#i don't actually care that much either way but the implication from many fans that i *should* kind of bothers me

[kenzan-kiwami]

would people drag me if i negged the pirate game on main

[20001541]

What do you think being in prison was actually like for All For One? We know he lies A LOT, so I don't think he's nearly as unaffected as he's shown or rather not shown I guess 😓

Thinking deeper on afo's imprisonment it's actually a lot more disturbing the more I think about it.

What afo is going through is basically solitary confinement 24/7. Guns constantly pointed at him ready to headshot him the second he tries tapping into his quirk or squirms too much. Unable to move at all from the neck down due to restraints. So many sensors it leaves him either completely vulnerable or overstimulated at worst. We never see him lying down either. He's always sitting which is painfull and extremely detrimental to a person's health and mobility if done for long hours without standing up.

I know he's an S rank criminal and super dangerous because the only person who could defeat him (All Might) retired, but you're telling me this futuristic society couldn't do anything more humane with all that tech other than shoving him into a death trap? (I wanted to call it a Saw death trap, but I never watched any of the Saw films ummm)

There's also the more creepy implication to questions like how does afo go to the bathroom in Tartarus. There's no way they just let him walk up to a toilet/urinal 😨

All For One is no stranger to dehumanization and he takes almost everything in stride even Tartarus from the looks of it, but that one panel where he almost begs All Might to not go always stuck out to me.

Sorry for the long essay. I just wanted to say something about this and chat with a fellow All For One fan.

you don't need to apologize, it's an interesting topic!

I think afo's time in prison affected him more deeply than he would ever admit. look how they had him ->

strapped to a metal slab, not being able to move his limbs at all, alone for hours constantly being watched and he doesn't have access to his quirks that allow him to navigate the world so he's completely blind here. oh let's not forget that if he thinks about activating a quirk or makes a sudden movement the guns pointed at his head will automatically shoot him. also like you said being in a sitting position for a long period of time will end up being detrimental to your health.

tartarus whole existence is a violation of human rights and that's without mentioning the disgusting way the guards treat the prisoners. yes they did evil things, but I think dehumanization of any group of people is a dangerous road to walk on and can lead to horrific things committed against said group because it's easier to justify doing horrid things to others if you think the other party isn't even human. with all the amazing quirks and technology that is available it's a surprise to see that they haven't come up with a better way to deal with imprisoned villains. maybe it's because they don't care to come up with a better solution because once again they don't see them as humans so why should they bother trying to make their living situation more bearable? awful stuff.

too bad we don't see anyone from our main cast really question this type of treatment, but oh well. I guess it's implied some things did change as we see spinner was allowed to write and publish a book while in prison (doubt they let him free to do it). so he's not strapped to a metal chair all day like the other prisoners we saw. unless he's getting some special treatment, I don't know the story doesn't really tell us about what happened with him after his confrontation with izuku. only shows us that he managed to publish his book.

BUT back to the main question, what was being in prison in like for afo? honestly, I think he had to fight to stay sane while down there. being in those conditions for a long period of time will wear down your sanity. you saw how desperate he was for all might to stay and talk with him despite him being someone he hates. probably the thought of getting yoichi back kept him going, after all when he's down there he gets excited when he's able to hear his voice for the first time in over a century. even the guards freaked out because his the monitor tracking his vitals went crazy when he heard it.

still I think the whole experience disturbs him more than he would ever admit and it was traumatic but he just shoves down in order to focus on the goal ahead of him. no time to process any of that he's got a brother to catch

[zozo720]

Today on "lukewarm takes nobody cares about" All my problems with Legends Arceus, specifcally the story-related ones, come down to how unbelievably rushed the "true" ending feels The main ending with Origin Form Dialga/Palkia? It's good, it's fine, it's a climax that the game does a good job building up to. Kamado is an ass but that's clearly intentional, and at least he has a clear motive and all that.

The postgame ending feels like they came up with the Volo fight first, and then had to scramble to create literally any justification for it to happen. They basically just gave him Cyrus's motivation, made him look vaguely "crazy and evul XD" and hand-waved it as "Oh, the Celestica tribe is involved".

And I must ask... who even ARE the Celestica people at this point? They're VERY vaguely talked about in the Old Verses, it's implied Cogita wrote them, which implies that she's the last Celestican, which implies that Volo MIIIIGHT be a descendant of them, which is why he says "the blood of the ancient Sinnoh people flows through my veins". Please note how much I said "Implies". There's having hidden lore and leaving it up for interpretation, and then there's vaguely shrugging and dumping incoherent, very-easy-to-miss text. All this is to say, Volo's motives are indecipherable, not because he's a multi-dimensional character, but because they don't bother elaborating on them, he's just a helpful friendly guy the whole game and then BAM, he was actually evil and crazy all along! It's no wonder fan interpretations of him range from "tragic sexy sad-boy who's upset because his indigenous people were wiped out for unknown reasons" and "insane murder-man who's immortal and for some reason, really likes screwing with NYC subway conductors from the future. Also he's sexy." And then there's the Arceus ending. Simply put, WHY is there nothing to say that the player character would be able to go home? I've seen several responses genuinely upset at the prospect of the MC being stuck in Hisui forever, possibly ripped away from their life and family. And even if you assume the MC has no problem staying in Hisui forever, that doesn't address the Copperajah in the room that is Ingo.

Now, Ingo being in PLA was cool back when the game first came out, but over time, it's become apparent that this was a pretty lame move. Most PLA discussion and fics are centered solely around either him or Volo (usually with ableist stereotypes in abundance) all at the expense of the other genuinely interesting cast of PLA.

And of course, of COURSE, they don't bother resolving his arc at all. The most he gets is an implication that his memories might return, but then what? He'll still be stuck in Hisui, except now he can remember what he's lost? Is this Arceus's "grand plan" or something? Now sure, for gameplay reasons, the player would wanna stay so they can keep playing the game, but there are so many ways to write around that, as demonstrated by the Pokemon Mystery Dungeon series. That series always ends with the MC having to return home or disappear, but they always come back somehow. There's always some justification for it. In Legends Arceus, nothing gets truly resolved aside from the conflict with Kamado and Dialga/Palkia. Volo? His goals with Giratina are stopped and he just gets to walk away scot-free. No punishment, and no elaboration on his motives. Cogita and the Celestica tribe? All we get are allusions and vagueries in the Incarnate Forces sidequest. Arceus's mission to "seek out all Pokemon"? Your reward is that he invites you to his space apartment and beats the stuffing out of you. The Player/Ingo? Stranded in Hisui with, as of now, no canon return home.

[lokiinmediasideblog]

1 + 12 :D

The Loki fandom has more schisms than the Catholic church at this point. So I'll give multiple answers for the main schisms (pre-Loki series and including it).

character everyone gets wrong. If it's pre-Loki series and such, I think it's both Thor and Loki. And there's many variations of it. I think any characterization that flattens one into just good and the other as bad misunderstands these morally gray characters. With Loki, he's portrayed as a waifish and bookish boring character that can't fight/kill/or lie which takes the fun out of it and makes him seem rather pathetic and not!Loki complimented with either a sunshine himbo savior Thor or brutish evil Thor. With Thor, he's the precious sunshine cinnamon-roll with a purity of heart contending with Christ with either the waifish Loki, comedically murderously evil Loki, or just plain cruel Loki which makes Thor seem dumb and ridiculously gullible. The former is more popular in Tumblr in general, but casuals interpret it as the latter usually. And the comics pre-reincarnation have a lot of the plain cruel Loki with ridiculously gullible and Gary-Stu-ish Thor.

If we're including the Loki series, I'd say Mobius. I can't recognize him in most fanfics (and as such I don't read much Lokius) because most refuse to engage with the darker cannon aspects of his characterization and try to turn Lokius into Ineffable Husbands 2.0 which have nothing in common apart from some superficial level of edgy gothy man + white-haired desk job dude. This guy had access to every instance of Loki's life. Isn't that creepy? And he's responsible for the capture and pruning of many variants. There should be more fic where he's conflicted about his actions. Granted, I have a fanfic where he's terrible (dark!Mobius) and I specify it on the tags. I think the only time it's not annoying to mischaracterize characters is if the author is aware and warns of it in the tags because they're in a kick.

2. the unpopular character that you actually like and why more people should like them. I don't like telling people to like characters. I'll defend them if they get things wrong about them, but it just feels guilt-trippy to me. I know I get annoyed when people get guilt trippy for not caring about the W3 or Sif as much as I care for Loki (who has way more screentime and lines). Pre-Loki series, I think I like Heimdall more than the average Loki fan. I like that he also commits treason against Odin, not just Loki. I think the implications of the All-Sight make him interesting, though he doesn't have that much screentime. I like to portray him as conflicted over his responsibilities, and if I need some Gatekeeper to be an asshole to Loki, I make one up that preceded Heimdall and is responsible for Loki's overall dislike of Gatekeepers and why he learned to hide from the All-sight.

I understand why it happens because seeing everything is rather invasive and we live in a society with increased surveillance every fucking year. But I wish to avoid the "Black character is racist to fantasy race" trope. You can justify Loki learning to hide without pulling that trope, you know? Make up a gatekeeper before Heimdall (I'm not convinced he knew Loki was Jotun and that'd mean he was hired after Loki was adopted). You can make a story. I have plenty of HCs about Loki's distrust of Gatekeepers and that Heimdall was hired after a Noodle incident involving Loki that caused the previous Gatekeeper to quit. It's more interesting than just pure fantasy racism from the start.

If we're including the Loki series:

The character I think was unfairly hated was Sylvie. I say this for the level of vitriol the poor actress received. It's fine not to like Sylvie, but a lot of those posts claiming SdM and Sylvie are single-handedly responsile for "bad rep" when SdM has no influence on the script and it's a DISNEY show (notorious for executive meddling) is unfair and pointing fingers at the wrong direction. FOR THE MCU DISNEY+ SERIES THEY DIDN'T EVEN HAVE SHOWRUNNERS! THIS IS A VERY BAD PRACTICE AND INDICATIVE THEY'RE JUST CHURNING SHIT OUT!

I'm also of the opinion that the comics have more harmful tropes than the show's "self-cest" (specifically talking about Loki stealing Sif's body and Amora and Lorelei's noncon powers M.O.) but I often see the same people praising one and not the other because they think the comic book designs are more stylish. If the shoe doesn't fit, I'm not talking about you. BTW. Just some people I've seen.

[clericofshadows]

relaxation

Description: ME1 ERA - After a rough mission, Regis helps Kaidan relax.

Pairing: Regis Shepard/Kaidan Alenko, past Regis Shepard/Kaidan Alenko/Zaeed Massani

Rating: E (Tags: Rimming, Anal Plug, Anal Sex)

As Regis settled down under the sheets, about the curl up next to Kaidan, he realized that he felt tense around him, almost as if he was ready to flee.  With a quiet huff, he flicked open his omnitool and turned on the lights to a low dim in the cabin, trying not to grin while Kaidan let out a low groan. 

“Seriously, Regis,” he murmured, rolling onto his back. “What's wrong?”

“I should be asking you that,” he replied, sitting up, throwing the sheets off. “You've been off all evening.”

“Nothing escapes your notice,” Kaidan said quietly, a hint of bitterness leeching in.

“I could say the same thing about you,” Regis said with a pointed look. “You get on my case for not talking about shit, so let's have it.”

Kaidan sat up next to him, rubbing at his eyes. “The last mission we went on. It's got me… I don't know.  I don't like facing our own, even less knowing what our implants could do to us.”

They knew the delicacy of the mission walking in.  A chairman held hostage by biotic terrorists for refusing reparations for L2 biotics after all the mishandling. 

Regis couldn't quite bring himself to feel sorry for Burns, if only because a lot of shit could've been avoided if he actually listened to their plight.  Took two L2s who were “well adjusted” to get it in his head that maybe L2s did deserve something for what humanity did in their race to meet the rest of the galaxy head on. 

The lucky ones ended up in the Alliance, ensuring a paycheck and decent healthcare because the Alliance takes care of their most favored assets. 

Regis knew it was hard for some older biotics to even get a normal job.  Everyone knows the gens. 

L1s that can barely create a spark.  L2s that can blow up the world, risking blowing up themselves in the process. 

The L3s were just right.  A balance of normalcy and alien power, almost enough to them to live a normal life if they pleased. 

Yeah, he wasn't exactly surprised to see Kaidan thinking about what happened today. 

“I don't like it either,” he admitted. “I know we tried to subdue as many as possible. We did what we could.”

Kaidan let out what sounded like a snort.  “I wonder how much we'll get out of it.”

If it manages to get through even after this… Regis wasn't a fan of the implications of Burns acquiescing to the terrorists’ demands, potentially painting biotics in an even worse light despite being saved by Alliance biotics. 

And what are the chances that will be left out of the reports?

“Probably going to exclude Alliance L2s somehow,” Regis bitterly replied, watching as a small, wry smile formed on Kaidan’s face. “See, you are a cynic!”

“Only with you,” he replied, rolling his eyes. “I never expected to have to deal with our issues on this mission, that's all.”

Regis hummed. “Alliance is taking advantage of my position. I can't exactly fault them for that. I'd do the same.”

“I know.” He let out a sigh. “I'm not sure what has gotten me all out of shape. Mind’s going a thousand miles a minute.”

Kaidan could easily get lost in his head.  So could Regis, to be fair, but he tended to dwell more on what could've been far more than Regis ever cared to. 

Perhaps he saw them in those biotics’ places. If he didn't have a support system, a family, a lover, who was there nearly every step of the way, that could’ve been his fate.

Regis wasn't going to press him on it.  He's the addict out of the two of them, his red sand Astra cigarettes waiting to be smoked, sitting on their bedside table. 

Even with Kaidan, even with his asari matriach uncle, Vikram, he's never been able to shake that habit after all the red sand exposure he obtained at BAaT.

And Vikram was the one that introduced the Astras to him in the first place. All so his mother wouldn't get blowback from her son being a red sand addict... if it were to come out how bad BAaT was for some.

“We were lucky.”

“That we were. If you could even call it that.”

“I think we've earned it. You, most of all, have, that's for damn sure.”

Kaidan frowned. Regis hit a nerve. 

Sue him for wanting Kaidan to get the rest he deserves after the bullshit with Vyrnnus. 

But, to his surprise, he didn't protest. Must really be a bad night. 

He decided to take the conversation in a different direction, moving closer and cupping his face. “Do you need me to take care of you tonight?”

Kaidan closed his eyes, leaning into his touch.  His voice shuddered, nearly breathy. “Yeah, yeah that's what I need.” 

It’s been more than a few days since they’ve gone further than kissing and cuddling and teasing touches in the shower.   Perhaps this was something they both needed.

Regis nodded, moving in to kiss him softly, slowly on the lips.  Tenderness, gentleness, something easy and comforting.  The heat could come later. 

Kaidan let him take the lead, moving to sit in his lap and be pushed up against their pillows, breathing in each other's love and scent. 

“I have an idea,” Regis said, against his lips, stopping to kiss at his neck, a sensitive spot underneath his ear that made him shudder. 

“Yeah?” Kaidan said, voice strained. “What do you got for me?”

“Vik taught me how to use my biotics for deep massages. There's a bottle of oil in the bathroom,” he started, motioning over to their private suite. 

“And you're telling me you can do this now?” Kaidan let out a laugh, almost sounding offended if it weren't for the loving look he gave him. “Holding out on me.”

“To be fair I've only practiced on myself and them. It's not an easy practice.  Hell, you'll be far better at it than me with all that sexy control you've got going on,” Regis said, feeling a little embarrassed in the moment. “It's not like I wanted to keep it from you. I just… forgot.”

“We've had a lot of shit happen these past couple of months. I think I can give you a little grace.” Kaidan climbed off his lap, brushing a hand against Regis's covered cock. “I'll be waiting,” he purred, stretching himself on the bed.

Regis bit back a groan.  Before he got up, an idea came to mind. “Would you like something else?”

“Something else?” He raised an eyebrow.

Regis’s gaze went to his boxers. “Do you want more than a massage out of this?  I could… plug you up.  Get you all prepped and ready for me.” He felt his cheeks warm up at his own words, always a little flustered by his own talk, his purring, raspy words and promises.  

Kaidan let out a little moan at the suggestion. “I should let you take charge more often, love.”

Regis moved in to kiss him once more before getting up. “I like our arrangement just fine.”

“I never get tired of pulling those sounds out of you.  But… it's nice on the other side, on occasion.” Kaidan rolled over to lie on his stomach, slipping off his boxers.  Regis licked his lips at the sight, turning around before his plans changed.  

He entered the bathroom and grabbed the bottle of massage oil, mostly saved for tight muscles after hard missions.  He reached under the cabinet and grabbed their small box of toys.  Something utterly unnecessary for this mission, but he couldn't help but want to have some on hand. 

At the time, he was just supposed to be an XO, and he and Kaidan couldn't be out and open. 

How things have changed…

The lube was kept in their nightstand, so he grabbed a couple of towels before closing the door to the suite behind him, supplies in hand.

“I'm going to lay some towels down,” Regis said, putting them on his side of the bed and prompting Kaidan to lie on top of them after setting down the rest of his supplies.

“Worried I'll make a mess?” He teased, resting his head on his arms. 

“If you want to help me change the sheets afterwards, all you have to do is tell me,” Regis chuckled.  He reached out for the lube sitting on the nightstand, and opened the drawer to grab a condom. “Safe word?”

“Talons,” Kaidan said, dutifully. “If I can't speak, I'll tap you three times. And yours?”

Regis closed his eyes briefly before opening them.  “Space.  I’ll tap three times if I can’t speak.  I’ll use our traffic light system through this.  This can… get intense.”

Every time they try and go through the motions.  They may not always do it, but on quiet, restless nights like these, they are needed more than ever.  They know what they want and need, they know the things that are hard stops… but checking in is how they show their love.

“If it's anything like the times you suspend me with your biotics, I look forward to it.”

“I know you do.”  Regis ghosted his fingertips against the nape of his neck where he knew his amp port laid underneath the skin, feeling him shiver underneath his touch.  “Thinking of a moment in particular?”

“The one time you fucked me while Massani watched,” Kaidan said with a pleased hum.  “Keeping my arms above me with a modified stasis.  Using my own damn corona against me.  Yeah, that’s what I’m thinking of.”

He kissed at a spot between his shoulder blades.  That was a good time.  An ill-advised shore leave on Omega that turned into more for a brief moment.  

They should call him, see how he’s doing.  Been a few days since they’ve heard from him.  

It’s been fun keeping Zaeed up to date on their missions on the SR-1, but it was also a reminder of what could’ve been.

A regret Regis still has today.  They should’ve been honest, they should’ve tried to make them work beyond Omega and vorcha mafia bullshit and bottles of expensive, disgusting whiskey.

“Maybe when this mission is over… we could invite him over for some drinks,” Regis said, kissing down his back, slowly making his way down.

“Just drinks?” He could hear the amusement from a mile away.

“You and I both know it’s never just drinks with us.”  Regis reached for the small box.  “Dealer’s choice?  Or do you have a preference tonight?”

“Medium size.  I’m not you,” He laughed.  It’s true.  While they both enjoyed being fucked and full–Regis more than him–he wasn’t as much of a fan of larger toys.  

“Of course.” Regis glanced at the plugs.  There was the medium that was short and would barely brush against his prostate, or the longer medium that could keep teasing him.  Looking between them, he grabbed the requested medium plug–the shorter one–and put the box back on the table.  “Relax for me, love.”  Regis kept the lube in easy reach, but decided to surprise Kaidan.  He dragged his fingers down the cleft of his ass, ghosting over his hole before leaning in and claiming it with his mouth, spreading his cheeks apart with his hands. 

“Fuck!” Kaidan yelled as Regis stuck his tongue inside, getting his hole nice and wet.  He chuckled from his position, temporarily letting up to press a kiss just above his hole.

“Too much?”

“Hell no, keep going,” Kaidan said, his voice strained.

Regis continued to circle the rim with his tongue, taking his time to eat him out and get part of him to relax.  Feeling the tension underneath his grip on his hips, he almost wanted to make him come already before giving him his promised massage.

But not yet.

Regis was an impatient bastard most of the time, but when it came to pleasuring Kaidan?

He could take all the time he needs.  

When Kaidan let out a higher pitched whine, Regis pulled away and reached for the lube.  “Still green?”

“Will be even greener if you plug me up already,” he said with a huff, always a little mouthy in this position.

Regis obliged, coating a finger with lube and easing it in, joining in with a second soon enough, already pliant and loose after his earlier ministrations.  Kaidan started to push back against his fingers as he stretched him, impatient and ready for more.  To be expected, of course.  Regis joined in with a third, angling them just right until he teased his prostate, waiting to hear him moan beautifully and without restraint.  

By the time he started groaning his name, Regis felt he was ready, and pulled his fingers out.  Kaidan whined briefly.   He shushed him, taking a second to coat the plug with lube and pushed it inside, watching his hole greedily close around it.  “Someone was needy,” Regis said, echoing the words Kaidan usually says about him.

Kaidan let out a pleased sigh.  “I know where you’re going with that.”

“Do you?” Regis grinned despite knowing he wasn’t looking at him.  Wiping his hands on the towel, he reached for the oil.  “How’s it feeling?”

Kaidan wiggled his ass.  “You’re a bastard for not grabbing the longer one.”

“You weren’t specific.  You only said medium.”

“I feel like you’re punishing me,” Kaidan huffed out a laugh.  “This side of you should come out more often.”

“Don’t talk to me when you’re feeling off and we’ll see where it goes.”

“Hah.  Love you,” Kaidan said, twisting around to look back at him.  

“I love you too.  Ready for the main event?”

“Do I need to keep a handle on my biotics?  Don’t want Adams getting smug on us again.”

Adams putting up that board in engineering was one of the funniest and also frustrating things ever.  Always thinking about how they might flare and throw off the sensors or throw false positive errors on the eezo core.  

Regis knew the board was at two weeks now without a false positive error caused by their biotics.  He’d like to keep the streak going.

“You’ll react to my corona and mechanisms, that’s for sure, but we had a good fight today.  Unless you really let loose,” Regis said, reaching for the bottle.  Kaidan settled back on his stomach, humming and content with his answer.

Regis knew he wasn’t bothered about the board either,

He poured some of the oil on his hands, rubbing them together before starting at his shoulders, working the muscle with just his hands at first.  The oil was a warming one, a pleasant feeling scenting of vanilla.  Kaidan let out a groan as he targeted a wound up spot.  “I’m about to go in with my biotics.”

“Go for it,” he groaned.  “Fuck, that feels good.  Didn’t realize I was that wound up already.”

Regis wanted to say he was always tightly wound, but he refrained for now.  “It's been stressful lately.”

Kaidan hummed, letting out another sharp gasp as Regis attacked another knot.  He stilled his motions for a moment, cupping his hand slightly before pushing dark energy through, imagining the anatomy underneath his skin and twisting the energy into his desired target.  At that, Kaidan’s corona lit up in a bright blue, reacting to Regis’s purple biotics, twisting together in wisps of fantastical color.  Regis continued to massage, now feeling the spot loose and more pliant than before, sinking dark energy into the skin.

All Kaidan did was moan, grasping the sheets tightly, his biotics framing his body. “Gah… You're teaching me how to do that.  Wow.”

“Feels good, right?” 

“Damn good.  Ugh, I'm going to be useless tomorrow,” he groaned. 

Regis leaned in to kiss him on the nape of his neck. “I can take you off the roster for a bit.  Call it a short leave after our mission yesterday.”

“I may take you up on that…” he laughed. “Keep going.”

For a moment, Regis almost asked for a please to go along with that command.  But he decided against it, enjoying his lover's reaction to his new talent.  He continued on, first using the oil and his hands, and then following up with his biotics, removing all the tension and tightness down his back. 

By the time Regis had made his way all down his back, Kaidan had started to lazily thrust up against the sheets, chasing his release.  Regis grabbed his hips, manhandling him to get on his hands and knees. “I won't fuck you if you keep that up.”

His cock was hard, leaking pre-come and left a visible wet spot on the towels. Kaidan wiggled his ass, his hands tightly grabbing the sheets.  He was covered in sweat and oil, smelling of vanilla and sex. His eyes were blown with lust and biotics, a mix of brown, blue, and black. “Regis, please. Let me come,” he pleaded. “Take this damn plug out and fuck me!”

Regis took off his briefs, taking his own cock in hand and bringing it to full hardness, stroking it fast and rough. He brushed a hand against the plug in his ass, tugging on it without pulling it out, drawing out more moans from Kaidan, enjoying how vocal he was tonight. 

With one last tease, he pulled it out and replaced it with three lubed fingers, giving him no time to cry out at the lack of being filled. He thrusted a few times, ensuring he was stretched enough for him. 

Regis loved getting fucked by Kaidan because his cock was long and curved in the most delicious of ways, able to angle and hit his prostate without any tricks.  Regis’s was shorter, but thicker.  And while Kaidan didn't enjoy larger toys, he loved the rare occasions he would get fucked by him, preferring the stretch and burn of a thick cock instead of a cold toy. 

Regis rolled on a condom and brushed his fingers against his back one last time, before grabbing onto his hips and sinking into his stretched hole with a moan.  Kaidan groaned his name, long and drawn out, throwing his head back and pulling at the sheets as Regis sank into him from behind. 

It’s been too damn long since he's done this.  He won't last long, feeling his tight, warm heat around him.

He gave him a moment to adjust, knowing it's been a long white since Kaidan’s been fucked beyond a little fingering.  A part of him regretted their position, wanting to see his face as he took him apart.

Next time, perhaps.  

With one uttered word from Kaidan, breathless and full of want, Regis began to fuck him in earnest.  “Green,” he moaned, pushing back and trying to force Regis to move. 

Green, Regis thought, as he took him apart, fucking him long and slow, keeping in mind the purpose of the night.  Relaxation.  Releasing tension.  Feeling good. 

It wouldn't take much more.  Legs shaking, voices growing in desperation.  “Please,” Kaidan moaned, knuckles white and straining in his grip. 

Regis snapped his hips harder, burying himself as deep as he could, reaching out for Kaidan's dick, starting to stroke it in time with his thrusts. 

Kaidan cried out, wisps of blue surrounding him before winking out as he gasped his name, spilling all over his hand.  The rush of his biotics reached Regis, a stinging lash of sensation, and he spilled inside of the condom, groaning incoherently as his hips shuddered and stopped, chasing that last hit of pleasure until it was too much. 

He stayed inside him briefly, leaning in to kiss him at the nape of his neck, tasting the sweaty, salty skin and inhaling the scent of the vanilla oil mixed with sex, intoxicating and addicting. 

When Kaidan let out a whine, Regis took that as time to pull out, knowing he was likely just as overstimulated as him. Tugging off the condom, he wrapped it up and tossed it in the nearby bin. 

His hand was still covered in Kaidan's come, so he got his attention by calling his name.  Stretching himself out on the bed, with half-lidded eyes, Kaidan watched as Regis licked up his mess, getting his hand clean. 

Kaidan licked his lips and let out a sigh, catching his breath. “Thanks.” He reached out for one of the towels and started to wipe off his sweaty, oil-slick skin. 

“Don't thank me, love,” Regis said, leaning in to kiss him on the lips.

Kaidan pulled him in closer, taking the lead this time, exploring his mouth and pushing back. Regis took it all in, letting Kaidan take whatever he wanted. 

“I will thank you any way I want,” he murmured against his lips, their scars brushing up against each other. “For being what I need and more.”

It would be easy to take off his dog tags, take off his father's ring, and propose to him right then and there. 

But he didn't, only brushing his hand against them and reminding him that they were there, against his chest. 

Regis reached out to grab his water bottle, taking a sip and offering Kaidan some, who took it with a smile and chugged some down. His gaze turned to his pack of Astra's, his fingers itching to take one out and smoke. 

Not on the ship. 

Kaidan followed his gaze, twitching his fingers and biotically pulling the pack to them. “You and I both know that half of engineering smokes down there.”

Regis closed his eyes. “Why are you okay with this?”

“Why don't I refuse to share it with you every time I light it for you?”

Touche. 

Kaidan pulled one out and offered it to him. “You haven't smoked one in weeks.  I know it's gotten you antsy.”

Regis accepted it, and although they had a ritual, he instead used his omnitool to generate a flame, knowing the lighter Kaidan carried for him was out of reach.  Now lit, he took a long pull, breathing in the smoke and feeling his biotics react hungrily to the red sand within. “Been a long time since I've taken a drag after sex.”

“Not since… damn, it's been longer than before our commission on this ship.”

He knew when the last time was. 

It all goes back to Zaeed.

Kaidan plucked the Astra from his fingers and took a small drag of his own, breathing out a perfect ring of smoke.  His biotics also came to life, a blue corona that glowed dimly in comparison to how bright they normally were out in the field. “Not since… shore leave.” He said with a wink before handing the cigarette back to him.

Only one shore leave he could be talking about.  Regis already came to the same conclusion. “Feel bad about saying another man’s name after I made you come?”

“Of course not,” he snorted. “I knew you were thinking about Zaeed. Clear as day.”

One rough night after nearly getting themselves killed dealing with Zaeed’s target, Regis lit up an Astra, thinking nothing of it.  He figured the merc was familiar with the drug and being in the business and didn't give a shit.  

He should’ve known better.  He damn near slapped the red sand laced cigarette out of his hand, asking if he was crazy for doing that shit as a biotic.

Regis, surprised, merely said that he was aware of the risks and limited himself to one at a time.  Barely enough to feel withdrawal after a long time without it, but there were times he would feel antsy without it.

Should be the sign to get him to quit, but he’s not going to anytime soon.

Zaeed didn’t appear happy about it, but when Kaidan mentioned that Regis never smoked alone, he seemed to get the implication and left it alone.

He never saw the merc light up anything.  Maybe he wasn’t a smoker.  Regis felt there had to be a reason, but there wasn’t a time to ask.

“I wanted him.  Still do.” Regis blew out smoke, but it started to feel sour, thinking about what could've been. He snuffed it out, using the side of the bed to do so, and tossed the butt on the bedside table to be dealt with later. 

“Me too. Maybe we can figure something out over those drinks.”

“After the mission.”

“After the mission,” he echoed, and swung his legs over to the edge of the bed. “I'm going to wash up since I feel gross and sticky.”

“I like you gross and sticky.”

Kaidan pulled a face but leaned in to kiss him on the forehead anyway. “You're terrible.”

“You love it anyway.”

“Yeah, I sure do.”

Regis followed him to their suite, barely large enough for one person, much less two grown men, but they made it work.  Kaidan toyed with the ring on Regis's dogtags as they washed up, knowing what it will mean to them one day.

He was waiting to be back on Kaidan’s family’s property, under that tree a motorcycle ride away.  Maybe he can invite some of the crew.  The ground crew especially, he’d love to host Tali and Wrex alongside Ash.

Maybe Ash can be his best woman, if Kaidan doesn't beat him to it...

And also ensure Zaeed was there with them.

If things go well, however… that ring could go to more than one man in the end…

[cursedvibes]

i see what you’re saying but in the end this did way more harm than good. most non-black people are either 1) praising gege for the way the chapter was written which again, shouldn’t be happening bc gege is anti-black himself or 2) making fun of it altogether. and again, the harassment toward black people has been exponentially worse than it already was, and part of it is *because* of how gege wrote it. i think non-black people in the fandom need to be a lot more honest because this is all really vile. also you all know damn well that gege was never going to talk to black people before writing this chapter because again. he’s anti-black. and also, i doubt that the majority of the non-black people in the fandom actually support black people’s art and writing. let’s please be serious

I think Gege had good intentions with the scene even if the execution was lacking, but I can absolutely understand the argument that the reaction from the fandom (at least in the English-speaking circles, I haven't seen much from the Japanese side) outweighs any good that might've come from it. The fandom does have an extreme problem with racism that already rears its head any time Miguel shows up. From the mocking of his fight against Gojo to those "strongest sorcerer in history vs darkest sorcerer in history" catchphrases... Unfortunately, that happens no matter what Gege or the characters do and it only seems to have increased with jjks popularity. Just how there's always a resurgence of harassment for trans fans any time Uraume or Kirara's pronouns or gender or simply their character is brought up.

You can also see in the reactions to the scene that whatever Gege tried to achieve slips past many fans, even the talk about stereotyping. That's also where using Gojo in particular can work against the message I think, despite his previous behaviour and an apology being therefore good in that regard. There is the argument that seeing him apologize makes for a bigger impact because of his popularity, but on the other side you also have the people who say it's ooc and dismiss the entire topic for that reason, the people who can only focus on "omg he looks so cute when he apologizes for being racist uwu", the ones who somehow...seemed to have missed this page entirely? And then of course the ones who go after others for saying that Gojo acting this way towards Miguel is in line with his character or talking about the real world implications.

To avoid that you would have needed to introduce Miguel or black characters in general completely differently. Because I mean, you have this problem far less with the fandoms of Cowboy Bebop or Black Lagoon for example. But there the most prominent black characters are also part of the main protagonist group and not a side character and (former) antagonist. Now in jjk you have one snappy line that changes nothing about the overall story or characters (because I mean Gojo is dead anyway and he never interacted with Miguel again). Also, the jjk fandom, particularly on twt and reddit, isn't the best environment to talk about racism in-universe or in real life either. You have these battle shonen powerscalers who only care about Gojo punching Miguel and I think the leaks didn't make it any better. I mean, the majority of this went down before the chapter or full fantranslations were even out. You have pages with half-hearted translations or summaries ripped out of context that fans then slap each other in the face and fight over despite not even having read the full context. Leaks always cause easy misunderstandings and make everything only worse. Some only heard "Gojo was being racist" and were ready to attack others to defend their faves honour. Or same thing with people making fun of Miguel's cursed technique. I think leaks contribute a lot to the harassment that gets so casually thrown at black people and made the jjk fandom so toxic in general.

So...yeah, overall, not a great situation. For one, I don't think that non-black people should be barred on principle to write black characters because having no black characters in anime/manga isn't the solution I think and we know it can be done well or better, but then you also have to consider the wider impact of how you portray black characters.

[somewhere-south-of-neutral]

So, I'll admit that I'm not the biggest fan of Community (I like it, but I don't love it), nor have I watched very much of it (some random full episodes and clip compilations they put on YouTube), and of the core cast Britta might be my least favorite specifically because I really dislike the "straw feminist/liberal rebel without a cause" character archetype, but I have to admit that she might be one of the best written and least offensive versions of that archetype because the writers clearly understand why the kind of person she is parodying is annoying.

See, the tropes Britta embodies are almost always used to belittle or minimize real activism and feminism. Characters who fit them almost always either make actual real good points that are implied by the narrative to be foolish, naive, or harmful, or they are making actual strawman arguments but are painted as accurately representing the entire movement thy parody.

Britta, however, is neither of these. What she is instead is a somewhat heightened but generally true to form depiction of a White Feminist™ who has never once examined her own biases or heard the word "intersectionality". When she is the butt of the joke, the point is almost always not the idea of activism, but the fact that she herself is so obviously bad at it.

A great example of this is this classic scene:

The butt of the joke here is not the concept of opposing animal cruelty, but that Britta finds it more offensive than racism.

Her approach to Abed's neurodivergence, and disability in general, is similar. Community has often been lauded for it's autistic representation, and I think it's worth noting that one of the ways that the representation is good is the way other characters, especially Britta, have a tendency to infantilize and patronize Abed and are almost always shown to be in the wrong and/or working under false premises. Again, in cases like these, the butt of the joke isn't disability activism, but the fact that Britta's conception of disability activism doesn't include disabled people.

Her approach to queerness is also like this, with the clearest example being her depiction of the Dean in her imagined season 7 in the finale. Her decision to make him a trans woman and the speech about "not [being] a joke anymore" the clarification that this is a "real thing" and the claim of "representing the trans community" is both a specific betrayal of every aspect of the Dean's complex relationship with gender, sexuality, and the highlighting of such (he has repeatedly refused to explicitly label his gender and sexuality because he doesn't like to be put in a box and there is at least one episode entirely about him not wanting to be the token sanitized queer) and a general demonstration of her inability to respect or admit the reality and validity of any queer identity other than binary trans person, gay person, and maybe bisexual. And, again, the implication of the scene is not "trans funny" or "nonconforming genders funny" but "lets all point and laugh at the idiot who is so small minded and dedicated to the idea of using the 'right' language while just remaking the gender binary that despite claiming to be an ally her attempt to demonstrate her allyship only leads to her explicitly misgendering and fundamentally demonstrating a disrespect for someone she has known for years because she refuses to acknowledge the infinite complexity of human gender and sexuality".

And the thing about Britta is that, unlike most straw feminist characters, there are actual people like her, and many of them are on tumblr right now sending anon hate to gay people for using what they refer to as "the q-slur".

And yes, that's right, I did just write a multi-paragraph character analysis for a character I don't really care about from a show I don't really watch purely as a preamble to probably the coldest take anyone has ever had on this website.

[souglias]

I see there's still a slot left for foul legacy: raging tide so I hope I'm not too late to request something 👀

Three things about me:

As I said in my other ask, I love to draw and write and I try to do that as much as I can during my free time between hw and class. Although it's been much harder to find time during college and I am often plagued with art/ writer's block 😔

I'm a bio major and I have no problem with handling bugs and other little critters that most people get queasy about. Once you've dissected sheep brains and whole squids, grabbing a spider isn't such a big deal lol

It generally takes me a while to start seeing someone as a close friend rather than a friendly acquaintance that I sometimes see in class. In the same vein it also takes me a while to begin considering someone as a possible romantic partner bc I only start to feel attraction after I've known them for a while and established an emotional connection

I'm a big fan of the star student/delinquent trope and even though I'm not really the type that only cares about studying, I do generally prioritize that over other things

Thank you in advance!! I can't wait to see the rest of this event unfold :D

The Delinquent [Childe]

c/w: mentions and implications of rumours, implication of bad school culture, Biology dissection (not described in detail)

Note: Hello!! I'm so so sorry this fic took so long! I wasn't particularly inspired for this fic so I was holding it off, then school came in the way for quite a bit. I don't know much about dissections, but I did a quick Google search and I hope I've written it such that it's not too difficult to believe. I hope that you enjoy this!

word count: 1.5k

--

Sun and moon. Both you and Childe live worlds apart. The two of you are only in each other’s orbit, seeing each other from a distance. The closest that you’ll ever get is being a few seats away in biology class. However, even though you only share one class with him, you know him all too well.

Childe is the infamous sporty kid in school. He’s also one who often wins academic competitions for the school. The student body doesn’t necessarily dislike him either. In fact, the girls adore him. They think that he’s hot and charming. But outside of his friend group, everyone is mostly too intimidated by his aura to approach him. 

You can also always count on Childe to constantly talk back to teachers and staff. Now and then, you would catch him breaking school rules by exploiting their loopholes. The school hasn’t expelled him, given that he’s not causing harm or trouble to anyone. On top of that, he largely excels in many areas. Though… There are rumours of him beating other students up. But no one has actually seen him do so.

You, on the other hand, keep to your group of friends. That’s how you decided you were going to spend the rest of your school life. Comfortable with a group of friends that you cherish deeply, out of the spotlight. 

That is until Childe decides to collide into your world for a reason you cannot bring yourself to turn down. Okay, you could have, but you don't dare to.

As a short breather from studying in the library, you doodle a little. Childe walks up to your side while you’re doing so. 

With a volume lower than usual, he greets you. “Hey, [name]- Oh these look pretty cute.”

You dropped your pencil on your notebook, taken aback that the Childe is talking to you. 

“What’s up, Childe?” you ask as your hand subtly shifts above the doodles in your notebook. Honestly, you want nothing to do with him. But, at the same time, you are courteous enough not to shut someone out the first time they speak to you.

He smiles sheepishly as he requests, “Sorry to bother you, but could you give me a demonstration on the dissection of a sheep’s brain?”

You only blink at him in response. You asked him to repeat, making sure you didn’t mishear him. Assuming you couldn’t hear him, he raises his volume. Only slightly, so as not to disturb other students. 

“I need some help on dissecting a sheep’s brain and I’d like you to show me a demonstration. Would that be okay for you?”

Fumbling over your words a little, you agree to help him with his dissection. “Great! Thank you so much, [name]. Will tomorrow after our biology lesson be good?”

“Yeah, sure…”

With that, he walks off with a slight skip in his steps. But you, on the other hand, are highly preoccupied with your thoughts. You think you got a little too nervous around him. They say you shouldn’t show fear in front of what you are afraid of. Wait, since when were you afraid of him?

On top of that worry, you aren’t sure if you should be proud that Childe thinks highly enough of you to ask you for help, or if you should be concerned that you are now responsible for tutoring the infamous school delinquent instead. 

Do you really know the dissection like the back of your hand? What if he asks you about the details that you've thrown to the back of your mind? As an extra precaution, you start to relook at your notes on the dissection. Before you sleep at night, you give your notes one last read too.

The next day, you realise during lessons that you forgot to check if there was a supervising teacher present after school. For students to use the laboratory after school, there is a rule stating that a teacher has to be present. Childe probably wouldn’t heed that rule in normal circumstances. But since your last lesson is Biology in the laboratory with him, your teacher would definitely know both of you are staying back. If there was no one around, your teacher wouldn’t permit you two to use the room and kick the both of you out. 

So, you pray. You pray that there wouldn’t be any supervising teacher, so you’d get to slip out on Childe. But unfortunately, when class ends, you find out that your teacher is on duty today.

Sighing internally, you resign yourself to helping Childe. As you prepare your workbench, you catch your teacher's eyes darting between the two of you. Likely surprised that both of you speak to each other, you suppose. You'd be surprised too.

When all the preparation is done, you try to hide your disappointment and ask, “So, how do you want me to teach this to you?” 

“You can do a step-by-step demonstration, then I’ll try to follow along.”

After every step, you check on the steps that he executes. While doing so, you notice how slender his hands are and the little faded scars on them. 

“[Name]? We can continue.”

You snap out of your daze and mutter an apology, continuing the dissection. At some point, you stop him. “Hold on, you’re about to cut the wrong part.”

He shifts his gaze over to your scalpel, trying to assess the exact point to cut. Before he does anything, you move over to his side as you always do when you teach your friends. You wrap your hand around his that holds the scalpel and you guide his hand.

Childe becomes momentarily distracted by your touch on his. He tries to ignore the feeling of his skin tingling and regain his focus. 

(But it is for nought because all he can think of is how cool you are for being so good at Biology. Heck, not just Biology, but other subjects too. Words of your consistently stellar grades don’t escape him.)

You only realise the proximity between the two of you after you let go of his hand. Taking a step back, your leg bumps into the stool. You stumble for a bit. Childe’s hand reaches out to your arm and it hovers right above your skin, ready to catch you. But you don’t fall and a few moments pass.

Inside, you beat yourself up a little for almost falling onto the ground in front of someone you’ve barely spoken to before. You straighten yourself and Childe withdraws his hand back to his side. 

You clear your throat in an attempt to dissipate the tension in the air. “There’s only one more step left to go. I can show that to you and if you’re good, we can pack up.”

You note how hot your face feels and hope he doesn’t tell this to his friend circle. You don’t particularly like them, given the amount of drama they attract. 

You try to concentrate, though the incident earlier remains at the front of your mind. Soon, he ends the procedure without a hitch, so you assume that you’ve taught him the right step despite your lack of focus. With that, both of you clean up the workbench. 

Childe finishes cleaning up faster than you. He always packs up quickly after class, and you chalk up his speed to his desire to leave class early. You think he’s about to leave when he comes over to help you. When he does, he thanks you.

“Thanks for the tutoring session, [name].”

A few seconds of silence lapse. You’re not sure if you should thank him for helping you. But before you say anything, he asks, “Say… could I ask you for more help next time? I struggle quite a bit with Biology.”

Immediately, you nod. It'll just be more tutoring sessions that'll benefit you too. Though, you ask, “Don’t you have friends who do Biology?”

Childe’s face sours a little, a smile still plastered on his face. He whispers, “Let’s just say that while I do hang out with them, I don’t like to stay around them more than I need to.”

Your eyes widen slightly. The two of you have more in common than you thought.

As the two of you walk down the hallways to the exit, he exchanges contacts with you. Childe does a tiny fist pump in the air. “Nice! Now, we can easily arrange study sessions!”

He turns to look at you and offers, “If you need anything too, you can always ask me!”

Childe flashes you a smile. He’s really not so bad.

When the two of you part ways at the school gate, you wave to him. He returns one with that annoyingly vibrant smile of his. But, maybe you could get used to this.

Only then do you realise, oh, you are in so much danger. The moon is reaching its orbit closest to the sun now.

--

All likes and reblogs are appreciated! Thank you <3

[itsclydebitches]

So do you think the writing team was villanizing the critics through the curious cat seeing how they were the ones who basically went all meta in pointing out plot holes and other talking points critics have been bringing up for years only for him to turn out to be a villain in the end and he needed to be destroyed? Cuz I feel like they were doing that. At this point rooster teeth's writing is starting to feel a bit spiteful which is funny considering how much they hate Adam who embodied spite.

Personally, I don't think the comparison extends that far. Meaning, I don't believe this is a case of, "The Curious Cat represents critics and now look, those evil critics die!" because that's just too conspiratorial, there's too little connection between the Cat/the fandom, the Cat was clearly always meant to be the Volume's baddie no matter what throwaway lines they were given, the writing team has a HELL of a lot more to worry about than what a small pocket of people are saying online, etc.

Case in point: the Cat's observations aren't actually what fans have been criticizing for years, at least not in my experience. I go into this in more depth in my recap (which istg I'm writing! lol) but almost no one cares about the ~implications~ of Ozpin and Oscar sharing a body, Atlas floating is a bottom rung concern when it comes to how the Relics are used, and Ciel is likewise inconsequential compared to other characters who have been forgotten by the narrative (Sun, Ilia, Neptune, Maria, Tai, Glynda, etc.). The only thing the Cat says that feels like it's accurately representing criticism of RWBY is the observation that it's impossible to keep track of so many characters.

So yeah, I do think it's a general dig at the less optimistic pockets of the fandom. The Cat's language in that scene -- "Characters" people returning in a "Notable way" -- conveys an awareness of RWBY as a fictional story that they don't otherwise demonstrate. From an in-world perspective, the Cat is talking about real people whose world they want access to... yet for this one, strange exchange they function more as the creator's mouthpiece, poking fun at those who have criticized a fictional, WIP webseries. Of course, it's only really fun if you're a) of the opinion that RWBY is pretty much perfect or b) are still enjoying it enough to laugh off a self-aware acknowledgement of its many problems. A lot of fans aren't in either category, hence it comes across as a little spiteful at worst, simply ignorant at best.

Despite what anti-rwde folks would have you believe, that tiny corner of the fandom is not bombarding the creators with harassment and, as said, professional writers have a lot more to worry about than browsing through a handful of tumblr blogs and one subreddit. I truly doubt they're on the up-and-up about complaints. So I think the Cat's observations demonstrate that they're aware that criticism generally exists (as any creator would be), but they don't know enough to accurately write about what fans are criticizing. They've picked random things that they believe people might feasibly be up in arms about -- "Omg you made a man live with a child in his body! Having a floating city when 95% of the monsters in this show can't can't fly is so stupid! How dare you not bring back this one-line character from six Volumes ago!!" -- with, as my writing there demonstrates, perhaps a dash of deliberately choosing kinda absurd "criticisms" because the whole point of this moment is for the audience to laugh at the Cat's overly-enthusiastic concern. So do I think that moment is meant to be a fictionalized and generalized rolling-their-eyes-at-critics moment? Yeah. Do I think that extends to the Cat's narrative purpose as a whole and we should read them as the metaphorical critics reaching their deserved end? No. There's pretty much no basis for that.

It is still frustrating though, especially given Volume 9 as a whole. If you are unhappy with RWBY after a two year hiatus and are questioning this filler season, having one of the new characters imply how silly it is to be worried about dropped concepts and too many characters isn't going to be received very well, regardless of whether it's just intended to be a joke.

[discoursedeity]

Disappointed, bored & hurt, the worst trifecta:

I don't care what anyone else thought if the movie, if you liked it, good for you, I am happy you were able to enjoy it. I am not going to argue with you and tell you you're wrong for liking it and just being happy it actually got made because I don't want to ruin it for you. But I am going to say my piece regardless because I have been thinking about it all week and it is really bothering me and I want there to be helpful criticism out there for Scott Cawthon to pull from the fan base.

So I will start by saying that yes, I have been a fan since 2014 when Markiplier first uploaded his first video, and I have been watching countless YouTubers since then for it. Ranging from gamers who play the games, to theorists who disect them, and I cant even begin to count how many hours I have sunk into this franchise to watch all of those videos, so this isn't just someone coming in later and not getting it or something. Of course I caught things like Sparky the dog, and the Ella spring lock suit and thought "Oh my God, what a deep cut, how nice." But that in itself does not make a movie. Nor do the YouTuber appearances like MatPat being a waiter named Ness (as much as that moment was the highlight of the film) A movie needs to be written to make the audience CARE about it, it's world, it's characters. And this movie sadly just did not do that for any of the characters, be they human, ghost or animatronic.

Vanessa info dumping is a quick way to get the lore across, and yes fans already know the lore so I understand WHY things were done that way, but you should always SHOW not TELL. We fans would have loved to see it all unfold before our eyes, rather than just have some cop hang around for some reason to just spew lore out her mouth at us. We want to SEE the restaurant being established and built up, we want to see William spiral and finally decide to kill the kids, we want to see each conversation he had with each kid to get them to follow him, we want to see him kill them and put them in the suits, we want to see the kids ghosts adjusting to the suits and begin their rampage of killing guards.

That's Fnaf, that's what we are here for, the lore of the restaurant franchise, its history, its animatronics, that is all important for getting us invested, that and the mystery of it all since we like trying to solve things. So of course you don't have to show every single little thing lore wise, we do like to try to theorize and figure things out for ourselves when we are given enough pieces of the puzzle to do so, like if you are going to carry over that William also had 2 sons but you're planning to have them both be dead (one to Fredbear and one to Circus Baby) then you don't need to show us explicitly which one died first, but some things you really do need to layout for the audience to be able to feel invested in the movie. Again, like the characters, we have no reason to feel attached to Vanessa.

We don't know enough about her to care about whether or not she comes out of her coma. We have vague implications that William wasn't the best dad and that she has lasting trauma from that experience as his daughter, but we don't know what the trauma is or how severe her suffering was, so we can't truly empathize with her. Was she beaten by him? Or just yelled at or neglected? We don't know. And when building a character those sorts of things need to stated or at least hinted at more clearly to build intrigue and investment in the character. But they must be likeable as well, and non of the characters in the movie were relatable or likable enough. Mike was relatable, but his likability factor went out the window when he sold out his sister for a long dead brother that we also knew nothing about so we could care about him. The ghost kids weren't established enough as characters either, and while that may be because they have been there so long that they are not fully themselves anymore and you wanted to emphasize that it isn't really them just the negative emotions like anger and such that were left behind, it made it impossible for us to care about them beyond going "Oh dang, dead kids, poor things...Oh well, hey look at that animatronic." The only one who speaks is Golden Freddy's kid, and he was a brat.

On the topic of the animatronics, they were perhaps the biggest disappointment in the entire movie. It seemed like they were left as silent vessels for the kids both to try to make them scarier and fit the first game since they never talked in Fnaf 1, as well as to try to further emphasize the fact that this was about the ghost kids from the MCI situation. But it didn't work in either of those favors. The bots weren't scary, like the only time they had any level of intimidation factor was when Freddy stomped over to Mike when they were first introduced, and that was purely because of their size difference. The animatronics just came across as goofy. Like, how could they be threatening when they are so weak and slow that Bonnie and Freddy have to work together to lift one single little table? What makes them scary in the games is what they are capable of, how we see them move fast, how they are capable of intricate thought and planning, how they hide behind a friendly and calming facade but they are truly sinister and can outmatched any human in speed, strength and durability. But seeing the bots in the movie move so slow, barely be able to lift, go down so easily from one shot of a stun gun, it just takes any chance of them being perceived as an actual thing to fear away immediately. Not to mention the red and orange glowing eyes. It's like they are playing red light green light with their eyes and I could only laugh whenever I saw them. Where was was the iconic and chilling black with white pin pricks we all know and love? Those would have sent chills down any player's spine seeing them. The animtronics just looked so silly, and didn't have anything to backup their danger factor aside from killing some random break in thugs, 2 of which walked right into their own Demise so the bots didn't even have to work for it to show what they are capable of, (Freddy and Bonnie). And I get it, I know they were staged this way because the people in the suits probably can't see or move that well in them, and those physical limitations inhibit what can be done for the movie. But if that is the case, then why even bother making real suits and animatronics for this? If it is going to negatively impact the movie by posing such limitations, then don't waste the time or money on them, just use CGI. I would have preferred that even, since it would have allowed the animatronics to be as close as possible both look wise and feel wise to the game. As it is, Chica is the only one who perfectly matches how she looks in Fnaf 1. The boys all have slight color issues that keep them from being accurate adaptations. Really getting the creature shop to make them real was a mistake in every way except for the fact that it gives a chance for people to meet them irl at exhibits and stuff. But that isn't worth it if it requires shooting the movie in the foot. The animatronics should have been present more, they should have DONE more, they ARE Five Nights at Freddy's. We need them to be more involved, otherwise it feels less like a FNAF movie and more like the Fnaf bots making a cameo in some family drama movie.

Also, let's talk more about Mike and his whole dream thing. We got it the first time, we didn't need to see it over and over and over again. That was boring. Heck, the whole first 1/3 of the movie was just tedious and dull with all the setup and family drama, it felt like I was left waiting for the movie to actually start, like I was watching a required video before I could actually watch the movie. Yes, it was important to establish how down on his luck Mike was and why he needed a job and how this was his only option for work so he had to take it, even if it wasn't ideal. But the bots didn't even attack him until around night 3 or 4. So it was less about Mike coming back to the job despite the danger, and more about Mike just coming back despite it not working great with his schedule. And his backstop could have been established far faster and with less monotony. It took up so much of the run time that we could have spent better elsewhere, such as fleshing out William some more or on the animatronic side of things like I said earlier.

And God, William, oh William...He is just never going to be an actual threat again, is he? Like, odd enough to shift him from being British to just being American, but he was portrayed as so goofy as well in this movie. As Steve Raglan, I understand him being an upbeat and lighthearted guy, but when we are shown him in the suit, he should have had more buildup, there should have been more suspension and hype to make him FEEL like more of a threat. Him controlling the other animatronics should have also been shown, I don't care if it was him disguising himself as a friend via sound illusion disc's or some stereotypical remote control or what. But leaving it vague for anyone to see there to theorize about (or forcing them to read the books to understand) just takes any tension out of it by making it feel like a rushed cop out. His whole little speech about him creating disobedient monsters just felt sad and weird and out of place. And his delivery of his iconic line felt shoehorned in to be able to point at it and say "look, look, ah ha he said the thing" and was really just pathetically given, rather than it being more of a menacing and knowing promise. Plus, when we only know of 6 kills under his belt and all of them were children who couldn't fight back and we didn't even see how creepy and cunningly he lured those kids in to their deaths, we really have no frame of reference for what he is capable of and why we should fear him. Like, sure maybe he wasn't actually aiming to kill his own daughter, but if he shoved a big knife through her gut and she didn't even die and he actually WAS trying to kill her, then that's pretty sad. Makes him come across like a failure of a killer and more of a joke than anything. He couldn't even kill Mike for crying out loud, and Mike didn't have a gun like Vanessa did.

(Also, I suppose this is a nitpick, but why was he able to kick Mike in the suit without the spring locks going off? That was a hard jarring movement, and the foot meeting Mike was applying resistance, don't you normally have to be careful how you move and breathe in those things so as not to set them off? How can you harshly kick someone AND get tazed without it tripping the spring locks?)

I don't know, the whole thing just felt like it was relying on fans to just be satisfied with seeing Easter eggs, cameos, and feeling what superior or something for already knowing everything? I mean, the whole movie was so predictable, every single plot point of it, even Vanessa being his daughter wasn't a surprise to me or my friends that just went and saw it with. I've seen people say they went in with a Bingo sheet, and that is not a good thing at all. The run time was poorly allocated to the wrong points, and such important things like building the world of the Freddy's restaurant chains and its characters kind of got the screwed over. I watched this thing twice and hesitate to ever watch it again because my opinion of it already started out not so good with the first watch and fell to bad with the 2nd. I might actually cry if I try to watch it again. I don't like knowing I've waited years for this and hoped and prayed for the best, only to see red flags popping up when the trailers were released and then going in with low expectations telling nyself to ignore the warning bells in my head and actually seeing it, it's just so disappointing.

I love this franchise dearly, it's done so much good for so many good people. It gave so many people jobs as YouTubers who are a joy to see spread positivity and light in the world. Heck, the games also got some people to look at Chuck E Cheese in a new light and give it a visit. It's brought so many people together and inspired the next generation of game designers and story tellers. Nothing will ever shake me from its clutch, even back when Fnaf 3 came out and I felt disappointed I didn't give up on it, and that was back when it was still new enough that it didn't have a strangle hold on me yet. So of course I'm not going anywhere even if the Ruin DLC and movie were kind of a flops. I will still be here ready to go to the theater to give the 2nd movie a try when it comes out, I just hope that Scott and the crew learn from this and make better choices for the next one. Because I really want this series to be treated with the love and respect that it deserves.

Regardless of any complaints though, thanks to my fellow fans for being so devoted to the series as well and getting it past the Mario movie in terms of views for streaming, (the Mario movie was bad in its own way, mostly with Peach's...everything, and the voices of all the characters and stuff) so I'm glad to see it surpassed that shamless cash grab of a movie at something. And I am happy that the movie wasn't just abandoned after being in development purgatory for so long.

This again, was in no way meant to deter fans from enjoying it if they found something in it for them, keep enjoying it. If all you wanted was a cheesy movie that wasn't taken seriously and was intentionally bad, then all the power to you. But it truly is not for everyone. Hard core fans, casual fans, it doesn't matter, it truly comes down to what you were looking for in a movie. And I love Scott Cawthon and his dedication to the fans, but this really wasn't it and I know he can do better, so I darn sure will be voicing any complaints I have with the film to push him to push the movie crew to do better.

[asherlockstudy]

Please don't think that you're delusional for thinking that Rhett and Link might be more than friends. Even if the attraction and romantic implications weren't this obvious (and they are). There would still be more than enough very valid reasons to be suspicious. Just look at the scripted content they have been releasing. I don't know what their end goal is; if it is to actually lay it all bare one day, or if they just feel the desperate need to tell the truth, even if it's simply in this covert way to someone (anyone), but there ARE puzzles pieces being thrown at the viewers (pun very much intended lol). Most people simply don't know how to interpret what's been portrayed, but let me tell you, there is something going on. The scripted content that they have been putting out is basically all retellings of the same story imo, and I don't know how people don't see it. It makes me feel like I'm going insane. How do they keep missing the elephant in the room? Why are you and a couple of other people the ONLY ones who seem to have realized? There are so many viewers and they are all so clueless, how is it possible? I don't think that you get everything right, but I think that you got a lot of the overarching storyline and themes down. I can't wait for your analysis of their next scripted work (which is called ''wonderhole'' btw like LMAO, like how dense do you have to be to keep ignoring this? Anyway, I love what R and L are doing, they are being so obvious, but they can be because nobody gets it. The fact that there are levels to their scripted content and that it's got a purpose to it is what makes it good to me personally, it's genius. I wouldn't like it otherwise because that humor isn't for me, but because I get it I can appreciate the artistic value of it. So, you're not delusional, rather, you're the only one with a brain it seems.

Wow - thank you for this.

I will only say that I used to wonder a lot about why people don't see any or most of this (btw this doesn't go to the particular previous anon because they see a considerable part of it, it goes to those who see nothing) and honestly I don't think it's a problem of not being able to analyze it or see the patterns. Rhett and Link certainly do an interesting work with this riddle but they are not megaminds after all - I believe every average person can roughly spot most of the recurring storyline.

I think a great deal of people have it well engraved inside their heads that Rhett and Link are only capable of lighthearted frivolous meaningless content. Most do not see a depth of character in Rhett and Link and do not wish to see one either. For them, it's just about two silly friends eating things and doing ridiculous things. It's the type of people that wouldn't watch if Rhett and Link were making different content. They want exclusively superficial inconsequential content that will make them forget their own problems for those few minutes per day. In short, they don't deem Rhett and Link capable of such a complex plan and even if they did, they would hardly care to decipher it.

The other part of the audience is the romantic fans, meaning those who have a tendency to always only think the best about their idols, at the expense of realism. Everything that could lead to inconvenient conclusions (ranging from the fact that they are not exclusively heterosexual for the conservative ones to the fact that their marriages might not be the dreamiest for the liberal ones) is simply discarded as a joke. And life is easier this way.

PS. Before Wonderhole, I am preparing another post in the "It has always been one story" "series". Should be ready before the end of the week!

[solar-systr]

I very much respect that this is coming from a surprisingly nuanced place of appreciating the hegemonic racial tensions at play here! However, I still must respectfully disagree.

The thing about stuff like honorifics is...the vast majority of the time, they exist to indicate things that the English language already cover anyway, because honorifics/relative station and tone are universal concepts. Like, take an example from the OP; if a JP->EN script is localized two different ways, one calling someone Mr X, and the other calls them X-sensei, which one is more 'authentically Japanese'?

My contention is that it's a trick fucking question. Both are literally the exact same thing! Yes, 'sensei' in its literal sense conveys specific implications of a 'teacher' role, but because language is flexible and colloquial, that isn't always the correct read in context! Just like there are multiple english shorthands that don't always serve the same functions relative to a Japanese primary language perspective! 'Mr.' is 'technically' more ambiguous divorced from context, but language doesn't exist out of context! In fact, I have been given the impression that Japanese is *huge* on implied context which makes having to parse what 'Mr' means look easy.

Legitimately what, in actual context, is achieved by calling a teacher-character 'sensei' vs 'sir/maam/mr/mrs/etc' apart from being More Clearly Japanese(tm) apart from feeling very smart and cultured for enjoying something visibly not western? Like yeah, I hope you'd know that. And if you need something like that to tell you, you're either clueless enough that you were never really engaging with the topic substantially to begin with, or even if its just an honest confusion, putting in the research to be sure intrinsically makes you more seriously 'engaging' with culture than that ever will. A JP->EN translation that removes one single passing reference to Bon Matsuri or a Bon Odori but keeps all the honorifics and shit is near *infinitely* more culturally erased than one with doesnt but uses 'english' tone/hierarchy inflections. And I know this is an insultingly on the nose example binary, person who my comment is immediately after, but other less engaged people like I am need a straightforward example to better get at my point; culture is the lived experiences, norms, and values of people underpining their behaviour and connections to each other. One is that; one is linguistic trivia (at least, the vast majority of the time, because again, JP creatives are mostly not concerned with being Cultural Ambassadors(tm) as far as I know. I am open to being corrected). And I know, language and culture are interconnected and all that, but we've all experienced enough weebs to know that people sometimes *really* assume that means the things in my previous sentence are interchangeable.

Since, maybe this is just me, but I've heard the point of translation was to understand and engage with the intent/themes of the work. You aren't doing that better by making sure it's more Visibly Japanese in expressing that. Because, and this is my big thing, I'm pretty sure the creators themselves, in most cases, do not care about their work being Clearly Japanese(tm). They used Japanese language devices to convey specific ideas and effects because well, they and their primary audience are Japanese so naturally those are gonna be the expressions that make sense to them. Obviously there are sometimes specific, nuanced cases but in *general* I believe that creatives that aren't weird cranks don't really give a single shit how many -san's or -chans in adaptions of their work, as long as it seems like the people reading it get as best an experience they can! Tho, that's just my impulse as also a creative maybe; I know I'd much rather JP fans have honorifics in my works if it truly helped them grasp my concepts as opposed to snottily insisting on none because of 'purity of intent'. Because my intent with a pronoun isn't to be An English Pronoun That Is My Uniquely English Way Of Perceiving Gender, its to convey shit about someone. I assume a lot of people, Japanese or otherwise, are similar.

And yes, I already anticipate a rather reasonable followup response, which is that, naturally, translators are inherently responsible for how works of art from other cultures will be received in this culture, that's the point. The considerations of the creator needs must can't always be the considerations of the localizer. And that's very fair to point out! I merely worry about the idea that the very real desire to Own The Right or try and rally around banners in the culture war worst-faith dipshits have dragged us all into about stuff like this, has led people into potentially worrying and untenable philosophical ground about how art, foreign or otherwise, should be engaged with. Wanting to push back against the hegemonic influence of racism/white supremacy is one thing, being potentially willing to not care where your ideas/arguments logically end up at purely to be in the moral right is completely another. If you need bad logic to end up at a good position, then either the position isn't very good, or you will only be more of a credit to it by willing to get better. And I believe caring about art, culture and its respect is a good position! On a personal level even, as alluded to.

I'm just not willing to sit here and say that we're justified in engaging in shallow essentialism purely because we think we need to do so to not 'concede' things to 'the moral enemy'. I think caring overmuch about stuff like that is missing the forest for the trees in my book, even aside from all that shit.

Does potentially caring overmuch about whether honorifics are conveyed via Japanese means or not signify dubious intentions? Oh absolutely. And as for the stuff like the potential double standard the 4chan cap argued...I will not honestly claim to have a great answer! I definitely have thoughts about it being related to the nature of white hegemony, the fact that such will naturally not be received as 'fetishization' because of how racism actually works (fwiw, I do kinda think those examples can be/are bad too), the fact that the culture war became about all this stuff due to the unique nature of Japan's relationship with the West and the US in particular and how that interacted with western 'weeaboo' culture, etc.

But they are not particularly compelling or well arguable, so I will refrain from elabourating.

@ruisa-faa, if you somehow read this, i know you're definitely coming from a place that is more nuanced that what my arguments here sometimes seem to be engaging against, but I will freely admit that a lot of it is for the sake of my own space and those who might engage with me. I know for a fact that a lot of people's takes validated by your considered words will be unfortunate ones, and ones I wish to make clear I will not tolerate. Thank you for offering your opinion regardless.

im so sorry but i like it when translations keep the word sensei and keep the honorifics im so sorry

[sizzlingpatrolfox]

this is a little bit of a simplification, but jkkers are split between the "main pop boy" ones who demand the same energy that face got for this potential jjk1 and the ones who are less enthused about the timing and message of those posts but are conflicted on who to blame it on. especially since a lot of them were mad at yoongi for moving so fast with d-day, i think there's this silent understanding that they would be really hypocritical if they acted like everything was normal and fine with jungkook's team already trying to build up hype for him especially with everything that happened to like crazy. it's kind of a range between those things. some jkkers aren't addressing it at all really which makes me think they lean more toward the second opinion. a few people from that first group are acting like jungkook's collab is going to be the next billboard underdog so i don't think they really understand the implications of those posts tbh.

i also have the feeling that none of them or at least very few of them are actually excited, musically, about a justin Bieber collab, if that's what jungkook's thing ends up being. i don't know if armys really love the idea either although they'll of course support it.

i was the jkker reaction anon, i feel like i should clarify that i follow a lot of smaller accounts as opposed to jkkers with 500+ followers (though i still follow some, and check others), so i think i see what the bigger jkker accounts aren't acknowledging because they're less afraid of getting canceled. some of them have circles too. from big jkker accounts, like 1k+, it's either silence or that expectation that we show up for whatever jungkook's been working on the way we did for jimin.

---

Thanks! Yeah, I saw jikookers being outright dragging Yoongi for his timing and stuff, but ultimately to me this is all on the company. Even when I complain about Jungkook, I'm still complaining about the company. Jungkook was never in charge of Jimin's album, like... Should he be blamed for taking any opportunity of privilege? Not really. Does it suck for everyone else? Yeah. But it is what it is. It's business. I don't know if Yoongi decided when to release his album. If it was his decision, well I'm sure he already knows it was a bad one and he got it coming.

Armys don't seem to care a lot about collabs tbh. I think they sound excited right now because of what a Justin Bieber + JK collab means, like the concept of it all in a very fanfiction-y way. Jikookers however, I know they want his album and his own music once and for all. I would like to listen to his own music one day, too. But I'm not holding my breath for it. It will happen eventually, just for now I don't really care when. I'm also not crazy about being an spectator to a beautiful smooth rollout and exposure opportunities while 1) his own fans did everything in their power to defame Jimin for literally nothing and turned his album release into an awful experience for so many people 2) it has been an uphill battle after the first week thanks to Hybe cutting his promotions short and the billboard fiasco. It shouldn't be like that for anybody but only Jimin was subjected to hate like that.

I don't know why they wouldn't show up for Jungkook, too. They will. Especially if it's good music, even more rightfully so. The only thing I see possibly happening is that maybe they won't try so hard if he gets an English collab + playlisting + radio and all that from the beginning. Because then people might realize he doesn't need that much "help" from the fandom, but that's about it.

[stxleslyds]

What do you think about the theories that Jason was sexually abused as a child? Or even possibly while he was comatose after his resurrection?

Implications of this theory include his conversation with Mia (Speedy) and Bruce's message (Battle for the Cowl). In addition, when he was Robin he expressed what was then considered uncharacteristic rage towards the perpetrators of sex crimes.

Garzonas - unrepentant rapist who got no consequences

When a woman killed her sister's rapist and murderer (because Batman's evidence was not admissible in court), Batman said that she went too far with murder. Jason's disagreed with "Good riddance". Good for you, Jason.

His recklessness when dealing with a child sex trafficking ring.

I highly doubt that DC would ever confirm this theory. I would rather they leave it ambiguous because I don't trust them to not botch Jason... much less respectfully address the subject matter.

I have read so many thoughts on Jason that they're starting to blend together. So I apologize if you've already answered this before.

Hello friend! Aside from the fact that I took way too much time to answer your ask, this was also a hard question to come up with an answer to, I wanted to remain respectful of the subjects at hand even though I don’t second this headcanon. But before we keep going, let me put some trigger warnings in this post.

trigger warning: mentions of sexual abuse, child abuse, rape.

First, I would like to bring up these two concepts because I oftentimes mix them up when talking about these “ideas”.

Theory: a supposition or a system of ideas intended to explain something; an idea used to account for a situation or justify a course of action.

Headcanon: Headcanon generally refers to ideas held by fans of series that are not explicitly supported by sanctioned text or other media. Fans maintain the ideas in their heads, outside of the accepted canon.

I think the idea of Jason having been sexually abused at any point in his lifetime is a mix between a theory and a headcanon. Why I am saying this? Because as you have put in the ask, there has been instances where fandom has found pieces of information that they have considered the base of this idea.

So, if we say that there is a piece of text that might support that idea and they build from that to justify a course of action we would be looking at a theory. In this case Jason having been abused would the reason as to why he acts in that strong and violent way towards cases of sexual abuse/harassment.

In the other hand those pieces of text might not support that idea so fandom headcanons that idea in order to build another layer to a character, in this case Jason having been abused would also justify his actions towards certain criminals.

The “text” (panels, issues, mentions) are most of the time ambiguous, which makes readers have different perspectives in what is being written and what then is made into a theory or headcanon.

Personally, I don’t like this theory or headcanon for various reasons (which I will explain later in the post), and I have read and understood those moments mentioned as Jason just having survived Crime Alley as something general, I don’t think he suffered that kind of abuse but I think he was made aware of that type of behaviour every day that he spent alone in the streets and that why we saw Jason in Batman #408 saying that he had “graduated a long time ago from the streets of crime alley”.

Having said that, I do understand that some of the moments mentioned can be seen as ambiguous and that’s what leads people to theorize/headcanon that idea, because of that I would like to show the panels mentioned in your ask so everyone can read them and make up their own conclusions and then I will talk about the reasons why I don’t like this particular theory/headcanon.

As Robin:

Batman (1940) #422

In these panels we can see Jason as Robin jumping in to defend a woman that was being attacked by a man. There I only see Jason acting like a vigilante would, maybe he was hitting too hard or whatever but Batman has hit people as much as Jason was doing it this time around, plus I, personally, don’t see any kind of problem with Jason beating a man that was harassing and threatening a woman with death.

Right beside we have Jason being on the side of the woman that killed her sister’s attacker. He didn’t see any problem with that woman seeking justice for her sister on her own when the police, Batman and himself couldn’t get the job done.

Here I see Jason having a big problem with authorities and justice system, which is not something new, in Batman #408, Jason says very clearly that he doesn’t trust the system in Gotham (the police, social workers and such), and he was also shown in that comic talking very fondly about his mother and about how much he cared for her when she was at her worst. Let’s remember that Jason loved his mother, he took care of her and resented his father for being abusive towards her and even introducing her to drugs.

Instead understanding these panels as Jason having been abused himself, I see it more as Jason having a humongous understanding of how much women and others suffer in Gotham due to the justice system’s lack of action. I also see Jason as the kind of boy that respected all women and could not sit and do nothing when people were hitting and abusing women just like his father did to his mother.

Batman (1940) #424

This issue starts by saying that Jason jumps into action as soon as he hears someone scream but that he wasn’t going to be prepared to see what was happening. This is the issue where all of us meet Felipe Garzonas, the abuser and rapist of many women. At first Jason doesn’t know what Felipe was doing but after he and Batman “defeat” Felipe, he goes to the room where he finds Gloria in a bed badly hurt and scared. Jason is shocked when he first finds her and after hearing her story in the police station, he becomes more and more happy about the fact that by having caught Felipe, he and Batman would be able to offer some peace and justice to Gloria after he goes to jail, but that doesn’t happen.

They had all the evidence to put Felipe in jail and the police could easily see that Gloria was the victim but because Felipe had someone to back his made-up story up, he was able to not be arrested and jailed.

Jason once again is baffled at the lack of action by the police or simply justice not being able to be made in favour of the true victim. Batman even says that he has noticed that Jason “had become to emotionally invested with the case” which could favour either idea (Jason having suffered sexual abuse or not), in my case I see this once again as Jason not being able to remain calm after doing everything to keep that woman safe and the justice system not being able to do it themselves in a more permanent way (jail time, or whatever).

But that’s not all because Jason being too emotional with that case was brought up as a way to show that Jason couldn’t see that Felipe had been under the influence of drugs, which is something that Jason can see in people very well (do to experience with his mother and his training with Batman). So, Felipe is now a rapist, an abuser, he does drugs and he also has a market for it.

Because Felipe was allowed to go back to his “normal” life he had Gloria be killed, and he kept abusing drugs and women, when Jason finds Gloria’s dead body and that Batman still seems to abide the justice system he snaps. He goes alone to see Felipe and that’s were this iconic panel comes from. The moments before Jason made his first kill and felt no remorse about it. I know this is kinda soft topic because Jason was a teenager, but good for him, kill that bitch. Gotham doesn’t need more people like him.

Batman (1940) #226

This is the issue where Jason attacks the men that were involved with some very nasty stuff involving children. Batman narrates and says that him and Jason had been working on this case for three weeks. Jason jumps into action suddenly and “recklessly” even though Batman considered their investigation wasn’t over, he also says that he thinks that Jason had been “acting oddly” and that he was very “moody, resentful and reckless” and that that attitude could “get him killed”.

This could be used as to add more proof of the abuse idea but I actually see it as build up to Jason’s death, that happened two issues later. Let’s remember that Jason found out of his birth mother and was desperate to find and save her from Joker, because he was a good son but also because he didn’t feel like Bruce loved, cared or appreciated him anymore. Ever since Jason made it clear that he didn’t see the world and justice in the same way that Batman did back in issue #422, Jason and Bruce’s relationship suffered, they just couldn’t see eye to eye on some subjects and Bruce’s neglect or lack of care for what Jason believed in drove Jason to act the way he did in the case involving his mother and the Joker.

Jason obviously has major issues with kids being abused and put in dangerous situations, he as the Red Hood (Winick’s Red Hood) is the same, he really wants kids to be taken far away from drugs so they cannot be manipulated, used and abused by Gotham’s Drug Lords. Here I can see some of the same thing, Jason being protective of those kids and getting fed up with how much time he and Batman had to wait to do anything about the subject, along side it I bet Jason wasn’t seeing the police or the justice system doing anything about the whole thing so that could have probably fuelled his desperate attack of those horrible people.

As Batman/Red Hood:

Batman: Battle for the Cowl #3

Battle for the Cowl… yeah I am going to be brutally honest about this, if anyone thinks that this is someway or somehow proof that Jason had been abused in the past then I think we have very different ways of thinking how survivors must be treated or written in comics and other media.

This to me is pure bad writing, this is some of the worst things I have seen being written in comics. Whether or not this implies Jason being abused or not, Bruce’s message is absolutely disgusting and not at all helpful, it is even worse when you realise that Dick, a canon sexual assault survivor, is the one playing the message to Jason even though Jason explicitly said that he didn’t want to hear it again. That Book, issue, page and panel are extremely badly written and is one of the most terrible Jason and Dick characterizations ever.

So, I don’t really care if this panel is supposed to offer support to that theory or headcanon, I really dislike that speech and if it is actually referencing Jason as being a survivor of child abuse, then Tony S. Daniel needs to make an apology from today to the day he dies.

“Of all my failures, you have been my biggest” “You were broken and I thought I could put the pieces back together. I thought I could do for you what could never be done for me. Make you whole” “What happened to you as a child… the terror, the pain, the horrors” “You needed repair and instead I gave you an outlet to act out on”

Absolute garbage writing. Me, as Bruce is number one hater, know that that speech is even out of character for Bruce. Listen, if Jason had been a victim of sexual assault or just being a kid living alone in Crime Alley, no one should leave a message like that, telling a victim that they were broken and needed fixing, what the hell? No, thank you, this issue proves nothing except that Battle for the Cowl was a mistake as a whole.

Green Arrow (2001) #72

Judd Winick is clever I will always say that, and while I do see why people think that Jason is making the “child abuse idea” canon I still think that the way that he talks is still fairly ambiguous if not just him playing mind games with Mia.

I know it sounds wrong, but hear me out, Winick, in this arc makes Batman say that Jason distracted him and Oliver just to take Mia as a “hostage” because that was Jason’s way to mess with him. This arc happens right after UtRH and Jason is a bit more unhinged than ever. But he doesn’t harm Mia, he just talks to her, he tries to make her see why he acts the way he does and to do that he talks about how much he sees of himself in her. Do I believe that Jason suffered the same things Mia did? No. Do I think that their past is similar? Yes.

But Jason doesn’t only use the fact that they have similar pasts to make Mia rebel against her “no killing ways” and Oliver like he did with Bruce, but he also brings up the fact that their past is incredibly different to the lives of Bruce and Oliver, and that those differences are of importance.

Maybe it’s just me, but I didn’t see Jason bringing Mia’s past for anything other than manipulating her and kinda make her see Oliver in a negative light the way that he does Batman and Bruce. Jason was at a point in his life where all he wanted to do was deliver the same pain that he had gone through but he didn’t do it by physically harming anyone (Mia was left unscratched), he was just out there trying to play mind games so he could break more havoc in Batman’s name.

Mia’s past is just way too different to whatever we have seen in canon from Jason’s past. Maybe I am wrong, after all, I only read about Mia in that arc.

-

With all that having been said I think it’s pretty obvious that I just don’t think that Jason’ having been sexually abused as a child actually happened, and I also don’t like to think about his past in that way. His canon suffering could have made him act that violently against criminals involved with sexual attacks and drug-related crimes, but I also think that’s just how Jason was, he really disliked the justice system in Gotham and saw how much it failed to protect victims, so now that he had the training to help those who couldn’t do it for themselves, he tried his best to bring criminals to justice.

And when that didn’t work, he grew more and more frustrated with Batman’s methods which led him to be more unforgiving and violent.

I also don’t like the theory/headcanon as a whole because I think its one of those things that Fandom comes up with just for that extra angst factor in their favourite character’s story so they can make him suffer more and because of that no other Robin or character as a whole can ever understand his pain or whatever. In this fandom there is a lot of “competitive trauma” going on and I honestly dislike it a lot.

About Jason having been assaulted while he was in a coma, I don't really know, he was at a hospital for what I believe were six moths, maybe that idea comes from real life happenings but I have never thought of that happening in Jason's life and I would rather not give it much more thought.

Also, I believe that DC just like fandom would have never been able to handle the subject of Jason having been a sexual assault survivor with the respect and care that it actually needs. We have seen DC treat sexual harassment and abuse as nothing but a side plot or bringing it up in an extremely disturbing way. In Fandom some (very few) people end up glamorising or romanticising these subjects so, I don’t believe the comic world was or is ready to treat a backstory like this with the respect it needs.

Maybe I haven’t even treated the subject with the respect and care that it needs and if that’s the case then I am truly sorry.

I had never answered a question regarding this subject before and I really appreciate all the questions you send my way; they do make my brain happy. I am really sorry it took me this long to write an answer to you but I hope the post is good enough for all the time I made you wait!

I hope you have an amazing week!

[ordinaryschmuck]

What I Thought About "Knock Knock Knockin' on Hooty's Door" from The Owl House

Wow. They are really pushing it for that secret message, huh?

Anywho--Salutations, random people on the internet who certainly won’t read this! I am an Ordinary Schmuck. I write stories and reviews and draw comics and cartoons!

I think it goes without saying at this point that Season Two of The Owl House is setting itself up as a season without filler. Now, filler episodes aren't always bad. Yes, it hurts when a series turns away from the main plot for a week. But at best, they're utilized as a chance for the writers to play around with the characters and developing said characters without it relating to the overarching story. So, some people who see that consider it a bad thing that a series doesn't have that many filler episodes.

I like to call those people: F**king morons.

Don't get me wrong, I see where some of you are coming from. And I'd be willing to agree...if The Owl House was a plot-driven series. Which it's not. It is a character-driven series. Because for every plot thread and narrative that the show presents, they always relate to the characters and develop them further each time these threads get brought up. For example, look at "Knock Knock Knockin’ on Hooty's Door" (It pains me just to write that). Several narratives move forward, and it’s all done to make the characters grow. And to explain how requires going into spoilers. So keep that in mind as you continue reading.

Now, let's review, shall we?

WHAT I LIKED

Hooty: Might as well start with the character that this episode is about.

To tell you the truth, I wasn't a huge fan when I found out we're getting a Hooty-centered episode. I've grown to love him over time, but he is a comedic character that's best used in small doses. Primarily due to how his voice is grating to me (My ears are still bleeding...). With that said, I do really love his contributions in "Knock Knock Knockin' on Hooty's Door" (Seriously, there couldn't have been a less awkward title?). Hooty's antics when trying to help everyone are as hilarious as they are heartwarming. He deeply cares for his friends but just doesn't understand how his plans could do some unintended harm, which is pretty lovable if you ask me. We also get some surprisingly great insight into his character, as he feels insecure about basically being the comic relief who doesn't really do that much other than being funny. Rarely do you get that level of dimension from a comedic character, and it's even more uncommon for that to work out as well as it does here. It once again proves just how competent the writing is in this series to the point where we get an episode about Hooty, and it's funny and heartwarming instead of being annoying. And whoever is responsible for that, you're the best.

Lilith’s Letter to Hooty: I mean it when I say that I love how Lilith kept her word about her and Hooty becoming penpals. Their friendship was something I would have never expected to love, and I'm still shocked that it works so well, so seeing it continue like this just warms me to the bone. Plus, it is pretty sweet that Lilith's kind words are what inspired Hooty to do what he's done in this episode...meaning it's Lilith we should thank here--SON OF A WITCH! Even when she's gone, she's still working her way into my heart!

King going through Puberty: What?! KING IS EVOLVING!

(There, I made a Pokemon reference. Do I get my cookie now?)

Eda Keeping Herself Awake to Train Herself: I'm willing to bet a large sum of money that this has everything to with Raine getting captured last week. If Eda was still the most powerful witch in the Isles, she might have actually saved them. But she isn't, and now the love of her life is in the clutches of a tyrant planning something that could potentially be the end of everything. So I can understand Eda pushing herself to her limit to get back on top again, as I would probably do the same. It's not healthy in any way, and Eda would be doing more harm than good. But when it comes to the people you love, logic doesn't always win out in the end.

Luz Wanting to Make her Way into Amity’s Heart by Making the Echo Mouse Happy: ...That's it. I Just...I just love everything about it, ok?

This was also when I knew that I was wrong to doubt that there would be zero Lumity in this episode. I realize my follies now, and I humbly apologize.

Hooty Teaching King About Demons: This was so funny. So, so funny. Probably doesn't come as a surprise, especially since The Owl House proves itself as a comedy before, but the jokes have never hit as frequently and as hard as they did here. From Hooty getting offended by King's dance to him and Dana's insert wanting a "DNA sample," everything managed to successfully make me lose my s**t. It does come at the expense of King suffering, but I can stomach that much more than if it were Eda or Luz. And, as a bonus, we get lore about how demons work, added with another great joke of King getting in trouble with Hooty for saying he already knows this stuff. Humor isn't always the show's strong suit, but when it works, it f**king works.

King Wanting to Know What he Is: But despite how funny King's vignette was, we still get to see more of his character grow. We learn that he's frustrated now that there's this big question mark over his life now, feeling extra angry that his father "abandoned" him to leave such a present mystery. It shows the hidden resentment he has that Lilith inadvertently brought out, made even worse when King's father hasn't responded to the video yet. King hasn't really gotten that much development until "Echoes of the Past," so it's pretty cool that the writers haven't really slowed down on it. Especially when it leads to these great moments of King venting his frustrations.

King’s Shouting Powers: KING learned FUS RO DAH!

(And now that's a Pokemon reference AND a Skyrim reference. WHERE'S MY GOSH DANG COOKIE!?)

Eda’s Nightmare: If King's vignette hits you hard with the laughs, Eda's will absolutely hit you harder with the feels (never make me say "feels" unironically again). Knowing that Eda's life got thoroughly screwed over by the curse is something we could figure out on her own. But seeing just how much the curse ruined her life and tore apart relationships that mean the world to her really does a swell job at ripping apart the soul. What's even more tragic is, technically speaking, it's all sort of Eda's fault too. She kept hiding the curse, refusing to be a burden to others who would do all they could to help. If she had only been open and honest, things probably wouldn't have changed much, but they most likely would have been better than they are now.

Eda Attacked her Father as the Owl Beast: ...I don't know what I was expecting when "Keeping Up A-Fear-Ances" hinted that there was some possible tension between Eda and her father...but it definitely wasn't this.

The fact that we see blood where his eye used to be doesn't make things any happier, either.

Raine Broke Up with Eda: Before we get into anything else, let's celebrate the fact that it's now confirmed that Eda and Raine really did use to date in the past. Because this show is just f**king phenomenal with its LGBTQA+ representation!

But, seriously, this is a fantastic reveal that goes far beyond just shipping...well, sort of. It shines a new light on Eda and Raine's interactions from last week, revealing that while they're not a couple anymore, they still very much love each other. It helps make their last interaction especially tragic, as they were both on the same page now and could very well be together again. Only for them to be forced apart for the second time in a way that's much worse than the first. And I frickin' adore that this series changes the impact of one episode one week later. Again, it shows just how competent these writers are, and kudos to them for making something so...perfect.

The Moon Person: WHO THE FU--Nope. Nope! We have more than enough mystery bulls**t to deal with through CreepyLuz and Philip Wittebane, so I am PUTTING YOU ON THE BACKBURNER FOR NOW!

(They're probably nothing more than a one-off character, anyway)

The Owl Beast and Eda are Connected: Through visuals alone, we, the audience, can clue into what the curse really means. The Owl Beast doesn't want to be a part of Eda as much as she doesn't want it to be a part of her. Whether they like it or not, and they very much don't, they're stuck together. The thing is, and this is what I love the most, they still decide to make the best of their situation rather than let it ruin their lives even more. This might be the best possible turn Eda's curse could have made. It'll still affect her, and there are probably more negatives than positives, but at least now, it's not the worst thing in the world. And I feel like that's all anyone can ask when in a position like her own.

Eda's “Pretty Dream”: I don't know what emotions are toiling inside me more with this moment. Awe and wonder over how beautiful Eda's dream is, or heartbreak over the implication that she has only had nightmares since getting cursed...I'm gonna say both. Yeah, it's definitely both.

Eda’s Harpie Form: Well, fan artists are gonna have a field day with this...especially the freaks.

(You know who you are. And you're weird!)

Luz Calling Amity a “Cotton-Candy Haired Goddess”: ...Have I ever mentioned how much I love this show?

Hooty Kidnapped Amity: ...Hooty, if your stupidity wasn't charming, I would be more than willing to call the authorities over how you kidnapped a girl in your version of a knapsack and locked her in the basement. For that is going to ring SO MANY alarm bells in people's heads.

Amity and Luz Stuck in a Tunnel of Love: *Smacks lips* Mmm. The adorable awkwardness of this moment is just *chef's kiss* magnifique!

Luz being afraid of getting made fun of:

Amity’s look of hope: I mean...just...f**king--LOOK AT HER:

That is the look of a girl who, while embarrassed as hell, still is ecstatic to learn for a brief moment, everything that she is hoping for has a high chance of being real. Who, in their right mind, wouldn't go "Aw!" at something so pure and innocent?!

Luz Destroying the Tunnel of Love: This is how to effectively utilize dramatic irony. The audience can understand why Luz is tearing the place apart because she explicitly states that she's afraid of Amity rejecting her in the end. They also know that's bogus, thus making it extra painful to watch Amity's heart break more and more with each second (which is perfectly represented through Amity's expressions). You feel bad for both of them, and even worse when you know that it can easily be prevented by the simple art of communication. That's what makes it great dramatic irony. Knowing the point of view of each character results in a scene that evokes emotions in two different ways.

Hooty’s Breakdown: This was...genuinely hard to watch. Not that it was badly written, far from it. It just...hurt seeing how destroyed Hooty was when he realized he failed the people he has such an admiration for. On the upside, a wholesome moment follows soon after as the Owl House gang tries to reassure Hooty that he's done a lot of good that night. It's a pure action that shows even though Hooty gets on their nerves all the time, they still care about him...damn it. I think I'm gonna cry.

Eda’s Advice for Luz: ...Eda...You're the best.

You found out that your surrogate daughter wants to ask a girl out, and not only were you quick to deliver the best possible advice ("Just go for it!"), but you also quickly reassure her that it doesn't need to be perfect.

And you know what? That's it. Eda is the best cartoon mom! She might not technically be Luz's mom, but I don't give a s**t because she is the best!

Luz and Amity Ask Each Other Out: Shh-sh-sh-sh...

Do you hear that?

...

...

...It's the sound of dozens of Lumity fans collectively losing their s**t...and I'm one of them.

WAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!

HOO-HOO-HOO-HOO!

IT!

IS!

CANON!

AH-HAHAHAHAHA!

HOLY S**T! Holy s**t! Holy s**t...might just be the best way I could possibly describe this! Finally, after all the waiting, speculating, and praying, THESE TWO IDIOTS FINALLY GOT TOGETHER! AND IT WAS PERFECT! I mean, it was awkward as s**t, but that's what makes it perfect! You know why? You wanna--Hey! *snaps fingers*. You want to know why? It's because they're teenagers. Of f**king course, it's going to be awkward! This is their first relationship, so there will be a lot of missteps along the way. And that, in itself, brings me to the best (second best part?) thing about it happening in episode eight of the new seasons. Most endgame couples get together in the climax or even at the end of the series. But to have them get together this early on, means there will be quite a few episodes dedicated to showing them grow as a couple.

And better than that--EVEN F**KING BETTER THAN THAT--dozens of kids are going to see these two, a realistic depiction of young love that just so happens to involve two girls, and are going to learn once and for all that there is nothing wrong with being who they are. That fact alone is f**king incredible. Yes, it sucks that season three got cut short, and we'll have even less time with Luz and Amity, but knowing how many kids have felt seen today almost makes it worth it in the end.

And if I see one mother f**ker saying this was poorly paced, I might just hunt them down for SPORT...Sorry if that was an overreaction. I'M JUST SO HAPPY! Because they're happy! Look at them. Listen to them! It's so...GAH-HAHAHA!

“They’re adorable! And deserve all the happiness!”: You're darn right, Hooty! You're darn right.

King’s Father(?) Shows Up: What the--WHAT?! They're doing this now?! Here?! After everything else?

Oh, man. What could this mean? What dynamic changes will this cause in the main cast? How could the writers fit this in during the next two episodes? And what--

Hooty Eats the Letter: ...Pfffft--HAHAHAHA!

Oh, man...I should be mad, and I wouldn't blame others if they are...but that is too much of a brilliant f**k you that I can't help but appreciate it. Bravo writers. Bravo.

WHAT I DISLIKED

...Dislikes? Dislikes? You would honestly believe that after everything I witnessed in this episode, that I would have the gull to list anything wrong with it?!

HOW DARE YOU ASSUME THAT I WOULD BE SO CALLUS TO--Actually, I do kind of have an issue with the episode's title. It's just too much of an awkward mouthful for me to get behind. I understand that the writers wanted to sneak the K into the secret message, but were there really no other titles starting with K that they couldn't come up with?

But that's just a personal issue, and in no way do I think anybody else would feel the same way. Especially with how well-written everything else is anyway.

IN CONCLUSION

"Knock Knock Knockin' on Hooty's Door" (title aside) is another A+ episode. It was hilarious, heart-wrenching, and downright adorable while keeping me entertained with every minute. I'm sure there are some issues I was willing to ignore due to how expertly written everything else was, but why bother looking for the chinks in the armor when I could just enjoy a perfect episode for being so...perfect! Some of you might be willing to disagree with me, but to that, I say: Don't knock it till you've tried it.

(Now, if you don't excuse me, I'm going to go lie down. It's...It's been a day.)

[iamstuckinfandom]

Ahhhh!!! Thank you!!! Keith is my absolute fav! And that's completely fair that he's not your personal favorite! We all have that one character we adore and Shiro's also a great character! Gonna say more below:

Yeah, honestly I get the whole thing with Shiro. I HATE how some fans were HAPPY he died (I think most of them were Kl fans tbh so no surprise there) and MAD that he didn't stay dead. I really wish he had been more involved in s7+8. I absolutely don't blame Keith for that tbh because a) it was the writings fault and b) he is leading like Shiro wanted him to in s2. Whenever I write fics for s7+, I try to make Shiro have more of a role (and even co-pilot Black with Keith). I get how you can be frustrated with that whole turn of events.

And in my fics, I like to feminize (I guess?) Keith while also show his masculine side because he's a good mix of both (so he can be pretty and soft and vulnerable but also HE CAN ABSOLUTELY KICK ASS!) so I get the whole balance between those and how it comes off wrong if not done delicately. I personally like the idea of Shiro being space mom and Keith space dad (not literally 🤣) because of their personalities.

I HATE HATE HATE how people try to pin Shiro and Keith as siblings and/or dad/son. If anything, they are best friends. You can be best friends with someone and not be in love/together. Fans (especially some Kl fans) were so insecure about that so they STILL have to make them related, biologically or not. Annoys me to death. Once saw someone try to say Shiro and Keith were biological siblings but yet said Keith is Korean and Shiro Japanese...like it doesn't work that way 😕 and you're absolutely right! Shiro didn't literally raise Keith. He raised him up as any good friend does with another friend ("I will never give up on you, but more importantly, you can't give up on yourself") and Keith back to him ("As many times as it takes"). But some fans pick and choose lines and their literal meaning (aka "Shiro, you're like a brother to me/You're my brother/thank you for raising him to be the man he is today" vs "it's like we're brothers, man/I consider you and the others to be my family") and don't care about consistency (anything Shiro and Keith = BRoThERs! but same implications for Keith + anyone else = they're good friends/lovers!) I get sp salty about that...

I always forget that last hug with Shiro and Keith 🤣 so he gets THREE individual hugs with the guy in the show plus the group hug in s4 (I know you said you haven't really covered s3-6 all the way but counts as a hug so...).

Keith and Hunk are so good together! That's actually one of his friendships I love so much! Why I definitely like the Weblem episode in s2, Hunk sticking up for Keith when Allura was hating on him in s2, and them in general.

I just love exploring Keith's friendships with pretty much EVERYONE 💕 including Matt and the Blades and stuff.

With that, yessss fans have turned me off from Keith and Lance together (platonic and romantic) so I get that 💯 percent. And how Lance treats Keith in canon up to s6-s7+ doesn't help either as well as how lots of people romanticized that treatment. It's the "if he pulls your hair, that means he likes you" trope and I hate it.

Kdkckdndnd fair enough about your cat not getting along with Kosmo 🤣

I like Keith vs Zarkon because a) both Galra and b) both lead Voltron. But yeah, I agree with the idea that it was done wrong as Shiro already fought him in a better fight. And Shiro having to earn things that were easily handed to Keith (my hc is that Shiro had a play in that while in Black’s astral plane because he wants better for Keith. If he's not getting mad at Keith for stealing his car or being Galra after a year of torture by them, can't see how he wouldn't want Keith to be even better than him) parallels to Keith earning stuff that easily got handed to Lance (a fighter pilot position, Red, using a sword, etc...) so I take it as a writing problem. Both are so annoying and bad. They're all their own individuals and they shouldn't be in the shadow of each other or any type of replacement.

As much as I LOVE Voltron, there is plenty I HATE about it too, even outside of s8. Again, I get salty af about this sometimes. Shiro and Keith were both done dirty, I swear (along with Allura because COME ON s8 wtf).

Like your answer and thank you for it. Always interesting to see thought processes of each person and how they differ on different characters vs other people's own. Love it.

I loved your post on Shiro and there's so much I agree on with it. Now I'm interested in seeing your take on Keith for the character game plz!!! ❤❤❤

Aww, bless your heart. Thank you! I'm glad you found something to enjoy in all of my heavily biased, opinionated, and probably unhinged rambling. ^///^'

I'll give it a go, but, just a small warning/disclaimer in advance:

I have not watched Seasons Three through Six in their entirety. I am vaguely aware of certain developments from these seasons, thanks to my interaction with fanworks incorporating them, but I cannot offer any sort of detailed analyses based on events exclusive to them. For example, I can't comment on Keith's relationships with the Blades in any meaningful way, as I'm only familiar with his interactions with them in Seasons Two, Seven, and Eight.

My answers for Keith are not going to be anywhere near as in-depth as they were for Shiro, since I watched this show for Shiro. But, I will respond to every question to the best of my ability.

1. Why do you like or dislike this character?

I like Keith because of the hidden depths to his character. Superficially, he's the hot-headed loner stereotype. He's a "discipline case". He stole the car of a renowned ace pilot sent to recruit students for the local military academy. He spent a number of years in the foster care system after being orphaned at a relatively young age, carries a knife on his person at all times, and doesn't take well to being challenged or having his abilities called into question. He's prone to rash decision-making and acting on impulse, and will lash out and say callous, hurtful things that he doesn't truly mean in the heat of the moment. ("Are we even friends?")

But, he craves love and acceptance from the people around him, even when his instinct is to push them away for self-preservation's sake. He scarfs down his food like he's never going to get another chance to eat, again. He can be a bit slow to pick up on the meanings of certain concepts or ideas, and some aspects of socialization are completely lost on him (not comprehending Lance's "Voltron" cheer). He likes cute things in a reserved, understated sort of way. He likes hugs.

Though he'd never admit it.

He's rash and quick-tempered, but it comes from a place of passion; from a strong sense of justice, and desire to protect the ones he cares about at any cost.

2. Favorite canon thing about this character?

That he's very much a semi-feral cat in human form. Shiro is his Person, the one who earned his trust and unwavering devotion, and he's slowly learned to open himself up to trusting others, but he'll still bite someone's finger off if they're not Shiro and have the misfortune of making him angry.

3. Least favorite canon thing about this character?

He seems to have lost some of his internal fire in an effort on the part of the writers to turn him into Discount Shiro.

Shiro is "retired" from his position as Black Paladin and head of Voltron, and sidelined completely through no choice of his own because Keith has taken over his role on the team.

Keith gets to kill Shiro's personal tormentor after Shiro couldn't so much as best Sendak in combat.

Season Eight has Keith retreading ground that Shiro already tread, laying into Zarkon about his being unworthy of piloting the Black Lion and Paladinship. Even though that exact confrontation between current and former Black Paladin had already been handled in a much more impactful manner back in Season Two, when it was Shiro engaging Zarkon in a hand-to-hand fight inside of the Black Lion's inner quintessence while the Black Lion, herself, spectated and had the final say in who was the victor.

Not only did Shiro and Zarkon's conflict have higher stakes, both narratively and for the characters, as Zarkon was actually still alive and an active threat to the universe, rather than existing inside of Haggar/Honerva's head, Shiro and Zarkon had history. Shiro was imprisoned and held captive, forced to fight in the gladiatorial arena, on Zarkon's ship. Zarkon was able to wrest control of the Black Lion out from under Shiro mid-battle on multiple occasions, and used his persisting connection to the Black Lion to track Voltron down across multiple galaxies.

These two finally getting to face one another on the battlefield was a longtime coming. It had proper build-up, felt completely earned, and provided all parties involved (Shiro, Zarkon, the Black Lion, and the viewer) ample reason to be invested in the outcome.

It was also a visual treat, with dynamic, impressively animated choreography and physics highly reminiscent of Saiyan battles in Dragonball Z, against a gorgeous backdrop.

Contrast that with Keith yelling at a Mega Zarkon inside of Haggar/Honerva's head, because the showrunners had to artificially up the ante somehow, while standing stock still against a backdrop that isn't nearly as stunning.

And, the Black Lion immediately coming to his aid when Mega Zarkon decides to strike,

instead of watching as her Paladin is slowly strangled until he says the right thing that convinces her that he is worthy.

Keith had Shiro's essence teach him how to "see through the Lion's eyes" in order to unlock the Black Lion's wings,

something Shiro, himself, had to fight to figure out with no one other than the Black Lion guiding him.

Despite Shiro's bond with the Black Lion being the strongest bond between human Paladin and Lion, indisputably and unquestionably, Post-Resurrection Shiro has no connection to her at all. He's a silent passenger in her cockpit, or the cockpit of whichever other Paladin-Lion pair chose to carry him. He might as well not be present at all for all of the acknowledgement and deference he's given by both his found family, and the show, itself.

None of this is Keith's fault. But, it's difficult not to feel some measure of anger, watching him usurp Shiro's role entirely, while Shiro is sequestered off on his own ship to be nerfed and disrespected for a full thirteen episode season. Especially when Keith is younger and able-bodied and easily achieves or has handed to him things that Shiro fought with all of his might only to either fall short of (defeating Sendak), or barely scrape by on the skin of his teeth (cementing his bond with the Black Lion to unlock her ultimate power). Keith's success at Shiro's expense only serves to further fuel the noxious ageism and disgusting ableism perpetuated by this show and its fanbase.

And, Keith's own personality seemed to suffer for it. Perhaps it's meant to be character growth, but he seems so flat, void of the traits that made him distinctly Keith, throughout Seasons Seven and Eight, following Season Seven's opener. I'm positive there are passionate fans who could and have elaborated on this with the detail and insight necessary to fully illustrate the dearth of Keithness. But, I think it says something that even someone like me, who watched this show for Shiro and skipped over nearly four entire seasons due to the absence of him, picked up on the less-than-satisfactory change.

4. If you could put this character in any other media, be it a book, a movie, anything, what would you put them in?

A shonen anime series, either Sci-Fi or Isekai, where he can be the hero who reluctantly heeds the call of Destiny and pull off risky, reckless maneuvers on a futuristic vehicle, and/or masterfully take down foes with a great big sword, to his hearts' content.

5. What’s the first song that comes to mind when you think about them?

"Hold On", by Chord Overstreet; only because of this Keith/Shiro video.

6. What’s something you have in common with this character?

I, too, love dogs and would die for Takashi Shirogane.

7. What’s something the fandom does when it comes to this character that you like?

Treating him like the competent adult he actually is. The one who lived on his own in a shack in the middle of the desert for a year, and set off bombs to distract Garrison security personnel while he snuck inside of the quarantine zone to figure out what they were up to. Before even realizing they had a miraculously alive Shiro sedated and strapped to a table.

8. What’s something the fandom does when it comes to this character that you despise?

Feminizing and infantilizing him, always in service of a ship. Keith has moments of emotional vulnerability, because he's meant to be a multi-faceted human/alien hybrid. That does not make him a weepy blushing "uwu" uke who sobs, wails, and cries while being choked and split open on Lance or Shiro's intimate parts and calling them "daddy".

He's a semi-feral cat in human form. He'd more than likely use his teeth, inflicting serious damage on those very sensitive parts, should someone try to make him choke on them, and I can't see him ever wanting to be sexually dominated by anyone. Putting aside that Shiro is a bottom and would never, Keith would sock Lance or any other man square on the jaw, or drive his knee or foot into an even more vulnerable area, for so much as trying to pin him down and make him "take it".

And, I know this is a popular headcanon and the show, itself, tried to lend credence to it by having Krolia thank "Kuron" for looking after Keith for her, but Shiro did not "raise" Keith. Shiro was an ambitious ace pilot in his very early twenties, contemplating the prospect of engagement and marriage to his long-term partner while their relationship began to unravel, battling a terminal degenerative illness, and planning to pilot a voyage into deep space. When was he meant to have found the time amidst all of this to have adopted or parented a preteen/early adolescent?

He and Keith were close, as a mentor/protege and friends typically would be, but Keith certainly didn't look to Shiro to be a stand-in or surrogate for his father. Nor did Shiro view Keith as his son. Keith confronting Shiro over Shiro's attempt to conceal his illness from him plays out exactly the way a confrontation between two peers who view each other as equals would.

Keith marches up to Shiro without so much as a greeting, very abrupt, direct, and upfront, unafraid of castigation or reprisal. The opposite of what one would expect from a cadet approaching his senior officer, or any kid confronting an adult authority figure about a perceived deception.

Likewise, Shiro steps down to put himself on the same level as Keith.

While maintaining a respectful physical distance, Keith leans forward into Shiro's space, resolutely standing his ground and refusing to let Shiro hide or deflect.

And, Shiro ultimately gives in and chooses to be honest with him, rather than pulling rank and brushing Keith off, telling him that everything's fine, or it's none of Keith's business, and treating him like a child.

Their relationship can't be so simply and neatly classified. Though Keith does refer to Shiro as his "brother", there's enough ambiguity there to be threatening (see Keith tenderly touching Shiro's face

and pausing over Shiro as if he intended to kiss him

), and I think that's why very specific shippers dilute Shiro into Keith's parental figure, even going as far as interpreting Shiro and Keith as, or outright making them biologically related. It's a transparent attempt to rule out any possibility of a romance between them while pretending to pay perfunctory tribute to their bond.

As if these shippers actually care about it or Shiro in any way, shape, or form.

And, it's sincerely grating to have to scroll past.

9. Could you be roommates with this character?

I see no reason why I couldn't be. Though, I don't think my cat would get along with Kosmo very well.

10. Could you be best friends with this character?

Once again, I would be too nervous to approach him.

11. Would you date this character?

No. He's way too young for me.

12. What’s a headcanon you have for this character?

I have to go with the fairly popular(?) fanon reading that Keith falls somewhere on the Autism spectrum. Canon seems to back this by some degree, with the aforementioned "I say 'Vol', you say--" "Vol-tron?", and showing Keith covering his ears and closing his eyes on the carnival ride he and Hunk get stuck on, as if suffering from overstimulation.

13. What’s an emoji, an emoticon and/or any symbol that reminds you of this character or you think the character would use a lot?

▬▬ι═══════ﺤ

14. Assign a fashion aesthetic to this character.

Probably cliche and expected, but... Biker Aesthetic. Leather jacket in black or red, fingerless gloves on his hands, of course, tight jeans, perhaps with a tear or two in the legs, and heeled boots.

He'd also definitely wear hoodies and hooded jackets with drawstrings, so he can pull the hood over his head and secure it tightly when he's feeling overstimulated and wants to shut out the world.

15. What’s your favorite ship for this character? (Doesn’t matter if it’s canon or not.)

Keith/Shiro. Their love for each other is legitimately, canonically death-defying.

"Keith, I was dreaming. Keith... you saved me." "We saved each other."

I get emotional every time.

16. What’s your least favorite ship for this character?

The portmanteau starts with a 'K', and rhymes with pants.

17. What’s a ship for this character you don’t hate but it’s not your favorite that you’re fine with?

I think Keith/Acxa is interesting and has potential, and I kind of wish the show would have done more with Keith/Allura than the brief ship tease we got in The Ark of Taujeer.

18. How about a relationship they have in canon with another character that you admire?

I think Keith and Hunk's friendship is very sweet, Keith and Kosmo are adorable, and in a purely platonic sense, Keith and Lance do have their moments (that I don't reflexively tune out because the fandom has caused me to dread any interaction between them.)

19. How about a relationship they have in canon that you don’t like?

Nothing comes to mind.

20. Which other character is the ideal best friend for this character, the amount of screentime they share doesn’t matter?

I think Keith has some pretty solid friendships as is.

21. If you’re a fic writer and have written for this character, what’s your favorite thing to do when you’re writing for this character? What’s something you don’t like?

I like how concise, direct, and to the point Keith is. He doesn't meander, or waffle, or embellish, or put on airs. He says exactly what he means to say the first time, and doesn't put up a facade for anyone.

I've yet to find something I dislike about writing for him.

22. If you’re a fic reader, what’s something you like in fics when it comes to this character? Something you don’t like?

I like when he's actually written faithfully to his canon characterization, scrappy and slightly rough around the edges, but fiercely loving and possessing a strong- if sometimes somewhat misguided- sense of justice.

I hate when he's infantilized and portrayed as a soft, weepy, fragile child in fics that are meant to take place during the show's main timeline. It comes across as borderline fetishistic, and kind of creeps me out. Especially when he's being paired with Shiro and the author continues to emphasize how "delicate" and "small" he is in contrast to Shiro's strength and size.

23. Favorite picture of this character?

24. What other character from another fandom of yours that reminds you of them?

Just as Shiro reminds me very much of the 2003 iteration of Leonardo, Keith invokes 2003 TMNT's Raphael. Short-tempered, always ready and raring to deliver a well-deserved beatdown, prone to acting rashly, strong sense of justice, intense, unbreakable bond with his team leader.

The major difference is, aside from Keith and Shiro not butting heads like Raph and Leo frequently do (and obviously not being siblings), Raphael never lost his internal fire over the course of the series, no matter what trauma he endured.

The same cannot be said for Keith.

25. What was your first impression of this character? How about now?

I can't recall my first impression of him, truth be told. Now... Admittedly, I'm not quite as taken with his character as I sort of hoped I would be, given how he's portrayed in well-written fanfiction. I like him just fine, but...

Maybe it's the product of me being overexposed to him by a fandom that is utterly obsessed with shoving the milquetoast pairing of him and his "rival" down everyone's throats. Or the fact that he's made to usurp Shiro's role, to the point that some of his fans openly wish that Shiro would have remained dead in service of Keith's character arc.

Regardless of the reason, Keith kind of doesn't do much for me. Strange for someone who happily ships him with their favorite to say, but that's the reality of it.

----

Thank you so much for the submission! I hope my answers were somewhat satisfactory, and not completely incendiary. (I'm not really equipped to handle torches and pitchforks.)