#if those victims include criminals then yeah! because criminality doesn’t mean they should be killed in the street

[sweaters-and-vertigo]

“i sUPpOrT oUr LocAL pOLiCe!!!!!!!!!!!”

that’s so nice! so does the government!

[dr-spencer-reids-queen]

House on Fire: Part Two

Pairing: Spencer Reid x Female!Reader

Word Count: ~2.3k

Summary: Fire burns everything including energy, but when an unsub uses fire to murder dozens, you feel each and every one of those deaths.

Warnings: canon violence, canon language, canon talk of death, methods of kill

Author’s Note: I do not own anything from Criminal Minds. All credit goes to their respective owners. If there are any warnings that exceed the normal death/kills from the show, I will list them. If you’ve seen the show, then it’s the same level of angst unless otherwise stated

x

The bar down the street was the target this time, and the fire department is putting the fire out when you arrive.

"This doesn't make sense. He should have been at the memorial. He shouldn't have been able to resist seeing the damage he'd done," Hotch sighs,

"Captain. Can I get a word?" Derek asks.

The captain excuses himself to explain what happened to your team.

"It started in the kitchen. It looks like he came around to the back and tossed a cocktail through the window."

"That's a different delivery system. That's a big deviance from his MO, but perfect for this location."

"I don't know. With a space this small, he shouldn't have been able to pour gasoline without being noticed. Nobody saw anything?" you ask.

"Witnesses say they heard an explosion."

"I guarantee he stuck around to watch."

This fire only claimed the lives of five victims, but because it's so fresh, their spirits still linger behind. Their sadness and anguish weigh heavily on your shoulders, but you try not to let it affect you. It's not real. I'm okay. I'm not really feeling this, myself. I'm going to be okay.

"The bar matches his previous locations. It's another local hot spot, but there were only five victims this time. Why lower the body count?"

You walk around to the back entrance and see there is a bolt and chain around the door so that people can't get out even if they tried. There is another bolt and chain on the front entrance, not allowing anyone to escape.

"This is something different. There are bolts and chains on both the front and back entrance. He really wanted to make sure nobody got out this time."

"Why bother? No one made it out of the other ones."

"Maybe he knew the fire department would show up sooner."

"Yeah, we're faster now," the fire captain says. "Practice makes perfect. What the hell difference does it make? What good are you guys doing for us? You see chains and figure he didn't want anyone to get out. I could have told you that."

"We're not criticizing anyone. Our job is to look at the same things you do but to try to see them from a different perspective," Rossi says.

"Sure," he scoffs.

"With all due respect, captain, you look at that chain and say the killer wanted to make sure nobody got out, right? We look at that chain and see a little bit more. This fire is different from the first one because he really didn't want anyone escaping, which means whoever was in this bar meant something to him. This fire matters more than the first, and this fire is going to help us catch the guy. If you're going to disrespect us, then you're not really needed here," you sass.

Hotch, Emily, and Chief Carlson make their way over to where you are as they talk.

"My father was chief here for over thirty years. In the last two weeks, I lost more folks than he did in his whole career."

"Chief, what do we know?"

"Only four of the victims have died. The bartender, Nancy, is still hanging on."

"How bad is she?"

"Pretty bad. She was unconscious when they took her."

"If we get a chance, we need to talk to her."

There is some commotion coming from the road, and you see Tina trying to make her way through the crowd. She isn't in her EMT uniform, so she must not have been on duty. The sheer panic on her face would not be there if she didn't have someone she loved in that fire.

"I was off duty. I heard it on the radio!"

"God, I'm sorry, Tina," the captain sighs.

"I just talked to him on the phone. He said he was coming home," she cries.

"Tina's fiance, Jason, owned the bar. He was inside when it all happened. When is it gonna stop?"

"Did you get anything?" Hotch asks you.

"Not spiritually, no. Though, it's a completely different MO than before. Assuming it's not a copycat, we know why the unsub wasn't at the funeral. Someone in that bar was more important to him than anything else."

"Morgan, call Garcia. Tell her we need to know absolutely everything there is to know about these five victims, and we need to know it now. I'll go tell Chief Carlson we want to talk to his officers."

Hotch walks away and Derek gets Penelope on speakerphone so you can hear their conversation.

"Hello?" Penelope sighs.

"Hey, how's Miss Smart and Sexy doing today?"

"Fair warning, cupcake. As much as I love you and our witty banter, I am all out of witty and banter and am struggling with love."

"What's wrong?" you ask.

"I am standing at the crossroads of thirty-one lives, and what I see is a train wreck. Do you want a little tour? This is what I mean. Flip Phillips beat his wife. It went on for years. Although you wouldn't know it if you looked at the police reports because that's one of the perks of being the Mayor. David Alexander sued his boss for five million dollars over something totally lame, and what makes it even more erotic is that he was sleeping with the Boss' daughter. Then there's this town councilwoman who had a terminally ill husband and three boyfriends under the age of twenty. I want to believe that the world is just teeming with awesome people, but all of this is giving me a great pause. I want to go back to cyberspace."

"I don't think it was fair for Hotch to ask that of you," you say. "We have someone who reads incredibly fast, and you could have sent over the files for me and Spencer to read."

"I'm sorry, sweetheart," Derek sighs, "but I got a few more names for you."

"Okay. Please tell me they're still alive."

"I wish I could do that, Garcia."

"Send over the names. I'll call back when I have something."

Since you know what kind of unsub you're dealing with, you're ready to give the profile out. This kind of unsub is a textbook arsonist, so it's not hard to put together a profile on him. Chief Carlson gathers his men and women to hear the profile.

"All of the first four fires--the convenience store, the restaurant, the rec center, and the movie theater--are indicative of a revenge arsonist. That's someone who's seeking retaliation for an injustice whether real or imagined."

"Revenge arsonists often target group headquarters such as churches or government buildings. This unsub has chosen local gathering places with large numbers of potential victims inside. It's clear to us that he's chosen to target this community as a whole. That tells us that the unsub is a local, someone who lives or grew up in Royal."

"But he feels like an outsider," Derek adds to what you said, "as if this community has wronged him in some type of way. These fires are just his way of striking back and trying to draw attention to himself."

"These fires not only killed innocent people, they also gave the unsub a sense of power over the community. Somehow those fires were lacking, though. They didn't exact the correct measure of punishment, attract enough attention, or attract the attention of the right person."

"So, with the bar fire, he didn't increase the number of victims. He reduced them. That's why the third fire is key. He's not striking out at the community as a whole anymore. He's now striking out at one or more individuals."

"You're sure it's the same guy?" Dan asks.

"The odds of another arsonist in a town this small are almost negligible," Spencer explains. "That's why we need to concentrate on these victims. These five will hold the key."

"So, all we gotta do is just figure out who would have wanted to hurt them," Chief Carlson says.

"It may not be that simple. This type of rage tends to stem from things that people keep buried, things they just don't talk about. Which is why we're gonna have to dig deeply."

"Understood."

Nancy, the bartender who survived the bar fire, is well enough for a few questions, and Hotch wants you and Rossi to go with him. If anyone will get anything out of her, it's you. She might not remember she knows something, which is where you come in. However, as soon as you see her through the window, tears start to well in your eyes. She is covered head to toe in what looks to be fourth-degree burns. She looks like she's in so much pain, and that breaks your heart.

"How is she?" Hotch asks the doctor.

"We couldn't even send her to the burn unit in Gary. It wouldn't have mattered."

"We'll be brief." You take one step closer to her room and let the tears fall freely. "You need to keep it together."

"I know," you sniffle and wipe your cheeks.

"Nancy? It's me. The FBI is here," the doctor says gently.

"Nancy, can you tell us what happened?"

"There was a crash, then everything exploded."

"What happened before that? Was there anything unusual or out of the ordinary? Did anyone come in or leave?"

"Just Jason. He came for the money like always. He's dead, isn't he?"

"Nancy, what about the customers?" you ask, keeping her on track. "Was there anyone there who seemed anxious or upset? He would have kept to himself and taken a seat away from the other customers. Maybe he was checking his watch or his cell phone."

"There was one guy. He seemed angry. He kept changing seats."

When she thinks about what happened, she starts panicking thinking that he's going to come after her. She starts freaking out and breathing heavily, and this is when the doctor steps in.

"Okay, we have to stop."

"Who was that, Nancy? Do you know his name?"

You don't have to be touching Nancy to connect to her trauma. Images flash by quickly--too quickly for you to process what they are. There are only two things you're getting from these images. The initials T.W. and a white man with blonde hair.

"Now," the doctor glares.

You and Hotch have no choice but to leave, so you leave Nancy to live the rest of her short life in peace.

"What did you see?"

"The initials T.W. and a white man with blonde hair. That's it."

Maybe the rest of your team is having a better time narrowing down the suspect list based on what they know about the victims of the bar fire. Hotch decides to stay back with Rossi while you head back to the police station.

"So, tell us about the bar victims," Emily says to Penelope just as you walk in.

"Alright, the first two were Hilda and Roger Drake. She was a teacher and he sold insurance. Neither of them had any enemies. Their biggest problem was finding baby names because Hilda was pregnant."

"Are you sure? The ME hasn't even started yet."

"Yes, ma'am, I'm sure. There was a belly watch on Hilda, and people in Royal take out ads. It's very hard to keep secrets in this town."

"That's just wrong."

"That's small-town life for you," JJ chuckles. "Your business is everybody's business."

"What about Eric Gall?" Spencer asks about another victim.

"He was a boozer. He spent most of his time at his dad's house. He's got a few drunk and disorderlies but he seems harmless. Given the number of rounds he bought, It's safe to say the whole town loves him."

"I just talked to Nancy. She says there was a guy there before the fire. He didn't talk to anybody and kept switching seats. She didn't seem to recognize him, which makes me think he's not from Royal."

"That's not necessarily true. What if she knew him and she just didn't realize it?" Spencer says.

"Like a disguise?"

"The fire captain said the unsub knew the layout of the movie theater. He used that knowledge to light the fire, but at the bar, the unsub kept changing his seats. He was studying the layout of the bar and got better views of the entrances and exits because maybe he wasn't familiar with the area."

"What if he grew up in Royal and he moved away? The only thing I got from Nancy was a white man with blonde hair and the initials T.W. Penelope, what year was that bar built?"

"Six years ago."

"What about the movie theater?"

"The forties. Back then, it was a single screen, and the rec center was built in the late seventies. I'm digging into the bar as we speak, and it looks like Jason opened the bar six years ago when he moved to Royal from Indianapolis."

"Does he have friends and family here?"

"None that I can find."

"What about the bar? Did Jason buy it from someone and take over their business?"

"No, Jason started the bar himself. He named it after his father, who was his sole beneficiary."

"That makes sense. He was single," Emily states.

"Was single, sugar. Until a couple of days ago, he married Tina Wheeler."

"Tina Wheeler's initials are T.W.," you say.

"You think Tina set the fires?" Spencer asks you.

"I didn't say that. I'm merely stating facts. I did see a white man, so I don't think Tina did it."

"I checked her out originally as one of the first responders, but her work records looked squeaky clean. I let it go until I realized she'd married Jason. Then, I did some more aggressive digging, which I should remind you that you asked me to do, and it turns out that Tina's parents died in a fire when she was five. After they died, she and her brother, Tommy, were sent to live with their grandparents in Royal."

"Tommy's initials are T.W.," you say. "Send us everything you have on them."

"That's just it, I have plenty on Tina, but I can't find anything on her brother. Tina lives in Royal, went to a community college a few towns over, got a degree, took a job, worked hard, and married Jason. Tommy just disappeared."

"There isn't anything you can do? Tommy should be somewhere."

"I'll keep digging."

"T.W. makes so much more sense. I bet Tommy is a white man with blonde hair, too," you say when Penelope hangs up. "If that's true, then Jason might have been the target all along. He seems to visit every place frequently."

x

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[piracytheorist]

Since the first thing that strikes me about re8, story-wise, is that it seems to be all over the place? Again, I’ve no idea how it ties to previous games but it feels like this parental/mother-child theme is just hanging there with no resolution at all? I mean yes, Ethan saved his daughter, presumably breaking some sort of abuse cycle, yay, congrats, but what about his wife/gf? Isn’t she supposed to be like the main protagonist of the story of a mother bereaved to the point of tyrannical madness

Or rather, this specific story is not the right choice for his character since there’s SO many ethical and philosophical issues and questions implied but never properly explored because of Ethan’s ‘fuck you, idc’ attitude (which is completely understandable in those circumstances but adds virtually nothing to the plot and arguably even ruins it a bit). Heisenberg could’ve been an excellent ally with fascinating grey morality (provided the writers wouldn’t push him to the point of absolute insanity and let freedom, not power-hunger be his main goal and motivation for rebellion).And again, aren’t the lords supposed to represent child development stages? In which case Ethan what? Kills the possibility of some evil version of Rose? Or his own chance to experience fatherhood throughout all of those stages? Either way, it seems a bit… weird to have a Parent destroy multiple people whose main relevance to the plot is that they’re children of an abusive antagonist in a storyline so extremely focused on parent/kid relationships.

I feel like the main theme of re8 is not just parenthood/motherhood, but the relationship itself of the parent to the child. There's a lot of mentions to "children being used". Miranda kidnapping people, experimenting on them and mutating them and then treating them like they're her kids; Miranda kidnapping and practically killing Rose; Dimitrescu making daughters out of reanimated corpses she experimented on; Heisenberg wanting to use Rose's powers, etc etc.

And it's important that Miranda is at the center of this. There's something very interesting she says to Ethan in her boss fight:

"Why do you interfere? Surely you have no need of Rose now, so close to death?"

And that's where her mistake was. Ethan wasn't doing all that because he needed Rose herself. He was doing it to save her, fully aware that he wasn't going to be a part of her life cause he knew he was dying. Miranda was way too dependent on her love for Eva - and like, I honestly get it that losing your child can devastate you (if anything my fear of that is one of the reasons I don't want to have kids) - so much that her life literally revolved around her child. Once Eva died, Miranda wanted to die. Once she found the Megamycete and discovered she maybe had a chance to bring Eva back, she dedicated her entire life and ruined multiple others to do just that. Her one and biggest need was to get Eva back. It wasn't a simple want or wish. It was a need. She'd get her child back, damn everyone else - including other people's children.

Miranda had no-one to blame directly; Eva had died from the influenza, it wasn't like she had any chance to change things. Ethan's case was different; he had people to blame, particularly, the one who kidnapped Rose and dismembered her, and her lackeys who kept said parts and fought him for trying to take them back.

So on one end, you have a parent who lost her child due to a tragedy, and ended up destroying other - innocent - lives in order to get her back. On the other, you have a parent who lost his child due to a crime, and ended up going after the criminals responsible in order to get the child back. Like, it wasn't even revenge, and it wasn't that he "needed" Rose in his life. He simply wanted to save her and ensure she'll be alright.

I fully agree it could have been Mia as the protagonist in re8, and that it was a wasted opportunity to simply fridge her and have her in the sidelines angsting over her husband. But whether it was Mia or Ethan as the protagonist, I feel like the theme that I explained above does offer a resolution, showing the opposites of Miranda and Ethan, and ending Miranda's tyrrany of her "need" to have her child back through Ethan's determination to ensure his child's safety and happiness - even if he doesn't get to be a part of any of that later on. Miranda showed obsession; Ethan showed dedication.

And this is how I see the abuse cycle breaking and the resolution is reached; an obsessed parent hurt a good parent's child to bring their own child back - the good parent's dedication stopped the former, allowing the former's tyrrany to end and their child to grow up safe.

Seeing as this is a horror game, I don't tend to focus on the morality issues (if I'm interpreting your second message correctly). Like, the developers are making a grant effort to put us in Ethan's shoes, first-person POV, plain character protagonist and all; our child got kidnapped and practically murdered, and we have the chance to bring her back. We'll absolutely raise hell to the people who are responsible for it and we will get our child back, fuck any moral dilemmas we might have. When someone is threatening your life, you have the ability to kill them to defend yourself. In the case of a caring parent, that ability may multiply by a lot when the threat is towards their child. And I feel that this is what the game explored in the end. Though the whole survival issue is taxing on Ethan, he doesn't give a damn about who he has to kill if it means saving his daughter - but again, it's only the responsible parties. We see how watching all the people at Luisa's house die affected him, and even before Elena died, he wanted to ensure her safety before he went searching for Rose; he is sympathetic and morally rational, but also capable of cold-blooded murder if someone is threatening his child. To a lesser extent, we saw that in re7 too. With his life on the line, he killed Jack (multiple times) and Marguerite, and at the end he recognized how they were actually victims of Eveline. But they were still actively trying to murder him so he wasn't given the chance to help them. With Zoe, he promised to send help, and he did, even wanting to talk to her once she'd been rescued by her uncle and Chris. The same applies to re8, but as I said, it's multiplied since it's his daughter who's in danger, and the end of re8 proves he cares for her safety more than his own.

Now, all that said, I think it's important to note how it's stil a Resident Evil game. I haven't actually played or watched any playthroughs of other games, but the basic concept in these games, from what I understand, is that the player shoots zombies; ex-human beings who have lost any human mentality and will just come for your throat if you don't kill them first. They're not humans anymore, they can't be reasoned or sympathized with. It's not really an issue of morality, ethics or philosophy. Your life, and the life of your child in the case of re8, are in danger. You don't give a shit. You just start shooting and hope for the best. Again, I don't know if the morality issue is explored in other RE games, but to be honest... Resident Evil doesn't sound like the kind of franchise that's thematically into going super deep into the morality of shooting zombies to save your life.

I have to admit I haven't thought of the Lords being representative of child development stages. I think they could be put as Moreau being a toddler, fully dependent on their parent - funnily enough, the Greek word for baby is "moro", pronounced almost exactly the way "Moreau" is pronounced in the game - Donna as a child, Heisenberg as a (rebellious?) teenager, and Dimitrescu as a late teen/young adult (if anything, Dimitrescu seems to behave like the eldest child of the bunch). But I'm not sure the connection that has to Ethan as a father, if anything because the bosses are fought in complete random order of age, if my analysis is correct. Like, I understand the symbolism behind the Lords' behaviours, maybe as you said they represent the obstacles Ethan had to overcome. In one single day and with his life on the line, instead of in the course of Rose's entire childhood and adolescence, but that's exactly why he hated being a protagonist of a horror game, lol.

Anyway, yeah. All in all, I don't think Resident Evil is a franchise where we should expect to sit down afterwards and ponder whether we were right to shoot the zombies that were trying to kill us. Again, I'm not the right person to ask this, since I don't know anything about other RE games, but that's the conclusion I'm making in a meta-thinking way.

[oingos-bitch]

The ABCD ask game for devo? He needs more love imo (I don't even know if you write got him)

This man is so underrated it’s criminal. With that being said, hell yeah I’ll write for him! He definitely needs more love

Also kudos to a discord server I’m a part of for 

Based on this post

TW: child abuse, light gore

Headcanon A: what I think realistically

Loud and vulgar, but to a lesser degree than Rubber Soul.

He’s had Ebony Devil since he was about 7 years old.

7′0″ tall.

He likes to enjoy a good cup of coffee or tea on his time alone.

His favourite song to have a smoke to is “Don’t dream It’s Over” by Crowded House.

Used to have a zeal for learning languages. He hasn’t practiced enough to speak fluently, but well enough to surprise people.

He’s probably gotten some pretty interesting piercings at some point.

Speaking of Soul, he’s more quiet/on-edge around him, but loud everywhere else.

Tends to clash with others, namely Soul and Nukesaku.

Likes to prank others and laugh at their misfortune.

Once he scared Boingo by sneaking Ebony Devil into his room and he nearly avoided getting beaten to a bloody pulp by Oingo.

Devo just laughed and dared him to go on with it, even making a few requests as to how he wanted to be hurt. Oingo just sneered at him, disgusted.

The “crazy ass” of the group (like in that one meme).

Gets too cocky about his abilities.

The fact that he’s got an impressive body count boosts his ego even more.

Whenever he and Steely Dan see each other it’s more or less like “that moment when you wear the same dress 😬.”

Of course, Devo thinks his stand’s ability is superior.

Devo’s really careful about his hair and he’ll cut your hand off if you even try to touch it.

If you’re very special to him then maybe he’ll consider letting you braid his hair -- just the fact that he considered letting you braid it means that he holds you in high regard.

Respects his elders. . . mostly.

Quite nervous about letting his guard down; his keen sense of alertness is what caught DIO’s eye.

Headcanon B: what I think is fucking hilarious.

He always hits his head on every doorway because he always forgets to duck.

He hates wearing stuffy/formal clothing and rips it off as soon as he gets the chance.

For his orientation at DIO’s mansion he had to wear a suit and tie and he visibly struggled to stay in it.

He used DIO’s announcement for “Funtime!” as an excuse to rip off the suit and he walked throughout the mansion that way, he didn’t give a fuck.

When he laughs too hard, he drools.

He has trouble pronouncing “Sassafras.” Any other word is fine, it’s just that one word.

Hates Speedos with a burning passion.

He would show up to his victims’ funerals sometimes just to see how much damage he caused.

He’s bragged about this to his co-workers numerous times.

He would definitely try to one-up anyone else’s body count/gory stories.

Hence the clashing with Soul.

Headcanon C: what is heart-crushing and awful, but fun to inflict on friends.

His first victim was his father.

It wasn’t his fault.

He knew his father was a strict man, more so now that his mother wasn’t around, but he didn’t feel as if he deserved to have his milk teeth forced out of his mouth by the impact of a brick just for the tiniest of errors.

Over time, however, he began to accept his father’s view that he was indeed deserving of such treatment.

His father had said it was all for his good, after all.

No matter how he’d begun to find comfort in his father’s logic, there was always something in the back of his mind nudging its way to the forefront.

And it would all come to a peak.

He was only 16, barely starting to make sense of the world and his mind was racing and he knew he had to get away but he couldn’t, he couldn’t but he knew he had to push him away, to kick him, spit at him, scream, anything but he had to get away and he just couldn’t decide what to do and it all just happened so fast.

He didn’t know that Ebony Devil would react like that.

He just knew that he felt the tiniest glint of resentment for his father and the next second the man’s face lay at his feet, his faceless stump of a head smacking against Devo’s forehead on it’s way to the ground.

Devo didn’t know what would follow after, all he knew was that he couldn’t stay there.

DIO was the only “family” he’s had in a while, even if his words were just an illusion.

Devo preferred to play dumb, but he knew about the flesh buds, he had seen countless recruits slaughtered before his very eyes, and yet. . .

It’s not like he hasn’t been in that situation before. 

At least DIO’s lies were more convincing.

Headcanon D: what would never work with canon but the canon is shit so I believe it anyway.

Anything to do with Those Three™ -- a.k.a Rubber Soul, Devo, and Steely Dan.

You can separate them, but it’s not recommended. They each bring about pandemonium in their own way, but they’re surprisingly more calm together??

Probably because Devo is their voice of reason (and that’s saying something. . .).

When they’re not committing crimes against humanity, they fulfill their roles as public nuisances in much calmer ways, some of which include:

Devo writing diss tracks for Rubber’s SoundCloud account.

Him participating in said SoundCloud account (or rather, Soul’s YouTube channel) by appearing in his music videos.

They record these god-awful homemade videos in front of random buildings and he and Dan stand around and throw up awkward hand signs while Rubber raps.

Speaking of Rubber’s YouTube channel, he also does those prank videos quite often.

Devo’s the cameraman.

He likes to piss Rubber off by zooming in on random stuff while he’s talking.

Sometimes he feels a bit sorry for the victims of the pranks (like Chaka, poor baby’s on the verge of tears!) and occasionally comforts them with a pat on the shoulder, or his signature, a sympathetic shrug.

Devo’s the designated driver whenever they go to a bar.

That’s not to say that he doesn’t drink, though.

Should they get pulled over he’d just kill the cop and head on his merry way.

(This is just the tip of the iceberg; feel free to ask for anymore hc’s about him! :D)

[stxleslyds]

Part 2 of my Under the Red Hood Review

Hello! Here I am again with part two of this review, if you want to read the first part I will link it here!

Let’s continue!

Chapter eight gives us a look into the past, to when Jason was stealing the batmobile’s tires, to one of the first times Jason went out as Robin with Batman and everything was wonderful…then one of the scenes from the past show a Jason that may come off as a bit more aggressive on the job, it’s also shown that he does agree that the level of aggression was unnecessary but that the criminal deserved it anyway.

I know that sometimes people get the impression that Jason was an angry and extremely aggressive Robin, which is not correct, he was a sweetheart (and I am referring to Post-Crisis Jason because that’s what is in continuity in this story) just like Dick (he had forty years of being a sweetheart too, Marv Wolfman misses me with that angsty and angry shit) but I think what’s important here is the fact that Jason saw things differently from Bruce and that does not make him a bad Robin, it makes him a Robin with different experiences and as a human being he is allowed to change his views, also let’s be honest, hormones are a bitch so emotions are at an all-time high so he is bound to change. This does not mean that his death was his fault, Jason felt lost and wanted a mother and he made some decisions but Bruce was the adult and he should have paid more attention to him and his behavior so in this house the only ones to blame for Jason’s death will always be the Joker and Batman.  

Rant over.

Back to the issue we see Bruce, who has been doing tests and analyzing the coffin that Jason was supposedly buried in for hours, he is a whole ass mess but at some point in time he reaches a verdict…There was never a body in the coffin.

In chapter nine we meet Davis McCullen and Alfie Tisner who have a sort of meth lab in Black Mask or Red Hood’s territory, they don’t really know, and they also have a friend that is selling drugs to kids so yeah…they are in big trouble.

As I read I expect Hood to kind of appear out of thin air and kill them but that doesn’t happen, Batman is the one that comes crashing through a window and tells them that if they don’t pack their things and move they are dead because there is a wall full of C4 (that Jason implanted), Batman wastes no time and gets to work on disarming the bomb as he does that Jason makes himself known (trough a microphone) and tells the Bat that there is no way he can do it and that he better run too. Bruce says that the building is empty and there is no reason for him to blow it up which Jason is aware of and then suggests that Batman knows how much good it does to put a little fear into people and…boom.

Look at this little shit.

We soon find out that the building belonged to Black Mask, and that is not the only thing that Hood wants off the map, he is shown blowing up one of Masks trucks that is full of weapons. Here we also learn a bit more about his modus operandi, he never steals drugs or weapons for himself, he just destroys them and while they were expecting that behavior in what Hood deemed his territory, he is now doing it everywhere. We also find out that before he was trying to get Mask’s people to work for him but now he just kills them.

He is, however, taking his cut from wherever he can, so maybe he is building his own empire and his move as of now is eliminating the competition. This theory is proven true when Jason in all his glory and with a bazooka shoots Mask’s office floor.

Mask is pissed off and as he is screaming into the wind an angel answers his call…Deathstroke is here and he wants to play. This is not pleasing for Hood or Batman.  

Slade is working with the Society and Mask wants Hood “Serious dead. Head on a pike, guts on the pavement, me wearing a sweater vest made of his skin kind of dead.” So, Slade sends people to take care of the job.

Mask isn’t pleased though, apparently Captain Nazi (???), Hyena and an unknown third party aren’t enough for him but Slade assures him that they will get the job done, no worries.

The attack on Hood comes when some men are trying to send a “message” to him and here is where weirdo one and two bamboozle our boy.

The fight that ensues is good but is overshadowed by what Alfred says behind the scene, he talks about how Jason as Robin told him that Batman and the legend of what he could do didn’t necessarily scare the “dress ups” the way that it scared the street thugs, so as a consequence they were more dangerous, Alfred true to himself tried to explain that the dress ups probably believe different things about Batman but Jason told him something that shocked him, he said “They all know he won’t kill them.” Which is true, you, me and Alfred know it.

As Alfred continues “talking” the fight welcomes a new player, Batman. He narrates the fight and realizes that they need to team up which comes naturally to them both, in a second they are in synch just like they used to back in the cave all those years ago. As the fight is coming to an end the third party arrives…yep Count Vertigo is here, the fight doesn’t last long though, because there is adrenaline and hyenas and scents the fight is over in no time (I am not explaining that fight, it’s so weird). Captain Nazi is the only casualty and Batman isn’t happy but just like Jason I am okay with it, if he had to kill one of them let it be the Nazi.

Jason obviously leaves and taunts the Bat once more.

Alfred ends the monologue by saying that Jason never understood that it wasn’t Batman’s strength or stealth that scared his adversaries but his resolve.  

So, Batman makes a dramatic promise, “Time for this to end.” dun dun duuuuun

Chapter eleven part one opens with Alfred telling us about one of his and Bruce’s hobbies, they used to collect first editions of books and it soon became a tradition that Alfred then shared with both Dick and Jason…so when he finds a package for him and B that says “Just two to add to the pile. Cheers – Jason” Alfred immediately contacts Bruce.

Back to Black Mask, he apparently decided to set up a meeting with his right-hand men, they think that they are there to evaluate the idea of making a deal with Red Hood so he stops messing up their business and they are right! It’s just that the deal was made between Mask and Hood and it consisted in them being killed off.

 “Are you happy?” Roman asks.

“Getting there” Hood answers.

Back with Alfred we are able to see what is in the package. In it there is a lock of green hair with tissue included so yeah, now they know that Jason has the Joker, and he was nice enough to give them an address.

Once again with Mask and Hood well, let me tell you if Hood is just “getting there” then Mask is just not happy. They get into an argument, a big one, Mask says that killing all his right-hand men should be sufficient but Hood says it isn’t. It goes on for a while and Mask loses his marbles completely, apparently he put everything on the line for the deal but Hood really doesn’t give a fuck. A fist connects with Hood’s face and a fight ensues, while they do that they also yell at each other about the proper way of running the underworld, the fear factor, who is prettier, who is the best gangster and who looks better in biker clothing…you know, the important stuff.

I am not undermining the fight, believe me but it’s just that they talk, punch and throw each other across the room a lot. Sacrifice and what they are willing to do for Gotham or better said what they are willing to do TO Gotham are the last things they discuss.

Just as the end of the fight comes, we once again have Alfred talking in the background about the time Jason died and the time Bruce’s parents died and how different the two instances are, Bruce was a little boy and defenseless when his parents died but when Jason died he had everything, the training, gadgets and abilities the only thing that he lacked was time.

And as it turns out that’s about to happen once more…Batman is going to arrive to the place where Jason and Mask are going at it just in time to see Jason drop dead on the floor.

Don’t worry friends Jason isn’t dead (again) it’s just a random dude with a mustache and Mask is pissed about it, what’s new?

Jason is actually with the Joker, and by “with the Joker” I mean being annoyed by the Joker…he is ranting on and on about how he killed him, how good things come in threes like Batman, Robin and himself. At some point Joker decides that the sensible thing to do next is compare Jason still letting him live with Batman’s no killing rule and then to make matters worse compare Jason’s actions as Red Hood with his own.

I absolutely LOVE Jason in this moment, I swear seeing Joker’s smile fade away brings me joy, he tells him exactly what he doesn’t want to hear. Jason isn’t like the Bat he won’t stay and play his game; this man right here just scared the Joker and nobody can’t tell me otherwise.

Back to Batman, he is trying his best to shake Mask off but the man keeps questioning if he knows who the Red Hood is and why did he let him operate in such a brutal way for so long (and affecting his business, poor thing so sad). Batman basically tells him to stop playing victim, he thinks that Mask crossed a line that someone really didn’t want crossed and that at the end of the day he is just another gagster…which is exactly what Hood had said moments ago trough the helmet to Black Mask, in a moment of great intelligence Mask deduces that maybe Batman actually knows exactly who Hood is.

Batman of course doesn’t answer because he thinks he is slick but the cat is out of the bag. Among the ruble of the helmet that just exploded (yeah the helmet had a built in bomb, that detonated after Mask unmasked the mustache man) Batman finds a message from Hood, a place and “you know where”.

The east end, Crime Alley. That’s where Jason takes him because it’s “fitting”, after all it’s the place where they first met.

Jason tells Batman that the Joker is in the building next to them and that he has it wired to blow it up, so Batman being his stupid self says that he won’t let him kill the Joker (come on Jason why do you want to kill the nice clown man, he is such a sweetheart).

The fight between those two is about to start when the scene changes. An attack, a living bomb called Chemo is being dropped (by the Society) in Bludhaven, Nightwing’s city. And Batman has a front row seat to see the show.

Yep, it’s not a good time to make snarky comments Jason; as far as both of them know Dick Grayson is dead. And the emotion in Batman’s face is heartbreaking, we as the readers have seen impossible situations, characters surviving shit that they wouldn’t in real life but characters within comics don’t know that… so, Bruce just saw another one of his sons die. (Dick is alive though, don’t worry)

Now, Jason has been a little shit during the whole story, but do not think for a moment that the situation somehow brings any form of positive emotion within him, what happens is that he sees an emotionally compromised Batman and well, will there ever be a better chance to manipulate him into feeling even worse?

…If Batman leaves, the Joker dies. So, first choice for the Bat, either he goes to what’s left of Bludhaven and searches for Dick or he stays and doesn’t let Jason kill the Joker.

Batman chooses to fight, and once again they start the same dance but this time B has upgraded his gadgets (you will never catch him wearing the same thing twice! Shame on you!) Jason teases him a little bit about the cape and B burns his jacket…

Batman has a whole speech about how Jason won’t be able to save Gotham or be better than him…that he knows that he failed him and is trying not to do it again. But Jason says that the failure he talks about isn’t really were his problem lies.

There we have it. And I would like to ask the same thing, why is the Joker still alive? Would it actually be so bad if he were beaten to death by someone’s bare hands? (Check out Joker: Last Laugh #6 (January, 2002) for a surprise)  

But that’s not the point, Jason is mad because he doesn’t understand and he feels betrayed, if the mad man kills a fifteen-year-old and then continues to kill and you as Batman aren’t willing to break the cycle of:  1) Joker escapes Arkham 2) Joker does something evil 3) Batman fights and captures him 4) Batman sends the Joker to Arkham 4) Arkham is already corrupt and lets him out after a while or he corrupts/kills a few people into letting him out, then what kind of man are you?

Batman obviously has an answer as to why he hasn’t killed Joker yet. He doesn’t do it because it will be too easy and not only that but he has thought about it…not just killing him but torturing him BUT! he won’t. He can’t really, you see, If he does it once maybe he will never stop (there he goes, the man with a resolve of steel) if he walks the dark path once he will walk it forever. Basically, Batman has zero willpower and zero control…my dude no one believes you!!!! Jason doesn’t either but he does have something to say.

Heartbreaking, that’s the only thing I have to say about these panels, these are panels that have always stuck with me. If you want this conversation to reach a whole new level of emotion I suggest you watch Batman: Under the Red Hood (2010) it’s an animated movie and Jason Todd is voiced by Jensen Ackles (who plays Dean Winchester in Supernatural) which is probably the best casting ever, Jensen is excellent at showing emotion with his voice. I totally know that probably all of you have seen the movie but it’s so good that I really think it’s worth watching again.

It doesn’t matter how emotional it’s for us, Batman can’t and won’t kill him, not even when Jason slides him a gun…so here comes the second time Batman has to make a choice

And he does, well, he uses a batarang to slice Jason’s throat making him let go off the Joker. Jason falls to the floor, a pool of blood around him. As that happens Joker grabs the gun and aims for the dynamite left there (remember that the building was set to go off) and shoots. BOOM!

And that’s the end. All three of them survive although Batman didn’t know that Jason was going to survive, I mean can he actually tell the future or…maybe I am missing something.

And yes, that was the end, I understand that to some it’s just a shitty ending and I don’t blame you…but to me it’s genius.  

It ends with Batman betraying Jason. They don’t make up, Batman doesn’t try to come to an understanding with him, he just makes a choice, he would rather save the Joker before killing or letting Jason kill him, which is bullshit my friends because Jason has been killing this whole story and B has been aware of it.

Jason appears later in Nightwing issue #118 (May, 2006) to #122 (September, 2006) as Nightwing and with tentacles. Don’t worry, you don’t have to read that. After that he appears here and there but personally, I really didn’t catch up with him up until Batman: Battle for the Cowl.

 Anyway, I am going to end it here, I hope whoever takes the time to read this enjoys it, see you around!

[pokefarm-q]

firewolf1117 refuckingceipts (it's all been removed now but people archived it)

this bitch:

When you say “All Cops are”, here’s what you’re really saying:

All Blacks are Criminals All Mexicans are Illegal All Americans are stupid, fat, and lazy All Rape Victims are liars All Suicide Posters are Attention Seekers All Muslims are Terrorists All LGBT deserve to die

Are you outraged yet? GOOD.It means I touched a nerve.

You would never, ever, EVER say those things about those groups of people because you KNOW that it’s not true, even in the slightest. There are so very very FEW Cops who are actually corrupt and using their power and position inappropriately.

So what gives you the right to say the same about cops? COPS! Who are practically SOLDIERS! EVERY DAY their family lives with the fear that they won’t return. EVERY DAY they put their lives in danger to PROTECT you! They, as a whole, deserve your RESPECT!!! MOST ALL “Brutality” cases are from the CRIMINAL fighting, disrespecting, grabbing a weapon, etc. If you’d just COOPERATE AND BE RESPECTFUL you’d be treated FAIRLY!! Cops don’t have the time to sort things out. Their snap second decisions PROTECT them AND nearby Civilians. You can’t possibly understand the FEAR AND TERROR they hold EVERY SECOND of EVERY DAY! So don’t you DARE judge them for mistakes.

and here’s the response of one brave user, this legend, this badass mofo, who replied to their bullshittery and got banned for a day for posting in the whiny crybaby bitch’s journal without permission:

Replying to this, because FireWolf1117 is intentionally spreading misinformation and hate. I don’t care if the staff is going to tell me off for this — for once, I care a little more about setting this right than following the Journal rule.

First of all, United States cops are legally not required to save civilians. It’s not considered unconstitutional, according to the case Warren v. District of Columbia (444 A.2d. 1, D.C. Ct. of Ap. 1981). To keep it short, cops can literally see crimes being committed and decide not to intervene if they feel like it. This has been quite common among police departments if you (objectively) compare the police’s actions during BLM protests and anti-lockdown protests.

Anyways, let’s get to your generalizing logic. I have to agree with you on one thing: generalizing is bad. No group should be generalized because of some rotten apples. However, this doesn’t count for cops. Here’s why not:

The police force isn’t a marginalized group. A police officer is a profession. A job. Cops are public servants. They work for the state, for the civilians. And that’s why they need to be held accountable for any misconduct they commit. Which is, unfortunately, is objectively not the case. According to statistics from https://mappingpoliceviolence.org, 99% of United States cops who have killed citizens have not been criminally charged, because police departments literally protect officers from getting tried. Of the 750+ shootings done by police this year, only four cops are getting tried. So much for “there are only a few corrupt ones”. Black people are also way less likely to carry a weapon compared to White people, while Black people get shot by cops thrice as likely.

What’s more, because the police force is a profession, people can quit being a police officer. This doesn’t count for most of the groups you mentioned: Black people can’t stop being Black, Mexican people can’t stop being Mexican, Americans can’t stop being American (also you including Americans kinda makes you look embarrassing lol no offense), rape victims can’t be ‘unraped’, Muslims (or even just Arabs in general) can’t stop being perceived as Muslims (even Sikhs get seen as Muslims nowadays…) and LGBTI+ people can’t stop being LGBTI+ (unless they discover they’re not). Police officers can literally take their uniform off and be perceived as normal human beings. As soon as they are on duty and take on their uniform, a huge responsibility awaits them. A responsibility that has been abused by them to the point that marginalized people will hesitate before calling the police, fearing that the police will either come too late or escalate the situation. Cops aren’t endangering their own lives. They’re endangering the lives of those they’re supposed to protect. No good person would shoot a man in his back SEVEN times for being 'aggressive’. No good person who claims to protect and serve would kneel on someone’s neck for eight minutes while that person was cooperating with them. No good person would shoot a completely innocent woman in her sleep because they raided the wrong house. (BTW, Breonna Taylor’s murderers are still walking free as if nothing happened.) No good person would shoot a 12-year-old kid for having a toy gun. No good person would kill a man in his car for… picking up his ID to show it to the cop. Just because you cooperate, doesn’t mean that you’re safe.

Your logic is clearly flawed, because you judge cops on their personality, and not on the bigger picture. All cops are “bastards” not because we see all of them are evil killing machines that shoot people on sight — it’s because they contribute to an oppressive system, whether it’s directly or indirectly. It’s more than 'just a few cops’: the government wants bad laws to be enforced, the prison system is getting used as a business model, minorities are forced to live in poor socioeconomic areas on purpose BY the government, gentrification exists, multi billionnaires are exploiting low-class working people even more, there’s a damn pandemic that’s not being taken seriously… And guess who’s at the front of keeping the fragile capitalist system intact? Right. The police. The face of the government, that’s laughing at Black people, people of color, disabled people, LGBTI+ people… No good cop exists, even if they’re nice to everyone. Good cops who speak out against the abuse of other cops get fired, because the police departments don’t want the truth to be exposed. If you truly want to be someone who saves people’s lives, then stop being a cop and get a better job, like a firefighter, an EMT, a psychologist… Anything that isn’t completely corrupted.

Even during the recent BLM protests, cops are showing off their power. They escalate situations without provocation more times than BLM protesters start shit. Also cops are committing literal war crimes by using tear gas and other chemicals against civilians (IT GOES AGAINST THE GENEVA CONVENTION FOR FUCK’S SAKE). Not so protective now, aren’t they? The only thing BLM protesters have hurt are cops’ ego. Trust me, protesters being a little mean to cops won’t ever be as bad as all the innocent lives cops have taken and covered up.

I want to go on forever, because I have a lot more to say (such as why “All Lives Matter” is reactionary and racist, how the police force was formed in the first place, how the effects of slavery and colonialism are still being felt by Black people to this day, how and why 'riots’ can be 'justified’), but I’ll leave it at this. At least I got to give counterarguments to your points. Take care and educate yourself! (Tip: stop watching FOX News and Infowars if you do that, you’re going to develop brainrot! ;__;)

ladies and gentleman of the jury, as you can see, this user not only came into this argument prepared, but they were civil and had links (that aren’t links now oop soz). they gave this bitch plenty of opportunity to learn and grow from this without attacking her.

but your bet your ASS the poor little white girl went crying to her daddy about people ATTACKING HER and BULLYING HER FOR HER OPINIONS!!!! she uses her anxiety as a get out of jail free card CONSTANTLY, bitching and moaning about how, and these are directly quoting from HER own journal:

MAY 29, 2020

I log in to this game to have fun and escape the stresses and problems of real life. I do NOT want to be going about my business, and see “BLM” in someone’s Trainer Card, and have to deal with a surge of overwhelming emotions (whether positive or negative). I simply cannot handle the Anxiety that results.

This is a GAME site. NOT a place to share your political, racial or other stances. PLEASE keep ALL such topics OFF this site. I understand you want to talk about them, and that’s fine. But out of respect for people like me, can you please do so in private with the people you know WANT to see and discuss it?

just admit you’re racist dude.

She uses CSS. SHE CAN FUCKING HIDE OTHER PEOPLE’S FUCKING CARDS. PEOPLE CAN TALK ABOUT WHATEVER THEY DAMN WELL PLEASE ON THEIR OWN DAMN PAGES. THE WORLD DOES NOT REVOLVE AROUND YOU.

Also! You know she only put “whether positive or negative” to quell any hate she might’ve gotten because ANXIETY is usually not a positive emotion. There’s not even a positive CONNOTATION. and she hopes to be published by the end of the year lmfao yeah right.

and then, on JUNE 16, 2020:

I WAS going to make a post in response to the most recent announcement, but now I’m just too frazzled and upset about it. Still making a post. I’ll just be posting it off site so I can say things how I want to say them, and so I don’t have any in game repercussions.

Honestly, though. I log onto this site to ESCAPE reality. I do NOT want to see ANY stance on ANY “cause” ANYWHERE. NONE OF IT BELONGS HERE. NONE!!!! Because of this “decision”, I’m going to make one of my own. I am gone from this site until current affairs are resolved. Heck. Perhaps even after. I will NOT be a part of a site that allows…Ugh. NOT going to get into this here.

but like… she came back a month later lmao

OH AND!! Earlier this month on AUGUST 6, 2020 she posted this!

It really breaks my heart seeing derogatory remarks against Cops in people’s Trainer Cards. It’s upsetting that you feel that way, and even more so that you make your hatred so vehemently known.

Personally, I don’t know why any of those Cop comments are allowed. If someone had something in their Trainer Card against Religion, LGBT, or POC, I guarantee that statement would be removed. So why is it alright for people to make hateful, vile, disgusting remarks against Cops? Despite it being someone’s personal opinion, it’s still Hate Speech, and shouldn’t be allowed.

this bitch is part of the lgbt+ community. she’s part of a marginalized group.

The “"derogatory remarks”“ she’s talking about? #AllCopsAreComplicit #CopsStinky #AllCopsSuck

which brings us back to Exhibit A, ladies and gentlemen! Her equating #AllCopsAreComplicit and #CopsSTINKY to "All LGBT deserve to die” and a Shitton of other stereotypes. Well fucking done.

Despite bitching and moaning about I DONT WANNA SEE ANYTHING, despite there being ways she can fucking hide it HER DAMN SELF she chooses instead to bitch piss moan bitch piss moan bitch piss and fucking moan and then when someone calls her out on her genuinely harmful bullshit, pulls the wounded gazelle gambit, claims she’s being attacked, and puts in her Card that “anxiety attack! again! waaaah!” like anyone has a shred of sympathy left for her ugly ass. She can’t handle looking like the bad guy so she plays the anxiety card. She bitches about never having any friends, only depression and anxiety, and it’s like bitch no fucking wonder.

Both the top posts have been taken down, but the user who responded to her has gotten nothing but love for her mad courage in saying something when no one else dared.

Firefurrywolf made a halfassed apology (August 30, 2020) which I won’t go into but there is one line that sticks out to me because it’s such a goddamn lie:

When I state my opinion, I usually do so with grace and eloquence. I did not think about my actions this time.

… do you?

This is a GAME site. NOT a place to share your political, racial or other stances. PLEASE keep ALL such topics OFF this site.

Do you… really?

I log onto this site to ESCAPE reality. I do NOT want to see ANY stance on ANY “cause” ANYWHERE. NONE OF IT BELONGS HERE. NONE!!!!

I don’t think so. You vile, disgusting, manipulative, obnoxious, PRETENTIOUS, racist, terfy bitch.

Oh, before I forget, yeah. Terf. She looks like one too. All over her insta. Gross.

NOVEMBER 19, 2019

My response to a LGBT post in one of my writing groups.

I don’t know most of these terms within the community. Don’t really care to know either, cause your preferences won’t change my feelings about who you are. I probably should, though, cause the Its and Xes really confuse me.

I knew I was a Demi-Ace for a few years. I’ve also known that I was Poly since I was early teens. But I’m also attracted to beauty and care more about who you are as a person than your preferences, so apparently I’m Panaesthetic as well?

Also firm believer of “True Love Knows NO Bounds”

Her journal got moved to 18+ because there was a post talking about sex. Might’ve even been alluding to rape. On a CHILDREN’S SITE. In her CHILD-FRIENDLY journal. It sat there for at least two months. TWO MONTHS. But I will not be posting that here, but it’s still there if anyone wants to snoop. All of this is public. Well, it was. But at least minors won’t be exposed to this histrionic little whiny whitey who is absolutely drowning in her white privilege.

Just because she changed her pfp from her face to a shitty drawing she did doesn’t hide the fact that she’s white, and the worst kind of person with little to no actual coping skills.

She claims to be an artist, a writer, all this, blah blah, but then why doesn’t she channel any of it into her work so she can get fucking better at them? She says she’s working on losing weight, so do that. Instead of shrieking and stomping your fucking feet like a toddler at the peak of their terrible two’s, throwing tantrum after fucking tantrum on a CHILDREN’S SITE about your shitty stances, go for a fucking walk. Punch a fucking punching bag. Literally anything else. You’ll feel better, you’ll lose weight faster, you’d be keeping your vitriol to your damn self and no one will “attack” you.

“Are you ourtraged yet? GOOD. It means I touched a nerve!”

She fucking wanted a reaction. But couldn’t handle it when she actually got one. I’m so embarrassed. Grow some fucking thicker skin, you’re older than I am. Grow a pair and shut the goddamn FUCK up.

For now, the evil is defeated, and I rest my fucking case.

[smells-like-ink-and-fire]

Innocence died screaming, honey I should know

Here’s the thing: For all his talk of Gotham being a life-sucking, happiness draining shithole, leaving it had never been truly an option on Jason’s mind. It was his shithole of a city goddammit, the grim dirt streets he would die on. It was his home, the blood on his veins. This city had its claws deep into him, and leaving, especially leaving never to return, had been simply impossible, did not compute to him.

Especially now, that Jason was getting along better with the Bats these days. He still didn’t, and never would agree with Bruce regarding his no-killing rule. But things were better, or at least he thought they were. His presence was expected and even accepted. There were some awkwardness and silent nobody knew how to fill, but there were also jokes and eating junk food together after patrol. Sure, there were a lot of snippy comments but he made those too, gave as good as he got, and Bruce still didn’t quite trust him, not to the extent he did with the other, though that was just a given, he had made peace with it, he still killed, after all, a little suspicion was an acceptable price to pay for it.

Self-righteous, holier than thou bat.

Still, there was an uneasiness on his chest whenever the pointed looks got too much when they would start questioning his actions and his plans like he hadn’t been trained by the world's greatest detective like the rest of them and League of Shadows on top of that. Forgetting that Jason had effectively taken control of the East End in less than two months, and without any of them noticing.

The good parts didn’t lessen the rage-hurt out when Barbara sneered at him, acting like he couldn’t be trusted in the field, like the fact he had issues, that he cared about the victims because he had been one made him incapable of being rational, turned him into something that was eternally compromised. Like he was a mindless raging monster, who would shoot to kill at mere provocation.

He had been, once, fresh out of those green waters, traumatized, angry, afraid, and replaced. He had been a child, too, didn’t that count for something?

Their veiled accusations of insanity, that he had a problem, that needed to be handled like he was a fucking dog, the angry gremlin claims that he was unhinged and the only reason that they kept him around was to keep an eye on him, it all made Jason feel queasy, made him feel less than human.

It made him wonder how truly welcome he was. Was he welcome or they were just trying to appease their guilt and keep a loose cannon from the streets?

But there were undoubtedly good things too. Moments that made it worth it. His relationship with Steph and Duke, and surprisingly, Replacement was getting better, even though the first two were not around as much as he would like. The nights they had spent chewing off some of the undoubtedly brilliant but assholes teachers while demolishing mountains of homework had been fun, and Replacement-Tim was quite a sass master, now only if he could convince the kid to take a step back from WE so that he wouldn’t have a heart attack before he could drink legally.

Replacement, however, was why he was here. Here being diner on the border of the Bowery and Robinsonville, The Raging Duck, a new place that Golden Boy wanted to try, make a family bonding experience out of it, Jason was sure. Replacement had twisted his way around with words in a shape that made it impossible for him not to come. His saving grace was that Jason had already made clear that he couldn’t stay long, under the pretext of having to verify that month payments collection from the Bowery.

Which was goddammed good thing because this whole outing had been a mistake. The last couple weeks had been rough, with the stress of studying and writing applications for his master degree, the couple of murders that almost led to a gang war between the Falcone and the Russians,  plus a decoy staged by the Riddler, as his newest scape plan, that had taken too long to crack leading to an accident that had killed three people and would have killed a lot more if Jason hadn’t said fuck and put bullet holes on some goons heads. This in turn led to an inevitable argument because of Batman's continuous incapacity to see the necessity of his actions while on some level recognizing that was the only poss0ible decision meant that tension had been higher than usual.

Therefore, putting everybody in a room together was definitely not the best idea, Dickie! The last ten minutes certainly proved so, what had started as an easy-going conversation about their early on mishaps of the field, which included a hefty number of stories where the main theme was “And then I said Fuck Batman – With varying degrees of success” that had started as a split-second change of subject in order to avoid a fight breaking out, had turned into passive-aggressive attacking Jason. The worst part was that Jason wasn’t even sure they were doing on purpose.

Did the even realize he was sitting right next to them? Or was he just a ghost?

“… and then the fantastic Robin fell three stores down only to be needed to be saved by the incredible Spoiler! So, listen to me kids, if you’re going to say fuck Batman you should at least be sure there is something to break your fall before you jump.”  - Steph finished the story with a flourish, going back to her waffles.

“That was a level of stupidity that I wasn’t aware that you were capable of Replacement. Really, I thought you were supposed to be the smart one.

“Please, as if you weren’t the first one to ignore an order just to fuck with B, Jason. There’s a list. The Incident with the Falcone. Killer Crock latest scape. The entire shit show that was last week. – Tim shot back, mulish, poking at his fries

And every single of those missions was a raging success.

“Which is the one involving Babs, back when she was still BG, you know the one she always mentions, because I don’t know what you did dude but she’s still pissed at you for it.”

“Oh, I know! Bruce forced them to work together on that one, it was a drug-smuggling operation that involved kids. Jason jumped in instead of waiting for her signal. Needless to say, it did not end up well. Babs was so very pissed.”

Yeah for the assholes that thought using kids as drug mules was a good idea. BG was just made the street rat had a better plan than her

“Is that why warehouse 25F is a gory, burned-out mess?”

“Nah, that came later, during that corruption case that nearly put the Comish in the hospital. Or maybe it was the one involving that Nazi Arts dealer?”

“Is there a difference? They always end up in unnecessary explosions. Todd’s need for dramatics and overuse of force are well documented”

Because you can talk about overuse of force, demon spawn.                    

“Robin. Less explosions. Trying to help. Hurt.”

“Yeah, he was trying to help Cass, nobody is denying that the thing is Jason desire to be a little shit and prove Batman wrong is way stronger than his drive to help people, and even though there were far less explosions back then, both he and innocent people have gotten hurt.”

How you’d know? You weren’t around back then Dickface.

“So, we can agree that it’s basically a Pavlovian response for him at this point. Your stubbornness and desire to say Fuck Batman no matter the consequences have been able to surpass death Jason, and if that it’s not a feat, I don’t know what is. Congratulations, really!” – Steph summarized.

He had been holding up fine until that point but he just didn’t have the strength to it anymore, every word out it Tim's mouth felt like the blow of crowbar shattering his ribs, chocking on his own blood because a Batarang slashed his throat. He felt faint. He felt dangerously close to crying.

“I have to go.” – Jason got out of his chair.

“Jason…” – The pitying and yet reproachful note on Dick’s voice made his skin crawl.

“I said I couldn’t stay very long. Some of us have stuff to do. You know criminal empires to run, places to blow up, kneecaps to shoot.” – He doped a twenties bill on the table.

“Todd. Cease being childish. Just because you are unable to accept your failures, and the fact that you were incompetent and arrogant enough to be captured by an enemy does not mean you should incapable of accepting constructive criticism.”

“Not being childish gremlin. I do have a criminal empire to run. And I do take constructive criticism, preferably from people who know what the hell they are talking about. You know people that are more than the “blood sons” of people that are greater than themselves. Noise midgets, not so much. Bye.”  – Jason out of the dinner before any of them can reply.

See you never again.

He doesn’t know how he gets back to his closest safe house. It’s a reasonably good one. He likes this one. He focusses on the things he likes. Hardwood floor. The light green paint. On the things, he doesn’t. The shitty heating. The fact that the cabinets doors don’t shut all the way.

Breaths. Slowly. In and Out. Counts to three hundred. Breaths again.

The tears still prickle on his eyes. His chest feels hollow. His throat is dry. He doesn’t have the strength to move from where he’s sat on the floor, his back against the door. Going a few rounds with Deathstroke had hurt less. It certainly never made him want to crawl under his bed and stay there until the world forget he existed. Of course, Slade had also never blamed for his own death.

Even though his own father had. Reckless, overly aggressive, incapable of following orders, loud-mouthed Robin that got what he deserved, Bruce had said. Maybe not to his face but he had said it. Then again it had been his fault, hadn’t it?

He takes a few more breaths, tries to push his emotions back, locking them deep, and walks to the fridge, pours himself a glass of water. Drinks it. His mind goes back to the conversation. The glass shatters in his hand.

“Oh, fuck!”

He goes to the sink, to clean his hands and throws the broken glass into the trash. Lucky there were only some minor cuts that don’t need stitches even if they hurt like a bitch.

Take that universe!

Still, he wraps them in bandages since he doesn’t fancy cleaning blood out of his sheets. Sleep, however, doesn’t come easily that night, and the time he doesn’t spend tossing and turning, trying to find a comfortable position to follow to try to fall back asleep in, he spends waking up from dreams that leave him feeling like he’s constantly falling, sharp terror waking him each and every time.

There is no rest for the wicked though, and so he takes off by late morning and goes to check o on the rest of the gang, makes sure Antony is running things smoothly. All in all, it’s pretty boring, with enough paperwork to make a bonfire, but it does the job of taking his mind out the things for a while. Patrol is uneventful, which is a welcome respite, and Jason doesn’t do much more than stop a few muggings and beating up some creeps.

During that time, he keeps an ear out for the bats, especially Dick since he’s not anywhere near the mood to listen to another of the boy wonder lectures about how “Damian is just a child; you shouldn’t take what he says seriously”, especially those came with the addition of being delivered in that tone that screamed, “even though he’s right”. But he must have gone back to his turf because he sees no hair nor hide of him or any of the others.

The next two nights are very much a repetition of that first one, with little sleep and little action, so much so that a paranoid and exhausted part of him gets a bit terrified and so he ends up calling Roy just to hear the genius talk about whatever crazy project he’s been working on lately. If the redhead has any idea why Jason is calling him at four in the morning, he doesn’t comment on it and simply talks until his friend's breath has even out.

This way when the sun comes up the next day, Jason drags himself out of bed and heads straight to the shower, the cold water helps ground him back into his body. Still feeling like shit but at least knowing the difference between dream and reality he eats his breakfast while checking his messages and it’s more than a little bit shocked to see a text from Bruce asking, as in there is an actual please in it if they can talk about a possible case with a few crossed wires. There’s even an invitation to stay for dinner alongside with it, which makes him wonder if Bruce hit his head a little too hard the other day, or if Alfred finally made good on his promise of finding a drug that made him less emotionally stunned.

No matter the cause, the message leaves him hopeful enough that he answers with a yeah, I’ll be there by five.

He arrives at the Manor door fifteen minutes past five, just in case, greeting Alfred with a smile that the old butler easily returns. They make some small talk as the older man demands him to at least drink a cup of tea before heading down. Still, they part at the entrance of the cave and Jason takes those final steps alone.

“Sup, old man?”

“Jason.” – Bruce answers, his back turned, typing at the bat computer, probably filling some reports.

“C’mon B, you’re the one who called me unless of course, you somehow have been possessed and that please was you asking for help, in which case, give me a second and let me call the Martian Manhunter, you gotta give a bit more of information.” – Jason kept his gaze on Bruce’s back, his breath steady, he was not rambling thank you very much!

“There been some talk about an escort service in Diamond District that works as a front from money laundering. I think you might know some of the girls.”

“Little bit out of my way. Maybe you should check with Cat.”

Bruce’s eyes were shining, and the line of his mouth meant that he was finding it funny and Jason was filed to the brim with a wave of warmth and nostalgia. It made him feel like a kid again, it made him like Robin again, like magic.

“Maybe we should.”

“Oh gross! Let’s go back to the ever-existing cases of corruption and gross old man please?”

“Isabella McGarvey”

“Know the surname. Any relation to Ophelia McGarvey?”

"Her older sister I believe, records show that she moved from the East Side two years ago but didn’t take her sister with her because she was a minor…"

Most of the afternoon passed that way. With the Batman and the Red Hood checking financial records, discussing disappearances and police reports in an amiable tone, full of teasing.  It was a welcome change of pace being the one providing the answers to all-knowing Batman for once. So, he took his time explaining the inner workings and the shady dealings of the Alley, preening at the attention and the approval, something he would deny until his second dying day.

Perhaps the only dark spot in the otherwise bright day was the fact that Jason kept purposely having to avoid looking at the southeast corner of the cave, at the glass cage that seemed to hover over them.

Refusing to acknowledge that some part of Bruce would always believe he was dead

“There maybe be a loose end might be worth exploiting but I don’t know how long that window would be open: There was a shooting, a few days ago, near the Bowery and Robinsonville, no cameras, three dead, the assailant left no evidence behind.”

“Don’t know what to tell you Bats, last time I was there I was with your kids, didn’t hear anything, neither did mine. I mean, I could ask but this is Gotham, murders are pretty much the norm. Unless those guys are part of something bigger, I got you nothing.” -  Jason shrugged, already calculating the possibilities of why this is relevant and coming out with nothing.

Damn all-knowing paranoid bat.

“They were. Trafficking ring. Middleman.”

“There is no trafficking ring in the Alley”.

Of that he’s certain.

“There is not. Because those men were killed before they could take anyone. But they were known for it, and they were asking the sort of questions that could ping on your radar.”

“Well, I haven’t heard anything. I’ll make sure to pay more attention, update some protocols.” – Jason answered, already planning to investigate it.

If they were acting as a middleman for someone roaming around then that someone would send more to scoop the territory out and he would be prepared when they came, regardless of what else could be there. There were no trafficking rings in Alley.

“Or maybe you did and decided to take care of it your own terms”

The abruptness of the question was so earth-shattering that he took a few steps back to regain his balance.

“Jesus Christ Bruce if are gonna accuse me of murder you could at least have the decency of start with that. No, I did not kill them. If any of mine did I haven’t heard of it. But as far as I’m concerned is no great loss.” - He succeeds at sounding nonchalant and enraged, hiding the fact that the question felt like a bucket of water, leaving his cold and shaking.

So, this is why Bruce actually called, so he could question Jason about his latest failure, his latest disappointment in Bruce’s eyes. Of course, it was, and he was a fool for ever thinking otherwise. For letting himself hope that Bruce was trying, that he wanted to rekindle the relationship they had when Jason still wore those green panties.

“Where were you at 2:30 in the morning, three nights ago?”

“What?”

Please god, everything but this. I can’t do this again

“At the time of the murder, where were you?

“In a dinner with your kids.” – Jason’s voice was nothing more than a whisper as if all the air had been pushed out of his lungs.

Why you don’t believe me? Why you don’t trust me?

“Damian said you left early, earlier than that, because he got home at 3:00. It takes at least half an hour to get here from there.

“Safehouse a few blocks away, then. Sleeping. Bruce, please”.  – Jason was begging now, voice raw and full of hurt.

“Can you prove that?”

"The hell is wrong with you?!? I already told you: I. DID. NOT. KILL. THEM. When have I ever not taken credit for the people I’ve killed?"

“What’s going on?”

And of course, because his luck could not be worse, that was the Perfect Grayson coming down the stairs. He could feel the headache forming behind his eyes. He did not want to deal with this shit right now.

Was it too much to ask for the ground swallow him whole?

“Nothing! Bruce’s just spent the last five minutes pointlessly accusing of murder! Can you get the fuck out so we can continue discussing it?”

“You were near the scene of the crime, you have a motive, the means, and a history.”

“Wait you killed someone?”

“No! Keep up, Bruce is just being a dick, you know like you usually are.”

“Is a valid concern”

“Is a piece of shit that is what it is!”

“Can someone please explain?”

“Bruce thinks I killed three people after I left the dinner the other day.”

That what you did after you left? It’s that what you meant by shooting kneecaps? Jay… I know that you were angry but this…

“Jesus Fucking Christ Didn’t I just say its bullshit?”

“You said that?”

“It was a joke”

“You have motive, means, no alibi and now your brother is telling me that you left because you needed to shoot someone. What do you want me to believe?”

“THAT I WOULDN’T LIE ABOUT IT!”

“If you were planning only to main them, if your anger got the better out you, as it has before if you did it out impulse, and is trying yo hide it.”

“You know what Bruce? You’ve already made up your mind so I will do us all a favor and get myself out. You can’t trust me? Well, I can’t trust you. From now on there will be no bats at the East End. If you are seen, you will be shot. That’s how trigger happy I fucking am!”

He pushed passed Dick and Bruce, the world was tingled with pit green glow, his ears were roaring, no sound, only rage, and loss. Every step he took was calculated, his breath was short, measured. A of violence ready to blow up at the mere provocation held together only by the barest threads of sanity and humanity and the training Ducra had given him. Roy’s voice babbling at him. Kori’s booming laughter. Kyle ridiculous art. Donna’s everlasting sass and warmth.

Somehow, someway he made home without turning Gotham into a bloodbath, and the relative he felt at activating the security protocol was fastly overtaken by fear. He hadn’t had an attack like that in over three months. Hadn’t let the Pit burning so strong in his veins in so long. Hadn’t felt that disconnection to reality since his early days out of the Pit.

Just the idea of what could have happened in case he lost control made Jason grab the nearest bucket and puke. He stayed there, pressing the palm of hinds to his eyes, heaving.

It didn’t matter, because it didn’t happen.

His phone rang, and if it was anybody else calling, he let go straight to voicemail, but it was Talia’s ringtone and she didn't call jus for kicks, so he presses answer.

“If I told you I didn’t kill a man would you believe me?” – Jason blurts out before he can stop himself, red coloring his cheeks as he realizes what he just said, cursing himself for his stupidity.

“Of course. Why would…I see.” – Talia’s face goes from neutral to confusion and finally anger in a matter of seconds. – “Your father does not know you at all Habibi, and that, rest assured, is entirely his fault. He’s too caught up in the image he made of you to be able to see you as truly are.”

“Batman being a stunned idiot, who can look past his own reasoning of the world? What an earthshattering idea T! – Jason says sarcastically trying to cover up his earlier emotional outburst. -  Anyway, got a reason for calling?

“Do not play coy with me, Jason, it’s unbecoming. Regardless, I do not believe Gotham has done you good. Moreover, I do not believe your father's actions towards you have been in any way helpful to your recovery and growth.”

“What are you? My therapist?”

“I would not be against for you to see one, but I would not force you either. Your choices, as always, must be your own. Besides is my understanding that to be effective therapy must also involve privacy. Another thing that its unlikely to come by if you are to remain here.

“Gotham needs me. The Alley needs me, God knows the Bat can’t handle this shit, they don’t care and even if they did the Alley would never trust them” – It wasn’t as much a rebuttal as it was an excuse

“They do, but you are of no use to them if you are constantly emotionally compromised by the rash and thoughtless actions of those who do not understand you and do not seek to. Loyalty is a gift that must be not be given lightly and they make ill use of yours while reaping the benefits of it. Perhaps it’s time for them to learn how to much you do for them. The absence does make the heart grow fonder.”

“You’re telling me to leave.”

“I’m telling take a step back. You’ve done tremendous work, but there’s more to you then violence. The petty criminals and drug dealers and the pimps are all properly terrified, your minions are capable enough that they can keep your operation running without your direct involvement. Rest. Recover. Come back when you are ready. Besides, you do have your master’s degree to consider, don’t you?”  - Jason blushed, Talia wasn’t one to give compliments that she didn’t mean, and she did have a point, but…

But what? What did he truly have here? It had taken less than ten minutes for Dick convince Bruce, based on nothing more than a few throw away words Jason had said when he was angry and hurting, that Jason had killed a man and once that decision had been made no amount of evidence would make Bruce turn around in his favor. The others probably already knew what had happened and just as likely had decided to stay away from him from now on. After all, if he couldn’t take a little teasing without blasting someone’s brains out then he was certainly no better than the crazies in Arkham, to them.

What Talia was offering has the peace of taking a walk without being judged by the path he chooses to walk on, let the dust stele until bygones were bygones and he could look at Dick’s- Holier-Than-Thou face without breaking every single bone in it.

What did he have to lose that he couldn’t take back later on?

“You do realize that this will take quite a bit of work and resources, right? – Jason could almost see that pleased little smile of hers spread on Talia’s face.

“You do realize who you are speaking with don’t you Habibi? Let’s get to work.

[pitviperofdoom]

I couldn’t help myself. Have some more Ace Attorneys dӕmons.

---

On the other side of the glass, Maya Fey lifts her head for the first time since Phoenix has met her. Confusion and hope swim in her eyes.

“You’ll defend me? Are you sure?”

“Not like you have a lot of options,” Dawn mutters at his side, too quietly for Maya to hear.

“I wouldn’t offer if I wasn’t sure,” Phoenix says firmly.

Maya’s eyes shine with tears. “But… why? You don’t even know me. You walked into that room and saw me with my sister’s body. For all you know, I did kill her, so why—”

“Of course you didn’t kill her,” Phoenix says sharply. “You’re right, I did see you. I saw you crying over her. I saw how shocked and frightened you were to see her like that.” Across from him, Maya’s tears fall. “I know you didn’t hurt her, and that means someone else did. And if you go down for this, then they’ll get away with it, and I can’t let that happen.”

Maya lifts her chin further. The dӕmon in her lap finally stirs and stands up straighter. It’s a raven, and Maya’s grief shows through in its dull eyes and poorly groomed feathers. “All right,” Maya says, hands curling into fists. “Then I’m in your hands. Ask me anything, and I’ll tell you whatever I can.”

“Ask her what’s with that weird get-up,” Dawn mutters to him. “It’s been bugging me since last night.”

Phoenix is about to hush her when Maya cocks her head. “Sorry, I didn’t quite catch that. Was your dӕmon asking about my clothes?”

“Don’t mind her,” he says, wincing. “We were just curious, but we didn’t mean—”

“It’s okay.” Maya smiles ruefully. “I get that question a lot, from humans.”

“Humans?” Phoenix echoes.

“Yes.” Maya gestures down at her loose, eastern-style robes, and the oddly-shaped pendant around her neck. “This is the traditional garb of my clan. The Kurain witches originated from eastern Asia, but a few centuries ago we migrated across the ocean and settled in new territory on the west coast of North America. I mean… it wasn’t America yet back then, but… you get the idea.”

“You’re a witch?” Phoenix’s mouth falls open. “Wait—if Mia was your sister… was she a witch, too?”

“Of course.” Maya smiles sadly. “All daughters are witches, and all sons are human. That’s… how it works.”

“Wait a minute, wait a minute.” Phoenix shakes his head. “I remember studying this in law school. If you’re a witch and Mia was a witch, then how are they holding you for Mia’s murder? I thought witches handle their own justice, no matter where the crime is committed. You’re supposed to have diplomatic immunity or something.”

Maya winces. “It’s… complicated. See, Mia left home years ago, and one of the first things she did was apply for citizenship here. It’s… not really common for a witch to do that, but she wanted to study and practice law, and citizenship made it easier. But now…”

“As a US citizen, Mia was legally a human being,” Phoenix finishes for her. “Which gives the state the authority to put you on trial for her murder.”

Maya nods. “Right. I’m sure she didn’t mean for that to happen, but…”

Dawn hops up, putting her paws on the little shelf below the window so that she can see better. “Why did Mia want to become a lawyer in the first place?” she asks. “I mean, we never would’ve guessed she was a witch because… well, witches don’t tend to care much about human affairs. Since they—er, you live so long, and everything.”

At first, Maya doesn’t answer. Then, wriggling out of her arms, her raven dӕmon flutters up to perch by the window.

“There was an… incident, fifteen years ago,” he says.

Dawn lowers her head so that they’re on equal eye level. “What kind of incident?”

“A murder,” the raven replies. “There was an uproar over it at the time, and it brought human law officers to the Kurain clan. They were out of leads, so they asked for magical aid.”

“And… your clan agreed?” Phoenix asks.

“There’s an ability,” Maya speaks up suddenly. “It’s very rare, even among witches. Only certain family lines have it: the ability to channel the dead. Our mother had it. My sister had it.” She touches the pendant around her neck. “I was born with it, too. Our mother used it to contact the victim. A human was arrested—the only person who could have committed the murder—but he was acquitted. And…” Her voice caught.

“Mother’s involvement was kept secret,” her dӕmon continued. “It couldn’t get out that witches had interfered in a humans’ criminal investigation. But a man… found out. He exposed it to the world, and it spread like a wildfire. Everyone knew that she helped them, and that she was wrong.”

“She had to give up her place as clan queen,” Maya says quietly.

Phoenix almost chokes on the air he’s breathing, at the same time as Dawn splutters, “Your mom was a queen—”

“She left the clan, not long after that. No one knows where she went. And years later, Mia left, too.” Maya takes a deep breath. “She wanted to find out who hurt our mother like that. And the only way she knew how was to play by human rules for a while.”

“That seems… drastic,” says Dawn.

“She was our mother,” Maya says sharply. “And that man—that stranger hurt her. Don’t you understand? There was a reason they kept her help a secret. The Kurain clan almost lost all of its alliances. The only reason we aren’t pariahs among our sister clans is that my mother abdicated and exiled herself. He put all of us in danger when he did that to her.” Her tearstained eyes harden with anger. “Mia couldn’t find another way. She had to find evidence so he could be put on trial among humans, and make sure he was found guilty. And that way—”

“He’d be subject to a witch’s justice,” Phoenix says faintly.

That’s a big part of diplomacy with witches. If a human commits a crime against a witch, the humans are the ones who hold the trial, but the witches get to decide the punishment on a guilty verdict.

It’s usually death. Witches don’t screw around.

Wait, death. Of course!

In an instant, Phoenix has a brainwave. “Wait a minute—Ms. Fey, you’re a witch. And you said you have this ability too, right? This magic spirit-channeling? So you could contact Mia’s spirit!”

Maya wilts. “I… no. I can’t. I’m sorry.”

“But—”

“We’re still learning magic,” her dӕmon says sadly. “It takes a lot of power to call a spirit back, and we just… We aren’t as strong as Mia was.”

“Zech and I aren’t even separated yet,” Maya says softly, stroking his wing. “We were supposed to perform the ritual this year. Mia said—” Her voice breaks again. “Mia said she and Archimedes would come to the North with us.”

Phoenix’s heart sinks, both with sympathy and with disappointment. Of course it couldn’t be that easy to find the murderer and give this poor girl closure.

“Okay,” he says. “That’s alright. We’ll just have to do this the human way. I’ll take it from here, okay? I’ll figure this out.”

Maya nods, then says, “White.”

“What?”

“The man who hurt our mother. I don’t know his full name, but my sister told me that much. His name is White. I know it’s not much, but maybe it’s a place to start.”

Phoenix sighs. This is so much bigger than he thought it would be. “Okay. Thanks, Ms. Fey. You’ve given me… a whole lot, actually.”

Maya smiles. “Whatever it takes to avenge my sister,” she says.

“...Okay.”

“We’re more of a justice guy than a revenge guy, but to each their own,” Dawn says.

“It’s our way,” Maya answers. “We prefer to put things to rest permanently.”

Dawn is about to get off the shelf, but hesitates. “Speaking of that… something’s bugging me. And maybe it’s not relevant, but it’s… well, you know, it’s bugging me.”

“What is it?” Maya asks.

“Well, everybody knows witches keep to themselves,” Dawn says. “They live so long that countries change all the time, they don’t care about money because money changes too, so… how did those detectives convince your mom to help them?”

Maya blinks. “Oh, that. Well, it’s true that we don’t care for possessions and we don’t have currency, but we do trade in favors.”

“So the police owe your clan a favor?” Phoenix asks.

“No, the favor was already paid, in a way.” Maya pauses. “I don’t know a lot about this, because I’m only one hundred and seventy and our aunt always said I should be focused on training instead of poking my nose in politics—”

“Only a hundred and seventy,” Phoenix says weakly.

“But the murder didn’t just cause a stir among humans,” Maya says. “The victim had friends in the witch clans, including my own.” She purses her lips, stroking her dӕmon again. “You have to understand, we value our allies and friends. Especially human ones, since we already have so little time with them. We don’t take their deaths lightly.”

“So the witches had a real stake in finding the killer,” Dawn mutters. “It wasn’t just a random favor.”

“Right,” Maya replies. “He was a friend to some of us. I even heard that a witch from another clan had a child by him. It was a son, though, so he would have been human.” She pauses. “I was focused on training when this happened, so I don’t know any details. I’m not sure if it helps.”

“It helps a lot,” Phoenix assures her, not altogether certain that it does. “It’s better than going into this blind.”

“Speaking of which, we’d better get going,” Dawn says, finally hopping down. “We’re burning daylight, and we still have to weasel evidence out of that detective.”

Phoenix nods. “Okay. Sit tight, Ms. Fey. We’ll take it from here.”

For a moment, Maya Fey locks eyes with him. “Thank you, Mr. Wright,” she says, with a solemness that looks almost eerie on a face that looks no older than seventeen. The ragged black raven perched beside her only enhances the effect. “I won’t forget what you’ve done for me, and my sister.”

Phoenix can’t think of a response yet, because so far he hasn’t done much besides ask a bunch of questions and make a promise that he’s not completely sure he can keep. So he nods stiffly, and walks away.

“That was eerie,” Dawn remarks as they leave the detention center.

“Yeah.”

“And, you do realize—”

“What?”

“Witches don’t do money,” she points out. “We’re not getting paid for this one, either.”

“I’m… not completely sure that’s true,” Phoenix says. “Witches value favors and allies, remember? Something tells me that if we pull this off, we’ll be repaid… somehow. With a favor. From an almost two-hundred-year-old witch.” He took a deep breath. “The important thing is, she’s Mia’s sister, and that’s all the reason we need. Right?”

“Right.” Dawn squares her shoulders and picks up the pace, tail held high like a banner. “Well then… let’s go find ourselves a wolf.”

[undertalethingies]

Undertale Characters Ranked by how Dramatic they are

So, just a note before we begin:

Mettaton is not at the top of this list. I considered it, I really did, but despite how dramatic he is, I have two reasons for picking someone else. One: I didn’t want to just go for the obvious choice, two: I genuinely believe the character at the top of this list is more dramatic.

Because I don’t want to spend 10 hours picking through every npc interaction in Undertale, this list includes only the major characters. Because not everyone agrees on which characters in Undertale are major, I’ll list out the ones I’ll be discussing.

Chara, Flowey, Toriel, Asgore, Sans, Papyrus, Undyne, Alphys, Mettaton, and Napstablook. 10 in all. (Frisk will not make an appearance, as their behaviour is dictated by the player)

Without further ado: let’s do this

Number 10: Napstablook

Not a hard pick, really. Mostly all he does is cry, and it’s more depressed than dramatic. Dapper blook might qualify, but when it’s the only remotely dramatic thing he does? Definitely the bottom spot.

Number 9: Alphys

This one was a bit harder. Alphys is one of the least dramatic characters, but she does have her moments. I suppose the most dramatic thing she’s ever done in-game would have to be the phone call she gives you at the end of one of the neutral runs, as she ends it with the phrase “I should’ve killed you when I had the chance.” However, the fact that this feels almost out of character belies the fact that she doesn’t normally deliver such lines. Another dramatic thing she does is the note. I hesitate to label it a suicide note, but it definitely gives off those vibes. Finally, I feel like the narrative tension in the lab entries (so many cliffhangers!) should really be mentioned. I mean, she made an entire entry that was just the word “no” over and over. 

Number 8: Toriel

I had some trouble deciding between her and Alphys for this spot, but in the end, Toriel is the only character who can lay claim to having dramatically stormed all the way from New Home to the RUINS. Presumably while carrying Chara’s dead body, unless she had it delivered or something. (“Is this the pizza?” “No, it’s your kid’s corpse”) While this is the most noteworthy thing she’s done, it’s not the only one. I mean, the line “what a horrible creature, torturing such a poor, innocent child...:” is dramatic when delivered to Flowey, and amazing when given to Asgore. Also: throws fire at you for your own safety.

Number 7: Asgore

Having him this low on the list causes me physical pain. However, Undertale has a lot of drama. While he’s only number seven, trust me, he’s very dramatic. Just as an example, “Human. It was nice to meet you. Goodbye.” I mean, what can I even add to that? Honestly, that entire scene feels like a fantasy novel, which is a bit of a departure from Undertale’s normally fun and lively vibe. The bit where he destroys your MERCY option, especially. There’s also something else I’d like to point out. When he realizes you’re a human, he says: “nice day today, huh? Birds are singing, flowers are blooming…” Which is almost exactly what Sans says on the genocide run. What’s more dramatic than coordinated dramatic speeches? Nothing. Nothing ever. There’s also nothing dorkier.

Number 6: Undyne

I almost put Asgore in this spot, but anime. I mean, she stands on a rocky crag and gives a speech. What more can I even say here? I dunno, maybe that her geno theme is called “Battle Against a True Hero”, and her pre-fight song is called “but the Earth Refused to Die”. Oh, and? “I can feel everyone’s hearts beating as one!” not to mention freaking “let me tell you the story of my people”. Honestly, the only reason she’s not higher on this list is because she doesn’t finish said story.

Number 5: Papyrus

He’s Papyrus. He’d be at the top, but that justification also works for everyone in the top four. Also known as: the really really dramatic ones.

Number 4: Chara

So, I support narra!Chara, because I found a lovely proof of it which you can read here. Now, narrating your entire journey through the Underground is pretty freakin’ dramatic. What’s more dramatic? “Chara. The demon that comes when people call its name.” the speech Chara gives at the end of the genocide run is chilling, truthful, and very dramatic. The whole thing is basically one long callout for the player, reminding you who really held the knife, and the way it’s delivered is far too perfect for Chara to have improvised it. That’s right, I’m proposing that they rehearsed it. What else would they do while you wander around looking for murder victims? Also: “But nobody came” is just absolutely top-tier.

Number 3:

And the bronze medal goes toooooooo: Sans

It was really hard to pick whether Sans or Chara should get this spot, since they’re both just so dramatic, but what it came down to in the end is that Sans is just more of a presence. He follows you throughout the pacifist run, showing up at least twice in every area till Hotland. And every time he shows up, he uses his appearance either for a dumb joke... or to make you feel a chill down your spine. In Grillby’s, he stops time, completely casually, and doesn’t even say anything particularly incriminating! Rather, it’s a casual display of his ridiculous power that’s clearly done just to freak you out. Another thing it would be criminal not to mention is the restaurant scene, which I’m not going to recite, because it’s impossible to forget. And, of course, the geno run. Sans doesn’t show up as much on the geno run as he does the pacifist, but he plays a much larger role, as the final boss. He haunts you throughout Snowdin, dogging your footsteps and remonstrating you for choosing the violent path. He also repeatedly tells you that if you continue as you are now, you’ll face consequences. He’s right. You face him. Do I really need to tell you how that qualifies as dramatic? Yeah, didn’t think so.

Number 2:

Our silver medal winner is the silver man himself!: Mettaton

Need I go on?

Number 1:

Who could be more dramatic than Mettaton? More secretive than Sans? (well, no one is as secretive as Sans, but this character might come in second) More creepy than Chara?

It’s your best friend, Flowey!

The very first thing Flowey does in the game is to be unnecessarily dramatic to the point of harming his goals. Because he pretends to be nice before betraying you, rather than just murdering you, Toriel arrives in time to stop him. Of course, you can reset, so it wouldn’t have made any difference, but he didn’t know that. Then, after Toriel, he straight up tells you he has plans in the works! Also “I am the prince of this world’s future” is peak drama. But wait! It only gets more ridiculous! He specifically waits to murder Asgore until you’ve almost killed him, even though he could have absorbed the SOULs and fought you at any time during the fight! Then comes the true pacifrisk- sorry, true pacifist run. His introduction? Tell me with a straight face you’ve seen something more Extra than the ASRIEL DREEMURR name drop. I’ll wait. Also, the absolute god of hyperdeath? Really? REALLY? Yeah, I think we’re done here.

[jeanvaljean24601]

The Winners And Losers From The 2020 Emmy Nominations

The 2020 Emmy nominations rolled out today, and boy, were they something. Right away, Rhea Seehorn fans grew furious that she was somehow left on the side of the road again, and it’s very strange to not see Larry David receive more nods for being a lovable curmudgeon on HBO, but perhaps he’s topped out with a lifetime total of 27 Emmy nominations and 2 wins. We could also talk about numbers mattering, which is good news on the HBO front, with Watchmen and Succession scoring 26 and 18 nominations, respectively, and Disney+ scooping up 15 nods for The Mandalorian, although sorry, Baby Yoda, you are somehow not eligible for acting awards.

That’s not as satisfying, though, as talking about the real winners and losers, which is a fine tradition here. Please do not consider this to be a complete list of wronged-and-righted parties (for example, I cannot even begin to understand why Desus and Mero got the shaft, which shouldn’t have happened), but let’s get this ball rolling, shall we?

When it comes to Ozark, I kind-of get why people don’t want to give this show a shot at first. The bizarre insistence upon a blue filter goes a long way, for example, or the fact that it arguably fine-tunes the Walt-Jesse dynamic from Breaking Bad — yes, that might grind some gears. Yet all of those concerns don’t matter once you surrender to the setting and watch Jason Bateman lose his sh*t in consistently captivating ways. The acting nominations here were all well deserved, as was the Outstanding Drama series nod, especially with that cliffhanger. I do look forward to one day seeing Julia Garner win her 15th Emmy in, like, 2045, but let’s also shout out Dead To Me. That little Netflix series also been recognized once again despite (probably) being intended as a trash-comfort watch. Yet it works surprisingly well to stir up a wide range of emotions and affirm humanity in the process. Also, recognition for Linda Cardellini will never get old. Now she can forget that Capone came out this year. h96 tv box

Let’s make one thing clear: Reese is doing just fine. In fact, she’s likely doing wonderful. However, her prestige TV turns have gone unrewarded for this year’s ceremony. Whereas Jennifer Aniston received a nod for Apple TV’s The Morning Show, Reese didn’t walk away with the same honor for her performance as an unruly spitfire of a co-host. Her Hulu and HBO roles, in Little Fires Everywhere and Big Little Lies, also went unrecognized. I can only guess that there simply wasn’t enough room for all the BLL ladies, and although her ruffling of Adam Scott was convincing enough, neither she nor Nicole Kidman could beat out Laura Dern and Meryl Streep’s  extremely unhinged  turns on the show. Still, Reese will not walk away from 2020 empty-handed. Quibi  paid her $6 million to narrate a wildlife series, and you gotta respect that hustle.

Yes, I did suggest that numbers don’t matter, but c’mon. Not only did The Mandalorian receive 15 nods, but Watchmen scored 26. The best part about Damon Lindelof’s show gathering so many decorations, though, is that no one even asked for a Watchmen TV series to be made. Alan Moore’s graphic novel was always considered to be unfilmable (and Zack Snyder made the case there), but Lindelof did it anyway. He recontextualized the whole story against the backdrop of a long-buried U.S. atrocity and hid Doctor Manhattan in the body of a Black man. He put the damn squid in there, included Jeremy Irons’ fart face, made Regina King walk on water (or not), and inserted a Lube Man. Watchmen could win no Emmys at all, and it’d still be the winner for all those things.

This one is a puzzler. The Emmys nominated Bob Odenkirk in 2019, 2017, 2016, and 2015, but he somehow came up short this year for his lead role in AMC’s Breaking Bad spinoff that landed on the top of our best shows of the year (so far) list. Even if one considers that his category was stacked — and let’s be honest here, it wasn’t airtight because Steve Carell‘s The Morning Show role felt more like a supporting role than a lead — it’s hard to ignore how the Emmy’s almost entirely shut out the Saul actors. And really, how does one justify continuing to leave Rhea Seehorn on the side of the road with an arc like the one she had this season? With  those finger guns… and everything? It just doesn’t make sense, but I guess at least Gus Fring is getting his due. h96 max tv box

Zendaya could become the  youngest winner of the Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series award for her turn in the provocative Euphoria. The drug-fueled series about teens isn’t an easy watch by any stretch, but it’s a relevant one, and Zendaya’s finally receiving the dramatic material that her talents deserve. On the Ramy side of things, it’s nice to see more affirmation that this is the best show that  you’re not currently watching. It’s a little disheartening to not see the show’s actresses gain recognition while their characters are finally coming to the forefront, but it’s hard to argue with the possibility of creator Ramy Youssef adding an Emmy to his Globe win for this dramedy about Muslim-Americans. Also, Mahershala Ali getting a nod for his Hot Sheikh means that at least something’s right in our current universe (after that Green Book mess).

Young women challenging institutions are where it’s at this year. Even though Watchmen will (and should) walk away with the Outstanding Limited Series category, I’m thrilled to see two insurgent-feeling shows, Unbelievable and Unorthodox, make the shortlist. Kaitlyn Dever should have also been nominated in the acting department for her turn as a rape survivor who was treated like a criminal, due to being an “imperfect victim,” but the show as a whole deserved the nod that it received for being taking such a feminist approach to crime-drama storytelling. And I’m pumped to see Unorthodox‘s Shira Hass pop up with an Outstanding Lead Actress In A Limited Series nod (she’s up against Regina King and Cate Blanchett), as well as seeing recognition for the  stunning miniseries’ exploration of a young woman’s flight from Hasidic Judaism. android tv box

Pacino’s first regular TV role in Amazon Prime’s Hunters was a highly anticipated one, but sadly, the show (despite plenty of enticing ingredients like Jordan Peele producing and, you know, the killing of Nazis),  didn’t hit the mark. Honestly, yeah, it was messy, and Pacino’s accent work managed to be one of the weirdest parts of a very weird show. It’s not worth too many words to rehash what happened there, for it’s enough to say that Pacino’s already won two TV-movie Emmys for You Don’t Know Jack and Angels In America. He’s also notched an Oscar win (in 1993 for Scent of a Woman) and eight Oscar nominations (including in 2020 for The Irishman). He doesn’t necessarily need to win at TV shows, too!

You can see the full list the  Emmy nominations here.

[danwhobrowses]

Whatever Happened to: Sheska?

So, as promised, the first of hopefully many posts of the ‘Whatever Happened to’ series, where I bring up characters that just, fell off the map. For our first one we will begin with a character disappearance that always confused me, Sheska from Fullmetal Alchemist Manga and the Brotherhood anime There will be Spoilers for the story so if you haven’t read/watched it then...maybe you should

When was she last Seen? While in the 2003 anime series Sheska maintained a recurring role as Winry’s female friend and helping uncover the dirty secrets hidden by the Homunculi and in turn the Military. However, in the Manga and Brotherhood anime, Sheska is last seen in Chapter 34/Episode 16, both titled ‘Footsteps of a Comrade-in-Arms’. In it she is revealed to be covering for Mustang as he digs for information regarding Hughes’ death - mainly out of solidarity since Hughes did give her the job that pays her bills and keeps her mother in a nice home, and the least she can do is assist in helping find the culprit. She unfortunately lets this slip to ‘Captain Focker/Fokker’ who is Envy in disguise (but still a Focker if you ask me), which leads to the whole Maria Ross frame-up. From there we never see or hear from Sheska again, we don’t see her at Central when it’s attacked by Briggs, we don’t see her fall victim of the countrywide transmutation circle and do not we see her in the Chapter 107 splash

Which, frankly, is ridiculous given that characters dead, alive and barely in the story like Sheska was are here, including Fu, Hughes, Grumman, some no-names in the bottom and one no-name at the top right corner, Rebecca, Mustang’s old Ishval squad and Henschel. An oversight maybe, but it still leaves the question mark, what DID happen to Sheska? Theory 1: Sheska was Murdered Leaking that she knew about Mustang’s digging, covering for him and her photographic memory is two very dangerous tidbits of knowledge for one person to have, even if the Homunculi look down on humans up to this point they have been extremely efficient in not leaking their own information. So a worst case scenario could be that the Homunculi killed Sheska, quietly disposing of her and maybe even covering it up, she was on a heavy workload and could’ve ‘crumbled’ and disappeared to work in a nice undisclosed village. The fortunate thing that goes against this theory is that Mustang would notice, and since Hughes’ death she had been a lot more relaxed with her workload, it would also be in the Homunculi’s nature to only take care of things when it looks like a critical moment.  Another plausible way Sheska may’ve died is via the Mannequins or when Our Father freaking Kamehameha’d half of Central Command, but then she would have to be fighting the Mannequins and not escaped Central when the Briggs soldiers gave them a chance, and Sheska would run if she were there. She may’ve also suffocated under a mountain of books like how she almost did when we first saw her, if she ever actually gets to go home anymore. Theory 2: Sheska was Dishonorably Discharged Given that Mustang is treated with contempt for digging into the Hughes case and his actions in making people believe that he scorched Maria Ross, it would be possible that the higher ups would use this as an excuse to discharge her from the military, to sever a connection Mustang would have in Central who could provide him information on Father’s plans. Envy may’ve been a lighter hand as Focker but Focker himself or any other members of Bradley’s high council may opt to picture it as harboring criminal activity. Sheska isn’t exactly one to come crying to the Elrics about this either so it’s not like it’d be huge news, the reason this may not work however is that Sheska still has all the dots Hughes had, she just hasn’t connected them yet, and the Homunculi keep tabs on people like that.  Theory 3: Sheska was Transferred Like most of Mustang’s crew, Sheska may’ve been moved by association. Her absence from Central Command would fuel this and after she’s finished completing all the records there’s not much else she is useful for in the eyes of the military. Since she has no career goals, she could’ve simply been moved to a smaller military office - her ignorance to the happenings protecting her from being in warzones but not out of the country circle’s range. She may’ve also been transferred normally, maybe another library got burned down or maybe they rebuilt the Central Library and had her repopulate that with all the normal books and secret alchemy cookbooks and actually declutter her apartment with all the books that are there (okay it bothers me, where does she sleep? Does she have a book bed, next to her book oven and book fridge and cooks book eggs for bookfast in her book pan in her book kitchen?). Theory 4: Sheska left the Military on her own accord While she never expressed displeasure in working for the Military we leave Sheska in a pivotal moment in the plot, the next episode/chapter Mustang supposedly burns Maria Ross to a crisp. Not knowing it part of the plan, Sheska may’ve felt partly responsible in the ‘murder’ of Ross and disgusted by Mustang’s actions, which could have led her to leave the military. There are other reasons she may’ve quit her job also, she may’ve found a new calling or as said before the Library could’ve been rebuilt and she could’ve gotten her old job back from that or another closer-to-mother library/general job, she may’ve left to tend to her ill mother if her condition worsened or simply moved to a job with a career track - hell if you wanna go wild maybe she went to become an Alchemist, that photographic memory would be handy if she had the aptitude. The backdrop of this like the previous theory of her leaving the military is that this’d prevent the Homunculi from keeping tabs on her, while it is possible that Ross’ death would’ve prompted her to leave, the military may’ve offered an alternative of transfer or another government job so to keep and eye on her. Theory 5: Sheska slept through the whole thing A comical theory, but the records department isn’t something one would frequent in a lot, I mean Mustang was able to sleep in a storeroom for a bit completely undetected. It would be funny if Sheska did miss all the action from falling into a comatose sleep in a basement or something having been overworked, and given the isolated placement completely missed the Mannequin Soldiers, thought the Circle stealing her soul was a nightmare and then napped again through the whole Father fight. This is unlikely because it obviously didn’t happen, as I said Sheska’s workload doesn’t take a huge toll on her anymore so she wouldn’t pass out...not until after the Father Fight when she has to rewrite all the paperwork destroyed by Father’s Kamehameha, it’d be a good laugh though. Theory 6: Sheska was there, you just didn’t see her One of the most plausible theories is simply that it happened but there was no need to focus on Sheska while it was happening. Falman also had a great memory and worked with the Briggs men and the Armstrongs had worked in Central for months, so her talents weren’t exactly needed for the situation, she likely escaped the mannequins and left Central Command intact. It’s likely but it’s still annoying, we could have shown her in this scenario, even if it’s when Buccaneer saved those women (imaged in manga since I couldn’t find a screen of the scene in anime) they could’ve thrown in Sheska, could’ve shown her losing and regaining her soul, at least some closure on that would’ve been nice given that we saw every other player and the people of Liore during the Promised Day.

Theory 7: Sheska still works for the Military, she just wasn’t There The final theory that is as plausible as the prior, Sheska was basically away that day. We saw it with Brosh who only arrived at the scene because he was disgusted by Mustang and then elated that Ross was alive, a ‘bookworm’ like Sheska may’ve taken time off to witness an eclipse, and if she didn’t she may’ve simply had the day off. Another thing she could’ve done is gone on holiday, I doubt she went to Xing to meet the Armstrongs while they were statue hunting but maybe she went out of Central. She could’ve visited her mother, visited other family, gone to a place with other libraries and stuff she may have hobbies in. The downfall of this theory is that none of it escapes the circle, hostilities with Creta, Aurego and Drachma mean the only way out of the country is by crossing the desert, which doesn’t seem up Sheska’s alley, which means we circle back to why didn’t we show her? We showed Liore, Kanama, Resembool and Rush Valley, the latter just to specifically show Paninya - someone who had less screen time than Sheska, no offence to Paninya but if we gave time for her lying on a random floor (lucky she wasn’t fixing a roof) we could’ve just put Sheska in a room face first in a book for a second and that’d be that. So yeah, the mystery of Sheska racks my brain, mainly out of desire for closure but also because she still played a valid part in Ed and Al’s journey. Without her they would’ve never obtained Marcoh’s notes, which meant they would never have found out the properties of a stone, they would’ve never gone to the Fifth Laboratory and thus never learned about the Homunculi marking them as a sacrifice - since Ross got framed because of her, Ed would’ve never gone to Xerxes either, meaning he wouldn’t have figured out the transmutation circle or found the Ishvalan slum to discover that Scar killed the Rockbells, that discovery led to the confrontation that became a turning point for Scar’s redemption arc too. Sheska also inadvertently was necessary for Mustang’s plot also; had the brothers not gone to the Fifth Laboratory they would’ve never gotten Barry the Chopper as an ally (who in turn busted Ling out of jail, meaning everything Ling contributes to is a byproduct of Sheska’s action) but if she hadn’t have told Envy about Mustang’s digging they would’ve never framed Ross, which meant that they never would’ve had opportunity to capture Gluttony, kill Lust or discover that Bradley was Wrath. These are big things as well! Could someone just like, poke Arakawa for an answer? Or are we just gonna expect a Launch situation (save her for another day). Out of the 7 theories I would rank them as Most to Least Likely: 6, 7, 3, 4, 2, 1, 5 Most to Least Preferred: 3, 5, 7, 4, 6, 2, 1 Maybe one day we’ll find out, but for now it’s all headcanon, but whatever did happen to her, she is not forgotten.

[somniumoflight]

Crossover Idea #6 - My Hero Academia and Katekyo Hitman Reborn!

Izuku and Bakugou end up reincarnating into the KHR world

Okay, so, the funny thing about me is that even if I’m not overly familiar with a fandom, I WILL read fanfictions from that fandom so long as they’re a crossover with a series that I AM familiar with.  And I’ve been reading a lot of KHR/BNHA fanfics lately because of that, and have thus become passingly familiar with Izuku/Deku (precious green bean who is also swole AF because crazy training regimen) and Bakugou (resident jerk who probably has major self-esteem issues hidden under that explosive shell).  

I have also read enough of that particular crossover to notice that whenever reincarnation or interdimensional travel happens, it’s usually the KHR cast ending up in the BHNA world and not the other way around.  Though those fanfictions I HAVE read that dance to that tune are awesome, there’s some missed potential for chaos there. Thus this dumpster fire of an idea: what might happen if members of the BHNA cast ended up in the KHR world?  

And of course, since they are the characters I am most familiar with in terms of personality at this point, my brain suggested I make Izuku and Bakugou suffer by having them be the victims of my crazy brainstorming.  Sorry, Deku, you don’t deserve this.  (Bakugou, on the other hand, definitely deserves a bit of suffering.)

So, here’re some ideas for this crossover.  Again, I must reiterate, I am not overly familiar with BHNA’s plot, even if I am now somewhat familiar with the two main(ish?) character’s personalities and such, so these ideas will lean heavily towards the whole KHR side of things and not the BNHA side of things, and I might get some details wrong.

Izuku and Bakugou are both Pro-Heroes when the stories start, having long finished school at U.A.  I’ve seen posts about their relationship improving later on in the manga… barely… and I’m a sucker for the jock-and-nerd-friendship vibe of their relationship in fanfics anyway, so let’s say they were slowly but surely ending up friendly rivals again instead of whatever toxic dumpster fire they were before okay

Anyway, long story short some group of villains gets lucky and somehow manages to kill both of them while they’re on duty. Both Heroes are then reborn into the KHR world to the local equivalent of their parents from their last world.

Izuku’s mom is still Inko, but instead of being a civilian single mother Inko is actually the wife of the spare heir of a yakuza family who attempted a coup and failed badly, and is therefore under watch all the time.

The Bakugous, on the other hand, are also related to Yakuza through “Kaachan’s” mom, but they’re not directly involved with yakuza-type stuff anymore because they live in Namimori and as such are kept under watch by the Hibari family.

Inko is still friends with the Bakugous, but because she’s kept under firm watch by her husband’s family she hasn’t been able to take Izuku to visit them, and Izuku’s smart enough to realize that asking about them would probably get his mom in trouble, so he never brings it up despite REALLY wanting to see if Bakugou’s around too.

Izuku’s life is sort of normal apart from the “heir to a yakuza family” thing up until he’s like eight years old, at which point one of the other heirs to the family takes over and decides he wants to get rid of the spare heir and his mother so that nobody else has claims to the family. Inko ends up dead, (sorry Deku) and Izuku ends up going Flame Active as a Sky with strong secondary Lightning Flames.

Izuku ends up making a break for it after his mother’s death, and remembering what his mom said about the Bakugous makes a beeline for Namimori.

Bakugou, on the other hand, while all this has been going down, has actually been living a pretty good second childhood despite the lack of Midoriyas around.  Namimori’s pretty peaceful most of the time despite the number of Flame Actives and former mafioso and stuff living there.  Still, Katsuki was bored out of his mind for like the first five years of his life because after years upon years of fighting criminals and villains such a normal civilian life is just plain BORING to him.

This boredom eventually leads to him going kinda vigilante once he’s trained himself back up to snuff (as much as you can when you don’t have a Quirk anymore, which he’s pissy about), but since he’s still a little kid in a town full of criminals that’s pretty dangerous.  Eventually, though, some stupid assassin tries to off a little kid in town, Katsuki tries to stop him, he nearly dies, and then boom, Dying Will Flames activated.

Honestly, I was torn between having Bakugou be a Storm, a Cloud, or a Sky, because all those Flame types kinda fit him based on what I know of him from canon, but eventually, I decided the best thing ever to do here was make Bakugou have Wrath Flames because those are the closest the KHR world has to his Explosion Quirk, plus having him run around as a mini blonde Xanxus screaming DIE at everyone that pisses him off would give the mafioso glorious conniptions and probably make the Varia go WTF and it would be amazing

Seriously though, Bakugou and Xanxus are incredibly similar.  They both have similar anger issues, they both have similar power sets even without Kaachan having Wrath Flames, they both have similar verbal tics (“trash,” “extras,” all the cussing), heck they’ve even got similar physical appearances, what with red eyes, spiky hair, and both refusing to wear uniforms correctly (i.e. not actually giving a damn about fashion most of the time haha). Bakugou’s basically just a mini blonde Xanxus who decided to go into Hero work instead of Mafia work.

Huh, maybe I should make the two of them related or something.  I mean it’s not like we actually know much about Xanxus’s actual blood relatives, right?  Besides then we’d be able to make the Mafioso have yet MORE conniptions because “oh no all of Xaxnus’s being Xanxus is hereditary.”  

Anyway yeah Katsuki gets Wrath Flames, which he is delighted about because he’s basically gotten his Quirk back, and since he is who he is he’s not at all subtle about having those Flames either, which means he’s basically blowing shit up all over the place as soon as he figures out how.  This eventually results in Hibari – as in the one we know from canon – trying to bite him to death because he’s “disturbing the peace” or something and somehow one thing follows another and the two of them end up sparring a lot and hey would you look at that, Katsuki’s made a friend just as violent as he is for once.

During this period of time Bakugou also properly meets Tsuna, who was the kid the assassin that made him go Active was after, and though at first he doesn’t want anything to do with the kid (“he’s more useless than Deku was at that age, damn”) he eventually sort of ends up beating up the kid’s bullies when they’re off school grounds, mostly just because he can (and because he won’t admit that the kid reminds him a lot of Deku and definitely won’t admit he’s got a bit of a soft spot for people like that)

Eventually, though, the thing with Izuku’s family happens and the green bean stumbles into Namimori.  Some of the local thugs try to beat him up only to get pummeled by Lightning-enhanced fists, and then Katsuki turns up partway through the beatdown and yay, they’re finally actually reunited in this shit world, they’re not alone.

Bakugou ends up bringing Deku home with him and Deku basically refuses to leave and just kinda clings to him for long enough that Bakumom and Bakudad just throw their hands up and adopt the kid. He’s Inko’s kid anyway, it wouldn’t be right to leave him with a stranger, and having someone as sweet as him will help keep their son out of trouble, right?  (WRONG)

After Izuku turns up in town and things settle down a bit he proves he’s just as “crazy” as his new brother/best friend by being just as crazy about fighting as Kaachan is.  Hibari dubs him an omnivore after the first time he picks a fight with the shockingly swole green cherub and Izuku joins Katsuki in the whole vigilante thing they got going on

Also, Izuku kinda adopts Tsuna as a little brother of sorts, because he sees the same things that Katsuki did with the kid stumbling around and all the bullying happening, only instead of leaving it be other than beating up the bullies like Bakugou does he actually goes so far as to actively help the kid out, and ends up dragging Bakugou into the whole thing too.

So basically by the time Reborn arrives in Namimori Tsuna’s got two friends that will literally punch anybody who messes with him in the face, and also who are two former superheroes who do NOT approve of their little brother figure being forced into the mafia like this.  From then on a lot of canon events get de-railed because Katsuki and Tsuna are both playing a game of keep-away to keep Tsuna away from Reborn (or at least trying to, they’re still little kids at this point and he’s the World’s Strongest Hitman, so they’re giving him less trouble than they think they should).

Also when the Varia eventually roll into town Katsuki and Izuku are literally having none of that shit.  None.  Also this is when the Varia see that Katsuki is basically a mini blonde Xanxus and have their WTF moments galore, Xanxus included.  They’re not the only ones, nobody on Tsuna’s side of things was expecting a second Bakugou to turn up out of the blue.  (Tsuna: “Oh my god, oh my god, Katsuki-nii, there’s two of you!”  Bakugou: “Shut the hell up.”)

And that’s literally everything I have on the idea.  I love this idea a LOT, seriously, SOMEONE needs to write something like this even if I don’t.

[softlywithhissong]

I’m calling bullshit on your hate.

STOP STEREOTYPING SANGWOO FANS!

I am a Sangwoo fan. I am also a Bum fan. A strange dichotomy, I know.

Both of these characters exhibit problematic behavior, but that doesn’t mean you can’t be a fan of them, either individually or simultaneously. Does being a fan of either of these characters mean that you support these damaging behaviors in real life? NO. Calling out people who support REAL LIFE crimes is fine, but calling out people who are trying to enjoy being a fan of a FICTIONAL character IS NOT OKAY. You are clearly not helping real life people by doing so. You are being judgemental and self-righteous, shaming people to feel superior and patting yourself on the back for it. You not only contradict yourself several times, but you also act entitled to hate real people for liking something you personally don’t, have the arrogance to proclaim what the author “better not” do, and wish ill on real people. The hypocrisy is appalling. Do you not see the irony? You are not protecting people from real life abuse BY HATING ON REAL LIFE FANS of a fictional character. You are in fact engaging in verbally abusing real life people. It doesn’t matter what the character does; it’s fiction. Are there real people existing out in the big wide world who do crimes or support criminals? Yes, but to generalize, stereotype, and basically accuse FANS of being as bad as the people who do this or to conflate us and lump us together is disgusting, illogical, and highly offensive.

How can we “still stan his ass / this ship”? We can because the beauty of fandom is that you get to pick and choose what you like. You get to twist it up, turn it inside out, and make it into an AU parody of itself. ART IS SUBJECTIVE. It’s about what individual thing each and every one of us found gut wrenching or what pulled at our heartstrings. Don’t invalidate what other people found or resonated with just because it’s not the same thing you did. People fear different things. People emphasize, magnify, and conversely minimize different things based on what concerns each of us individually. That’s okay and people shouldn’t be shamed for having a different opinion. After all, being a fan is a form of opinion. And opinions are not facts. Don’t confuse the two; you holding an opinion does not make your opinion a fact.

Fiction is about emotional catharsis. It doesn’t matter that stealing a car or killing a dog are not crimes worthy of the death penalty in real life - I wanted to see John Wick kill all those fuckers for killing that little puppy.

And NOT ALL MEDIA should have a healthy or happy ending. Was Romeo and Juliet’s double suicide a healthy ending? NO. It was a tragedy! Tragedies have an important place in media. They often serve as cautionary tales. If you want another cliched boring “bad guy dies/goes to jail” ending, WHY ARE YOU SHAMING FANS WHO WANT SOMETHING DIFFERENT? You have an endless supply of your preferred ending. Go watch one of the thousand CSI/detective/cop procedural shows. They are everywhere. While I enjoy psychological thrillers (AS RARE AS THEY ARE), I am also a fan of some great detective shows and murder mysteries. I could recommend so many fantastic ones. But some of us want a unique ending for Killing Stalking, even if that means something “unhealthy” by real life moral standards. It was labeled a psychological thriller, after all. Not a mystery. Not a detective story. It was also labeled BL, and even if it gets a twisted/unhealthy ending because of the psychological thriller genre, it still qualifies because twisted BL is still BL.

I do not excuse Sangwoo’s abusive treatment of Bum. I’m often disappointed and angry on Bum’s behalf. And while I find it difficult to believe canon Bum would be in a healthy relationship with anyone (and I would love to make a post about how I see his fondness for frogs as symbolism for his relationships), I still have the ability to enjoy the possibilities of a healthy fanon-based relationship or even appreciate the grim take of a tragic and/or twisted unhealthy ending. This is how I still ship Sangbum in certain contexts, but not always, because context matters and it depends. I know that sentence sounds ridiculous, but that’s how it works! Because it’s OKAY TO SHIP FICTIONAL UNHEALTHY SHIPS. Because it’s fiction. And if people can vent their issues through the written word in order to not do so in real life, good. Many people find reading/writing therapeutic. Some authors write a lot of problematic behavior as angst. Do they deserve hate? NO. There are plenty of instances when I have shipped a healthy ship but not shipped it (and in fact wanted them not to end up together) in certain fics because I felt the fic had portrayed an unhealthy relationship. But did I send hate to the author of that fic when that ship ended up together anyway? NO. Just because it ended in a way I didn’t like didn’t give me or anyone else the right to spread hate or shame over a fictional story.

Also, as a Bum fan, I do not appreciate seeing any victim blaming of Bum. There’s some out there (including your despicable “Bum better not” comment), but at least this hate is not anywhere near the amount of Sangwoo hate. As a fan of both characters, I can see that there is clearly so much more Sangwoo hate out there. And it’s fine to criticize, dislike, or even hate Sangwoo as a character, but it’s NOT OKAY to hate on his fans. He is a fictional character, but his fans are real people.

I am a fan of Sangwoo because he is an intriguing, complex, and well-written character. He’s got flaws. All characters do. And I understand his flaws are pretty damn big. But I understand that he’s a fictional character. I would never support a real person committing such crimes or abuse. So, frankly, while you may find my being a fan “annoying” - I will not be shamed or hated upon.

To quote my sister, “In the safety of fiction, we can deconstruct the complexities of what’s morally gray.”

In other words, exploration through FICTION, discussion, and debate are welcome. Hateful posts are not.

This is a long post, so I’ll put my further calling bullshit on arguments made by haters behind a “Keep Reading” link:

Also, the criticisms for being a fan because of “fetishizing gay men” are bullshit. Firstly, anything anyone finds hot could be labeled “fetishizing” which is ridiculous. Secondly, some fans are gay men who are not “fetishizing” - they are simply enjoying the story even if it is twisted. (It’s okay to be a fan of a story that portrays an unhealthy relationship; not every story is meant to be a moral standard.) But also, this bullshit argument is just reducing people down to a ridiculous stereotype used to stifle women in fandom. This has been used through the ages and it is wrong. Are there possibly straight women out there objectifying gay men the way straight men would objectify gay women? Yeah, there’s probably some. But I’ve been in fandom a LONG time and this is not representative of fans in general, let alone all female fans. How about you let women consume all forms of media they find identifiable, cathartic, containing unique storyline with complex flawed characters, or even (gasp) entertaining? Stop shaming people. And maybe especially - don’t resort to misogynistic tropes to do so. I think it’s safe to say that fans (including female fans) generally tend to be a fan for more than just a character’s appearance and body parts. There’s usually character traits, personality quirks, things that draw you to go beyond casual reading/watching into becoming a fan.

Personally, I identify with stories portraying gay relationships equally as much if not more than with stories portraying heterosexual relationships. Maybe that’s because I’m bisexual, but I don’t think so. I believe that straight people can also find themselves identifying with the story and the struggles portrayed - no matter what the sexual orientation of the pairing portrayed.

You think I only like portrayals of gay men rather than women? No, I like both. Killing Eve is a fantastic example of a fandom that I would love to see grow! I despair at how small the fandom is compared to my usual fandoms, but it’s new! It can grow and I can’t wait for season 2. The harsh reality, though, is that f/f ships tend to be smaller fandoms. This may be due to so few well-written female characters in general throughout media - though, this is improving and having more female writers in media helps. Killing Eve has great characters and really great writing, so hopefully they can buck this trend and grow a decently large fandom featuring f/f ships. Sara Lance/Ava Sharpe from Legends of Tomorrow are a pretty big ship, which is heartening, and Xena/Gabrielle from Xena Warrior Princess were an absolute juggernaut back in the day (kudos to anyone who recognized Xena from my main tumblr’s icon).

You think I only like hot men? Or that I excuse the actions of killers who are hot men? NO. I watched The Fall with Gillian Anderson and Jamie Dornan, where Jamie Dornan played the serial killer and NO - I was not a fan of his character, let alone attempted to excuse any actions by his character whatsoever, even after they explained his tragic backstory. And You on Netflix is just too obnoxious in my personal opinion for me to even watch. But I’d never take time out of my day to hate on any fan who enjoys it.

Calling out problematic stuff in media is fine, but don’t use it as an excuse to spit vitriol and hate at fans who you disagree with.

P.S. Seriously, ask me for recs of good detective shows/murder mysteries. I’ve got so many I could recommend that are way better written than most. Want a female detective? I’ve got plenty. Want a gay male detective? Got it. Want a murder mystery twist where the murderer wins? Got that.

[wondr18360]

Hints at who the traitor was in Persona 5

To be honest, I always had a gut feeling that this person would be the traitor partly because I had seen the teaser images for PQ2 with them included as part of the Phantom Thieves and given their background before they “joined” the group, they certainly seemed suspicious, but still that’s not really proof that this person was the traitor, so here’s a list of things that really helped prove that they were the culprit behind the mental shutdowns and the one who sold out the Phantom Thieves!

(I haven’t revealed their name or gender yet cuz I don’t wanna spoil anyone by accident, so select ‘keep reading’ at your own risk!)

1. Lurking at Okumura Foods

The first time the Phantom Thieves enter Okumura’s palace, Akechi is spotted nearby, and we can see him actually notice the Thieves gathered in front of the company building before the scene cuts to the Metaverse. At this point in the game it could be just a way to make us nervous since it’s already been established that he’s suspicious of the Shujin kids + Yusuke and Futaba, and him seeing them go into the Metaverse in front of a potential target’s property could make him even more suspicious and maybe even give him solid proof that they are the Phantom Thieves, but really, why is Akechi by the Okumura company building in the first place? Maybe it’s a coincidence, or maybe he’s just doing his job investigating Okumura as a suspect? In any case, it is quite convenient, especially that he happens to be there at the same time that the Thieves are, and more importantly, that this just happens to be the one palace that they infiltrate whose owner dies of a mental shutdown because the true culprit appears after the boss battle and kills his shadow. I’m probably grasping at straws, but in hindsight this does seem a bit fishy...

2. Interest in the Shujin Kids + Yusuke & Futaba (and Haru)

During the Shujin Academy panel, when Akechi reveals that he knows their identity as the Phantom Thieves, he tells the group that he was curious about them ever since the Madarame case. This could have been because Yusuke started hanging out with Ryuji, Ann, and Akira (and Morgana) around the time of the Madarame case, and not only would that have been odd because he didn’t go to the same school as them, but after a bit of digging it would have been known that a former pupil/victim of Madarame was hanging out with three Shujin students who had been victims of Kamoshida, who was the first target of the Phantom Thieves; logically that would have made for a pretty interesting group and it would have been a strange coincidence that Yusuke just happens to join those three when his tormentor gets a change of heart. But remember, Madarame’s shadow was the first one to mention the true culprit behind the shutdowns, and talked about a Persona-user with a black mask. Kaneshiro, the next criminal to get a change of heart, also mentioned the culprit. It’s a bit odd that the time around which Akechi grew interested in the group coincides with the time that we first heard about the true culprit, who most likely could have even been in the palaces at the same time as the Thieves and maybe even saw them as they were exploring, particularly since in the Okumura palace, the culprit kills Shadow Okumura right after the Thieves defeat him and leave him behind, indicating that whoever they were, they must have been waiting inside the palace itself for the Thieves to weaken him and then leave so that they could finish the job. Again, probably grasping at straws, but it’s kinda suspicious.

3. Sudden Thieves fan??

Okay he doesn’t really become a fan of the Phantom Thieves, but Akechi’s stance towards them does soften somewhat after Okumura’s death when he adamantly says that they aren’t responsible for the incident or for any of the other mental shutdowns. This is a bit suspicious since before he seemed very convinced that the Phantom Thieves were connected to the mental shutdowns, and when his stance suddenly changes to the opposite, even Sae Nijima calls him out on it and points out the same thing. Not only that, but on his television appearance, he even comments that there may be more going on than originally thought, which is similarly suspicious and even indicates that he may actually know more than he’s letting on. In addition, when he later runs into Akira at Leblanc again, he says something about how is goals are probably not so different from theirs, which a) hints at a possible collaboration between him and the Thieves, and b) indicates that he may also have his own agenda to get rid of scummy adults. The latter is actually confirmed later when he’s talking with the Thieves in Leblanc, when he mentions wanting revenge against sickening human beings and having a grudge against someone, which puts more emphasis on the fact that there is some darker force behind Akechi’s actions and motivation. 

4. Genius, or experienced?

During the Shujin Academy panel when Akechi confronts the Thieves and reveals how he found out their true identities, he says that he has the same power as them and that he gained that power around the time of the Okumura case, about a month before the panel. However, when he’s talking to the Thieves, he seems to know quite a bit about the Metaverse, even mentioning it by name, which is odd because even members like Makoto and Futaba, who either pick up knowledge quite quickly or may have already had some knowledge of the cognitive world, needed time and guidance from Morgana and the veteran members of the Thieves in order to figure things out. And yet here’s Akechi, who was on his own the whole time, talking as though he’s already an expert on the Metaverse- and how exactly did he know that that’s what the other world was called? It’s a bit strange, and even when he’s exploring Sae’s palace with the Thieves, he seems to know quite a lot already, or picks up on things abnormally quickly for someone who’s supposed to be an “amateur” as Morgana would say. Speaking of Sae’s palace, it’s also a bit fishy how he was able to find out so quickly how to use the Meta-nav to find it, since he is the one who reveals to the group that she has a palace, and evidently already has a plan to change her heart. Basically, his intelligence aside, the only other viable reason I can think of for Akechi’s extensive knowledge of the Metaverse is that he has more experience with it than he made it seem to the Phantom Thieves. 

5. Bad storyteller

I don’t know about you guys, but when Akechi was telling the Thieves about how he saw the real culprit behind the shutdowns and somehow survived their encounter by awakening his Persona, I wasn’t buying it. First, there's no proof that what he’s saying is actually true, and also, if he's really going to be a bona fide monafide member of the Phantom Thieves, wouldn’t we actually get to witness his awakening the way we did with all the other members? Even Haru, who was in her Persona clothes already when we first saw her, got a real awakening scene for us to see, but there’s none of that for Akechi. That’s not all though- it’s already established that the true culprit is quite strong, in fact, back when Shadow Kaneshiro mentioned the culprit, he said that the Thieves would be no match for them in terms of strength. If that’s the case, how would Akechi have survived? Maybe the trauma of a life-or-death situation triggered his awakening and his Persona momentarily saved his life, but still the culprit could have taken another shot or two and killed him because he’s still supposed to be relatively unfamiliar with his powers, and logically it would also be in the culprit’s best interests to make sure to get rid of Akechi because he actually saw them and this could come back to bite them later. In any case, Akechi’s story is only slightly believable at best in my opinion, and for me at least it definitely was a big hint.

6. Sae’s calling card

Am I the only one who thought it was kind of weird that Akechi was so specific about the date that they should send out the calling card for Sae? I mean, yeah he gave that whole analysis of her character and why based on that it would be good to send the calling card closer to the deadline, but still, why did it have to be on the 18th? Why not the 17th or the 19th? After all, those dates are pretty close to the deadline as well. This just makes it more likely that Akechi’s monologue about Sae is a clever ruse to hide the fact that he is planning his own “mission” to mobilize the police to capture the Phantom Thieves in her palace on that date. 

7. The deal

One of the biggest indicators (in my opinion) that Akechi wouldn’t be a true member of the Phantom Thieves was his condition for cooperating with them: they disband after dealing with Sae’s palace. If he genuinely was interested in joining them or working together towards justice, he wouldn’t be giving them such an ultimatum. He does say that he wants to work with them because the mission would not be able to succeed without their cooperation, but even that comment is a bit sketchy because his referring to a “mission” could even mean that he has an ulterior motive, some other “mission” that he’s trying to carry out besides taking away Sae’s distorted desires. Anyway, because he generally did not approve of the Thieves and his motivation for working with them was questionable at best, it makes sense that he would have been the one to betray them.

8. Delicious Pancakes:

Finally, the most meme-ish canon hint that Goro Akechi is the traitor! This is basically the incident that tips off Akira and the Phantom Thieves that they should be suspicious of Akechi when he wants to make a deal and work with them later in the game. It’s one of those hints that you can catch when it happens (which is far earlier than the deal and whole traitor business), but it’s subtle enough that you do need to be paying some attention to what’s going on at the time, especially since it’s covered up well by Ryuji’s convincing response to Akechi that nope, no one was talking about pancakes, and the fact that no one actually addresses it afterwards until months later when the story is close to its climax. But even if you did forget that Morgana was the only one talking about pancakes and how delicious they were, you would have to wonder why Akechi was so specific about having heard someone say “delicious pancakes” when it sounds nothing like what Ryuji and Ann were talking about before he arrived on the scene. From the early-game standpoint, it’s an indicator that given the fact that he heard Morgana, Akechi probably isn’t the normal high-school detective that he appears to be, but after progressing to the later part of the game, it’s proof that Akechi could hear and understand Morgana from the very beginning, and therefore was another Metaverse user; he was the true culprit behind the mental shutdowns. 

Welp, that was long, but if you got this far, thanks so much and I hope you enjoyed reading! :D

Bonus hint: Akechi literally is a long-haired alternate dimension version of Light Yagami, I mean of COURSE he’s the crazy criminal masquerading as a detective/ordinary student! XD 

(Also no one asked but Futaba sits a lot like L so it really is like Light vs. L again except this time L WINS!!)

[quicklyseverebird]

Question for pro-choicers cont

*previous post inserted since the poster has apparently blocked me from reposting.  Or maybe tumblr is acting up again….*

 pro-abortion-rights

You claim that abortion is murder and, in the same breath, that you intend no moral judgment about the intentionally cherry-picked most repugnant of the reasons people commit murder. How convincing! The joke is that you have the exact same moral hierarchy since you too believe that bodily autonomy may be exercised for bigoted reasons.

Imagine not understanding the concept of “for the sake of argument.”Pro-choicers don’t actually concede the point on fetal personhood, they assume it for the sake of argument with anti-abortionists because it doesn’t actually matter either way. It’s an argumentative tactic, not a concession, but keep imagining you’ve scored the point if it helps you feel better.

Lethal self-defense may be used to prevent death or great bodily harm. You want to talk about great bodily harm? I have a four-inch scar across my lower abdomen from a C-section to deliver the three-year-old that’s playing next to me right now. Earlier in my pregnancy I had a brief cancer scare whose treatment I was going to put off until after birth to avoid harming the fetus. And mine was a HEALTHY pregnancy–I was lucky enough that it wasn’t cancer, and I had no more than the “normal” symptoms in pregnancy. I worked out every day, climbing 15 flights of steps. I still had to write much of my Ph.D. thesis in bed because sitting up was so hard and when my due date came I was in labor for three days, feeling like I was being ground under a wheel the whole time, and in the end I had to get an emergency C-section. I had a hard time moving for weeks. And this was with all the latest technology available.

Great bodily harm? You bet your ass, son. I took on all of this willingly because I wanted a baby with all my heart and that was the only reason I could bear it. Forcing ANY of the above on someone who doesn’t want it when it can be safely prevented is fucking monstrous. “Imagined peril?” Yeah, right. I’m sure I’m imagining my entire pregnancy and birth and the kid. And mine was, again, a healthy pregnancy where almost everything went well and I had access to the best medical technology and humane medical care. No one can tell when something is going to go wrong in pregnancy and childbirth, and even if nothing goes “wrong” it is significantly taxing and injurious on the body.

Hmm soooo your analogy of abortion to putting a gun to someone’s head is total bullshit and you’re not okay with pregnant people changing or otherwise impacting their OWN bodies in order to end their pregnancies, either? So now you’re resorting to the intent to end the fetus’s life instead of the specific method used. Even if the primary intent is to end the pregnancy and the fetus’s death is a corollary to that, much like the person who refuses a blood or bone marrow donation, right? Does your back hurt to carry around the goalposts like that?

No, the people who use desperate and injurious means to try and end their pregnancies are distraught because people like you denied them a safe and dignified abortion. I’ve noticed before that anti-abortionists think women (while keeping the caveat that not all people who can get pregnant are women, not that most of your crowd admits it) have to be literally crazy not to want to have a baby and you’re sure that if we just knew the truth we wouldn’t do it. Nope, some of us just don’t want to have a baby, because some people with uteruses don’t! Get that through your head lol.

Also, self-defense doesn’t require the fetus be at blame in order to be justified, and here is where your fallacious and disingenuous conflation of conceding personhood for the sake of argument and actually conceding personhood does actual harm. We know, like anyone with the most basic understanding of the world knows, that the fetus does not mean harm and cannot mean to do anything. Their lack of intent does nothing to lessen the actual harm of pregnancy, however, because intent does not equal impact.

Also your coward’s way to wriggle out of the politically inexpedient specter of forcibly hospitalizing and jailing abortion clients is to infantilize and condescend to women instead of demonizing us. Lmaooooo because that’s so much humanizing. Not. This is what it looks like when you don’t have the strength of your own conviction and resort to sexism instead. Too bad, because your fellow “pro-lifers” are indeed jailing women for miscarriages and suicide attempts (link). I’m sure you’re upset by that because these women are just victims, right? Nah you’re not, you’re just out there electing the people who do this, who cut public support for women and babies (CPCs don’t count lmao like abortion scaremongering, diapers, and useless ultrasounds done by unlicensed personnel are enough support to have and raise a baby?? [link]), who make life precarious for families so fewer people will WANT to have babies, and making sure more women will be injured and die from unsafe abortions. Mission accomplished!

      “The joke is that you have the exact same moral hierarchy since you too believe that bodily autonomy may be exercised for bigoted reasons.”

And you got this from my post….how exactly?  No seriously, explain this.

“Pro-choicers don’t actually concede the point on fetal personhood, they assume it for the sake of argument with anti-abortionists because it doesn’t actually matter either way. It’s an argumentative tactic, not a concession, but keep imagining you’ve scored the point if it helps you feel better.”

Well since I’ve heard members of your group state outright that they know and accept (with no handy little “for argument’s sake” caveats included mind you) the unborn child is a person, etc, would kind of undermine that notion.  Unless you’re now saying you’re lying.  And of course, for your whole argument of self-defense to fly, they must be persons/actors as well to defend yourself against…  But sure, backpedal if it helps you feel better.

32 hour labor, followed by C-section as well, followed by infection and adhesions here.  High five, sister.  Yet I remind you, that your entire argument for self-defense involves criminalizing an unborn child.  A child that had no say in being where it was or what is happening to it.  A natural, biological process.  The vast majority of which were placed there consensually.  I know you always like to go to the extreme cases of rape, incest, medical emergencies etc to make your point, but those are a minuscule fraction of abortion cases.  I’m sorry, you do not get to say, “oops, I didn’t mean that to happen” and then use that, with the natural results of said actions to kill another person. No.  You don’t.  That is sick and perverse.  A life is in your hands because of your own choices.  You DO NOT have the right to kill it because you don’t like the consequences.  Does that mean discomfort, yes.  Does that even mean a chance of medical complications like we both faced?  Yes.  Life is hard. It means having to deal with the results of your actions, even when those involve pain and discomfort.  I don’t get to murder someone because there is a chance I might break my leg.  I’m sorry, I do not see murder—and I maintain it is murder, not self defense—as a viable option.  The fact you do, I find disturbing.

 “Hmm soooo your analogy of abortion to putting a gun to someone’s head is total bullshit and you’re not okay with pregnant people changing or otherwise impacting their OWN bodies in order to end their pregnancies, either? So now you’re resorting to the intent to end the fetus’s life instead of the specific method used. Even if the primary intent is to end the pregnancy and the fetus’s death is a corollary to that, much like the person who refuses a blood or bone marrow donation, right? Does your back hurt to carry around the goalposts like that?”

 I’m not okay with people taking actions to deliberately end their unborn child’s life.  No.  The specific method never mattered, only the outcome and intent.  I don’t see how I ever gave you reason to think I believed otherwise.  Where did I do so?  My goalposts have never moved.  Every example you gave was a deliberate attempt to kill their child.  It’s no different than whether someone chooses to burn or drown their child after birth.  The child ends up dead both ways, the means is secondary.  I honestly don’t understand the reasoning behind most of this paragraph.  “if the primary intent is to end the pregnancy and the fetus’s death is a corollary to that”  Ummm, if the primary intent is to end the pregnancy…that is literally the same thing as killing the fetus, not a corollary.  By definition.  Did you miss-type this?  

Unless you mean re: the gun analogy.  Okay then if so.  No, I do not think refusing a blood/marrow transfusion is the same as actively killing another life.  Is there a fine distinction?  Absolutely. Lack of action vs deliberate action. Ethics is hard, like life. There are grey areas.  Do I believe a person, capable of providing blood or marrow to help another person, should do so if they can?  Absolutely.  I’m listed as an organ donor, was a blood donor for years, and was recently tested to see if I could donate a kidney.  Do I feel the state has the right to force that?  No.  That is not the same as, “I don’t want the discomfort and difficulty this other life might bring me, because of actions I took, therefore I will make a conscious decision to end its life rather than deal with the known, understood consequences.”

 “No, the people who use desperate and injurious means to try and end their pregnancies are distraught because people like you denied them a safe and dignified abortion.”

 “A safe and dignified abortion.”  Wow.  Just...wow.  When you reach for the moon, you really go for it!  And no. You don’t get to pawn other people’s bad decisions, born of a whole spectrum of backstories and circumstances, onto the pro-life crowd.  That’s intellectually dishonest and you know it.  Their reasons are legion.  And I sincerely doubt any of those underlying issues would be solved by abortion. Please, can your brush get any broader before you need a crane to lift it?

 “Nope, some of us just don’t want to have a baby, because some people with uteruses don’t! Get that through your head lol.”

Then…simple solution…  Don’t take action that can result in the creation of another life.  Get that through your head lol.

“Also, self-defense doesn’t require the fetus be at blame in order to be justified… Their lack of intent does nothing to lessen the actual harm of pregnancy, however, because intent does not equal impact.”

I see.  So it gets to die because you were…scared/etc?  It’s not to blame, but you don’t like the consequences, so yup, it has to die. Yes.  That sounds so much better.  “intent does not equal impact.”  When your intent ends with another life’s ending, that’s a very real impact and a very real harm.  But that’s okay here because...you want it to be?  Who needs the self-defense argument more, I wonder?  The mother or the child?  Seems like the only rule here is the argument from power.  Where the person with power gets to determine what is right.  That’s a scary hill to take your stand on.

“Also your coward’s way to wriggle out of the politically inexpedient specter of forcibly hospitalizing and jailing abortion clients is to infantilize and condescend to women instead of demonizing us. Lmaooooo because that’s so much humanizing. Not.”

 Coming from someone whose position is to, in essence, demonize and dehumanize unborn children in order to justify killing them for the sake of your own convenience like every genocidal advocate ever, this rings a little hollow. Especially with the body count you’ve racked up so far.  Nice straw man though.

 And wow, one cherry-picked account of a terrible miscarriage of justice and a CA law to crack down on centers providing help and alternatives to abortion (though I do concede that using misleading, and deliberate lies to ‘fight the good fight’ is wrong, and any center that does it—“half” according to that article--should stop immediately.)  Wow, you got me there! /end sarcasm  

Yes, we’re people too, who also make mistakes, and we form a huge spectrum of views of what is acceptable and what is not in this cause, just like your side does.  If I cared to enter the mines, you know very well I could come up with plenty of counter cherry-picked examples from your camp. Women being lied to about their pregnant state, their options, the nature of their pregnancy and the very real medical risks of abortion, deliberately pushing abortions for monetary gain, husbands/boyfriends/parents forcing them to have abortions, and so on. Do I need to do so, or do you have the intellectual honestly to admit those happen too?  

Sexism? Oh please. At least be original with your slogans.

But if you want to compare notes, only one of our sides is responsible for supporting and enabling 45.7 million dead babies between 1970 and 2015 in the US alone.  The body count is clearly in your favor.  And I know you can’t possibly be so naïve as to think diapers or those crisis centers are all the pro-life movement do.  Or do I really need to link to the lists of many many many other programs and help made possible by our side?  And what do you put your money to anyways?  Oh yeah, pink pussy hats and placards. ��One side promotes and encourages life, one side promotes murder and death and spreads known lies about the “millions of babies killed in back-alley abortions!” (see https://www.hli.org/resources/doesnt-legal-abortion-save-women-filthy-back-alley-abortion-mills/  )   See!  I can use hyperbole and innuendo too! :D

[recalculatingthegenderwar]

Feminist academic reminds us mainstream feminism really does just hate men

The Washington Post recently published an editorial entitled “Why can’t we hate men?” It is a short and illuminating look at the psyche of a modern feminist academic. In her editorial, Northeastern University professor Suzanna Danita Walters “names the problem”, a term feminists use when they get tired of dancing around how evil all men are and just decide to come out and say it. In these moments, the pseudo-academic smokescreens of “patriarchy” start to fall away and feminists reveal themselves as naked bigots.

Anti-male bigotry is mainstream feminism.

Although the article’s quality tempts you to think otherwise, Walters isn’t some random blogger:

“Suzanna Danuta Walters, a professor of sociology and director of the Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies Program at Northeastern University, is the editor of the gender studies journal Signs.” [link to her bio added]

I’m surprising no one by pointing out that while women’s studies or gender studies could be a legitimate academic discipline, it is really only feminist indoctrination in practice. The Northern University Women’s, Gender and Sexuality Studies Program website states:

“We advance knowledge through interdisciplinary research, innovative pedagogies, and collaboration with other institutions, inspiring new generations of gender and sexuality scholars and feminist leaders committed to social justice. We strive to be a globally recognized model of excellence in gender, sexuality, and feminist scholarship.” [emphasis added]

Walters is neither a nobody nor a fringe radical. She is a feminist professor teaching feminism at a prestigious university, running a feminist academic center and a feminist academic journal. She stands at the zenith of mainstream feminism.

This also makes it laughable when Walters claims “[t]he world has little place for feminist anger.” I won’t rehash the mind-bogglingly examples of feminist power and influence I’ve written about. I’ll just point out that Walters is one of many for whom “feminist anger” is a viable career. This is like Bill Gates telling us, “People really never much had of a place for that whole computer thing.”

The problem with naming the problem

In my past articles, I explained how Patriarchy theory is the core narrative of feminism. Patriarchy theory claims that women (and sometimes to a lesser extent men) are being oppressed by men as a class. Since men are considered to have absolute power over the world, even problems seemingly unrelated to gender (war, economic issues, environmental issues, etc) are the fault of men as a class. Individual male misdeeds are attributed to the entire male class even if most men would find those misdeeds repugnant. Positive male contributions are forgotten. Indeed, Walters blames men for a “milienia of woe”. Because God knows humanity was so much better off a millenia ago. Things have really gone to shit since a man invented Penicillin.

Meanwhile female misdeeds are seen as rarities, ignored or blamed on male influence. Under feminism, women must be angels and men must be devils.

Men as a class are referred to as the Patriarchy. This obfuscates and dehumanizes feminist bigotry toward men. Feminists portray themselves as fighting a system rather than people. This is useful for public relations and seducing new recruits. It is unclear whether feminists are just lying to the public or also to themselves. I honestly think it’s a bit of both.

As feminists become more indoctrinated, they get tired of dancing around the problem. They feel like they are doctors who aren’t allowed to properly diagnose a disease that is ravaging the world. Sit in the feminist pot long enough and you will eventually boil over. That is what we are seeing with Walters:

“Seen in this indisputably true context, it seems logical to hate men. I can’t lie, I’ve always had a soft spot for the radical feminist smackdown, for naming the problem in no uncertain terms. I’ve rankled at the “but we don’t hate men” protestations of generations of would-be feminists and found the “men are not the problem, this system is” obfuscation too precious by half”

Notice Walters is not only framing men (not “Patriarchy”, but men) as the “the problem”, but challenging the feminist credentials of all “would-be feminists” who don’t openly hate men. Walters believes hating men is essential to being a feminist.

Walters justification for hating half of humanity

So what is the “indisputably true context” in which “it seems logical” to hate half of the entire human species based on a biological trait they have no control over? What is Walkers indisputably justification for hating over 3.5 billion people across the world with diverse backgrounds, identities and beliefs simply because they were born a certain way? You would think an academic would have a rock solid argument to advocate such widespread hate. You would be wrong:

“It’s not that Eric Schneiderman (the now-former New York attorney general accused of abuse by multiple women) pushed me over the edge. My edge has been crossed for a long time, before President Trump, before Harvey Weinstein, before “mansplaining” and “incels.” Before live-streaming sexual assaults and red pill men’s groups and rape camps as a tool of war and the deadening banality of male prerogative.” [included original links from article]

These aren’t arguments. They aren’t even coherent sound bites. Walters is just ranting. We don’t even know if Schneiderman is actually guilty of anything yet. Yeah, Weinstein is a jerk. He doesn’t represent all men.

Yeah, 2 incels went on a killing spree (killing both women and men) in the last 5 years. However, incels aren’t inherently violent. They aren’t always saints, but they aren’t a terrorist movement. There appears to be no evidence that either killer colluded with the wider incel community. Frankly, a lot of the reporting on the supposedly “dangerous” incel movement seems like fear-mongering/feminist propaganda. More importantly, incels are a fringe movement that most men want nothing to do with. Most men don’t even know what an "incel" is.

The only items with even a little meat are claims of live-streaming sexual assault and rape camps. How common are these things? Who are the victims? The perpetrators? Walker doesn’t tell us. We get no information about live-streaming sexual assaults. Her link on rape camps takes you to a 18 year old article about the trial of Serbian soldiers who sexually enslaved Muslim women during the Kosovo conflict. This is tragic, but is it grounds to hate all men? Again, the article is about their criminal trial in the Hague. Strange how the rape of women is globally condemned in our universal patriarchal rape culture.

“Pretty much everywhere in the world, this is true: Women experience sexual violence, and the threat of that violence permeates our choices big and small. In addition, male violence is not restricted to intimate-partner attacks or sexual assault but plagues us in the form of terrorism and mass gun violence.”

Walters provides no links or no citations here. Statements like this are largely meaningless without some effort to establish scope. “Pretty much everywhere in the world women experience” synethesia and gout. Female violence “is not restricted to intimate-partner attacks or sexual assault.“ These are also both equally true statements.

Similarly, Walters gives us no actual data about men’s role in terrorism or mass gun violence. I’m still willing to consider men might be overrepresented in terrorism and mass gun violence. However, does this mean I should hate women because women commit the majority of infanticide? What? I can’t because only a minority of women commit infanticide and most women find infanticide abhorrent? Feminists say I should be sensitive about possible psychological or social issues that motivate female child-killers? Really?

What about women being the majority of human traffickers? Should I hate all women now?

Surprise! It's the wage gap.

Walters eventually gets something that sort of resembles an actual argument:

“Women are underrepresented in higher-wage jobs, local and federal government, business, educational leadership, etc.; wage inequality continues to permeate every economy and almost every industry; women continue to provide far higher rates of unpaid labor in the home (e.g., child care, elder care, care for disabled individuals, housework and food provision); women have less access to education, particularly at the higher levels; women have lower rates of property ownership.“ [original links included]

Basically you should hate men because…wage gap - the dead horse feminists keep thinking will win the Kentucky Derby. The wage gap is generally found to be the result of women’s choices in the labor market, not sex discrimination. The same goes for unpaid labor. Walters’ own source explains that women often do more unpaid labor because their husbands often do more paid labor.

Walters claim about education holds a bit more water. Her linked source is a recently published academic report on girl’s worldwide school enrollment. I haven’t had a chance to read through it detail, but it seems to take a much more nuanced view of than Walters would have you believe. First, there are only significantly unequal primary and secondary school enrollment rates in very poor countries and/or war torn countries. The report doesn’t seem to blame girls lack of education enrollment simply on patriarchal oppression, but mentions issues such as the greater costs on families and greater concern for girls’ safety.

It is unclear what Walters means by “higher levels” of education. The report says very little about post-secondary education. It doesn’t seem to have any statistics on global post-secondary enrollment. One of the few things it does point out is that U.S. colleges have a higher female enrollment than male enrollment (page 18).

Walters never offers hard evidence all of these supposed inequalities she lists are due largely to widespread to sex discrimination against women by men. In fact, she doesn’t even directly make this claim. She only strongly infers it.

Walters Advocates Violence?

“So, in this moment, here in the land of legislatively legitimated toxic masculinity, is it really so illogical to hate men? For all the power of #MeToo and #TimesUp and the women’s marches, only a relatively few men have been called to task, and I’ve yet to see a mass wave of prosecutions or even serious recognition of wrongdoing. On the contrary, cries of “witch hunt” and the plotted resurrection of celebrity offenders came quick on the heels of the outcry over endemic sexual harassment and violence. But we’re not supposed to hate them because . . . #NotAllMen. I love Michelle Obama as much as the next woman, but when they have gone low for all of human history, maybe it’s time for us to go all Thelma and Louise and Foxy Brown on their collective butts.” [originally links included; emphasis added]

Now we are getting into SCUM manifesto territory. The pivotal plot point in Thelma and Louise is one of the protagonists shoots a man to death. I’m less familiar with Foxy Brown, but it sounds like the female protagonist also commits violence against men. It’s hard to not to see this as a thinly veiled call to violence.

This fits with the general cowardice of Walters’ editorial. While it’s clear she hates men and it’s clear she wants us to hate them too, notice she never explicitly writes, “I hate man and you should hate men too”. She is simply stating “”it seems logical to hate men” and that women have every “right to hate” men. She isn’t literally telling anyone to actually hate men.

I’m not sure what legal, professional or ethical bullet she thinks is dodging by so thinly obscuring her obvious intentions.

Feminist Julie Bindel is a monster, but at least she had the decency to just come out and say she wants to put men in concentration camps.

Why was this written?

It isn’t well written. It isn’t thoughtful. It likely won’t improve the public opinion of feminism. Why would Walters write this? Why would the Washington Post print it? What purpose does it serve?

Firstly, Walters wrote it because she is a bigot who wants to spread her bigotry.

Secondly, the Washington Post produces feminist propaganda. I don’t know exactly why, but they do. They concocted a new bogus 1-in-5 college rape statistic after the CSA study finally fell from grace. They further scrambled to save the feminist college rape panic in the face of government data showing incredibly low rape rates on campuses. They tried to whip up #MeToo frenzy by creating a bogus work place harassment study that completely ignored male victims.

Finally, I hypothesis the main goal is to bring Democratic voters to the polls for the midterm election. Look how Walters ends her editorial:

“So men, if you really are #WithUs and would like us to not hate you for all the millennia of woe you have produced and benefited from, start with this: Lean out so we can actually just stand up without being beaten down. Pledge to vote for feminist women only. Don’t run for office. Don’t be in charge of anything. Step away from the power. We got this. And please know that your crocodile tears won’t be wiped away by us anymore. We have every right to hate you. You have done us wrong. #BecausePatriarchy. It is long past time to play hard for Team Feminism. And win.“

Since Trump took office in the United States, SJW groups and left-leaning media outlets have formed an indistinguishable mass of outrage to keep the anti-Trump fires burning for the midterm elections. This is why the National Organization for Women is making tweets about immigration and the 2nd amendment. This is why the Women’s March really wasn’t about women, but about left-wing talking points and hating Trump.

Take a look at this sentence again:

“Pledge to vote for feminist women only.” [emphasis added]

Remember feminism isn’t for women. Feminism is for feminism.