#like a better term would be a character rehabilitation arc

[syrips]

really bums me out when people say that a character cant be redeemed. like sure, but that's so easy to explain. give me your unhinged theories about how the most disgusting vile little meow meow has a tiny ounce of humanity or hope that can be rekindled through the use of sheer luck, determination, and/or divine levels of intervention

[dizzyhslightlyvoided]

man.

In the IDW comic, Sonic's character arc is wild. It's all about how it's a bad idea to give his enemies "a chance to turn over a new leaf" by just saying something to encourage them to change and then 100% leaving them to their own devices. Like, just the Mr. Tinker thing -- probably more than half the named cast has called Sonic out on that whole mess. Sonic justifies it to Surge by saying he believes in ultimate freedom, which includes the freedom to do bad things and face consequences for it, and killing people would take that freedom away. However, 1. Sonic doesn't actually give them any lasting consequences, and 2. he has enemies who will continue to do bad things, no matter how hard he Gives Them A Chance.

He isn't really wrong to want people to change, of course; Sonic the Hedgehog clearly does not believe in retributive justice, and in fact his philosophy goes all the way through rehabilitative and restorative justice and into, like ... "redemption arc"-ative justice? Generally speaking, this in and of itself is treated by the story as not really wrong, because Sonic The Hedgehog (IDW Comics, 2018) is a children's story, and as such, it has a very black-and-white morality. It's just that Sonic's way of getting what he wants is objectively a mess.

And the next reason for that is because by framing it in those terms to begin with, Sonic is turning this into a direct attack on other people's ideologies. He's not just fighting you because he wants to stop you, he's also fighting you because he wants you to change your worldview and principles to align with his. Kitsunami, of all people, is the first one who calls him out on this, comparing Sonic's desire for his and Surge's redemption to Starline's mind-control.

And I mean like, okay, of course Kit is wrong and his view is warped by said mind-control, and of course Kitsunami and Surge in particular are probably going to end up better than they were after Starline scrungled their brains. But asking people to change their principles, to change themselves, to change that much, isn't necessarily reasonable! And in particular, the fact that Sonic isn't actually going to do anything to you except ruin your immediate plans means that you have no incentive to change! Sonic doesn't even try to debate his enemies, either; he just takes it as a given that his way is The Right Way and that maybe they'll "come around" someday! And it is shown in the story that this doesn't work! It's kind of a wild thing to happen in a story targeted at The 9-To-12-Year-Old Reading Range.™

Do I think Sonic's character arc is going to end up with him snapping necks? No, of course not; even if this wasn't a kid's story, it's also not reasonable to demand that Sonic should change his principles. Do I think Eggman is going to get redeemed? Also no; Sega's obviously not gonna let that happen, so Eggman has been written in the IDW comic as just not being the kind of person who changes.

But I do think that Sonic will ease up on his all-or-nothing approach to Personal Freedom, and he'll at least start to see that there is in fact a middle ground between "killing people, which you should never do ever" and "doing absolutely nothing and hoping really hard that the bad guys change their minds". Maybe some of the comic-original villains will get redeemed, and maybe they won't. Who knows! (If this wasn't a simplified black-and-white-morality kid's story, I'd want someone to sit down and explain to Sonic that you can't reduce the sum total of all ideologies to "the right way" versus "people being bad and/or making mistakes".) But Sonic's going to come to terms with a slightly more complex world, and the story will start furnishing new and idiosyncratic ways for Eggman or the Deadly Six or whoever to escape.

[kiriiqt]

In the meantime with the Diluc fic, would you happen to have any spare Scara headcanons?

SPOILER WARNING FOR 3.2

Like how he reacts to seeing reader taking care of him when he wakes up after losing the gnosis? That was a LONG fall and it looked like he landed on his head, so he was probably knocked unconscious. (RIP his hat) Or tbh any general hc's you have for him if this is too specific! Thank you so much for sharing your hard work with us!

taking care of scaramouche after his fall

- scaramouche is surprised to wake up in one piece, but he's even more surprised to see you there taking care of him.

characters: scaramouche x reader a/n: thank you so much for requesting! and no worries about being too specific, it actually helps me out. fun fact; scary is one of my favorite characters so I have a lot of spare headcanons about him. as always, feel free to request again if I misunderstood anything. also, this dragged out im so sorry. warnings: kinda angsty, descriptions of illness, sleep paralysis, an attempt at slow buildup of a relationship. some beta, we cling on like signora simps do.

I kept it vague as to what you and Scaramouche were before the Sumeru Arc, but you two did know each other, and you were working against him somehow.

Scaramouche spends a long time out of it. He’s not exactly had an easy life, and artificial god-form or not, the gnosis probably did a number on his body and mind - especially when it was taken away. Even with Nahida’s care, his body is incredibly weak, and he’s being plagued by nightmares and horrible memories. He’s essentially as weak and defenseless as a newborn child, and when he finally wakes up, he has to come to terms with the fact that he needs to start over. Again.

You and Scaramouche don't acknowledge each other for a while; His pride has taken a serious beating, and part of him refuses to believe that you're willingly taking care of him. He's sure it's a ploy of sorts, to put him in debt to you, one he couldn't possibly pay off - not that he's planning to. Meanwhile, you're twisting your own thoughts; truthfully, you pity him, but the constant reminder of what he's done in his lifetime - puppet or not - is washing over you like an incoming storm, and not even Nahida's words can alleviate that form of guilt.

You two get into a routine; you make sure he eats, drinks and sleeps, you put him through the rehabilitation program Nahida made, and you keep quiet every morning when his eyes are red and face is swollen from crying. You don't call out his poor excuses, and you don't ask for anything in return for your care. Scaramouche doesn't thank you anyway - at best he scoffs at you, glaring as if you were the one to take his gnosis. Most of the time, he's zoned out - pretending you're not there at all.

A few weeks pass by, and he's finally capable of walking by himself again - his mood seems better, and he's not on the verge of passing out just from crossing the room anymore. He's been outside again, although only on the balcony, but it's improvement, and he thinks so as well. You don't mention it, but it's obvious in the way his lips curl, and the way his eyes light up when the wind brushes past him. It makes a small smile break through your own frown. Still, recovery can be cruel with its ups and downs - and the world wouldn't let you forget that.

It takes a flare up - a bad one - for Scaramouche to finally acknowledge you. Waking up, he's thrown from one nightmare into another, his limbs paralyzed and eyes wide open, hot, searing pain pierces through him like hellfire, and for a second he thinks he's dying. He wants to scream, he needs to, but his throat feels raw and he can't move. His stomach churns at the sight of the world around him distorting, comforting green color bleeding into hues of red and purple; shapes breaking free from the chaos, faces he can recognize, voices he can recognize, pounding on his head like thunder strikes. And then - it stops.

You're gently shaking him awake, placing a cold cloth on his head and explaining something about another fever, but your words barely reach him. Your voice does, though; and while his head still feels as if it's being pounded against a wall, body engulfed in pain, you somehow pulled him out of that waking nightmare. And by the Archons, has he never been more fucking grateful to you in his life.

Still, he can't do anything; the pain overwhelms his senses, and closing his eyes feels like falling into a dark pit, spinning rapidly, and nausea washes over him again. He's not sure how much time passes, but it feels like an eternity - until, eventually, the pain stops.

Four days, you tell him. The flare up lasted four days; a high fever, but he's experienced it before. Part of him is thankful for not remembering it. You then tell him that it wasn't his first time experiencing sleep paralysis, either; and he wonders just how many times you've seen him like this. You shake your head when asked, another frown on your face. He decides not to pry.

You turn to leave, conversation seemingly over, but stop briefly when he utters a meek "Thanks". So quiet you could miss it, and part of him honestly hopes you did. He doesn't get a reply - but you leave with a small smile on your face.

From then on, things seem to improve between the two of you. It starts awkwardly. Scaramouche, or, Wanderer, as he asks you to call him for the time being, isn’t one to open up, and you’re not too keen on the idea of rambling about your days, when most of them are spent taking care of him or helping the traveler, with very little time left for yourself. Still, you manage to chat somehow - going from smalltalk, to Cyno’s bad jokes, to icebreakers that Nahida suggests - until eventually, conversation flows naturally between the two of you. You begin to bring him out of the sanctuary - in disguise, of course - and on those walks that get longer and longer the better he feels, there is little to do but chat about your lives. You get to experience what he’s like normally, and although he acts like a little shit, it’s nice to see him look a little more alive than he did before.

Nahida still has him under strict supervision, but as long as you’re with him, he’s fine to go out. Well, it could be anyone, really, but Dehya and him are at eachothers throats within minutes, Nilou simply refuses to be near him, and he’s told both Al Haitham and Cyno to go suck it one too many times (and that's among the nicer things he’s said to them). So, he always ends up with you, and you pretend to ignore the self-satisfied smirk that's on his face anytime someone comes dragging him your way. You also pretend to ignore the laugh Nahida is holding back at his antics.

Wanderer becomes a constant presence in your life; always bugging you to give him attention, to do something with him, and most of the time, it ends up with you dragging him off before he accidentally breaks the law (or insults Al Haitham…again). Though, you notice that he’s oddly nice to children and the elderly - not above helping either out, and one time you even saw him playing peek-a-boo with a kid while waiting for you. It made you smile, but you didn’t miss how quiet he got when the mother laughed and picked up the girl, telling her to bid him farewell. The same evening, he wordlessly hugs you, and tells you about his own mother. For a few hours, you two sit together, hidden away from the world for a while.

He’s quickly back to normal, but you somehow feel that you’ve gotten closer. It shows in the way his gaze softens when looking at you, and how his hand occasionally finds yours when no one is looking. You see it in Nahida’s knowing smile, and in how Dehya rolls her eyes, but sends a wink your way when Wanderer looks away. He’s become more protective as well, you notice, as he’s quick to step in to defend you in even the smallest of scuffles. You can’t resist teasing him about it sometimes, and the blush on his face when he tries to deny it with his entire being is one of the best things you’ve ever seen. 

Over time, he’s made himself home in your accommodations, and your heart, and while dealing with his antics and taking care of him is difficult, you’d be lying if you said that you wanted him out. You don’t mind holding him through the occasional flare ups, or picking him up on days when he’s so weak that he collapses, and you make sure to tell him this when he seems to doubt it.

One day, it’s suspiciously quiet in your house, and for a second you’re afraid that he’s run off; but relief washes over you when you see him sitting by your desk, looking at something in his hand. You approach him, and glance over his shoulder to see…a vision. A shining, green gemstone, with an anemo symbol in the middle - somewhere in the back of your mind, you recall Venti’s laugh, and think back on the day on the balcony when Wanderer finally managed to walk that far. How the wind immediately picked up, as if to welcome him back. He’s inspecting it, lost in thought, as his eyes glide over the symbol, and the gold casing around it - the decoration that indicates where the wielder is from. His gaze seems to get stuck on it - teeth worrying at his bottom lip, and you glance down, concerned about what it could mean for him. But, to your relief, the gold isn’t shaped in the style of an Inazuman vision, or a Snezhnayan one; it resembles a leaf, or a teardrop; the one that so many of your friends from Sumeru carry. He snaps out of his daze when you place a hand on his shoulder, smiling down at him; and his expression softens with a sigh.

“I wonder… is this just another way of tying me to a God?”

His voice comes out meek, and you exhale slowly, choosing your next words carefully.

“...How much do you know of the Anemo Archon?”

“Tsk, just that he’s a lazy Archon who practically abandoned his people under the guise of freedom.”

Both of you pause, with you deep in thought, and him glaring at the vision in front of him.

“Well, we could argue all day if it’s abandonment or freedom - but from what I know, he cares about his people, and if anyones really in need, he does interfere. He doesn’t just leave all to suffer”.

Wanderer scoffs, throwing a glare your way. Still, he doesn’t speak for a while, so your words did get to him, you figure. You lean against the wall next to the desk, crossing your arms, gaze falling on the faintly pulsating vision.

Wanderer breaks the silence again. “What does freedom really mean though, when demanded of you by a God?”

Those words sounds familiar, you realize, as you ponder his question. You glance out the window, humming, while he looks at you expectantly. His eyebrows knit together in an offended look when a small smile pulls at the corners of your lips, and he opens his mouth to spew an insult, but you interrupt him.

“I think this means that the ball is in your court. You can take it, use the new power granted to you, and start anew, if you’re ready…” Pushing yourself off the wall, you pick up the vision and turn it in your hand “...or, you can leave it. Entirely behind, or just on the shelf, for another day.”

He looks up at you again, as you slide the vision into his hand with a smile.

“But, I think that the fact that it’s here is enough of a sign already. So what will it be, Wanderer?”

[zahri-melitor]

New 52 Bat Comics: What to read

Claiming everything in this 5 year period is irredeemable is a long ask, and there’s both some stories in here that are important in terms of ‘where things happen’ and others that are just genuinely entertaining reads. I enjoyed myself on multiple occasions as I worked through this period, and I'd like to put a spotlight on those occasions.

Here’s my suggestions of what to pick up if you are interested:-

Batwoman, particularly J.H. Williams III’s run (#1-24). If you have any interest in Kate Kane at all, this picks up immediately following Rucka’s Elegy storyline in ‘Tec, and only has the smallest levels of retcons built in to update from pre-Flashpoint (Cameron Chase gets a character reset, the DEO is slightly different, there’s a chunk of alluded to backstory with Renee Montoya that’s been shaken up by Montoya losing a lot of her history). Marc Andreyko’s run should have been better than it was – he handles the editorially-mandated Kate and Maggie breakup in a way that’s very familiar if you’ve read Andreyko’s Manhunter, but never manages to achieve a particularly interesting plot. I would however suggest reading the Batwoman Annual written by Andreyko, even if you stop at Andreyko, as it ties off the Williams III story.

Gotham By Midnight: Gotham police’s secret magic division, where Jim Corrigan, as the Spectre, is dealing with supernatural threats. Exactly the sort of minor series that gives more depth to Gotham as a city.

Detective Comics #30-44: Francis Manapul and Brian Buccellato’s run on ‘Tec and the guest story from Ben Percy (Terminal 1&2) is probably my favourite mainline Batman storytelling of all of n52. It’s very police force based, rather like Rucka and Brubaker’s runs in the early 2000s. It’s focused on Harvey Bullock, but in a compelling way. They handle the concept of Batman, both from Bruce and from an outsider’s perspective, in a way that reminds me of some of the best Batman storytelling. The first two arcs are better than the third, for the unavoidable reason that Jim Gordon’s Batman in the third arc. Ben Percy’s Terminal 1&2 is a genuinely compelling airport disease outbreak story, and unlike a bunch of these types, holds up to read post-2020.

Arkham Manor: Despite what the title might make you believe, this is a delightfully fun story. Come for ‘what happened when Arkham Asylum fell into a hole in the ground’, stay for possibly my favourite Victor Fries characterisation ever. Next time anyone tells you Bruce Wayne doesn’t care about the rehabilitation of criminals, remember he gave up his HOUSE so they had somewhere safe to stay and he convinced the cops and psychiatrists to let Victor Fries live in an igloo on the Manor lawn basically for enrichment purposes.

Gotham Academy: look, if you want a lighthearted school story about teens that dips into some of the weirder mythology of Gotham without getting too bogged down in it? This is a fun read. There is definitely bonus when you know various other Gotham properties well, but at heart it’s just a magical/meta-filled school.

We Are Robin: I really like this as a story fleshing out Gotham and what Robin as a concept means to the children and teens of Gotham. Duke’s great and this solidifies a lot of the characterisation Snyder gave him and really grounds him with a backstory, but Riko Sheridan is also sparkling off the page with potential.

Batman & Robin, #1-23. Frequently frustrating, this is probably the best balance of writing of Damian in n52 and of Bruce’s feelings towards Damian. The 5 issues immediately after Requiem really set out for me the difference in discussion of death of a child between 1989 and ALPOD and 2013 and Damian’s death. I also think this contains the best writing of Damian actually struggling with his legacy as a ROBIN and with his feelings as the youngest child of the family.

Robin: Son of Batman: this in contrast is more of a look at Damian’s backstory PRIOR to his first appearance in Gotham and dealing with his feelings and penitence for his actions with the League of Assassins. It’s good if you want a whole-hearted attempt at balancing the inherent contradictions between “Damian’s existence and childhood is a betrayal by Talia that is hard to forgive” and “Talia as a complex character who loves her son”.

[dracallyart]

Share with us the lore behind Shieru and Orochimaru, please! I found your art through the latter's tag and they look so appealing together in a way that's hard for me to put words to. Old friends, perhaps?

Thanks for sharing!

AAAAAA!! Absolutely!! Thank you for giving me the opportunity to yap about these two hehe 🙏Also, thank you so much for finding them very appealing, you made my day!

I don't have their full story completely complete, as I only started working on it a few days ago and kept building on it as I went. As a warning; this will be LONG. The reason why is because Shieru and Orochimaru's story would be considered a slow-burn, due to Orochimaru needing a proper redemption arc and eventually receiving forgiveness.

-----

Some important things to note about my character before going on; Shieru is around the same age as the Sannin's, and is considered a very well respected veteran among Konoha. Having been kidnapped when she was young into Danzo's root, eventually escaping in her early twenties where she assisted Konoha during the Second Shinobi war, became a hermit for about a year or so after (due of her past trauma and actions) and returned with being able to summon the legendary bird she made a contract with and learned new, powerful jutsu. In her clan (the Fūrin clan, a fictional clan I made) she is considered the most powerful.

She's incredibly wise, is a sage without the official title and is incredibly knowledgeable on things relating to anthropology from life experiences.

Now! On to her and Orochimaru. (I will be referring to Orochimaru as they/them!) She is aware of everything they have done in the past, and have even affected negatively a student that she ends up rehabilitating back into Konoha. So, when Orochimaru is pardoned in Konoha due to assisting in the war efforts by saving Tsunade and even guiding Sasuke into assisting the village. Shieru begins to keep a close eye on the Sannin, and not long after they wander aimlessly around the village during the "Blank Period Episodes" she asks Kakashi, the current Hokage, to take Orochimaru to travel for around a year or so. As she wishes to see whether they had the ability to be properly redeemed. Due to her experiences as a veteran shinobi, she is allowed to as long as she is with Orochimaru at all times.

So, the two set off. Orochimaru asking why she would take them on a "leisurely jaunt" this way and Shieru would explain she's made a journey like this before, which changed her for the better, and wants to see whether that will do the same effect for Orochimaru. Of course, due to their circumstances, Orochimaru requires constant supervision and so they go on this journey.

Early during their travels, Shieru attempts to act professional and rigid with Orochimaru, often humbling from their acts of the past and occasionally snapping at them. Orochimaru meanwhile would act incredibly sly, teasing and equally as stubborn as Shieru in terms of their conversations. At some point, Orochimaru even begins nicknaming Shieru "Shi-Shi", which only grates her further.

Many points during their travel amongst different lands, Orochimaru finds themselves frozen as they recall a specific memory of certain events that have occurred to them in the past. Whether that be a specific hideout they had nearby, or even finding the spot where the "Three-Way-Deadlock" occurred where he nearly killed Jiraiya. At the beginning they put it aside, but little do they know all these memories begin to eat at them from the inside.

After a good long while into their travel, they've had their fair share of rogue ninja attempting to ambush them. One time, Orochimaru breaks the rule of no direct attack and assists Shieru in fending off some rogue ninja. They both end up working very well fighting together. And this specific incident is what causes Shieru to feel comfortable enough making fun of Orochimaru, she was never afraid of them to begin with. But she gives him the nickname "cornsnake" which causes Orochimaru to react at the slander, which eventually makes the two jab at one another in a more teasing, casual manner. It's around this time Shieru begins acting less professional and rigid with Orochimaru too, as they start having more and more conversations, albeit, it is still too early for Oro to talk too deeply over their thoughts.

MUCH more into their journey, Orochimaru begins to feel emotions they did not feel capable of feeling before. Some of them being shame, and regret. They at one point hurt Shieru's feelings with a statement so out of bounds, and at the beginning they feel nothing, but the abrupt change in Shieru's attitude makes the bubbling feeling of shame rise in their gut. So, a few nights later, they force themselves to apologise. Their apology makes Shieru have to stifle a laugh, and forgive them, which... surprises Orochimaru. But they move on, and it gives Oro much to think about.

The last half of their journey is a lot more eventful, Shieru eventually going the same route she went before on her journey from many, many years ago and telling Orochimaru about her adventures, and eventually opening up about what she got over in her trauma through this journey. Giving her plenty of quiet time to reflect. Though, she jokes due to her being here, Oro had little time to reflect. They disagree with her, but don't continue the thought. It's only through the course of a few more weeks and months that they begin to show frustration, regret and shame for what happened before. Shieru meanwhile is patient, open to hearing Orochimaru's thoughts on the manner, and offers her genuine opinion on certain things. And is, honestly forgiving as she comes to further understand Orochimaru in a deeper level, which does let Orochimaru express deep emotions he's not felt in years.

Through this journey, Orochimaru learns to (slowly) be a better person, and Shieru learns to forgive and further give belief that even those who are villainous by nature do so for a reason.

The drawing I made where they are going for drinks is the day that they return to Konoha, now as friends. And they go for drinks as a bit of a victory for their journey and Orochimaru's much more mellowed out personality. And redemption? They act like indeed old friends going for drinks that night.

And over time, the two do form a deep partnership, specifically once Orochimaru has made up for their past mistakes in a meaningful way, which surprises everyone, but Shieru pacifies Orochimaru in a good manner and does genuinely feel love for them, and Orochimaru treats Shieru incredibly well and feels equal amounts of love for Shieru. This occurs when they're back in Konoha and still continue to hang nearly every day, Orochimaru became accustomed to their presence and finds themselves restless without them around, and Shieru has come to find Orochimaru endearing and enjoys their company just as much.

This of course further mellows out Orochimaru to the point of Boruto! And of course, Shieru is basically Mitsuki's mom (merged their DNA into a petri dish LMAO).

-----

One reason I wished to make this ship is to further give explanation for Orochimaru's personality during Boruto. Since I do feel we're missing plenty context to why Orochimaru changed so drastically over the decade, I suppose when you've lived so long and have attained the immortality you wish, you do mellow out. But! I also personally love Orochimaru since the Blank Period Episodes, so I wanted to give this little ship a shot!

BUT! This is all of my thoughts! I definitely have more that I might have forgotten to mention, but I will most likely be drawing them a lot more and exploring their relationship further over time, since they've infested my brain since the day I made Shieru. Especially on their one year journey, a LOT can happen at that time, but I only have the template for what occurs.

Either way! Thank you so much for asking me about them!! Once again you made my day by asking that <333 I apologise if it was so long, but if you made it to this point, thank you for coming to my Ted Talk!

[total-drama-brainrot]

also if we're doing total drama dirtbags...let's see

gen 1: courtney, duncan, gwen, heather, alejandro, eva

gen 2: scott, b, lightning, jo, zoey maybe? at least in universe haha

gen 3: dave, scarlett, sugar (first two are must haves, last one just seems fitting for a show called dirtbags), amy/max/topher or even multiple of these 3 depending on how much gender and generation balance we want

I'm reluctant to use the name "Dirtbags", simply because it'd overlap with the canonical fake show and that's super confusing, but I was thinking something more along the lines of:

GEN 1: Heather, Duncan, Courtney, Gwen, Alejandro, Eva, Izzy*, Harold**, Sierra, Justin

GEN 2: Scott, Lightning, Jo, B, Anne Maria***, Mike****

There's more Gen 1 characters simply because Gen 1 had the bigger cast of a whopping twenty five contestants, and I wanted to have the customary sixteen cast members here (otherwise I'd probably scrap Harold and Izzy). I'm considering swapping out either Izzy or Sierra for Blaineley, but she doesn't really count as a contestant so much as a host, so she'll probably came a cameo as a co-host at some point instead.

* Izzy's a wildcard character, and generates a lot of minor conflicts in the show, so she's villain-adjacent.

** Harold's whole 'getting Courtney eliminated' thing really showcases his villain potential, so he's in the same category as Eva and B. The 'potential villain' characters are the ones who have the most conceivable revenge-fuelled villain arcs, which Harold definitely does.

*** Anne Maria is, again, a conflict character. A lot of her plot relevance revolves around her vanity impacting her usefulness to the team, or her infatuation with Vito sabotaging Mike and Zoey's relationship.

**** Mal. Also his alters are, again, a conflict generation plot device, making him villain-adjacent despite being a 'protagonist'.

Of course, Mike could be swapped out with either Zoey or Dakota (I haven't finished RotI yet, but Dakota has more villain potential than Zoey from what I've seen) but I kind of want to keep the gender ratio even, since that's what the show itself does.

Now that I'm thinking about it, Anne Maria and Dakota could easily be swapped. They're both about the same level of villain-adjacent, and Dakota has more incentive for villain-potential given the whole mutation fiasco. But I think Anne Maria deserves more screen time, so. 🤷‍♀️

Now, in terms of Gen 3... I don't know Gen 3. So I'll have to trust your judgement there. If I were to add some Gen 3 characters, I'd probably thin the herd here to make more room for them.

-

As for the name, I'm thinking something synonymous with antagonist or villain would work well enough, since the whole concept of this 'fan season' is putting the villainous characters through a series of morality test inspired challenges and hoping they come out of it as better people. Though something referencing the fact that they're, in theory, being rehabilitated into better people would also work.

Total Drama Rehab is out, for obvious reasons. As is Total Drama Baddies, because I guarantee that's already being used for someone's NSFW pinup collection or something, and I don't need that sort of association with any of my AUs.

Total Drama Scoundrels is the name I've been sitting on, but that might just be because I think 'scoundrel' is a funny word. Same as terms like 'fiend', 'rascal', 'scallywag' and my personal favourite, 'rapscallion'.

[myyeehawacademia]

Accepted! Neito Monoma!

Character name: Monoma Neito

Why do you want to play them?:

-He’s my favorite and I’m drawn in by characters who prefer to use their words and manipulative tactics against stronger opponents in the absence of combat power

What is their quirk?:

-Copy; can copy up to 4 quirks at a time for 5 minutes

What powers and limitations do they have:

-Can only use one quirk copied at a time. Combat power is average fighting ability

Describe the character’s personality:

 -He’s rather abrasive and loves to taunt others around him, often to an obnoxious degree if he feels competitive. Generally he’s a good person and is always willing to help if asked, but he tends to snap back with rather intense verbal lashings if he’s provoked.

What has your character been doing since canon? (please consult server story for ideas!):

 - After canon events regarding the final war arc and Monoma’s role in mastering quirks for the war, he focused a lot of his efforts on how to best support heroes who are more in the throws of action than he usually is. This will involve copying quirks of classmates in order to think of other applications for said quirk and return to them with the results and ideas. Given that he is an incredible strategist and known for thinking outside of the box, he puts a lot of research into these things, while also keeping them in mind for if he ever needs to copy quirks in the future. On top of pro-hero work, he is studying for college entrance exams to further his knowledge on things like physics in order to have a broad understanding of how to apply different quirks.

Preferred relationships (friendships, rivalries, ships, etc):

- Class B is still his heart and he does what he can to boost their status. Awase and Kendo are the closest to him. Monoma has developed a huge admiration for Bakugo in particular, especially after the war (but most of the time he just likes to push his buttons and won’t admit it, so its probably onesided) He’s wary of Aizawa as he’s really not up for mastering any more weird quirks any time soon.

Please list your goal(s) for the character (This can be a long term plan for the character’s progression, or an aspect of the character you’d like to explore!): Monoma is a character I write due to his fighting style being 90% provoking words. Fight RPs are fun but I find the plot that involves a weaker character being able to talk a much stronger one into fatal mistakes incredibly fun. He’s definitely NOT kind and tends to speak too harshly, so I also would encourage people to really lay into him and put him in his place when needed.

For your character:What do you think about UA University’s Villain Rehabilitation Program:

Cue a light scoff and a roll of the eyes. There is a solid beat of silence as Neito’s expression shifts between bitter amusement and indignation. “Really, the rehab stuff all seems great on paper. I’m sure it’s a fantastic little program for those who can’t stand the idea of snuffing anyone out. Me, personally, I’d draw a line at what sins can’t be forgiven and get rid of that liability. Why would I want to risk a bad day for any of them?”

Pick two of the following prompts and write out how you would behave in that scenario. Minimum 100 words each:

“You overhear someone talking bad about you from across the room, how do you react?”

If Neito was across the room before, he certainly isn’t now. Like a bullet train, the man made a direct descent into the conversation at hand. A chair is pulled out from under a nearby desk and sat on backwards.

“Well, hello there,” He flashed a knowing grin. Blue eyes squint with obvious malice. “I thought I might have heard wrong, silly me for eavesdropping I know, but could you perhaps repeat that last bit for me~?”

There’s a strong intensity in the air. The next words better be chosen carefully, as Neito wasn’t going to spare any that leaked like venom off his tongue next.

“You’re in combat with a villain who is threatening to attack nearby civilians. How do you stop them?”

 Nothing. He’s running on nothing. This had to be the worst possible time to catch a villain in the midst of a potential hostage situation. Only a second passes a Neito already has his mothers words in his ears. ‘What are you going to do when you’re alone? What are you going to do with a quirk like that if you the real heroes aren’t around?’

Breathe. Quirk or no, Neito knows he has an excellent poker face and an even better silver wit. The distress signal is already sent, now the only thing to do was to stall. Monoma Neito can certainly stall a villain.

“Woah there, friend, what is it you think you’re doing?” As the Phantom Thief, Monoma stands with his arms out. It was both a dominating posture as well as one that implied no tricks to hide. “Something tells me you’re not standing there, knees shaking like that, because you genuinely want to hurt anyone. I’ve already set up a plan of capture-“ a lie. “It’ll be all over your loved ones feeds!” Another lie. “-but lets talk about this first. Don’t you want a chance to stop?”

[cacaitos]

yk what's weird to me about pre-KnS yamaguchi manga (save for cybermomotaro) is that despite leaning so much on like those edgy loner nationalistic guy main characters they alway are written in a way that almost would suggest an arc to end up like something closer to kakugo yk?

like yes kakugon't (rei HAJC) got the rising sun-every man for himself-violent retaliation and angeris perfectly fine-group thinking is for pussies things going on but by the end he goes forming decent friendships and cooperation in a way that suggests a betterment of his character. with garan, he's also another loner samurai hunting evil and degenerates bc, in very anachronistic yamaguchi fashion, rehabilitative justice/prison system doesnt do it for him and Bad People should Die bc they cant fundamentally change and hippies and love is for pussies (again). but in like the last chapter we find he raises orphans to avoid them becoming trash adults or criminals. so, which of the two is it? is it nature or nuture with this series.

then all pre-KnS works end very suddenly, and specially with HAJC and Garan, at these very odd points where they seemingly contradict the main character's already so-wrong-they-cant-be-serious opinions but dont ever really change anything despite being aware and calling attention to itself...

so on those terms idk if i feel as strongly to keep saying he did like a 180º on his take on the matter when starting KnS, but it cant say the contrary either, for now...

[a-tale-never-told]

Idea for the WoH arc: The Ultimates decide to set up a sort of mentorship program for the kids, taking advantage of the fact that the Elementary School Division is known in this timeline. “The Ultimates of Hope’s Peak, training the next generation to follow in their footsteps”. Not only getting close to them, but having the kids live with them to see what real parents are like and not all adults suck. I even have a few ideas for who goes with who. For Masuru, Neko would be the obvious candidate. Both sports related, both dark skinned, and if his mom was willing to take in a disaster like Nikei, she’d be all over Masuru. On the surface Ibuki would be with Kotoko since they’re both performers, but her real mentor would be Mikan. Just like in ASOOT Mikan can empathize with what Kotoko went through, but she managed to find true parents who loved her, with this being her chance to help someone just like Ibuki helped her. I’ve considered having Monaca go with the Nanami’s, since both she and Chiaki are heads of their class and Tenmei is technology savvy but I’m not sure. Normally I would pair Nagisa and Jataro with Taka (supportive father and healthy school-life balance) and Hifumi (looks aren’t everything and taking pride in one’s work) respectively, but neither of them are Ultimates yet, so if you have any ideas for those two, feel free to share. This isn’t me trying to tell you how to write your story, this is just me spitballing an idea I find interesting

//No, that's perfectly fine with me, dude! I honestly like that concept a lot actually, as it serves for some pretty interesting and well-written interactions with the WOH and how Class 77th-B is going to be basically rehabilitating from their traumatic experiences at the hands of those miserable excuses of parental figures, and showing them that not all parents are the slime of humanity^^.

//As a matter of fact, that was originally what I was thinking for the ideas of how I would conceptualize the WOH arc, with Hajime and the rest of Class 77th-B funding and organizing the mentorship program with the help of Chiaki's parents(Perhaps even Hajime's parents joining along?), and spending time with them in order to create stronger bonds between the children and the rest of the class. Not only does this serve for some important character development for the WOH, but it also might exhibit the more human side of particular members of the class, like Fuyuhiko and Peko, or Nagito.

//I can definitely see why Nekomaru would be paired up with Masaru, as both came from very depressing circumstances, that being Nekomaru with his heart condition, and Masaru getting beaten constantly by his abusive waste of a father. I think that Nekomaru would be able to help Masaru with his self-deprecating traumatic issues and his abusive childhood, by being soft-spoken and trying to motivate him into not feeling that way about himself as a person. Not only would this serve as some great development for Masaru's character, but also for Nekomaru's.

//Nidai is commonly viewed among most of the fandom as one of the most underrated characters in the franchise, and for good reason. You barely get to know him as a character in the main storyline of the game at the beginning, aside from the fact that he's the Ultimate Team Manager and arguably is extremely passionate about athletics and training, to an incredible extent that he feels to shout it out to everyone he interacts with. Aside from preventing Akane's death, Mechomaru, and the entirety of Chapter 4(Though that was more focused on Gundam and the ramifications of his duel with Nidai), we barely received anything substantial regarding Nidai's character and I believe that the Free Time Events do a relatively better job of fleshing out Nidai as a character, establishing why he's so well-liked and popular amongst the fans. With Nidai being the mentor to Masaru, it could serve as some described form of development for both characters in terms of personalities and character actions, with the two bonding over their physical abilities and their shared enjoyment of sports, with Masaru coming to view Nidai as a passionate and supporting figure in his life, and Nidai more likely realizes has to change the way he interacts with people that posses severely traumatic backstories and experiences, especially when it comes to randomly shouting at others.

//Mikan and Kotoko's relationship would obviously stay as it was written throughout the rest of ASOOT Season 1 and is actually considered to be one of the main highlights in a rather flawed season, seeing the both of them overcoming their traumatic experiences and finding solstice with each other, as well as learning from each other's pasts and trying to better themselves to become better people, only this time with Ibuki's family being a central part of the storyline, and Mikan having an establishing character moment by emphasizing what happened to Kotoko, but how she managed to find people that support her endlessly and love her and wants to help her find that inspiration and enjoyment of having a healthy familial relationship. In effect, what you just described.

//I considered having Hibiki replace Mikan as Kotoko's mentor, citing her experiences with Kanade. However, now that I think about it, it wouldn't make sense from a characterization viewpoint if I put Hibiki instead of Mikan in the mentorship role. While they both share similar experiences in terms of having to deal with awful familal treatment, it doesn't make sense from a writing standpoint to have Hibiki being the one to comfort Kotoko, especially when she's coming off her own uncomfortable experences with Kanade and could easily relapse into the mental state we witnessed in the aftermath of the Concert Arc, as well as it would undermine the amount of character development and symbolism for both Mikan and Kotoko, as both had ended up facing those toxic relationships with their paternal figures and were able to grow from resolving that as a result.

//The Nanamis are a perfect choice for Monica, as she would easily fit in with the rest of the family and be a valuable and positive addition to the Nanami household, minus the fact that we got an opportunistic, cheerful, and sometimes, prankster child on the Nanami's hands. I could imagine Monica just trolling Chiaki about her progress and ability to singlehandedly beat any video game she receives and assisting Tenmei with whatever technological schemes he has conjured up in his brain. While Monica's usefulness to the Quantum Crew will be emphasized in Season 2, I think adopting Monica would definitely help in regards to keeping her more sadistic edges under control, as the Nanamis showing emotional support and compassion would certainly benefit her mental and psychological state in this alternate timeline, yet that all depends whether or not something unforeseen happens in the plot to warrant this sort of change.

//As for Nagisa and Jataro, I especially haven't decided yet on what I want to do with Nagisa, as the closest, possible option for who would be Nagisa's mentor would be Mahiru or Honami, considering that they are the normal and realistic members of the class, but that is left to speculation as to how Nagisa's dynamic with the Koizumis or Sato's would function. Jataro, on the other hand, is someone that I have actually decided to pair up with a more infamous member of the class, but I won't exactly reveal why as that's spoiling the excitment^^^

//I always enjoy conversations like this, whereas like-minded individuals who have similar ideas when it comes to discussing storytelling, characterization, and the way the characters are presented in other fanfictions are truly fascinating to me. I'm always open to discussion about suggestions or ideas for future arcs, guys and I do believe I should discuss what ideas you guys have for future installments for Seasons 1 and 2^^^

//And don't worry about if this is basically responding to me as telling me how to write my story, because I know it's not your intention. I actually try to listen to both sides of the spectrum and take these ideas into consideration, as I believe they could improve the quality of the story and writing while sticking to my original concepts, so don't worry about it, dude. It's all perfectly fine with me^^

[merrysithmas]

Obviously the Falcon show should've shown Bucky coming terms with the fact that he should write his OWN name in his book of victims.

It should have been made visually clear by the end of the series that he doesnt have to apologize for heinous crimes committed by Hydra hijacking his body and obliterating his bodily autonomy to incomprehensible levels, easentially using him like a criminal pump n dump. Every new assignment, new agonizing training, new puppetry, another violent rape of his body and mind.

Bucky is not at all even akin to say Tony Stark, who suffered immense guilt during the entire Infinity Saga regarding his former life as a weapons dealer. Tony's (valid) guilt resulted in a compulsive desire to protect the earth, ultimately ending in his voluntary death. Tony is time and again shown as a tortured hero despite his initial complacency in his morally bereft actions. Bucky gets no such luck- even though Bucky, in his former life, committed no such atrocities and in fact was likely one of the most heroic pre-superhero normals in the MCU.

Bucky was a well-liked, smart, athletic, happy boy who cast aside any manner of social expectation to throw in his lot, time, and energy, again and again, with chronically ill, disabled, social menace Steve Rogers. Bucky canonically nursed Steve's injuries, was his stalwart companion through all life's difficulties (his illnesses, his mother's death, Steve's psychological inferiority complex and mental anguish resulting from his social standing) and the Crash, and mostly importantly, Bucky did not want to go to war.

He was drafted (something that seemingly would have been key to bring up in Falcon re: his lifetime as an unwilling soldier). And, emotionally, Bucky ardently tried to dissuade Steve from joining the army, for fear he'd lose him. Despite not wanting to fight and being tortured, Bucky stayed in the military post-rescue from Azzano because he could not fathom leaving Steve. He planted his feet in a burning building shouting "No! not without you!" refusing to leave without Steve even after his rescue from months of torture. Til the end of the line, regardless of what happened to him.

For the next three entire films we see the frankly epic level of value Steve places on Bucky's devoted companionship. How desperately Steve valued Bucky's goodness and innocence (even above his own life, reputation, and safety).

Bucky doesn't have to cross out names he feels guilty about as if atoning for his own sins - and while the thought behind this narrative choice may have been to depict some semblance of retribution, this notion would have been much better expressed in another way. Such as: members of the public or others who were vicitmized in some horrible manner (domestic abuse, sexual abuse, scapegoats, other victims of Hydra etc) coming to Bucky instead to comfort him, welcoming him into a group designed to alieviate this solitary mental burden, or at least comiserate in some manner. Showing him he was not alone and who, exactly, he could be fighting for should he ever choose to fight again. The voiceless and disregarded, who only have Bucky who understands.

Also (though it seems to have engendered some faction of fandom vitriol), the removal of Bucky's arm during battle deserves consideration. This visual act was obviously narratively intended to show the unmatched prowess of the Dora Milaje and the justifiable premeditated cautiousness of Wakanda re: the generous rehabilitation of a dangerous mass weapon.

Though, it has the double-edged effect of showing how Bucky is still not an agent of his own bodily autonomy. His mental and physical freedom, his very ability to do his job and make his own choices therein, is still under the jurisdiction of someone else. His disability is his opposition's advantage (whether well-intentioned or not). Essentially, he is mistrusted. And it doesn't matter how much therapy he goes to, how much he atones for his "sins", his mind is still considered not to be fully and truly his. This is one of the most injurious of all things Bucky suffers - even those who rehabilitate him doubt the complete success of his healing. Therefore, his entire arc in the series is at best questionable simply with that alone.

His entire arc should clearly have been reframed to display his victimhood, and how the fact that he is mistrusted is also another burden and misfortune that he can work through and call others out for, instead of absorbing the guilt for that too.

Falcon does a poor job of showing how this "Bucky can't be trusted" mindset is highly injurious to his status as a victim, while mostly asserting it is a byproduct of his (alleged) villainy. It does not separate "alleged villainy" and "propensity for villainous actions as result of the abuse his suffered for 70 years". Instead of clarification on this for the viewers and Bucky himself we are, among other things, posed with the question - is the Winter Soldier still in Bucky?

Right there, you know the show was not intended to show much closure for the character, but rather wring-out, refresh, and even retroactively assert his alleged villainy over his victimhood in anticipation of perhaps his own solo series (where the Soldat is reactivated). Yet, we are also oddly simutaneously expected to accept that Bucky is "healing" somehow, although we never witness anything truly happen him, internally, to suggest this.

Bucky plays an almost angry motherly role to Sam at the start of the series, initially chastising him for not accepting responsibility. Bucky sees himself as the protector of Steve's legacy, and is disappointed in Sam's (later he learns, complicated) reluctance to wield the shield.

In the end, Bucky is approving of Sam and proud of his rise to the Cpt America mantle in that same manner - bookended with approval from a distance where he almost, again, stands off to the side as a proud mother. He seems to see himself as a mentor in Sam's journey towards self-actualization. Why is he so happy Sam has become the hero he always was inside?

His newfound friendship and respect for Sam as his own hero, of course. However, it is also his love of Steve which is the next obvious answer, his deep pride in who Steve was and what he accomplished, but this is inferred and never said - thus taking away again, from an oppotunity for Bucky's emotional growth and healing. The writers didn't even know where Steve was (or if Bucky knows his whereabouts) but they could have indicated something to that effect.

Once Sam has embraced Cap, the series ends. However, despite the jubilant setting of the finale, Bucky is still narrartively unmoored. We are left with the image of him lighthearted and hopeful, but without much substance towards its sustainability and so there is not much satisfaction in it despite the sweetness of its visual impact. But its depth? We are unsure. This is because Sam's ultimate advice to him, that he "serve" others rather than enact vengeance, strips away another truth about Bucky's situation.

That Bucky's desire for retribution and vengeance against those that abused and tormented him is valid and a real victim response. Bucky's perspective is seen as "wrong" instead of a well-documented step stone on the path to solid mental survivorship. Bucky could eventually want to serve -- but serve who?

Again, obviously the answer is: other victims like himself. But the show won't call him a victim at all, and thus Sam's advice feels hollow (serve... the vague and faceless Greater Good?) and Bucky's emotional security at the end of the show feels as if it lacks substance and permanance for the audience.

The payoff for Bucky's healing is almost nonexistent because no one will ever say why he was hurt in the first place (a victim).

Could go on and on about how this is because of Disney's terror of Bucky's perceived compromised masculinity (victimhood, captured, mentally damaged in WWII and present day), visual femininity (hair, slapped by men for insubordination, physically touched and moved against his will, soft spokeness, powerlessness in the narrarive), queer subtext (Steve, his origin as Arnold Roth Steve's gay jewish best friend, perceived jealousy of Peggy, intense affection for Steve), his juxtaposition to Steve and role in Steve's narrative, and their desire to wipe his slate clean with a new Masc Bucky.

Hint: it doesn't work.

[ruby-whistler]

thinking about a c!dream redemption arc again

his possible healing is just... so important to me.

people might be saying the writers dug themselves into the hole, but the thing is, the writers know more than we do.

they know so much more about the characters and their capability to change - they don't get hung up on their actions so much they wouldn't be "able to" redeem them from it.

because everyone can change, and that's the beauty of it! everyone can get better! and that is such an important message!

someone deciding to be better will never have a long-term negative effect on any of the characters. people aren't afraid c!dream will get a redemption arc because they think it would be bad for the characters they like, but because they hold grudges. because they don't like the character to the point when they just don't want him to be happy.

but you know, that kind of doesn't matter! if they want to continue misinterpreting and dehumanizing the character - you do you i guess? but it's not like the lore is going to follow that bias, because the writers are better than that, and that's comforting to know.

after what he's been through in prison - he deserves rehabilitation. he deserves to get better, and that would provide him plenty of chances to try again, reshape the way he looks at the world.

who's to say he shouldn't take that chance?

as someone who really needed support coping with my own trauma but never got it because i emotionally isolated myself instead and never reached out, seeing c!dream be able to actually get help would make me extremely happy. and i'm sure it could help others to not make the same mistake - to realize having people besides you who care about you and who you care about is healthy. it's important.

i just really want him to be happy, because much like everyone else, he's been through a lot - and whichever interpretation you have of him, if you think of him as a person, as someone you could be sympathetic with, you'll agree he's extremely tragic.

he's made so many bad choices and so many mistakes, because he was put in such circumstances and grew so desperate and untrusting of the world he took things into his own hands and made everything worse. and he just. he's lost so much. the entire character is defined by loss.

it doesn't make me "upset" that he was abandoned and didn't get help, because he didn't reach out and he did let people leave him - but it makes me incredibly sad. it makes me empathetic. it makes me... hopeful in a way, that when he does finally get it, something he should've had a long time ago - it'll help.

i just can't see a world in which he can't return from that...

i just can't see a world in which he doesn't.

and until it does, we can theorize about it! that's right, this entire sappy post was actually an advert - go read this story/thread by @/call-me-apple. it's a brilliant take at c!dream's redemption, mindsets, regret, compensation and trauma. it encompasses everything i want from the redemption when we get it - and you know what, if we can come up with something like that? i think saying cc!dream couldn't is underestimating him greatly :]

[dreamsclock]

hey sparrow! hopefully you see this, but how do you feel about the idea that c!dream will revert back to his old ways, or is laying low currently so he can pounce again/exaggerating symptoms? i think it's kind of weird that he'd break himself mentally or traumatize himself to get the tiniest bit of leverage, but i wouldn't know. i really need facts right now 🙏

i see all asks anon, don’t worry! (even though this is about a week late :’)) but yes, tysm for this ask !! i have a lot of thoughts, but i’ll keep this as brief as i can:

short answer: if dream reverts back to his old ways, it shouldn’t be surprising.

longer answer: the prison as a narrative device is WONDERFUL. this is probably the best plot in regards to dream’s character and i love how symbolic it is. for dream, though? in terms of him learning anything or developing in a positive way? it’s useless. it’s worse than useless, actually - it’s going to actively be detrimental to him learning and growing as a person.

dream has already admitted he’s done “bad things” but for a “good reason” - in that respect, i don’t think he understands at all how BAD the things he’s done have been. and he certainly still thinks he’s in the right. and the prison? what is it teaching him, other than solidifying his beliefs of attachment being weakness and cementing in his mind that exile was right?

from dream’s perspective, tommy did bad things, and so was exiled over it. and now dream has done bad things, and has been imprisoned over them - now that TOMMY is with him in prison, it’s only going to drive home dream’s belief that this is just like exile, is going to be ‘fun’, etc etc. it’s not going to show him how wrong exile is. it’s not going to stop him from thinking attachments are weakness - especially considering it was his trust in punz and punz’s betrayal of that trust that got him locked up in the first place !!!! what is the prison doing, other than cementing dream even further in his flawed mindset??

when dream eventually gets out, it’s going to be in one of three conditions: changed for the better, broken to a shell of his former self, or just like his former self. and i’m leaning towards one of the latter ones. the prison is a place of punishment and cruelty: it’s not a place for learning or rehabilitation, two things dream really needs, you know? if he takes up old habits and beliefs out of prison and ends up the antagonist again, we shouldn’t be surprised, because in the end, he hasn’t learned WHY he shouldn’t act like that, and in his mind, prison has only shown him why attachments ARE vulnerabilities that can be exploited.

now for the second point: is dream exaggerating his symptoms?

short answer: no he isn’t.

longer answer!! time and time again, dream downplays his conditions or is deliberately vague about his suffering to different people that visit him. he downplays things to bad, doesn’t tell sapnap why he’s on strike, etc, etc. if he was trying to gain sympathy from them, he wouldn’t be doing this, right? not to mention, no matter what the visitors hear about the prison, none of them seem to care very much - not enough to want him out of prison, anyway. sapnap tells him he deserves to be in there, even tells him he’ll kill him if he escapes, and bad is sympathetic and upset at his conditions but also believes he deserves to be locked up - and we all know what tommy thinks. why would dream try to manipulate them when whatever he tells them a) makes the prison seem nicer than it is and b) doesn’t have a big effect on them? 

not to mention, it doesn’t SEEM like manipulation: in the exile arc, we KNEW tommy was being manipulated by dream, we KNEW dream wasn’t actually tommy’s friend, because dream wasn’t manipulating the audience, he was manipulating tommy. in the prison? dream just ,, genuinely seems sad and out-of-it. and i’m hoping we’ll see that through the prison arc with tommy now. 

but who knows? if dream turns round next stream and admits to tommy he’s been manipulating everyone all month and is actually fine in prison? then what do i do? LMAO /j

i actually have analysis prepared if that’s what happens pls help me i’m too invested in this stupid green man help me

[asleepinawell]

hiii not sure if it’s okay to ask a poi question but here it goes - i recall seeing you expressing (at least some level of) discontent with what Harold has done on the show (to root, to shaw and all those hypocritical decisions throughout). would you like to share more about your thoughts on this character? tks

always okay to ask poi questions. since the fandom is pretty small these days i was going to put my answer under a read more line so people could ignore it more easily if it’s a subject that bothers them but apparently you can’t add read more lines in ask answers? thanks tumblr! so if this is a topic that annoys anyone, please, just skip it. also, while some of this is facts or based on facts a lot of stuff is obviously my opinion and therefore not canon and not the only opinion etc etc.

in general, i wasn’t crazy about the way harold treated any of the other characters (with the exception of john who he had a pretty great relationship with). for root, there was the refusal to call her root, which i found very gross and uncomfortable (like, in general you should respect what people ask to be called, but also it was linked to the traumatic death of her childhood friend and he absolutely knew that so fuck that shit). he even said something along the lines of 'john reese is what you prefer to be called' to john right in the first episode? he was okay with using reese's fake name, but not hers because he made her identity into a power game.

he also tended to be..hmm, patronizing is the wrong word (and lbr root was extremely patronizing to everyone) but more that he treated her like ‘rehabilitating’ her was his pet project or something. i mean one thing that always struck me was his ‘what happened to you’ line in bad code and then the subsequent decision to put her in a mental institution instead of, you know, jail, which is where every other perp they ran into tended to go. he saw her as broken and flawed and in need of his help which, to me, came off as hypocritical and belittling.

also, putting someone in a psychiatric institution where they get pumped full of drugs when they don’t need to be? really fucked up! even if you argue root needed therapy/was depressed whatever, that’s not what they were treating her for. they were treating her for ‘delusions’ and ‘hearing voices’ which were...real things. like, the machine was speaking to her. harold knew that. he let her get put on all sorts of medication and put in solitary confinement and oh yes also her doctor was a really fucked up dude, something harold could easily have dug up if he’d bothered. also the whole ‘killing off a woman to advance a man’s character development thing’ is, uh, a bad trope. to put it mildly. i could write a lot more about his shit with root but let’s move on.

in some ways, his attitude towards shaw bothers me most. he consistently treats her like she’s violent and unhinged because she has aspd and despite the large amount of evidence to the contrary. she is, in fact, the most cool and controlled member of the team (not counting carter) and the least likely to go off half-cocked. shaw does play into this, but mostly only with harold and only through her words, not her actions. she knows what he thinks of her. when she’s captured by samaritan, harold gives up on her very quickly in a way he would never have done for john (and probably not for root either at that point). shaw’s reaction to sim!harold in 6741 of ‘did you even look for me’ says a lot about what she thinks he thinks of her. his whole ‘binary moral compass’ line to her is also, uh, heavily projecting. shaw and carter had the strongest moral compasses of the group. by a long shot. 

moving on to the machine. so first and foremost, if you’re creating a sentient being, whether that’s having a kid or making a self-aware AI, you don’t create something with the intention of locking it up and ignoring it forever. (and he was creating her for the bush/cheney administration???? who TM pointed out was terrible if he somehow had managed to miss that. root called them something like the worst people imaginable and she wasn’t exaggerating). was it too dangerous to let TM be free from the get go? maybe! but then don’t fucking make an AI you think can destroy the world, buddy. there are a lot of reasons he made TM and none of them make this acceptable to me. once TM had clearly proven to be not a threat and trying to help he continued to ignore her and act like she was dangerous.

harold always needed very badly to feel like he had the moral high ground and not be the person who made a bad decision, which yes, is probably partly due to the trauma from what happened to nathan but that doesn’t make it okay when being paralyzed by being unable to make a decision got people killed. more than once! also, most of his morals got tossed out when they weren’t convenient. wouldn’t kill the senator to save the world because killing is bad! next episode he’s like if anything happens to grace kill all of them. cool story, still murder.

i wanna conclude this rant by talking about harold as a character vs harold as a person. meaning, harold as a fictional character who is used as a narrative device in a story as opposed to harold himself without the context of him being fictional. i don’t mind characters who say and do things i dislike. it’s very important to have characters you dislike as people imo. feels like an understatement. but lambet, for example, is a slimy asshole. the story is aware of this. he gets an ending a slimy asshole deserves. harold has a lot of flaws, and causes a lot of damage, gets his friends killed, and his stubborn refusal to budge on his arbitrary moral high ground lets samaritan take over and almost makes team machine lose. he gets a happy ending. with the woman he lied to (and caused a lot of pain and grief by lying to). root ends up dead, shaw gets tortured and fights her way back for root only to have her die which is kind of handwaved as ‘well she has tm with root’s voice good enough’, and john, after having rediscovered his will to live and have a life in the end of s4 goes right back to his whole dying for someone else thing. only harold gets the happy ending.

the show was actually pretty good at highlighting harold’s flaws and making them interesting, and then it kind of forgot that at the end in terms of story outcome. like, if harold had suffered enough to get a happy ending, then why didn’t anyone else get one? so my annoyance was with the narrative’s failure to satisfactorily conclude the characters’ arcs. (and for the record, i’m not one of the people who think he should have died. i don’t think it would have served a point. also death doesn’t equal redemption to me).

so, yeah, not a fan of him. don’t write him in my fics since my dislike would take time and focus away from writing about the people i do like. would probably be less bitter if they’d ended the show better. i was 300k words fic level of bitter. there was some post i saw going around recently about how if your found family show doesn’t end up with your found family together then you’ve kind of missed the whole point of found family and yeah, that.

[zahri-melitor]

punchline feels superfluous to me? how does she feel to you? i also almost feel like joker should have been retired if they were gonna pull her out? she almost works far better as a next gen joker than she does as his new sidekick? like i get theyre trying to fill a hole that rehabilitated harley leaves but lmao she's no harley and we're so used to harley that trying to replace her just feels so cheap 😬 like restructure feels wiser than replace at this point.

Look I'm probably not the right person for this, because I largely find Harley superfluous and my reading experience of DC comics would be highly improved if she wasn't present, let alone a second character reacting to Harley's early storylines.

In terms of Punchline (having read only her opening storyline and her first one-shot); I think she has potential, in her character design. What is interesting to me is that Tynion et al did clearly consider a bunch of the problems with Harley's design and long term arcs when designing her.

Harley Quinn, at her base design, is a psychiatrist who got too caught up in her patient's mental world and crossed multiple ethical boundaries and lost her mind.

Punchline, on the other hand, is very clearly designed out of the sort of woman obsessed with true crime. She's not only got a true crime podcast where she investigates to find the 'true' Joker and his motivations, but she's full of echoes of the sort of women who write letters to serious criminals in prison and sometimes end up married to them. She's pretty clearly aware of how to exploit the media narrative. It's a smart angle to run on this, because it's very relatable and there are all sorts of story opportunities to showcase the dangers of "oh no I'm about to deep dive on this criminal/incident and construct a conspiracy theory out of random events because I've decided coincidences never occur".

Harley, arguably, got trapped into the situation she was in. Punchline stepped into it willingly.

We need more unrepentant female villains, and at present Punchline is actually in that slot. I would prefer it if she also wasn't doing this to win herself a man (the shades of Gilda Dent are obvious), but at least the only crying about how it's not really her fault, she was tricked into this, is Alexis deliberately manipulating people to try and get herself out of being charged and imprisoned.

Yes, I do think she got designed mostly because a bunch of Joker fans were missing the dynamic that Harley brought to Joker (I don't particularly get it personally, but the multitude of comics and cartoons and movies and games, over and over, about it do suggest that it's something a bunch of people enjoy). But what she's bringing is a dynamic that Harley's largely been lacking in main continuity for years, where she's bouncing off and responding to the Joker and acting as a lieutenant.

There's also elements of: look, part of the reason I try to avoid reading Harley is that I don't actually enjoy the sort of fourth wall breaking genre awareness she frequently displays these days, or her style of comedy. She's an exhausting scene-stealer, which is fine if you like her, but aggravating if you care about other characters in the story more. Punchline in her introduction doesn't display any of this; she got some debut hype but she's not forcing the story to pivot around her. She can turn up, be a villain, then go away.

I agree Punchline would be equally interesting in terms of her character motivation if she was doing this and Joker wasn't on page - if Alexis coming up with theories and obsessing over a fully imprisoned criminal - but Joker makes DC a lot of money. He's not going offpanel for particularly long.

[sammysdewysensitiveeyes]

Marauders #22

I absolutely hated this issue, so be warned that’s a lot of salt here, and my usual whining, so skip this post if you’re not in the mood for that.  Also spoilers below.

First impression - what absolute, self-indulgent horseshit.  I hesitate to use “fanfic” in a derogatory way, but a lot of Marauders has read as being very “fanfic” in terms of self-indulgence, and greatly favoring certain characters while denigrating others.  I actually don’t think that’s a bad thing in fanfic.  It can be annoying to read if that’s not what you’re looking for (or it can be wonderful, if it IS what you’re looking for), but ultimately, fanfic is all about self-indulgence.  It’s about writing what you want to see in a story, and if Duggan’s Marauders was someone’s actual fanfic, I wouldn’t have anything bad to say about it.  I might dislike the characterization, and probably wouldn’t read it, but it ultimately wouldn’t matter because it’s fanfic.  Frankly, I’m just as bad about constantly centering everything around Pyro (and finding ways to work him into stories where he doesn’t even belong), because I’m writing just for myself, so I can be self-indulgent.  But I’d expect much better from a professional writer.  I’d expect much better from someone being paid to write a team book.  I’d expect a god-damn balanced book that actually pays attention to the whole cast and gives a thoughtful interpretation to ALL the characters, even the villains, rather than a book dedicated to shining a spotlight on two already well-established characters, and treating them like queens who step all over the rest of the cast. 

So, we ignore almost everything set up at the Gala, including the attack on Christian and the Marauder (the ship) being set ablaze.  Why aren’t the characters handling that, Duggan?  Is that really being saved for another month?  We don’t even know if Christian is dead or not, you can’t even spare a panel for Iceman reacting to this?  Instead, we tell a flashback story that eventually reveals that Lourdes Chantel is still alive, and Emma helped her fake her own death to escape from an abusive Sebastian.

What exactly is the point of this story, in terms of the overall Marauders arc?  Will Lourdes show up later to play a role?  Is this meant to further push Sebastian along some kind of path to redemption (recognizing that he drove Lourdes away with his actions).  Because so far, Duggan doesn’t seem the slightest bit interested in rehabilitating Sebastian.  This seems like yet another story establishing Emma GOOD, Sebastian BAD, the same message that’s been getting pounded into the readers’ heads for 22 issues.  Like, we KNOW, Duggan.  We know that you think the sun shines out of Emma’s ass, you’ve already well-established that you think she’s a brilliant, wonderful, compassionate, badass queen, through 22 issues of centering the entire series around her, at the expense of EVERY other fucking character in the book (even sometimes Kate, the other obvious favorite).  It’s gotten beyond tiresome at this point.  Like, I feel like even people who love Emma and hate Sebastian are getting bored by now, because it’s not even good storytelling to have a strawman villain who is no real threat just getting repeatedly knocked down.

So, Duggan has taken both Sebastian and Emma, and further removed any kind of complexity or nuance from them.  Sebastian can’t have a kind or tender side, he can’t ever be shown in a positive light.  His relationship was Lourdes was previously part of his tragic origins, pushing him to be a worse person than he’d been in a past, but no, lets retcon him to be a controlling abuser, whom Lourdes is desperate to escape.  Because it makes Sebastian look bad and Emma look good.  Honestly, it would have been more interesting and powerful to have Lourdes come back from the dead, and be disgusted by the person Sebastian has become.  That would actually have an impact.

And by the way, why did Lourdes need Emma’s help in establishing her new identity?  She was already part of the Hellfire Club, she’s the one who brought Sebastian in, she’s rich as fuck.  Lourdes should be well capable of getting away from Sebastian on her own.  She might need Emma’s help for faking her own death, but the rest of it?  Emma should just do a little hacking to access Lourdes’ personal fortune and transfer it into a new account, and then she’s good to go.  But no, Lourdes has to be treated like a little lost lamb, a helpless battered woman for Emma to rescue.  And Emma’s deal with the Kingpin further exonerates Emma for her past crimes, because obviously, she’s just working off the debt she incurred helping poor, innocent Lourdes!  It can’t be that Emma did bad things in the past because she was ambitious, cruel, vain, and power-hungry, she has to be a woke queen who was always there to help other women.

I think Duggan thinks he’s being feminist with all this, with the “women help each other,” message, and either ignoring or villifying all the male characters.  But he’s not.  It’s not feminist to take a very complex, interesting, powerful woman like Emma Frost and completely remove all responsibility and agency for her past crimes by turning her into an abuse victim and repeatedly retconning her to be better than she actually was.  (To be fair, Duggan is just continuing a trend already started by other writers).  Emma is ambitious, power-hungry, cruel, callous, self-absorbed, vain and snobby.  But she is also brave, intelligent, compassionate, kind, protective, heroic, and self-sacrificing.  All of those things are part of Emma.  She is a teacher who loved her students, and the love for those students is part of what sent Emma on her long, difficult path towards redemption.  Yes, she’s a badass queen, but she is also a flawed individual, who has worked to overcome those flaws and become a better person.  And constantly re-writing the past to make her an “always good” abuse victim who only ever committed crimes because the big bad men forced her into it cheapens that redemption.

Speaking of cheap redemption -     

The Wilhelmina subplot: Wow, Duggan really will prioritize ANY character over Bishop, Iceman and Pyro, won’t he?  I know this is me throwing a tantrum, because “Wah, Duggan is writing someone other than my favorites!” but after 22 issues I feel justified in this whining.  Iceman, Bishop and Pyro are supposed to be regular cast members, and so far Duggan has given more serious development and emotional scenes to Callisto, Forge, Dolores (the human contact at the X-Desk), Masque, Jumbo Carnation, Magneto, the Cuckoos, and now Wilhelmina.  I don’t mind the development for many of those characters, I like Callisto and Forge and Jumbo (although I’m a little annoyed at the Magneto stuff, since he’s already front and center in the Krakoa era, and about to star in a mini-series, does he really need more time in the spotlight?).  But honestly?  Fuck Wilhelmina.  I was never that interested in the Hellfire brats, and I’m not the slightest bit interested in watching the retcon redemption of a character that murders animals for fun.  Why does she get a spotlight story while the three dudes on the team STILL haven’t gotten anything more than vague background hints of character arcs.  I mean, compare the very emotional flashback and Wilhelmina’s breakdown to the half-assed, mostly taking place off- panel “redemption” that Duggan has given Pyro.  Just a single line of “maybe this crew is bringing out the best in me,” with no lead-up, no further reflection, no hints about Pyro changing his ideas before then.  Why did you even put Iceman, Bishop and Pyro on the team if you’re not going to use them, Duggan?  Because you’ve made it quite clear that you’d rather write ANY character other than them.  I can’t even look forward to Tempo and Banshee joining the cast next issue, even though I like them (and I really want to see more development of Tempo), because I know they will be yet more characters that get pushed into the foreground, while Iceman, Bishop and Pyro remain the underdeveloped background clown trio.    

Also, it seems kind of offensive to have a cruel, murderous female character, and then say that her cruelty is entirely due to sexual abuse?  What kind of message does that send to sexual abuse victims?  That it will turn you into a monster?  Why do female villains keep getting sexual abuse as part of their backstory?  Why can’t they just be bad?  Or have something else going on?  So the Cuckoos flip a switch in Wilhelmina and she’s magically “fixed,” or at least on her way to better?  Again, I think Duggan thinks he’s being feminist with this, but he’s not. 

At least Wllhelmina has been a recurring villain in this series, so I can kinda see how her potential redemption may move the plot along, but Duggan is still introducing new plot threads, while leaving so many others dangling.  What about Christian?  What about Shinobi and Fenris?  Will Bobby and Christian ever even speak to each other again?  Will the supposed main cast members of Iceman, Bishop and Pyro ever, EVER get a proper character arc?

Or will we get an entire issue of Emma, Kate and the Cuckoos giving Wilhelmina a redemptive make-over, because girl power, amiright?

[portraitoftheoddity]

So like I really like Steve and all and he's definitely got the right heart and that's what fandom likes about him, how he stood up to bullies and injustice with his fist raised. But recently I've rewatched avatar and Aang got me thinking, is going against the world fist ready really the right thing. Like Aang was no coward he still stopped Ozai but in most of his battles he tries for peace first. In fact Avatar as a whole talks about change in people.

Like Sokka turned from misogynistic to respecting women, and Iroh's love and patience redeemed Zuko. As much as I love Steve Rogers, fist fighting bullies and getting your ass handed to you or successfully beating them to a pulp isn't going to change them, and it sends a wrong message of fighting fire with fire and bullies don't learn when you punch them usually they get pettier. I agree Steve is right at not letting injustice go be it canon or fandom but Iove that scene in avatar when Aang got into a fire nation school and when a guy tried to fight him he was just like nooope but still managed to be on top as opposed to Steve (maybe just fan fic ver) who would try a punch. I mean I can see Steve screaming at the lies of the fire nation school instead of calmly informing the truth and throwing a dance party. Like Aang might be too pacific sometimes but is charging against people really a good lesson. Stand for what's right, but like in a chill way. And I'm not sure if this is just the fandom version of Steve but in TFS we did kinda see him in an alley fight against a just a ride guy. Sorry about the long rant but what do you think about Steve's fight me attitude being completely glorified in his fandom.

I apologize that I’m gonna gonna get a little long-winded here!

I agree with you that peaceful solutions are great to try first, but when it comes to this punch-happy version of Steve you reference, I think you’re kinda looking at a strawman version of the character, anon --  maybe from poorly-written fic or memes, but not exactly the Steve of film or comics.

Now, the respective approaches of both Aang and Steve are in part a product of the media they originated in. A show aimed at kids with a single overall plotline and arc is often going to aim for a peaceful solution and allow for linear character growth -- while comics, movies and shows developed around a character specifically designed to punch Hitler as a statement during WWII are less likely to have a core message of pacifism, and their structure and circular timelines make growth arcs more difficult to sustain. This doesn’t mean one character’s approach or the other is superior, just that they come from different contexts, narratively and in terms of medium. Plus, there are different kinds of fights, and not all are going to offer us the same options as solutions. Looking for ideological purity -- only ever opting for the ‘right’ solution -- can often lead to doing nothing when no ‘right’ solution presents itself, which can result in more harm than taking a less-than-perfect action.

Let us not forget that when an authoritarian army showed up to kill everyone and wipe out the North Pole, Aang does go all Koizilla with the ocean spirit and wipes out the Fire Nation fleet. Aang has fought people. Aang, albeit with the alibi of “a spirit was in charge”, indirectly kills people (Zhao ends up pretty dead as a direct result of Aang’s spirit rampage). This isn’t particularly glorified, but at the time there isn’t a better outcome presented. Doing nothing would have led to the massacre of the Northern Water Tribe.

That said, I LOVE ATLA and its messages of growth and compassion and I think it’s great to have a protagonist who opts to give people a way out.

...Which is what Steve does. 

We see Steve do this more than once. In CA:TWS, Steve recognizes Bucky and tried to get through to him, to avoid a fight. One ensues, but Steve then refuses to fight him anymore once he’s disabled the helicarrier and saved everyone else, willingly putting his own life on the line to gamble on some part of Bucky’s inner self being in there and worth saving. He isn’t willing to put the lives of other innocents and noncombatants on the line -- protecting them is a priority, even if it means fighting Bucky -- but once that factor is out of the equation, he drops his shield and tries to reach him.

In the same movie, a few scenes earlier, Steve appeals to the personnel of SHIELD -- an organization that has labeled him a terrorist and been hunting him -- and paints out the reality of the situation, giving the good people within the opportunity to react and rebel against the element of HYDRA that has infiltrated -- which they do! But there isn’t a magical lionturtle showing up to tell him how to stop the helicarriers from taking off and murdering millions of people without any casualties, so, yanno. He does what he can. 

Heck, Steve is occasionally teased by other characters for his speechifying -- not just to give pep talks, but to try to get through to people. He does this in the comics a lot. You’ve probably seen this page going around:

It doesn’t always work out. But he tries.

You suggest Steve would punch someone who was wrong in Aang’s Fire Nation School, but I don’t agree with that reading on the character based on what we see Steve do. Steve very rarely is the one to completely initiate a fight. Usually he is reactive. He sees a situation where someone is being a jerk, points out the injustice, and if the person is insisting on hurting someone, Steve inserts himself to make sure it’s him instead of anyone else. Whether the jerk in question is a single bully or an entire army.

You bring this scene up, but when Steve confronts the guy heckling in the movie theater (who is making a woman cry, I’ll add), it’s clear from the man’s posture when he stands up and Steve’s look of dread that while Steve has spoken up, the escalation to violence is not his choice. When we see him a moment later in the alley, he’s fighting defensively -- drawing the man’s ire, keeping him distracted. Steve is reactive in this entire scenario -- not the instigator. (and I think if Steve had Aang’s airbending, he’d love to dodge more punches instead of getting his ass kicked!)

The fact that Steve’s primary weapon is a shield -- a symbol of defense, not offense -- speaks to the fact his entire MO is protection. Violence not for violence’s sake, but to intervene in existing violence when there is no other recourse.

But Steve also admittedly has a stronger sense of responsibility than Aang does at the series’ start. Aang dodges, but he also gets called out by other characters for running away from a lot of his problems instead of confronting them. Steve, if he were a bender, I think would likely be an Earthbender like Toph; solid, stubborn, listening and reacting (though ironically, he would lose his shit over the willful obliviousness and apathy of Ba Sing Se’s leadership). Steve feels a deep personal duty to always be in the thick of it where things are already at their worst. 

If there had been no deus ex machina energybending option presented at the eleventh hour, would it have been better for Aang to die and doom the world than to compromise his morals and kill the Fire Lord? It’s a question of hypothetical principles vs reality of harm in that instance. Aang as a character is allowed by the story to adhere to his principles and get a happy ending. Steve as a character does his best, but ultimately has to compromise with reality when he has to, when it’s not just his life at stake, but many others should he fail to act in time. In those high-stakes scenarios, his cards are often limited.

Steve as a character doesn’t arbitrarily start fights. But he goes to where the status quo is untenable, or where a fight is already raging, and he takes a stand. If he can convince someone to step down peacefully? That’s ideal! But usually by the time Captain America has shown up, there are megaweapons primed and loaded and fascists already hurting people or robots trying to destroy the planet or a Titan about to wipe everyone out, so the ideal option is rarely still on the table. No dance party is gonna be enough to change Red Skull’s crazy nazi mind about killing everyone (which is too bad, because I’d love to watch Steve do the lindy hop). There is no ‘chill way’ to stand for what’s right at that point. 

And ultimately, I think we need both kinds of characters! I think it’s important to encourage diplomacy and compassion, to urge people to find common ground and to find nonviolent ways of diffusing and deescalating situations. To look at things from other perspectives, and to give people the option to learn and grow and be better than they were. I love a good rehabilitation arc, and think ATLA does this beautifully and has incredibly important messaging and philosophies.

But I also think we need stories that say, hey, when those options aren’t on the table? When no one is listening no matter what you try to say, when you’ve looked for a way around it and no lionturtles have showed up to save your ass? Sometimes, you have to put yourself in front of the guy swinging punches and raise you shield and stop him. Sometimes you don’t get the nice options that make you feel good; sometimes the world is messy and ugly; but sometimes, even if we can’t do the ideal thing, we can still do the right thing. Take action and put an end to the perpetuation of violence in the moment to protect the helpless. (Then work on rehabilitation and communication.)