#i am having major archie feelings for the first time in

[riverdale-retread]

Who is the least lucky to successfully make Archie cum?

This is a trick question, right? Right? Because Grundy, Veronica, Betty, Valerie, Josie, then in S7 the self-au-reboot, Reggie, Twyla Twist, Cheryl all have to be included in this list, and uhhh not a single one of these people is lucky.

OH wait. Maybe I'm reading the question too literally. Do you mean who is least likely to successfully make Archie cum?

Oh. Uh.

I think I'm going to get yelled at by the Archie cptsd understanders for the crudeness of this response, but um, I feel like Archie would probably cum regardless. Isn't that sort of the tragedy of Archie? He doesn't think about Does This Make Me Feel Good Overall or Is This Good For Me about a lot of things - he just does them. He then goes on this whole binge of self hatred afterwards, where he agrees to do physically punishing things to make up for how bad he feels.

[phantomoftheorpheum]

y'all, I wrote this ridiculously long analysis of the first 2 eps of PLL: OS (Summer School), but it was too long so this is what you get instead.

*Spoilers for 1x01, 1x02, and the "Weeks Ahead" trailer

I see a lot of people suspicious that Christian may be related to (or good friends) with Chip, and I do understand where those theories are coming from. I personally think it's more likely that Christian will be an early suspect of the season. I think the girls will discover that Christian made the "Bloody Rose" mask/costume, and believe he is involved, but that we will find out that it was a commissioned work and he doesn't know the identity of the person who bought it (they might even use this to have him describe a character who came to pick up the mask/outfit, but intentionally make us think of someone else- like describing an older white lady and the show points us at Chip's mom, or Kelly's mom, or Dr. Sullivan, etc. depending on who they don't want us to suspect). Obviously this is conjecture and I could be totally off base, but that's my read on Christian. This is also not to suggest that I think he's 100% above board (I have some other theories about him), but this is where I am with him at this moment.

Female rage has always been a major theme of this reboot, and it feels particularly relevant, considering "Rose" is our scary person in a mask, so personally I really do hope the main person responsible (even if there are multiple people involved) this season is a woman. I think it just fits the theme of the show really well. That being said, I could be talked around to alternatives.

I can't stop considering how the Our Mother of Holy Grace church comes into play here. So, here's where that takes my brain. This church is led by Pastor Malachi. Interesting choice of names- Malachi is the last book of the Old Testament. It focuses on criticizing those who are not committed/faithful enough, and also criticizes those who question God's justice. We know that Rose Waters (the real Rose Waters) was incredibly religious, and that she wielded religion as a tool in her abuse of Angela and Archie. "Bloody Rose" wears a crown of thorns, an incredibly famous bit of religious imagery. The actual Rose Waters walked the path of "religious woman who failed her children (was abusive towards them & did not protect Angela from her "friends") and lost one to violence, then became violent with those she blamed for this." We have another character who could easily walk that same path- Mrs. Beasley is a religious woman who failed her children (Karen, dead. Kelly isolated & traumatized, neither protected from this sequence of events) and lost one to violence, then became violent with those she blamed for this (stabbed her husband). But there could be a lot more people than Tom Beasley on her "blame" list. Particularly if her feelings/grief around Karen have become tangled up in her religious devotion. That is to say that, so far, everyone who has died in this season (though the first few kills were Archie's) could easily be considered a "sinner" ("the guilty" from season 1, the teens in the cabin, Sandy "tempting" Greg), and "Bloody Rose" may see herself as meting out God's justice. But then... why the girls? Well, it sounds like they are getting "tests" this year, which, similar to last season, makes me think they are not kill targets (yet), that "Rose" is still deciding about them. Anyway, again, all conjecture/interpretation and I could be completely off base.

I think people are gonna hate to hear it, but- I think we might be getting a lot of Faran & Greg this season (I don't mean this romantically, though I don't think that's 100% out of the question, either). Greg's actor got his billing upgraded between seasons, which implies he'll have more screen time. I don't think the Henry/Faran relationship is long for this world (she's lying to him, he seems resentful that he chose to stay behind with her, she told Kelly she doesn't know what they have in common outside of dance, he ignored her when she asked him to let her handle things, they just aren't clicking), and I think Faran & Greg may end up (unwillingly) teamed up trying to figure out what's going on with Kelly & the church.

Random, but I think we might get a "secluded cabin in the woods" episode this season, since that's a big summer slasher trope and they reminded us right away that Imogen's dad has one of those.

I have 3 categories for characters (not including the main 5 girls), "actual suspects," "suspicious by default, but could go either way," and "keeping my eye on you." Here they are-

Actual Suspects - Mrs. Beasley, Mrs Beasley + Kelly, Mrs. Beasley + Pastor Malachi, Any combination of people from the church, Chip's Mom, Dr. Sullivan.

Suspicious By Default, But Could Go Either Way - Jen, Christian, Johnny, Coach Rhodes, Imogen's dad.

Keeping My Eye On You - Wes, Shawn, Ash, Henry

I think that's it for now. I'm sure I'm wrong about a lot of stuff, but it's the guessing that makes it fun imo.

[westeroswisdom]

Lord Oscar Tully scores major rizz at Harrenhal. He even maneuvers Daemon Targaryen into executing a Riverlord for essentially carrying out Daemon's own wishes – thereby dousing a smouldering issue.

Tywin Lannister was reputedly astute when very young. But Oscar Tully, with fewer resources, has demonstrated superior guile – at least so far.

Lord Oscar Tully (Archie Barnes) isn’t vying for the Iron Throne like many of the young dragonlords shaping the Dance of the Dragons. The newly appointed Lord of Riverrun is just a young kid who happened to inherit his elderly grandfather’s seat. In his first appearance (Episode 4), he seemed to recoil at Daemon Targaryen’s (Matt Smith) suggestion that he speed up his inheritance by mercy-killing his grandsire, Lord Grover Tully, the elderly lord who had the nerve to take his sweet time dying. Oscar is a young man of honor who upholds his oaths. While he might not like Daemon—adding to the hostile animosity held by the Riverlords—he seemed willing to placate Daemon’s more temperamental nature in public while voicing any concerns or snide remarks in private. He would support Rhaenyra (Emma D’Arcy), planned to call his banners to arms, and called Daemon his “king consort.” But then Oscar Tully met with the rest of the Riverlords in Harrenhal’s godswood and the mask came off, revealing Oscar as a tactile politician. Daemon was now demoted to “prince” as Oscar promptly handed Daemon his ass. His loyalty is, first and foremost, to his fellow men, not Daemon. And like his namesake, Oscar Tully refused to suffer fools. In a matter of minutes, Oscar pulled off a young lord liege master class. He listened to his men’s concerns about his age, his judgment over declaring for the Blacks when Daemon sanctioned brutal violence against the Brackens, and acknowledged the faults of his greenness. The longer Oscar spoke, the more Daemon slowly realized that he didn’t get the upper hand on Oscar—in fact, it was the opposite. At every opportune moment, Oscar reminded Daemon that he was a terrible person, that nobody liked him (least of all himself), and that he was unworthy of anything the Riverlands had to offer him because of how he acted while staying there. Daemon’s only saving grace is that Oscar and the Rivermen had enough integrity to uphold oaths sworn by a different lord more than 20 years ago. And Daemon had to stand there and take it because the alternative was losing the support of every house in the Riverlands, who would’ve absolutely walked away if Oscar ordered it. “I take to heart your words, Lord Piper, and I agree, I am young,” Oscar said. “And I have no love for Daemon Targaryen. He has dishonored himself and the crown with his comportment here. Nevertheless, having so little experience to guide me, my best course is to defer to the oath my grandsire swore to King Viserys when he named Rhaenyra his heir. I see no reason to cast aside loyalty no matter how loathsome I may find her representative the prince.” Seeing Oscar’s words as the threat that it was, Daemon allowed the insults to stand. But then Oscar took it a step further by making Daemon atone for the savagery he allowed to be unleashed by executing Willem Blackwood (Jack Parry-Jones). It was an act that might’ve satisfied the Riverlords but made Daemon feel uneasy.

It's a great scene. Oscar unleashes various microaggressions at Daemon, some not so micro, and gets away with them because he knows exactly how far he can go. Oscar has something that Daemon needs and the latter understands that he can't just bully his way to getting it.

Just about everything about this scene rules. It features a teen the adults in the room are almost eager to underestimate and take advantage of. Oscar looks like he’s way in over his head and approaches the scene gingerly, but he slowly becomes more confident the further he pushes in the scene. He pulls one over on Daemon, someone who could end him with a dragon, and forces his hand. And Barnes can easily hold his own in a scene against Smith and Simon Russell Beale (Ser Simon Strong, who we mostly see in reaction shots).

Just as Cregan Stark is the ancestor of Ned and his siblings, Oscar Tully may be the ancestor of members of House Tully we see in GoT. Seeing Cregan and Oscar interact at some future point would be one big Easter egg.

[candied-cae]

S2E2 Ed's plot my beloved-

I ADORE THIS EPISODE IN HOW IT PORTRAYS ED'S MENTAL HEALTH!!!

TW, this post is going to discuss Ed's suicidal behavior and attempt in depth. It will not be heartwarming, I am agonizing over the details. Please don't open if that reading is going to be damaging at all to you. Protect yourself first, y'all! Anyway...

Every little detail from his time on screen is spent sending hints to the viewer that it's Ed's last day alive.

The first time we see him that morning, he looks refreshed. He's decidedly sober and cleaning up his cabin and he's joking and almost... bright again. He's talkative and seems so calm. And it's because he's finally decided to kill himself.

It's been a long observed point for folks with suicidal thoughts/actions that once they've decided on doing it, there's a certain kind of peace that comes with that. Because it's going to be over soon, you know you'll be able to rest. There's an expiry approaching, and there's a comfort in knowing you've almost reached the end, like getting close to the end of a long work shift.

And so he's cleaning up, so he'd doesn't leave as much of a mess behind (Also something that is well documented from people who attempt). At least, assumably that was the idea, like he hadn't originally planned to take the whole ship down with him, it seems like he was planning to do something smaller for just him as of that morning. So he’s tidying up for the rest of them.

It's both a gesture of kindness to make sure they aren't left with as much of a "hassle" once they find him dead, but it's also a point of "pride" in a way. So when it's all over, they will sweep through a cleaner room and remember him better in that last day, than so much of the mess and stress of the earlier ones.

The second time we see him is when he's figured out Frenchie didn't finish off Izzy. And not only does he offer for Izzy to do it, he tells him that it'd be a good thing for him to do. Like it was a favor, killing him would've been "just what the doctor ordered" to make him feel better.

But Izzy doesn't do it, and he assumes Izzy ends himself after he's left the room.

The third hint is that he's so forgiving with everyone. He doesn't hold a grudge against Frenchie for lying to him and hiding Izzy in the secret room, he doesn't yell at anyone (like Jim or Archie) for conspiring with him, he even tells Frenchie to take the day off and thanks him for the closure.

Again, it's following that motion of peace and contentment, he doesn't have to go into death mad, he can do it calmly. He can let it all go, because soon enough it won't be a problem and he knows he's now decided to take them all down with him. So he might as well let them enjoy their last few hours as much as they can.

And he instead resides to sit at the wheel, turning them sharply right into a dark storm, all the while he wears the softest smile. Because he is calm, he is clear headed, and he is done waiting for something else to kill him. And that's a very common thing for people to want in those last moments. To go clean and sober and content and in peace.

They hit a lot of the MAJOR signs they teach you that someone is about to take their live, the only one I can think of off the top of my head that wasn't explicitly included would've been the giving away of personal possessions.

(But, perhaps even following the idea that originally he was going to go alone, he was going to be leaving everything including the boat to his crew, so maybe that idea was kind of hidden in there. It's just not as direct as personally going to people and handing over things.)

Anyway, I'm sure a lot of these clues were well picked up by the fandom, I'm sure a lot of us have learned about these stages of suicidal action for various reasons ourselves. I just wanted to point out that timeline and how perfectly it seems to fit across the whole episode as this singular, unspoken intent behind every single one of Ed's actions until it comes to a head and the crew on deck can't ignore how drastic everything had turned.

[theramblingsofadork]

✩‧₊˚⋆ Hey there! Welcome to my blog! ✩‧₊˚⋆

I’m a writer/artist who’s recently gotten back into Sonic through the IDW comics! I don’t know all the nuances or history of Archie or games, so please bear with me being dumb! 💖

This blog mainly revolves around my OCs and Dr. Starline, but my other favorite characters include Surge, Silver, Blaze, and Espio.

I have a redemption esque AU for Starline and my OCs in the works, and am slowly building the pieces up to a full story. If you’re interested at all, the masterpost for all the related events lies below.

I usually post on Thursdays and Fridays.

As for me, I’m always up for a chat or questions, and enjoy hearing about others OCs, so feel free to shoot anything my way! :)

—

⭐️ Starpoint Squad AU Timeline

(This masterpost will be updated reguarly with all the lore related art and writing, in the order that they happen in.🚨 There will be spoilers for the IDW comics ahead as well! 🚨)

Go ahead and hit Read More, and happy diving! ✨

v v v v v v v v v v v v v v v v v v v v v v v v v v v v v

Notes:

Major spoiler posts will be in green.

Major AU plot points will be highlighted in pink. (If not already green from spoilers)

EVERYTHING IN THIS IS SUBJECT TO CHANGE AND IS NOT SET IN LORE STONE, so to speak. It’s my first time attempting a grand scale story so I’m changing things on the go.

Character Introductions :

🌟 The Starpoint Squad: Starline the Platypus | Rivet the Cat | Charge the Cat | Hex the Rat | Cello the Firefly | Lug the Bulldog

🌪️ Team ???: Stormy the Skunk | Skara the Mink

🏴‍☠️ Villains: Professor Yew | Zeroth the Deciever

📗 Side Characters: Hero Mania Creator

— World Building:

🎖️ Aethos City/The Atmos Corporation

The Competition Arc

— Act 1: Friendly Competition

~~ Act 1 Synopsis ~~

Art/Text/Fanfic: Starline Encourages Hex

Art: Starline and Rivet’s Dynamic

Art: Starline and Cello’s Dynamic

Art: Starline and Hex’s Dynamic

Art: Hex and Lug’s Dynamic

Art: Starpoint Duties Part 1

Text: Hex’s Motivation for Joining the Competition

Comic: Starline and Cello’s Arguements

Art/Fanfic: A Slice of Humble Pie (Hold the Pie)

Art/Fanfic: Deciding on a Team Name

Art: Late Nights In the Lab

Art/Writing: Dance With Me

— Act 2: The Plot

~~~Act 2 Synopsis~~~

The Downfall Arc (IDW)

— Act 1: Gain and Loss

Art: Grief

Writing Prompt: Exhaustion

— Act 2: Awakening

Text: Operation: Remaster, and Surge and Kit’s role

The Restoration Arc (Post IDW Issue #50)

— Act 1: Forgiveness

Art: Why Did You Save Me?

Art: Hesitation and Acceptance

— Act 2: Restoration

Text Post: Messing With the Broadcast

Joke Comic: Like Adopted Mother like Daughter

Art/Writing: Teaching Surge and Kit about Gear Riding

— Act 3: Happy Endings (Rivetline and beyond)

Text: Hex Getting a Cameo

Art: Two Dorks in Love

Ask: Confession?

Art: Worthy

Art: Trying on His Clothes

Art: Enjoying the Gala

Art: Lemon Meringue to his Chocolate Soufflé

Text: Starline Being Sick

Ficlet: How Much Time Has Passed

Text/HC: Nightmares

Text: Hypothetical Wedding

— Other Lore Related Stuff:

🎶 Character Themes

✨ Starpoint Squad Headcanons

💪 The Strengths of the Starpoint Squad

❓How the Squad Handles Sudden Plan Changes

👨‍👧‍👦 OC Parental Relationships

🌸 Rivetline Dynamics

❤️Art/Headcanon: Nose Boops and Nose Kisses

More Info about the Squad

More Info about the Squad 2

More info 3

More info 4

More info 5 (maybe i should get a new page for these lol)

[sevenredrobes]

genuinely, episode 8 was terrible. and like yeah, it's in part because of the slashed run time and max almost certainly behind the scenes saying that a s3 would need a hail mary but oh myyyy gooood

where was the development for zheng/jim/olu/archie?? why did auntie suddenly give her blessing to olu?? what changed her mind about softness?? where was the change except for the watsonian explanation that auntie and izzy mirror each other in their roles to their captains??

why did they fucking kill izzy - a disabled, elder queer man with a visible scar from a past suicide attempt?? and then it being to "free" ed from blackbeard!! but he had already let go of blackbeard. he was already offering support to ed to choose what made him happy just last episode!! it was ed who chose to return to the blackbeard leathers and it was completely independent of izzy!

(and god, the optics of killing off a suicide attempt survivor just to further another character's arc!!! and also that he's a queer man off who'd already survived suicide!!! killing off a disabled man to further the arc of the able bodied man that directly led to the disability!!! what the fuck!!)

(and that one shot implying izzy couldn't pivot to avoid getting a deadly belly shot because his leg limited his mobility. the implication that a disabled character died via his disability is just!!! it sucks man)

and also izzy saying ed's got a family and then it ends with just ed and stede alone while everyone sails off into the sunset? ok, and did the family promise to stay in touch? or do we not know that because the show chose to rush shit instead of just trying to make a more open but better paced ending work?

and god ed and stede's relationship was so rushed! ed reads a love letter from stede, they fight some brits, and suddenly their very real relationship problems are solved? what about their mutual issues around responsibility? what about their mutual issues around violence? what about ed being upset at stede for rushing things between them and becoming a bit of a fame monster? how am i supposed to believe that theyre emotionally ready to deal with each other's traumas?

neither of them have even remotely begun to learn how to support each other and learn to disagree healthily! nothing about their latest break up was resolved! stede still moved too fast, ignored ed's wishes about killing ned, and still was a fame monster! and ed still had issues with loving himself and viewing himself as someone beyond blackbeard! they've had some major disagreements and issues and those issues havent been properly explored or resolved!!

and god, ed's character arc!! where is he at the end of the season? has he been magically fixed by one of his oldest companions dying in his arms? he was on the first steps to healing and where is the rest? is the rest going to be fixed by stede's magic dick a la a fanfic? is it going to be fixed by completely divorcing himself from his time as blackbeard and so completely denying a part of his identity and years of his life?

and don't even get me started on how stede and ed's reunion run on the beach was juxtaposed with stede's s2ep1 dream spot of ed in a full beard and not talking in his real voice, in a dream sequence imo that clearly showed that stede was himself also not seeing ed fully for himself and instead for a different version of him!!

honestly, the only things i'm happy about are that lucius and pete are married (despite the jarring and tonally deaf tone change of all that) and that spanish jackie and the swede are chilling and scheming. otherwise everything feels bad and i hate it here

[crusherthedoctor]

So am I crazy for thinking that sonic fans aren’t real. And that the “fans” hate sonic and only want it to become something it’s not? That’s how I feel every time I look up something sonic related, with people clamoring about how ian flynn “understands” sonic. Or how the “fans” constantly make eggman a soft guy, or praise character portrayals like lanolin and thorn. I just feel like there are no true sonic fans, that love the games. And that the majority of “fans” hate sonic for what it is.

It feels that way sometimes, given how often IDW/Archie/SatAM is considered the True Sonic Spirit despite them being mostly awful or mediocre, and the weight they give to people who hate the franchise overall but conveniently just so happen to like Frontiers. There's a very real sense of wanting Sonic to be taken """seriously""", like a blue hedgehog and his colorful world is just too cartoony and cringe, so it must become something else. The irony of Frontiers being praised for how proud it is of itself, when it feels like a calculated effort to make it as non-Sonic as possible bar the bare minimum requirements, is not lost on me.

But despite the vocal crowds' attempts to act like we all unanimously love Frontiers, IDW, Prime, etc, in reality there are more out there than they'd be willing to acknowledge who aren't so keen on them. I remember seeing reactions to Superstars when it was first revealed, and I was surprised by how many times I would see comments like "I hope this is better than Frontiers, cause Frontiers was a big load of shite". (That's not a comedic exaggeration: I actually saw one with that kind of phrasing lol.) I'm also aware that the DLC has caused some fans to have second thoughts on the game.

So for the time being, I think it'll be interesting to see what happens after Superstars comes out. And whether it affects Frontiers' popularity or not, the latter's status as a 3D game means that inevitably, sooner or later, people will start doing a 180 on it either way, just as they did with every other 3D Sonic.

[raymondebidochonlifechoices]

So, RAS Nightmare Child gave EW this first glimpse into Rvd’s next season and, yes, it’s exactly what you expected!

In season 5, when Riverdale implemented a seven-year time jump, there was talk of tearing down the series' high school sets. "It didn't feel right," showrunner Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa tells EW. Cut to season 7, and suddenly, those sets are back in play in a major way.

And by ‘suddenly’ we mean that they were the main sets for the whole of s5, when everybody became a high school teacher and very important in s6, when the school’s newspaper became the town’s main news outlet.

“Every season we explore the tropes of a specific genre, be it supernatural, be it pulp, be it crime. This year our genre is the 1950s, so we’re in dialogue with the American myth of what the 1950s were versus the reality.”

You heard it here first, folks! The 1950s are *a genre*. Hey, older relative! Did you know you used to live in a genre? When did real life start? Are you even real now? Am I real?

Although Aguirre-Sacasa says the "essence" of each character is the same, there will be some big differences. For starters, Veronica Lodge (Camila Mendes) is not a New Yorker. "In season 1, Veronica arrived from New York, and in the 1950s, she's arrived from Los Angeles" […] She's still an outsider and a socialite, very different from everyone else."

Yeah, this is completely, absolutely, totally different from s1!Veronica! Ah! These “fresh” stories! So many s5!Ted vibes ...  Will a nostalgic tear roll down my cheek? Sadly, no.

And Archie isn’t quite the same teenager who once went toe-to-toe with a bear. “Archie feels much more innocent than we’ve ever depicted him on Riverdale,” Aguirre-Sacasa says. “When we meet Archie here, he is a clean cut, 1950s teen.”

Yeah, you guessed it! Archie will be even more obnoxious than before! If s1!Archie was GOOD™, s7!Archie will be THE BEST™! It wasn’t easy to surpass his s5 post-war hero status or his s6 literal man-of-steel godliness but we, the writers’ team, succeeded! Cheers!

“It’s been a great way to get back to basics, which is the kids in high school discovering themselves, the kids having their first times. We can discover these moments or revisit moments that we’ve explored in the past in a completely different context.”

Which is another thing we have never done before. Certainly not in the beginning of s5 (7y time jump). Absolutely not in the end of s5 (Hiram’s bomb). Definitely not when the universes merged in s6b (and the Devil visited Riverdale). This is unquestionably the very. first. time. we are revisiting pivotal moments in a different context. #PleaseWatchTheShow!

And then there’s Jughead, the only character aware that something has gone very, very wrong. “The first episode is Jughead’s story,” Aguirre-Sacasa says. “It’s him asking, ‘What do I do with the fact that I’m the only one who remembers our lives before the comet hit?’ And that gets resolved at the end of episode 1.

Ep1!Jughead is the narrator. Got it!

"Something very, very dark happens at the end of episode 2," he teases.

Dark?! In Riverdale?! No shit! Nobody is expecting that! (1 Riverdollar says the lighting is going to by abysmal too …)

“The biggest struggle is our characters trying to live authentic individualistic lives during a time period where that was really hard to do.”

Unlike our previous seasons, where extreme poverty/homelessness, marginalization, a bunch of serial killers and the most abusive parents imaginable (often the same people as the serial killers) allowed our characters to flourish.

… does that mean Riverdale's final season might be its most tame? Perhaps "tame" is the wrong word. "It's probably, weirdly, our most grounded season," Aguirre-Sacasa says.

I think that’s code for low(er) budget but -hey!- I might be wrong!

But no matter what time period Riverdale exists in, viewers can expect there to be music.

…

…

…

You must be fucking kidding me. 🫠🫠🫠

[nikibogwater]

Niki Blethers: Daniel Spellbound first impressions:

I’ve only watched the first episode, so I’m not considering anything I talk about here as Spoiler Territory, but if you want to go in to this show absolutely 100% blind, maybe skip this post.

The short version: Color me intrigued. 

Followers of mine already know that I am a huuuuuuuge fan of the Tales of Arcadia series on Netflix (sans the movie–we don’t talk about the movie), so when I first heard the premise for Daniel Spellbound, it immediately struck me as being in a similar vein as that series.

It’s an urban fantasy following the magical misadventures of a teenager and a talking pig. What’s interesting about this premise to me is the fact that our main characters start the series already fully aware of and participating in the magical underground that exists beneath New York City. Daniel isn’t some normal kid who discovers this magical world by accident, he’s been living and working in it for years by the time of the first episode. 

Speaking of Daniel, I like him as our main protagonist so far. He’s a quick-thinking, fast-talking, maybe-sorta-rule-breaking kid who has obviously been alone for way too long. He works as a Tracker–someone who hunts down magical artifacts and ingredients for wizards to use in their spells–but he doesn’t take any pride in his work, and even describes magic as “a scam.” Right out of the gate he’s shown to have no qualms about taking even the lowest, most disgusting jobs if it means getting paid (our introduction to him is literally him sticking his arm in a mound of troll crap to retrieve the mushrooms growing inside). But there’s also a quiet warmth to him, which comes out most prominently in his interactions with Hoagie the magical talking pig.

I’m gonna be up front here, when I first saw Hoagie’s design in a promo image, I was SO ready to hate him. Like, I know it’s not fair to hold him to the same standard as Archie the Cat-Dragon from ToA: Wizards, but I couldn’t help it. So I was pleasantly surprised to find that Hoagie….is actually very tolerable. And there is an in-universe reason for the eyepatch, a very dark and traumatic reason that hasn’t been outright stated, but heavily implied. 

Hoagie himself is actually very similar to Daniel, being a little self-centered and extremely sarcastic. I really like the dynamic between the two of them as a result. They butt heads more often than not (Hoagie’s best character moments are when he is just aggressively sassing the ever-living daylights out of Daniel), but their back and forth can be very fun, and it’s really satisfying to see them come out of the first episode as a newly-formed team. 

I can see Hoagie’s character being obnoxious to some (especially since he spends the majority of the first episode being a pain in Daniel’s neck), but I ended up tentatively liking him, and I really like the potential for friendship that has formed between him and Daniel. 

This show’s portrayal of magic is very fun and creative. From a hotdog vendor making duplicates of himself to expand his business reach, to a half-pint witch known for her highly dangerous magical pies and her propensity for holding intense grudges, it really feels like magic in this world is full of infinite possibilities, and not just limited to flashing lights and floating books. 

The magical environments reflect this as well, creating a very cool contrast with the drab and mundane New York City. I especially love the creature design of the trolls in the first part of the episode.

The animation is serviceable. It’s pretty obvious that they were on a tight budget, but that’s not something I hold against them. In fact, I have to commend the animators and directors for their clever management of limited resources. As I said above, the magical environments are extremely creative and even downright breathtaking in some shots. Character animation can be a little weightless from time to time, especially during an action sequences, but if that’s the show’s biggest flaw in terms of visuals, they’re doing pretty good. 

The dialogue can feel a little weird and choppy here and there, but it’s definitely nowhere near as bad as some other shows/movies I’ve seen. 

Overall, I’m interested to see where this series goes. I want to see more of the magical underworld, I want to learn more about Daniel, and I’m eager to see more of him and Hoagie bonding (or just Hoagie sassing him some more, honestly both are good). I don’t want to jump the gun and say it’s great, but from the first episode, I can safely say that it’s got a lot of great potential, enough that I’m going to keep watching and see where they go with that. Depending on how it turns out, I may do a longer and more comprehensive post about the series as a whole, but for now, I can at least say that it is worth checking out and seeing for yourself. 

[kozykricket]

incomprehensible mc thoughtdump

work on the post(s) about minecraft updates has officially commenced with an actual plan, but i CANNOT HOLD IN speaking about two things in particular so fuck it we ball, im talking about how themed updates were a phenomenal thing for the game, its really when minecraft got big, and perhaps more marketable/corporate some could say, but no one can deny the quality of updates from 1.13 up to caves and cliffs

i just think… theres a lot of severe misunderstandings of the way mojang prioritizes things. they DO INDEED THINK! believe it or not, these developers want the best for the game.

and i think 1.20 is exactly whats best for the game. 1.19 showed exactly the flaws with continuing to name updates before you're done developing them: expectations

so, we've had MAJOR themed overhauls hitting the worst aged parts of the game for quite some time now. the nether, oceans, villages, and the overworlds generation in general (and uh, bees woo!)

but I think besides the end, we've gotten basically every overhaul we could ask for… but that leaves a lot of other, less prominent old things… standing out as less quality. because as stated, mojang cares about quality

something i might also get into in the series of posts is how a lot of the vocal playerbase on twitter/reddit/youtube tend to hate on ANY change to old things - i think 1.9 is probably constantly in the devs' minds, and why they dont do stuff like… update the old swamp, and they just add a new swamp biome

anyways wtf am i on about? im gonna cut to the chase - 1.20 has put way less expectations on the devs to specifically add to a clearly defined aspect of the game. it has no name, and they can go back to the older style of minecraft updates, with an "add what we want to" approach, with some theming rather than letting the theme drive the entirety of the changes they get to update what they want to, and make it quality. a lot of people expected more "wild" related changes in the wild update… and were disappointed. so without a name, theres less disappointment! and without a name, its more surprising and fun! and without a name, it doesnt feel to a player like time is being taken away from an overhaul

anyways, thing #2

i dont think everything new has to be useful in an extrinsic way - people are way too obsessed with Usefulness, in a game about… well, making your own enjoyment? out of what there is?

you can tell the sniffer, archy, and cherry groves are in a somewhat early state, though i imagine the sniffer to be near its final stage considering its a mob vote mob. thats fine, i like the sniffer a lot

this has been incomprehensible, i promise that i will have some slightly more comprehensible posts. the current plan is 4 parts:

Part 1 - Analyzing the first named updates, for context in analyzing newer updates part 2 - Analyzing how 1.13 changed the game, and the step up in quality. "How 1.13 changed the standards of updates" and going into themes more heavily part 3 - Caves, Cliffs, and Cleaning-up a backlog. Further into talking about how the quality of updates was extremely fantastic, talking about the simultaneously grand and extremely awkward "finale" of themed updates. Themed updates turn out to backfire to some degree, and are overall stressful for everyone involved part 4 - A healthy redirection, this post essentially.

[crystalelemental]

We have now concluded the sixth entry in the Villain Arc, and oh man.   Oh man, is this my favorite?  I dunno!  I think I just have to continue coming to terms with the fact I really like Lysandre.

I talked about the first half already, but to recap, I really like the setup.  I like that we get some interesting Malva and Looker dynamics, with Malva actually being threatening and a bit of a problem.  I love Looker, I'm so glad Emma's here, and if you can't focus on the villain team doing their villain thing, then focusing on Looker Fam is a spectacular pivot, and I'm all for this continuing to be a focus in the Alola VA, provided it doesn't detract from Alolan units getting alts.   Though if they wanted to give me Looker fam Sygna Suits with Ultra Beasts...

Anyway, I really like the decision to focus on Looker and his group.  I’m kinda hoping that continues going forward, because to be honest, the Villain Arcs have a lot of issues that mostly center on this whole endeavor being The Giovanni Show, starring Giovanni.  Team Rocket is behind literally everything, because this series cannot get Gen 1′s dick out of its mouth for one goddamned minute.  Even the ones that are still fairly separated wind up involving them to some degree.  And it’s cutting into time that could be spent elsewhere.  I recognize that some antagonists like Lysandre here cannot go full villain again and still stick around.  I don’t begrudge them that.  But I also feel like this VA shows exactly where the problem is.

The protagonists are 100% pointless.  It was like this with Hoenn.  And frankly with Unova.  They don’t matter.  What did Brendan and May actually accomplish in Hoenn?  Nothing.  The story was centered on Maxie and Archie and how they’ve steered away from their villainy, and how Giovanni played everyone with this distraction.  Great, cool.  Unova?  Focused more on N and Hugh, which was cool, but also has literally nothing to do with Hilda or Hilbert, to say nothing of how completely irrelevant Rosa and Nate were.  Calem and Serena continue this trend.  They collectively accomplish jack-all.  It’s amazing how unimportant they are.  And trying to emphasize the protagonists in these stories?  Frankly is dragging them down.

The best part of this, bar nothing, is Malva and Looker’s dynamic in the first half.  The tension is divine, and the development for Malva is really nice.  But the second half, when Looker’s in action, isn’t strictly terrible, but gets a little choppy because it’s interspersed with “And let’s check in on the gang and Lysandre.”  Pick one.  There’s no reason Lysandre can’t be present in the hideout Looker is infiltrating, and strike a deal that way.  There’s no reason Sycamore couldn’t have gone with Looker to find Lysandre, and made this whole segment more cohesive.  The separation of these two bits really doesn’t do anything to help the narrative flow.  Which is a shame, because by separate parts, this rules!

Looker, Anabel, and Emma teaming up to track down and put a stop to Team Rocket, who have been the major masterminds behind the last five catastrophes?  Fantastic.  This is exactly the direction I want that to go, and I live for Looker segments, I am desperately hoping for more with Alola.

Lysandre getting focus as an antagonist that has completely separate views that puts him wildly at odds with the major antagonists?  Great!  I like that!  It’s a way to not have to get into the moral standing of Lysandre broadly, but you can still paint him as an evil dude by having him murder grunts.  Which he does, by the way.  It’s not hard confirmed or anything, but there is no other way to interpret that scene.  Lysandre murdered people, and it’s rad.

But I feel like we’re spending too much time with Lysandre justifying that he’s not actively hostile, and that he hasn’t broken Sycamore’s promise, and that we’re reaffirming that he’s on standby to see if everyone can make a better world, and not enough time on him doing anything.  This could’ve been a lot more dynamic if he were battling against Team Rocket as well, even momentarily to end the battle between Looker Fam and the admins, and getting Looker to let them take the grunts by force rather than the sudden “Surprise, we called dibs!” we get.

The only thing I did like about the gang’s inclusion is that it’s Shauna who sets up Lysandre’s re-affirmation.  I have this whole thing about how Lysandre’s mentality being about “chosen ones” and those who have the right to rule etc etc is basically just another fascist talking point, and that the antithesis of that is your friend group.  They may not be as talented as the central protagonist, but their presence and importance still exists, and keeps you on the ground, recognizing the importance of everyone’s involvement.  I dunno, I just liked how it tied in.

I also admittedly love the clownshoes of Lysandre not being evil, but also going on repeatedly about how Volcanion’s steam bursts can level mountains, and can create a new nation of beauty that he wants.  Like, dude is taking about wild amount of ecological destruction and the displacement of people and Pokemon alike with such a project, and they’re all like “Oh thank god, it’s not genocide again.  We were worried.”  Like it’s so funny.

That said, this whole event is very much setup for the next, and given Lusamine is in a similar boat of “We don’t really want to acknowledge the full extent of their villainy,” I’m willing to bet that this will primarily focus on Looker Fam once again.  Which is great.  I just also hope we can kinda get away from the protagonists needing to be there at all.  Just let Aether Fam and Looker Fam do their thing, which hopefully involves someone punching Giovanni.

[sapphicvioletssss]

Ooooh. Controversial opinion. Every time I think back on ofmd season 2 I get upset about how badly it was executed.

Like just absolutely obliterating the characters from the previous season (I'm looking at you Jim and Oluwande)

Giving Izzy the most shallow, surface level character growth/redemption that was built on absolutely nothing in-universe and heavily relying on fanon interpretation of his character (legitimately the switch up between the season 1 finale and the first episode of season 2 makes it seem like he's an entirely different character. Obviously things happened off screen but the change is SO drastic, it's just bad writing I fear) like why are they all coddling him immediately in season 2, that man a) was awful to all of them and b) even though they don't know izzy pushed Ed back into his blackbeard persona (nobody could've predicted it would be THAT bad but the point still stands that he did threaten his life), Izzy was still extremely excited at the end of s1 with how things were. AND even if we are just expected to accept that they've all bonded over their circumstance, why is the part of the crew that was away immediately cool with Izzy? Should they not still hate/dislike him? Like they were going to kill him and then he left them for dead. The crew all loving him so much makes no sense. And all of it just to kill him at the end? For what?

Dropping the ball SO. HARD. on Zheng Yi Sao. She's an incredibly intelligent strategist, super powerful, and could have been such a cool and interesting character but they reduced her down to "hehe oluwande <3" and having her entire fleet get defeated because she trusted Ricky?? Why would she do that??

Speaking of Ricky, the fact that he was barelyyy seen, one of the few times being his introduction showing us he's naive and not especially bright, yet we're somehow meant to believe he's a very formidable antagonist? Yes, he ran off to the navy for power but iirc he was the brains behind taking down Zheng'z fleet/the republic of pirates which is not something we were given any inclination he would be capable of given his only other major scene was making a fool of himself and getting got in the RoP/Spanish Jackie'z. Like, sure. It doesn't need to be completely spelled out, but am I missing something here? It's such a major leap and absolutely none of his capabilities are even implied besides "I'm powerful because I'm a minor prince and have the navy behind me"?

I feel like season 1 did sooo much better delving into the psyche of its characters and it did them justice! We understood their conflicts and motivations so well! And then we have season 2 and it's just....eugh. For example: stede had so many issues around violence/killing in season 1 and we see none of that expressed in season 2 except for a tiny bit after he kills Ned Low? Maybe it can be argued he's overcompensating in 2.07? But the conflict is vague at best. Or it's SO on the nose it's just :| (group asking frenchie how he handles the BB crew situation so well, Ed making Jim and Archie fight - not even going to get into how I feel about Jim and Archie being so forced together it's not even funny., half of what Pete yelled at lucius during their 2.05(?) fight) there's just not much depth to the characters' emotional conflicts/motivations in the second season and it makes me sad seeing how much love was given to them in season 1. "I'm angry because you can't get over yourself lucius. Oh it's resolved because you proposed!" / "everyone hates blackbeard, he needs to atone. Oh! He threw a party for us :) maybe he's not so bad!" It's just so flat and lifeless.

All the stuff with Lucius's time away/separated between seasons. Especially the SA "joke".

Despite my love for the episode, having a wlw couple and making one of them sexually harass stede and at their emotional climax having them going for a kiss and then swerve to a hug? I do not understand the point of how that scene was choreographed it was strange and absolutely ripped me out of the moment. If you're going for a hug, go for a hug! Don't make it seem like they'll kiss and then swerve. it just looks so awkward and clunky and it makes me question why we've had all kinds of kisses in the show but we can't have one between two women?? Like legitimately all kinds. mlm, wlm, nblm, nblw, but not a wlw kiss? They have to hug? And from THAT couple? Make it make sense :)

Stede and Ed's ending :( they would NOT settle like that, and I firmly believe that. They both love the sea (Ed hated how infamous BB had become and I think he'd gotten tired of pirating like he had been at the beginning of the season but we've seen how much fun he has) and they hate monotony and a life running an inn on land? Seriously? It doesn't make any sense for them. Literally any other ending would have been better I stg.

I understand there were budget cuts and the season got slashed two episodes but it felt so much like the love and care for the story was tossed away in favor of fan service. There was sooo much I liked about the season and I think it had so much potential but so much of it just felt hollow. Learning that the show runners knew they almost certainly would not get renewed put the whole season in a new light - like they didn't really need to try all that hard because it wouldn't matter anyway, that they could just "give people what they want to see" and the decline in quality would either not be noticed or wouldn't be cared about. We got a mermaid dream sequence to Kate Bush, who cares that Jim's whole character was massacred! Who gives a shit about the vaguely misogynistic undertones to this season, Buttons is canonically a witch!

Idk :) probably super unpopular opinion(s) but I have them. And there is a lot I love about the season, I could probably make an equally long, if not longer, post about those opinions, it just genuinely upsets me sometimes how such an incredible first season was followed up with a mediocre at best second one even though the potential was so obviously there.

[ciaossu-imagines]

Oh man, corny old dubs are some of my favourites. Something about them really just hits different. I genuinely can’t remember what happens later down the line for COTT so I’m very curious to see what questionable writing choices they go with in the second season. Another friend I was discussing this with also mentions they weren’t the happiest with the second season.

I am little bit further in now tho and, man I can say I really slept on Neil as a kid. He’s actually so funny. I really do like the whole main cast, but Neil is slowly making his way up as my favourite, so I agree with you as I love his interactions with the rest of the crew! Also, I really like that his power is luck. it’s genuinely an interesting power I wouldn’t have thought of.

I also love the other bonds you pointed out, like Herry and Odin and Atlanta and Archie. While I can definitely see which characters are gonna go down the romance path, I really just appreciate all the platonic interactions and them bonding as friends first. Really makes it feel less forced. Personally, I really love when we get to see Atlanta and Theresa be pals since I’m so used to these shows pitting the girls against each other so it’s refreshing it hasn’t gone down that route (or as far as I know).

- R

They really do hit different and there's a real nostalgia that makes me happy with those corny old dubs! I mean, even looking back at some of the major childhood shows, like Yu-Gi-Oh! and Sailor Moon, we gotta admit that some of the dialogue in that was corny as hell but they were all such amazing shows! And I'm actually really glad that you're rewatching with having forgotten almost all of it, because it means you'll get to be properly moved, shocked, surprised, interested by the events of the story as things go on. And yeah, I do think it's pretty accepted within fandom that the second season had it's struggles, especially towards the end of it, but still a great show over all.

And oh my god, yes! I feel like I slept on Neil as a kid too and didn't really grow to appreciate him until a couple rewatches. The main one I slept on as a kid though…I really did hate Theresa as a kid, sort of a jealousy sort of hate because she really was canonically really pretty and popular and powerful. But I do end up liking her a lot more as a character as an adult. And yes, so much on liking Neil's power. The idea of luck being a real power and something that can affect so much? It was really well used in the show! I really like all the different character's powers though and trying to figure out where they came from (trying to find the mythological basis's for them) and the different ways they could be used. And you hit it perfect - the friendships the show used, even if you could see the romance path coming, really did make the romances feel less forced when they happened. Oh gosh, I hadn't even considered that though…yeah, I just clued in now that a lot of shows did pit the girls against each other, especially around that time period! Always hated that trend, to be honest, and I'm with you in loving that Atlanta and Theresa were just allowed to be friends and neither of them were really ever shown to have to compete with the other or had to be jealous of the other or anything like that.

[eldritchgriffin]

💖🧡💙💡💫📚👯‍♀️🤖🧍 😳 for the Sonic ask game!

💖 Favorite Character. Of the main cast, I like Shadow and Silver

🧡 Favorite Archie character. The Archie cast is so massive it's hard to pick a single favorite, so I'll list a few. I really like Cassia (and Clove) and Shard for "best characters who should've gotten their plotlines resolved," Antoine gets "best character development," and Nicole and Bunnie are just cool :)

💙 Favorite IDW character. I really like Belle! I just think she's neat :D

💡 Spinoff you’d like to see. Pretty much anything focusing on a character other than Sonic. Sonic's cool, but barring the Frontiers update, it feels like it's been ages since we've had a game include other playable characters and stories. The old method of having several individual stories to play through wasn't perfect, but I wish they hadn't just gotten rid of it. I'd especially like to see something with Silver and maybe Blaze because they get very few major appearances, but something with Shadow and team dark could also be good (assuming they don't just give Shadow the exact same character arc for the fourth time)

💫 Dream Sonic Show/Story. I think it'd be fun to have a slice-of-life type Sonic show. Just a chance for everyone to take a break and for the more minor characters to get some screen time. The low stakes plots would also give room for a lot of character stuff

📚 Pitch for a third storybook game. I'm going to go a bit unconventional here and suggest Wonderland. It's more contemporary than the standard myths and legends, but I think there's a lot of interesting stuff they could do. Imagine Sonic is running, not looking where he's going, when he steps in a hole that goes much farther down than it should. Upon landing he spots either Tails or Cream running, but when he catches up to them they just keep insisting that they're going to be late and can't talk now. Sonic realizes he's not in Kansas his world anymore, and the story begins

👯 Favorite team. It's basic, but Team Dark (although I also love any time they very clearly had a group of two and needed to add in someone random to make a trio. Looking at you, Team Sonic Racing)

🤖 Favorite robot. Since I already mentioned a few, I'll throw out that I'm also a fan of Metal Sonic. I don't even really know why, I just am

🧍Favorite Human Character. I like Merlina. She's an interesting character with a cool story

😳 Hottest Sonic Take. Oooh, boy; time to get cancelled~~. In my opinion, Sonic fans tend to look at older games through rose-colored glasses, insisting that those were the "good old days" and loving to complain about anything and everything new. I think some of the older plots are really good, and there are certainly many issues with some newer games, but it feels like people put things on too high a pedestal sometimes, especially gameplay-wise. Playing through SA2 was a nightmare, and I clipped through the floor to my death multiple times in the first level of SA1. Sure, people hold newer games to higher standards in general, but still. I remember people complaining about Frontiers' gameplay when it first came out, particularly Cyber Space. However, I had just finished SA2, and all I could think was how incredible it felt having functional camera angles

[arotechno]

Jughead (2015), Aromanticism and Representation Part 2: Zdarsky, North, and the Word of God

When I reviewed Zdarsky and North’s arcs in the Jughead (2015) comics, I noted the differences between their portrayals of Jughead’s aromanticism. Namely, Zdarsky’s work is a lot more subtle but ultimately feels like it was written specifically with aromanticism in mind, whereas North’s work is more on-the-nose but is sometimes grating or uncomfortable when it comes to the reactions of other characters. I want to talk a bit more about that here, and then I want to talk about canonization and the value of word-of-god representation.

Firstly, Zdarsky. Chip Zdarsky is credited with canonizing Jughead’s asexuality on the page, and his aromanticism via the word of god. Ryan North stayed true to this portrayal when he picked up the series following the conclusion of Zdarsky’s run.

If you’ll recall, the vast majority of Zdarsky’s run (the first six of eight issues) do not pay much attention to Jughead’s orientation at all, although this section does contain the first (and only) textual use of the word “asexual” in the entire series. This would make most folks inclined to believe that Zdarsky did not consider it at all, but I personally am more than okay with not every story factoring in Jughead’s orientation, and the arc he did write on the topic (issues 7­-8) more than makes up for it in my opinion. This is the arc where Jughead and Archie get lost camping, and the following exchange takes place:

I have written at length about this scene in particular, so I will be brief in noting the following:

(1) Jughead’s hurt is palpable, and beautifully portrayed. Whereas other writers may have played such an exchange for laughs, Zdarsky validates Jughead’s feelings of abandonment, hurt, and isolation in this arc, while managing not to villainize Archie in the process.

(2) Archie not only knows immediately that he fucked up, but very quickly apologizes. His actions are not justified, and his reaction suggests that not only is he aware of Jughead’s orientation, but he respects it and him enough to make amends for hurting his best friend.

(3) Never is Jughead being aroace mentioned explicitly here, but to any reader paying attention, it comes off quite obviously. If you take Jughead being aroace as an implicit truth about his character, which is the way Zdarsky confirmed he was writing him, it becomes abundantly clear that this is what Archie refers to when he uses the phrase “a normal guy,” and that this is the source of their inability to understand each other and the strain it is having on their friendship.

Now, when Ryan North took over, he accepted Zdarsky’s canonization as gospel and ran with it, a fact for which I am quite thankful. His primary arc is the one with Sabrina, in which Jughead accidentally agrees to a date with his newfound friend and has to figure out how he is going to explain the misunderstanding—or, better yet, just keep trying to escape her affections until the problem magically (ha) goes away.

North is much more explicit about Jughead being aromantic, while still not using the word. Jughead uses phrases like “I don’t get crushes” and “I don’t like people that way,” and visibly panics over the realization that he accidentally agreed to a for-real date.

These scenes are really great, and the time that North took to put Jughead in a situation that directly required addressing his aromanticism is incredibly valuable. However, there are aspects of North’s portrayal that bother me. To summarize my previous thoughts on the matter:

(1) North depicts the situation with a lot of nuance, being certain to address the ways in which Jughead is screwing up while also validating his very real feelings. The ultimate resolution is heartwarming and satisfying in that Jughead is finally able to be honest with Sabrina, and Sabrina accepts and supports him wholeheartedly, allowing them to finally be friends.

(2) However, Jughead’s existing friends are woefully unhelpful every step of the way. Of course, this is in many ways realistic; many aros have people in their lives who are quick to dismiss their aromanticism the moment they feel it might no longer be true. With Archie, this borders on a continuity error—but that is the cost of switching writers so frequently. But the issue is that his friends are never prompted by the narrative to apologize. They meddle and push Jughead into going through with the date without ever listening to what he wants—something he comments on—and the only character who gets a resolution on this front is Sabrina, by necessity.

(3) North being clearly unafraid of expressing Jughead’s aromanticism is refreshing, but the lack of accountability on his friends is kind of uncomfortable, and it makes it hard to play those moments for laughs.

Which of these is better? Which has more value? The truth is I think that either arc being removed from the story would be to its detriment, and in a perfect world we’d have gotten the best of both portrayals in one. However, it is worth pointing out the differences between them for the sake of acknowledging that representation can be done in different ways, each with their own costs and benefits. Zdarsky’s portrayal cuts deep and shows a more subtle portrayal of aromanticism as it affects relationships, but that subtlety means that aromanticism is taking more of a backseat focus. Meanwhile, North’s portrayal is much more on-the-nose and is expressed much more obviously, but it leaves something to be desired in terms of how it holds other characters accountable.

Both, however, have something very crucial in common. And this is that neither Chip Zdarsky nor Ryan North ever used the word “aromantic” on the page.

Three years ago, I spoke at length about this for the Carnival of Aros, and I expressed distrust that someone like Zdarsky would have ever thought about Jughead’s romantic orientation without having been prompted first. That may be true, but nevertheless on subsequent rereads I’ve softened on that position somewhat. Perhaps we don’t know if either of them would have eventually used the word on the page had they gotten more time, or if later writers (not Waid lol) would have had the series not been discontinued. There is a universe in which we eventually got an on-the-page confirmation with a satisfying emotional journey to boot, but sadly we live in a universe where R*verdale became more popular and Archie Comics stopped producing Jughead comics several years ago, and that is the reality I went into this (already incredibly long) post intending to contend with.

Zdarsky once said via Twitter that he was writing Jughead as, for the purposes of his teen years, aromantic, and that he sees him as probably demiromantic later in life. I still don’t know how I feel about that comment, and I suppose I will let demiromantic people decide that one. In any case, the fact is that Zdarsky never used the word on the page, and North never did either. But my question is, how much does it matter?

The short answer is that of course it matters. On-the-page confirmation with the words explicitly used leaves no room for misinterpretation, increases awareness of the identity, and is super important for communities like ours in particular that have next to nothing in that regard. Using the word on the page would have been huge in 2015 and it would still be huge now. But it was 2015. And for 2015, Zdarsky gave us a pretty good start.

Yes, it matters. But representation being confirmed via the word of god does not necessarily make it bad representation. In fact, I think Jughead is stellar aroace representation, especially for teenagers. To say, in any respect, that such an icon of pop culture is aspec and to then go on to work that into your story, even if the words never make it onto the page, holds a lot of cultural power, and in fact Zdarsky made a lot of people mad with this. If given the hypothetical choice, which would you rather have? A character like Jughead, a main character in his own series that actually has his aromanticism addressed and portrayed with respect but is never written out directly, or a character who is confirmed on-screen as aromantic with the words but is a side character whose aromanticism is never important and only exists for tokenized representation brownie points? Every time someone recommends something with an aro character to me, I’m like, does it matter? Are they important, is their aromanticism important, or are they just an exasperated shipper-on-deck side character who the creators can slap a pride flag edit on? Because the truth is I’d rather have Jughead. Sure, I’d rather have it all, but I can’t. So in the absence of such perfection, I’ll take word-of-god canon with respect and impact and good intentions over tokenism.

To be clear: I am not trying to praise Zdarsky and North outright for what should be the bare minimum in staying true and faithful to decades of pre-existing characterization. In fact, I do still believe that to not use the word aromantic on the page was cowardly, and I wish they had done it, and I wish we’d gotten more Jughead comics to see what else we could have gotten as the years went on. But what we did get, for all its flaws, has value, and I’m probably never going to be done talking about it. Though I am, for now. This essay is long enough already.

[elionwriter]

SONIC ORIGINS: REDEFINING THE CANON

The new cutscenes from the game and the Anniversary mode that ties all 4 main titles together were the things I really enjoyed the most out of Origins (beyond the fact that you can re-try the special stage levels!!! Can I get a wahoo?). Of course this brought about a little bit of retconing but it wasn't really anything major and it was just a really nice way to redefine the classic age as it has been envisioned in the modern era.

WHY IS SONIC CD SO PROMINENT?

One of the things I was shocked to read so much around was people feeling confused as to why Sonic CD was elevated to major mainline game on par with 1-2-3. And the only answer I have for that is: BECAUSE IT ALWAYS HAS BEEN?!?!

The fact that CD has been up till recent years criminally ignored and underrated doesn't mean it wasn't always meant to be a main title of the bit era. It certainly has all the trappings of one! From the first ever animated cutscenes to the first complex story, the incredible level design and original score and most importantly the introduction of two main characters, Sonic CD is just as iconic as the other games. To those saying Metal Sonic and Amy had too much screen time in the cutscenes when they are hardly relevant characters in the classic era, HOW?!?!?!

Amy is literally one of the most recurring characters ever, yes, even in the old games, even though she is not a playable character in CD ( she should have had a mode made for her in the collection though😤😠) and has a small role in Drift, Drift 2, Fighters and R. Metal Sonic was literally Sonic's first big 'not Eggman' rival. The race between them in Stardust Speedway is one of the most iconic moments in the saga's history! I am honestly so grateful for Origins finally giving this game its due.

A TEAM OF FOUR

The idea that the classic adventures go beyond the main games and the characters have many more untold stories is something that the comics (both Archie and IDW) and the Mania Adventures shorts have been really pushing forward in recent years. So it really just makes sense to me that Origins sanctified and canonised it.

(If you haven't yet, do yourself a pleasure and pick up Archie's 2 Sonic Mega Drive issues, IDW'S 'Seasons of Chaos' and the second 'Free comic book Day' issue. One of my greatest regrets is that Archie never managed to publish the final number of the mini-series)

The idea that the final cut scene is basically a set up for those future, untold adventures feels really good! Not only does it open up the opportunity to new, classic inspired games like Mania or a series (be it comic books or animation) in which old characters can re-live and be re-used like the hooligans and Mighty and Ray, but it also creates an interesting and in some ways new overarching plot for these games:

IT WAS WRITTEN IN THE CARDS

It's always been a well known fact that Amy foretold her meeting with Sonic and has been in love with him ever since. But the final cut scene from CD adds a new, beautiful twist to the story.

As Amy sets her cards again, she draws out a card which quite clearly represents friendship, a double tail and finally a chaos emerald or the master emerald.

If one wants to interpret it in the most basic way, it just sets the scene for Sonic 2. But going in a bit deeper and interpreting the last card as a symbol for Knuckles as the second card is clearly one for Tails, then that means that Amy foretells everything that will happen in the next games and that Sonic is set to meet both his future friends. Amy smiles as she sees Sonic fly away in his plane and this time doesn't try to follow. Why? Because she knows that he has things to do and people to meet and that they will all eventually come together as a team, as seen exactly in Origin's finale.

I just find it very sweet that in this perspective not just Amy and Sonic but Tails and Knuckles too are all bonded together by fate. In the long history of Sonic's adventures this interpretation sets 1-2-3 and CD as, well, just that, an origin of how fate brought these four characters together against Eggman.

If Sonic, Tails, Knuckles, Amy and Eggman are indeed all bonded together by destiny then that is a very good 'in universe' explanation of why all of them have pretty much the same thing going on in most adaptations (Well, all the modern ones anyway). It was just meant to be!

I wonder if Sonic Prime, which is meant to deal with a multiverse of sorts, is going to have a similar reading of their bond or is gonna take things in a different direction.

In any event, till proven dead wrong, this is my new headcanon for these characters! What is yours? Do you agree with this interpretation or think it's too much of a stretch? Let me know and let's discuss it!