bother working. but its almost always priorities and scope. Of course mojang wants minecraft to be the best it can be, to have so many lovely wonderful things.

im sure if they never got any more ideas or suggestions for the game, they'd still have enough ideas to last until like, 1.80 if not higher.

so i imagine its quite tough for them, too, to have to say no to certain things because it... isnt relevant to open up certain cans of worms.

and that is, i believe, why you see them adding wolf variants now. it is strategic to finally yoink them out of the backlog (because surprise, the backlog is far more than just mob vote losers) because the armadillo makes them relevant. im not a huge fan of loosely connecting features like... armadillos to wolves. its kinda weird. but it does mean that that one mob winning gives them an opportunity to also add wolf variants and have that be... efficient in that it isnt opening up a brand new can of worms -- the can of worms of Wolves was already starting to open when they added wolf armor. is this to say wolves are done? of course not. nothing in minecraft is ever Done. and thats another reason its so hard to prioritize things. they want to add new things, and they want to improve old things. its a tough balance since... so many communities want DIFFERENT things out of the game

so it can end up seeming like they really dont add much... because. think of it like a pizza. someone bakes a really nice mixed pizza for a party, yet you... only get one or two slices that you really like. thats a shame. but that doesnt mean they didnt put a tonna work into baking it. the other pieces are being enjoyed by other people. people who, quite frankly, dont care about your slices.

i guess this post is kind of all over the place, but this is all to say... priorities and strategic development, as laaame as it may be to admit, is ultimately what mojang is going for, for both longevity and for quality. not to say theyre perfect. i wish they did armadillos a bit differently, and i wish we didnt have to wait for wolves to come up in relevance via a Shiny New Feature for them to be subtly tweaked... same as signs coming into relevance when they add hanging signs, so they add editing sign text as a feature.

i think ill... rewrite this post. its more of just a bunch of thoughts that arent super cohesive since theres just so many of them. ironic considering a big part of this posts sentiment is that for creation of many things, you should probably focus on the already good parts, instead of stretching it to do Everything Ever.

its. its just a lot of topics that i think are interesting.

respect to mojang for all the work they do. even if i dont agree with some of their implementations

[nihiltism]

as for my first Veedia Veeview! I just finished 999 (DS) and I sure do have opinions on it! so hold on one second as I readmore this because it might be long. warning for 999 spoilers probably.

ok so. i am going to preface that i did not Dislike this game. it was a very neat little thing with pretty good plot weaving (though there are some Shenanigans that leave me confused still), good puzzles and a killer climax/twist that recontextualizes everything. that's the good stuff. i think it was a good solid game. but also i dont think i get the hype? things like this always make me feel like somebodys gonna come from the shadows and rick and morty me like im not smart enough to appreciate it but i. do think i. got it. i just dont. see the hype.

my main, not really issue but Thing Keeping Me From Getting Into The Game was kinda just. how Eh all the characters were. something you should know about me is that i Love characterization based storytelling. i love when every character has a Deal and the plot is weaved around those characters' actions and interactions while In Character. 999, being a game based around Personal Revenge and Saving Somebody You Love, has potential to be character-based. and in some instances it really is. however a Lot of the game feels like the writers planned out the plot, key events, and how characters would affect that plot in turn, before they had decided on who most of their cast actually was. they just had wooden 2x4s in place of the characters for the majority of writing. It happened a Lot where it seemed a character was just, hijacked to infodump occasionally. hijacked to give important information, hijacked to make a smart move that had to be made, etc. they all seem both incredibly smart and incredibly stupid at the same time because of this. they're kind of just. uchikoshi's sock puppets. he asks them questions like "do you know any exposition useful to this puzzle?" and he answers himself in a slightly higher voice while moving the sock puppets mouth. (this especially happened with junpei, where in the safe ending and while going to door 3 he seemed to just. completely break character to make a plot thread happen). even without that, i wont say that characters lack depth but their depth isn't made Important, save for like. santa. i cant even fully argue akane. characters who have Deals are a bit rare and when a character is shown to have a backstory outside of this, like lotus, it is. decided it doesnt matter. i think lotus deserved better in general to be honest. it's one of those games where if I see anybody with a honest to goodness Blorbo from it I kind of tilt my head and ask myself how much you are hallucinating about the character in question.

as for actual like. gameplay whatevers. its fine. none of the puzzles made me want to die save for maybe the block pusher, it was easy enough to speed through early segments on subsequent playthroughs, the art is nice and i really like the animations when they exist. i tend to not have a lot to say about parts i thought were fine and a lot to say about parts that bug me so. For The Big One

I Did Not Go Into This Game Expecting To Get, Not Only Ableism, But Ableism For Something So Hyperspecific I Didn't Even Know There Was A Word For It. Despite Having It.

the way this game handles ace's prosopagnosia is. pathetic. it's like they only understood like 3 words off a wikipedia page about the topic, as well as the fact that it was a mental condition, and thought they understood enough to make it a major plotpoint. i have 3 main annoyances about it in particular.

1: the plot hole. the fact that makes me almost positive they didnt understand the concept. the fact that THE WRITER FORGOT THAT HAIR EXISTS AND OVER HALF THE CAST NOT ONLY HAS IT BUT HAS DISTINCT ANIME HAIR. ooooh my god. its. its so bad.

2: the way that they continually treat prosopagnosia as something agonizing or worth pity. if you have ever had any sort of mental illness you know that people responding "i feel bad for you" in response to you, having it, is a huuuuge yikes. but like. prosopagnosia toes the line of (definitely a disorder but so workaroundable that this is just. A Way People Be.) like how poor eyesight is so rarely seen as a disability nowadays because glasses exist. my friend related it with a better metaphor than me, being that the whole. way its presented is kinda like (the terrible agony of being left-handed). its strange its alienating i wouldnt call it demonizing but i would say its similar to that one time i went to college and somebody said "oh im so sorry to hear that!" after me mentioning in introductions that i was disabled.

3: the fact that ace's motive for Atrocities was his prosopagnosia. like. ok if it was just a Thing He Had and was a good way to pin him down as a killer then thats one thing. however using this, again, Way People Be, as a motive for it all. its. im leaning slightly more to demonizing but more just. Boooo We Hate Your Stupid Ableist Subplot. we hate the fact that this is even considered a villain motive when any normal person with prosopagnosia could easily tell you that they are not so Pained And Agonized by. not being able to tell peoples faces apart. that they would put kids into a death game for psychic powers to fix it. its one of the stupidest and frankly insulting villain motives ive ever seen in a really really well thought out game aside from it. it's paradoxically both Good and Awful writing and I've been told this type of thing is not rare of uchikoshi works.

anyway uhhhh overall. yeah i think its just kind of alright basically. shrugs. it just kind of made me want to replay ghost trick.

[tamaharu]

What isekai are you reading if you don’t mind me asking?

okay... but youre not allowed to make fun of me... its called "50 tea recipes from the duchess." korean woman gets fired, gets isekai'd into the body of a duchess who is timid to the point of patheticness and everybody fuckin hates her. is like uggghh well i dont care if im hated as long as i have my special interest: TEA. and with her autistic girl swag (label pending) she makes both the society and her cold intimidating husband love her. 70% of it is her infodumping about tea to the delight of everyone around her.

[ecto-hazard]

Well Boys. We did it. I posted this on October 1st, 2024, and just two months later, December 20th, we officially got the end of the TF2 comic series after a 7 year hiatus. I'm fully taking the responsibility on this one. Clearly my passioned rant about this game's storyline and my desire for more of this enchanting tale singlehandedly inspired Valve to finish their masterpiece. im sure it had nothing to do with a negligent company finally bending to years of protest of an unplayable game and setting an unreasonable deadline on the writers and artists to crank out a half baked finale to earn some goodwill from the mob

all that aside, i really do like the ending of the tf2 comic. im not going to claim it was a masterpiece and that everyone who has criticism of it is wrong because it does seem rushed and a lot of characters dont get a lot of closure or even thematically appropriate lack of closure. even beyond the mercs, stuff like the charles darling plot goes nowhere and saxton getting his company back is a big nothingburger. and it wouldve been nice to get a proper epilogue where we see at least a little more of what the other mercs are up to after the war.

but its clear that a lot of what was put into the finale, although it might not be sewn together the best, was intentional from the beginning and by themselves are well done story elements, and emails with the creators confirmed as much. the administrator's lore is chilling and im glad they took the time to close it off, even if it resulted in sacrificing other scenes. Between that, the meaningful Scout and Spy interaction at the end, and the very conclusion with Saxton and Maggie, there's really impactful planned scenes throughout this comic. It's okay to be disappointed that there wasn't more to tie it together, but I think what we got was good.

With that said, they didnt fucking write anything else with the other blu guys so im mad about it. Lightheartedly anyway. Take all of this as lighthearted.

But that's not to say that there isn't insight into blu team and team fortress as an operation as a whole from this comic. Not only is blu engineer here again, but we also get a glimpse of TF headquarters and what the whole operation actually looked like. Its interesting that I havent seen a lot of people talk about this at length, but i cant blame people for getting caught up in all the canon children and name reveals because that's probably more fun. But there is something ostensibly wrong with me so we're going to dive back in, see what we can squeeze from the already juiced fibers of this comic about blu team, and cover a few points i mightve missed in my first post. you're already reading this far you're probably not turning around. lets go down this shitty rabbit hole together

now ill go ahead and disclaim that ch 7 doesnt really have any explicit evidence to clone theory but just. just stick with me. trust me. just. j

Blu Engineer

Dell conagher is back babey. He really doesn't do a whole lot but he's the Main Blu guy right. The officially blu character! Dell Conagher is Blu! and he's got the same characterization and everything!!! yippee!!!!

We can see based on his greeting and Pyro's positive reaction that not only is the team familiar with Blu Engie, they're on good terms with him. This is most likely indicative that Blu Engie bonded with the red team during the events of MVM. What's also interesting is, compared to the rest of Team Fortress, he's got an actual role at TF industries. It seems like for everyone else, this is their first time here, based on their reactions to the environment, but we'll get into that later. It's been established that Blu engie has a family history with the company, and that's what's got him in such a high position. I think it also might suggest that, if clone theory is real, this engineer is an Original. We never see Red engie doing something like this right. It's always explicitly the Blu one.

What's interesting is this Engineer is more reserved. More cautious. In game lines suggest he's got a god complex and is as insane as the others. He canonically sawed his own hand off for a cool robot hand for chrissake. This is obviously due to working closely with the administrator for as long as he has and seeing the futility of it all. I wouldn't consider it a character inconsistency. But it is interesting to compare the character directly across the series and see how he's worn down.

This is especially apparent after the Administrator dies. The old engineer seems like he wouldve jumped at the chance to use that australium. But he's seen just how much someone can let it corrupt their life. He doesn't want anything to do with it. And that's really interesting.

A small detail that also aligns with this change in mindset is Engineer having two flesh hands again in this series. We don't really know if its actually a flesh hand or he got some sort of more realistic prosthetic, but it at the very least functions like a flesh hand. Originally this seemed like a weird detail, but in the context, it shows how he's abandoned that more megalomanic side of himself. I wonder what drove him to that. Did he realize over time that the hand caused him pain? Did he have trouble using it in normal tasks? Did he find he couldn't strum the guitar the same? He couldn't feel the warmth of someone else's hand? Did he see the administrator becoming a shadow of herself, tormenting herself with technology to stay alive just a bit longer, and feel guilt? Did he feel like an enabler? A hypocrite? Would having a flesh hand again maybe set some sort of example?

None of that really has anything to do with the theory probably, but its cool to see that much depth put into a Blu for once.

The Alphabet Soup Squad

On the same panel with the blu engie reunion, we see this thing

five alphabetical letters with five statues associated with them, and a notable missing sixth letter that would presumably be F. these guys have been referenced by name before by Blu Cheavy in the previous issue.

Ajax, Citadel, and Echelon match the A,C and E respectively. These are the other teams under the administrator's employment. Interestingly, this panel was changed after ch7 came out. he originally called Ajax "team vanguard," but this was probably changed for continuity. it makes me wonder if there was an intent to delve a little deeper into what these teams were, but they didnt get to it.

The fact that Team Fortress isnt the Only team working for the administrator is a detail that's been tossed around quite a few times in the comic before the final chapter, and i dont think anyone really read into it much before. they're mentioned several other times in the series, though not by name. nobody really processed it till we were given a proper visual i guess

The last panel in particular i had previously chocked up to meaning "which team? red or blu?" but what it actually means is "which of the 5 main teams- oh none of them"

team fortress, compared to the rest of the mercenary world, are the rejects, and they explicitly say this. but i dont think we really knew what that really meant in perspective. and i dont think they knew either.

demo's never seen this image. he's never seen this merc. we dont need him to say that to see that. He's never seen Real mercenaries. he couldn't imagine being on this level. admired. lowkey worshipped in this facility. and the dialogue around this scene captures it as well. this is a realization for everyone. they aren't the "real" mercs. and that doesnt even necessarily mean clones. theyre outcasts. they arent up to standard. they dont receive the support and glory of the real mercs because theyre not the 'good' teams.

this has been pointed out before (and i think correctly) to be a commentary on tf2 as a franchise. i think its fair to say valve didnt expect it to hold out this long. for it to be as beloved nearly 20 years after its release. but it is. tf2 is the reject game. the game without support. the game without the glory. its not supposed to be valve's 'good' game. and yet its still here.

grey what the fuck does any of this have to do with clone theory. uH.

so as i said, nothing in this issue really explicitly functions as evidence for clone theory. i think considering how team fortress is considered the reject team, its plausible to extrapolate that they might be reject clones for the 'real' mercs (who are all dead now i guess???) but that's not so much theorizing as just grasping at straws here. I think clone theory makes sense in that it might be a cheap way to keep the war waging, but in the grand scheme of the story, it would be overall less important to determine if red or blu is made up of clones, and more important to see how team fortress as a whole is considered bottom of the barrel shit being recycled just to keep money flowing. and it seems like they werent always that way. the evidence of the F pedestal indicates that they were once considered a great team. but that's really all i can glean from this issue unfortunately.

its kind of a bummer that blu wasnt explored in the series any more that it was, But yknow what, at the end of the day we got the cutes christmas image with the whole team and the heavymedic undertones and the-

wait a second.

no.

no. they wouldnt do this... they wouldnt do this to me... no...

ENGIE IS MOTHER FUCKING

RED

YOU GOTTA BE KIDDING WITH ME VALVE. YOU GOTTA BE KIDDING WITH ME. THIS IS THE SECOND TIME THEYVE AUTOBALANCED SOMEONE TO RED ON US. THEYRE DOING THIS TO FUCK WITH ME SPECIFICALLY ARENT THEY!!! THEYRE ONTO ME. THEY KNOW IM TOO CLOSE TO THE TRUTH! WHATEVER THE FUCK THE TRUTH IS I DONT EVEN KNOW WHATS THE POINT OF THIS. EVERYONE'S LIKE RETIRED FROM RED I GUESS BUT THEY STILL MADE A POINT OF PUTTING THEM ALL IN RED TONES SO WHY THE F U C K IS THE ONLY EXPLICITLY COHESIVELY BLU CHARACTER IN THIS ENTIRE FUCKING FRANCHISE RED NOW. THIS IS CLEARLY ORIGINALLY A BLU GUY WHYS HE RED NOW WHY WHY W H Y

Intermission

Did you know we have even more evidence that Red soldier and blu soldier are the same guy????? well we do fucker!!!!!

previously on dragonballz, we pointed out that both red and blu soldier are referred to as Doe and work as a lawyer, but technically I think red soldier is only ever referred to as "Doe," not "Jane Doe." he could have a different fuckign first name and be in like a stan twins situation with the blu soldier, which would be funny. but we do actually have confirmation his name is Jane. Behold, the decoy map.

This is an mvm map that's supposed to be a fake mann co facility to trick the robots into attacking the wrong place (and it works!) on the map, theres a contract pasted to a wall that authorizes Jane Doe to build the place

This base is mentioned in the comic, and it shows a familiar image. yep thats jane motherfucking doe, winner of the nose picking contest and verified lawyer. Granted this was after the red/blu truce but my sanity is barely holding on here so just go with it okay

Team Fortress Two (but actually)

So what was team fortress like when it was good. The team fortress in team fortress 2 is actually team fortress 3. they're the third generation of mercs. the previous team was the team fortress classic.

notice how they're a mix of red and blu in this image. this and the fact that team fortress classic is a game you can play implicates that there's a red and blu classic team in the lore as well. the blu classic team features as antagonists in the comic series. them being blu was probably sort of arbitrary. probably to contrast with the main mercs being red and to make it clear these are the bad guys the baddies theyre evilllll

this wasnt just when team fortress was a 'good' team. they very well mightve been the best team. blu cheavy says they were able to take down all the other teams on their own, which is fucking crazy. and cheavy identifies the new team as rejects as well, so team fortress becoming the reject team would likely be when the classic generation switched out.

another detail is their medic is just dead i guess? or at least he's not in the picture when the comic series takes place. hes commonly theorized to be dead. whatever the case, that's what gave the tf2 medic the chance to work with them. i wonder if the implication might be that the death of the classic medic is what caused the classic team's fallout. if that was the turning point between team fortress and team rejects. you're gonna have a rough time in game if you dont have a medic on your team, thats for sure.

the fact that there's a mix of the team here and then theyre all blu in the comic series may also imply that there were duplicates on either team? but it could also be an mvm teams merged situation. its hard to say. whatever the case, they died permanently, so either wasn't a thing or is no longer a thing. and the same is true for everyone else since the administrator is dead.

anyway like. there isnt a conclusion i really am coming to with this post i guess. it became less about clone theory and more about just rambling about the universe. theres a lot of interesting stuff there. and i wish it was explored more. it seems like it shouldve been explored more. im all good with show dont tell but we were shown slivers of a picture with the new issue and its a shame. i moreso wish they actually did the goddamn adult swim show just cause they actually included blu team in their promos so like there was something there

i still think clone theory fits into the universe they have set up, but we're probably never going to get any closure on blu team and that's fine. as i said before, the fan content we get is enough for me for now. but i love saying things for a long time and subjecting everyone else to it so uh. blu team's number one stan will stick around out here till the end

The End (aw shit)

ive never had an original thought process and i will continue not to, aka, Grey's TF2 BLU team clone theory post. This is a long one boys.

i was talking about this with some people yesterday but i really wish tf2 canonically acknowledged blu team more and i think everyone who likes tf2 agrees with me. In case you're one of my hfjone followers who are unaware of tf2's story, Ill just give you the basic overview cause the story is like scrambled around in a bunch of comics, videos, and updates so it might be kind of overwhelming but i do recommend trying.

THE BACKGROUND INFORMATION

There's like these two richass brothers fighting over ownership of a plot of land inherited from their father who gave it to both of them in hopes theyd learn to cooperate with each other. Like reasonable people, they decided to hold an all out war in the American southwest by hiring the world's most skilled mercenaries to fight their battles for them in hopes one of them would claim the land. They each own their own company, RED or BLU, and in the game you fight on one of these two teams usually with the objective of taking territory or intel. A key plot point, that neither the mercenaries or the two brothers are aware of, is that this whole war is being orchestrated to be in a perpetual stalemate by a woman known as the Administrator, so she's the one involved with managing the mercenaries and coordinating attacks so that nobody makes any substantial victories. The gist makes this sound like a more serious story than it is like theyre fighting over a plot of gravel its really dumb actually. And then there's robots and shit that happens later just dont worry about it for now. dont even worry about it

In the game you can play as one of 9 classes of mercenaries, shown above with the aforementioned brothers and also saxton hale (dont worry about him either). Youll notice that in this image its a mix of red and blu people, but these guys exist on both teams. When it comes to promotional material, you almost see them as red team, but the exact same classes exist on blu. And they look the same, and sound the same, and have the same weapons and stats.

Obviously from a gameplay standpoint, it makes sense for these guys to be identical, but they aren't just identical in the game. There's a ton of stuff in videos and comics where they just use the same designs or models, same voices, same personality, everything.

So that's where the popular Clone Theory comes from. Basically one or both of these teams are clones of the original mercenaries to keep the fight between teams fair, because as stated before, these guys are in an orchestrated stalemate.

Again, if youre unfamiliar with tf2, you may be wondering what these guys canon reactions are to the fact that they are fighting somebody who looks and acts exactly like them right? Like, there's a ton of comics and videos about them, so they probably noticed or something? well they FUCKING DONT. ITS NEVER BROUGHT UP.

MY FRUSTRATION WITH THE LACK OF BLUUUUU

i really want them to like. fucking acknowledge what the hell is going on there? like are they actually clones in canon? it would make sense but its never fucking talked about. like even if they didnt actually give a definitive answer, i wish at the very least they pointed out the fact that HEY. these guys we're paid to kill look just like us thats fuckign weird. granted like most of the team are idiots, but while someone like soldier might not question what's going on, i'd think someone like Sniper or Spy who's jobs involve keeping a close eye on the enemy team would probably notice right?????

to be fair also theyve like. never interacted with themselves in any media stuff? the closest we ever get to seeing a red and blu counterpart interact outside the actual game is in meet the spy but we'll get to that later. It's interesting that they either purposefully avoided having them interact or they just overlooked a chance for the funny. we never see what its like for the mercs when they originally get hired (maybe cause they were never hired at all!!!!!!!!!! THEYRE ALL CLOENSSSAAGHG) so we dont really get to gauge their reactions

well why focus on blu team? pretty much all the media is very red centric. the meet the team videos are all about their respective red members, and the proper comic series is about red team (or is it?). the only meaningful stuff we see from blu team is from the war update, meet the spy, and that one christmas comic where spy told a child to murder someone. why's it so red centric, you may ask? well its cause they look better in the promotional art dumbass. do you think people would buy the orange box with blue people on the cover? fuck no think about the color theory

of course its entirely plausible that the red and blu team only use the same character designs for simplicity sake. its possible in universe they are two different sets of people who just look the same to us for the sake of gameplay, but that seems a bit outside the style of storytelling, where everything is sort of ridiculous and literal. i feel like in writing they would commit to it, but they've just managed to write these guys so they never have to interact and acknowledge how weird it is

so i wanna explore what of blu team is actually acknowledged and see if we can reach some sort of conclusion about them? cause clone theory seems to be the most prevalent but what do we actually know that would support that? But before we can even get into that we have to talk about the unavoidable elephant in the room

IS RESPAWN EVEN FUCKING REAL??????

In tf2 you dont stay dead when you die unless youre playing like a specific gamemode that nobody plays. you respawn after a short period of time in a little room and then go back out to get killed again. this is like crazy magic shit so that probably wouldnt be canon right. except crazy magic shit is canon, but that doesnt mean people are getting brought back from the dead- no thats canon too. While nothing in the videos and comics explicitly states that the mercenaries that are getting killed are able to just pop back to life, its not out of the realm of (tf2) reality. Furthermore, certain voicelines that activate after killing the same person multiple times in the game indicate that the characters themselves are in fact killing the same people over and over again, and they do just come back to life. The reason this is even relevant is just cause like BLU team has all canonically died at least once, and the BLU Spy has died two different times at least, so if they can respawn it would make more sense

Since we're talking about voicelines, what do the voicelines tell us about BLU team? really not a lot. The voicelines are the same no matter which team youre on, which supports them being the same people, but again is probably a game mechanic thing. Now onto the videos.

We can sort of skim over most of the meet the team videos because Blu's central role in almost all of them is getting killed, but there's a couple meaningful interactions in some of them.

Meet the Soldier

There isn't a whole lot going on in this one, but I find it interesting that they made the choice to include the BLU soldier's head here, but mostly obscured. This could be an example of an instance where they purposefully chose to avoid showing these two guys at the same time, which couldve been easily avoided by not putting it there at all honestly. Also why does he have that many blu helmets

Meet the Spy

This is the most we ever see of blu team in the videos. Characterization is mainly featured with Blu Spy, Soldier, and Heavy. These characters share the same mannerisms and personality of their Red counterparts here for sure. Most interestingly, Spy also talks a lot about his Red counterpart here. It's pretty clear he seems to consider the two to be similar in terms of skill and threat, which would make sense if he suspected the Red Spy was one and the same.

The Scout here isnt the actual BLU Scout, so his behavior is a bit suspect. It'd make sense that Red Spy is behaving like the Blu Scout and that their behavior isnt actually meaningfully different from the Red Scout. Furthermore, he's the one who specifically draws the comparison between himself and the Blu Spy ("I've killed dozens of spies... like you!"). So it seems the feeling is mutual.

This video is interesting also cause it implicates that Red Spy is Blu Scout's father, while the comics implicates that he's the Red Scout's father. Like what is it? Is he both of their dads? Is Blu Spy anyone's dad? Do the scouts have separate moms? Are the moms also clones? if both scouts went to see their mom and would they end up meeting at the same place and freak out? See this is all interesting which is why i WISH THEY WOULD AT LEAST ACKNOWLEDGE THAT ITS STRA

Meet the Medic

Blu isn't really characterized here a whole lot. A minor joke that's in here is Blu Spy's head, which is a reference to the unused concept for mtm if you weren't aware. But that's just like a one second joke and we don't ever see him again except for that one taunt. Honestly i really shouldve just skipped talking about th WHAT THE FUCK IS THAT

That is about 5 million BLU Soldiers. This is i think the ONLY time we've ever seen multiples of a single class on the same team in tf2's story universe. This is perhaps the most damning evidence for the clone theory we're going to get.

However, this is pretty easy to write off as a production streamlining choice. They want to make a mountain of bodies to stand on, so it's probably easier to copy and paste the same model than take the time to get a good mix of classes in there, and I can respect not wanting to waste that much effort on a minor detail of what was probably their highest quality production at the time. They did take the time to give them different hats though, but that's not hard to do in sfm. But if this scene is literal I really wanna know what the fuck happened here. At least we know where all those helmets came from

War Update Comic

Speaking of BLU Soldier, this comic is all about him. We learn a lot about him in this comic, such as his name being Jane Doe, a trait he seems to share with the RED soldier

(though this panel comes from the mann co no more series and its possible that, at this point in the story, this IS the blu soldier for. reasons. we'll get to that)

He behaves in the irrational violent manner we're accustomed to for the red soldier, though there is an interesting detail that he lives alone in an apartment, as its later revealed that red soldier is roommates with a wizard (dont worry about it). in game voicelines being the same for both classes means that both red and blu soldiers claim to be his roommate but voicelines being the same doesnt really mean a whole lot

Loose Cannon

This is around the time TF2 decided to have lore. We learn that BLU engineer is contracted to keep the two Mann brothers alive so the war can go on perpetually, as his family have a history of doing this apparently. The fact that BLU Engineer is the one who's got this specialized role is actually something thats consistent later in the comic as he specifically is revealed to be personally aiding the administrator

As for Red similarities, well. Blu Engie here is referred to as Dell Conagher, and I don't know think the red engie ever is. However, they both have a cool robot arm known as the Gunslinger, an item that specifically the Blu engie got access to in this comic, not the red one.

either the red engineer has some sort of shared memory with blu, or he was given access to these files after the blu engineer built his own gunslinger so things could stay in a stalemate. there's more evidence for the former, but i would believe the latter too.

Meet the Director

The origin behind the meet the team videos is revealed to be "interviews" staged to keep an eye on the red team and also make a point of how stupid it was for them to agree to an interview in the first place. Blu is basically absent from these comics, but they are mentioned. They made the explicit choice to skip videos of them for whatever reason, hence why all the meet the team videos are red team focused. I dont know how much weight this comic holds though cause its just announcing the saxxys. rip.

A Smissmas Story

This Christmas special is the most blu the comics ever get. It's also pretty standalone though. So while the characters are all pretty in line with their red counterparts as far as personality, not much extends outside of this to really point any fingers. The main tie in to the main series is this courtroom scene where Soldier is acting as Scout's lawyer.

This, as it turns out, gets referenced far later in the main series where the Red Soldier wants to act as Red Scout's lawyer in a courtroom.

Well. okay. case closed then? These two different red guys remember this exact scene that occured with the blu guys as if it happened to them. Theyve got some weird shared experience thing going on right. Guess theyre clones???

YOU FOOL WE HAVENT EVEN TALKED ABOUT MANN VS MACHINE

You remember those two brothers who are the whole conflict thing well they fucking Died. Turns out they had a secret eviler brother who killed them. "Oh what's his name grey?" uh. dont worry about it.

This event causes both the red team and blu team to have to work together in a new coop mode where they fight new brother's army of robots so he cant take over mann co, which is what the administrator and saxton hale (still dont worry about him) oversees.

(this video is so badass man)

So red team and blu team are mixed together now. That's fine though they're still color coded. ARE THEY????? ARE THEY??????

in mvm, all players wear red, and all evil robots are blue. It seems like they had plans to let people play as blu team against red robots cause red robot models exist but they didnt implement it.

This is consistent in the comics as well, where we in The Shadow Boxer see all Ms Pauling is planning only with the red team to fight the robot uprising.

See all red wait-

ive seen this image before. what the hell. lemme check back at the main page

WHAT THE FUCK WHYS THE HEAVY BLU IN THE THUMBNAIL

DID THEY. DID THEY ORIGINALLY MAKE THE COMIC WITH A MIX OF RED AND BLU AND THEN GO BACK AND MAKE THEM ALL RED? LIKE THE HEAVY WAS BLU IN THE ORIGINAL MVM UPDATE AS WELL, SO IT MAKES SENSE HE WAS BLU. IS HE. IS HE JUST WEARING A RED SHIRT NOW????

so whats this mean? it means that in the main story series, the red team we follow MIGHT NOT EVEN BE THE FUCKING ORIGINAL RED TEAM. they couldve all just put on red shirts to distinguish themselves better from the robots or something. there's just no way to be certain who's who anymore

well damnit grey guess thats theory over then BITCH YOU THOUGHT

GRAVE MATTERS

Grave matters is a comic released after the shadow boxers for that years halloween update. Despite this, it explicitly takes place after the two brothers are killed

These two guys become ghosts disputing who actually died first because all they can do is bicker. So they turn to a lawyer to actually figure things out. What lawyer you ask?

JANE MOTHERFUCKING DOE

they go to RED TEAMS SOLDIER, who is named Doe, who also claims to be a lawyer. this is EXPLICITLY before the teams can be mixed up, so this is the ACTUAL RED SOLDIER REMEMBERING SOMETHING THE BLU SOLDIER DID. I DID IT. I PROVED CLONE THEORY. ITS REAL. AHAHAHLDKGHDKLASHLGHKSLGGJ

well. honestly no i didnt. its highly likely clone theory is real if you take all this evidence as legitimate, but tf2 is kind of a bullshit game when it comes to how seriously it takes itself. there's contradictions about demo's upbringing, about whether or not medic actually had a license, shit like that. so its all suspect and thats okay. i dont blame them for not having a concrete plan for the story of a silly shooter game.

theres been good news for tf2 lately but i somehow doubt they're ever going to bring attention to this one specific thing i find interesting, and thats okay. there's plenty of fan made media that explores the blu team. Emesis Blue and Lil Pootis are amazing animations about them. You've also got fanfiction like Kith and Kin and You Need to Get a Head that specifically explore the angle of the tf2 teams being clones. And I think that's what makes tf2 special is the community that gets creative with it. Yeah it may be cool for valve to come out some day with the 7th chapter and the heavy update and the adult swim series, i know id be ecstatic. But we've got tons of people who can create all on their own and thats enough for me I think.

[holycrimin]

It hurts to love.

Karl heisenberg x male!reader

Tags: Hanahaki and angst

SFW

(Note: In this au, none of the main events happen with ethan, as he is not in this story. Also SPOILER WARNING.)

(Warning: probably shitty plot, but i'm trying my best ok)

[Your pov]

It all started a year or two ago, when mother miranda had found me lurking around the village. As i was not a local, she deemed me suspicous. However, before she had the chance to kill me, She had a spark in her eye. As if she had an idea. And before i knew it she was using me as some sort of vessel for her daughter, Eva. Although i am a male, she had seen something special in me apparently. I had also found out that her daughter had passed away and she was determined to bring her back.

It failed.

The experiment... failed.

I was no longer deemed useful.

She had proposed me two options. become a servant or assistant to one of the lords, or die. A slow, and painful death.

Of course I chose to be an assistant.

She was kind enough to let me choose who to work for, thankfully.

Lady dimitrescu was very much intimidating. And from what I've heard, if you mess up even just a little while working for her, you will be sent to the dungeons. Never to be seen again. And she isnt really fond of men, so I wont be choosing her.

Next up was Donna Beneviento. She was nice, although her doll 'Angie' is a little... how do I say this... creepy. It doesnt help that i have a huge fear of mannequins and dolls, so I dont think i'll be choosing her anytime soon.

And then theres Salvatore Moreau, dont get me wrong he's a great guy but.. he might accidentally drown me. I might be overreacting, but the guy smells. Although, I feel bad that he's treated so poorly by the other Lords, but i think it's for the best if i stay away from him.

And.. i guess my only option left is Lord Heisenberg. I just hope that he wont be that much of a hassle, even if he IS kind of an asshole...

A day before i start working at the factory, Mother Miranda forced us to spend the day together. To 'get to know eachother' I assume.

Lord Heisenberg looked pissed off, he wasn't really fond of me. He was more pissed off at Mother miranda though. Most likely because he was forced to spend time with me. I quickly learned what he called the 'basics of him'. Basically, common facts. Such as, the fact that he can bend metal and his deep hatred for Mother Miranda. that was basically all that he told me.

The following day was my first day at the factory. As we were walking along the factory, he stopped in his tracks. "Listen pup, there's rules." He practically growled. "First of all, Don't touch my shit. Second of all, don't go around the factory without me knowing. And third of all, Don't try to get to know me, we're keeping a proffessional relationship, got it?" He said.

"Uh.. y-yes Lord Heisenberg." I very nervously stammered, lightly blushing at the nickname he gave me.

"Good, now let's get to work."

Present day

That was around a year or two ago, and while i have gotten closer to the other lords, i never managed to get to get close to Lord Heisenberg. And..

I'm an idiot who fell for him... And... I know he'll never feel the same way. I've tried getting his attention, impressing him, but... nothing's working. Every time i try to get close to him, wether it's emotionally or physically. I get pushed away, literally and figuratively.

It's my fault really. I fell inlove with a man who was emotionally closed off. His charisma, his voice, everything about him just makes me fall more and more inlove with him.

I know i wont have a chance, hell, i dont even know if he's into guys... Guess i really am an idiot, huh?

Later that day, Lord Heisenberg asked me to help him with something. I agreed of course, and during that time I tried to know him more. "Jesus christ, are you trying to get me to open up or something? Cause' that's not gonna happen, so give it up." He spat out, "a-ah... sorry Lord Heisenberg.." I stammered out.

A few minutes of silence pass. Suddenly, he grabbed my hands. "I- ugh.. Just- you're doing it wrong. Here, let me help." He said, while holding my hands 'teaching me how to do it right'.

Of course my face started heating up, the feeling of his slightly roughed up hands on mine... it feels nice. Although this is probably the only time i'll ever get close to him.

"Hey pet, you ok? Geez, you're practically as red as a tomato." He said, while still holding my hands. "Uh.. y-yeah..! Uhm... i.. i'm good.." i stuttered, feeling his breath on top of my head. He was bigger and taller than me after all.

"Well, whatever you say, pup." He shrugged as he continued his work. I got a little flustered on the nickname, i never got used to that..

After, he went and ordered me to get supplies fron the duke.

As i was walking along the pathway to the duke, a few lycans were following me. They didnt seem to be attacking, so i just left them alone. However when i reached the duke, the lycans were gone. How strange.

"Well well well, if it isn't Heisenbergs pet! What brings you here, young man?" He says, with a shit eating grin. "Ah.. well, i'm just here for some supplies is al-" i was then cut off with a series of coughs, "Oh my, are you alright?" said the duke, genuinely concerned. "O-oh i'm fine i ju-" i was then cut off by another series of coughs, but just when i stopped, a small white flower petal came out of my mouth.

"Oh dear, i hope this isn't what i think it is... Are you sure you are alright?" Asked the duke. "I.. i dont know," i pause and look at the small flower petal in my hand. "do you know what's happening..?" I questioned him, very much confused. "It may be something called the 'Hanahaki disease'. It was said to just be an urban legend. Where, if you were suffering from unrequited love, you would begin to cough up flower petals." He explained. "I didnt think it was real.." he muttered to himself.

"..." i was silent as i stared in shock and horror, I'm.. coughing up flowers..? Like actual, real flowers...?

From.. unrequited love.... i should've known, i... i should've known that he would never feel the same way.

How could i be so stupid, to think he would fall for a mere mortal like me. Or atleast.. i think i'm mortal. "Well," the duke spoke up, "luckily there are two ways you can get rid of the sickness." My eyes lit up, "the person you like, either loves you back," he continued "or, you can get surgery. Not only will it remove the flowers, it also removes all of your feelings for this particullar person permanently."

"Th-that's great! I can finally get this 'hanahaki' disease while also getting rid of my feelings for him-!"

"Him?" The duke asked as he cut me off, "do you mean Lord Heisenberg?"

"Uh-" as i think about him, i start coughing again. This time, blood was spilling over. And so were many petals. "Oh dear.. so just the mere thought of him triggers it..?" He said, concerned. "Uh... i'll just... take the supplies. Thank you though, duke."

"No problem, stay safe. But remember, the longer you wait around with the flowers still inside you, the worse your state will become." He informs me,

"I'll try to get the surgery as fast as possible duke." I said, waving him goodbye.

As soon as i walked out, those same lycans followed me all the way back to the factory. Strange isn't it? Anyway, when you finally arrived at the factory, supplies in hand, I hear Lord Heisenberg open up the door.

"Here, let me help you with those." He says as he starts taking some of the bags.

"...Why are you being so nice all of a su-sudden?" I stammer as i try to hold in a cough. "Would you rather not have me nice, pup?" he growled. As i opened my mouth to speak, i was interrupted but a fit of coughs. Blood spilt out as did the petals. Heisenberg didn't seem to notice as he was already far ahead.

I try to cover it up as much as i can as i try to catch up with him. "Jeez.. Finally, you caught up-" he cut himself off. "Why is there blood on your face?" He said, slightly concerned. I froze. "Uh.." that was all i could say. "Whatever.." he said as he wiped the blood away from my face. A faint blush spread accross my cheeks.

I excused myself to the bathroom as i felt another fit of coughs. More blood splattered out as well as more petals. God it hurts. I heard a knock on the door. "Hey pet, you've been there a while, you sure you're alright?" He said

"Uh- yeah, i-i'm fine..!" I said, trying to hold in my coughs. "Well just make it quick, we have work to do." "Yes sir..!" I reply back quickly, not wanting to upset him. I quickly cleaned myself up and walked out of the bathroom. "Took you long enough." He sighed, annoyed. He went ahead and grabbed his hammer, dragging it along the metal floors. It was loud enough for him to not hear you cough up more petals.

~later that week~

My condition kept getting worse and worse, to the point i was barely able to breath. I've consulted the duke, however nothing seemed to work. No matter how much medicine, herbs or other medicinal items i jammed into my body, it just won't go away.

I was asked to come over Lady Dimitrescus castle, i'm not exactly sure why. Maybe she heard of this 'hanahaki' disease?

As i make my way to the castle, lycans started to follow me. Even more than before, why was this happening?

I finally arrive at the castle, the lycans seem to be watching me very carefully. I hear the doors open, and out came a tall lady. "Ah, Y/N! I'm glad you came! Come in." She said, holding the door open for me.

I walked in and was immediately tackled with a hug. "Uncle Y/N! You came!" Exclamed Daniela, one of Lady Dimitrescus daughters. "Oh, uh... hello Daniela." I say, hugging back. I never imagined them to warm up to me. "Now now Daniela, me and your Uncle Y/N have something to discuss."

"Aww man... well, i'll see you around Uncle Y/N!" She waved goodbye to me. "I'll see you around, Daniela." I say as i wave back. As soon as her footsteps were no longer in range, i spoke up. "So.. what did you want to talk about..?" I carefully asked the tall woman, not wanting to be sliced to bits. "Well, as i said before, the duke has informed me of something related to your wellbeing."

"So... you've heard about this.. 'hanahaki' disease, i assume...?" I say as i tense up even more. "The duke told me about it, and when i asked why he was informing me about this, he simply stated it had something to do with you. So tell me, do you have it?" She asked me with a concerned expression.

"W-well.. I-.." i say, sighing. "Yes, as far as i know." I reply, not wanting to lie to her. "As much as i dislike that wretched man, Heisenberg, i must ask, is he the object of your affection?" I froze. "Well... uh-" i cut myself off as i break into a fit of coughs growing more and more violent than the last. "Oh dear- MAIDS!" She called out, panicking, as blood and petals fall out of my mouth. She patted my back as i continue to cough. "So... it is Heisenberg.. I am terribly sorry Y/N i did not know this would happen.." she said, apologetically.

"I-it's alright-" i break into another fit of coughs. But instead of petals, this time, there were fully grown flowers. "i.. i can't b-breath.." i say almost blacking out. The last thing i see and hear are the maids, Lady Dimitrescu shouting to get the duke, and the door opening to reveal... Lord Heisenberg..? "Goddammit, out of my way-!" Was the last thing i heard before blacking out.

•

•

°

.

.....

I woke up to the duke. I sat upright, "what... happ-" i was then cut off by the duke. "You're awake! Honestly, i.. didnt know if you would wake up.." he said sadly. "Thankfully, i was able to patch you up just fine. And after days and hours of research, i finally found an alternative to your hanahaki!" The duke said, switching from a sad, to a cheerful mood.

My eyes light up, "W-wait, really!?" I said as a smile creeps up on my face. The duke gives me a small bottle, "Here, take this. Free of charge!" He said as he smiles brightly. "Now, you should drink it as soon as possible. Lord Heisenberg is waiting for you outside."

"I will, thank you duke!" I said as i waved him goodbye. As I walked to the gates, I take the small bottle and drink it. Within seconds, the flowers were gone. I could finally breath again!

Walking out with a small smile, I saw Lord Heisenberg. "Oh, hey-!.. uh.. i mean, hey. You're awake, lets... get back to the factory..." he stammered out.

..

Was it just me, or were there tears on his face..?

The walk to the factory was silent, but as we walk up to the factory gates, he stops dead in his tracks. "Before we go in, I just uh.. wanted to let you know that the duke let me know about how you really felt about me." He said. "And.. after a long time of thinking about it.." he cuts himself off as his cheeks turn red,

"...I like you too." He confesses.

But,

I don't feel any different.

I don't have butterflies in my stomach.

I don't even feel my face heating up.

It was like...

I was never inlove with him in the first place.

"I... I'm sorry, Lord Heisenberg... but.. I dont feel the same way anymore. I think... it was that small bottle the duke gave me, but.. I am sorry, i don't feel the same way." "W-wait.. you're.. you're joking, right...?" I watch as his expression goes from flustered to heartbreak. "..." i grow silent.

"Let's... let's get inside... we'll catch a cold if we don't." I say, opening the doors to the factory, not wanting the situation to get more awkward. "...Y... yeah... just, gimme a minute.." he says as his voice was slightly shaking. "Alright.. just... please be quick, you'll get a cold." I said, walking in and closing the door on him.

[Heisenbergs pov]

"I... I'm sorry, Lord Heisenberg... but.. I dont feel the same way anymore. I think... it was that small bottle the duke gave me, but.. I am sorry, i don't feel the same way."

"W-wait.. you're.. you're joking, right...?" I say with my voice slightly shaking. Dammit.. god... fucking...

DAMMIT...!

Just when i thought i finally found the love of my life, he's stripped away from me.

"..." he was silent.

I could feel the heartbreak slowly filling me up.

"Let's... let's get inside... we'll catch a cold if we don't."

"...Y... yeah... just, gimme a minute.." i stammer while i try not to break down infront of him.

"Alright.. just... please be quick, you'll get a cold." He says, as he walks in and shuts the door. Heh.. it's cute how he still worries about me when..

Nevermind.

I need some time to thi-

My thoughts were interrupted when i started to violently cough. What i didn't expect though...

Was a flower petal.

"..."

"Heh..."

"So this is what he felt." I said, as i look at the bloody flower petal in my hand.

[melody-of-lost-souls]

Hi!

So I don't understand why everytime Sasuke is doing something nice for Sakura, it's considered romantic? Like Idk, Sasuke saving Sakura just so she won't get a concussion is romanticized. Him trying to show affection by thanking her is romantic. Giving her a hand to help her get up is romantic.. Anything that a regular teammate would do for the other in their case is romanticized..

Like, do they lack so much chemistry to the point that Sasuke addressing her by her name will be romantic?

Hello :) Well i think a lot of facts have to do wit this topic: 1) The fact that they are canon makes people believe that every interaction before the canon statement foreshadows their (non existent) relationship. So despite none of those interactions were meant to be romantic maybe, people, fans will see them as a foreshadowing hence will say all of that content was romantic. 2) The lack of content they have, in order for this canon pair to become well...canon, leads to their fans to see any (few) interaction they have as a romantic foreshadowing. They believe every interaction from them is Important to both relationship, but reality is that those moments were only meaningful for Sakura, not sasuke.

3) Well this is not only in naruto , but in a lot of medias that some people cannot see a friendship between a woman and a man and think everything leads to sexual/romantic desires. Also, this one is attached that many people believe all characters are straight until proven the contrary. For example, Tenten and Neji. They have beautiful and great friendship <3 I never shipped them, but if a relationship between these 2 were to happen we wouldnt be that surprised since they were very good friends. This is how a good friendship is portrayed ( and people tell me kishimoto does not know how to write romance- bonds -or women) But the deal is, A BIG PART of the fandom believed they were in love¿¿¿¿¿¿ Why? I dont know, just because they have , not even chemistry, but a good dynamic, dudebros believe they wanna tear off those clothes.

-Thre is this OVA in 3d crossed ways/paths. Where Sasuke saves Naruto and Sakura. He FIRST kicks naruto away so he doesnt get attacked by the enemy, and then he take sakura in his arms. Dudebros and SS fans were crazy because OMG HE TOOK HER IN HIS ARMS <3 <3<3<3 and ???? I mean, yeah you can see it as romantic but he also saved naruto. And also, she is A GIRL. Was other way to save her despite not taking her in his arms? Did they want him to kick her as with naruto? XD

4) Sasuke didnt interact that much with women, because he just didnt want to and the narrative didnt put him in that situation. So that Sakura is one of the few women he interacted with...well SS fans flies their imagination and headcanons. But they completely erase Karin lol

5) Concluding I think the main reason is the first one. The fact of being canon makes people see their "relationship" through another lens plus they have maybe 1 or 2 "romantic tropes" (which SNS wins in here ofc) so people will believe this is enough. But something is sure, Sakura and kakashi are somehow very irrelevant in Sasuke life. Sakura and Kakashi can be replaced by any other character and the feelings will be the same. Replace Sakura or erase her from his life and plot will remain almost intact. If we can take sakura away from Sasuke life, and the plot won't be affected by his pov, how important is she in the end? I ask SS fans to do this exercise.

[shummthechumm]

i miss the forest territories so much man! they had so much personality and fun names and we actually got to explore them! the lake feels super bland and it’s been here for so much longer than the forest was

id love to see an au ( or maybe make it myself ) where tnp doesn’t happen, or happens differently, and they stay in the old territories. they’re just so much better than the lake

i spit balled a while back on twitter a possible scenario where the migration plot gets pushed back until po3 or oots (the clans could be driven out by the DF, and then the following arc would be them adapting and possibly heading back to the forest to reclaim their territory?)

tnp could focus on the windclan rebellion completely, as well as other points of interest that were dropped at the end the first arc. like that scene where firestar confronts blackfoot following the bloodclan battle with “i saw what you did at bonehill. im watching you”? yeah that could be used in the 2nd arc. some cats are unhappy that two leaders who supported tigerstar (blackstar and leopardstar) are still in positions of power, and they form mini rebellions similar to the one we see in (SPOILERS) TBC

you could have hawkfrost manipulating these causes for his own gain, and dragging brambleclaw along for the ride with him. it eventually leads him into a position of power, and brambleclaw realizes that he has to strike down hawkfrost before he gets dragged down further too (something similar to the firestar trap scene could happen?) the dark forest stuff could still happen in this arc because canon hawkfrost should be allowed a little depth.

then brambleclaw could have an actually coherent arc where he learns that you can still be a shitty person even if you don’t realize it. and he doesnt remain deputy and finds happiness just being a warrior. itll also keep the arc nice and focused instead of back and forth wandering. plus we get more forest territory in the main series! 

[little-shadow-club]

RAGNAROK PROPAGANDER HIGHJACKED THIS POST PREPARE YOURSELF (Also I tried my best not to spoil anything) --

here are the pros

badass female characters, like they have so much focus without being sexualized or having their spotlight taken, (mentioning here that so far only one has been somewhat hinted to be a romantic interest, but even her character doesnt revolve around suho, more just her workline as a hunter). Heck one of the main characters is a female who has her own bubbly personality.

20x the beru moments

Comedy

found family with monsters and dead people (but also like sungs family too are also really helpful and even the inlaws get along its so nice everyone really helps each other in their own ways to the point where it just hits you with the feels knowing the people that suho wants to protect and at the same time THEY also want to protect/help suho and jinwoo. at the end of the day the sung family is so freaking wholesome when it comes to wanting to see jinwoo again that to me is the cutest)

Suho is a menace

The battles vary a lot in terms of places and villains, with the lore always connecting to something bigger. (some events are not usually seen since its a long read, but at a second re read its obvious that they planned things beforehand)

THE SHADOWS SHENANIGANS

The worldbuilding is expanded a lot more here, not just writing upon what the Solo Leveling world had. Even the minor concepts in the og SL are brough up and become an important plot for the story's structure. Taking for example the ingridients that Jinwoo needed to get for the Holy Water of Life Potion have each their own little story behind it.

Cons

No Jinwoo

Very very little romance, like none so far actually (So far only two instances of other characters assuming a character had a crush on Suho. (I see this as a pro for me tbh but I get romance is a popular subplot)

Its long... 300+ chapters and it hasnt even come close to the end.

Thank you for your kind words you really inspired me, when I will post the fanfic I’ll be sure to gift it to you kkk.

Welp it’s technically not a question so here’s one. Should I read SL: ragnarok? Every sequel of popular series always end up giving me a whiplash so I’m not sure if I should go for it kkk.

Awww thank you! 🤗

Well, it's up to you (you should, really)! Ragnarok is different though; it gives more world building into the universe, the Monarchs having more depth and character, and there are lots of twists and turns. Sung Su-ho may be different from his dad, but in a good way. He's shown to have more funny moments, his powers aren't all copy-paste from his Shadow Monarch of a dad, and the way he interacts with others is pretty enjoyable, some interesting if I might say 👀

The manhwa is rushed and took a 360° spin in the plotline, so I'd prefer if you read the novel first as it has more thorough details :)