#dude and i've been saving points for Years and i don't even have enough to cover one leg of that trip. what on fucking earth

[gwenie-clorrisan]

Prime Problem (and fixing it)

One thing that makes me kind of upset is that Sonic Prime is, in fact, cannon. There's nothing wrong with it, per say... don't get me wrong, I really enjoyed it. But one fact alone is enough to irk me... The fact that Rouge is apparently closer to Sonic than she is to Shadow now.

For a while now, Sega has had an urge to make the main cast a group of five. It's happened for both Boom and Prime now, with the fifth character being exchangeable (either Stix or Rouge). Stix I was fine with; she fit the narrative, had great chemistry with the cast, and was just an enjoyable character to watch. Rouge on the other hand I've never been a big fan of in the first place. I know people do love her, but most of her charm from the very beginning was based on her chemistry with dark characters. Case in point, Team Dark (Sonic Heroes), where she's definitely closer to Shadow than she is to anyone on Team Sonic (including even Knuckles). While she was great in Prime and I loved all of her variants, I think there's definitely a better candidate for the fifth character. A much better one, who needed more time in the spotlight, desperately more. I'm talking about Cream the Rabbit.

No, this isn't only about the fact Cream will forever be my favorite character. It seems that Sega (along with most fans) have forgotten that Cream was designed to be the fifth main character of the cast. She was around for SO MANY GAMES, until she abruptly vanished after Heroes. She wasn't seen for years until reemerging in obscure places (like the olympics as a judge), or Generations (where everyone was). I hear excuses like "Oh, she's only six, they can't have her in something like Forces, that's a literal war." Dude. Charmy was there. He's six. And what, did Sega retcon the ages of every character EXCEPT for Cream? She's literally only two years younger than Tails, people! And if Big can be in Prime, why couldn't they just complete Team Rose? I WANT TEAM ROSE DYNAMICS!!!!!

Anyway, with that out of the way, let's address the real issue: How Prime would have affected Cream. (I'm mainly going to put her in places replacing Rouge, but I can also see her and Rouge being side-by-side in the shatter verse as well, take your pick) She'd get quite a bit of character development, like how the rest of the characters did, with her own special twist (yes, Cheese would also be here... for most things)

First up, No Place. This is the easiest one. Have her as part of the crew, not too much happens. She can have a small job and be a bit of the peacemaker among the group of pirates. When it comes down to it, she and Cheese can both throw a pretty good punch. (I wanna see Cheese in an eyepatch)

Next is Boscage Maze. This ones a bit more tricky, because it's a bit harder to replace Rouge. She could definitely be the voice of reason of the tree dwellers, helping them steal whatever food they can from the forest... or, she could be something of a mediator between them and Thorn Rose, since she could have some sort of closer relationship to the Amy variant. I think that if she does live strictly with the tree dwellers, that would be because something happened to Cheese when the Thorn turned on them, and she couldn't really forgive her. They would probably be reunited in the end.

Finally, New Yoke. There are two possible ways this one could play out. One, Cream plays the role as "little leader", an unexpected leader in a rebellion against the Chaos Council, with an army of chao behind her that she's raised in hopes of a better future. Or two, she discovered Nine a while back, and is determined to follow him everywhere (he possibly accidentally saved her from some sort of bullying, and she just attached herself to him). For the first option, she'd have a lot more cheery, positive attitude, yet would be able to snap at people who get out of line. For two, she'd be quiet and apathetic, and probably even more distrusting of Sonic than Nine was. If we go the second option, we'd see her standing by Nine even as he goes insane, and she could possibly turn on him for his own good. (I personally like the second option better) For either one, Cheese is no where in sight, probably because of some disaster that befell him.

Anyway, this has gotten really long, but it was fun to come up with possibilities! Which ones do you like, you guys? If there's ever a continuation, I hope they include my girl <3

[supercantaloupe]

JESUS. $148 FOR A TRAIN TICKET HOME ON 11/21?

[gaoau]

i've been thinking a lot about Suo and i need it to stop, so i wanna analyse him a little bit and say things into the void. normally i like to psychoanalyse characters in fics but i've seen that side of the fandom and i do NOT wanna go there, so i'm saving myself by pulling the same thing i did with Nanao ig.

disclaimer: this isn't necessarily a theory about his backstory as much as it is what i personally wanna see happen. see, if i were writing him, i'd do very specific things that could go in various directions, but since i am not, unfortunately, writing him and he's not my character to fuck with, all i can do is yap. which, also, probably won't be very eloquent.

manga spoilers for literally the whole manga up to date btw.

i don't think we won't be getting a backstory on him, to be honest. with a character like him, yeah, the mystery is part of the charm, and having this much anticipation can suck ass if once the secret gets revealed, it doesn't stick the landing. but i doubt Nii Satoru doesn't have something planned for him. why would bro be leaving Suo's room illustration out of the fanbook if there wasn't something there to talk about? what is in his room to talk about? but that's not what this is about.

anyway i'm gonna be so fr Suo's built like a dog. he's clearly full of shit, and yknow, that's fine, good for him, but there are things that are so painfully obvious he's just straight up lying about. after his fight with Kanuma, which is deadass the first time we see him fight, he says he "doesn't usually get so emotional," which ?? shut the fuck up? that's not true.

i know a liar when i see one. we've seen him fight five times? six if i wanna be generous; in three of those he got crazy emotional (Kanuma, keel, and Endo), and just a tiny bit miffed with the gymnast guy idr his name fuck that freak. which, listen, to be fair, if someone touched a single hair on Nirei's head in front of me, real me too i'd kill a guy. but look me in the eye lil bro don't lie to me. real talk, though, he was more than ready to kill the keel dude, and was going to. he wanted to. he was shaking while Sakura held him back, don't play with me. he wasn't gonna stop just cause someone was interjecting.

bro was itching to kill, side-eyeing Sakura, spitting snark cause how's the hot-headed mf who jumps head-first into a brawl without a second thought staying more rational than him, the rational one? Sakura's talking to him the same way i talk to my dog after she tries to kill my cat. i'm ngl my dog has better self-restraint than this kid. he also just straight up xd's his way out of it? like "oh whoopsies! mb gang! i was just feeling silly goofy! 🤪" like he forgets he's not supposed to glare at people with murder in his eyes.

speaking of murder! this is where i want him to have killed someone before Bofurin. he's, like, 15? so there's not much time to work with, but the same way Kaji was going feral at idk 8 years old, i can see a world in which Suo actually went overboard when he was a younger kid. (i'm not saying this is what things are pointing at, but i want this to be the case. i would do this myself.)

he is emotional, i don't think that's up for debate. i understand why he gets so emotional and i do think it's very noble and cool and swag of him, that's a good person, somewhat, he cares about his friends and it pisses him off when they get hurt. i fuck with that. that's great, get him an ice cream (if he even eats fucking weirdo). but why are we acting like "i am chill ᵔ ᵕ ᵔ" when, clearly, that's not true?

here's where his teacher comes in. for how much grief i'm giving him, i don't think he's all lies at all. i don't think him liking Nirei and Sakura enough to not only speak highly of them, but also fuck a guy up for them, is a lie. i think he is as kind as Umemiya describes him to be, cause honestly, if Umemiya says someone is kind, then they probably are.

i don't think this is necessarily fake as much as i think it's borrowed. it's learned behaviour. it's teachings passed down to him by his teacher. it's discipline. it's not something that comes naturally to him, but it is something a person he respects and looks up to taught him, so he tries to live by it. he's very clearly been disciplined, probably got beaten into the ground by his teacher, got his ass handed to him again and again and again until he sharpened his reflexes and learned how to control himself in a fight.

he talks a lot about adulthood, talks a lot about maturing, talks a lot about self-control and whatnot. which, by the way, this is a child? lil bro you're fifteen go play on your switch idk. but i'd like to think this comes from someone telling him, "hey, what you did was not okay. you have a lot of strength and you're not an animal. use it wisely so you can one day grow into a proper adult." solely cause i want him to have killed someone. that's all i want.

i think it would make sense, really. how funny would it be if he was living similarly to Sakura? i've seen people headcanon him as a rich kid, but he lies a lot, and i wouldn't put it past him to be living in a sad, lonely one-room apartment. there's a billion ways things could be done with him. maybe his parents didn't care to try disciplining him, maybe he grew up with no parents at all. he has a short fuse, that's easy to tell, even if he acts like he's got everything under control. it's a very Suzuri type of situation, so maybe it's not the direction Nii Satoru is gonna take things, but one can dream.

as for the eyepatch, i haven't really thought much about it. the way i see things, he's gotta come from a neglectful background, so losing an eye would make sense. or maybe he did it himself, i'd love to see that (i would do that with a character like this if he was mine). if his eye is even missing at all, cause all things considered, it might be sort of just a way to give himself a handicap to remind himself not to go overboard.

which, circling back to the self-restraint thing, i like to think that's the reason he doesn't really use much excessive force. not to say he doesn't kick and punch, cause lil bro packs a mean punch, but he doesn't gravitate to hitting people. he's usually using his opponent's weight and momentum against them, which is why i was decently surprised when i saw him grab the keel dude and wind back to bash his face in. he's not violent, until he lets go of what little self-restraint he has, and then he is. it's values and principles that come from someone else telling him how to behave, except he still struggles to hold himself back.

to put it in simple terms, if he were my character, this is what i would do. i'd have him kill someone by going overboard as a kid, have him be taken in by this teacher, have him disciplined and clean his act up by beating his ass, and then have him parrot all these teachings at people he meets later. cause that's essentially what he's doing, he's just repeating things someone else told him. what does bro know about being an adult he doesn't even pay taxes go do your trig homework. but he tries, and you can tell he's trying, even if it doesn't come natural, he cares about his friends and he cares about becoming a better person, he's just a little too quick to snap.

you know what i mean? he cares about Nirei in particular, he loves Nirei, he tries to learn from Nirei. (guys i love Nirei i wont shut the fuck up). but fr, he's got that Nanao complex where he instigates things or sets things into motion and doesn't quite participate. he watches from the back, for better or for worse, but he doesn't necessarily involve himself in things. he keeps a distance. he feels like the other side to Sakura's coin sometimes, learning about people and how warm they actually are. he's all prim and proper and nonchalant, but he recognises he's no match for Sakura and maybe even Nirei. after all, it's always Nirei the one grabbing both of them by the arm and dragging them places.

he talks so big and maturely about not meddling too much with people who can't quite handle friendship yet, and then goes "!" when Nirei tells him "? fuck are you talking about? that's the more reason to teach Sakura about friendship." it's the look on his face after Nirei, despite Suo's long-winded and logical argument, goes to Kotoha and insists they help Sakura anyway. he's learning from Nirei too. also Nirei's crazy endearing so real me too but that's beside the point.

i don't think these parts of him are fake, but they might just be artificial. he's still integrating them into his own person and making them his, but he still slips here and there. he's not quite there yet. i hope he killed someone when he was 8yo. that's all thank you for reading thumbsup

[littlevices]

What is this man!? Or: Me Overthinking Reigen's Fighting Ability, lol

Reigen Arataka. 28 years old. Used to be a normal salaryman. Runs Spirits and Such Consultations and is the self-proclaimed "Greatest Psychic of the Twenty-First Century.

Where did he learn to dropkick a bitch?

No, seriously. Where did he learn half the shit he does. Sure, you can explain his punches as something he can learn with his green belt, but not the fact that not only did he dropkick someone, he rebounded and landed on his feet. That is almost some Dimple level acrobatics for someone without any supernatural abilities or enhancements.

Sure, we can chalk it up to anime logic all we want, but that's not as fun, so I'm going to ramble and overthink instead. (As I do.)

Disclaimer: Some spoilers for later events in the show.

Okay, so. Reigen has a surprisingly large repertoire of skills. Some of this I can chalk up to his family life.

His father is apparently a local politician/civil servant, his mother a housewife, and his sister a bank employee.

Clearly Reigen gets his speech skills from his father, and maybe some of his other tricks, like using rice as glue, may even be from his mother. Granted I'm probably stretching that a bit. He could have just as easily learned that from trying to save money, lol.

We also know he didn't fit in while in school, which, as we all know, can lead to instances of bullying. Whether that bullying is physical or not, who knows. All I've seen looking around is that he apparently got skipped over when it came to games and stuff, but there could have been more to it.

Where am I going with this? You'll see.

So, the green belt. We know from season one that Reigen specifically says he has a green belt in shorinji kenpo. Now, I will be the first to admit I don't know much of anything about martial arts on a deep level. I can, however, do some quick research *cough* google *cough* (Do you think Reigen would be proud of me, lol).

According to what I've found, a green belt in a number of martial arts can be anywhere from beginner to a beginner-intermediate or even intermediate level. It depends on the martial art of course, but I think also the school. The same seems to apply to what I could find on shorinji kenpo. Or Kempo, because that's what I keep finding, someone please correct me if need be. I think people have also called it Xiaolin Martial Arts, which I also took a brief look at, but the concept appears similar there as well. Now, let's give Reigen the benefit of the doubt considering what we've seen him actually do, and assume the man went to a pretty decent school. A green belt is clearly not a master level or even a high level belt. If anything, though, this means the man can handle a regular petty thug just fine, and we've seen that. The seance scene in season 1 by itself proves that easily.

However, it's the other stuff that makes me wonder.

Again, this man drop kicked a dude, an esper that was currently using his power by the way, then rebounded off him to land on his feet. Beyond the dropkick itself, which from what I understand is impractical in a fight, he also rebounded. Rebounding can be hard to do off a stationary object, let alone a person. Yet here Reigen is, doing it causally off an esper that controls gravity.

His punches are also pretty damn devastating. Again, he can knock people out. He did this during the seance, but then tried it on Muraki. While he didn't knock him out, he definitely did some damage.

Not only would he need to be strong to do this, he'd also need to be fast. He's also fast enough that someone like Suzuki had to make a clone of himself to dodge Reigen's fist, rather than block or just dodge it normally. Either Suzuki was feeling extra that day (much to Sho's chagrin) or Reigen caught him off guard enough he actually had to use his powers.

This brings me to the next point.

Reigen knows how to hold a gun.

No, no. Wait, hear me out. Yes, I know it's a toy gun, but it is still a toy gun supped up on psychic energy. Not only does Reigen hold it nice and steady, he's got some damn good aim. That shot went for Suzuki's face or at least his throat.

Now, granted, I hear airsoft is a popular past time in Japan, so maybe that's where some of it comes from, which is still pretty neat.

He also didn't hesitate to shoot. One look at Mob and he pulled the trigger. Suzuki got one warning before that, and he didn't even get the chance to defy it before Reigen shot. Now, Reigen is a smart man, he probably figured the gun wouldn't work, but damn if he didn't try. Honestly, he was probably panicking and kicking himself on the inside, but he certainly didn't show it.

There's also the fact that, when you look, Reigen almost always instinctively knows to protect his head and neck when he gets thrown around. It's probably the most obvious in the Mogami fight when he gets picked up and slammed, but you can see it in the final episode as well when getting flung around by ???'s tornado.

This man has either gotten enough sparring that he knows to do this on instinct, or he's been in enough scraps that he's had no choice but to learn or get concussed. Also, in the Mogami arc, Reigen tries to stop Mogami (in Minor's body) by kicking him in the head. Mogami was moving very fast, but Reigen's kick did land.

Too bad it was Mogami and not any one else because it might have worked.

He also knows a couple knee strikes, which again was used on a moving target.

Now, let's step back and bring up Reigen's family again. There's always the possibility that Reigen got his green belt young due to his father's occupation. Now, that might only apply if his father was a rather important one, but still something to consider. It could have also been in self-defense if the bullying he faced in school got physical. I personally think Reigen got his green belt at an older age, earliest highschool, but obviously there's nothing to back that up. It also makes me wonder just how many of his clients have gotten violent, because while he did flinch at the knife during the seance, he also didn't hesitate to deck the dude.

This doesn't even bring up the fact that Reigen knows all kinds of massage techniques (I heard that his family wanted him to be a massage therapist, but I don't know if it was said where that information came from), psychology, his ability to cold read people, and everything else this man does.

Granted, a lot of his effectiveness comes from him being smart and charismatic. This man is a manipulator and thank god he's got morals because holy hell the damage he could do being able to manipulate Mob.

Or the damage Mob could do if anything serious happened to Reigen. >.>;

All in all, I think Reigen has gotten into way more scraps than is suggested. I feel as if he might have had a rougher life at school than what little hints we've gotten. That whole thing with the Separation Arc felt kind of like him projecting onto Mob, but I could be wrong. Personally, I headcanon Reigen as being something of a truant and/or delinquent (or at least a gremlin) when he was younger, but that's just me, lol. I do think he's had a rougher go of it than he likes to tell, though.

I know I didn't cover absolutely everything here, like Shimazaki, and that there's probably more context or something in the manga, but this post was already long enough and I haven't read the manga in full yet so apologies if there is missing context.. If you made it to the end of this post, I want to both thank you, but also apologize for my long winded rambling, lol. I just - Have no idea what to make of Reigen and all that he does. It doesn't help that a lot of his backstory is fairly non-existent. We only know tidbits about this conman, but I guess that's part of what makes him interesting.

Well, hopefully you had fun reading this post as much as I had making it. I know most of this can probably be just anime logic, but I had looking into it at least! If this wasn't a world of espers, Reigen would probably fairly formidable in a fight, on a physical level anyway. He's already like that on several others already, lol. This sweaty rat just always seems to grab my attention. . .

[almostfini]

Ableism but make it leftist

Maybe I'll think of a catchier title later but rn I need to talk about this before I boil away with rage.

Context: someone in my local queer community FB group asked for volunteer opportunities. They expressed particular interest in working with the elderly or "people who need the most help". There were only a couple suggestions when I saw the post so I added mine, that there's several underserved young (younger than elderly anyway) queer people in our community who are severely disabled and housebound. I'm one of them though I didn't mention it but the Leftist Bully knows this.

Another disabled group member I've interacted with before thanked me for bringing this up and I felt good about it until a couple days later when I got a new notification. LB, as I'll call them, was smugly concerned that we (me and my Disabled Acquaintance) were taking resources from queer elders.

Point #1. We weren't using any resources, we were just expressing a community need to someone who asked who in the community has needs...

LB continued that there are "so many" resources we could be using instead which is news to me! They then made a point to tag both me and DA and tell us that "if we're so lonely why don't we just meet up with seniors". I considered going over point by point why they were being ignorant at best but I decided to save my energy and politely asked them not to speak so condescendingly about topics they aren't familiar with. Cue the laugh react. So we're not even pretending to care anymore, great.

They respond with a lengthy paragraph about how they are qualified to determine who gets resources or not because of all the organizing they do. They insisted again that there are other resources, and pay attention to this, "for young queers". Dude... There sure are resources for young queers but

Point #2. THAT'S NOT WHAT WE'RE TALKING ABOUT YOU CHUCKLEFUCK. We were specifically talking about housebound queer people who aren't old enough for social security resources.

Point #3. You can't cry tone policing when you were the one who butted into a conversation to "correct" someone over what was allegedly a resource management dispute. I mean apparently you can and they did but it's pretty ridiculous

Re: citing their community organizing record and heavily implied that DA and I are not contributing to the same degree

Point #4a. DA and I are both very active in disability organizing. We both run pages/groups for raising awareness and connecting people to resources as well as one on one assisting people.

4b. We're both severely disabled and housebound, that kind of gets in the way of a lot of activism. I used to do a lot more when my health was better.

4c. Leftists like to talk big, "your productivity doesn't define your worth" until someone isn't able to do whatever type of labor that supposedly makes people respectable.

Point #5. Concern trolling. If they really cared they would have kindly directed me to some concrete resources instead of lecturing me to shut up

Point #6. They didn't have a problem with the person who brought up volunteering at the animal shelter.

Point #7. LB requests rides from the community on a weekly basis. The community rallied around them when they lost their home to a fire last year. They are absolutely in their right to do this! It's just telling how it's ok for them to ask for help. And to top it off I've been consistently signal boosting them and recommending their freelance services, expending my limited resources to help them. I thought we were becoming friends.

[rei-ismyname]

Bloody hell, Scott (cute)

I'm not from the US, so everything I've picked up about Thanksgiving has been from media. As I understand it, it's some kind of occasion for the giving of thanks and eating of birds. Maybe pumpkins are involved? If it's anything like Australia there's almost certainly ethnic cleansing that doesn't get talked about enough. Idk, Spoilers for FTA Infinity Comic #22

Beak, Angel and their absurd amount of children flew across the country, dealing with crowds and racists, to have Thanksgiving with the X-Men (and other reasons, you'll have to read it yourself to find out.) Cyclops is like 'thanks but nah' and Angel points out that he didn't call ahead (fair tbh.) After a nudge on rudeness from the JUGGERNAUT of all people..

Christmas is saved, or whatever. Is that how psychic knives work? I don't care, it's super cool.

It's nice to see a bunch of mutants being happy for once, even Quentin Quire is in good spirits, though he doesn't look it. Gotta love seeing Magik hanging out with kids joyfully, seeing as she spent her tender years in hell/Limbo.

A rare laugh from Scotty and The Juggernaut is a softie. He's definitely got experience from helping raise Terry/Siryn with his strangely absent boyfriend, Black Tom. Cool Riot at Xavier's reunion too. Cyke tells a story about the time Xorn (who lives here, conquered New York disguised as Magneto, who also lives here) purged a ton of humans and killed Jean Grey. He told Beak not to run into a burning building...

But he did anyway. What a legend.

His kids are surprised at this, despite both parents having been secret agents for a time. Quentin opens his mouth and Glob is like dude...

But it turns out he's legit toasting the Beak, albeit with some language that children probably shouldn't hear. To the Beak! See you in another 5 years buddy, or when that psychic surgery making you forget your parents' grisly murder wears off.

It's actually a three parter with a B and C plot (featuring Beast and Magneto) so I might do a follow up. This is definitely another data point for Grant Morrison nostalgia btw

[1000sunnygo]

Saw someone trying to claim that cora secretly resented his birth dad (too lazy to correctly spell the man’s name) and like nah dude. That’s the main reason he ran away. He still loved his dad and never blamed him. Because I think despite everything he saw his dad as good hearted and correct, just painfully naiive. I sometimes wonder if doflamingo ever truly hated their dad. Resents the hell out of him, hated his actions, blames him for his childhood miseries and stone cold in his murder. But their dad was never presented in a hatable way, at least from my reading.

Agreed, Homing wasn't presented in a hateable way. Oda designed him as an elegant-looking fellow in spite of being a regular Tenryubito and that says enough. The Donquixote couple were the only Celestial Dragons who couldn't be brainwashed into becoming egocentric psychopaths even though they were born and raised at Mariejeoise, they owe some respect.

The criticisms of Homing's personality comes from our own judgement of his character and not from canon narration, shoutout to @eroguron0nsense for this meta summarizing his flaws. Frankly speaking, I think Homing was doomed to die. Being killed by his own son just adds a layer of irony, it wasn't a dignifying way to go.

As for Rosi, he clearly held a high opinion of his father:

"How was such a monster born in the family of such kind hearted mother and father? I don't get it. He's not a human."

.

In fact, I doubt Rosi ever pondered about his father's naivety at all. There's no point in digging the faults of a humble father who died long ago, considering that a greater evil (still) existed in their bloodline who inflicted much bigger pain in his childhood. Rosi's most severe loss in his childhood was his parent's deaths, not the lavish life at Mariejeoise.

Point to note is that a six year old's cognitive development is still underway, a ten y/o on old on the other hand, has evolved a lot. Rosi wasn't be able to judge his parent's character the same way his brother could. I've wondered, if Rosi were around Doffy's age, would he be influenced by Doffy's ideas a lot more, like most younger siblings? Probably not, since Rosi's thought process is fundamentally different from Doffy's. He's hotheaded and impulsive, but he's not vengeful. Rosi enlisted as a marine to save civilians in spite of being poorly treated as a child, and knowing that they'd hate him if they knew about his bloodline. I can't imagine Law or Doffy doing the same. Rosi is a humanitarian who held a deep sense of justice (passed from Sengoku and kindhearted parents) - that neither of those two had.

Having a bit of thought experiment, if Law as a child were in Doffy's position, I can see him resenting his father - not for losing the family status but for endangering his family's life (and the death of his mother). But I don't think he would've been manipulated by bad adults into killing his father. I see Rosi's driving force his morality (returned to his brother to stop him to save the civilians), Doffy's is self importance (would throw away anyone for his own cause), and Law's is love (extreme protectiveness of those he loves). No matter what, Law wouldn't be risking the safety (and sanity) of his younger sister.

Back on track... does Doffy truly hate his father?

Yes, he does.. in a complex way. Doffy still considers Homing's actions to be the source of his miseries. But I believe "family" means something profound to Doffy. Regardless of what happened or how much he hates him, Homing is HIS father, and that by default means he's a human of a higher value.

Doffy made this particular way of execution, to shoot with his flintlock, somewhat ritualistic and specific for those he deems as his family. As he said in chapter 769, he sees it as a form of redemption.

"But, I shall forgive you! The same way I forgave my real father and brother: with death!!"

He doesn't want to hate them, so he 'punishes' them and forgives them, which in his self centered mind is a form of entitlement.

The answer got a lot bigger than I expected shdhd thanks for reading my rambling though o7

[couldnt-think-of-a-funny-name]

I like your blog, we've been mutuals for years. But blogging about the met gala when there are children dying in Gaza? Fuck the met gala and your celebrity worship

at what point have I made it seem like I don't care about/support what's happening in gaza? I don't share a lot about it, but that's because most of what I see have graphic images and videos attached to the posts, and while I understand the thought process behind sharing them to make it seem more real to people, I'm uncomfortable with it because I know that if I was in that situation, vulnerable and injured or dead, I wouldn't want people gawking at me online just so they can pat themselves on the back for 'suffering in solidarity' by making themselves uncomfortable and miserable looking at me. I'm trying to be respectful. I've still reblogged things about gaza though. but honestly, if you've been following me for years, you'd know I'm a pacifist and wouldn't need me to make a statement saying I don't support people being killed. my God, dude.

also, celebrity worship? I can't even tell you who half the people at the met even were. I just like fashion. I post about a bunch of different things on this blog, and you haven't complained about that, so where's the threshold for things people are allowed to enjoy while bad things are happening in the world? fashion is off limits, but doctor who isn't? I can still post about musicals and not support murder, but aesthetic pictures are on par with launching a bomb myself? I truly hate to break it to you, but sharing links on tumblr is not going to fix this situation. denying yourself any shred of entertainment or enjoyment does not give you a moral high ground. what's happening is horrendous, but even if this is somehow magically peacefully solved tomorrow, there will still be other atrocities happening elsewhere in the world. that's unfortunately just how life goes. in no world am I saying we shouldn't care about every single atrocity that happens, I'm just saying if you can't find some time to be happy in your own life just because bad things are happening to others, you will never truly live a life at all. it sucks! but that's how it is. it's like when someone close to you dies, and the first time you laugh after you've started grieving feels like you're betraying them. but you aren't betraying them for continuing to live, just like you aren't betraying anyone else in the world who's suffering just because you don't spend 24/7 thinking and talking about them.

I do truly, genuinely, hope this all comes to a peaceful end, and soon. I'm not naive enough to believe for certain that it will. but I do know, at the end of the day, people are already aware of it. people know what's going on. sharing photos of dead and mutilated babies will not make any difference. you, and I, and everyone else online are not going to personally save gaza. pressure needs to be put on the people who can actually do something to make a change, and they don't care about what's online. arguing with people because you don't perceive them as doing 'enough' isn't going to accomplish anything other than getting them to a point of making them eye roll whenever they see you post, because at the end of the day, unless you're literally a top politician, you are doing the exact same amount to help as someone who reblogs less posts than you. sorry.

[0l-unreliable]

Feel free to be as long-winded or short as you want with this; but can you explain Homestuck to me? I've tried many times to get into it, but it confuses me and I just want it in layman's terms please 🙏

So in the most boiled down, simplified, BASIC terms: Homestuck is a coming of age, saving the world story that gets interrupted by the narrative, the creator (Hussie self inserts so much he's basically a main side character that the characters can and do reference), timeline bullshit, and the introduction and subsequent abandonment of new plots/characters. Though it's technically a comic, the text alone could fill probably 3-5 novels. I'd also like to say I ONLY read the original comic and I only read it 2 1/2 times in the past 10 years

Ok that stuff out of the way here's as fatless as I can serve: John and co. (Dave, rose and jade) Decide to play a game called 'sburb', unknowingly triggering both the beginning of their adventure and the end of their world, while they navigate getting into the game (like, physically, since their planet is being pelted by meteors) we're introduced to some weird fuckin grey dudes (the trolls, unplanned and frankly maybe unwanted at the point by me at least) we find out they went through this same 'game-that-ends-the-world' scenario but with 12 different kids instead of four, which made the whole thing more complicated and dramatic (and here we're also introduced to the blood caste system aka the fantasy racism system, there are 11-12 different blood colors with candy red being the rarest and the lowest/worst). They make it into the game and are left to wait while they figure shit out and this is when they start communicating with John and co, since they're technically not in the same timeline as the humans they can jump around and pick any point to talk to them (ex: a troll can click a button and talk to a version of John already in the game then five seconds later click another button and talk to a John that has never even heard of the game). Unfortunately this is when the timeline/doomed reality shenanigans start. I will not be untangling all that, sorry. They figure out that they (the trolls +John and co) have to make a NEW universe out of a special frog and make plans to all meet. Dave and Rose have already managed to get to the same place the trolls are (a random meteor) but John and Jade still must travel to get to them, which will take 3-4 years (this was probably because at this point everyone has been 13 for the past 3 real human years and hussie wanted a time skip). I cannot stress the weight of the next statement enough: some bullshit happens. You meet 12 NEW trolls that are basically the ancestors to the trolls we know and love/hate. To me they don't super have a point, but this is also where we learn that every person who died and every version from a 'doomed timeline' who died is in fact alive as ghost in bubbles of space-time and can interact both with other dead versions of themselves and the alive versions of themselves when they pass through. Like I said. Some bullshit happens. Then..oh and then...we get shot both into the future, the past, and an alternative timeline. This time, it's with the ancestors/guardians of John and co. This is were Dirk and Jake are. (And Roxy and Jane ofc) At this point I believe hussie has majorly checked out. This new group of humans (the 'Alphas', named after their timeline) don't get much in terms of story compared to the others, but what we do see it that while Jake and Jane live in the good ol' current time of 2016, Dirk and Roxy live far far FAR into the future. A future where a tyrannical troll has conquered Earth and flooded it in an attempt to expand her watery empire. They are the last two people alive, made from the genetic remains of their timelines Dave and Rose. Their only hope of survival is the game, luckily they get in, unluckily Hussie has Checked Out. They are in a dead game and must wait to either be attacked by the big bad (of which there are at least three I'm sorry but mentioning their whole deal is....daunting. remember this is all still simple) and/or be pulled to the OG group of trolls and humans. Eventually everyone gathers up, Hussie retcons some shit through John, they fight all bazillion big bads at once and BAM. make a new universe in which all TWENTY of them are gods. The end.

This is as simple as I can make it based on how I understood it/what I remember. It's not called the worlds longest webcomic for nothing. If you made it this far and still think you may want to try again to read but don't want to spend a large chunk of your life reading a textual nightmare, there are videos on YouTube that read it for you that have gotten pretty far, I have left A LOT out.

HS is a super confusing, badly written, reference heavy peice of work. I think ultimately it's about how YOU interpret things and where you stop reading. It seems random, and it is, but Hussie manages to round most things out, there's a lot of characters that explain a lot of things very often. Sometimes you don't know What The Hell is Happening until 5 acts and 3 intermissions later. That's fine.

Thanks for letting me yap. Feel free to ask about more anytime either in dms or through asks.

[ifishouldvanish]

(sorry, one more bc it's been on my mind for a long time)

I worry though, about... the dynamic. Can someone really find and bond with another through their grief and loneliness, without this grim depression they share becoming *worse?*

For me, personally, whenever I think about them... I think there's going to be a level of catharsis. They have something that would be very hard to find in another living being, and a certain love for humanity and the past that would be difficult to find among vampires, and this shapes them into shattered pieces which fit together. But would they still be able to find happiness? It kind of feels like they're two damaged clocks that have coincidentally been stuck on the same minute and hour hand. Would they be able to heal and move time forward?

Okay so like!!!!

I see it less about bonding over the shared grief itself and more about what their responses to that grief have exposed in each of them. Like, in the beginning and on the surface level, yes. It is the grief and loss and loneliness that brings them together. But they are foils!!! I'm telling you!!! They can learn from each other!!!

I've mentioned probably all of this before in scattered pieces across all my posts at some point but!! I think the lowest common denominator, the core of their dynamic, lies in how they seem to have established their senses of self.

Alucard struggles with how not to define himself by his father, and then having to define himself in opposition to his father. "Slave to our families' wishes" etc. And when that chapter of his life closes he's like, "welp, guess I'll just entomb myself here 🤷" until Trevor and Sypha are like "what?? Dude no??" And he's like "oh haha I guess you're right, I can uphold the legacy of the best parts of both of my parents!!" And they're like "ya!!" But then a month goes by without anyone coming round to say "hey!!! Share that knowledge with me!! Fulfill the role you've given yourself" and he is just... so fucking bored and unfulfilled?

He needed they-who-shall-not-be-named to come along so he could fill that role, needed Greta to come along so he could fill that role. He tells Greta about how rescuing others sort of fills a void for him/gives him purpose, which is honorable, yes. But like... It's also so sad imo?? This comfort in denying his sense of self? "I don't know what to do with myself, just gimme a shout if the world ever needs saving again"?? Like Alucard, honey, babygirl, sweetheart... you need to learn to live for yourself 🥺

Olrox on the other hand is... not selfish exactly, but he knows what he's about and he refuses compromise himself. You killed the only man I ever loved? Okay, then I'm killing you, and no, I don't care if your nine year old son witnesses it. You want the juicy story of why that boy is terrified of the big bad vampire? Okay, but you will learn about my humanity first so you can sit with your cognitive dissonance about it later. You think I'm just going to throw myself at your feet because you promise us all eternal night? How about you kindly go fuck yourself? You happily stump for Erzsebet because she promised you that she'll create a world that will allow you to relive your glory days? Couldn't be me!

Like obviously we have a much more limited viewpoint for Olrox because we know so much less about him and his past, but this is not a guy who's waiting for someone to give him a purpose. He acts alone, he doesn't play nice with others, he has his own agenda, and is even a little bit of a hedonist: investigating the relationship between the abbot and Erzsebet? Might as well fuck a hot monk while I'm at it. I said eat the rich, but I might as well look good doing it. You hate/fear me cause I killed your mom? Get over it already. You think the opera singing night creature is annoying? Well, I'm familiar enough with opera music to know he's actually reading you all for filth, so I think it's great!

I think at the end of the day, Alucard is a character who defines himself by others, not understanding why he still feels so empty and alone. And Olrox is a character who defines himself by his own terms, but in being caught between both human and vampire worlds has learned to push people away because he thinks he is better off that way. But by the end of the season, his worst fear is realized: I cannot do this alone. I am at the mercy of someone else's help.

But Olrox isn't like anyone else Alucard has rescued before. He's a fellow vampire. He's a fellow immortal. He's going to be around for as long as he is. And maybe, in that time, a little bit of that ego can start to rub off on Alucard. Maybe he can learn to live for himself without apology, without feeling like he has to atone for the sins of his father. Maybe, just maybe, he can learn to exist outside of the role of the mythical savior.

Because Olrox doesn't want one of those—heaven's no. He can take care of himself, thank you very much. But what if he could learn he doesn't always have to? Who better to restore his faith in the world than the guy who has his mother's conviction that all of this mess is worth saving so deeply ingrained in him that it's been the primary source of his identity for centuries?

I'm starting to ramble here so I hope this is coherent, but in conclusion: they would be so restorative for each other and look so hot together and that is why I believe in Alurox supremacy 🙏

[lizardperson]

lizardreading wrapped 2024

i was a huuuuge reader when i was younger, and then eventually i fell out of that somehow. but this year i finally managed get back into a more or less consistent reading habit, so imma blab about that

STATS

(powered by Storygraph, will probably update these when december is over lol)

BEST OF

The Instant Fav: The Sapling Cage by Margaret Killjoy usually, "fantasy YA" is something i do not care about. at all. i didn't particularly care about teenage protagonists back when i was that age, i do not now. and run-of-the-mill european-medieval-coded fantasy also isn't my thing. at all. BUT when Margaret Killjoy, who is amazing and great and such a cool person, brings out her first real novel (after a bunch of novellas and short stories which i also enjoyed a bunch), guess i have to read it. AND IT'S SO GOOD. it's exciting and funny and tragic and hopeful and queer af and well written and i just really really loved it. go read it y'all. [favorite line]

The Slow Burn: Annihilation by Jeff VanderMeer been meaning to read this one for ages, because i love the movie so much, although i heard people either like the movie or the book. and i did enjoy it well enough, read the next 2 books too, it was.. nice. i think i gave it 4.5/5 initially. and then i couldn't stop thinking about it. re-read parts, read about it, hyperfocused. people always go on about how they want a relatable protagonist, but i don't think i ever actually had a character like that. well, hello Biologist. she's just like me fr. if i were a biologist. anyway, this book tickles something inside me. maybe it's the autism. [favorite line] [another favorite line]

The Surprise Hit: The Magos by Dan Abnett when you ask the internet "which warhammer 40k book is a good starting point", the Eisenhorn trilogy usually gets recommended. what doesn't get mentioned is "well, that one actually belongs to 2 more trilogies and another novel and a bunch of short stories". started, felt entertained enough to continue, had my fun. they're not great, the first 3 Eisenhorn ones have the weirdest-ass pacing, Eisenhorn himself is a dramatic bitch, but overall good enough. Ravenor trilogy is ok. the short stories inbetween range from :shrug_emoji: to good enough. (Bequin on the other hand is really really good) and in comes The Magos. suddenly the pov character is not some larger than life inquisitor doing god's the emperor's work, but the saddest wettest little nerd way in over his head. and he hates all this daemon- and chaos-bullshit and all the guns and the blood and just wants to go home to his books and he cries and he pukes from all the gore, and his ex wife is there too, and he mouthes off to FamousTM ScaryTM InquisitorTM Eisenhorn because it's all bullshit, and you just wanna wrap him in a blanket. and of course he saves the day eventually. i'd die for Valentin Drusher. [favorite line]

The Old Fav: Arbeit und Struktur by Wolfgang Herrndorf sorry to the english speakers, but this one is german only. it's not even fiction. it's the blog of an author after he got diagnosed with a brain tumor, documenting his last few years, slapped into a book after his death. i don't know how many times i've read this one over the years. going on 10 maybe? twice this year for some reason. and it hits me every time in a way i can't put into words. one of my alltime favs. mildly funny (?) sidenote: i can't for the life me of get into the fiction writing of this guy. i tried, multiple times. sorry dude. [favorite line]

[msunitedstatesjames]

As someone who legitimately enjoys House of the Dragon, this show has some real issues with side characters. Specifically, the timing and scene quality of side characters.

I feel like I have to point out that I have read Fire and Blood, as well as all the published A Song of Ice and Fire books, but I read them all years ago and don't remember a lot of the specifics.

I'm also going to be comparing HotD to Game of Thrones in here, even though I realize this show and that one are very different beasts.

One of the great things about early Game of Thrones was its characters. Almost every character was given a unique personality, story, and enough time to thrive. Even the side characters were given this more often than not. And frequently, even characters with incredibly small parts, who might show up in just a few episodes, were memorable.

In total, Game of Thrones had 73 episodes. Hot Pie was only in 12 episodes. Shireen Baratheon was only in 10. Lyanna Mormont was in 9. The Blackfish was in 7. Robert Baratheon was in 7. Mance Rayder was in 5. Hell, Maggy the Frog was in 1 episode and I still remember her. You probably remember most or all of these characters by name and face if you watched GoT, as well as knowing some of their traits, motivations, and possibly deaths. But I'm struggling with the sheer number of side characters being introduced and rushed past our faces with very little fanfare in House of the Dragon.

I thought this was highlighted quite clearly in episode 6 with Ser Darklyn. He's been in 9 episodes, which is more than Robert Baratheon and, perhaps a fairer comparison, the same amount as Lyanna Mormont. His attempt to become a dragon rider and his subsequent death could have been a genuinely impactful scene. I really wasn't sure going into the scene if he would be successful or not. I've read the book, so I knew some of the off-shoot Targaryens did eventually succeed, but I didn't remember specifically if he was one of them. They had five episodes before this (not even counting season 1) to try to make him a memorable character whose death had some impact, and they just didn't really try. I knew this guy had been in other scenes, but his character was so bland that I couldn't have told you anything specific about him. The only reason I remembered he was in the Queensguard was because of the armor and cloak. Even when I looked him up on the wiki most of the description was just like, "he escorted Rhaenyra." I feel like Game of Thrones would have really taken the time to make this dude likeable before they had him burned alive. And it's not like they didn't have the time. Daemon's been fumbling around Harrenhal for like 5 episodes, doing very little. He even had Alys tell him in this episode to just wait 3 days for something to happen. I know he's kind of become the flagship character of this show, and I like the little cameos we're getting, but I feel like I've seen the same 3 scenes happening over and over there: Daemon is awoken from a weird dream by Ser Simon, Daemon talks to Alys, Daemon saunters around trying to threaten people. I get it. But what I don't get is why I'm supposed to care about all these randos who have been given 5 minutes of time total in the last 5 episodes.

There's Alyn, a sailor who apparently saved Corlys off screen and who has a seemingly ambitious brother. That's all we know about him for the first 4ish episodes until we find out he's Corlys's bastard. Now we also know he doesn't want others to think he's getting special treatment for being Corlys's son, but that's about it, and he's already been in 5 episodes I think.

There's Hugh, the obviously Targaryen blacksmith with the sick daughter and long suffering wife. Honestly I wouldn't remember his name if not for subtitles. I think he's been in four episodes so far.

There's Ulf, whose name I had to Google. He's another bastard Targaryen allegedly, and he seems to be a typical struggling peasant of King's Landing. That's honestly all I can remember about him. I think he’s been in 3 episodes.

I could have told you Hot Pie's name after 3 episodes. Or Shireen's. Or Lyanna's.

I understand that all of these characters will have narrative importance eventually, but the writing is just not doing a good job of making you really care. Look at Lyanna Mormont, we loved her from her very first scene.

I feel like the writers are really relying on the audience having read Fire and Blood, and either being superfans or having read it so recently that they remember minor characters who might have gotten a few pages of mentions in the sprawling narrative of that book. And this just isn't realistic for a show with a fanbase of this size.

Again, I really do enjoy this show. I think compared to other fantasy shows it is overall of good quality. It's just a shame that the writers weren't able to fill in some of the blanks left by the "historical" slant of Fire and Blood.

[i-love-sweet-william]

out of context pre-stozyers #7

it's been a long while. I have a lot of drafts that were just Not Done Enough that have been sitting around for...literal years at this point. but I decided to maybe try to post some anyway

so uhhh have Richie/stozier's early pov of Will + Notes

—

R: my roommate might legit be a zombie. I've never met anyone That dead inside before and I grew up with Bill (...do you think it's a William Thing??) dude's only tethered to the land of the living by like a few spider threads and a pot of coffee

S: wow. what a description. I'm sure he'd appreciate hearing that

R: hey do not snitch on me! you're not allowed to repeat the shit I confess in confidence!

-

R: I really think I can work with this. his music taste is impeccable and his band t-shirts are worn to optimal softness. this is gonna be a good final year. I can feel it. in my balls.

S: lovely

-

R: I can't tell if he's ignoring me or just mentally peaced out from brain matter withdrawal....or maybe he's listening to full albums in his head and my instrumental-less voice simply isn't worth pausing for. should I—

S: do not fucking serenade him in your dormitory just to test that theory.....at least do it outside so you can be properly witnessed and viciously mocked by the student body

R: you're so right, I'll report back to you tomorrow

-

R: (quietly) bro I swear to god I think he buys espresso off the black market to shoot directly into his veins like heroin.

S: is that really what you called to tell me. I'm hanging up—

R: wait wait wait! no okay listen, forget the zombie thing, I feel bad now, and I'm only telling you this because you'll never meet him and I can't just ask what's going on because I'm physically incapable of discussing Serious Shit in a Serious Way and I don't wanna make shit awkward the first week into the semester and it would be—

S: Richie.

R: right okay—

so listen. in a previous fandom, there was a character with Big Hospital Trauma and I...I used T shots to prompt angst. I had a trans guy who was chill about his shit like he wasn't trying to hide it or anything but also didn't feel the need to explain it unless asked, so the character with Hospital Trauma would see the needles or just the very specific marks left by needles and immediately assume the worst, that their new friend was secretly on death's door and would die shortly after they bonded.

Richie doesn't have hospital trauma but he still got worried that maybe whatever the medication was for was why Will had so little energy and felt a little bad about possibly having judged uh tHE EXHAUSTION OF FIGHTING SOME UNSPECIFIED CHRONIC OR TERMINAL ILLNESS (he previously assumed it was just exhaustion from moving in so it was fair game to mock). anyway Will's not sick but he is autistic and traumatized and fucking tired.

btw Will took a gap year so he's the same age as the losers but one year behind in college. that's not important. but I'm mentioning everything else why not go off on one more unnecessary detail. aight back to stozier dialogue

-

R: he gives me these serious "done with your shit" vibes—

S: you get those vibes from everyone.

R: ......okay, first of all, Rude. second, there are multiple types of "done with your shit" vibes, and his are like yours. like for instance today the way he begged me to shut the fuck up and tried to light me on fire with intense eye contact alone reminded me of you...almost feels like I'm at home.

S: he seems competent. I like him

-

R: Will shared caffeine with me today and I felt so fucking soft holy shit, I mean I'm saving it for tonight I didn't wanna crash in class [sometimes caffeine helps chill out ADHD people, some can even use it as a sleep aid, and I chose to give Richie that trait], but—

S: maybe he was trying to knock you out

R: what? nah.......oh shit maybe....no......you think— 

-

R: b..bro. y'know th.....y'know that Eyebrow Thing Ben does when he's...really into some poetry shit. W—Will has a Thing. but it's f—it's fuckin...he sticks his tongue out—like just a tiny bit—and it's. it's so fucking blessed. holy fuckin shit.

S: are you okay

R: no. no I'm fucking not. I might cry. I'm having a fucking meltdown over a mlem. fuck.

-

R: I heard the cutest softest most angelic laugh in the world today ohhh my god. like if you took Bev's warmth, and Eddie's innocence, and your upsettingly persistent aversion to expressing loud positive emotion which prevents anything more than a sinister little nightmare giggle, and rolled them all into one. that's Will's 

S: ..........I'm sorry, sinister li—?

R: I said what I said. and I still love and cherish it because it's a part of you💜

S: disgusting, thank you

-

R: your #1 source for new Byers trivia is back babey, today we've uncovered the movie snack of choice and the method w—

S: Please just get to it

R: reese's pieces. one at a time. like a fuckin.....hamster eating seeds. it gives the same effect as watching Mike lift hay bales with his massive sexy arms and then 5 minutes later be delicately eating little berries or some shit. except the hay bales are stage props and the berries are imposter m&ms

S: I'm gonna pretend you didn't just insult reese's pieces like that

-

R: he always seems moments from passing out so I wanted to share my energy through osmosis and tried to hold him and you won't fucking believe what happened

S: he punched you in the face

R: he let me!! just carried on with his business like I didn't even exist!!! what does that mean?!?! did he not even know I was there?? did he know and not care because he's already adjusted to my glorious presence??? is he actually just chill about it and I finally have a compliant body pillow after three years of loneliness???? I NEED TO KNOW THE TRUTH—but I was too shook in the moment to ask

S: .........good luck with figuring that out

Stan's not worried or anything like he's had 20 years to get used to how touchy Richie is. he genuinely wouldn't mind if Richie had a person to use like a "body pillow" when he's away from all his Losers, and doesn't see an issue if Will ends up okay with being an outlet for Richie's pent up physical affections. besides Will doesn't seem to have shown any particular interest anyway

......and that's because he's the type of aro that just doesn't even think about romance shit unless someone asks him to think about it (or there's literally someone standing in front of him giving a confession). however if asked, he would still label himself gay because the last time he had to think about it he came to the conclusion that, hypothetically, if he were to be in a relationship, it would probably be with another guy. but he has no interest in searching for specific terms for himself when he could spend his time like.....having fun instead of having a perpetual identity crisis. if he's not in or pursuing a relationship, why should it matter to him??

meanwhile Stan's the type of aro that Did think about hypothetical relationships but never pursued one, but also wouldn't mind if someone did want one with him, so he just had to say yes when Richie eventually asked about going out with him. Stan only starts pursuing Will because he's half of stozier and it would feel weird to him to let Richie "do all the work" when it was a Mutual decision to see if Will had any interest in Them.

also Stan's aware of more terms, he Wanted to study up, and is aware of his place on asexual spectrum (and wears a black ring to silently display it), but since he's been in a long term relationship with Richie he's less concerned with claiming arospec

okay jesus christ I'll shut the fuck up none of this is important but There's A Lot Okay

-

S: what's wrong with your voice, it sounds like after we—

R: listen man.....I was legit blasted into the stratosphere like Team Rocket and then dropped back to earth just as hard. let me catch my fucking breath

S: you...do mean mentally right? what'd he do this time

R: .....yeah, mentally. mind: blown, worldview: shook, lessons: learned.

-

R: I used the Platonic Pleasure Zone on him

S: you what

R: I used—

S: no don't fucking repeat it I heard you the first time. why the fuck do you insist on saying that. no one says that besides you

R: do you wanna know how he reacted or not

S: *deep fucking breath* carry on

R: (instantly softer voice) like a tired kitten holy fuck....I thought he was actually gonna fall asleep until—uh...........I spoke

S: uh huh. did you tell him you Used The Platonic Pleasure Zone

R: yes

S: and did he go for a chokehold

R: No but there was a very sexy shirt grab and even sexier glare

btw the "platonic pleasure zone" just refers to like.....back pat/shoulder squeeze/hair ruffle level intimacy that Can feel really nice and soft but can Also be done in a casual way that doesn't mean anything. but Richie uses that shit specifically in a soft comfy way, and Will is too stupid to notice anything unusual until Richie verbally states what he's doing

-

R: (whispering) he sings.....

S: (also quiet for some reason) like for a minor?

R: no dude........just.......I don't even know if he knows he's doing it but he's doing it and I'm having palpitations it's too much.....it's too quiet to be on purpose it's gotta be unintentional right?? no one should be allowed to be this soft I can't do this I'm....bro next time Ima send you a fucking recording I don't give a fUck—

-

R: after weeks of patient training, I am now able to cradle the William in my lap. I saw the face of god the first several attempts, but now we can cuddle in peace. we've learned to navigate this cramped habitat. we live in harmony.

S: why are you suddenly talking like he's a feral animal—

R: because he absolutely is and it's great. I could perish any day now but it would be okay because he'd make my death quick.

S: wh....what did I miss

R: nothing at all don't worry about it~👍

-

R: where was he in previous years. what universe was he hiding in. I needed him. I wanna bring him home with me. do you think it's legal to take him across state lines??

S: well don't just fucking toss him in the trunk. I'm not out here studying to be a lawyer. use your words like a functional human being.

R: ........you think I'm functional??? that's the most romantic thing you've ever said to me.....

S: let's not get ahead of ourselves. I said "like" a functional human being

-

in the first post I said "Stan's seen some of Will's drawings online" but now....now you get to know more of the Context of Stan seeing those "drawings". if anyone doesn't like the idea of an asexual Will drawing vent porn and didn't see that coming, now would be the time to stop reading

R: (ultra high speed) okay I know this sounds like a fuckin joke but I am being so serious rn when I say I think I've been rooming with one nastyass motherfucker, holy fucking shit—

S: what—

R: I mean you would not believe the shit I just saw and there was so much of it bro like deadass he might be a freak—

S: R—

R: Our kind of freak.

S: …

R: .........

S: .............oh.

R: .........................should I try to find out?? I mean of course I'm gonna find out. how fuckin insane would it be for my sweet innocent caffeine-fueled feral child to have been One Of Us this whole fucking time, how the fuck could I not notice—

-

R: disclaimer, I got permission to expose his filth blog like this...after. exposing all of us. to him....but Anyways uh jesus fucking christ dude how tf did he manage to be so active without me noticing.....I'll text you the blog name I forgot how he said it already, shouldn't even have a pronunciation, some random shit like...vuh.....vufi..bifim…

S: ............vwhbfmbu? [first letter in s1 ep titles]

R: yeah that! how tf did you say that out loud.......wait. have you been...?? no...no. Stan. Stanley. Stanford. hey. answer me. do not hang up. Staniel. you look at porn without me? and on the fucking regular if you're familiar with that Literal Gay Keysmash of a username! what kind of—I can't believe this!! the betrayal!!! STANLEY!!!!!

-

from here to the end, stozier is texting at various points during the following days but like.....make Richie's messages barely decipherable and split into numerous tiny texts (which is why Stan's able to interrupt), and give Stan's messages uncomfortably proper capitalization/punctuation

R: do you think Will knows he's a monsterfucker?? his tag usage is sHIT

S: he's not a monsterfucker there is literally no fucking happening

R: babe you don't gotta fuck to be a Fucker. I mean just look in the mirror

S: jesus fucking christ

R: you looked in the mirror and saw selfcest? that's hot.

S: you're going to hell god told me himself

R: oh shit god's there too??? Spicy [Stan turned off his phone after that] wait come back!! we haven't determined whether he knows or not!!!

-

R: do you think he had an Awakening, or just always knew but didn't know it was a thing to be known? do you think he had any gross friends like we had each other, or kept it to himself until I fucked up his perfect record? do you think he's just here for the eldritch horror shit, or thinks about shit that's actually possible too? do you think he—

S: he's literally like 5 feet away from you why are you asking me Any of this

R: .......dude do you want him to die??? I thought he was gonna have an aneurysm when I first told him I found his forbidden sketchbook, and he had one foot in the grave by the time he gave up that blog name. if I ask for more details directly he might just vanish from this plane of existence. we gotta be Delicate

S: you've never been delicate in your fucking life

-

R: maybe he's tired all the time because he expends all his energy in secret. I mean I've never caught him drawing in that sketchbook and Also never caught him jacking off. coincidence? I Think The Fuck Not

S: go to sleep Richard

-

R: I gotta admit......for not having any reaction to hen tie jokes he makes good tentacle porn

S: they're vines

R: ok sure but I'm not gonna say "vine porn" that just sounds like 6 second videos of—

S: and it's hardly porn. this is some aesthetic shit

R: ......buddy if I can get off on it, it's porn

S: you can get off on anything your opinion doesn't fucking count. you could get off on two lines of shitty chicken scratch in a bathroom stall.

R: you underestimate me. I can even get off on Nothing thanks to all the memories you've given me

S: compliments won't make me change my mind

-

R: what if like—

S: you know what? give me his number. I'll fucking ask him myself

R: .....my heart says don't do this, Will is already suffering. but my hand says 618-555-0189

S: you sure took a lot of convincing

—

Stan was just gonna message Will real briefly (preferably like a Normal Person who Didn't have memories of old posts/tags Will had probably forgotten he ever typed), see if he could get a couple of Richie's dumb questions answered, and then leave him alone. clearly that didn't happen. they bonded over roasting Richie.

if you want to know the general vibe of what's going on in Will's art, just think of various ways to be trapped/restrained.

for instance like the vines that caught Hopper in s2. or for clown reference, there's also "spiderwebs" but it's visually more like that corpse pile at the end of s1 that Will was stuck in. so it's "hardly porn" in that yeah there's no fucking, and it does have An Aesthetic, but like....you're not gonna make it your phone lockscreen and try to convince some random person who sees it that it's 100% sfw.

it's vent porn in that he draws when he feels Some Kind Of Way but he tends not to draw the faces of whoever/whatever is restrained. but when he does, it could be any kind of emotion. whether it's panicked or defiant or just resigned or even out cold. or something else.

[theetwinkleboy]

i have once again let my tabs get wildly out of control this past year, mostly with fanfic that i planned to come back to at some point and then never did. or i guess i did now, because i've been sorting through it and actually reading a lot of the things i saved, and. there are some bangers. SO! a short tour of some of my favorites that i can finally close the tab on.

Switchblade by Cacid is the reason I started this list because....holy shit y'all. hoooooleeeee mother of god i should have read this fic sooner but i admit i was a bit put off by the summary, but then someone listed it in their bookmarks as the best bnha fic they'd ever read, so i revisited it and...they were right. they were. so right. it's a canon rewrite that takes a pretty deep dive into worldbuilding and plays a lot with the MLA and its history, and it's. look. i laughed, i cried, i had to take multiple walks, i flailed my arms, i punched the air in victory, i stayed up until 3 am two nights in a row. this fic is a mystery, it's x-men, it's a spy thriller, a war story, it's shakespeare, it's so brutal and so poetic and just. it's so fucking good. i want to print out all 322k words of this, bind it into a book, and eat it. i cannot recommend it enough, i really can't, and if you do or have read it please come scream at me about it

Change One's Spots, also by Cacid is another incredible work...i might rec all their stuff tbh. it's part 2 of a series but part 1 is just an earlier iteration of ch 1 of this fic so you don't need to read it. i read this one when i needed a moment's break from switchblade, and there's some fun worldbuilding overlap between the two even if they're pretty different stories. izuku gets turned into a jaguar in this one. it's great. it's got some of my favorite characterization of gang orca and best jeanist, one of the best takes on the sports festival i've seen in a while, and one of my favorite things about cacid is the things they do with shoto and this fic is just SUCH a good izuku and shoto fic. ski patrol!

pictures of grief by achievingelysium: stain kills tensei in hosu instead of crippling him. god. this one hurt me. it's so short but SO potent.

uninvited by class1akids: class1akids always does really really lovely work about class 1a in general and shoto in particular, and this one is no different. it's got like. theee best touya and shoto scene, and izuku and katsuki being so supportive of shoto, and just. ughhhh it was really good.

wrong answers don't mean you should stop asking questions by vaimeta is one of those that i feel like most people have probably read by now, but i never had until about a week ago. one of the tropes that always makes me giggle with delight is izuku being an extremely unreliable narrator when it comes to his own strength and skills, and then other characters being like, 'look. you are terrifying.' and him like, checking over his shoulder to see who they're talking to because it couldn't POSSIBLY be him. so part 1 of this series has lots of buildup of skills and then part 3 has lots of people going, 'dude you're incredibly skilled,' and him going 'well. um. shucks. really?' and then learning to own it and it's very fun.

well. uh. wow. i've read a lot more in the last couple weeks than i thought. uh. here's more!

gambler's fallacy by marsalias is another canon rewrite, and one that i'd read before but had to reread. izuku has a luck manipulation quirk. it has one of the most fun 'karma!!!' moments i've read. SUCH a great story, gosh i'm grinning so hard just thinking about it now.

i got it from my dealer by rictus_flame: i knew from 'quirks, plural?' in the summary that i would love this fic and gosh was i right. afo is izuku's quirk dealer. they nerd out a lot. it's hilarious and has some really fun lines that had me outright cackling.

bitter rivalry by theotherpacman: y'all. y'allllllllllll, it's a shindeku fic and a slowburn and it is just. i don't want to give too much away but the progression of their relationship is so natural and so beautiful and the TRUST they give each other in this...GOD. it's beautiful, it's so good aughhhh and shinsou! learning to trust first izuku and then getting friends, and izuku learning to let down his guard and embrace all of himself and not just the ideal...and he's got a little bite, too, i love this izuku so muchhhhh. it's approaching the ending now but like. this last little bit is a little heartbreaking and a little hopeful and has one of the saddest and most nuanced takes on all might i've read.

anyway, I'll probably make more posts as i strive to make a bigger dent in my tabs. but that's all for now. gonna go stare at the wall now and think about the last line of switchblade some more.

[starwalker03]

The worst thing Bruce could do is have a Batman gambit and reveal he knows who the new Deathstroke is and didn’t tell anyone but Clark. How would Dick react to that?

So I had a good idea of what batman gambit meant but I googled it to be sure and wow. That's an actual recognised thing. Huh. Honestly that's almost funny.

Anyway. That'd be fucking hilarious. Oh my god can you imagine. Like. First of all we gotta think of the situation. Why does he have to do this? The most sense is he's atte lying to psych Deathstroke out and manipulate him into giving himself away. I have an idea where this'd likely happen in canon but all I can imagine, without spoiling, is that Bruce says it to Artemis when the league finally talks to her. And she ferries this back to Dick like 'oh my god dude. Dude. DUDE. HE KNOWS WHO YOU ARE'

Which. Oh boy that would not go well.

Part of me wants to believe Dick knows Brice well enough to see through it and recognise it as a batman gambit, because it's very much a cliche batman move. But. This would cause such an emotional reaction I don't think Dick would be able to see it. And even if he could there's be a very angry voice in his head screaming 'HE KNOWS HE KNOWS HE KNOWS AND HES DONE NOTHING'

Oh boy. Honestly the only way it ends is by Dick confronting him. He has so much emotional turmoil over all of this and hearing that Bruce actually has known who he is. Possibly all along. Dick now gets to analyse every small thing in hopes of figuring out when Bruce found out. Perhaps Slade told him? Or Bruce saw his face on security camera footage? Or an endless assortment of guesses. Dick has barely come face to face with Bruce over the decade because Slade kept them apart so everything he's analysing isn't even something he was part of firsthand, it's all from a third person perspective of how Bruce has behaved in the past ten years.

So yeah. It ends with a confrontation. It ends with Dick jumping him on a patrol and hanging him off a very tall building. Or it ends with Dick killing every active mobster currently on Brice's radar to draw his attention and empty his schedule so he can yell at Bruce on top of a building.

It ends with Dick screaming at him because WHAT DO YOU MEAN YOU KNOW. HOW LONG HAVE YOU KNOWN?

And Bruce realises that he's made a very big mistake because he has no idea who Deathstroke is and this is not the reaction he was expecting. He just has to bluff. But everything he says in hopes of de-escalating the situation is not working.

How long have you known? Since Slade Wilson died. (seems a recent enough time, and also would have been a lot of chaotic things happening that something could slip without Deathstroke noticing he'd given himself away) [he's known since I was free. Since Slade was gone. He didn't come for me. He didn't try to stop me from taking up the mantle. He found out and he left me]

Why didn't you track me down? Why have you never tried to speak to me? We didn't have bulletproof evidence of Wilson's passing till you attacked Red Arrow. I've seen your files as Renegade, by then I assumed you'd made your decision to follow your masters footsteps. (this makes sense. This is something anyone may think in my situation) [master? My master?? he thinks- he doesn't- he didn't want me back. He didn't care to find me. He thinks I want this]

You're a fucking piece of work Bruce you know that. Everything he ever told me about you is true. I suppose it's up to you to decide if that's true. Don't blame me for what he's done, or what you keep deciding to do. (why is he taking this so personally? Why would he call me by name? Why would Slade make a point to put dirt on my name?) [He doesn't care. He doesn't care. He doesn't care. He doesn't UNDERSTAND]

Fucking hell Bruce. How do you even live with yourself. I may be the mercenary but you're just as bad as any of them. God how do put that mask on and call yourself a hero while you drag more innocent kids into the line of fire to save you. I have never put my children in danger. You've killed two of them now haven't you? And you didn't even try to save either of them. I've heard about Jason, I know what he did when he came back. God knows how you managed to manipulate him into working with you again, he was better off dead than fighting alongside you! You have no idea what you're talking about! I HAVE NO IDEA? ME? CAN YOU EVEN FUCKING HEAR YOURSELF?! who the hell do you think you are?! I THOUGHT YOU KNEW BRUCE, HAVE YOU ALREADY FORGOTTEN EVERYTHING I-

And he stops. And he takes a breath. And he stumbles backwards as he really looks at Bruce for the first time since the start of this conversation. And he realises.

It's a batman gambit. He's bluffing.

He's bluffing.

He doesn't know.

And he just starts laughing. Quietly chuckling until he's leaned over his knees and holding his gut because he has to laugh or he'll break into even more hysterics because BRUCE DOESN'T KNOW.

What the hell are you laughing about? You don't know. You don't. You're bluffing. This is all a bluff, you don't know who I am. Oh my god how did I fucking fall for that? Jesus Bruce you're a real piece of work.

What gave it away?

And Dick would stop. And look at him. And just shake his head with one final laugh. And he'd take off his mask.

Bruce doesn't recognise him for a moment. There's a few seconds of silence as it dawns on him. And Dick watches as it does, hurt by the fact it takes so long, and waits for Bruce to react.

Bruce has no words but he has to make sure. He has to know. He has to hear him say it-

Dick?

Rethinking anything you've just said?

I- I didn't-

You're right. You didn't. You did not. You had no idea, you just hoped it would go your way. And I guess it did, now you do know. Congratulations. Hope you're happy now.

And then he'd leave Batman gaping.

[lost-girl-2021]

Do have any head cannons for the Days into Decades characters?

I have a couple that I've (mostly) worked into the story, but here're some random thoughts.

KIRI

Kiri is low-key a drug dealer. Like, not in a shady way, just 'in the spirit of enlightenment' sort of way. She started smoking maybe a year or two before, the summer before she started high school, and she may or may not have a small garden growing under her conveniently high bed.

She wants to be a doctor, but wants to specialize in homeopathic/alternative medicines. She volunteers/interns as a candy striper type of thing at the hospital where her mom works and enjoys spending time at the hospital. However, she also has seen the dangers of painkillers and their addictive properties, which spurred her interest in alternative medicine.

She wants to be a doctors because of her mom, both of them. Growing up, she saw Neytiri as a hero, saving lives and curing people. When she was old enough to understand what happened to Grace (I think I said she was dead-dead in this one, I don't remember anymore) it inspired her to become a doctor even more. Because, while her mother was more of a scientist than a healer, she was working to help people just like Neytiri. Both of them are her heroes and she is eager to be like them.

NETEYAM

Neteyam is definitely a studier. He's very strict with himself when it comes to schoolwork (and pretty much everything). He skipped a grade in school, not just because he's super smart, but because he's been so dedicated to his studies, to the point where he'd been bumped up a grade in junior high.

He's also a private person. He doesn't really hide anything from his friends and family, so much as he just doesn't feel the need to share every little thing. He's pretty self-reliant and he kind of acts like a self-cleaning oven sometimes. He does everything and takes care of himself in every way, which sometimes brings to him shutting people out on accident. Because, he doesn't need anyone or anything and he has to remember that other people don't run at 100% capacity like he seems to.

Probably will have a small mental breakdown sometime during his first semester at college. Because, even though he's been preparing for this for years, he's never been away from his family for so long and he misses home and he just needs a break. Probably cries as soon as he gets home for winter break, freaking out absolutely everyone. His mom is convinced he's injured, his dad flat out carries him to a couch or his bed, his siblings are running around like chickens with their heads cut off.

He dates. I'm not saying Neteyam is a player or anything, but contrary to his sibling's (and Spider's) belief, he dates. He's had two girlfriends, one no more than a middle school fling. He's currently back with his second girlfriend in Days Into Decades, but they're keeping it casual, to say the least. She kind of bossy, which works out well because he needs to learn how to relax and nobody else can talk him away from studying.

LO'AK

My dude Lo'ak is kind of crazy. Like, not crazy, but he's just chaotic as fuck. Probably has ADHD, and definitely needs someone to tell him he's going too far sometimes. That's part of why him and Tsireya work so well. She's calm where he's energetic and he's spontaneous where she's detail-oriented. Yin and Yang style.

Lo'ak feels like the odd one out in his family, sometimes. Unlike in canon, he's not particularly different species-wise ig, but he's constantly comparing himself to his siblings. It feels like everyone has there place except him. Neteyam is going to become an officer in the military or something and Lo'ak knows he doesn't have the discipline for all of that. Kiri is basically a doctor in her own right at this point, always glued to their mother's side when they aren't at school. Tuk is the baby, the apple of her parent's eye. She can do no wrong. And, in the past couple of years, Lo'ak feels like all he can do is wrong.

Spider makes him feel better, when they're together. They have the most in common out of everyone, between skating and music (and weed). When Spider moved, it hit him especially hard, because they hadn't talked in forever and just as they repaired their friendship, he was gone.

I like the idea that Lo'ak used to sneak over when he was mad at his parents, or when he knew Spider had a particularly shitty day. The McGregor's had a gazillion guest rooms, but Lo'ak would stay with Spider, either crashing on the bean bag or ending up sprawled on the bed next to Spider (100% platonically, FYI). Usually he'd wake up with hair or a foot in his face, but it was usually worth it.

TUK

Tuk is just vibing in this AU. She goes to elementary school and then her dad picks her up and they usually get ice cream or go to the library for an hour or so until her siblings get out of school. Every drawing goes on the fridge.

Probably one of those kids who collects cool bugs and then tries to figure out what kind they are. Butterflies too. She tried to catch a bird once, but it didn't work out well. She got to hold a baby chick once though and she didn't stop talking about it for at least two weeks.

Sees Spider as just another one of her brothers, even if he doesn't live with them. Before he went to live with Quaritch, he'd ride with them to school every day and he'd been around constantly for as long as Tuk can remember. She doesn't even question it, just accepts it as a fact. Cause, Kiri has a birth mom and then a mom-mom and she's still Tuk's sister, so obviously it works the same with Spider.

NEYTIRI

Neytiri is like Cristina Yang plus a strong family drive. Badass, and cutthroat when she needs to be. All the new doctors/nurses/staff are surprised as fuck when scary Dr. Sully shows up with an actual ray of sunshine named Kiri, who's the scariest doctor's daughter. (Kiri thinks this is very funny and feeds into the rumor mill of how scary her mom is).

She works long hours, but they're steady and after so long at the hospital she's managed to secure weekends off for the most part. Her shifts are 48 hours, but she usually manages to go home for an hour or two to say goodnight to her children or have dinner with them.

JAKE

Works Private Security now that he's out of the army. Usually a goofy guy, full of dad jokes and shit, but when it comes to serious stuff it's a complete switch. The kids all know that mom's the strict one, but Dad's the one they don't want to get mad. He'll ground someone for a whole week just for cursing. Lo'ak once shoplifted when he was twelve and he lost his skateboard for the summer.

PTA dad. Knows all the events, has a whole calender that's color-coded and everything. Knows other parents by first names. He treats it like a very important job. (All the other PTA moms are jealous of Neytiri, some of the school bs is just so boring, they'd love husbands who wanted to take over the bake sale).

SPIDER

Has and will be grouped in with the Sully kids. Not even just by Jake and Neytiri, but the school and people around town. Like, the school faculty know he's a foster kid and they just kind of assume he's the Sully's foster kid. So do classmates who always see them together, carpooling and hanging out and stuff. Like, some of them have been going to school together since kindergarten, it's just kind of an unspoken acknowledgment.

Jake and Neytiri have definitely punished him before (usually when he does something stupid alongside one of their kids and he's caught with them). He's had his skateboard taken, been put in time-outs, etc. Mostly when he was younger and fully a wild child. One time jake saw him at a coffee shop when he was supposed to be in school and went full truant officer on him.