#like that's a person who existed who died etc but i guess it just doesn't feel. Quite As Weird To Me? for some reason?

[1296-very-good-year]

Jayce was handled so horrifically I can't get over it.

He breaks his promise to Viktor and uses the Hexcore to revive him. He makes more Hextech weapons, he doesn't apologize, Viktor leaves.

He goes to the dead future and goes insane in a hole, not knowing what caused the apocalypse, but assumes it has to do with the Hexgate anomaly and blames himself, reliving his mistakes over and over. For months. He is obviously agonizing about not knowing where exactly he went wrong, and that desire to know is his entire drive to climb with a busted leg out of there.

He had been carrying around his heavy, useless Hextech hammer, then he dismantles it and leaves it behind. Symbolism, etc.

AND THEN

He makes it to the top of the hexgate and learns that the mistake he made that ruined the world was using the Hexcore to revive Viktor. It wasn't his own decisions with Hextech that destroyed the world, it was VIKTOR'S.

Him breaking his promise to Viktor, to not let him die, causes the apocalypse. I'd bet he never once thought about Viktor ending the world the entire time he was in that hole.

He also learns that Viktor is the one who saved him as a kid for the sole reason that he is the only person ever who can SAVE the world. From Viktor.

Suddenly, everything he believed was flipped upside down and then exploded into little bits.

So how does Jayce react to learning all of this?

Dunno. We skip past ALL OF THAT. His first words apparently are "Send me back," and then he goes on a single-minded quest to murder Viktor.

Does he still blame himself? Does he blame Viktor? Does he believe himself to be a world-saving Messiah now? Who fucking knows.

Maybe he does blame Viktor, since he never once even bothers to APOLOGIZE to him before or after blasting a hole in his chest.

He then goes about making more Hextech weapons and repurposing existing Hextech into giant cannons. So we can have a cool final fight and Vi can get her gauntlets back.

Sooo... Hextech weapons are fine again, gotcha. I guess we don't need to see him come to the realization that he has to weaponize Hextech AGAIN after seemingly leaving it behind in that hole because it's the third. fucking. time. he's been through that same beat.

(Oh wait no actually Hextech is bad we gotta kill ourselves)

And he believed or pretended to believe Viktor was already dead... "My partner died in this room" after Viktor from the future was very much alive and HAD JUST confessed his undying, reality bending love for him?? Kay.

What on earth did future Viktor talk to him about that made Jayce do anything he did? Because what we got was nowhere near enough to justify any of it.

Anyway, it was such a great plot twist to reveal mage Viktor at the very end, so we didn't get a chance to understand a single fucking thing Jayce did for most of his screentime :)))

Like... Even if you don't like the direction they took the other main characters, at least they got to BE characters with some agency and an internal world... not whatever they did to this poor, poor man.

[superman86to99]

Zero Hour: Crisis in Time #4 (September 1994)

It's... CRISIS TIME! Listen, we're not in the habit of covering every issue of every crossover event Superman appears in, but we're making an exception for this one because: 1) Superman plays a prominent role (as do the characters in my other blog), 2) it's by two of the most iconic creators from this era, Dan Jurgens and Jerry Ordway, and 3) we just like this comic a whole lot. Still, we'll do our best to keep these posts shorter than usual so we don't spend forever in September 1994.

Fittingly for a series that begins at #4 and counts backwards, this issue starts at very end -- as in the literal end of time, when all that exists is the entropy crushing the universe (and Doomsday, but looks like he was too busy being crushed by entropy to appear in this comic). We see The Time Trapper, a hugely powerful villain with a control over time, being easily taken down by a mystery character who says he's going to "make things right."

(That's what you get for being an old villain in a comic where a new one needs to be established as a badass, TTT.)

Next, we see weird time-related things happening all over the DCU: Batgirl shows up in Gotham City with her spine intact, Dick Grayson is back to wearing green undies, Hawkman is now multiple Hawkmen, Flash is suddenly in the far future (historically, not a very good time for a Flash to be during a crisis), etc.

Superman's frenemies the Linear Men, the time police, notice that something is erasing time, starting at the end and moving backwards, as if God had said "screw it, let's start over" and was holding the backspace key on the universe. Linear Men Waverider and Hunter are sent to the 64th century to find out what's going on and, once there, they run into Flash -- and also a big wave of entropy eating the universe. Flash attempts to stop the wave of mutilation by just running really fast at it (which is how he solves most of his problems in his own comic), but the wave just eats him too.

A Flash died? Oh, now it's a real crisis.

The Linear Men's next stop is 58th century Star City, whose hero is a time-displaced younger version of Green Lantern Hal Jordan (we know he's younger because he doesn't have greying hair, and also he isn't homicidally insane). Before he and Young Hal are eaten up by the entropy wave, Hunter yells at Waverider to look up the word "crisis" in their archives. Back at Vanishing Point, the Linear Men's HQ outside of time, Waverider basically reads the Wikipedia article for Crisis on Infinite Earths and becomes one of the few people in the current DCU to learn the forbidden knowledge that there used to be a multiverse that got wiped out, leaving a single existing universe. The "existing" part might not last much longer, though...

While all this Linear Men stuff happens, we see a repeat of the scene from Man of Steel #37 when Metron of the New Gods comes to see Superman about the time crisis. Together they go off into Green Lantern #55 to ask for new Green Lantern Kyle Rayner's help in producing a hologram of Superman that Metron can forward to the DCU's other heroes. Green Hologram Superman gives everyone a little speech and asks them to come together to figure out what to do about the whole "time is literally ending" issue.

Metron personally visits The Spectre to ask for his help, since he's one of the most powerful beings in the DCU (and did come in pretty handy during the previous crisis), but Speccy is only interested in fighting evil, not "natural disasters" -- even universe-ending ones.

Meanwhile, Waverider learns that time is also being erased from the beginning, not just the end, and goes to warn the geezers at the Justice Society about it, I guess since they're so old and at risk of being erased any moment. Plus, they have a Flash in their team, so he's probably the most endangered being in the DCU right now.

As Waverider shows the old Flash what happened to his young namesake (he doesn't take it well), we see that someone has invaded Vanishing Point: this comic's villain, Hal... I mean, Hall, Hank! That is, Hank Hall, formerly Hawk of Hawk & Dove and Monarch of Armageddon 2001, and currently known as Extant.

And he's totally working alone, with no more dramatic revelations about heroes-turned-villains to come, nope. TO BE CONTINUED!

Poll-Watch:

The results for our Zero Hour Batmen art poll are just in (okay, they were in a few weeks ago, but we hadn't made a post since then), and the winner by a pretty decisive margin is: Neal Adams Batman! Don Sparrow will get working on that artwork -- which reminds me we have a winner for Don's original Maxima art giveaway, too: our old pal Chris "Ace" Hendrix! Congrats to Chris and whichever wall in his home is about to be blessed with a Maxima! To take part in future giveaways (including the Neal Adams bat-art), you can become a SUPporter via Patreon or our newsletter's "pay what you want" mode.

And speaking of Don, obviously he wasn't gonna miss the chance to gush about the art in this issue, so keep reading for that:

Art-Watch (by @donsparrow):

A short personal anecdote: With a September 1994 street date, the first issue came out on September 10th, and while I was reading the Superman books at this time, it was also summer, so I lost track a little bit of what was going on in comics.  I knew from the in-house ads that Zero Hour would be big, and with the pedigree of Dan Jurgens and Jerry Ordway—1/2 of my personal Mount Rushmore of comics greats—it was a series I wanted to pick up.  So imagine my shock, after a busy summer, when I stopped in a comic shop (a new one that had just opened up, called Amazing Stories) to see Zero Hour #4 on the shelf!  Sure, it was a busy summer, but how could I have missed three whole issues already?!  I asked the store clerk if he had any copies of issues 1-3, and he said he didn’t, and I certainly didn’t want to pick up the fourth issue without the other three.  So I went to the other comic shop in my town, 8th Street Books, which in those days was much more my regular store (I would later work at Amazing Stories, but that’s a tale for another time) and they set me straight—I hadn’t missed ANY issues, this series was numbered counting down, from 4 to zero, on a weekly basis.  I wonder if any other kids were as thrown with the unique numbering system!

We start now with the cover, and it’s perhaps a strange one.  Sure, the presence of some of DCs biggest heroes, namely Superman and Batman let the reader know it’s a big issue, but having an empty mask as the focal point for a first issue is not the most intuitive choice, even if it’s an arresting image. 

Shining a spotlight on the art in this series is a difficult task, because honestly, top to bottom, it’s gorgeous.  I could easily fill up pages admiring this team, which to me is about as good as superhero comics get.  Jerry Ordway, as regular readers know, is my favourite comic artist of all time, but his observed, photorealistic finishes over Dan Jurgens’ tight and dynamic layouts is just such a treat—every page looks like a poster.  So in the interest of space, I’ll just focus on the absolute best images of all these amazing images. The first such amazing image is of the MIA Barbara Gordon Batgirl lassoing the Joker, in stunning rim lighting from the lightning in the skies.  This version of Batgirl hadn’t been seen in costume since March 1988’s Batgirl Special, which was hailed at the time as the last Batgirl story, being released one week ahead of the tragic events in the Killing Joke one shot where the Joker’s actions left Barbara Gordon paraplegic. In the hands of this art team, the reader can really see what a great design this character is.

Ordway’s texture rendering is stunning throughout but the Wally West Flash’s shimmering costume (and determined expression) on page 10 are certainly worth singling out.  The various echoes of Hawkman is a nice bit of showing off, as Jurgens gets to draw several eras of the character as well as alternates unfamiliar to me.

The “getting the band back together” sequence of heroes reacting to Superman’s holographic message has lots of great details, like the little glimpses and backgrounds (like Superboy being in Hawaii) and I love the subtle Justice League shield that makes up those panels.

The faces in this series are all so well drawn, they consistently look like real people, few more prominently than the world weary Green Arrow, who, with his pompadour and prominent forehead wrinkles, looks like Luke Perry in a van dyke.  Just a page later, Jurgens and Ordway do a terrific job of keeping their own style, while blending the swirly, liney loose inks of Tom Mandrake, which defined the Spectre at this time.  I love how throughout this series they draw the Spectre as though all his lines are hissed through clenched, angry teeth.

Lastly, the Pieta-like callback to Crisis on Infinite Earths #7 with Jay Garrick Flash holding the empty costume of Wally West is a great image, made all the more arresting by the minimalist colouring. 

SPEEDING BULLETS:

It’s only natural that this storyline be compared to the original Crisis on Infinite Earths, which had only taken place nine years previously, though that’s a lifetime in comics time.  But honestly, from the jump, it improves on some of the mistakes Crisis made, classic though it was. The original Crisis focused on new characters it introduced.  So readers had to deal with familiar beloved characters play second fiddle to relatively new (and to me, far less interesting) characters like Lady Quark, Harbinger and the loathsome Pariah.  Yes, eventually household names like Flash, Supergirl and Superman took to the fore, but in those early issues, there was a looooooot of world building, from people in whom we had no investment, and little interest.  Zero Hour wisely jumps in with some of their most recognizable characters—Darkseid, Batman & Robin, Joker etc—right off the bat.  Even Waverider had already been established in the line-wide Armageddon 2001 storyline 3 years ago, so he was at least somewhat familiar to readers, and also had a much cooler name than The Monitor. 

I dig the Joker revealing that he knew that Azrael Batman wasn’t the real Batman.

However, there is something downright hilarious about the World’s Greatest Detective™ deducing “helicopter!” when he sees a helicopter. 

The bewildered Flash on page 10 to my eye resembled another beloved redhead, a young Ron Howard!

But, why is the Flash running around in the 64th century?  Was that something happening in the Flash books at the time? [Max: Yeah, Flash #94 is about Wally fighting Abra Kadabra, and it ends with both of them being transported to Kadabra's original time due to Zero Hour's time shenanigans. Kadabra is also suddenly wearing his old costume -- he did NOT look like this in the Flash comics at this time. He was even uglier, believe it or not. Anyway, off you go to read Mark Waid's Flash, Don!]

I know we already saw it in Man of Steel #37, but there’s something satisfying about Batman and Superman acknowledging the "Knightfall" and "Doomsday" storylines.

I didn’t get this whole scene with Green Lantern Hal Jordan until years later when I read some early Broome/Kane GL comics.  For some reason, the people of Star City in the 58th century would periodically abduct and mindwipe Hal Jordan to serve as their superhero—named Pol Manning—when crises would arise.  When I first read it, I thought that the old guy was Pol Manning, being addressed by one of his council members.  But no, he was referring to the title of Pol Manning, like James Bond or something. [Max: Whoa, I did not know that until know! I always assumed some future people randomly brought in Young Hal to fight the entropy wave. Side note: I like how Not-Pol Manning's facial hair continues the idea that the van dyke is a common look in Star City and that's why Green Arrow's secret identity isn't immediately obvious.]

There’s something a little amusing about all the different heroes speaking back to Superman’s projection, when we’re given no indication he can hear them back. 

Not exactly a GODWATCH segment, but it’s interesting that God’s instrument of wrath, the Spectre appears to be hiding out in a Church.  There’s also a part of me that likes that a ‘New God’ like Metron can be so summarily dismissed by someone as legitimately godlike as the Spectre.

It’s a clever bit of writing that we don’t see what Waverider sees as he plays back images from the Crisis on Infinite Earths, since it’s still a bit vague just what all happened in the present continuity, and what is remembered.  By seeing only Waverider’s reaction, they aren’t nailed down with any details that might be contradicted by present-day continuity.

Some good misdirection by showing Extant at the end of the book, which makes the reader believe that was him at the beginning of the issue, dispatching the Time Trapper. [Max: What do you mean, "misdirection"? He's the villain of the book, right?]

Missed an issue? Looking for an old storyline? Check out our new chronological issue index!

[skrunksthatwunk]

just read shin devilman and i'm about to be so annoying what the FUCK WAS THAT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! (both /pos and /neg but frankly /baffled. what the fuck. anyway thoughts below)

ok so i knew sd (i'm just gonna call it sd) was gonna be weird right. it has TOS style gratuitous funny time travel plots and TOS style homoeroticism it's like. it's mostly there to see ryo and akira hang out in a variety of Historical Events/Settings/Clothes and that's fine. in theory.

chapter one fucking. i. okay i had this foreboding sense right like oh... they're in vienna in 1913 and my first thought was "do i google when hitler was born + is this a "do we kill baby hitler" time travel theoretical??" and i was like no no he would've been older. anyway it's gotta be a coincidence right hitler's not going to be in this. and then we meet this painter. his name is adolf. oh god. he hates jewish people. oh no. but everybody was antisemetic back then it like,, it might be a hitler symptom but this could still be another unaffiliated adolf. oh but his hair's greasy. but he doesn't have the mustache so maybe it cancels out? and as it goes on im like seeing okay his jewish.. art dealer(?) is selling this portrait of his unrequited love to another jewish man and i'm like oh god Please don't do what i think you're going to do with this but also debating whether or not i want this to be hitler because on one hand it would be an awful narrative choice. like politics aside (we'll get there) it's just so goddamn tacky. but on the other hand my fear and increasing belief that go nagai is about to reveal this guy to be THE adolf hitler is building up pressure for a fit of hysterical laughter that i Know is likely coming. god it would be so baffling and so so funny and

i howled. is my point.

like i cannot express to you how fucking mind melting this was to me. for the next couple hours of reading i would just stop and (unprompted) whisper adolf..! adolf hitler...!! to myself like. god what a fucking. just look at it god i don't have to explain LOOK AT THIS SHIT. LOOK AT IT. he animorphs into evil older hitler. it's in Such poor taste and it has Such fucking. dumb implications. we'll get there.

what else. oh i love how nagai doesn't even bother with explaining them adjusting to places most of the time. next chapter BOOM they're in armor on a boat ready for battle. did they just pop out of the dimensional rift like that? in historically appropriate roles/clothing? that doesn't always happen though bc ryo has to get them clothes for versailles next chapter. but we meet them with the cheyenne and it looks like they've been there a while so. idk it's goofy to me. he really said i am not putting all that effort into a drabble.

pivot but i like how dumb yaoi-coded a lot of sd is. i read it for The Scene (the "akira im not into women i um. i. uh" scene) but it still kind of surprised me sometimes. i would be chastising myself for looking at akira diving overboard to save ryo (in full armor) bc it's not Really gay to save his best friend's life right and then that's Immediately followed by this

im fucking losing my mind. kyaa don't take off my armor (baka). what am i doing. what was HE doing writing this. etc.

^^i didn't even gather everything gay i saw because eventually it started feeling about as enlightening as pointing out the gay bits in a ryokira doujin. but those are some highlights i guess. you think they encountered homosexuality in the ancient grecian military? surely not...... unless..............? (also they're bound by fate..... look i know they're almost The most literal iteration of that dynamic but. i know what you are)

i love this bit. zero stakes. "yeah greece kinda ate shit" "lol exactly like--" "SHUT THE FUCK UP AND WALK!!!!!!!!!"

what else what else. oh this panel was funny. only her left arm is being severed here so that right shoulder is supposed to connect to her back. somehow. spot the difference!

THEY GOT FLAT STANLEYED

another panel i liked. the h in dhevilman stands for head empty

this one too. the scan was actual shit so i kept not seeing the guns so this was Extra jarring to me

also look at these little blurbs at the end. iirc they only did those for the joan of arc and little bighorn stories and LOOK HOW DIFFERENT THEY ARE TONALLY

like the joan chapter is largely sweet? i guess? it's supposed to be a happy ending and it's like aww (though. i don't think joan would be like "an angel in the form of a demon... :)" but whatever) and then it's like Yeah Well She WAS Tried For Being A Witch. By Humans. And Was Burned Alive. it's super jarring and then the little bighorn one is like "sometimes they put this in movies!" as if we didn't just see people get massacred???

actually that brings me back to the hitler thing. i'm kinda new to devilman so take this with a grain of salt but part of what i appreciated about How devilman's apocalypse happens is that like.. demons weren't Really in control of humanity's governments or anything. they inspired paranoia that exacerbated preexisting prejudice and selfishness and led people to view the marginalized as the most dangerous For their past oppression, and humanity tore itself apart. and when there was a little compilation of the groups targeted in this, jewish people (specifically in the context of the holocaust) and native americans were both brought up, and i respected that as well. devilman takes place in our world, so discussing these atrocities and ongoing bigotries is like,, relevant and important for what it's trying to do, i feel. it wasn't focused on much, but it stuck out to me, and i think it shows a degree of care about those genocides on the part of nagai.

but i think mentioning them in passing and from a contemporary perspective was a bit safer. you have to be a lot more careful doing historical fiction/time travel misadventures about Very Real atrocities for your Very Unreal Fantasy Romp. and i think that because nagai feels moved by these atrocities and because they're kind of important to devilman and what it's saying about humanity, he felt it would fit to have them in a devilman story that includes time travel (or perhaps he was just inclined due to artistic preferences. either way). i think it also makes sense to explore, in theory. yet any time you insert your fantasy bullshit as a cause for/major factor in An Actual Irl Genocide/Etc you kind of trivialize it. not quite the same, but the closest other example i could think of was how motherfucker supreme jk row.ling took the witch burnings and was like haha that was witches playing pranks on stupid idiot muggles. they were laughing btw. real actual irl people were murdered!! i'm not saying you can never joke about it or mess with it but when you're treating them as serious events And Also going "well actually it was my Dumb Fantasy Thing that caused that" you like.. make it about your dumb fantasy thing instead. the dead are reduced to props.

ch 1's depiction of hitler was of one who already hated jewish people before watching his beloved be burned alive by a jewish(?) demon (a demon masquerading as a jewish person? yeah), but who decided to dedicate his life to jewish extermination Because of that event. and i think the decisions to have him hate jewish people before this AND to not make him a demon are good. this could've been worse. but it still kind of makes the holocaust about demons, y'know? hitler was a person, one influenced by the world in which he lived. countless surrounding factors led to his hatred of jewish people, his attraction to fascism, and his genocidal project. the same is true for everyone involved in perpetuating or tolerating the holocaust. there is no inciting incident, really, for that hatred existing. not for most people. devilman is fundamentally concerned with the nature of group hatred, fear, bigotry, and violence. i would argue they're within its central bundle of inextricable themes (no matter how many adaptations try to, y'know. extricate it). exploring historical instances of that makes sense. but disregarding all of that nuance in favor of "demons tricked him" is in bafflingly poor taste. it's one thing to place demons in a contemporary/future-set story manipulating governments and encouraging violence, but it's another to make the murders of millions of Actual Real Not-Props-For-Your-Spinoff people retroactively caused by demonic influences. because it kind of decreases the agency of the Actual Real murderers. in sd they were tormented, deceived, manipulated by higher forces. in reality they were manipulated, maybe, but by humans. the same is true for the little bighorn chapter. admittedly, i'm less familiar with this event, but it seems... vaguely accurate? to my memory? regardless, taking a massacre that was part of a genocidal effort spanning centuries and going "custer had demons in his heart >:(" is like. revolting to me! and i don't think it's even a like,, metaphorical demon in the hearts of him and his men because we see a very literal demon in marie antoinette's heart the chapter prior. i think it's supposed to be the same thing. symbolic, maybe, but in-story there is in fact a literal demonic possession causing this. as opposed to the propaganda, violence, willful ignorance, greed, callousness, etc which actually caused it. it's like.. anti-relevance. anti-poignance. even if the demons are symbolic of like. humanity's base instincts or whatever i still don't like it. it's stupid and it sucks. and you've got like. tiana getting raped. and because of the context she's a sort of stand-in for everyone who experienced sexual violence as part of this genocide. and it's got the go nagai depictions of sexual violence funk on it (i need to finish devilman lady but Oh Boy) so it's like yucky and that makes the depiction of the genocide broadly yucky because it's again a snapshot of an actual THING that HAPPENED to REAL PEOPLE and it still has the horny funk and. god am i making sense?? whatever it's like. bad to me. i'm not saying you can't like shin devilman or whatever but this part was gross and as hard as the hitler twist made me laugh it was simply not worth it. the toybox approach to historical fiction is Not Good when you start putting in real atrocities and real people, imo. you can't blame hitler's antisemitism on demons bc that primes people to dismiss others as Just Evil it encourages an ignorance that perpetuates genocide and also it's just kind of bad for your story's like.. social commentary. devilman feels like an indictment of humanity but sd almost feels like it's excusing humanity for the same actions bc of the retroactive thing. it's like devilman's demons weren't manipulating humans who independently had a pattern of mass violence for xyz reasons but instead were the secret cause of every cycle of mass violence humans did. it blows!! genuinely open to differing views on the fucking political commentary in shin devilman but idk i just uh. don't think it was good. as someone who's fresh off a first read.

idk. um. i thought shy ryo was interesting.

tbh it doesn't seem like,, in line with my image of ryo from the original series? but i kind of like it when characters are unexpectedly shy, so it's cute to me. i have to wonder when in the process of writing devilman nagai decided ryo was 1) in love with akira and 2) intersex (something ryo if not nagai himself explicitly ties into his interest in men), because the whole thing feels... different than devilman irt that dynamic. i mean, i've been talking about how gay sd is, but i genuinely think a lot of that comes from a desire to depict their relationship with those things in mind, both for the audience and (again, potentially) the author. making ryo more shy in like.. a kind of effeminate way? (idk man idk) feels like the sort of not-quite-retcon that'd stem from that.

actually i kind of liked his relationship with tiana, brief as it was, and what it highlighted about ryo. he blushes when he realizes she's into him, and while he sort of rebuffs her flirting, it's clear that he still cares about her. he's flustered by the situation because it puts him in an awkward spot, not being able to say why he's not interested (and who he's actually interested in). it's a less-discussed and honestly very relatable part of being gay and closeted that was like,, pleasantly surprising to see. hell yeah. and that bit about ryo being unable to kill animals where she says he has a gentle heart is so cute to me

they're friends!! :> and that rules. i think there's a tendency to depict queer characters who don't (and are unable to) reciprocate the feelings of a straight character as being cold to them. and i think it would be really easy to take this gay sort-of-villain in ryo and make him disregard tiana (or women broadly)'s feelings (the gay misogynist trope). but ryo is tiana's friend. her crush isn't going to change that, because the friendship is genuine and comes first, and i like that. and i think in the context of sd we're supposed to read ryo's feelings for akira as ultimately unrequited. he loves akira, and akira loves miki. but that's not why they're not friends in the end. i see ryo/tiana and ryo/akira as parallel relationships. that in a world where ryo confesses and akira doesn't reciprocate, they would still be friends (something especially powerful with a gay character, who're treated as if they perverted a perfectly normal friendship). it's kind of sweet and hopeful, even if you know their relationship's going to end for other reasons soon enough. and he cries when he sees her dead!! i know that feels like a no-brainer to have characters cry when they see people massacred (people who took care of them for weeks) but it's not a given!! and again it shows that he cared for her rather than being like pshuh. women. which again a lot of people inject into their gay guy characters. like i'm glad that one of the adjustments made to ryo's character Was Not That (phew) but instead something that kind of made him more similar to tiana, made him relate to her even though her crush made him feel a bit awkward. like. there's room for exploration there, with him projecting his own awkwardness onto akira and stuff. anyway. yeah i wish she was a more developed character bc she is very much a brown girl there to fall in love with a foreign stranger, highlight elements of his character, and then die horribly but that doesn't mean i don't like what was there, i guess, so much as what wasn't.

[july-19th-club]

a while back i read jane eyre for the first time since high school in anticipation of watching the 2006 wilson/stephens miniseries. it's incredible to reread these classic novels as an adult, because while i got all the words and understood the *content* as a teenager, i didn't at all find the book interesting or fun to read. anyway i think one of the reasons that book stood the test of time isn't so much the gothic intrigue and how fucked up rochester and his wife are . he sucks so bad in so many ways . but he keeps needing rescued from stuff and only jane can do it . he fucking breaks an ankle falling off a horse early in her employment with him and she's the one who helps him back to the house . his attic wife sets his bedroom on fire and jane's the one who finds him and puts it out before he dies of smoke inhalation . then attic wife sets the house on fire after jane leaves and the whole place burns to the ground, grievous death and permanent injuries, etc, etc. jane comes back yippee everything's okay again! austen heroes don't get wounded like that because they're far too sedate and busy engaging in social seasons and heathcliff is like not wounded physically so much as destroyed emotionally . but this dude strikes the balance for readers who best enjoy when a man is collapsing of various problems and literally cant survive a day without some governess to pour water on his four-poster so he doesn't fry to a crisp

ALSO . i particularly was interested in the passages just after jane first meets him where she talks a lot about how if he was a normal polite person, or even just like a normal Lord with like, a sense of propriety and good manor house manners, she'd have been shy and awkward and uncomfortable and would have hated him. but i think where some interpretations get it wrong is that she doesn't think his rudeness is HOT. she thinks it's good for her own confidence, in that she knows her own self-esteem and social comfort levels are so low that all the scripts of peerage and society make her crawl into herself and disappear. she doesn't know how to follow the scripts convincingly, she's been emotionally abused her whole life so she has no sense of self-worth, but he doesn't follow the script. which means she doesn't have to worry about following it either. which does wonders for her confidence levels because when she can just act in ways that make sense to her rather than second-guessing whether she will be Approved Of, she can actually be a person. and that's what she first appreciates about him: his ability to (more or less without trying or even noticing) facilitate that for her.

"The incident had occurred and was gone for me: it was an incident of no moment, no romance, no interest in a sense; yet it marked with change one single hour of a monotonous life. My help had been needed and claimed; I had given it: I was pleased to have done something, trivial, transitory though the deed was, it was yet an active thing, and I was weary of an existence all passive."

[leviismybby]

However, I don't know how to feel about Levi because of the real source material (Isayama interviews, smartpass story and side material like that…) and the 'professional' Japanese translators on this blog. I think he really is, according to the correct Japanese translations and Isayama interviews, he is really dragging humanity through the mud for his personal feelings… and he is someone who is floating and aimless because of Erwin's death… So much so that Isayama even thought of killing him many times because he didn't know what to do about him and threw him aside… also I guess he has no interest in women… oh and Ackerbond is probably real… I know it's not a canon ship and I know he's not in love, but that doesn't mean it's not written too reductively to Erwin. And it disgusts me…

Because of the source material, side material, canon discourse and Japanese translator blogs, my opinion of him is changing more and more and I think I will throw my LevixOc project in the trash… Levi is really someone who (because of Isayama's writing) has been hypnotized by Erwin's own goals and has taken control of Levi's entire character and actions. I don't think I could take him (or s/o) out of this hypnosis.

I know you can say "Isayama's opinions can change" or "only what is in the manga is canon" and I used to hide behind that for consolation, but I realized that once Isayama said it, it was true and it stayed there. And I think the interviews are necessary to understand the content of the scenes etc. in the manga.

Even analysis is no longer a comfort for me… after all, why need complicated writing when interviews and manga are the source of what really happened there…

I guess he's not the character I thought I wanted… I wish he was his own man… I wish he wasn't a character to be discarded just because he died because of another character… or someone who is too picky and only accepts high standards… (this is just my own opinion based on the manga and the material/opinions I think Canon!Levi would be like that)

I'm deeply disappointed… As delulu as the Eruri fandom is, most of what they say is unfortunately true… after all, they take real sources and cite them as evidence… I don't think they are mistranslating because there are professional cold-blooded translators in this fandom and most of them quote what that blog says…

I wish I had never encountered this fandom and this character, so I wouldn't have to be so upset all these years…

Except that half of the interviews are either fake, completely twisted or don't exist. Especially that flaoting ballon bullshit, which a lot of Japanese fans say wasn't even said.

I will this again, please read the manga on your own and base your opinions on Levi on your own.

Since you already mention Eruri and i might ruin your day here but Eruri is as canon and Levihan is, it isn't. No Levi never prirotized Erwin over humanity and you'll understand that if you read the manga for yourself and analyse it for yourself without letting the fandom get to you.

Levi is his own man, he has his brain to think with and the only people who think he doesn't are shippers. Not once did Levi put his own selfish desires before humanity for anyone, he was as sad about Erwin's death as he was for the rest of his comrads. Not a single instance in the manga/anime or any actual official interviews given by Isayama was Levi reduced to Erwin, only a shipper would think that way. Oh and Ackerbond thing too, not only is that damaging to Levi's character, it is just creppy and definitely not a thing.

I am sorry anon but it seems like you don't understand Levi and his character at all. Isayama always said that Erwin and Levi were equal and sworn friends, he didn't say that because he hid some sort of hidden romance between the two, he said it because that's how it is, its a strong bond of trust and commandership and reducing it only to "Oh Levi is a love sick puppy who only cares about Erwin." is a mischaractertion at max.

My advice to you is to take a break from the fandom is they are making you not like your oc x Levi anymore, that's the best way to get them out of your head and please, base your own opinions, not what people online say.

[squidcave]

what would skuldugerrys meltdown/shutdown look like (also can i have more stimming headcannons)

first of all, sorry this took forever to answer, everything started happening all at once and now we're here 🤙

ANYWAY!

I feel like he's more prone to shutdowns. While he doesn't need to sleep, he does need to rest and he's bad for just going and going until a breaking point is reached, at which point he just disappears.

This could go for both meltdown & shutdown but in the lead up to said breaking point, his patience gets incredibly thin and he'll start snapping at people. The difference is that in the case of a meltdown, this continues to escalate rather than suddenly stopping as with shutdown.

Ghastly's really good for noticing when things are getting bad and making skulduggery take a break, even if he has to be sneaky about it.

It takes Valkyrie a bit to fully catch on but when she does, the most subtle she gets is "I'm taking a day off and so are you, no arguments." which honestly works about 80% of the time (this method is especially effective in phase 2 when yk, Val actually takes time off sometimes).

As for more stimming hc's 👀, I'm so glad you asked!

I feel like after he died, a lot of stims just (literally) don't hit the same yk? like I can see him when he was alive, playing with his hair a lot, just generally very sensation seeking. Which is unsurprisingly quite hard to do as a skeleton whose ability to feel various sensations is limited - non existent ( he feels pain perfectly fine, regular touch is unclear, and I don't think he can feel the difference in temperature?? I might be wrong on that but you get the point). So he's gotta switch it up.

Enter Visual Stimming! you ever catch yourself staring at a candle for Too Long and think "I've gotta stop, this is gonna damage my eyes"? Well guess who has no eyes to damage and can summon fire at will! Or just watching traffic go by at night, stuff like that.

Speaking of traffic (and idk how much this counts towards stimming so much as just generally a comfort thing), driving is like peak chill time. Idk how much sense this is gonna make but

Skulduggery's probably been driving as long as cars have been around - it really is not something he has to think about while doing. And while I don't personally drive, I would hope, it's a fairly engaged activity if you know what I mean? like you're watching the road, listening to traffic/music/a passenger. there's a tactile element in the steering, the gear shift, the clutch and pedals, the mirrors, indicators etc. Just it being something he's so familiar with, has complete control over and is fairly often alone during, makes it an excellent de-stressor (and even when Valkyrie's there, at this point she fits into that space so perfectly that it doesn't change much. Most of the time, anyway)

I think we kinda circled back round at the end here but yeah 🫶 thank you for continuing to indulge me

[askthisfishprince]

✨Official Disclaimer/FAQ Master Post✨

I'm going to be pinning this one, just in case anyone has questions or hopefully make some things easier to find! Will also add things as I need to.

Questions Regarding Timelines or “Canon”

I don't have an exact timeline in my head for this blog. In my imagination, Eridan and the other trolls are just alive again and in the present, and all the previous storylines still exist within it. The difference is that it takes place after the comic, so everyone is an adult just going along for the ride lol I guess that's what I'm going for 🤷‍♀️

I apologize if I stray away from the "canon"... I try to stay as true to the characters and their dynamics as I can. But sometimes it's just fun to be a bit silly and go off book for the sake of adding some humor. Also….it is an ask blog of a character that died pretty early on and did not get much in the “character development” department lol So again, I do my best to write him as “canon” to his true attitude and behavior as I can. But it can get very hard to give nuance to a guy who overall was pretty shitty, didn’t have much dialogue in the first place while also giving him a fake timeline that takes place a couple years down the line and allow him to have a crumb of self improvement without it coming off as too ooc. So if you see behavior that you don't think is accurate to him…..i promise I do my best…….i have google docs and PowerPoints on this guy lol so I promise the brain rot runs deep

Why I Haven’t Answered Your Question

If you notice that I have not answered your question there are multiple factors.

I couldn’t come up with decent enough dialogue that I felt was good enough to respond with. I am extremely stubborn

I work a full time job and just couldn’t find the time to :(

It was a very strange question and I have no idea what to say lol usually sexual, creepy, violent etc

I have gotten multiple of the same question and I am currently working on a reply.

I waited too long and I feel too bad to respond now ❤️

I can tell if you are spamming me with the same question even if you are anonymous lol And I'm sorry but I won't answer those lol

My inbox is actually insane at times and I genuinely can’t get to everyone :(

I promise I read every single question and I appreciate all of them!! Even the creepy ones.

But I am one person running this blog on my own time with a full time job with only so much time during the day 😔 I also have rampant adhd that can make it very hard to complete certain things

“Will I be making more content of Eridan and *insert character*”

I try to avoid having strict shipping content on here. I don't want this blog to become limited in my responses because I inadvertently turned it into a shipping blog. I do enjoy dropping hints, but for the most part, I prefer to keep things open so that I don't unintentionally limit myself. I also don't want fans who ship other things to feel like they can't ask questions about different characters or scenarios.

I do not have any “headcannons” that I am against or a ride or die for…but….please do not send me any Cronus and Eridan shipping questions. It is very yucky to me. I outright ignore the ministrife….i pretend to not see it 🥰

Am I An Eridan “Defender”?

No lmao

I’m not gonna write down my whole pathetic analysis on him. But I’m not gonna be here at my old age defending a fictional fish guy who boasted about the aspects of eugenics and harass people who disagree?? What is this?? 2013? lol

If you hate him and think he is awful. That is 100000% A-okay! You are allowed to! And I understand lmao

If you ever want to actually talk about Eridan openly, and discuss him as a character or anything. Just dm me! :)

Also just a reminder to clarify that my writing for Eridan does not necessarily reflect my personal feelings. If you ask “Eridan” about certain characters and my response seems mean or nasty, please note that it doesn't mean I dislike the ship or character. Eridan is not particularly friendly, even towards people he likes, so I try not to insert too much of my own feelings into his responses.

(Erisol, EriRox, eridan and literally everybody lmao….except maybe Karkat…..thats his bro…)

Tags

All of my Eridan responses will always be tagged under my url “askthisfishprince”

Any questions directed at me that I post responses for will be under

“NotEridanAsks”

How To View The Post Properly

Whenever I make a response, I try to keep things as clear as possible! Any text in the description or in the tags that does NOT have (()) around it, means thats Eridan talking.

Anything besides that is ✨me✨ lol

Always check the tags for extra dialogue! :) and also always check for “read more” because sometimes I add extra silly doodles lol

Also sometimes I give my two cents as to why I did something a certain way in the tags. So if you care to hear me Yap, check the tags.

Also if you ever want to send an ask to me, either state in the ask that its for op or just put (()) around it! :)

[sunlitewhispers]

Marvus and his money headcanon

(Been surfing through the marvus tags and I've got some thoughts to share regarding this clown)

To start off, I personally think troll currency is more digital than physical. Like everyone uses a card to trade or get items (and its only due to the empresses restrictions on things when she removed the adults from the planet) but physical money is still real, it's just a fun thing that highbloods and high midbloods use to flaunt and to trade amongst each other.

To signify the value of the bills, they have a strip of color from the cast they were made for. For example, Teals =80, Cerulean =90, Indigo =100, etc.

(There were coins that were common amongst lowbloods and low midbloods, but that got discontinued when moving to cashless/digital. There is evidence preserving the old currency existence such as in museums showings of the old times and extremely old paintings in the clown churches.) (You can think that these coins are caegars or not)

With that out the way! On to Marvus and his money 💰

I imagine Marvus doesn't really care about money nor feels that it has a heavy connection to his identity compared to performing/entertaining. Marvus just knows that people wanna see him and lose their shit at his concerts and are willing to drop stacks to be there even with the risk of being culled.

With that, Marvus can be loose with his money, quite literally throwing it around to which some highbloods would critique the act as 'disrespectful' and 'rebellious' since money is one of the ways ancestors can provide to descendants and give them a clue to their existence. (If they want or have left a will if they died, regardless, the empire still sets them up with a small fund)

I dont know if philanthropy would be an actual thing or just be a thing highbloods (like Zebruh) say they do for approval points. But I imagine Marvus would be the type to do so in the most unconventional means.

He probably stopped his tour bus once to grab a grubshake or a handmade sandwich from a small cafe and threw a fat band on the counter saying, "Keep da change lol." Leaving the workers there in awe and fear cause damn he just weirdly blessed them, and damn they now gotta fight off his fans from stealing the marvy money. (If Marvus is there, his fans are certainly gonna be there too.)

Marvus definitely buys his crew lunch or, if he's hanging with someone, offers to pay for them when he's out and about. He stresses tf out of his accountant because he doesn't keep track of how much he spends in a day. You know his ass absolutely has a money gun to use at his concerts.

Bascially when you're Marvus, you're a baller who is a big spender.

When interacting with Marvus, depending on his quadrant, you're gonna see how he moves with his cash.

•♡ Matespirit ♡•

if you got this man in this quadrant, good luck on getting Marvus not to spoil the fuck out of you. Trust and believe he'll take any chance to drop some stacks on you. If you guys are out and you say or point out some items, you can bet that Marvus is buying them.

Oh, you think that clothing line is cute? Guess what? He's ordered the entire line to be sent to your place.

Big fan of video games? No problem! He is getting the newest console out on the market in your favorite color with your name on it.

Love sweets? Bam! He's gonna invite you over to his crib and have you watch a team of trolls bake the best desserts of Alternia.

Money ain't a thang to this man. It gives him a chance to show his love through the material means and show that he wants you to enjoy yourself and time with him. Small part of him uses money to be a temporary fix when he has to go on long tours. If he can't spend time with you on troll FaceTime or in real life, he'll send gifts to show that he's still alive and thinking about you.

However, if large displays of affections through money don't appeal to you or you start to feel overwhelmed by the purchases or think he's being disingenious in his affection, he'll pull it back.

He'll likely give you a card that's connected to his account so you can have the control to buy what you want without feeling like you have to ask him. (And such an act will give him a small piece of security to know you'll have the means to survive financially on Alternia, especially if you've expressed times of financial hardships to him)

Also doesn’t matter if it's public or private, He's gonna randomly place bills on your person, i.e., stuffing them in your pockets, slipping them in your shirt pocket, pinning them to your jacket. If you ask him why he's doing that (or wonder where he stores his cash)(btw he literally has no pants pockets) Marvus is gonna give you a saucy wink and smile all dumb and say "a mf gotta pay dem feez 4 havin a wicked mate lik u b ;0)" than he'll place a smacking wet kiss on your forehead and be all noisey about it while doing so.

•◇ Moirials ◇•

In this quadrant, his spending habit might look casual to outsiders, but with you, they'll be a tad more personal. Still be extra af like in matespiritship but he'll be spending money to clear his mind or yours.

Feeling stressed about some unfinished work? Don't worry. He'll reserve a spa service just for you.

Need to cry out some hard feelings? He's gonna get some matching pajamas and grab some emergency blankets to get that session on.

You know that one ring that SpongeBob and Patrick have to show off their friendship? He's gonna get something like that to represent your guy's moirallgience. Anything involving moirails, he will buy and send them to you.

You're definitely gonna be his merch tester and probably be brought to his trips to the galleries when he goes to buy art pieces. (Need your support and opinion when bidding for art pieces.)

Like with matespiritship, if you feel like he's being insincere or rather prefers more handmade gifts. He'll try to schedule days to create personal gifts. He might pay someone to tutor him about your interests just so you can rant without having to stop and explain what you're talking about.

Marvus will remember what your favorite snacks and favorite meals are for when you're hanging with the crew or just him. Compared to where he won't care about what someone orders, you don't gotta worry about an order mess up or reminding him. He got that locked in, unless you want something different, then just point him to it.

If there is a fucked up order for you, he will raise hell. Typically, he won't care if something he orders is messed up. He'll pay for another one. However, on behalf of his moirial, this mf gonna walk up to the counter like that meme saying they asked for no pickles. The first and hopefully (in his opinion) only time you'll ever see him asking for a refund.

A thing that'll be a routine of your relationship is him swinging by your place late af in the daytime to grab you and get some breakfast before he has to start his night.(Unless you spend the day at his hive than he'll order said breakfast and catch some more Zzzs with you.)

•♤ Kismeses ♤•

Now in this quadrant, compared to the other two, Marvus is a clown who's mischievous as hell. This bitches antics are gonna be up to 100 when it comes to him.

Honestly, you're gonna be on your toes for buying things. It'll become a back and forth of him randomly, not having money than to him having it though being really annoying and lazy with it.

If your someone who's well off, you better hide your wallet. Marvus will snag your card and make an excuse how he left his cash in his other pants/trailer/hive and buy the most stupidest shit under your name. (He'll troll cash app you back but do it so tediously that you hope your account crashes)

If he catches a single hint or a word, even a wrinkle of disgust on you, Marvus will make it the bane of your life.

You dislike the residue of his paint left on your face after a hate-makeout session? Marvus now has to buy this one face paint that is known for being messy. what? His manager told him, too. :0)

You think cowboy boots are clunky and tacky? Guess who's strolling up in some bedazzled purple lined boots that jingle when he walks.

You make a comment on how creepy troll beanie boos plushies are, he's gonna get a brand deal with them and send you a crate of his new designs. A note will be attached saying "4 my numba 1 fan ;0)~".

Similar to moirallgience, you will be a merch tester, yet you won't know if he's being serious or wanting to rile you up. Regardless, when you shit on the design he's showing you, that's how he'll know his fans will love it! Doesn't matter if it's the simplest design, an eyesore to the public, he'll promote it to the point that even your small-time friends will surely mention the product to you. Might even send a shout-out to you on Chitter for your 'help'.

Don't ask him for a bill if you want something from a vending machine. Marvus will pull the most crumpled weirdly stained bill you'll ever see in your lifetime and smile at you plainly like, "Here u go buddi dats all I can find on me atm lmao." Additionally to this, he will slowly count his bucks out if you all are in a line somewhere. (Marvus knows no one will rush him and if you complain, he'll pretend he lost count and start over)

To conclude this, watch out for when he's feeling more petty. He'll make a habit of sending you items in loud peculiar packaging that suggest to those handling it that there's something inappropriate in it when there really isn't.

•♧ Auspistice ♧•

With this one, Marvus doesn’t fit the vibe of where he might truly kill his kismeses. Nor does he seem to want to be in a situation to be aggravated enough to join in murdering someone (Going off his response to MSPA reader when the clown fight happened). However, Marvus may strive on not becoming active on those emotions. Close calls can exist.

A tiff among his roadies about best faygo flavors is a good way. His manager hassling him, and trying to change up his brand is close enough. Groupie sea dwellers trying to follow him back to his trailer and not taking a hint is a real close call.

If you mediate for Marvus a few times, he'll certainly be grateful (and a bit embarrassed) he'll grant you a gift card of some shop of your choice as thanks.

On the other hand, you've been around long enough to spot a murderous Marvus, then you're undeniably a part of his inner circle. With the exception of being his paid emotional bodyguard coach.

As business-like, it might seem in the beginning, you're a trustworthy and skillful individual in Marvus's eyes. He knows dealing with irritated trolls, particularly enraged highbloods, is not a fun nor easy task.

Other trolls may feel like this relationship is wandering into moirallgience territory.(which might be) Marvus won't really care about those opinions and possibly offer to meditate for you in the event he catches you in a tense position.

You’ll be called for his long tours when he has to do shows for sea dwellers and, without a doubt, be put through the ringer. It'll end with you guys munching on loads of the troll version of ice cream in silence.

At any point, you're too stressed to de-escalate a situation. He'll give you a paid vacation and make sure you don't come back until you are entirely stressed free.

He may tell you once he calms down that you should open a private business due to your and I quote "motherfckin dopeazz obzi-va-tional skilz."

Small note : Marvus has dealt with people trying to form a quad with him just for the fame/money, as we seen with Zebruh. So if he catches signs that what's happening, he's going to be acting distant and extremely scripted around you, then like ghost you. You'll be blacklisted from his concerts (unknowingly), and future clowns might keep a close eye on you if you hang at the churches.

Welp, that's all! Hopefully, this was entertaining to read! I do apologize if some parts feel rushed or that there were more details in some quads, I tried to keep them around the same length.

[antebunny]

So there's a subgenre of fics in the Harry Potter fandom wherein a person conceived while one of their parents is under the influence of a love potion will become aroace at birth. The origin, afaik, are two insidiously awful decisions of JKR combining: 1) she reinvented date rape drugs/roofies aka love potions, without realizing it I guess, and 2) she said that Voldemort was asexual, because she's never seen a marginalized identity she didn't spit on.

Since Merope Gaunt (Voldemort's mother) used a love potion on Tom Riddle Sr. (Voldemort's dad) I guess people got the idea that what if love potions caused asexuality? And asexuality + aromanticism, of course, meant evil. Here's an excerpt from one of those fics in which Bill Weasley explains being aro/ace to Hermione:

[Image ID]

"No. I just dated because that was what you did. I never really felt anything for them. A few kisses, plenty of hand-holding. I made out in a few broom closets, and had one very uncomfortable make-out session up the top of the Astronomy Tower that I eventually ended by pretending I heard Filch coming past on a patrol. I even tried making out with a guy once in case that was it–nothing. I never told mum about that, of course. Good wizards don't shame their families like that."

"There's nothing wrong with being gay, you know."

He shrugged. "It doesn't apply to me anyway. I'm not gay. I wasn't anything, and I was trying to accept that and be content with it. It was good enough. Until I met Fleur." His eyes lit up with joy as he spoke about her.

[Second Image ID]

"Look, the point is with her allure from being part-Veela, I love her. Like I can never love anyone else. I don't want to lose that. You don't understand what it's like to go through life feeling nothing for anyone else. I've dated people I said I cared for, but I wouldn't have died for them. Well, out of logical choice I might risk my life, but not from love. But I would die for Fleur. Do you understand? She makes me a better person. I would do anything to make her happy. I'm not alone in the world anymore."

She nodded slowly. "I see." It wasn't so much him manipulating Fleur, as him permitting her to manipulate him. Into feeling. "I didn't realise it could be that bad." She still thought he should confess, but it didn't sound like he was hurting Fleur–he really did love her.

[End Image ID]

I read this fic years ago, and at the time I genuinely had not thought about my sexuality at all. I would've never called myself aro or ace. Still, reading this felt like being repeatedly punched in the face. I kept on waiting for Hermione to say something similar to what she said after Bill made a homophobic comment. After all, she went out of her way the first time, didn't she. Instead, what I got was essentially:

Bill: I don't usually feel romantic or sexual attraction. So there's something wrong with me.

Hermione: Yeah lmao. But there's nothing wrong with being gay!

I've been (reading) on Ao3 since 2016, and in all that time I've seen plenty of subtle racism, sexism, etc. But I've never seen anything as plainly stated as this. To this day I have yet to hear any aro/ace people describe the experience of being aro/ace in any of the following ways: "How could I forgive myself if we brought a child into the world to suffer the emptiness I lived with my whole existence[?]" /"You should be unable to love." / "You don't understand what it's like to go through life feeling nothing for anyone else."

I could not understand why Bill described it as "emptiness" or "feeling nothing." I still cannot find a single aro/ace person who would describe themselves as empty. The most I have ever heard is: "I wish I was normal" (meaning I wish I fit in, I wish to be accepted by other people). Historically, many aro/ace people married and had kids, conforming to societal norms, and I am sure many believed there was something wrong with them or hoped to grow out of it. I was one of them. On a very personal note, I suspect that my father is too. I am certain that he's never heard the terms asexual or aromantic in his life. But if you think I'll ever discuss his sexuality with him, you're out of your damn mind.

Now, I know it's really easy to find this fic from these quotes. I chose to include them anyways because I think it's important to show how blatant it was. My Tumblr blog isn't exactly a platform, but for the five people reading this: please, please do not go after the author. I truly believe that they had no ill-intent. In the comments of this fic, a few people bring up variations of "it sounds like Bill is just aro/ace" and the author is consistently understanding. Here are some of the author's comment on that fic:

[Image ID]

I very much understand what you're saying. It's a tricky thing for me to address, however. For the core idea I'm playing with is basically the evilness of "love potions". And part of that is exploring JKR's idea that Voldemort, being unable to love due to his mother using a love potion on his father, was a *monster* because of that. Perhaps that doesn't come across very clearly (there's a little bit more of it in the prequel), that it's one of the assumptions I'm trying to undermine. ("Love potions are funny/romantic", "Voldemort is a monster because he could not love", "Harry's power was that he could love - he's not a monster like Voldemort", "There's nothing wrong with selling love potions to teens/adults because it's not 'real' love".)

I feel like I'm already poking at the inherent problem of framing "people who cannot love" as "monsters/psychopaths" by showing Bill and Harry's struggles with self acceptance, and Bill finding a way to love (though do note he'd been making peace with the idea he wasn't attracted to anyone, prior to meeting Fleur). I really don't like the canonical take on love-redeems/love-is-the-best-power/the-loveless-are-monsters, so I'm messing with it a bit. Exploring other people than Voldemort, ones we admire, who are also dealing with being unable to love. Does that make sense? Now, that doesn't mean I'm doing a perfect job at it, but I'm trying my best to explore that theme around the edges of my Dramione story.

[End Image ID]

The author's intention was to show how other characters, made aro/ace via love potion like Voldemort, were not evil or sociopaths. I don't know why all the characters were so aro/acephobic, but sometimes fics get away from you and you don't address everything you wanted to. I don't know why the aro/ace characters had so much internalized shame and hatred when the term bachelor has been in use for centuries, but we fanfic authors love writing self-esteem issues and I would be a hypocrite to say otherwise. I don't know why the author never tagged acephobia or internalized acephobia, but no one HAS to tag anything.

I don't know if the author ended up writing that fic where Harry comes to accept his aro/asexuality. It's totally understable if they didn't; I have failed to write many fics that I really did want to write. Sometimes it's just like that. I really, truly believe that the author had the best of intentions and is not aro/acephobic, just severely misled on what that experience is like.

My beef is not with this author. I used their words to highlight a reoccurring and popular sentiment that I hate. My real beef is that this fic is popular. This is an entire subgenre of Harry Potter fics. I actually decided to write this post because some random person on the internet said, a few days ago, something along the lines of: "Remember when JKR invented a date rape drug that turned people into sociopaths? Yeah…" (And also because I was up until 3 am last night writing a dumb trash angst one-shot about it).

I'd wager that the vast, vast majority of people who write or read those fics don't feel the same way. But the condescension is baked into the very premise of that trope. "Oh poor you, it must be so hard, so lonely going through life without ever loving another person. You must feel so empty inside."

It's actually people who say similar things that make me feel isolated. Most of the time I feel free, like I've cracked this secret code, like I'm able to see things clearly that people so hung up over sex and romance can't. Other times I feel so left out I wish I was "normal." Mostly, being aro/ace is lonely, annoying, exhausting, and liberating.

It wasn't until last year that a friend told me that some people actually do have trouble speaking to someone they've never met before, just because they find that someone attractive. I thought that only happened in stories. But I don't want to get nervous meeting new people based on their looks, I don't want to treat people differently based on how much I want to have sex with them. I wish my friends in high school had never pressured me to come out as bisexual. I wish all the other similarly liberal, queer communities I've found since didn't insist on associating sex and dating with emotional comfort. I wish I could magically stop my parents from expecting me to ever get married and have kids.

But I can't.

Anyways, that's it for today. I'm not sure what the point of writing this was. I really don't want anyone to get hurt or attacked because of it. This is not a callout, or a hate brigade, or any sort of call-to-action. I don't want people to get up-in-arms about this. I'm just tired. I suppose I just wanted to put my feelings out there, and well, this is my Tumblr.

[1moreff-creator]

Happy Birthday Arei Naegishi!

I am so bad at remembering birthdays I almost missed this one. But it's still the third in my time zone, so I'm still gonna do it! Arei's our birthday girl, and the best character ever (<- her opinion) gets a birthday post too! Spoilers below the cut as always.

-Arei's backstory was revealed in CH 2 EP 5. She was bullied heavily by her sisters, Fuyuko and Natsuko, and we see an example of them doing so by forcefully cutting part of the right side of her hair. You can even see, to this day, she seems to have more hair on her left than on her right. She also mentions "If [she] had to go to the hospital once or twice, then it was nothing more than a minor inconvenience for [her sisters]." Which, uh, huh. That's... quite awful. The point is that Arei hated her life back then, and rightfully hated her sisters as well.

-Despite that, it seems Arei tried to be kind for the longest time. She's far from an innately cruel person, but eventually, she felt the only way out was turning the table on her sisters and starting to bully them. Her secret is "Blackmailing, rumors, lying, stealing, slander. You did everything you could to ruin your sisters' lives" and she confessed that she framed them for everything she could to get them unlawfully sent to reform school. This included planting things in their bags and lying to authorities, as well as driving her mother's car into a ditch and blaming it on her sister drunk driving. Okay so bullying is maybe an understatement but the idea stands.

-And it worked! She managed to get them sent to reform school, and her life improved drastically. Morally dubious queen shit, etc. However, this made her develop a harmful ideology that being kind is a weakness and will get you treated badly. Which is why she acts unnecesarily mean during the killing game.

-However, deep down, Arei is still nice. She doesn't really like doing the things she does, she just feels they're necessary for her to survive. Even right before her secret reveal, she was trying to justify her actions to herself, saying it's normal for people to be like her:

Arei (laughing nervously): You [David] do want to hear my secret after all. As I guessed, everyone has that burning curiosity inside of them to hear bad things about other people. It's not just me.

-Which is why Eden's existence led her to a breakdown. Because Eden is nice and kind and is exactly the type of person Arei thinks would be destroyed in """the real world.""" And yet, Eden keeps going, she's still nice. Eden is what Arei wishes she could have been, she sees her past Arei in current Eden. Which is why she bullied her originally; to "teach her how the world works." Because Arei doesn't want to do real harm, so it's better if she does it than someone else later down the line.

-That doesn't go well. She breaks down in front of David, who comforts her quite successfully... so much so that she seems to forget she wanted to talk to David about his secret oops.

-This is what leads to her apologizing to Eden and promising to be her friend and a better person... and then she died. Well, under the most common interpretation.

-Her birthday lands on November 3rd, just three days after Ace's. This coincides with:

+Fountain Pen Day (Min reference?)

+National Sandwich Day.

+National Homemaker Day.

+Jellyfish Day. (?)

+Give Someone a Dollar Day (??)

+Love Your Lawyer Day (???????)

Among other things. I still have no idea where these come from.

-The roman numeral assigned to her in the LGI MV is IV (4), a number associated with death because yeeeeaaaah... This is: "right now, why do you cry?"

Ignoring the intentional mistranslation, this is probably just referencing Arei's breakdown in the playground.

-Color Theory (I'm sorry but I'm done linking that post) assigns her... well, I believe dark blue, so I'm going with that. This is cry, big and the Mandarin laugh (哈哈哈) in the rain scene.

(The good thing about having done this fucking video is that I have all the damn screenshots you could ever ask for in relation to it)

"Cry" for the same reasoning as her numeral. "Big" in this context is "proud", which fits. And the laugh is long to explain, but basically it's the "applause crew" (Cheery David, Xander, Hu, Arei) overwhelming David. Watch that part of the video for a better explanation.

-Arei had an FTE with J, which she starts off by tickling her, later claiming she would, uhm.

Arei: I'll tie you down and force you to wear maid dresses and bunny suits until you change your mind! [About acting girly]

Arei what. This screenshot feels like it should be fake what do you mean it's canon. It's great, don't get me wrong, it just feels extremely outta pocket. Listen, I (aro/ace) don't feel qualified to unpack whatever the fuck is going on here, I'm just gonna leave this to the shippers.

-What I will unpack is the other stuff in the FTE related to Arei. Which is-

Arei: C'mere! I'll tickle you until you laugh so hard that your heart stops! Then I'll defibrillate you and tickle you some more! Tickle tickle tickle!

I said the OTHER stuff

-Mainly, that she feels like being the favorite child would be great (you can figure out why yourself I imagine), and she likes acting girly.

-We also learn she categorizes people based on how she likes to bully them. "Cool and suave wannabe boys" like J (as in, she acts like a boy who tries and fails to be cool and suave), "spineless pushovers" like Levi (she "uses as maids"), "adorably sweet people" like Eden (she """likes""" to make them cry), and the people who don't like her, which would presumably include her sisters, as she says she likes to destroy these people's lives. Foreshadowing!

Fun facts!

-She likes gossip and dislikes being ignored.

-Her subtitle quote in the cast page is "If I tell you a secret, will you promise to keep it?" Which is insane foreshadowing given the chapter she (allegedly) died in.

-Her secret quote is "Because that’s what friends do", which she said to Eden in the trial flashback. The quote associated to her in Mai's page is "She doesn’t like it when her friends fight." Friendship is evidently something of a running theme.

-She likes "cute" food (?), her favorite color is azure (because she's blue), her favorite ice cream flavor is birthday cake flavor (oh, fitting!). Her least favorite color is green because it "looks like puke", which... I wonder if it has something to do with being bullied by her sisters given the apparent hospital visits.

-Her name in Kanji is written 投石【なげ ・ いし】亜鈴【あ ・ れい】. Cool! Don't know what any of that means.

-Like most of the cast, her hair color is natural and she's American.

-She's ambidextrous! The only ambidextrous person in the cast, in fact, and the only one apart from Teruko to not be a righty.

Finally songs!

+Candle Queen by Ghost & Pals (literally her song, don't @ me)

+Those Who Carried On by Ghost & Pals (it's sorta a similar attitude to how she felt about Eden, do you see my vision?)

+SCAPEG∞AT by Ghost & Pals (I will make you all listen to Ghost & Pals!)

+Perfectly Sweet by Vane Lily

+Karma by CreepP

+Bad B!tch Magic by HalaCG + others

+i DO what i WANT by KIRA

+Aishite by Kikuo

+It's Not My Fault by DECO*27 (listen Milgram had to bleed into these eventually)

+Teen Idle by Marina and the Diamonds (again I think it works)

+Pyrite Girl by RIProducer / RIP (I think it works kinda at least)

And Happy Birthday! Hope you enjoy some birthday cake ice cream, girl! Go do it!

[greenfiend]

In your theory about Will being everyone (or the other way around), will this be like an allegory or will it happen in the show

like

Will we see Eleven and Vecna etc dissipate and [doctors] sort of reveal that all these people are figments of Will's imagination and illness? If so, how will they make it so that this doesn't feel like a 'it was all a dream' rug pull? In how they film it, I mean. Like how will they make it so that rewatching the show and all the relationships, that we would now know are just parts of Will, still feel compelling? Will the mystery and horror still make us invested even when we know the ending, that none of these people are real?

Or do you think it will remain analagous/metaphorical, so the characters actually do exist and can still talk to people and go on with their lives after Will's twist is revealed, and the idea that they are part of Will remains supernatural/implied as the overarching metaphor of the show (sort of like the monster in s3 representing period blood/bodily fluids of puberty etc)

I think about this a lot, anon, and I’m not sure!

Right now I’m leaning toward it being kind of an allegory… so somewhat ambiguous. Like they won’t outright say it, but there will be a reveal that certain characters actually came from the upside down (the mind-scape). Perhaps we will find out inconsistencies with their backstories.

And of course, we find that all the backstories (of the alters) connect with Will’s past. They’re slightly altered memories, but they all connect. Think how we see Will drawing his map in ST2 or how Max draws the Creel house in ST4. The fragments of these character’s memories will need to be pieced together. Vecna will be the penultimate piece, and El will be the final piece (in my opinion).

The El and Will fusion will be a very important, and a very emotional scene I’m betting. I think it’ll be framed as El’s choice, Will won’t want to do it. El will insist. She’ll tell him “it’s time for you to be your own superhero” probably. I feel bad when I see people insist that El will have an independence arc while I believe the exact opposite to be true…

These characters will still exist though, just in a different way. So, in a way, they are “real” just not as we expected. Remember what Vecna said…

Personally, I think it would still be very compelling because the whole show is like a puzzle to solve. I do not think all characters are aspects of Will though, some are real… or at least there are real versions of them that exist out there. Rewatching the show to spot the clues can be very enjoyable (at least in my opinion). I also do like this concept from a mental health perspective, emphasizing the profound impact that severe trauma can have on a child’s brain. But that’s just me, the big picture thinker. I know some people will be very disappointed if this is true.

It’s possible that some alter characters will remain “real”. My first guess would be Max. She wants to live, she was strongly fighting against Vecna’s “fusion” with her. She wanted to make a deal with Will and swap places with him…

In DID, fusion of all alters isn’t necessary for healing. Some prefer to have some separate identities. So we shall see how far they go with the fusion (if this theory is correct).

Side note, we may see some characters who had previously “died” return. As no alter truly “dies” unless the brain of the host dies.

[dynamic-k]

'AH, yeah, I just figured that Dark was behind Ted's actions, since Ted can't act alone.'

now i have more fuel for my questions!!! >:]

Okay, so Dark uses the chip thingy he implanted into his brain to communicate with the bots.

Therefore:

If Dark's chip became broken, what would happen to the button bots? If they can't act independently, would they just shut down, or would they go through what they know of Dark, and try to find what he would most likely tell them to do in that situation to follow that?

Also, an extra weakness for Dark i guess. What if someone hacked into the bots to make them make Dark's vision and stuff all weird?

Because they can highlight stuff, so could they just go haywire and destroy Dark's brain etc.???

Or would Dark's coding be too complicated for even experts to hack??

hm... OH I JUST GOT A NEW IDEA

Blue learns alchemy from Vic, and Yellow could learn computer science from Dark!! they could be that one technically two now person who gets up all the information and makes a plan to hack in for a kidnapping back a kidnapping!! if that makes sense.

And if you saw me refering to when potentially King Orange and Purple kidnap Vic, no you didn't

Going back to the bots, sorry my brains jumpy, if Dark died what would they do?? And what happens when he's unconscious and can't think? WAIT WHAT ABOUT SLEEPING-

I think I went hyper from eating a KitKat. XD

Thank you for reading this,

-R

Be forewarned: There is a lot of lore rambling below the cut.

AH- We appear to have a slight slight misunderstanding-

|Okay, so Dark uses the chip thingy he implanted into his brain to communicate with the bots.|

Uhhh, not quite- It's only a more instantaneous communication. Remember that Dark did that surgery on himself during his and Chosen's first few years of heroing, but not like right at the start. So how would Dark have communicated with his beloved button-bots before the chip in his head existed?

Verbally commanding them present time, and precoding certain instructions into the bots beforehand, was how he did it before he went and made the chip design and then surgeried himself. He still does do that, like how in chapter three of Arc One:

The bots are constantly idle, listening to conversations and other audio surrounding Dark, as the button-bots remain on Dark's person at all times. [The bots are recharged with energy when idle as buttons, and said energy is stored inside Dark's vest which is gotten from a small wired battery Dark has stored in both his wrist cuffs. He changes the battery to a new one as needed.]

Because the bots pick up on all audio, and are programmed with precoded specifications, Ted clearly overheard what Chosen wanted Dark to do. When Dark pulled Ted out, [Dark had the chip at this point in time] Ted sent a confirm message straight to Dark's vision, like it was asking if what Dark wanted was for Ted to handle the school situation and make sure that the school was under the impression that Second would be staying home. Ted's artificial intelligence was set well enough, and the bot used artificial soundwaves that matched similarly to Alan's voice, in order to be convincing, and it was pulled off very well.

Without the chip, Dark always had to verbally give commands and sometimes this was inefficient and slowed things down. The reason it was slow, was only so because Dark is extremely cautious about where and what his bots do, so there are many walls of precautions set in place so the artificial intelligence doesn't run in the wrong direction and a bot thinks it should do something other than what Dark wants. That's why there are confirm messages and such, like "Are you sure that [insert command] is what you wish to happen?"

There was not confirm messages before the chip existed. Instead, Dark just gave orders, and the bots were never programmed at that moment to formulate thoughts and orders themselves, because they would be under the risk of assuming something incorrect. After the chip existed, Dark added the codes that allowed the bots to use information they received to guess what Dark wanted to happen, because now the previous "risk" did not exist. It was alleviated by the ability for Dark to directly receive confirm messages, and there was no longer the possibility that a bot would assume the wrong thing and try to do something Dark didn't want to happen. With the chip, if a bot did happen to misunderstand, than Dark could cancel it mentally when the confirm message appears in his vision. If he had that code set up without the chip, and a bot misunderstood something Dark would be forced to chase after a bot physically in the moment and try to verbally re-issue a corrected command. Hence, the reason that "think and estimate" code was not added to the button bots until after Dark gained mental connection to his bots via the chip he implanted.

....I hope all of this is making sense, oh my sticks- I did say I would ramble about how they worked, I have so much lore in my head that needs an excuse to get out-

The chip no longer exists as a physical chip under Dark's skin. It has melded with the rest of his code and being, and now is literally in his bloodstream as a direct part of himself. Dark and the chip are one, and this action cannot be undone. [This does mean that the chip cannot fracture physically though, neither can it somehow corrode or be corrupted due to Dark's receiving of physical injuries.]

The bots cannot be "hacked", they only respond to Dark. They recognize Dark and Dark's being and Dark's code and everything that is Dark. Unless someone somehow managed to literally be exactly like Dark in every way, looks, code [DNA], mind, the chip...

Yeah, that isn't happening, every stick is different.

Even if somehow the recognition software implanted into the bots is damaged, they STILL will know the difference between Dark and someone else pretending, because they are still CONNECTED to Dark and Dark only with an unbreakable bond and connection that would not extend to anyone else. Even if the bots are blinded and their audio processors are offline and damaged, even if their code scanners that differentiate every stick was broken somehow, even if anything they use to recognize sticks was not working, EVEN IF they could not tell apart one stick from another, DARK WOULD STILL BE KNOWN. Always, they will know where Dark is and they will NEVER mix him up with another.

Now for Yellow and Dark's connection with each other. >:3

I have plans for the story in this regard, and Dark does indeed end up as somewhat of a mentor figure to the kid, though not like how regularly and consistently Vic ends up teaching Blue. [Vic and Blue's bond is, uh, primarily Arc Three material. I shouldn't say too much, but meh- You asked. At this point, with how much I have shared, who cares about my rambles and why I shouldn't ramble about certain things-]

Yellow and Dark will be amazing together, and Yellow already has a certain knack for technical and code-related things, so Dark is very happy to have something of a protege.

Anyway, the entire reasoning behind this ask was Dark's weaknesses with having the chip, yes? Well, guess what. There happens to be an upcoming incident that occurs, revealing just exactly what this weakness could be and how Dark gets through it.

Because Dark Whump, why not- U v U

The chip does have coatings on it [back when it was solidly a chip in form and before it began its absorption process into Dark's code as a whole] that prevent electrical and signal-interference damages as well. I forgot to mention this fact earlier in my explanation. A friend once asked me about whether or not Dark's chip could be decommissioned via such things, under the assumption that since the chip is made of metal, it could be weak in ways that metal is weak. I was reminded of this while answering this ask, so I'm including the information here midway, hehehe :D

Now uh- I never did say that King and Purple successfully end up yoinking Vic- There may be an attempt, though- EHEHHEHHEHHEHEHHE

Oh circuits, I need to keep my mouth shut sometimes. [and then Scarlett proceeded to not keep her mouth shut- /silly]

Interesting theory or guess that Yellow might attempt to be a hacker? If that's what I'm understanding from what you said? Yellow doesn't end up hacking anything per se.... But uhhhhhhhhhhhh-

.........Oy. I actually don't think I should say what I want to say here, that's too big of a spoiler. ....This is a lore ramble, not a spoiler ramble, I must remember this-

All I will say for now, is that Yellow has a significant importance in Arc Two, to a very large degree OTHER than the fact he designs and makes work the majority of the Color Gang's costumes/upgrades.

Arc Two was always meant to be much more focused on the Color Gang than Arc One was, partially as a sort of apology for how much the quadruplets were left out at the time of Arc One's climactic points, where we only really got to see mercenaries and the hollowheads. Primal is also a big focus, but so is Dark, Second, and Victim. And King and Purple. And Navy and Orchid very much, oh dear I have LOTS of plans for them.

It's meant to be more well-rounded in character includement, is what I mean. Everyone gets the spotlight, even if technically Second is still the main main character. XD

Going back to the bots: My brain also jumped-

If Dark dies, the bots deactivate? [sorta?] permanently because every function is tied to Dark, except for the energy part, of which is stored in Dark's wrist cuffs. The battery could be recharged and maintained by someone else, and it would not take much effort to get the bots back online, but what I mean by "deactivate" is the way that they work. They could be online again, yes, but they won't do the things they did before. They will not follow orders from another, and will not fly, or do anything but sit there and technically be "online". Now, if Yellow or someone went to the trouble to painstakingly reprogram them, and they no longer were tied to Dark [and this is dependent on how much Dark's body would corrode] than yes, they could function again with the abilities they wielded previously, since those function still exists, but couldn't work or activate without Dark's presence.

If Dark is unconscious, or in sleep, his button-bots are probably on his vest, in idle positions as buttons. If Dark is, for example, knocked out while fighting and his button bots happen to be on the field not as buttons while this happens, then they will now be limited in their actions to a very select few set of precoded commands.

This includes, protection of Dark and those he deems protection listed, such as Second, Chosen, Alan, Vic, any friends he has on the list as well, and of course any sticks the bots understand are civilians. Remember that the database in the button-bots for the population of the city is incredibly expansive, and Dark has a stored list of nearly everyone, so the button-bots can easily know who is who. Or they can artificially think it out whether a stick is a civilian or not, based on the circumstances of the current situation and the things a civilian would do/places a civilian would be.

There are only a few set commands that are precoded, in which the bots are allowed to follow without needing Dark's confirmation. If Dark is knocked out, and a bot processes a situation that requires the usage of a more dangerous use of abilities and therefore needs to use a confirm message in order to proceed with the bot's conclusion of what it needs to do, then without Dark to confirm message the conclusion, the button-bot can do nothing but return to Dark as a button or not proceed with the conclusion it made. They are only able to do the simplest of precoded commands, as a set precaution. Imagine if Dark woke up and the bots had set something on fire by accident, or by procedure of a wrong/incorrect conclusion of situation. This wouldn't do, there needed to be preset restrictions on the artificial thinking processes.

Mostly, all the bots would be able to do while Dark is out, would be protect and defend. If a building started to catch fire because of a villain, the bots could put it out, though. They are not inherently useless just when Dark is out of commission for the time being. This possibility is very dependent on Dark actually getting knocked out mid-fight, in the first place, however, and this is very unlikely due to Dark's high skill.

...

I think that may be it for now- Honestly, this was SO SO much fun to answer!! I feel like I had a brain clog released, or something. Rambling is so therapeutic!! :D

Thank you EVER so much for your asks!! I hope there may still be more! [aside from that one still in my inbox that I haven't finished yet-]

[sugarywishes]

Remember Monica? The oc sister of Gregory? I have a few ideas for her, Also, how would she interact with Cassie?

Outdated Lore Post

Yes I do! She is very much still an active part of my AU, she's just getting redesigned at the moment lol

(Sorry for changing her looks, her original design was too 'edgy' and 'cool' considering her backstory and personality lmao, had to give her a more loser vibe) if anyone wishes to help pick a design then reblog with your answers!!

As for the Cassie section, there are two ways it goes

So, considering that in my AU, Gregory presumably met Cassie while he was still a runaway orphan (IN UTAH NONETHELESS) Monica would've never met Cassie (if Cassie stayed in Utah anyway, which she didn't...later on lmao) and once they do meet, Monica was initially confused as to where this little girl came from and why she's talking about her brother (again, Monica thought he died, and once he did come back she just thought he stayed hidden for years)

I think it would be super funny if they did end up befriending each other eventually, think of it as a 'substitute' (bootleg) Roxy and Cassie, I guess (or maybe just, Cadence and Twilight from MLP kind of friendship 😭)

As for version 2 (for another...potentially work in progress AU with the Casas family, I know I said PBTA was the only universe they existed in but I wanna branch out...maybe) (Basically in this AU, no one died, but that doesn't mean everything turnt out good...especially for one, aged Evan Afton 👀)

Monica would've likely become the Roderick to Gregory's...Greg and Cassie's Rowley, annoying and messing with her brother (and his only friend at the time) all the way

(worth mentioning that in the 2nd doodle they're meant to be 6 years younger, 6 y/o Cassie and Greg and 10 y/o Monica)

I must clarify that she isn't a straight up bully/abuser like younger Michael was, she has limits she wouldn't cross no matter how much her friends would egg her on, she and Cassie do get along to an extent! Monica also kinda counts as the Buford (from Phineas and Ferb) since she's the 'mean character' who sometimes tags along on the adventures, so she probably got invited to a few play dates with Cassie and her brother sometimes (tea parties, video games, etc)

But regardless, I'll keep my ideas to myself for the meanwhile, this is still a work in progress AU, and I've got lots more coming ! (Hopefully maybe sorta I dunno :( )

[kevin-day-is-bi]

i feel like i wanna remind ya that like, there are people (me) who enjoy the Bruce&Dick as father&son because it's not wholesome and can be rather fucked up, esp in fics that really focus on their interactions

idk like, i dont have a ship in particular in batfam, but it feels like you keep getting deeper into the "any interp other than sexual is stupid" and :< it's fun to explore the fucked up non-sexual things...

I'm guessing this is largely about my tags on this post.

A couple things right away.

1. I'm in fandom to ship. I have been in DC for the sole purpose of consuming and creating ship content for almost 8 years at this point. When I first watched Young Justice at 12, I had ships fully formed by episode 7. I watched episode 1 and started shipping Dick and Wally. I think they have an interesting friendship, but I personally have no interest in exploring their relationship platonically. While I understand that 2017 isn't super long ago compared to the entire history of Batman, please do not explain shipping within the DC fandom to me. I have been doing it a very long time.

2. that doesn't mean I in any way look down on or think that people who enjoy consuming media in another way (platonic or familial etc) are not consuming it "correctly"

3. I had several unpleasant experiences, both personally irl and in fandom spaces, with people who were anti-shipping (I'm not saying you are) which led to me being overly cautious in fandom, so for a while I didn't reblog anything ship related. I rebbloged non-ship content and just didn't tag it how I wanted to. I have finally got over that and have joined spaces where I feel more confident and welcomed.

4. Without going into too much detail, I live a pretty fucked up life. I have a lot of complicated emotions around sex and sexuality in relationships and I use fandom to explore that. I have been in platonic sexual relationships, romantic asexual relationships, situationships, unhealthy crushes, QPRs, and a lot of other situations that I also explore in fandom. I am aware of the fact that I have asked for life advice on this blog and in DMs before and clearly have the fact that I'm 19 listed in my blog description, but I have lived a lot of life and am pretty mature about fandom. I've been reading Bat smut since before I got my first boyfriend, and my life has very much shaped how I view media.

5. Finally, I am aware that there has been an uptick in blood and gore (and other more physical) kink things recently. That would be because those are genuine kinks that I have that there has been an increase in for me recently. I have those because I am disabled and my relationship with being disabled has led to me sexualizing certain aspects of it. I'm not going to tag for this or other things (NSFW, shipping, etc). I understand that some people want or need that level of control. I am not the person to follow in that case I use Tumblr's fast reblog feature liberally. I am on this site to distract myself from the fact that I am in pain 24/7 and my life is a mess. I do tag content I create and have always done so.

normally I wouldn't respond to this level, but this is gonna replace my current pinned post for a while. lemme again just say:

this is a non-issue. I don't care what anyone does or does not ship. I don't care what people think about what I do or do not ship. we are talking on a site where we don't know anyone's real name about things we want fake people to do that a bunch of people in a board room created. I am on here so I don't think about how I have been displaced because I almost died in a hurricane for the second time in 6 years. who I ship is such a low priority to me that it is functionally non-existent right now.

if any of my followers don't like what I am reblogging, unfollow! I won't be heartbroken! I'm not going to stop talking about ships that I have on my blog. and if your automatic go-to feeling when you see someone being positive about a ship you don't have is to think they are anti-not shipping that thing, do some internal examination as to why. because it's not true, and I never ever said it was.

feel free to dm me to talk about this more! but you are wrong, and I'm not going to change how I act on here.

[sameschmidtdiffname]

I'm actually desperate to hear your thoughts on the new hunger games book.

What characters do you wanna see? You think there will be a romance aspect? Who's POV should it be in?

Do you think this is Suzanne's final attempt to make it as clear as possible that the games are NOT cool and snow is NOT a misunderstood good guy?

And the movie too!!!! You have any fan-casting ideas?? Think young haymitch is gonna be hot?

Idk no pressure man I luv u :3

I'm excited! I'll actually be completely honest, I seriously didn't think that we were going to get any media about Haymitch's games since we already went over the events in 'Catching Fire.' I would like to apologize to the prophets, clearly I was wrong. Sorry for silently judging your requests by thinking y'all missed the point, I'm sittin' down now.

So, tackling POV first, I personally think it's definitely possible that we're working with a multiple POV situation due to the fact we did already go over the events of the Games in CF. Or, if not multiple POVs, I actually think it'll be retrospective.

Remember how Katniss and Peeta end 'Mockingjay' by creating the book of memories? I think it's possible that Sunrise is meant to be Haymitch looking back on his Games. How he survived, maybe who he mentored after. Honestly, this is what I'm hoping for because I admittedly am a desperate whore for canon post-Mockingjay material. (Please, Suzanne. Just a crumb. A CRUMB!!)

I think we're done with Snow's POV. I may be wrong on that, but I'm admittedly hopeful on it. 😭

LISTENNNN I liked Ballad and I think it was WONDERFUL writing, but Jesus fucking Christ was I happy to be away from Snow by the time it was over. He was an asshole, that was the point, I respect it and love it as media but reading it was/is hard, and honestly? That's praise. But besides personal preference, there's also just a straight 'The End' at the end of Ballad. Maybe that's subject to change, but with Suzanne's masochistic level of detail? Probably not. Or maybe I'm stupid and will eat this post in nine months, find out soon!

ANYWAYS. I so want to see Mrs. & Mr. Everdeen in this, as well as Peeta's parents. Give me their fucking names, Suzie. NAMES.

Haymitch's girlfriend is probably gonna be my favorite character. Imma be honest. I know nothing of her, nada, zip, zilch. But I can sense it in the air. There will be kinship, and I will kill myself when she dies.

(Suzanne, please don't make me eat that last statement.)

Romance aspect? Yes. Between Haymitch, his girl, and the Everdeens? Plus if we get Peeta's parents? I think one of the main points of The Hunger Games is love and the different ways it exists, so I think there will 100% be romance.

Hell, maybe Suzanne will throw us a curveball and the POV will be one of Everlarks parents. If so, probably Mrs. Everdeen as that'll give us insight to the merchant part of District 12, Madge's family and what it was like to be of Reaping age in the thick of Snow's reign.

I want Mr. Everdeen confirmed as Covey. This is a demand. I have hostages. (My lawyer wants me to clarify I don't.)

Now, in terms of the books real world meaning, I'm interested to see. I think the safest guess is 100% a commentary on Palestine, Congo, etc. But I am interested to see what else there is to say.

Personally, I think there really is a possibility this book will be centered around healing. Especially if this is Haymitch looking back at his life, it could offer commentary on his recovery from his Games, the war, as well as everyone else's. This perspective is 100% the one I would love to see the most, but we all know imma be a fiend for whatever happens.

And to wrap this up, fancasting? Stanley Tucci. If Caeser comes back and he doesn't, I have fucking hostages. (Again, I don't.)

Imma be honest, to add to your question, yes young Haymitch is supposed to be hot, but I want him to be a kid. I want a teenager cast and I want him to obviously look like a teenager, even if he is handsome. I think that's an important point of the Games people miss.

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wanna ask this cause i really like your fics, and wanna see how you think on this 👀 so a lot of fanon has other links being bitter towards hylia, but wouldn’t it make more sense for sky to have a bitterness/fear of Hylia? considering it was confirmed to his face that he was legit MADE to be a hero, fight demise and had his entire journey manipulated by hylia? and would that cause conganitive dissonance with his relationship with zelda?👀👀👀

HI hi hello :D jksgrzfnhieaklmgrjihdkloifndk THANK YOU SO MUCH, I'M SO GLAD YOU LIKE MY FICS I APPRECIATE YOU SO MUCH <3 <3 <3

you just asked, like, one of my favorite questions ever rjghskgbvjkdehgijk sorry if this gets...long

Ok ok ok ok I COMPLETELY agree with you!!!! I think sky is a man of extremes - he either loves you or he despises you. For the most part, he adores everyone (other than a few key people cough cough ghirahim and demise cough cough). His whole convo with Zelda right before she sealed herself away fucked with him SO MUCH, because suddenly he is trying to cope about the fact that the goddess his entire culture idolizes manipulated him, and what makes it worse is that Zelda is the reincarnation of her.

ANYway, i think he absolutely hates Hylia, yeah! I think he despises her and is so bitter towards her and would be completely fine if she straight-up died! In my mind, he doesn't like any deity, really. He's had enough interactions with gods that he is absolutely comfortable telling them they all suck and he hates them lmao, but that's a tangent. It makes a lot more sense to me if he hated Hylia, but what might make others to disagree is the fact that Zelda was Hylia. Fortunately, I have a solution for that as well!!

When Zelda talks to him right before she seals herself, she mentions that she didn't know, she was happy to be his zelda, etc. So in my brain, after Demise dies, she has a full-on identity crisis (and probably also a "oh my gosh Link probably hates me" Moment cuz she knows him so well) where she's not sure who she is, if she's a goddess or just Zelda, cuz now she has all these memories that she remembers but she didn't experience them (Sun and Wild would be besties and you can't change my mind lol). So i think that Sky couldn't hate Zelda, and so they both work it out and they can both separate Hylia from Zelda and see that they're two different people. So would there be dissonance in their relationship? Sure, briefly, but they love each other and they work it out and both of them dislike Hylia, they're such a power couple and will fight god :D

As for fanon having other Links be bitter towards Hylia, I guess it works?? idk it works at first glance, but then i always remember that they have no fucking clue who Hylia is. Wild knows, obviously, but he's on good terms with her. I just think it's occasionally a little funny to see the Links ragging on Hylia when they canonically don't know she exists.

(my personal hcs are that the Links, especially Ledge and Time who are typically the most outspoken about it in fanon, pretty much just want nothing to do with the gods. They're more focused on the immediate "i can save this person and the world" part. Also, Time has his whole Master Sword thing. but in general, i think that any bitterness towards the gods (most likely the golden goddesses) is pretty surface-level and they don't think much about it. Not a single Link would regret saving the world. I think that's something I don't often see - they chose to be heroes, and they would do it again without hesitation. They just wish it didn't cause so much trauma. However, Warrior having religious trauma due to fighting a war and feeling like he and his soldiers have been abandoned, similar to WW1 soldiers, is just something so important to me :P)

uhhhhh i feel like there's something i missed but idk. I've thought about this A Lot. Actually, if you want to see a really clear-cut example of how I think Sky feels about Hylia, you can check out Smoke & Ashes, which is a LOT of angst so PLEASE BE CAREFUL, but chapters 13 and 14 are very prominently about how they feel about each other (in my head). yes i am shilling, but i love this fic lmao.

hope you have a lovely day, anon!!! tysm :D