#like yeah this is in response to fanon versions of all of them

[garden-secret-ao3writer]

Voltron headcanons

Keith’s Backstory.

Honestly? I’ve never really understood how Keith’s backstory was supposed to work in canon. A lot is vague, some things contradict each other, and most of it feels disconnected from how the real world works.

So I tried to build a version that does make sense — something that connects the dots between canon, fanon, and my own interpretation of who Keith is. (And yeah, if you recognize some bits and pieces from other people’s headcanons — you probably do. Let’s go. This one’s long.)

1. Before Keith was born

Keith’s father was a firefighter — and in many countries, that also means he worked in emergency response and rescue. (I was partly inspired by shows like 9-1-1 from the ABC.) Let’s assume he worked a rotating schedule, something like 24/24/24/72. So during one of those 72-hour rest periods, he witnesses Krolia’s ship crash. He rescues her, hides the wreckage, treats her injuries — and then returns to duty. Krolia stays unconscious during all this. Over the next four months, they slowly begin to coexist. Krolia recovers, tries to locate the Blue Lion, and stays hidden. Keith’s father helps however he can — showing her Earth, teaching her the culture. Eventually, they fall in love. And around seven or eight months later, Keith is born. (Which means they've been together for a little over a year.)

2. When Keith turns one

As canon tells us, Krolia eventually leaves to protect Earth(and Blue Lion) from the Galra Empire(Or in short, returns to the Blade of Marmora). Before she goes, she helps fight off an attack — during which Keith’s father breaks his arm. Given his job, it’s plausible that he’s granted extended paid leave to recover. During that time, he adjusts to being a single dad. It’s also when his team starts to realize that he has a son — though he never tells them what happened to the boy’s mother.

3. Keith’s Childhood

Knowing that Keith will need to attend school, his father moves them closer to the city, leaving their house in the desert as a kind of weekend home. But life isn’t exactly easy for Keith. His Galra traits are more noticeable than in canon: black hair with a purple sheen, slightly pointed ears, and subtle feline behaviors. Kids find him strange. Adults mostly ignore it. And then, when Keith is nine, tragedy strikes. His father dies in the line of duty, along with most of his team. Only one survivor remains, too traumatized to take on custody. The system doesn’t assign Keith a new guardian. So he ends up in foster care. And from that point on, he’s completely alone.

4. Teen Years & the Garrison

Keith throws himself into one goal: getting to space. It’s the only thing that feels like it might matter. As he gets older, he starts to suspect that all those stories his dad told him — about a mother watching from the stars — might’ve just been metaphors. Maybe she’s dead too. But sometimes… he still wants to believe. The problem is, there’s no clear way forward. He’s a foster kid, broke, isolated, with no one to back him up. Until Shiro enters the picture. Their start isn’t smooth, but eventually Shiro becomes the person who helps Keith believe in himself. He helps him get into the Garrison. I like to imagine that Shiro becomes his legal guardian or listed representative while he studies there. While at the Garrison, Keith also meets Adam, and crosses paths with the Holts a few times (not close, but enough to remember them). He still doesn’t connect well with his peers — his anger and introversion haven’t gone anywhere — but he earns a reputation as a top student. Quiet, brilliant, intense.

5. After Kerberos & Before Voltron

When Shiro “dies,” Keith refuses to believe it. He fights the Garrison, his instructors, even Adam — who’s caught between grief and frustration. Keith spirals. His behavior deteriorates. His grades start to slip. The breaking point comes when he secretly helps Pidge (then still Katie) gain unauthorized access to classified files. His involvement isn’t exposed, but Adam finds out. And that leads to a final blow-up. They stop speaking after that. Adam keeps his silence, hoping things will improve. They don’t. Keith is expelled. He’s still technically a minor, which means he should be sent back into the system. But he doesn’t go. Instead, he disappears. He drains his account, leaves Adam a note — “Thanks for being there. I’ll be fine.” — and returns to the old house in the desert. There, he starts digging for the truth: about the Kerberos mission, the strange energy that keeps calling to him (we know now it’s the Blue Lion), and about who he is, where he came from, and what the hell he’s supposed to do with his life.

And this is the version of Keith’s story that makes sense to me.

I’m not saying it’s perfect — but it’s what I mean, at the end of the day. What do you think?

If you’re interested, I might try writing similar posts for the other characters too. (Not gonna lie, I’m not sure I’ll pull it off — but hey, worth a shot.)

[cyberglyphs]

Reasons to ship every single version of MegOP

since Very Dumb Discourse™ exists about whether or not certain versions of this ship are valid, this is going to be THE most positive post about all versions of MegOP. refer back to this post for reasons to ship your favorite version of MegOP if anyone gets weird about it with you. now let us begin!!

G1: goofy '80s faction dads fighting each other in a denny's parking lot every week LET'S GOOO, that shit is fun as fuck. orion pax also totally had a celeb crush on megatron before megatron ruined that and shot him and his pals 😔 and there's a lot of angst you can add with megatron becoming galvatron and optimus coming back to life to see how much he's changed!

BW: it's the sheer fucking comedy gold factor of a newly minted college graduate and a terrorist dinosaur IMMEDIATELY singling each other out on a prehistoric rock and deciding to call their daily gang slap-fights the BEAST WARS, what iconic drama queens LMAOOOO. also, megatron made his final body in BM look like optimal optimus SPECIFICALLY to fuck with him, and that's just...incredible

UT: the fact that megatron CANONICALLY acted like a grieving widower over optimus after he died in armada is. amazing. never forget their absolutely insane obsession with each other that they can never EVER give up on played a direct part in unicron nearly ending the world <3

Bayverse: this is the one continuity of all fucking things that gave us the lore about megatron being prime's lord high protector. absolute galaxy brain writing from the tie-in comics. also these two would ABSOLUTELY have the messiest, nastiest, most brutal hate sex imaginable, and that's beautiful. <3

Animated: optimus being a rookie washout underdog and megatron being a super scary much older warlord is a really interesting and underrated fresh take on their dynamic! lots of fun to be had with exploring what their relationship would be like after megatron finally acknowledged him as his archnemesis, lol. also...age AND size difference ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)

Prime: do i even need to say anything, i'm pretty sure that one flashback still of orion and megatronus being friends is responsible for birthing a million shippers for this pairing alone LMAOOOO. the bitter ex-boyfriends energy was TRULY off the charts in this show, it's a damn shame megatron never appeared in RID15

Cyberverse: same bitter ex-boyfriends energy but this time with dates at maccadams. megatron also dies encouraging optimus to beat the unhinged alternate dimension megs AAHH THE ANGST

IDW1: they're both depressed gay war criminals in this one who CONSTANTLY live in each other's heads rent-free and that's amazing, lmfao. also, megatron becoming an autobot means this is one of the VERY FEW continuities where it's not nigh impossible to figure out a way to give these two a happy ending together in fanon

IDW2: space date space date SPACE DATE. they were falling together and everything. megatron also LITERALLY tells optimus to open himself to him...to give him the matrix...yeah megs my dude i'm sure that's the ONLY thing you wanted from optimus "opening" himself. toootally positive, lol

G1 Marvel: megatron was SUPER fucking pissed and weird as shit about the time optimus died over a video game. it counts

Dreamwave: their first fight had megatron urging optimus to join him AND they disappeared together in a space bridge explosion once which is like, a fanfic-esque setup for them to be alone. also i'm pretty sure this is the continuity where optimus accidentally gave megatron a lobotomy, so...uh...potential for angst is to be had

SG: mirror universe!! evil crazy villain optimus with noble goody-goody hero megatron has so much potential for absolute chaos. bonus if you also bring in the normal versions somehow through multiverse shenanigans <3

KP: the only way this version of prime can redeem himself from the creepy underage human girl bullshit is if he gets a good hard dicking from megatron. next

Prime Wars: huge "ex-husbands go on a road trip with their disgruntled daughter" energy here. megatron also LITERALLY says "oh optimus, if only you could see me now" <3

Earthspark: again...need i say why? they're pals and working together from the get-go, what's not to ship??

Skybound: optimus literally wears megatron's arm. truly beautiful <3

TF One: it's not out yet but give it time. the entire movie is going to be about orion and d-16 being madly in love and tragically breaking up, baby!!

[reveriederayne]

𝐐𝐮𝐢𝐞𝐭 𝐋𝐨𝐯𝐞

james potter x reader; 991 words

A/N: to get back into writing decided to write about James. He's the scum of the earth in canon but God do I love his fanon version. Anyway, here's this thing I did instead of studying.

CW: reader's house is not specified; reader is extroverted but in a quiet way; james was in love with lily; lily and severus are friends; let me know if I need to add anything else !

At eleven years old, a little bit into the year when everyone started settling in, you never would have guessed that at some point you would have the attention of none other than James Potter. Sure you were pretty outgoing, mingling with different friend groups without much trouble, and you considered yourself pretty attractive if you do say so. But you were… quiet. Not like the boy who commanded attention of an entire room with animated speech and loud persona. People heard him before they saw him, and in both cases, it was a treat for them.

You on the other hand were not noticed unless you wanted to be; your steps calm, your mannerisms as well. But when you spoke, everyone listened to you, and when your friends and acquaintances planned a get together, you were always invited. But your differences weren’t what made you so sure of not being able to draw his attention. Lily Evans, aka the love of his life as he kept repeating to everyone, was the only one he cared for and he kept pinning for 5 years, all of her rejections coming in one ear and out of the other. People were still questioning how she kept her head on her shoulders with him not understanding the word no.

You still remembered talking about it with the red haired girl, coincidentally James not being far away.

“I still don’t understand how can he keep doing this. Five years ! Did he transfigure his brain into a rat or something ?” She exclaimed, huffing as she continued walking to your shared class.

“If you want to, I can give him a little warning. I’m sure Snape would enjoy making that sort of potion” You snickered at the thought.

She turned to glare at you, but you could see her lips quirking upwards. “Do not bring Severus into this. Gryffindors and Slytherins already have their useless rivalry without your intervention.

“But you would enjoy it, am I wrong ?” You playfully leaned into her, and she only rolled her eyes in response, letting out a “maybe” before entering the classroom.

After that, everyone at school noticed how the infamous marauder didn’t bother her anymore, not even a hello in passing. It was like all those five years meant nothing. Some people questioned him of course, but he decided to instead answer with “I moved on, this happens guys” Yeah right, as if. There’s a difference between having a passing crush and an obsession for five years. Oh well, Lily was happy that his obsession with her passed, even joking with Severus about how he finally “learned a counter spell to his brain-rat problem”

And that brings us to the seventh year, where he started paying attention, to you. But unlike with Lily where he declared it loudly and proudly, it was more subtle with you. And it didn’t even start with you personally, but with your friends. You noticed him sliding in the middle of group conversations, which wasn’t that odd considering he got along perfectly well with each Gryffindors, relatively well with Ravenclaw and Huffelpuffs and… he could tolerate Slytherins, as long as they didn’t speak to him. And unfortunately for you, you couldn’t overhear one of those interaction that took place just out of earshot.

“So…” He started, sitting down on the sofa next to a guy he noticed you talked often “You friends with her ?” He asked nodding into your direction.

“Yes…”

He let out a hum, drumming his fingers against the soft fabric “And… do you have any advice for someone who fancies her ?’

The boy gave him a deadpan look before glaring at him, “If you harass her like you did with Evans when she says no, I will hex you so often you won’t even remember how you originally looked like” his whispered words making James audibly gulp, but that didn’t stop him from adding “if she says no”

Since that day, you saw more and more of him, like right now when you were playing on your guitar near the black lake, when you saw the dark curly hair out of the corner of your eye. You turned to look at him, raising a questioning eyebrow at him.

“Need something Potter ?”

He had a sheepish smile on his face. It was an odd sight seeing his hesitate, but you guessed it's something that came after he matured a bit.

“Can I… sit next to you ? You play nice”

That made you smile, even if just a bit. You patted the place next to you, before going back to playing. He sat quietly next to you, watching you, drinking in the sight of you in the daylight.

He started chatting you up, asking you about your guitar playing, and then about your other hobbies, your life in general and you did the same. You spent the whole afternoon talking with each other, and that’s how you found yourself gasping at the sight of the sun almost set.

“Bloody hell, we will definitely get detention if we don’t hurry back”

He cracked a smile and you two ran towards the castle, him pulling you by your hand. Fortunately you made it just in time, though the two of you would probably need to skip dinner.

“That was nice” He said turning to you, a little bit breathless, his brown cheeks taking a darker shade. “We should do that again”

“Almost get detention ? You have an interesting way of spending time with a girl Potter”

“It’s reserved only for you”

That actually made you blush a bit, but you quickly shook your head and went to your dorm. “Go find to your friends Potter”

He watched you walk away with a grin on his face, proud of the reaction that he made you have. Approaching you in private was his best move and he’s glad that he learned from his previous five year lasting mistake.

© reveriederayne; every work posted on this blog is my own. I do not give anyone permission to copy, translate, or repost my works anywhere under any circumstance.

[ghost-bxrd]

Been mulling over Titans Tower and it's really interesting to me how it's treated in Fanon as compared to how the events transpired in canon. it's a really fun topic! Honestly, the original writing in canon is DOGSHITE but not for the usual reasons people cite.

Here's what does make sense in canon but is largely ignored (this is using canon characterisations at the time): First, it's all about the whole Titans team, not just Tim. They really downplay his death a lot, did not put up his statue or honour him whatsoever. Plus the hero community tends to victim-blame him a fuckton. Jason is showing that his death could've happened to anyone. Second, Tim and Jason are just two yearish apart—Jay died at 15, Tim becomes Robin at 13—so those Titans are more like his colleagues than anything else; he's not some older guy beating the shit outta them. Third, Tim’s indifference to Jason's comments and his cockiness about being a better Robin are pretty on-brand for his early portrayal as Robin. (I think fanon Tim derives a lot of his characteristics from his Red Robin run, which is valid as well! But here in particular we have Robin Tim... who... was... uh... a bit of an asshole when he was written back then and the HUBRIS on that man? Immaculate.)

What still makes this absolutely dog shit is the dialogue and how Jason is pouring his heart out to someone who he doesn't really care about. Jason... just doesn't operate this way... Why's he trauma dumping on... tim... ???? It makes no sense whatsoever because Jason really is someone who'd keep those vulnerabilities to himself. Why would he open up to... CANON TIM??? He makes scathing remarks when faced with Bruce and Dick because he knows the knife twists then and at he cares about their reaction. But not tim ????? Canon UTRH doesn't even mention Tim ????? ???? So in the end it's still shit imo.

I also find the use of Pit Madness in fanon super interesting, despite it not being canon. It's used to propel the Titan's Tower incident, which fascinates me because it shows how people are willing to work around its flaws to maintain consistent characterization in their works (which is !!! cool !!)

It's so interesting how many other incidents that do occur in canon aren't as well known as this one aren't given much thought. But this one is and it's interesting how people try to work with it regardless of it's flaws originally!

I'd really love to hear your opinions about it and how flexible you are with the Titans tower incident! :) How do you work with your Jason and your Tim? because it's cool to hear your analysis etc etc

Hooo boi okay i was planning on replying to this earlier but this deserves a proper, thought out response (which I’m shite at but I’m trying here. Words are hard.)

For one, I wholeheartedly agree with the whole trauma dumping thing.

Obviously we all have different tastes in media and I know there are quite a few people who enjoyed the confrontation with Tim, which is totally fine, but personally… yeah, not my thing.

I got into the Batman/batfam fandom via fanfic, so my first introduction was some version of Titans Tower I believe. I was super intrigued by the characters and the tidbits of lore sprinkled throughout that I immediately began reading up on them and digging through the internet for more info and background story on them. Which then quickly evolved into the part where my adoration for Jason’s character began and a short phase where I absolutely despised early canon Tim.

Like— all the victim blaming. He seriously couldn’t mention Jason without adding something derogatory about getting himself killed, which sat so, so wrong with me. Not to mention the Titans just accepting a new Robin right off the bat and joining in blaming Jason for his own death. I’m pretty sure that was the point where I swore off comics for a long while and decided to live off fanon 🤣

And then Jason’s part in the Titans Tower incident. I think part of how weird the canon event was is due in part to how the writers fumbled to depict trauma? Or maybe they just outright hated him because I know a lot of people back then despised Jason and his run as Robin.

Whatever the reason, I think I genuinely cringed when he revealed the Walmart Robin costume he was wearing. And then the trauma dumping.

Jason is smart enough to know Tim wouldn’t care about his grievances. I mean- dude just broke into his hideout to attack him, I think Tim’s about as done with Jason as with any other criminals, regardless of his past. And all that is proven by Tim fighting back tooth and nail without pause. He doesn’t even react to the accusation of the missing statue in Jason’s honor. Like, he genuinely doesn’t seem to care. And why would he? They don’t know each other.

And yeah maybe he was trying to beat some sense into Tim (which is still wrong but— vigilantes I guess? Idk) and make him quit Robin, but Jason’s also smart enough to know that Robins don’t quit easily. And then, as soon as Tim is down for the count and can’t keep fighting, Jason leaves. Just like that. No actual murder attempt, no kicking-while-he’s-down (at least as far as I remember).

It makes no sense. What would Jason be gaining from that encounter? Why would he blame the kid that replaced him and not the guy that did the replacing? Hell, it would make more sense for him to go after the Titans than Tim. Not the mention him casually doubting Tim’s talents when he must have done some background checks on him.

It’s why I like the idea of Pit Madness I guess, and that Jason actually went to the tower with the intent to kill. Because that way the entire thing wouldn’t seem so… pointless.

As for how flexible I am with the Titans Tower storyline, it really depends on the route people choose to explore. But I’m a huge sucker for the “Jason was Tim’s Robin” trope where there’s at least a mild amount of hero worship going on. 👁️ Oh, and happy endings. I can’t deal with tragedies.

But yeah these are my thoughts on it. Obviously no hate to whoever enjoyed the comic mentioned above 💚 we’ve all got different things we resonate with after all~

[necrotic-nephilim]

for the recent ask game, i’m really curious about your take on 7 + 8 :P

for the choose violence ask game!

7. what character did you begin to hate not because of canon but because how the fandom acts about them?

i'll be so honest: Jason Todd. i know there's a lot of argument of "who has the worst fans" and i think that question is flawed and impossible to answer, but i will say Jason fans irked me so deeply. because i read mostly 90s era Batfam, i admittedly didn't have a lot of exposure to Jason for a while, expect for his New-52 runs i'd read years ago. and since i never liked him based on those runs, i could not understand *what* his fans liked about him, or where they got some of their headcanons/ideas from. i've never been more baffled. it ranges from "oh i don't agree but you do you, i guess?" to "what character are you talking about i am BAFFLED". and it soured me on Jason for so long that i actually hate read *most* of his pre-Flashpoint appearances just to understand what on earth people liked about him. and now i can say, i love him dearly, but i can also say, i still don't know what character his fans are talking about sometimes. and i hate the fanon version of Jason who feels almost, Deadpool-ified? with this self-aware slapstick humor but a sad soft interior but also sassy and will kill a man it's just. it feels very hollow to me and it has made me almost tempted to block his character tag more than once over the years bc sometimes certain takes make it difficult to even like him. i just have to tune it out or yell about it for hours.

8. common fandom opinion that everyone is wrong about

i'm going to get particularly saucy with this one: that Dick Grayson has Eldest Daughter Syndrome. or more generally, that he was parentified. not a single ounce of Dick's backstory indicates him as being parentified. to be parentified you have to be a child taking care of other children either emotionally or physically because your parents are not fulfilling that role. and Dick was *never* a child at the time that another child was under Bruce's care. he has been an adult for the entirety he has known every other Batkid. and even then, the *only* one he was something you could akin to being a parent figure to was Damian, and Dick *chose* that. Dick was a grown-ass man in his late 20s who had the facilities and capacity to make the decision to be Damian's primary caretaker. he's never been parental toward any of the other Batkids, nor has Bruce ever forced upon him the role of having to raise them. did Bruce do a sort of questionable job with Dick? yeah. but i would argue Bruce did the best job with Dick of all the Batkids, and even if he was shitty with Dick, he couldn't parentify Dick bc there was no one for Dick to be parenting. and Dick wasn't parenting Bruce either. they just had a normal relationship of loving and caring for each other.

as for Eldest Daughter Syndrome i just.. i Do Not Like calling any male character "female coded" or "female rage coded" or "eldest daughter coded" because they're *not*. especially not in *this* medium. these are male characters, created by men, written by men 90% of the time, and written to be *male power fantasies*. nothing about Dick or Jason or any Batboy is female-coded bc they exist to be badass men. just because they show emotion and have complex relationships with Bruce doesn't make them suddenly women. Dick shows his anger in a very destructive, stereotypically "masculine" way. even if we strip it of gender, Dick doesn't exhibit most traits of Eldest Daughter Syndrome. he easily makes relationships with people his age, he has no issues telling Bruce no, he did not have caretaking responsibilities forced onto him by Bruce, he's not even really hyperindependent. Dick has a support system outside of the Bats, the fandom just ignores it. does Dick force caretaking responsibilities onto himself sometimes? can he be an overachiever? absolutely. but these are internal complexes that just come with making a character a superhero, it's a complex they all have. if i have to hear one more fan call him Eldest Daughter Syndrome-core or say he's a victim of parentification, i think I'll explode a little bit.

[echoingbirdsofprey]

Delicate (Jake's Version)

9 - Comme De Fleurs Nous Fanons

Pairing: Jake 'Hangman' Seresin x OFC Samantha Kazansky

Rating: Explicit (MDNI!)

Warnings: SMUT, cockwarming, protected!sex, feelings and lots of them, mention of death (wow these are wild)

A/N: Smut and sad wrapped into one nice, little heartbreaking package. The chapter title is hidden in one of the songs on the playlist, by the way hehehe. Take that as you will.

Taglist: @mrsevans90

Playlist

Mom: Where are you

Mom:  assuming you're with Jake

Mom: I don't care i just want to know you're okay

Mom: your father isn't feeling well at all

Mom: he wants to speak with Jake at some point about you

Sam awoke to what felt like five hundred texts but it was just the ones from her mom and a few from Nat.

Nat: tell Jake we really appreciated him paying last night

Nat; we had a good time

Nat: maybe we can do that more often?

Sam smiled as she texted her mother back first.

Sam: im okay, yes I'm w Jake, I will tell him dad wants to chat, be home in a bit

Then she text back Nat back. 

Sam: well would both like that, and he said no problem at all, he enjoyed it too

She had rolled onto her stomach, and there was a well-muscled arm strewn across her back. Jake was still snoozing, his breath warm as it hit her arm. She nudged him and he groaned, but opened one eye slightly, then smiled.

“Fuck yes, there's a girl in my bed.” He rasped triumphantly, jokingly, and Sam shook her head and leaned in to kiss him. She put her phone down and snuggled up close in his arms. She swung a leg over his hip and remembering that they went to bed naked, he thrust his hips toward hers, settling his hard length against her. He wanted to push it inside her. He didn't even want to fuck her at that moment, he just wanted to be as close as he possibly could to her.

“Hey, can I...put my dick inside you? Like just to put it inside you? I just wanna feel you.” He asked, his voice so soft and needy that Sam couldn't possibly resist. She didn't, as she positioned herself so that he could just slide right in. She wanted to feel him too.

“Just don't cum...I'm not on birth control.” She said and his eyes widened. He glanced down between them, admiring her pretty, round breasts against his chest.

“Like to live on the edge huh?” Jake asked, as he gently pushed himself between her folds, letting a satisfied groan leave his lips. He pressed them into her neck.

“No, I'm just very careful with who I let inside me . I very much doubt you're gonna get me pregnant and run, pretty boy. Dare I say, Jake Seresin , I trust you.” Sam's tone was confident and matter of fact and Jake nodded in agreement. He would most certainly not do that. He was raised better than that and if it came to it, he would take full responsibility for anything that happened between them.

Her wet warmth enveloped his length so easily and left him feeling like he could just go back to sleep. He was so comfortable with Sam. It was then that he made a decision that would change the trajectory of the rest of his life. No doubt he wanted to be chosen for this mission, but if he didn't get to be team leader, he wasn't going to be as upset as he would if he didn't have Sam to come home to. He wanted to make sure he could come home. 

“Can I ask you somethin’?” Jake’s voice was low but soft as he ran his fingers down her ribs, around the curve of her ass, drawing her in even closer. He knew he hit the deepest part of her when her brow furrowed and she whimpered softly.

“Yeah...” she sighed, as she brought her hands up and around the back of his neck. She toyed with the hair there.

“What kind of relationship do you want this to be?” He asked and her eyes fluttered shut. She puzzled over her answer for a few moments, as she shifted slightly, pushing him so that he was on his back and she was straddling him. Jake relaxed into the pillows and placed his hand at her hips. 

“I want to be done dating...I need stability. I hate dating. I hate getting to know new people. I just want to be comfortable with someone. Especially with my dad being...” She stopped, mind going fuzzy at the thought of her father’s condition. Jake watched as her thoughts went elsewhere and he ran his fingers up and down her spine, attempting to bring her focus back on him. Her eyes flicked to the sage green of his and she bit her lip. “Is that what you want too?”

“I don't want to fuck around anymore. It's honestly boring. I'm ready to commit to somethin’ long term. I want someone to come home to.” He said softly, reaching up to brush hair from in front of her eyes. Sam could tell by the way he stared at her, the way he vigilantly watched her every move, he'd fallen head over boots for her. Sam wasn't even surprised. This happened with most guys, but it for sure felt different with Jake. Most guys she'd been with wanted to parade her around, introduce her to their friend and family, brag that they'd bagged a Naval Commander’s daughter. Jake had been humble about all of it though. It wasn't about the outside connections that would benefit him. Even when he had the few moments to show her off, he did it in a way that oozed confidence but was also respectful, which was on par with what Nat had told her about him.

“So were both compliant then?” Sam mused and Jake could feel her beginning to giggle, but she stopped herself, as her fingers weaved through his short hair, making him press into her hand.

“Yes ma'am. So official. Where do I sign?” He asked, voice husky as Sam scratched his scalp leisurely. She'd come to realize just how much he enjoyed her hands in his hair, so she was all too eager to please him in that sense.

“We need to discuss a few things before you sign.” Sam said and he drew back, slight panic crossing his features. “I think we need to be honest about past partners...”

“Okay?” Jake shifted and he felt his length soften, finding the conversation suddenly less interesting. He didn't really want to discuss his past partners like this, but he gave her pause because it was so clearly bothering her at that moment. 

“I've known Bradley for years because of Mav. I slept with him once, when I was with Dad, visiting NAS Oceana. There's no feelings from my end, but I know Bradley is still a little sore that I picked you over him.” She explained and Jake pursed his lips. 

“Ah...okay...well...I slept with Nat once. Only once. And there are definitely no feelings on either end. She kinda hates me.” He pressed in closer to Sam and she dissolved into a fir of giggles against him.

‘She doesn't hate you. She just knows your reputation with women and feels stupid for being another notch in your bed post. She thinks it makes her looks unprofessional, where it's already hard for her as a female pilot.” Sam reasoned and Jake understood completely. 

“I'm sorry she feels that way. I didn't intend it like that. I was a whore in my younger years and I really don't want to be that anymore.” He said and Sam grazed her nails up and down the back of his neck as the conversation went silent for a few moments. Jake's cock had checked out for a few with the awkward and serious nature of their chat, but with her hand at the back of his neck, it was beginning to gain interest again. She hiked her leg a bit further up his hip, needing to adjust her position for whatever reason, and that had him immediately hard again. He poked his nose at hers, gaining her attention. “Can we go back to the talk about where I sign on to bein’ your boyfriend full time? I think I'm like, a prime candidate for the job and since it's open...” 

“You are one smooth asshole, you know that?” Sam chuckled and she let her lips be drawn to his. She couldn't help it. It was like he had this unavoidable gravity that she got caught up in and couldn't escape.

“But I could be your smooth asshole.” Jake said with a smirk, his lips hovering over hers. He was achingly aroused now, not forgetting that he was already inside of her. Half of the work was done. 

“You already are mine. You waltzed in like the cutest, most confident stray puppy and had no doubt that I'd keep you.” Sam joked and Jake grinned.

“Please don't take me back to the pound. I'm too good looking.” He said, taking the opportunity to carefully move his hips back and forth a few times.

“Jake...careful.” Sam's voice turned stern but there was still lust on the brim. He rolled and pulled her with him, untangling them deftly from the sheets. He tapped her leg.

“Hop off my cock for two seconds.” He commanded and Sam’s brows furrowed and she couldn't help the laugh that escaped her lips as she raised herself up and off of him. He reached over into the drawer of the night stand and plucked a condom from it. This one had a pink wrapper. “Ooh. This one's nice. One of those warming ones.” He said, ripping it open with his teeth, spitting the foil to the side of the bed, and rolling the condom over his length which was at full mast now. He reached for Sam, and she knowingly re-mounted him. 

Jake's hands gripped her hips, but then one hand went down to guide his cock back inside her. Both of her hands were on his chest, playing with the sparse hair there as she eagerly relinquished control to him. He slid inside with ease and a soft whimper left his lips that made her blush. The fact that the big, tough Hangman sounded like his composure could fail at any moment underneath her, made her hot. The sounds he made spooled heat in her loins like no other man had ever. It did nothing good for her own ego that Jake was a writhing mess for her. 

“God fucking damn it. You feel so damn good on top of me. So good wrapped around my cock, babygirl.” Jake's words had an edge to them, all desire and a little something Sam might have called reverence, but that might just be what she wanted to hear. 

“You need to stop with the pet names or I'll cum right now.” She moaned as he sheathed himself to the hilt, hitting the deepest parts of her. There was a twinge near her belly button that caused her to glance down at where they were joined. He was fully inside of her and it hurt so good. 

“Don't say shit like that. You're gonna awaken some sort of kink that I ain't never knew I had.” His voice took on a southern twang, making Sam shiver slightly. There was the good ole small town Arkansas boy she wanted. The California pretty boy came right the fuck out of him when his basal instincts took over and he reverted in speech and mind to his country boy roots. Sam would bet money that he had some kinks that she could get on board with. She's always wanted a pretty country boy to fuck her in the bed of his truck underneath the stars, so maybe she'd hint at that the next time they were in the truck. 

“Yeah, Jake? What kinda kinks do you have? Tell me, handsome, I wanna know.” Sam teased and a deep growl settled in Jake's chest as his hands took a hard hold of her ass. He wiggled both and then firmly slapped them, prompting Sam to yelp and dig her nails into his pecs. 

“You. In control. For one.” He said, pressing his head back against the pillows and using his whole body to bounce her up once, his actions begging her to get going. “Ride me like you stole me. I know you know how.”

Sam swallowed hard at his words, feeling breathless as she gazed down into darkened sage green eyes. They were calculating, and patient, but there was ferality to them that she wanted, no, needed, to tame. She took in a deep breath and she began to move her hips, not up and down but more scooping back and forth, so that her clit ground against the freshly shaven skin just above the base of his shaft. She was already on the edge of her orgasm, having had him settled inside her for such a long time beforehand, so she didn't need much to get her over the peak. 

“That's it, babygirl. You look so good up there, with those perfect tits bouncin’ up and down. Fuuuck . Use me . I wanna feel you cum on my cock so bad.” Jake's voice was strained, a needy whine at the end of his words that made Sam come undone so fast and hard that she saw stars as she moaned his name, loud and proud. Sweet, rapturous notes danced around his name, leaving her lips and filling the air in the room. She threw her head back in ecstasy, and raked her nails down his chest, which made his resolve fizzle out. He filled the condom, but he wished he was spilling inside her bare. He'd absolutely settle for what he was getting though, because it was a dream come true for him either way. 

Sam collapsed on top of Jake and he could feel for a moment how they were both in sync, breath ragged, hearts pounding in their chests. His hands traveled up and down her sides and her back, fingers dipping at the indent of her spine. She reached for his hair, massaging with the pads of her fingers softly. 

“Signed, sealed, delivered, huh?” Jake mused which made Sam burst out with laughter. Jake chuckled too, feeling warmth spread in his chest. It was unfamiliar to him as it was not a lustful warmth. It was something he felt few times before, something he felt that was similar to the comfortable warmth he would feel when he saw his brother or his parents after a long time away. His cold and seemingly uncaring heart filled with the warmth of love for Sam as she hovered above him. 

“Jake...I am so comfortable with you. I really like that...” Sam said and Jake's thoughts for a minute were ‘not feelings talk again’ but he let her continue, because not only did he know that he loved her, he also respected her. She had earned that immediately from him, by way of her own cocky confidence and intelligent retorts. “And...I am really grateful to you for helping me get through what's going on with my dad. I feel alone with it sometimes...”

“Remember I said you tell me when you feel like that and I'll take it away?” Jake murmured as he wrapped his arms around her lower back and squeezed gently. She made a satisfactory noise.

“Yes. And you are. You’re making me pretty fucking happy when I probably shouldn’t be.” Sam whispered and Jake’s brow furrowed at her admission. She lifted her head then, moving her arms to his chest, and propping her chin on her hands to look directly at him. “Which, by the way...my dad wants to see you. Wants to discuss you and I.”

“Nothing bad I hope? I actually wanted to talk to him too though, so I guess it’s good timing.” Jake said, as they settled and both became quiet and comfortable in the silence. Jake would try to talk to Ice later that day.

🛩🛩🛩

Ice wasn't doing well. Now he was having more trouble breathing. His cancer was back and it was fierce. Maverick had just been to see him a few days ago. Now he had another visitor. The blond knocked gently on the door and Ice made a motion for him to enter the room. He'd asked not to be put on a ventilator. He knew his time was coming and he wanted to go out at least a little like himself. A little bit of dignity left. 

Jake Seresin pulled the chair to the edge of the bed, where Iceman was propped up on a pillow. His phone was on his lap and he was resigned to the fate of using the notes app to communicate. Ice held a hand out and Jake shook it carefully. He felt like he might break the man. Jake hadn't known him personally for very long, but now that he did, it almost made this whole thing worse. Ice put his other hand over Jake's and patted it a few times before picking up his phone and typing something to show to him.

How's the training?

“Hard. Mav is tough. Expects a lot, but I guess that's good.” Jake said, glancing over at Ice with solemn eyes. Ice smiled. He typed again and showed Jake.

And Sam? 

Jake drew in a sharp breath and swallowed hard. He could've sworn the ring in his pocket vibrated in anticipation. The ring that he’d snuck away from work to buy. The ring that he felt like he was maybe making a mistake with. The ring that he’d spent way too much on for a woman he barely knew, but for once, he was going to wing it and trust what he was feeling deep in his heart.

“Uh, well sir, that's actually what I wanted to talk to you about. And I knew you wanted to talk to me about her too, so maybe we’re on the same page.” Jake said softly, glancing at the door. Ice nodded, having a feeling he knew what Jake was about to ask. He placed a hand over Jake's again and took a minute to type something out.

You're a good pilot. You remind me of...me...when I was young. Just the right amount of arrogance and loyalty. The kindness and respect you've shown my daughter is something of a unique and admirable quality. Not many men can be so honorable with someone else's daughter as you have been. You must really love her, though you’ve only known her for a short time, but...when you know, you know.

Good that Ice didn't know what he and Sam had gotten up to in private though. Jake's brows knitted as he stared into Ice’s eyes. Tears welled and his jaw worked as he gathered his composure enough to ask Ice the question he'd come to ask. He cleared his throat and sat up a little straighter. 

“Sir, I would like to ask for your blessing...to ask for your daughter's hand in marriage.” Jake's voice was shaky and Ice smirked. He pulled Jake toward him in a hug. When he let go, Ice typed out his response.

I would be honored to have you marry my daughter.

Jake let his breath out and took a deeper one. He smiled and thanked Ice. They sat in a comfortable silence for a little longer. Ice only asked one thing of him.

Just be there for her, Jake. She doesn't need anything else but you. Especially now. I won't be here for much longer. 

Jake's mouth tightened, knowing he was right. Sam would need him more than ever very soon.

[thethiefandtheairbender]

I think it's really hard to go back to a lot of fanon or even canon ships in fandom spaces in a lot of ways after watching Infinity Train and how it handles relationship conflict, tbh.

The first is that they let characters have real issues with each other — actually unhealthy / toxic individual traits and subsequently unhealthy patterns with each other — even when those characters don't know anything is wrong! They think they're fine, fun, healthy, as a dynamic and as a person, the way most people do. And we see either the characters grow and change to have healthier relationships (Ryan and Min-Gi, Lake and Jesse) or spiral into worse versions of themselves until the point the relationship deteriorates (Grace and Simon).

The second thing is that in letting the characters be wrong, the show lets both characters, every time, be wrong. And how these characters are wrong are rarely on purpose! Grace doesn't mean to be controlling, Simon doesn't mean to be so dependent on her. He feels ultra betrayed when she finds out he lied (because she thought he'd murder a child if she didn't, and honestly she was 100% right) and her wanting to protect said child also doesn't automatically make how Grace handled Simon's responses 1) perfect, 2) well communicated, or 3) make her automatically a 'Good' person.

It would be so easy for Infinity Train to just go "one half has all the problems, the other just has to help them through it". That's what a lot of shippers and shipping can boil down to.

And that exact mindset is what's 'setup' multiple times as Lake thinks all she has to do is help Jesse as a passenger, not realizing that her being domineering and Jesse listening to her pretty constantly at first is because of her own issues with identity and agency and is precisely what got him onto the Train in the first place. Or with Ryan and Min-Gi, where the second Min-Gi thinks it's just Ryan's impatience and impulsivity and that he's better / 'more mature' that their progress entirely halts. Grace tries to reason with Simon repeatedly, but he's such a die hard believer in the cult they mutually formed that he refuses to listen to anything else, and lashes out when she stops acting the way he believes she should (ie. ways that keep her tied to him and their dynamic).

Because it takes two people for communication to live and die, it takes two people for patterns to form.

I feel like Infinity Train really opens up into why certain character relationships where a show tries to paint both of them as being in the wrong (*coughs* C*tradora) despite it very much being 99% all on one person's issues can feel so uneven, lacklustre, or underdeveloped bc they just weren't willing to lean in and commit to a Both Sides relationship arc, or the urge to have characters and their relationships be deeply sanitized to the point where the only conflict they have is because of external conflicts and issues that are 'wrapped up' in 1-2 episodes at all times.

Infinity Train goes "no one is meaning to be malicious most of the time, people are just messy and even someone you love deeply or have known all your life can be people you fall into unhealthy patterns with, and it's on both of you to work to get to a better place" and it's like yeah, because that's how real life works 90% of the time. It's refreshing to say the least

[ari000]

‼️ Rant warning ‼️ I’m heated

Uhg I hate being reminded how mean and “um actually ☝🏽” dc fans are 🫠 the complete disappointment when one of my fav batfam content creators on tt shits on certain comic releases cus “it said this”or “did that” and like “ew fanon dc is taking over🤮”

Like why do you have to hate on the people trying to put out comics and content for us cus the writer put this or that in?or hate on other fans like gurl we on the same side???

From the start of me getting into dc ,or any super hero comic , I had the quick understanding that every story I read is gonna be a bit different from others and I like that!

With something like a regular series , the story ends, canon is canon ,oh well it’s over .And then since it ended, after a while people move on.yeah others are gonna write fics and aus but after a while your not getting fed new things anymore by the actual show. It loses the hype😔

With dc or marvel with the same based characters and general stories that are never ending, you have endless possibilities, aus you could say, that’s what keeps dc and marvel going after years and years, cus everything and anything could happen with the characters you love cus multiple creators or putting their spin on it.

Now I’m not saying I havnt been at fault for putting out my “opinion” on my fav characters , to me it’s me saying I like these versions and I stand by them on my end, but I’m not saying my way is the way. I still have the mindset that not everyone is gonna have the same opinion or likes that I have! But I do love those little moments that we come together and all collectively agree that “yes this character we love is DEFINITELY this” and it becomes like an “all knowing” thing.😭

Prime example on my end ,and for my poor roommates that had to sit through my tangents and yapping🤪-

I hate with a passion ,the character design for Jason Todd in the Gotham Knights video game, in the most respectful way🙇🏽‍♀️🙇🏽‍♀️😭😭but ..I’ll be damn if I don’t fight tooth and nail to get some type of merch of him from the game some how! I love him. 🤪🤪It’s literally the meme of the guy hanging up a bunch of posters on the wall saying “I hate anime” or something.

Yeah I can not like something or disagree with something but I’m not gonna completely shit on a creator s work, especially if THEY are the ones responsible for feeding me! Like come on!! It just doesn’t make sense to me!

Not only that but they are a big influencer on tt with a lot of followers that can make an impact and from the comments there was sooo many who was also taking part in bashing the creators of the new release!

Maybe I’m just passionate about this cus I’m an artist who’s always dreamed of becoming some type of big artist and draw what I love, and that I feel for the creators who are getting bashed.

It comes with the job , I know but it’s still a bummer to see, even from a fun time creator that I loved watching 😔

Anyways , through writing this all out I can’t tell if by me putting this out there that I’m doing the same thing or not…is this hypocritical ??🤔 I’m not tryna start anything so maybe not..

Idk overall I just want everyone to be nicer ig 🙇🏽‍♀️😔🤷🏽‍♀️especially to the comics creators❤️

[zahri-melitor]

I don't know if it's just me but it feels like alot of the points people use to criticise Tim are things that can actually be seen with early Damian writing. The too smart, dangerous, over-competent and slightly murderous character doesn't really fit Tim as a character even though he's ascribed to that and criticised for it but it can easily be seen with Damian.

I don't hate Damian as a character, but I get what you mean about it being tiring that DC keeps pushing him to the top of the totem pole especially since the way the do that is by making other characters seem incompetent and by ignoring other characters. Also correct me if I'm wrong, but I don't think Cass, Barbara or Tim have been on the Justice League but Damian as a teen younger than them technically is/was?

Oh boy. Late response on this, but I've been playing with it for a while.

Starting with the last point first: Tim’s actually the only one of those three who hasn’t been on a main universe Justice League at any point.

Barbara was a member of the JLA after the Morrison reboot for quite a while between 1998-2000. She’s also got the tendency to pop up in JL stories and events as one of the computer folk helping maintain their systems. She’s certainly more focused on her OWN team and I don’t think she’s ever been a member as Batgirl, but as Oracle? As Lian Harper says in Titans #1 (1999), she’s secretly running the League.

Cass was a member of Justice League Elite, a morally ambiguous Justice League spinoff coming out of one of the more confusing JLA arcs. She was placed on the team undercover as ‘Kasumi’ by Bruce essentially as a spy. In tone it feels like DC trying their hand at a The Authority ripoff before they gobbled Wildstorm up. Is it a good series? No, but it does mean Cass has been on a Justice League team with Wally, Ollie, and a bunch of Z-listers you’ve never heard of. (Someone is now going to defend oh Manitou Dawn to me and while I DO like her, she's a Z-lister, sorry)

Digression aside!

I think a lot of the time when people are arguing against a character, they are frequently complaining about the flanderised, fanonised version of that character that they trip over in fic all the time more than the character on page in comics. Not always! But those do tend to irritate people more.

In terms of "what people want to argue fanon Tim to be, Damian already is" sort of? I mean there are multiple fanon versions of Tim, but yes, "too smart, dangerous, over-competent and slightly murderous" is a common one among people who want to really insist Tim killed lots and lots and lots of people in Red Robin #8 (a reading I do not subscribe to). It is equally an okay but not great description of Damian, in that I would mostly place even early Damian as 'dangerously violent' not 'murderous' by BFTC.

I don't think it's great in terms of complete accuracy for either of them, but yeah, if you boil things down, it's closer to Damian's actual character than Tim's.

In terms of DC pushing them: yeah, Damian by being THE Robin between 2009 and 2019 or so got a solid editorial pitch as a central character, because 'Robin' as a title has that extra cachet outside of intense comics nerd circles. There were events and storylines that centred his position as The Robin, but equally it comes out in basic things like...which characters are prioritised to appear in anthologies! If we are writing a Batman Christmas story, let's have it feature Bruce and Damian, or Bruce, Dick, Damian and Barbara. And so on.

Now whether Damian's getting prioritised over every other 'kid' of the family is a murky discussion - there's a place for the conversation that certain writers in particular had a tendency to focus on Damian being Bruce's biological kid, over and above the adopted children - but generally it comes and goes in waves and with what stories are pitched. It's very clear when you read comics that some writers just like using particular characters more than others. There's often stories written where to make the story work, someone has to be left holding the idiot ball or being needlessly aggressive, to provide conflict, and writers who do this obviously have to choose someone to do it for them. If a story is centring Damian, generally he isn't going to be the one who finds out he's wrong after providing the conflict. If it's centring say Tim, then Damian might be used to push the narrative forward. And when a writer does like one character more than another, they might choose the one they don't intend to write often as the one who gets stuck being idiot ball.

TL;DR: on some occasions Damian might be being prioritised. On others he isn't. He got a lot of spotlight to himself during the 2010s; that's been more balanced since then (honestly Dick has been the one hogging spotlight for the last few years, if anyone).

[alexdswfan]

I wouldn’t let that hanszoe user get to you. They’re being purposely combative. Their interpretations of Hange’s character are plain wrong, and they clearly lack reading comprehension, since they genuinely view AoT as imperialist and colonialist propaganda by Isayama. They also view Eruri as canon, despite no evidence to support such, and they’re one of those people that believes Levi mistreats and is abusive toward Hange.

Hi!

It's honestly not really my intention to get into ship wars and all that stuff, so I will give this user the benefit of the doubt. They have the right to ship whatever they want, I won't be here discussing ships as ships are all about taste whether fanon or canon, and obviously in Levi's situation, no Levi ship is canon as you said it too (that includes Levihan too by the way and I'll be very clear about that).

That being said, I do think there's a clear contrast between the way Hange treats Levi in No Regrets and how Erwin treats Levi in No Regrets, something I didn't really want to get into, but here we are, and it's precisely that Hange was kinder with Levi when they first meet as also seen by the way they treat his friends as compared to Erwin who simply threatens them and I don't want to see people telling me that Erwin had no responsibility in apprehending Levi and his friends, or that Mike was the only person who treated Levi badly (I've seen these people and I fundamentally disagree with them, Erwin was the person in charge and I will always be very critical of the way Erwin treated Levi during their first meeting). I might be imagining things as I'm aware of my bias and I'm trying to be critical towards it as much as I can, but I genuinely think Hange was genuine in wanting to befriend Levi, Furlan and Isabel and I won't change my post about that. People can go check the comments and the reblogs of that post if they're interested in that debate.

If you've followed my blog for a while, you maybe know I've been very vocal of how incorrect the take of Levi being abusive towards Hange or Levi hating Hange is (and that's not me being shippy or anything, it's literally in the manga, I have a whole post dedicated to that and how fundamentally incorrect that take is mostly for Levi as it paints a fanon version of his character). So if this person believes that about Levi and Hange as well, then it's something else on which we can agree to disagree and leave it at that, I guess.

I do want it to be clear that I don't necessarily criticize this person's interpretation for saying Hange might've been manipulative with Levi, but I personally don't agree with it as for me, it just doesn't make sense when bringing in the full aspect of their relationship, which is that they're the closest to each other, and again, I will stand by that regardless if some people might disagree with me on it.

But yeah, thanks for the ask and for your info, and regardless of what this person might think or ship, in the end we can agree to disagree (I feel like I repeated that so many times but here we are) and move on with our lives. But my post about Levi and Hange's first meeting will stay.

[inadvisablebutinevitable]

hellooo how would you rank the aftg characters personally? like in order of favorite to least favorite?

bestie I actually wrote a whole thesis essay response before realizing how unhinged it is so here is the abridged version: (note this is all for the canon versions of these characters, fanon ratings would probably be different)

Neil Josten

David Wymack

Nicky Hemmick (I know I know but it will take me 1000000 years to explain all my Nicky thoughts)

Kevin Day

Matt Boyd

Andrew Minyard (WHY IS HE THIS LOW?? Guys I don’t know I do love him I promise I would do anything for him)

Allison Reynolds

Jean Moreau (once again should be higher I love him I do)

Danielle Wilds (her and Allison could also swap places and I’d still be like “yeah that’s right” bc I love them both)

Catalina Alvarez (my fave tsc character besides Jean she means everything to me you don’t understand)

Jeremy Knox (I love him I do I just know nothing abt him)

Renee Walker (it physically hurts me to put her this low I love her so much I would die for her)

Laila Dermott

Aaron Minyard (don’t come at me pls I like him and I love fanon Aaron I just wasn’t Aaron’s number one fan in canon but I still have so much love and respect for him I swear)

Seth Gordon

I don’t really hate any of these characters I swear (except Riko he’s ranked so low he didn’t deserve a spot on the list) ((he’s a compelling villain tho)) (((Tetsuji is ranked like -100000000 I will never forgive Tetsuji ever)))

if you really want my never ending thoughts here they are under the cut:

warning for a long ass post I’m so sorry because sometimes even I can’t focus enough to read my own long posts

I have spent so long staring at this ask and trying to figure out how I can pit my children against each other but here is my best try: (this is in order of how much I enjoyed their characters personally when I was reading. The list would prob be different if I was ranking them as people and not as characters):

Neil Josten. It’s always gonna be Neil I’m sorry. Recency bias means that I’m currently thinking (and posting) abt Jean 24/7 but Neil Josten will always take the cake for me in ways I can’t even articulate. His dry humour and narrative choices always have me in stitches. He’s got so much trauma but he doesn’t want to do anything about it but push it down until he meets people he cares about and they found family him into actually healing. He cares so deeply and loves in such a subtle but incredibly strong way. I don’t know how to even express this without saying that the reason I can’t put aftg down every time I pick it up is because of Neil. He tells the story in a way that makes me want to know everything about literally every scene. It’s all Nora ofc but the personality between the lines is how I define “Neil” and I will never not love it. You’ve got me going and now I’m not gonna stop. I can’t even apologize for the length bc I will never apologize for yapping about Neil Josten I say that shit with my FULL CHEST

David Wymack. Do I even have to explain myself here? Those are his fucking KIDS and he would do ANYTHING for them while being a SASSY LITTLE SHIT about it the whole time plus he’s a DILF I would kill and die for him.

Nicky Hemmick don't shoot me pls LOOK do I think what he did to Neil in Edens was at all ok? Absolutely not. When I first read tfc I was HARDCORE hating on Nicky and then trk and tkm made him one of my favourite characters. I don’t think he’s perfect but I love the way he loves. It isn’t hard for him, none of the monsters had to prove themselves to Nicky, or even try to be a decent friend for Nicky to automatically decide that these were his people and that he cares about them. When we meet him Aaron is a homophobic dick to him and Andrew literally pulls a knife on him and yet we immediately find out that he willingly dropped everything and moved an ocean away from his home and his boyfriend to raise them both in the US and not ONCE does he act like he seriously regrets it. Me? I would be holding that shit over their heads every time they act disrespectful but for Nicky loving them despite the shit they put him through is not even a question. It’s not even just the twins too. That one scene where Neil asks “are we? Friends?” And Nicky is SO SHOCKED that Neil didn’t know and goes “oh kiddo of course!!” is my Roman Empire. Plus he’s hilarious obviously.

Kevin Day guys I love him ok, the first two books he compelled me but TKM he POPPED OFF. “I’ve never been skiiing” BANGER “I’m gonna be the deadliest piece on the board” GOOSEBUMPS, “My father comes to all my games” HAD ME IN TEARS. Don’t even get me STARTED on that sexy ass racquet hand switch at championships I’m going to combust. I love that he’s literally obsessed with exy and has the most complicated relationships with the mc’s of every book and yet steals the show every time. Kevin Day I love you.

Matt Boyd. I love him because he would love me for putting Neil first and kill me for not putting Dan before him. He loves his girlfriend and his homies and his sport and cars in that order. He’s a golden retriever who saw a team full of scary-ass wolves and still tries to be friends with them. He wasn’t a part of the “clique” that Neil was in but he did not let that affect his perception or love for Neil in any way. He’s been to hell and came out with just as much love in his heart as he did when he came in. He told Neil that he didn’t know if Andrew would be good for him but then he saw that Andrew fought Kevin for him and decided that he approved bc all that mattered to him was that Neil had someone who would defend him the way Matt would. Then he immediately becomes the #1 wingman right before the shower scene bc he would rather die than cockblock his homie. I love him so much

Andrew Minyard. Like Nicky, I was absolutely a HATER in book one and then he became one of my faves. I like that he’s brave and determined, standing despite everything when the world tried to put him down, but not without his flaws. I really appreciate that Andrew isn’t perfect, he struggles, he’s violent when it’s necessary and sometimes when it’s not. I love how he was always willing to protect Neil, despite everything in him telling him that Neil couldn’t be trusted. He’s a flawed man, but at his core, a good one.

Allison Reynolds is that girl. She reminds me of Andrew (both of them would kill me for saying that) because she takes no shit and gives no fucks. She’s who 16 year old me wanted to be when I grew up. She goes through every emotion in these books and comes out full of righteous anger and uses that to kick the raven’s ASSES and I’m so here for that

Jean Moreau. It’s weird to me that he’s so low because I love him he’s my special boy. I thought that he was interesting in TRK but Riko was a more compelling villain to me. Then ofc we learn that he was never meant to be the villain and he was ranked just below Kevin for me because I just wanted him to be happy. Then tsc happened and he became my hyper fixation. He has a VERY similar sense of humor as Neil except for Neil his jokes were directed at abnormal behaviour, and for Jean he just gets so appalled at the most normal things. I digress about his humor I love Jean and if u want to know why just read literally any of my posts

Danielle Wilds is my GIRL. Her story compels me so much and I really wish we got more backstory for her (obvs we got plenty considering the cast of characters is so huge but still… I want more). She loves her team so much despite everything and she works so hard to keep them together I wanna give her a hug and a kiss. (That scene in TKM right after Andrew breaks Riko’s arm Dan was the FIRST one to find Neil and she was so concerned about him she cares about him so much STOP they’re FAMILY I LOVE THEM)

Catalina Alvarez was my favourite character in tsc (aside from Jean) because I love her so much. @theresalwaysafiresomewhere said that cat reminds her of me and it was still to this day the best compliment I’ve ever received. I cannot name a single thing abt cat I don’t like so I’m just gonna keep going.

Jeremy Knox is only this low bc I still know nothing about this man. Reading his pov and seeing him thru Jean’s eyes was helpful in securing him a spot in my list of faves tho, I want to know everything about him please Nora please

Renee Walker also should not be this low it physically hurts me to put her here but like most other characters in this half of the list, she didn’t compel me as much until tkm. Just a personal thing I guess. I do love her though and I wish she got more time with Jean. It still bothers me that she loved Jean but was the bigger person about it and knew that they weren’t at the right place in their lives, and yet we don’t get to see how making this decision affects her. I think she deserves to be loved more. I hope she gets a happy ending the same way Jean does.

Laila Dermott I love her I just don’t really know enough abt her

Aaron Minyard I like him I promise I do he’s got some of the best one-liners! He killed drake did all that in college with an gf and all the power to him but really I think that fanon aaron just appealed to me way more. Canon Aaron just annoyed me because— gunshots actually you know what maybe it’s once again because unreliable narrator Neil hated him and Neil’s my fave so I had to be a hater too 😔

Seth. I know some fans love him and I respect that but I just… idk I don’t see the appeal. Fanon Seth is great tho I’m a fan.

Canon Thea is somewhere on this list near Laila again bc I love her but I don’t know enough about her to be like “yeah she’s my fave”. The version of Thea I created in my head based on the crumbs the books and the ec gave us, on the other hand… she’d probably be somewhere up there with Kevin

[ackermental]

what did you mean you're not really a fan of rhaegar x lyanna?

Well, that's a complicated one. I'm more neutral towards them, let's say.

From the fanon point of view I do enjoy this version: a dashing, handsome prince kidnapping a young lady that he fell in love with. True love from the first sight, supposedly unhappy matches for both of them, running away together to have happy sex, resulting in the birth of THE CHOSEN ONE, who will save the world from the ice zombies, etc. Tragic ending for both of them, but the child survives to make their parents proud! Fire and Ice elements, referance to the title!

It checks out all of the boxes, when it's presented this way, how can you not like it? And I do myself enjoy reading some fanfics about those two, I'm not going to pretend that I don't. Also, I think it's absolutely fine if you believe that this version is canon, if you enjoy this part of the asoiaf fandom, if you love those characters, you name it.

But while reading the story, I must addmit that it was never how I saw their reletionship. Like, I know that for some reason this is a particularly touchy subject for most of this fandom, but let's stop pretending that GRRM writes some tragic Snow White stories. He's a sci-fi story writer, and a horror sci-fi at that. And it just so happens that I've read a lot of his books, before I've ever looked at GOT. So you may or may not believe me when I say this, nonny (since it's not really my purpose to change your mind, I'm just trying to show my point of view), that this whole fairy tale presented above is the most removed thing from Martin's writing style.

Ok, I'll just get it out of my chest: book!Rhaegar gives me fucking creeps! Any time when I actually start thinking about Tower of Joy and what transpired there, I find it hard to fall asleep. Again, I'm not exaggerating, I have nightmares about this shit.

Now, before any of you 'Rhaegar was a pedo, Rhaegar cheated on his wife, Rheagar forsake his duty so that he could rape a child' enthusiasts jump on this wagon, let me halt you where you stand.

No. I don't believe that Rhaegar found abandoning his realm, mother, brother, friends, wife and children to fuck a girl he only met once a year ago very pleasing. Actually, nothing less than madness could be responsible for such a thing to even accur, and yeah, that's what I believe: that Rhaegar went mad. Mad as in mad mad or mad as in obsessed, that I'm still not certain about.

The question is, if it was because of the fact that his parents were siblings or was it because someone was messing with his mind? Well, again, based on a long list of Martin's works, it was obviously the later. Either Children or Bran made Rhaegar absolutely obsessed with eugenics. Obviously, not in the way that we understand eugenics now. I'm pretty certain that, like always, he was presented with some bullshit prophecy, just like 90% of the characters in those books were, or he was convinced that this was the way for the House Targaryen to reclaim dragons. After all, Rhaegar was connected to this quest since his birth (Summerhall).

And like, a lot of things connected to Rhaegar and Lyanna story brings to my mind things like: breeding people for the specific set of genes, the repeating themes of roses, crown, young lady and Harrenhal (Sansa storyline), hatching of dragons, fire and blood (more specifically: a blood sacrifice).

We know that there needs to be a specific set of genes in order for a person to hatch a dragon. But maybe there is something else as well that is needed after almost two centuries.

So yeah, with the canon we have access to now, I'm, unfortunately, of the mind that somebody was sending green dreams to Rhaegar about the return of the dragons, same dreams many Targaryens had before (Egg to name one). He was convinced that Lyanna had the right set of genes, maybe thanks to her skinchangin abilities. This was probably done after something went wrong with Elia (who I believe was also picked for this purpose, but maybe hadn't had the right bloodline after all) or (and it is my baised opinion as a huge Martel fan, so take it with the same huge grain of salt) Rhaegar felt more comfortable with sacrificing a girl he didn't know, rather than his wife of many years. Which makes this whole thing even more ironic, because we know what happened to her. (Although was it his fault, or was the rebellion inevitable and Rhaegar just decided he didn't have to or even couldn't wait anymore?)

To whom even is the Prince who was promised actually promised? The world? The gods? Is it an exchange? That is, if we look at this whole thing from Rhaegar perpective, because none of the prophecies or the gods in GRRMs works are actually real. They are always false, always sent to manipulate human kind, to bring catastrophy and a hive-minded civilisation about. Did the Children of the forest, a hive-minded race, convince Rhaegar through false dreams that he needed to produce an heir with a very specific bloodline? Did they sold him some bullshit about three heads etc. after he failed with Elia? Did they convince him that he needed to kill the mother in order for dragons to hatch: a life for a life? Or was it about killing/sacrificing the child? Or both. Or maybe neither should have died according to some old texts about Dragons, but then at least one did anyway?

As for the whole legitimization and wedding and all of that... I don't think that Rhaegar was really concerned with those things 🤣. Sorry for laughing, I swear I'm not trying to be waspish. I just honestly find the idea of Lyanna and Rhaegar wedding hilarious, and the presence of the Kingsguard as a justification for this idea even more so.

Were the Kingsguard there to protect the child, or to make sure that nobody gets out? Dayne was a great friend of Rhaegar and he probably had no love for Lyanna as a Dornishman. Whents were lords of Harrenhal (which is strongly connected to blood magic), where this whole thing had began. And since we are at Harrenhal, I always did wonder if crowning Lyanna was planned beforehand? (which would mean that Rhaegar did his research or he had a sudden, one might say, gods sent urge to crown Lyanna, both versions equally disturbing). And Hightower element might be why the whole thing went to seven hells. They did couse an entire war in order to get rid off the dragons. Why would it change? Hightowers do like getting their hands dirty with dark magic, so who knows, maybe Rhaegar did ask them about some rituals. Espacially if they have a copy of Dragons, Wyrms, and Wyverns: Their Unnatural History from the time of the Dance. Maybe even the same one that Alicent was reading, who knows. And maybe they've changed the recipy a little bit, tricking Rhaegar in the process.

So yeah, the Tower of Joy in my opinion was some really creepy, twisted mix between Summerhall (hatching dragons), Duskendale (kidnapping and raping - because yeah, Serala did rape Aerys, only this time it was a Targaryen doing the kidnapping and probably raping too) and Danelle Lothston shenanigans. Not very romantic, even in a tragic way, if you ask me.

Anyway, like I've said, I have nothing against the version most fans believe in, it's just that my perspective makes it sometimes very hard to talk about them as a star-crossed lovers when discussing things in canon.

But you do you, nonny.

[ultfreakme]

Lol at your Zutara anon. I keep seeing people say they’re going to remove Kataang when all they’ve done is take away the parts of Kataang that didn’t age well and highlighted the parts of Kataang that people typically do like. Rather than having a crush on her at the very beginning, he develops a small crush on her at the end after he’s gotten to know her as a person. And as much as I love Cave of Two Lovers, does Katara and Aang not deserve their first kiss to be something they both have agency in, rather than being forced to kiss under pressure (even if they wanted to)?

The way I interpret Albert Kim’s words, even though he might not personally be a fan of the ship, he does seem to make a commitment to developing it in a way that suites live action. It would’ve been so easy for them to give in and make Zutara canon. But all of the creative liberties that they took for Katara’s and Aang’s characters (like removing her motherly traits or making him more responsible from the get go) is to help translate Kataang into live action.

Agreed. I think the time frame in live action is much shorter as well, instead of what felt like a month or more in the OG. So Aang won't immediately be able to even think of romance when he's greiving and feeling the pressure of being Avatar. Same for Katara who's a lot less responsible here, I think, like she's more reckless and playful but also less angry and she's allowed to be a kid.

And yeah, first Kataang kiss(almost kiss? I thought the light went out and cave crystals came on a second before they could kiss so they didn't) being consensual would be better.

Albert Kim seems so far, to try his best to keep things as canon as possible. Introducing Zutara would cause the worst kind of backlash because Kataang fans are gonna be the majority especially with casual viewers. Kataang also carries a lot of thematic significance to the show.

In the live action, he's her way to effectively fighting the Fire Nation, her first access to waterbending which is a lot more personal to Katara's emotions in here. He showed her the world! (I have a feeling in this version, Katara is the first to develop a little bit of a crush or just general interest in that romantic direction). For Aang, she's the first person to reach out to him, comfort him, reach out when he's feeling desperately alone, his new family.

anyways yeah i wish people would learn to separate canon from fanon. I think with how long-lasting the kataang v zutara war has been, people seem to think zutara is an actual option when it isn't....and never was. It might sound harsh but that can be said for Zukka, MaiLee, TyZula Katoph, Zukki, etc too 🤷.

[m1ckeyb3rry]

LMAO fwtkac platonic version FR

I love the foreshadowing details I remember when I first discovered your writing when I finished reading and put the pieces together of all the hints I fr like omfg wait a damn minute

LMAOOOO Nagi going all out against Luna to the point where lunas like yeah sorry we’re closed for the week I’ve gotta recover from that trauma HAHA clueless romantic Otoya strikes again if otullia ends up being endgame it’d be like bfb otoya kinda LOL

I’m not crying I’m not crying imnotcryi- SHSHSHS Barou haunting the entire like 200k+ (ish…?) words worth of the story I’m not gonna be ready for that

PURSUIT GOES HARDDDD another banger title but YES I saw the notion omg it’s SO CUTE the research and thought into it >>>> omg the wc though LMAOO another Mira classic lowk im kinda excited for even just the wc alone like how long will it really end up being LOL

LMFAOOOOO Otoya is the target audience for scammers fr he’s so gullible shsshshsh KARASUS RESPONSE IF FOULLLL LMAOO

“Who died” “you” AHAHAAH I CANT THATS gonna be so fun to read I can’t wait

No because this is actually a talent imagine instead of matchups like normal you do pokemon team creations instead I bet those would go hard

YEAHH the whole Raltz line feels so regal I can see the Mikages using it but I also love the goofy backstory we had earlier too LMAOO

No because it was bound to happen when igaguri subbed in like anyone on the bench would have to be like “yo wtf” I’m crying someone give yuki a moment of field time please it’s painful watching this (pause does this mean igaguri cover next omfg)

Unfortunately I think we got brainwashed because I cross referenced Barou’s and THEYRE STILL THERE SHSBSJSSB specifically that half sentence (at least it’s punctuated in the version I sent you though) that I still can’t figure out what I meant and also when I try to say that Barou’s mom is methodological it autocorrected to Methodist instead goodbye. Ok I fr didn’t remember those there either but well. I guess now we know!!!!!!! Yeah if you ever want to reference or read that again without making your brain do cartwheels just lmk….

IT WAS SO GOOD I mean any sae who isn’t fully just “soccer and soccer only” is a little ooc I still stand by your version of fanon sae though like to me that’s as in character as you’re gonna get LMAO but even as an itoshi non-fan that still slapped sooo

IM SO EXCITED FOR BAROUS you fr put me on the Barou agenda between Barou ideas that edit pokemon au and the ln….hyped for the next installment of oaeu (or wtv you put out next)!!!!

No because can I have that skill I would’ve lost it fr LMAOO it’s ok this IS aikus justice it’s his fault for being a criminal in the first place

- Karasu anon

I LOVEEE FORESHADOWING i can’t write stories if i don’t have an ending in mind because i am incapable of writing without foreshadowing!! my aim is to make characters constantly say/do things that seem innocent in the moment but looking back you’re like holy shit that was a CLUE!! hollyhock is not exempt from this btw LMAOAOAOA i’ve already spoiled the ending for it in like the first chapter or smth i’m pretty sure

PLSS they don’t call nagi the lazy genius for nothing!! bro doesn’t care 99% of the time but that 1% that he does his opponent’s basically cooked HAHA poor luna fr is just like what the hell i brought out some of my strongest pokémon and this kid didn’t even flinch meanwhile reader’s just like yeah…that’s just how nagi is…she’s used to him going crazy because he usually goes pretty all out in their rivalry battles (when they have them) so she’s more just surprised that he put in that much effort with someone else than anything!! ofc if you asked her why she thinks he was so committed she’d be like uhhh idk maybe he was just feeling himself or smth (cue reo and chigiri face palming in the background because ever since oaeu i can’t stop thinking of them as nagi x reader’s biggest shippers and i imagine this continues in the pokémon au…like imagine them just sitting around the fire or smth and nagi’s like “you know what?? y/n’s kind of cool” and reo and chigiri just side eye each other because how is nagi only just realizing he likes this girl after so long)

i feel like eitullia/otullia (i can’t decide on their ship name…either one doesn’t flow as well as tullisagi i’m afraid that’s so elite as a ship name) would be like a mix of bfb otoya’s version and fwtkac reader/karasu in that they have that sassy teasing dynamic that reader and karasu have in fwtkac but there’s also an element of clueless loserness to it all that’s specifically bfb otoya’s brand!! i honestly am very torn because they would be a vv cute couple but at the same time leaving reader and co as a platonic group kinda fits with the themes of the story…tbh i truly do think tullia’s ship might only be decided once i start writing because atm yukimiya and hiori (two options) only really show up in one arc each and while isagi does have many cameos he’s not as consistent as reader and co + manshine trio are so either i’ll give in and let eitullia be a thing OR i’ll stick with my tullisagi roots and just give them weird tension whenever he IS on screen or i’ll just have hiori/yukimiya make more appearances to build more of a relationship OR i’ll see if she’s vibing with chigiri or reo in the manshine trio + reader and co interactions (if you have any suggestions/if any of those options particularly stick out to you then lmk 😜)

okay because we know fake plastic trees is very barou + reader but just imagine…forever young as barou’s theme SDLKFJHSDLK omg he’s truly just so so integral to the plot even though he literally is never shown ONCE in the present timeline as himself which is truly so insane to think about 😭 bro’s impact cannot be overstated!! AND OMG YAY I’M GLAD YOU THINK SO I LOVE IT AS A TITLE IT JUST MAKES SM SENSE you know i’m about to go crazy designing a graphic for it too…THE NOTION AHHH I’M SO PROUD OF IT i think the screen caps are so funny and i was so glad i could get one of the red gyarados since reader’s is a shiny!! also the breloom (aka yuki’s breloom) on the side character cover is cracking me up it looks so mad LMAO truly it’s yukimiya’s pokémon it’s saying what yuki keeps to himself fr!! and the whimsicott for manshine trio’s page are so cute (although originally i had this image of arcanine there but it wasn’t as aesthetic) ALSO THE PANGOROS ON TEAM X HAD ME CACKLING DSLKFJHSD like i looked up pangoro screencaps because barou has a pangoro and i didn’t want the team x cover to be houndoom because houndoom is the icon for the entire page and i just found that one of the three of them looking like thugs and it was so so funny and so fitting that i had to use it 😩

^ that’s the image i was going to use for manshine trio’s page originally!! it’s kind of giving (from left to right) chigiri, nagi, reo, and then nagi’s arcanine in the back LMAOAOOA anyways i like the whimsicott picture much more but this one is also so funny and so manshine trio coded 🤩

okay…so…on the subject of word count…i want you to sit down for this one LMAOAO so i finished planning out every arc i want to write and there’s. uh. there’s twenty four. TWENTY FOUR (24) 😱 literally even if each arc is only two 5k word chapters that’s still 240k words and i would be very surprised if every single arc is only roughly 10k words (for sure some of them will be but like the aegislash arc alone is going to be longer, the first arc that’s assembling reader and co will be longer, and many others as well) so this is going to be a genuine behemoth no matter what…i’m actually shuddering if the PROJECTED word count is 240k words then what will the ACTUAL word count be 😰⁉️

wait also i planned out the epilogue hehe let me add in some screenshots because i think you will enjoy!! or at least i hope so…anyways…

IT’S NOT OTOYA IF HE’S NOT FALLING FOR ONE SCAM OR ANOTHER!!! pls karasu’s like “i can’t believe you thought you’d pull my sister with that mediocre mindset” HAHA he’s otoya’s biggest hater (lies they’re besties for the restless they just can’t help bullying one another because that’s their form of affection…no because at this point karasu requires reparations the amount of times that reader has been presumed dead LMAOOO i think the total count is AT LEAST three (when she and gyarados destroy the team x ship, when she and nagi are kidnapped by aegislash, and in the aftermath of her battle against barou) like this is why karasu has grey hairs at his youthful age HAHAHA

CAN YOU IMAGINE “tell me about yourself and i’ll design a pokémon team for you based on your vibes” that would be crazy (lowkey fun if pokémon had an active fandom…i feel like everyone loves pokémon but there’s not a ton of fan content for it anymore…its peak was def early 2010s some of the pokémon fics on fanfiction.net remain PEAK literature)

i think it could be like a mix of both…maybe reo makes the decision to evolve his kirlia into a gallade for serious and emotional reasons but he just can’t bring himself to do it and then the brawl event happens and he’s like HOLY SHIT I HAVE GOTTTTT TO ENTER and that’s the final push that gets him to start a genuine hunt for a dawn stone that he can use LMAOOO unfortunately he’s typically the voice of reason amongst the manshine trio so neither nagi nor chigiri say anything to deter him from his dumbassery they’re just like yeah okay whatever you want bud

NO YOU’RE SO RIGHT GET YUKIMIYA BACK IN ACTION I MISS HIM!! i finally got around to consolidating our thoughts on rough and tumble yuki/rival kunigami into one post and rereading it is just making me wish yuki had more action in the actual manga too…like i know bllk manga is far from over and there’s a real chance he’ll get to shine later on (and kunigami almost assuredly will) it’s just like. idk. interesting handling of characters going on atm ig!!

PLSSS okay maybe i’ve just been so scarred from reading the orv translation online that literally anything better than that is perfectly legible and readable to me 😭 if i’m ever too confused about something looking back i will definitely let you know!! but like i said i’m so used to really REALLY bad translations (manhwa community is a MESS don’t get me started characters will literally change names mid-chapter) that i’m chilling with whatever you provide!! so don’t stress out too much abt it hehe

OKAY YAY I’M GLAD YOU THINK SO i think part of it is that sae is just never written as a bitchless rizzless awkward loser who’s trying his best to be charming but has 0 idea how to?? so he can come across as weird or ooc but it’s really just that i’m going against how he’s typically accepted…tbh i agree i don’t think he was terribly ooc either (ofc to a certain extent yeah but if it was EGREGIOUS i wouldn’t have posted) honestly the only thing that i believed could be considered ooc is how quickly he ended up liking reader/how forward he was but those can be put down to a) the vibes of the story and b) aiku’s intervention (as is the theme of the series) so honestly it’s whatever but ig people will think what they think…maybe our psychic connection is the reason why you could enjoy it regardless SDLFJKSFLDJK anyways i’m excited for the barou version as well!! and ngl i have no idea what i’ll put out next because i do have requests that i should be doing…but also oaeu…but also pokémon au…decisions decisions HAHAHAH

[away-ward]

"I think you're on to something with Michael and Emory both seeing what the group needs and how people can be used. Maybe that's how they bond. And Emmy has time to sit and observe them up close, but I think even then she's just natural at understanding people."

yeah this. I'm ngl, i understand how people love to find the similarities and compare emory with damon, but i've always been on my michael x emory mastermind family and friends agenda, alright. I know many people dont like michael, but hear.me.out. I think because temperament wise, D & E matches and are pretty similar to each other on a surface level, readers tend to confuse them being the most similar with each other, but vision and role wise? Personality? Goals in life? Interests? The way they look at the systems around them? The way they handle their conflicts in life?

Damon and Emory could not be any more different than each other! And their differences in everything was clearer as we get to will's pov in nightfall, and we came to the conclusion that to a certain extend, one was an enabler, and one was an usurper. This shows their thoughts, words, beliefs and actions' patterns. What made them an enabler? An usurper? How does will come to that conclusion? Only two traits bring them back to be similar: dominance and aggression. But nothing else beyond that because the way they want and vision their life to be are very different from each other. Damon wnating his friends and banks, emory wanting the best for everyone and settle down his responsibilities towards education, caring duties and career first. (Their financial background does play in this factor, but hey, michael and kai were from rich families too, they werent acting all entitled towards their inheritance and life like damon. Much to think about). And Despite being angry and hopeless, emmy still put one foot in front of the other, visioning whats her future gonna be like. But damon want to be in hell, he doesnt give a fuck about anything else, even his company was started out of nowhere, he didnt even have the skills to know that people would want to pay for his labor's services, and when he fucks up too much, he didnt know how to reconcile with all that. Only promised that he'll make sure he deserves them later. D & E are so different, i was always confused when they relate one with the other. I believe, much to the disgrace of a lot of readers, damon was more similar with rika than he was with emory, or even banks.

Thats why it's also infuriating to me when readers said damon and will married the girl version of each other, because did we read the same books? What about will and winter, and damon and emory is the same to a T? This is Penelope Douglas we're talking about, they're not shy to write raunchy sapphic, polyamorous, dubious relationships. If they wanted a gay relationship between Damon and Will to happen, it wouldve happened, but the text always made it clear that theyre not into each other like that because of what they wanted the most in life, and also because damon only use sex to control people. Not until winte then he felt like he can just enjoy sex without pain. And now in this bonus, even Kai called him out for it. Not even will, his #1 bff had the power to change that. And will had years by his side, but this winter pops out of nowhere, and fix that for him in such a short amount of time (which emmy also knows that winter's the ony way to damon, interesting). I'm not even a fan of winter, but even i can't say that theres anyone else who would fit to be damon's lover or even anyone else in this series because they all have their very specific wants in their partners that they couldnt find anywhere else. Not even their best friends can fill in the rika, banks, winter snd emory-shaped holes in their lives. Ofc, fanon interpretations are allowed, so wtv. Damon and Emory has no similarites other than 1. Theyre in the same family for the same call of void, 2. They love will very much, 3. They had a very sad backstory that impacted their plots, and 4. Theyre grumpy on the exterior, dominant and aggressive. But even point 4 is debatable, because even though emory is dominant and aggressive, she is still pretty amicable to people as long as those people are or can be usefull to her or her higher motives.

Do recall her first interactions with Alex, Aydin, Micah, Rika in the present time. She saw what they can do for her, and she wasnt sorry at all to use them. I like that her character can be questionable sometimes, and i even like it when Alex called emmy a manipulative monster, because just like michael, i never saw something wrong with that. This is a dark romance with fucked up people who do want they want, who think they actions and words justify their ideas and beliefs, in an ugly way, why can't we see the potential of emmy being someone else's monster? And her not even denying alex? I was screaming!!! Because Isn't that cool? That she's not just this pure innocent nerdy girl from the town? Finally after 3.5 books, we actually see a dominant questionable FMC in this series. Let FMCs and women be morally grey!! She's a fictional dark romance character, let her be slimy AF just like the men in the series! Let her bully her lover! Let her use and support that serial killer and the son of a terrorist! Let her be friends with that same leader you hate (michael/aydin)! Emory Scott was not a morally righteous person, let her do her thing, and enjoy the ride. This is also why I like it when she was dealing with the police' questioning and reaffirming will about their family in fire night. It's for this reason. And noticed how michael didnt care what she did? Because he knew she did it for them! We need more questionable FMCs in literature, pleasee.

Now, coming back to damon and emory, i cannot deny, D & E both did make up to each other's strength, weaknesses and quality of what they want at work. That's why their partnership work very well. But that's where their pesonalities' similarities end (other than the ones i listed).

Onto my Michael x Emory family and friends masterminds agenda, M & E are like leader x architect mastermind. Theyre always in the position to either lead, or in an active stance, unlike kai, will, rika or winter. Damon and banks did fluctuate between passive and active depending on what others needs, but michael and emory's the pioneer. They're the front and center. Their opinions and decisions are usually what shape their current situations or the final say in a discussion. Their approach towards strategising is more hollistic, and it touches pretty much all aspects of their life. What i meant by that is their leadership, opinion and building of something doesnt just revolve around their work, but it also shapes the dynamic of the group, the role they or others play in their family, and they execute their role very well. Michael more so a leader than emory was. But i 100% believe than unlike damon, if emory actually wanted to take over michael's position, she could. She's an usurper, i dont think she'll just let michael have it easy if she didnt agree with something. And this is beyond like banks and michael bantering because they have some weird tension and families' companies. Emory actually do have input on what they do, and she is known to have a say in things, that other might not agree with.

another interesting thing about michael and emory's interaction with the people around them is, Being around people like M & E can make you feel like you're a fish in the water, not only you're breathing, but you feel at home, because when they disagree with you, it feels like youre being chided or corrected or shamed, but them being by yourside made you feel good about yourself. This part of M & E are not always explicit though, but you can see the implicit text by observing the reactions of how people react to their words and actions. Like how rika, kai, damon snd will reacted to michael's approval, help or disappointment, like how will, damon, aydin, alex, micah and rory reacted to emmy's actions and disagreements. Their words and actions have very impactful rippling effect on people unlike the rest. You can actually feel like you can achieve or be who you want to be, or where you want to Be with them. As if they knew where your wrong or right on your path to somewhere. I think rika, kai and will felt that with michael, and will, aydin and others felt that with emmy. We dont see much of others but we know that this is can be possible especially after ten years. Because their personality revolves not only being visionary, but them being accustomed to the system around them, made them able to have the ability to execute their plans to get what they want. Emmy doing all that in nightfall to support her grandma, to get a degree and a job, to have aydin's ally, to be friends with micah and rory, to borrow rika's items, to have someone by her side with alex, to offer herself to them sll in that train. "Nothing wrong if she just give in to what you want". Michael too with rika, with his nba career, to stay loyal with his friends, to open that resort, and many more. Can you see the vision, KO? (Pun intended)

M with the horsemen and later on with all the addition to their family, and E with the guys at blackchurch, and later with their big family, making decisions around them, finding what fits best for them etc. They both knew what was important to their values in life, and how to keep the family up, and it's not only within the group, but also to match the system outside of their family, like their potential allyship with khadirs and morreaus, enemies with ilya evans martin trevor, police system when they cause mischief around town, third and significant places of/in the town like the tower, church, cathedral, resort, etc. M & E knew the vision, what and how to preserve, and how to polish or do better so that they can move forward and profit more. This Doesnt mean that theyre better than the rest but this was where their strength lies best as compared to rika, banks, kai, damon, winter and will who took care about rules, state policies, morales (in private and in public) or tradition, They all take care of each others strength and weakness like this.

Unlike the majority of the fandom, i Never saw how D & E can be similar other than the ones listed above, but M & E? They've always been pretty similar, i believe. If not their background, it's the way they move. I still believe that Emmy is smarted than Michael but Michael is more intuitive than Emory. Hence why i think michael understand will's need for something more, above and beyond. Not like damon who he knew will didnt need alex. But michael would know WHY will needed emory. Someone that not only makes him see what's up there, but also someone who can take him up there to see what he's made of. Sounds similar to how michael made rika feel huh? The difference is that michaelrika just wanted to feel and discover something unknown, outside of their monotonous privileged life, but willemmy wants to use whatever unknown path in the light and dark to ACHIEVE something bigger, better, something above what they already knew about themselves. MichaelRika felt like an idea or a calling, but WillEmmy is like the tough final destination executioner, with KaiBanks as the strong steady pillar, and DamonWinter as the whimsical storytellers and dreamers of the group. WillEmmy would be the final destination executioner that wraps up all of their unknowns, where they gather the ideas, pillars and dreams from others and then set up a more structured, efficient and profitting path that benefits their families and everyone, knowing when and where to anticipate people like how they always deal with everyone. and i believe that was how they build their world when i finished the series then, I always get this feeling from these couple. This bonus just strongly reaffirmed my opinions about them building things together. WillEmmy "we build thunder bay together now, Em"! Exactly! Now they know what theyre made of!

side note: Made me also think about Rika and Emory's interaction throughout the series, and from that bonus from banks' pov, emory IS a steady, firm and strong support system for their family. Like a big sister. Like a pillar. That's why i also believed that nightfall should come before kill switch so that sensitive matters like rika's pregnancy can be handled better if she had a stronger, mature and steadier female presence and support system by a big sister like emmy, who's love is always flowing and very unyielding. I just knew that emmy would know how to breach this topic with rika and she would spoil them all always. That bonus really just showed that even in a short period of time, she was a very adoring and doting sister to everyone. Banks just didnt realised that emmy loved her the same way she did with rika because of her insecurities. Now this made me crave a rika, banks, winter and emory get together! What would they do on the weekends or for fun, huh?

Anyway, back to my M x E agenda, It's interesting too because at one point, i had the thought of switching michael's life with emmy's and i wonder, if emmy grew up like michael, how different or similar would she think, act, lead, follow etc. and how would michael react if he grew up like emmy. Sex and gender swap included. Because the very big differences for them would be their dinancial status and physical strength to overcome their abusers. Hmmm? How long would they take since by the end of nightfall, michael still havent killed evans, but martin's dead. And between michael and emory, emory was more likely to use physical violence than michael. Interesting, no? out of all the horsemen, michael and kai were the most class conscious. Like they knew how the system around them works, and only people who knows how system works can get far in life. damon and will had a late awakening, due to whatever things they were going through or enabling themselves with, but michael and kai were pretty clear-headed. Emory was clear-headed too. Making tough decisions was her forte. Again, the M x E crossover. But how would their class consciousness impact them if they swap realitues and sex/gender?

idk i havent think that far, but it's something that interests me now. What do you think of all these, KO? What do you think were similar or different about michael and emory? Or even other horsemen with her? I fully believe what alex said in emmys car at that cove scene was very important. In chapter three about what alex and the family needs. And emory knew it too, she just cant have it. Them.

but vision and role wise? Personality? Goals in life? Interests? The way they look at the systems around them? The way they handle their conflicts in life?

I totally get what you’re saying (I think). The thing about Emory and Michael is that they have a lot of similarities.

They can see the blueprint

Michael, as Kai said, is like The Builder. He sees how all the parts of something make the whole. How their strengths and weaknesses balance each other, who can hold what load, and where they need reinforcement.

Emory (an architect that can actually read blueprints, so it’s just funny in literal and figurative sense), does the same with people. She can destruct them, see how they fit together, and move forward based on that. We see her working this out as she analyzes the boys at Blackchurch.

However, Damon, like Michael and Emory, is not without the ability, he just uses it differently. He sees life like a chessboard; people are just pieces to move. That takes understanding how people work, who has what power, what are their weaknesses and blind spots, what holes are they leaving unprotected.

They're both determined

Both realized what they’re good at from an early age, set a goal, and took a path to achieve that goal. They were both able to make careers out of something they loved, despite all obstacles – family, financial, or otherwise.

The only other person who shares this quality with them - knowing from a young age what they wanted to do and finding a way to do it - was Winter. But even she couldn't achieve her goal without the help of the crew. She wasn't brave enough to put herself out there, really.

They handled their abusers similarly

The way that Michael allowed Evans to stay alive at the end of Nightfall to take care of his mother sort of parallels the way Emory let her grandmother stay with Martin. Both were on the condition that the person they’re letting off the hook is going to take care of the person they actually care about.

While Emory acknowledged that a part of her loved her brother, at least the memory of him, Michael doesn’t want to take another person away from his mother. Even then, in the bonus scene, we see there might still be a part of him that wishes things could be different between him and Evans.

At the very least, both Michael and Emory want their abuser to leave them alone, without needing to take revenge for the abuse, which is unlike Damon, Rika, and even Will on occasion.

Aware of the importance of money and privilege

I think Michael, aware of his privilege might have admired, or even envied, Emory because she had to fight for everything she got. Every accomplishment, every bit of recognition; none of it came because she was anyone’s child or she had an advantage. In fact, she had nothing but disadvantages and it didn’t stop her. Michael would have recognized that.

In the bonus scene, Trevor questions whether Michael would be as good at basketball if he didn’t have literal court in their house to practice on, and Michael wonders the same. In Nightfall, Emory wants the pool to herself because unlike them, she doesn’t have access to a private pool in her home. Michael would have respected that, I think, even if Will hadn’t asked them to leave.

This isn't to say Michael wanted to give up his privileges and good life. What he wanted was to earn them for himself, apart from his father. Likewise, Emory didn't want to stay poor, as if she were some martyr, sacrificing wealth for a better cause and intentions. She didn't go into social services for a reason. She wanted to earn her wealth all by herself and show them up.

They’re not always right; sometimes their biases get in the way. Still, they have much in common.

After reading your message, something else occurred to me. As typical in fandom, we’ve fallen into thinking there can only be “X is most like Y”; “A is a reflection of B”; “C and D are literally the same, just different fonts.”

None of that is true. The truth is Damon and Emory do share a lot of similar traits. They’re more reserved, more calculating and suspicious of new people. They can endure a ton of pain alone, both physical and mental; possibly more than anyone else in the group could tolerate.

And Emory is a lot like Michael, in that both of them can see people for what they are, their strengths and weakness, and make a plan to use them to the best of their ability. Like you said as an example, despite knowing that the group didn’t like Aydin and that he’d used her, she could see the value and benefit of keeping him close and including him. She didn’t let her personal opinion get in the way. I think if it were Michael alone, she could probably sway him to her side. But he has to think of the group as a whole.

Emory is also a lot like Kai in that she’s patient with people, and she realizes when she might have said something insensitive and backtracks (ex: Emory with Elle in Nightfall/Kai with Damon in the Bonus scene about is mom). Emory also cares a lot about people, as does Kai. They’re both willing to do the difficult parts of caring for others even when they don't want to (ex: again, Kai in the bonus scene bandaging Damon's feet; taking care of Will in the deleted scene; Emory caring for her grandma's physical needs; taking care of the Blackchurch boys).

Emory is like Will in having a sense of curiosity and adventure, wanting to create something no one else has before.

And I’m guessing the same could be said for any of the other characters, and that’s why they work as a family?

One thing I picked up from the bonus scene was how often they guys commented ‘I need him for xyz reason’.

Michael and Damon had their fathers in common and a dislike of extreme drug use and alcohol abusers (Will excluded, though Damon got on that fairly quickly when he came back).

Damon and Will were wild, where Kai and Michael were cautious.

Michael and Will were curious, Kai and Will were easier to be around, Damon and Kai were opposites in almost all ways, but they both agreed that sometimes you needed a healthy dose of violence.

The list goes on. All of these traits play into and off each other, and as their family grows, the same can be said for each new addition.

I like the idea of comparing the characters, seeing where they are similar and where they are different, and what those differences mean of the situations they get into. So perhaps it is time to lean away from the “Damon and Emory are exactly the same” talk, and replace it with “what do the similarities mean? What do the differences mean?”

I was trying to think of where this discussion was coming from. We see Emory compared to Banks and Damon, and now Michael. We see Rika and Winter compared often. As you mentioned, so people compare Will with Winter.

At first, I thought that it was the "If this hated female character where a man, they'd basically be this male character who is universally loved." But that's not really the case here, is it?

D & E are so different, i was always confused when they relate one with the other. I believe, much to the disgrace of a lot of readers, damon was more similar with rika than he was with emory, or even banks.

And this goes to what I was saying above. Damon and Rika do share a lot in common. They like playing games of manipulation, treating situations as if they’re a game of chess. They value family (Rika forgiving Christiane because that’s her mother vs. Damon not seeing her as family because he’s got all the family he needs, and the fact that they fight over what makes someone family).

They both wanted children. A lot.

While I get that what you’re saying is the comparison between Emory and Damon is weak when there are others that are more alike, I don't think we can ignore why Damon and Emory are so often compared to each other.

They are, of course, different people. And looking into the MBTI personalities as really highlighted for me where the differences are. Still, they are similar.

Thats why it's also infuriating to me when readers said damon and will married the girl version of each other, because did we read the same books? What about will and winter, and damon and emory is the same to a T?

I, fortunately, haven't been confronted with this idea. I can imagine people saying it, though, and that is unfortunate.

The case for comparing Emory and Damon is stronger than comparing Will to Winter, in my opinion. I can see why people would do it, though. They’re both generally warm, good natured, welcoming people. But those are very basic traits. I’m not sure if there are deeper aspects in their personalities to draw comparisons to.

I don’t agree that any of the characters can be compared as if they’re a 1:1 version of each other. Therefore Damon and Will couldn't have married the female version of the other. That’s stupid.

If they wanted a gay relationship between Damon and Will to happen, it wouldve happened,

That’s what I think every time I see someone state with complete confidence that they were in love. As if a part of this story isn’t that there are different ways to love a person. That not all love is romantic. As if their brotherhood doesn’t and can’t exist because Damon and Will care about each other deeply.

“But the sex!” they cry.

Yeah…because neither of them ever had sex with someone they didn’t love? Or had no real emotions towards? Because Damon never used sex as a manipulation tactic, and Will as a way to ease his pain?

I’ll accept that they’re not completely straight as an argument, but I highly doubt either of them would ever fall in love with a man.

Do recall her first interactions with Alex, Aydin, Micah, Rika in the present time. She saw what they can do for her, and she wasnt sorry at all to use them. I like that her character can be questionable sometimes, and i even like it when Alex called emmy a manipulative monster,

To have this as an example after saying that Damon and Emory don’t have anything in common is interesting, because I remember Damon using Alex to get information on Evans. He had no problem seeing what she can do, and using it to his advantage, even if it meant going behind the group's back. Alex even had a few words for him at that party, too, and Damon didn’t really care.

There’s the phrase “two sides of the same coin”?

These people are like six sides of the same dice. (Die? Is a single dice a die? You know what I mean.)

Because while I think Damon and Emory are the same in this situation, I can argue that Damon is more extreme than Emory.

Remember when Damon said that he didn’t think any of the boys would help him murder someone, but then when he was killing Natalya, Emory jumped in. She didn’t even really know the situation, but she recognized something in Damon that also in her.

We know she never took the chance to kill Martin, because for her, it never got that far. She was never that desperate, though I have no doubt that if the situation were life and death, she’d be able to make that decision. Similarly, I don’t think Michael would have killed Trevor if the situation wasn’t life and death. Michael and Emory match up in that aspect, even if his story got there before hers. She'd have gotten there if she had stayed in Thunder Bay any longer.

Either way, I think on the scale of No-Murder to Murder, she’s probably a lot closer to Damon than she is to Michael.

who think they actions and words justify their ideas and beliefs, in an ugly way, why can't we see the potential of emmy being someone else's monster? And her not even denying alex? I was screaming!!! Because Isn't that cool? That she's not just this pure innocent nerdy girl from the town?

I mean, I think Emory always sort of owned that she was a bomb waiting to go off in Will’s life, and that’s why she tried to get away from him. She never denied that certain things were her fault. She always had a backbone and was willing to cross the line if she needed to. She accepted accountability readily.

But I thought Alex was calling Aydin a manipulative monster, not Emory, because he was able to “manipulate” Emory into thinking she doesn’t have to answer to them, even though she owned up to her role in Will's life. She was essentially calling Emory weak for being Aydin's victim.

However, Emory came to that conclusion because she was ready to, not simply because Aydin opened her eyes. As Emory said, her view of Aydin was more complicated than Alex was willing to comprehend. Even so, Emory refused to apologize for it, which I guess made her a monster in Alex’s eyes, too.

And it's fine they have that problem. That they're on opposite sides of this issue. It's interesting, even, that Alex is more willing to hate Emory for agreeing with Aydin, than for what she "did" to Will.

Their [M&E] opinions and decisions are usually what shape their current situations or the final say in a discussion.

And it’s in this way that Rika and Will are similar.

Both had to wait for the person they desired most to be ready to accept the inevitability of their love. They spent years watching, waiting, following, as their person was just outside of their reach. And when they finally thought that they’d grabbed hold of them, after just one night, Michael and Emory slipped away again.

Michael and Emory made decisions, good and bad, and carried on despite the consequences. They didn't wait for things to happen for them.

But i 100% believe than unlike damon, if emory actually wanted to take over michael's position, she could. She's an usurper, i dont think she'll just let michael have it easy if she didnt agree with something.

I don’t think Emory would let Michael have it easy either, but is she persuasive enough to sway the group as a whole? I’m not so sure.

Micah and Rory were different because their bond to Will was different, as well as their view of him. For over a year, he’d been a friend and ally, but all of the sudden he and his six friends – who they have no loyalty to – are ganging up on this girl they’ve come to care about? It’s no wonder she was able to get them to change sides. Not sure Emory would have as much success with Kai or Rika. They're 100% loyal to Michael.

But she might have success with Damon, though. Because they have similar thought processes. And if you can get Damon, you have Winter and a shot at Banks, who we know loves to disagree with Michael. And now Michael's kingdom is looking a little bit more fractured.

My point is that it all plays into each other, and it’s why I would have liked to see more of the dynamic between Emory and some of the others, especially Michael. But they hardly share more than a sentence in the entire series! It kills me.

this is beyond like banks and Michael bantering because they have some weird tension and families' companies. Emory actually do have input on what they do, and she is known to have a say in things, that other might not agree with.

A part of Banks' character is never coming to the table without a plan, even if she knows Michael isn’t going to agree with it. She still tries; she puts it out there, states her case, and will argue to get Michael to see things her way. And sometimes she wins, like we see in Conclave when Michael eventually agreed to her idea.

There’s a reason people compare Emory and Banks, too. They think and strategize, and they don’t let people they see as equals boss them around.

They both knew what was important to their values in life, and how to keep the family up,

I do see your vision. But I think Emory probably isn’t as skilled in this as Michael is, if only because he’s had more time to develop and live with the responsibility of making this team, this family, work. You said that Emory was smarter, while Michael more intuitive. Emory is book smart, but then her goals in life relied on her getting out of town and into a school, while Michael relied on his intuition to survive his father and find his real family. Both are logical and goal orientated.

Still, Emory has never been part of a group, while Michael's been a team captain and leading this family for a long time. I can see Michael teaching Emory how to develop her skills. Maybe not directly, but identifying that she has potential as a leader, and helping her cultivate them by testing her, giving her the opportunity to make plans and see them through. He did that with Rika. And being a mayor, Rika is something of a leader now. Banks learned from Damon, and A.P. how to execute her role as a Senator. But no one is there to teach Emory how to use her skills to the best of her ability. However, as the leader of the family and the other person who can see the blueprint – the builder, the visionary, the mastermind, as you said – Michael could help her in that way.  

This Doesnt mean that theyre better than the rest but this was where their strength lies best

Agreed. This doesn’t mean that they're better, just that their skills serve a different role. If they were all leaders, it wouldn’t work.

The difference is that michaelrika just wanted to feel and discover something unknown, outside of their monotonous privileged life, but willemmy wants to use whatever unknown path in the light and dark to ACHIEVE something bigger, better, something above what they already knew about themselves.

This is interesting, because I see your point.

To me, it feels that Michael and Rika are very inward focused. They are concerned with themselves and what their family is doing, but not overly focused on things outside the group (this isn’t to say they’re unsympathetic or unwilling to help when they see a problem in Thunder Bay or the world), but that their concern will always be them and the family, first and foremost.

Whereas, Will and Emory are very focused on Thunder Bay, as if the entirety of It (the town, with its traditions and mysteries and lore) is their family. They want to build it up and take care of it. They’re more focused on the external.

I’m not sure if that’s what you were getting at but it’s how I heard it. Again, neither better or worse. Just different.

And between michael and emory, emory was more likely to use physical violence than michael. Interesting, no?

I completely forgot you made this point when I was talking up there. But I think we agree.

if emmy grew up like michael, how different or similar would she think, act, lead, follow etc. and how would michael react if he grew up like emmy. Sex and gender swap included.

This really gets into the idea of nature vs. nurture, which is not something I’m competent enough to discuss thoroughly, but it’s an interesting question all the same. If we had Emerson Crist and a Michelle Scott instead? Or just an Emory Crist and a Michael Sco...oh. no. nevermind.

I fully believe what alex said in emmys car at that cove scene was very important.

I believe it too. It was a fundamental theme in the story, but I think I would have liked it coming better from Michael, seeing that Emory was the missing piece that kept their family from reaching its full potential. Since he was the builder, after all. Instead, we got him being all defensive and acting like he didn’t know they needed her. Sure the family could continue without her, but he had to see the benefit if he was the visionary of the group.

Sorry it took so long to reply. There was a lot to reply too! Thank you for the message and the thoughtful comments. It was interesting to see Emory and Michael, and the group as a whole, from this perspective.

Let me know your thoughts!

KO

[chimerinshine]

Got a fanon idea for Cuphead folks, folks but ofc i will start on my fav mini bosses yes it was only one royal chess folks The King's Leap!: Anywho,

Here's some symbols:

♟-Pawns

🕯-Bishop

🪓-Rook

🗡-Knight

👑👧-Queen

👑🙎‍♂️-King

🏰-All

-------------------------------------------------------

♟All of the Pawns (canon) are males and they all siblings and octoplets and 10 years old.

♟Even though they are just in the same age some of them considering themselves as the eldest or the youngest.

♟They love pranks, that's why they get their nicknames as The Pink Trolls.

♟Well as normal role of siblings they were between a love and hate relationship.

♟They all have wooden double decks. Some of them didn't want to go to bed because darkness scares them they afraid that Devil himself might watching them to give them nightmares. So as for that they going down in the castle before nighttime and collect some fireflies to turn their own small lanterns into their nightlight even though...their heads glows in pink

♟They all have names base on a spanish number ofc (Uno, Dos, Tres, Quatro, Cinco, Sais, Siete and Otso)

♟They might be octoplets but they also have different personality type.

Uno always acting as the eldest and thinking he is the most intellegent and bravest but not really he get easily to get scared on loud noises like thunders or ghosts

Dos he was kind a like Uno but more wiser and like he reading books and discover things up yes he is kind of medieval nerd kid

Tres he is the bravest, toughest littel pawn in the castle he always doing a wooden sword fight with his siblings he doesn't need a night light cause he ain't afraid of anything at all

Quatro is a complete opposite of Tres he get easily to get scared and a cryer so Tres always protecting him and giving him courage

Cinco complete opposite of Dos he was a trouble maker really and leader of the pranksters. Sometimes he steal a coin gold to the Queen but got scolded by the Knight and run away only to make the Knight he the one who is stealing gold of the Queen. He also love to annoy Bishop by making loud noises while on his Bible Studying

Sais he is the most creative yes he is more like a crafter or an artist. He also responsible for pranking materials

Siete he is soft, quiet, nature lover one. He do nothing but to sit and read a book and sometimes go out in the castle to stargaze or cloudgaze. He always spent with others to learn and observe. He also wanted always to listen to Bishop's bible studies cause it feels like it was story telling to him

♟Pawns are like the younger version of the chess folks. So they keep studying and focusing on their skills to get their ranks once they get into their right age. They mostly wanted to be the Queen because of her power but according the rules Queen supposed to be a female so they need to marry one female someday and they can be the King and have a Queen

♟When the Pawns grew up the will lose their glowing pink stuffs and their heads can be attached or what depends on what position they got

♟They also be the butler or helpers of royal folks

♟Their height is around 2'4 it will increase once they have their positions at the future

♟Their really obsessed on sweets so yeah better hide the deserts when ya havin' dinner

--------------------------------------

🗡Knight was base off on Disney's Goofy The Dog (canonically). He is the bravest and toughest Knight in the castle but not that wise at all. He is willing to serve the royal folks and have a complete respect for them even though he hates the Queen which her corrupted issues

🗡He is 6ft tall yes HE IS A STALLION BABYY!!! Oh-uhm ahem- anyways

🗡His parents were from different areas his dad was a grey horse farmer and her mom was a beautiful white horse knightness. He grew up with his mom and sometimes visiting his father's farm on his free time just to do farm stuffs even though the Queen never allowed him to do that but he always find a way with a help of the Pawns ofc

🗡He is sometimes clumsy wumsy and dwumb yeah but he was trying his best

🗡He has crush on Esther Winchester and she was her chilhood farm friend

🗡His favorite foods are hays and apples

🗡He go alternative using his legs he can go for two or four one but he always run in four hooves

🗡As a horse one ofc he do horse stuffs

--------------------------------------

🕯Bishop is the most peaceful, faithful, holiest and wisest chess piece. He is Spanish too so yeah he sometimes expresses stuffs in Spanish. He has spanish accent.(canonically)

🕯He is around mid-age one

🕯He can fight and use his holy powers if it needed that's why he also known as the Holy Warrior

🕯Sitting on his altar it makes him in his height around 5ft but when he stand he is 7ft

🕯He is a nature lover and animal lover so sometimes when he is not busy he just coming out be a gazer or just sit in a tree and read a bible

🕯He love listening to choirs and peaceful instruments

🕯Many know him as holy figure. But he has countless secrets that others don't know. Like he can made miracles like healings, light aura that suddenly goes out, prediction or some visions like they can read what is front of him literally. So some of his folks suspicious him much like he hiding something. Or they just dozing it off see him as a weirdo

🕯He met the Devil himself back when he was a little younger and have a fight with him so he keep an eye and track on him just incase he will come back again

🕯He once seen angels and talk to God himself

🕯The Levitating candles was part of his skills actually. And depending on his life like if the candle light goes out that means he is not around or something bad happened to him

🕯He only has one floating head but Canonically he has 3 heads (which i thought at the 1st place it four) he can make duplicate 2 of his heads

🕯All of his heads has representation Front Head (Sees The Present) Left Head (Sees The Future) Right Head (Sees The Past)

🕯Each of his head when he summons all of it sometimes it has their own minds Left Head's voice tune is kind of a sad and soft however Right Head is more couragable tune and Present well just a normal himself. Sometimes they also talk in sync

🕯With his 3 heads he can make a whole choir and yes he is the choir leader and have a beautiful angelic choir

🕯He never met his parents and grew at the orphanage which later he was orphaned by an ex royal Bishop and stand for him as his non biological father

🕯As holyman himself he is willing and hoping to guide the Queen herself and be back at being herself again

--------------------------------------

🪓Rook is a medieval executioner and based off on peg leg pete but he is more nicer to him (canon) he is a quiet one he almost rarely speaks and he is a non smiler one and intimadating. Despite all of that deep inside he is sweet as honey and soft boi.

🪓He is an expert on build things that's why he is a crafter and a smith people go to him and pay him to make such weapons and stuffs

🪓Since when he was a little cub-kitty he never see his real father but his mother has tragic back story so the only thing he has is her pendant and the stuff toy she stitch and give to him

🪓Secretively he has crush on the Lady Guillotine (Canonically) he was very self concious and fear that she will hate him for what occupation he has because he saw her as sweety what he didn't know it's they have the same feelings and situations

🪓 All because he was a quiet guy Pawns prank him much but Pawns regret that too cause they keep ending getting almost axe

🪓He hates the Queen however he still being noble to her and following her commands even he's bigger he's rank and power isn't enough for the Queen's

🪓He has fully respect on all souls especially the royal ones

🪓Legend says that his father might the King of Vikings from the other Land

🪓He is 15ft in height so yeah he is big hybrid bear boi

🪓His favorite foods is honey, fish sometimes they mix them

🪓Like what i said he is self concious, so even his mask is removable he wouldn't dare to remove it unless he was all by himself which his true face was hybrid of a cat and bear thing

🪓He also a Major Chess Piece that's why he hardball to be defeat

🪓He is the protector of the castle and the royal folks there especially at the King

--------------------------------------

👑👧The Queen herself is literally the Heart Queen from Alice In Wonderland (canon) one of her famous phrases is "Off with their heads!" Once she yell that here comes the executioner they like it or not. The Queen has a very greedy personality so greedy that she started to hate poors and lesser ones.

👑👧She also very selfish and hate rats as they see them as a dirty thieves that keep stealing her precious golds and they are poor. Well they have a reasonable sentence why they invade their castle and steal it

👑👧Some say she once a nice Queen but since she started oversee herself on power and wealth got into her she became corrupted and greedy. But her trueself was still in there out there she just keep denying it.

👑👧She won't let anyone or anything literally touch her stuffs especially her golds

👑👧Since she was corrupted he started mocking others and have overpride and ego to herself

👑👧She once loved but she was now hated and misunderstood

👑👧She stand around 9ft tall (big wowman)

👑👧She love lions as pets because they see them as a big brave cats and fluffy and she believes it brings her a luck

--------------------------------------

👑🙎‍♂️ The King himself based off on a King Of Hearts too even though he has lesser ranking he is full of intellegence and have a big heart

👑🙎‍♂️He has a role of a good king it's just other didn't get him much attention because Queen has more appealing appearance and greater power than him

👑🙎‍♂️He stands around 4ft (smallkingforakingsize)

👑🙎‍♂️He always wished that his ol' good wife will be back or someone just heal her

👑🙎‍♂️He love play games and be a winner well as a chess folk ofc it was in his nature to win and battle

👑🙎‍♂️Even he has lesser rank and power he know many fighting skills and always winning at the war

👑🙎‍♂️The King and King Dice knows each other and he also know the Devil himself

👑🙎‍♂️He stands for everyone as friend and family

--------------------------------------------------‐---

🏰Chess Folks that has floating heads it means they are high rankers and most respected by others (Queen & King Your Highness The Bishop Your Holiness)

🏰Less rankers has more removable heads comparison to highrankers

🏰Younger Pieces that has glowing pink heads are commons however the rare ones has different heads or shape like for ex Knight has a horse shape head he was rare

🏰They all have their own normal heights when it come to a play game they will get big

🏰If they were humans they all french and spanish people