#lots of loves for all the batshit insane brothers

[julymusings]

Jason Todd x South Asian!Reader HCs

requested | reader is fem, i tried to keep it non-specific so it applies to the whole region, not just india, hopefully i succeeded😬

i looooved writing this it was so much fun. drop an ask with anything else you want to see!!

When you show him Bollywood movies, at first he’s like “Why are these so damn long?” But watches them anyway because you’re so excited to show him

He obviously sobs at K3G (because he has daddy AND big brother issues)

But his favorite is probably 3 Idiots or Bhaag Milkha Bhaag (he just seems like the type to looove an underdog story am I right)

Since Jason likes cooking, he’s learning how to make all your favorite foods. He’s eaten a lot of Indian food before (duh, it’s New Jersey), so he’s familiar with the flavors and spices, but some dishes are easier than others. He tries to make dosa after you mentioned liking it but it does not go well

He’s trying so hard to impress you but they all keep breaking😭 and the ones that don’t break come out burnt. When he finally relents and lets you help him, you hold his hand and guide him to make the proper movements; pouring the batter, spreading it into a circle, and gently flipping it so it doesn’t break

He loves chai, and is always experimenting with different recipes and flavors and asking you to test them

You're taking him to the Indian market so often, by the end of the month he knows the names for all the vegetables and spices in your language and where to find them

He thinks you with mehendi/henna is the most attractive thing ever

Your friend’s getting married? Of course he’ll feed you while your mehendi’s drying, you don't even have to ask

When it's still fresh and at its darkest color he's actually going batshit insane (pun intended); he loves interlacing your fingers together and seeing the contrast of your dark, decorated fingers against his large, strong ones. His phone background is a selfie of you guys where your faces are squished side-by-side and one of your mehendi'd hands is cupping his cheek

And when you're on top of him, the sight of your adorned hands pressed flat against his bare chest, flushed and heaving...he thinks it belongs in a museum

He just loves doing little acts of service; one day you’re complaining offhandedly to him about how the price of eyebrow threading keeps going up, a week later you’ve forgotten all about it but he’s like “I learned how to thread your eyebrows”

He figured it would be easy enough, and as someone who’s life often depends on steady, surgical aim and precision, it is

Roy’s walking around looking messed up as fuck for a couple weeks but that’s beside the point because he’s got the hang of it now 

When it comes to putting on a sari, he'll put the pins in the hard to reach places if you ask, but for the most part he just loves watching you put it on. he thinks it's so cute the way you scrunch your face in focus as you make the folds and tuck in the fabric with such concentration (Jason Todd domesticity agenda)

One night you're getting dressed up for some party, but no matter what you do and how many times you take it off and try to re-drape it, it just won't come out good and you get so frustrated and teary-eyed that he has to intervene

He makes you take a break, brings you a snack, and kisses you until you feel better, and then he pulls up a youtube video to do it for you— but he can't do it either😭

So you both decide to give up and you wear a lehenga instead

It’s a fairly modest one, and even though he's seen you wearing more-revealing clothes (and none at all), he's going crazy over that one inch sliver of exposed skin on your midriff

He already loves seeing you dressed up in traditional wear but if you put jasmine flowers in your hair with it??? The fragrance coming from you makes him feral. It lingers in your hair for a couple days and he can’t stop following you around and sniffing you LMAO

The first time you get a kurta for him, it’s actually impossible to find one that fits because he’s so big and buff (drool) so you just end up buying the fabric and getting it custom stitched

There's only a few scraps of the fabric left and you get the wonderful idea of braiding the scraps into a bracelet so you have something to match with him and it makes him go crazy

Early on in your relationship, you’re a little afraid to have oil in your hair in front of him because you’re worried he’ll think the smell is too strong

Jason is probably familiar with the practice of hair oiling from his time with Talia (but you don’t know that yet)

He actually LOVES when you oil your hair around him. Just something about him being the only one who gets to see you when you’re comfy and unready is so intimate to him and makes him feel so special and trusted and loved🥹

Time for some of my physical touch x touch starved!Jason propaganda

After a particularly difficult night of patrolling, he comes to you stressed and anxious and unsure what to do with himself. So you make him sit on the floor in front of your bed, warm up some of the oil, and seat yourself on the edge of the mattress. He leans back against your legs and you massage the warm oil into his scalp. It feels heavenly. You’re using the perfect amount of pressure, hitting all the right spots, and it feels so good he wants to cry. Later, when you pull him into the shower to shampoo it out, he actually does cry, hoping the water falling from the shower head hides the tears (it doesn’t, and it breaks your heart)

(If you were raised Hindu) I think he'd be very interested in the belief in reincarnation, past & future lives, oneness with the universe, etc...it might help him make some sense of his coming back

You bring mediation into his life, and that also really helps him

You wear Kajal/kohl/surma on your eyes, and whenever he’s looking especially good, or before he goes out as red hood, you smudge some onto your finger and put a mark behind his ear, just to be safe (it’s believed to deflect jealousy/bad intentions from others) (yes I’m superstitious sue me)

Or you just tie a black thread around his ankle

When you first explain to him that you want him to wear a black thread around his ankle because of a superstition, he thinks you’re joking. He can’t believe you actually believe in that 

But he can’t say no to you and he secretly likes that you also have one so it feels like you’re matching 

He considers it a good luck charm, not because he believes the superstition but because it’s from you

omg thank you for all the love on these<3 dick's will be posted tomorrow

update: read dick's hcs here !

[cravingpepsimax]

Okay, we talk about Ford's obsessive behaviors. But I know Stan isn't healthy in relationships either. He has such a big heart and all that love goes to his brother, it may not manifest in obsession, but I do think it would manifest somehow. What do you think Stan's major thing would be? (I would give ideas but it is past 4am and I need sleep) -💙

oh yeah no stan's fucking insane. you don't try and save someone for 30 years without being Batshit Crazy, at least a little bit.

ford's obsession is a lot like ford himself. he's very academic with a penchant for worship, so he does that to stan. and, above all, ford is active. stan, on the other hand, is much more passive, especially in relationships, and ESPECIALLY to ford.

that's not to say stan just takes things lying down. the exact opposite, actually -- stan's a fighter. it's just that stan doesn't really care that much about himself. he doesn't have that internal, independent drive that ford does -- his motivations are very others-based.

as a result, i think stan's obsession would be a lot less "stealing stuff and making a million notes on them", but would be much more about protecting ford. from everything. this throws ford in for a loop -- sure, stan's always been protective, but he's always been more fight-y protective, not... "getting weirdly knowledgeable on medical stuff and getting ford a bunch of equipment to make sure he has ABSOLUTELY EVERYTHING THAT HE COULD POSSIBLY NEED while just winging everything when it comes to himself".

it's kinda funny -- it's like the exact opposite of @sixerstanley's tough as nails. stan's the one treating ford like glass in this scenario. i imagine they both do it WJKLEFJLKSDFJAKLD

but yeah. stan's always been protective of ford, and now, he's just got him back, so if he's even more protective of ford than usual and watches him sleep to make sure he's not having any nightmares, let him. it's not. creepy.

[r26yz]

happy birthday!

[welcometogrouchland]

It's mostly the fault of poor editorial practices that B&R is so heavily misaligned continuity-wise w/ the main batman book. But walk with me for a minute:

You are Damian Wayne. You are 14 years old and have had one of the worst years of your life last year. Which is saying a lot.

Your brother, one of the people you were closest to, got shot in the head and forgot who you were. Your best friend went to space for a week and came back 3/4 years older than you, taking away your previously established dynamic and leaving you to have to bond all over again w/ a new one. You may or may not have gone wayyy too far with your new superhero team, who now all hate you, because you fucked up big time*

And worst of all, when you do try to do the right thing, you end up forced to watch Alfred, a father figure to you, the only one at your birthday that year, the person who has been so patient, loving and trusting with you, even when you probably didnt deserve it...die. you watch him die, and feel it's all your fault.

And your dad never corrects you on that last point. So you run away.

First to your mom who can tell something's up with you, she knows you don't give up that easy, you decide not to stay with her because you remembered how actually, neither of your parents are good at communicating with you despite their best efforts, so now you're 14 and flying solo.

And you do fly solo. For a while. Make new friends, new enemies. You think you're better off for it. You've got your best friend and your brother back. They're not around as much. It's fine.

And eventually your dad tells you that it's not your fault that Alfred died. Bit late but it's appreciated. Really. There's a bit of a hiccup where you get possessed by a demon and wage war against your father but after that, all in all, you two are...together again.

You start to think maybe you want to give him another chance, for the two of you to be father and son.

And in a change of pace, it works out! It's going good, mostly. He insists you go to highschool, you resist, feel like he wants you to be something that you're not (wants you to be normal), but eventually you acquiesce for your own reasons. He cheers you on at soccer and nosies around at your fundraising events with the other parents and gives you a stern talking to about your choice of girlfriend. Because he cares.

Except all the while this is going on, your dad is currently having his brain slowly taken over by an evil version of himself that he created and every time you look away he's slowly tearing your family apart (your brothers are just barely keeping it together. The ones who didn't get lobotmized that is Jesus Christ). You keep taking his side in these conflicts, for whatever reason. Maybe because he promised it would be different this time, and it isn't** and you're going to stick with him until he keeps his word for once.

But at the end of the day?

It's like your brother says. You're not the one who saves him. Broadly speaking, you've made things worse and needed others to come save you. And what else is Robin really for? You thought it was about redemption and teamwork but guess you're wrong. It's about saving your self destructive, apparently two-faced and erratic father. And you can't even do that right.

* TT (2016) by Adam Glass is a racist ooc mess, but unfortunately it's still canon so I'm referencing here, though like a lot of works authors clearly wish weren't canon but are, it's been subsequently glossed over. Win? Maybe? Or not?

** again Zdarky's characterization of Damian is so outdated as to be ooc, and considering the way he constantly and explicitly uses it to illustrate Tim's strengths as robin, I'd argue there's. Also implications there. But the batshit insanity of the main batbook compared to B&R rn is crucial for this post, so I'm attempting to justify it. This time..

[loving-family-poll]

Ultimate Incest Tournament - Round 2

Propaganda under the cut:

Cersei/Jaime:

they're literally womb-to-tomb lovers. they feel that the rest of the world is beneath them and they're the only ones that matter. the fact that they're twins is fundamental to their attraction to each other

they’re blonde they’re evil they crossdress they’re fucked-up mirrors of one another they serve cunt they’re both bisexual probably and they’re TWINS who FUCK. who said that.

"if I were a woman, I'd be Cersei."

"I'll kill [...] the whole bloody lot of them until you and I are the only people left in this world."

"I am sick of being careful. The Targaryens wed brother to sister, why shouldn't we do the same? Marry me, Cersei. Stand up before the realm and say it's me you want."

"'Do you have a little wife, ser?'" No, I have a sister."

Cesare/Lucrezia:

They're iconic. literally watch the first 15 minutes of the borgias and you will be convinced without a shadow of a doubt to vote for lucrezia/cesare. The intensity of the sexual tension is too much for mere mortals and I had to pause several times while watching in order to collect myself. Before watching the show I still had some deniability about being batshit insane but look at me now... writing propaganda for an incest poll on tumblr....

They literally fuck in the TV show and it's amazing. Insane obsessive love. He kills at least one of her husbands because he can't stand the idea of sharing her with a man who doesn't deserve her.

They're the children of the pope during renaissance era political machinations. Cesare is crazy when it comes to Lucrezia. He killed her ex-husband, he killed their brother who threatened Lucrezia's child, etc. He's also really sweet with her and they're really cute together. Lucrezia starts out young and naïve and thinks the world of her brother. After a horrible marriage and an ill-fated affair she gets more cunning and dangerous like Cesare. After her second husband proves to be a flop she decides the only person who can truly love her is her brother and she is right (they have sex on her wedding night). Overall, they are canon, incredibly in love with each other, and murder people yay!

his edit: https://www.tumblr.com/castratedvader/705351248093806592/all-he-needs-is-a-life-in-her-shape-and-so-he

[wen-kexing-apologist]

Kiss-eki: Dear to Me

*Kicks open door*

SURPRISE BITCHES! I am several days late and hundreds of dollars short, but I did finally *finally* decide to watch Kiseki: Dear to Me in an attempt to add one more show to the Completed Watchlist for 2023. This was a show I was planning on watching a bit earlier, probably closer to the time it was actually airing, because I'd heard it was ridiculous and thought it would be a good show to have on in the background during work. But @ginnymoonbeam had my best interests at heart and told me that I Absolutely Could Not Do That because There Was Body Language Dammit!

If I have not made it clear, THANK YOU FOR SAVING ME, GINNY!

Kiseki was absolutely wild and completely insane if you try to describe a single aspect of the plot whatsoever, but I would have given it a ten off sheer entertainment value if it wasn't for those back to back fake outs with Chen Yi being shot and Fan Ze Riyu being stabbed. But, I digress. I have only seen three things from Taiwan at this point, but those three shows have provided quite a lot of evidence to the claim that Taiwan is nearly unparalleled in their ability to portray domesticity and physical chemistry. I have also heard that Taiwan has a tendency to create content on more taboo subjects, and Kiseki was my first forray in to that side of Taiwan considering Ai Di and Chen Yi are brothers and Bai Zong Yi is a minor when he starts his relationship with Fan Ze Riu. I think both of these subjects were very smartly handled in their set up and their structure. I normally hate the like, adoptive siblings falling in love thing, cause like...that's your sibling, but they don't give us a lot if any flashback to these boys growing up together, and they don't share last names, or really call their adoptive father Dad, so there are quite a number of abstractions in that dynamic that means this is the first time I didn't have a squick about it. And having Fan Ze Riu trying so desperately not to succumb to his feelings for Bai Zong Yi and to put that distance between them, to have Bai Zong Yi be living alone and also be 17 so he's pretty close to legal age, and then to have Bai Zong Yi be the pursuer in their relationship both serve extremely well in making that relationship feel responsibly handled.

I have not been in the tags, so forgive me if this has already been done, but I have not stopped thinking about the first kiss between Ai Di and Chen Yi or the first kiss between Bai Zong Yi and Fan Ze Riu since I saw them and I simply *must* do a scene/body language breakdown about both of them. God, it's good to be back!

[side note: I was going to split this up with funny titles like Cat Boy and Mr. Sulky, but I realized that actually could apply to both couples...]

Ai Di and Chen Yi

Okay FIRST OF ALL, I just want to say that I love Ai Di, I love how ruthless and blood thirsty he is and how incredibly dangerous and scary he could be...if he wasn't so easy to pick up and carry around like a football, or like...a feral, hissing kitten. I am going to focus mostly on the first kiss that Chen Yi initiates with Ai Di because holy shit was there so much complex emotion and reaction packed in to that pretty small moment, but before I do that I am contractually obligated to acknowledge how fucking brilliant it is to show how much/how well Ai Di and Chen Yi know each other, by having Ai Di torture Chen Yi for information by threatening to feed Chen Yi incredibly spicy baby corn AND TO HAVE THAT TACTIC WORK. And to show how much Chen Yi tolerates by having him easily get out of the restraints and tie Ai Di up when he gets bored. Fucking incredible character choice to show how absolutely batshit Ai Di is, fucking incredible relationship choice to show how well Ai Di knows Chen Yi, and fucking incredible choice to use for a call back later. Also, fuck this show for that birthday cake scene! Brutal.

Okay. That said:

You know Ai Di has not for one second stopped loving Chen Yi, and now he is being met with some actual interest from Chen Yi. Chen Yi is full reciprocating what Ai Di has wanted for so long and if this were a typical BL with more simplestic characterization, we would have gotten the moment where Ai Di just melts in to it, fully lets himself have it. Accepts that Chen Yi has woken up, gotten with the program, and is ready to be in a relationship with him. And to be honest, that is what I was expecting. Ai Di has been such a loud and obvious simp for Chen Yi that I thought for a moment he would be the kind of person to let himself have it. To not question it too hard, especially because he is young and impulsive. So imagine my surprise when I got this reaction from him instead:

gif by @my-rose-tinted-glasses

Ai Di likes to challenge, likes to push buttons, likes to press. And he starts this scene doing just that. He is on his way to tucking Chen Yi in to bed (folding the edge of the bed spread over him because Chen Yi is drunk off his ass and too heavy for Ai Di to manhandle under the covers. But the second that Chen Yi starts simping over his Boss again, Ai Di stops performing any level of care for Chen Yi, and you can see this little change in his face where he gets annoyed and actually undoes his little moment of care and pulls the bedspread back off of Chen Yi and then he postures and he’s trying to act tough, and he’s needling intentionally, and all of these things where he is trying to be antagonistic to Chen Yi because that is the only way that Ai Di really knows how to express his emotions and he’s butt hurt about Chen Yi once against obsessing over someone Ai Di knows he can’t have when he is right there. 

Now, Ai Di gets manhandled a lot by Chen Yi and while he isn’t able to break out of it, he does very often struggle/fight back to get out of Chen Yi’s grip when he’s been baby carried away from a scene like a sack of potatoes. Which is why I do think Ai Di is giving in to his own feelings a bit here because he…doesn’t do that. He lets Chen Yi pull him closer, he lets Chen Yi push him up against the wall. And he’s still needling but it’s all bark, no bite. When he starts calling Chen Yi impotent his face softens looking up at him. 

And then Chen Yi goes in for the kiss and Ai Di’s eyes go wide, you can see an entire internal monologue running through his head. I am fairly confident there are some what the fuck what the fuck what the fuck’s going through his head when Chen Yi first kisses him. 

gif by @khaotungsfirst

There is a moment, just a moment so quick where Ai Di kisses back, where his heart gets the better of his judgment and he lets himself *have it* for *just* a second, and then his brain snaps back almost immediately and he bites Chen Yi and pushes him away. 

And honestly, I do not understand how actors work, because Ai Di’s face twitches. How the fuck does Louis do that?! He’s out of breath, and his mouth is agape, and he looks horrified, and heartbroken, and confused, but maybe a little hopeful. Like he won’t let himself believe that Chen Yi would actually do this. Like he is thinking Chen Yi is doing this out of pity, or just to shut him up, or mess with him. Because Ai Di messes with Chen Yi all the time.  This is what Ai Di wants. He wants Chen Yi, but now that he is face to face with the possibility he does not have the ability to believe in it. 

gif by @my-rose-tinted-glasses

And in a very rare occurrence he listens to Chen Yi when Chen Yi tells him to get out of his room. The gears are definitely turning, but he simply cannot believe it, and it is so fascinating to me thinking about all these little microexpressive moments we get from Ai Di later on in the show that he really does not believe that Chen Yi kissing him in Episode 6 was Chen Yi actually admitting feelings, because every time that Ai Di tries something like torturing Chen Yi with spicy baby corn, or flirting to try to get Chen Yi to be uncomfortable or to back off, he reacts with genuine confusion when Chen Yi flirts back. 

Case in point: 

gif by @25shadesoffebruary

gif by @shijiujun

Bai Zong Yi and Fan Ze Riu First Kiss

It’s really interesting for me to compare this kiss to the Ai Di and Chen Yi kiss because they feel like completely mirrored (read: reversed) reactions. Where Ai Di leans in to his kiss for a moment for a moment and then forces himself to push away, preventing further intimacy, Fan Ze Rui forces himself to push away for a moment and then leans in to it, allowing the intimacy to proceed.

gif by @alejunsu

The set up is incredible, and in my opinion, foreshadows the fake amnesia plot in that Ze Rui is absolutely laser focused on his task (treating Zong Yi’s wounds) and intentionally ignoring everything else because he knows that it is irresponsible for him to initiate a relationship with a seventeen year old. Zong Yi is the first to lean in and go for a kiss, and he lingers at a distance that is respectful but with obvious intent for as long as it takes Ze Rui to look up and notice. There is a split second where Ze Rui’s eyes flit down to Zong Yi’s lips, and then he puts himself right back on task. Zong Yi is not to be dissuaded and goes in for the kiss again. Ze Rui notices, and grabs at Zong Yi’s shoulder to stop him, furrowing his brow in what I would consider confusion and focus, but once again his eyes betray him and he looks back at Zong Yi’s lips. This time without looking away, so Zong Yi continues, leaning in slowly and Ze Rui is drawn in at this point, he is frozen there, he isn’t trying to disengage from the inevitable anymore, unable to rebel against his own desire. 

gif by @alejunsu

Their lips meet, and to me it looks like Ze Rui is shocked, like his brain has short circuited and he doesn’t know where to go from here. It’s like his body is just reacting and reacting before his brain can catch up with the responsibility. He kisses back before his brain has really processed what is happening, and then he knows he shouldn’t be doing this so he tries to push away in the most half-hearteded attempt to be responsible, and a second later he’s abandoned the effort and started engaging more enthusiastically in the kiss. 

I do not fucking know how Hsu Kai does it because I swear to god Fan Riyu was cycling through about a hundred different emotions in this one moment and they were all acting against his physical reaction to the kiss. The way his arm goes out to Bai Zong Yi's shoulder to try to keep physical distance between the two of them, while he is having a full out internal war with himself? Holy fucking shit. It’s really like his brain is going “is this actually happening? Shit yes it is I have to- fuck it” 

gif by @maxescheibechlinichacheli

And at the start of his active participation in the kiss he is still not letting himself have it. I think he is still stuck on the fact that he shouldn’t be doing this, and as a result he pushes Zong Yi back so he can see his face, study it. All it takes is for Bai Zong Yi to go back in yet again to continue their kiss, and then it’s all over for Fan Ze Rui. He’s all in. His hand goes to Zong Yi’s face, to his neck, and before we know it he is pulling himself in to Zong Yi’s lap from the floor so  smoothly. 

Reunion Sex 

I initially was only going to focus on the Ep 6 Ai Di x Chen Yi and the Episode 7 Zong Yi x Ze Rui moments in this post, but I am so in love with the structure of the reunion sex scene that I absolutely had to talk about it. 

Again, I do not understand how actors work because Hsu Kai just knocks it out of the motherfucking park. I love that when Fan Ze Rui rouses from sleep and starts muttering under his breath and engagin with Zong Yi, you don’t need any visual confirmation from the story whatsoever to understand that Ze Rui definitely has actual dreams of reuniting with Bai Zong Yi. And you don’t need that additional confirmation because of how Hsu Kai sells the talking in his sleep moment here when he’s riding on the pills and alcohol. 

gif by @wanderlust-in-my-soul

He blinks through heavy lids and reaches out toward Zong Yi instantly, his smile is absent and dreamy, and unrestrained in a way that genuinely impresses me because I feel like it is hard to pull off acting the kind of drowsy you are when you’re still trapped in the limbo between wake and sleep when you’re not actually experiencing it. Ze Rui’s touches are unrestrained, his eyes are barely opened under their own weight, and he’s loose and droopy still when Bai Zong Yi lifts him in to the hug. Ze Rui’s bones look heavy and his muscles look loose, and he’s not really able to maintain his own structure as a result. Settling back flat pretty quickly have Zong Yi has released him from his embrace. 

And then the light changes and the setting gets dreamier despite the fact that Ze Riu is actually starting to wake up, being reminded this is real, Zong Yi is real with grounded touches that we see in close up. And I am so sad we don’t get to see Ze Rui’s face at the exact moment of the scene when it clicks for him that this is real, because it happens during the close up of the hands (which I am also fine with :D). But when we pull back out into the wider shot, Ze Rui is already sobbing against Bai Zong Yi’s cheek. And Ze Rui tries his damndest to be his normal jokey, smiley self once he knows what is happening is real, because that’s who Zong Yi loves, and that’s who Zong Yi deserves after all the pain he’s suffered for Ze Rui but instead he just…breaks. Y’all I lost it at the way all the strength just falls away from Ze Rui’s voice when he says “kiddo”. How small he sounds when he says he’s sorry. The meekness in his voice during his own apology speaks volumes for how important it is, how much weight it carries. Because Ze Rui knows what happened to Zong Yi over the past four years. He knows all of it. He knows that Zong Yi went to prison to protect him, he knows that Zong Yi got attacked there, he knows that Zong Yi has memory problems now because of it. 

gif by @wanderlust-in-my-soul

He has all of this guilt that is driving the way he interacts with Bai Zong Yi in their interlude here. By the way: “It’s been 1,573 days. Did it hurt?” is joining my list of Incredibly Devastating Lines. And it’s not just because of the line itself, it’s not just because of the way Bai Zong Yi shakes his head no. It’s especially devastating to me because right before Ze Rui asks the question, he slides his hand up to the back of Bai Zong Yi’s head and massages it a little bit with his thumb, like he’s trying to rub at an ache in hopes of getting rid of the pain. It is in no way the focus of the scene, and the action is mostly cut off and regailed to the edge of the screen, but jesus fucking christ it did wonders for me in terms of selling the scene. 

Anyway, Ginny was right, the body language was incredible, and I’m glad I didn’t watch this live or else I’d have gotten zero sleep writing essays every day of the week about some of these scenes

[i-cant-sing]

hi! clarification- this isn't a request to write or anything, i just had an idea and wanted to hear your opinion on it

i know you haven't touched the demon slayer scene in a while, but considering uzui's whole nightmare house thing and tanjiro's act of I Do Not See It, do you think that y/n would actually run to another hashira as a last resort?

honestly if yes, i'm betting its giyuu. man is a platonic yandere but would not stand for shit and is probably one of the least insane (although that means. very little in the grand scheme of things). idk i just have the idea in my head of giyuu smuggling y/n into his estate when she needs a break, and going papa wolf whenever uzui fucking breathes in her vicinity, deep-seated insecurities or not. he may not win, necessarily, but dammit will he try.

(can you tell i have a bias-)

No cause I 10000% agree with you. With Tanjirou constantly ignoring your story about being fucking abused physically and psychologically by Uzui+wives, and not paying attention to Nezuko being distressed over your ptsd state, and EVEN looking away when Uzui and the wives are constantly trying to create opportunities to corner you and being a little to touchy with you (and you're flinching away), someone else has to step up and help. And I have 2 people in mind for that.

First, is ofc Giyuu, cause why wouldn't he??? His moral compass is clear as day and he doesn't even need to be a yandere for him to absolutely shred everyone to pieces just to protect you. He can see the fear in your eyes, he can practically feel the hopelessness and anxiety you're suffering through. I think he may even try to convince Tanjiro to see that you're actually telling the truth, but he's not going to break his back to make him believe it. No, he doesn't exactly need him to protect you. Again, I see Giyuu becoming a platonic yandere, maybe more of a brother than as a father figure, and while he's... emotionally stunted, he's going wayyyy out of his comfort zone to console you. Expect a lot of head pats and deep words to assure you. He's a great listener, if it helps. ALSO, I can also see that if Uzui+wives come with other Hashiras to fight Giyuu for you, then Giyuu doesn't exactly have any qualms about joining forces with demons to protect you. Like I just know that if reader vouches for him to papa Muzan and the 12 moons, they would (hesitantly) accept Giyuu and you. After all, he has been the only human so far who's been kind to you.

Another option that I think would step tf up for reader is Sanemi, as a romantic yandere. Because this man, he's got love on the brain and he's fucking KILLING ANYONE WHO TRIES TAKINGBL YOU AWAY FROM HIM. Fr fr, he will actually fight all the hashiras and 12 moons for you. Will he win? No one knows for sure because like I said, he's absolutely batshit crazy when he's in love. Like one peck on the cheek from you is enough fuel for him to obliterate everyone with in 12 miles. Imagine what he's willing to do if he sees you waking up screaming and crying from the nightmares you have of Uzui.

[laiosynth]

transfem kuai liang headcanon

hi. as a precursor to this whole post, i'm going to give the forwarning that i am absolutely batshit insane about this. if one could call an avid fan of something 'down the rabbit hole', then i am in the core of the fucking planet of this. i am thinking about her at all hours of the day. i have a several thousand WC braindump doc that i still need to elaborate on. with that said, if you're willing to give a look-see, jump down the rabbit hole with me as i give you the rundown.

i have many, many, many words about her. many of them. but i'll try to summarize my reasoning for this particular headcanon because it's actually much much deeper than the initial vibes.

THE DEEPER REASONING

kuai as a character seems really closed-off and disconnected. especially when we first meet him. he's duty first, no-nonsense. he's quiet. and then we get to know him more, and to know bi-han more, and there's this... sense of unease, somewhat? like bi-han, we can see that he is standing on firm foundations of his ideals. we know what he wants. we know who he is. he stays true to these ideals, even by betraying his brothers to join the side of shang tsung and quan chi. he is a character who knows what he wants and we can predict his actions based on it. on the other hand, in contrast, kuai liang seems almost... unstable, in a sense, and adrift. we only really get to know the fact that he valued his father's teachings. and bi-hans betrayal seems to throw him even more adrift.

and being adrift and unstable on his foundations is a trait i see VERY often in my own experience and in the experience of my transfem friends (and here we hit my biggest point on why i headcanon kuai liang as transfem-- the sheer number of parallels between his story and trans experiences).

when bi-han betrays the lin kuei, and in turn, kuai and smoke, kuai has no issues taking down SEVERAL fighters along with general shao-- and you can sense the rage that fuels it (yet another parallel with trans experience). that feeling of 'i put faith in you, i trusted you,', and in this case, 'i followed you, i am who i am because of you, i changed myself for you, and you repay me with this?'

it's unbelievable pain and anger and betrayal, and though he eventually calms enough that he goes back to his quiet, calculative self, it's earth-shaking. this parallels a lot of the feeling, in the trans experience, of the betrayal you feel when your loved ones, the ones you trusted, you changed yourself for, turn to transphobia and terf rhetoric. turn to the beliefs you know hurt people (earthrealm, or your trans friends) and hurt you, and make you their new target.

i'm sad we don't get much focus on kuai liang after that chapter of the story-- i'd pay good money to get an expansion of his story. we know at the very least that he goes on with smoke to form the shirai ryu, and train the young hanzo hasashi, but that tells us nothing, so i don't have a lot to work with. but that gives a lot of wiggle room when making guesses at his character.

reviewing what we know, i reiterate that parallels make kuai liang's character incredibly readable as trans-coded. and i will say now that i know nothing about him screams 'fem!', but i see his character as transfem because of other things-- once again, parallels. kuai liang, as a character, is very clearly honor-driven. he values, above all, his family. his lost father, his bonds with his brothers. his clan. and on top of that, none of his character reads... as 'man' to me. kuai just doesn't read as someone who identifies with a man to me. by that, i mean that he does not seem... comfortable or confident in his masculinity. and that disconnect, once again, is a DIRECT parallel to trans experiences.

THE FUN STUFF

ok now that i've gotten that out of my system i can tell you about the more fun headcanons i have around her heheh

uses she/he pronouns

smoke gave her a golden scorpion-shaped hair claw and she uses it ALL THE TIME.

she likes to wear eyeliner in everyday life and do fancy eyeliner for battle

he and smoke have bonding time while smoke braids her hair. she very frequently falls asleep during braiding time.

smoke is also her biggest supporter, but hanzo is very frequently fighting for the title.

i will be adding more as i think about it. this is all for today. i hope you enjoyed this post. ok byeeeee

[hanakou-often]

One day, when Kou was still caught between his crush for Nene and otherwise, he decided to try and bake something for her as a thank you for something idk ... Anyways, he was struggling over what to make, when Hanako appeared to see what he was doing (because he was bored) so, they end up making donuts, and Kou offers him some as a thanks and also they just get up to cute baking shenanigans lol

Sorry if this was like ooc or something lmao

AWWW it's not ooc at all!! I can definitely see this happening behind the scenes :D To add onto this:

I'd like to think the thank you gift is for babysitting Tiara over the weekend!! The Minamoto brothers had an important excursion together and urgently needed a babysitter and Nene steps up to the challenge (something something Kou thinks seeing Nene being so good with kids is absolutely adorable and something something she'll be a great wife and mother of a lucky someone someday)!! Knowing that Tiara can be a lot sometimes, he decides to treat Nene with a baked good when he got back

when Hanako suggests donuts, Kou would look at him stupid asking, "you just want them for yourself, don't you?" And Hanako would just pout, guilty as charged. With a sigh Kou agrees and he can't deny how much he enjoys seeing Hanako light up.

Hanako is horrible at baking but he'll watch over Kou's shoulder, jokingly nitpicking everything he does and it would drive Kou batshit insane sometimes ("Aren't you supposed to wear gloves, kid? You know I'd hate for someone to get sic--" "As if you know anything about cleanliness, you live in a damn bathroom")

Kou burns himself and Hanako kisses it better like in this art (I tried reverse searching for the original artist but nothing turned up 💔 If anyone knows who they are, please let me know!!)

Hanako taste tests the raw dough and Kou panics, worrying he'd get sick and die until he realizes 'oh yeah. He's. A ghost.' For weeks to come Hanako would love to hang it over him, always teasing him for being so forgetful ("aww worried for lil ol' meeee?") <3 He never tells him how endearing he actually finds Kou's useless worries are though lol

When it's all said and done Kou reluctantly hands some to Hanako partly as a thanks for his company and partly as a bribe ("how many donuts does it take for you to leave me alone next time?" ���Nice try, kid. You’re stuck with me forever.”)

There’s more to be had in the actual baking process shenanigans but all in all, it’s a pretty cute headcanon!! Thank you for the ask, I’ll be chewing on these ideas for a while LMAO

[still-a-morosexual-help]

I like to imagine twst and obey me sharing an mc for the express purpose of having interactions between malleus and mammon, because the parallel and contrasts between their personalities are so funny to me lmao

*eyeing Mammon's dragon wings, the dragon on his yukata & all the fire symbolism surrounding him* Listen, if the two mcs were the same person, they would fucking h a t e each other. Mammon is already possessive enough and apparently Malleus is too

Mammon doesn't fight unless he's pushed to it and, from what I've seen so far, neither does Malleus - it'd be a lot of really really weird posturing, a lot of "actually I'M their favourite"

That being said, as much as I've grown to love twst's mc they absolutely in no way compare to om's batshit mc

twst's mc actually has a self preservation instinct and doesn't actively seek out danger despite always getting in it, also doesn't seem to be a monsterfucker.

OM's mc on the otherhand has 0 self preservation, actively sticks their nose into situations they know can get them killed, is very much dtf even when they are being threatened with death (halloween event, 1st paws event, mammon's vampire card, possible more tbh), becomes a little bit prone to violence & destruction after they get powers to the point that they get called out by Mammon (ok fair enough) but also by Lucifer & Belphie of all people

So I propose: Let them be friends.

twst mc needs an adult in their life who has already gone through the whole "providing therapy to 7 traumatised overpowered idiots on the verge of a mental breakdown" process & come out stronger.

They need someone they can complain to who'll understand exactly what they're going through.

Also at the rate they're going, they need to learn how to defend themself & om mc is canonically really strong (enough to kick down levi's locked door & stop themself and simeon from being pulled into a "blackhole" that sucked in Mammon & Levi - ik mammon & levi are physically two of the weakest brothers but that's still an insane amount of strength on mc's part), can use a sword (Lucifer taught them for the tsl play and given how much of a perfectionist Lucifer is - they know how to use a sword), can use a bow & arrow (according to a HoL chat)

tldr: twst mc desperately needs an adult on their side who understands & helps them

[the0retically]

The Suckening: The Unseen One #5:

I wrote down all of my thoughts while listening to the episode and a lot of quotes that I just love, Wild episode y’all my god, spoilers below!

- “He did a very respectable one point of damage then DIED” CHARLIE PLEASE

- Emizel come back please

- “I’m walking at a soccer mom speed” ARTHUR??

- WHY IS EDWARD TWILIGHT OK

- DEACON! “That is deacon, that is my boy right there” me too shilo

- Oh god combat right out of the gate with Deacon

- Oh my god none of them are safe, they’re all going to die

- “You’re such a wieners boy” “I GAVE YOU WIENERS, BOY!”

- ……Arthur?? You ok?

- “Deacon you’re friends are already dead” SHILO PLEASE

- I love how they stop fighting just because Shilo asks them to

- Deacon and Arthur are now just flirting, goodness

- I LOVE GREFGORE!!!! He’s insane, why was he climbing on the top of the building????? He just attacked Deacon

- HE ROLLED 6 SUCCESSES WHAT????? GREFGORE PLEASE

- DID HE JUST KILL DEACON????

- GREFGORE I LOVE YOU

- ok deacon’s ok oh my god

- GREFORE PLEASE!! He’s batshit, he’s amazing, just fully elbowed Deacon down into the ground and beat him into unconsciousness

- EMIZEL!!!!!!!!!!! HE OPENS HIS EYES!!!!!!!! LETS GO!!!!!!!!

- Oh? Pepper is here! In this creepy blood space!

- BUT HES AWAKE!! HES OUT OF THE RUIN!! Butt naked?? BUT PEPPER GOT HIM!!

- THEO!! OH MY GOD??? He can’t drink soda so now he’s just an alcoholic????

- God as someone who’s named Theo it will never not fuck with me whenever they refer to Soda as Theo

- “There’s water” “Shut Up about Water man”

- Oh god the castle burnt down

- “I guess it’s big since it’s on Fox News” “yeah you see it switch over and a news anchor go: ‘Now back to racism’” BASED CHARLIE SLIMECICLE SO FUCKING BASED—“Change the channel to Family Guy now” HAHA WHY ARE THEY SO GOOD AT THE VOICES?? Bizly, Grizzly PLEASE

- The boys are going insane this episode oh my god

- The image of Deacon and Arthur both opening the door to the “sex motel” is so funny

- The twins!! They’re bonding but also not at all

- Oh :( “emizel…I thought you were dead” shilo :(

- Shilo is losing it, he’s Angry boy

- “Are you really my brother?” :(

- “Grefgore we’re going to go sulk in the closet”

- “I thought you were going to protect me?”

- Oh more Arthur lore!!!!

- THE GRIFFITH OBSERVATORY??

- Ooooh the unseen one, interesting

- “And you’re looking good, you’re looking real good” DEACON?? YOU FIRST TRIED TO KILL HIM NOW YOU’RE JUST FLIRTING-I swear at some point deacon’s gonna take Arthur out to the woods and ya know

- “It’s cool, I shot you” “yeah she’ll be hearing about it” SHILO?? MY GOD

- Shilo if anything bad happens to you I’m gonna sob

- Goodness there’s so much to unpack from the conversation between Arthur and Deacon when the boys decide to go with Arthur and that they feel safer with him

- Like Arthur is so scared and tells them that he is not reliable and he won’t be able to keep them safe but they both are just comfortable with him and the fact that he’s been trying this entire time is what matters more

- I love their dynamic so much

- Arthur immediately trying to not let the boys see the threesome is so funny and wholesome??

- “Greg Fore” “that is weird my prince” GREFGORE!

- “How can we expedite the scene?” “….we’re going into a new scene right now” BIZLY PLEASE THE SCENE ENDED WHAT DO YOU MEAN MY BOY?

- “Is this a brothers thing? Are we doing a brothers thing?” “I think we are” I LOVE THEM

- “I love you very much” “I love you too my prince” I LOVE THEM

- WHY ARE THEY JUST DOING FAMILY GUY VOICES

- I do love that emizel is trying to help shilo out when he’s crying and he’s just comforting him :( I love the brothers so much

- Oh no-is she dead?? Charlie that’s horrible, Shilo can talk about it now so she cannot be ok

- Arthur what is your deal?

- Charlie why do you love to make mothers who try their hardest but ultimately come up short it breaks me

- “The only way life has meaning is because there’s death at the end of it” Arthur :(

- He feels betrayed and is in an anguished frenzy :(

- “I look at him and Arthur just sees himself” PLEASE THEY BREAK ME

- “I’m kicking dumpsters” ok—WAIT

- WHAT?? EMIZEL??? HE JUST GOT A STAKE THROUGH HIS HEART OH MY GOD EMIZEL DUDE??

- GREFGORE STOP CLIMBING ONTO ROOFS PLEASE IM CRYING WITH LAUGHTER

- “You look a little less sad today, good for you” :(( Arthur is getting happier

- STOP BULLYING THEO!!!!!! LEAVE HIM BE!! He’s just so sad now :((

- Shilo and Grefgore make me so happy :((

- “Is this how you felt when you put Felipe in the plot?” CHARLIE

- “Roll to see if he goes into rehab or if he gets worse” JUST LET HIM GET BETTER

- Arthur hears his name?? In the room with the Unseen??

- Oh god yeah here’s the horror, thank you Slimecicle time to be Scared

- This walk down the corridor is so scary, the fact that Emizel heard Theo yell out to him SO FREAKY so well done!!

- CHARLIE STOP MAKING THEM HEAR THE VOICES OF WHO THEY CARE ABOUT

- “You were always the best of us, weren’t you shilo?” Charlie loves that line doesn’t he

- God Grizz why did Arthur open his eyes and NOW BIZLY AND CONDI HAVE TO LEAVE??

- “I open my eyes” “are you serious? I thought that’d be harder” CHILLS

- oh god he has to get them to open their eyes too, what is up with Grizz having to be against the boys in Charlie’s campaigns

- “Emizel I will lose no more family today, don’t listen to him” IM CRYING

- CONDI WHY AHHAHA

- The continuous bit of Grefgore just scaling the ceilings and walls is so funny

- This encounter with The Unseen is So Cool I love this

- I love this so much, the shifting voices and asking for knowledge to keep is just so Well Done, I adore this, Charlie this is epic

- AMAZING SESSION OH MY GOD LOVED IT, new favorite episode of this campaign it was amazing

[negativeautismrep]

there's been a rise in appreciating '12 feral leo and i just want to say, you all have to get into idw right fucking now. the 2012 series was HUGELY inspired by early idw issues, taking many MANY elements from it. (like a lot. enough for '12 to be considered a kind of lowkey inconsistent idw adaptation) and i am telling you, as a certified hamato leonardo expert that his characterization in idw is just. INSANE. this is getting way longer than originally intended when i just wanted to show just how unhinged he is.

( just a few selected moments for a little taste i don't want to spoil anything for ppl who plan to read idw)

-

this. this one is just UP there in my "top leo moments across the tmntverse" like the entire thing. the build up to this moment in the entire chapter really helps with it, but like just these two single frames. how other than his lil bro everybody is losing their shit. the qoute??? talk about fucking RAW. like just look at this.

"sometimes a leader has to become the things he hates, to take care of the ones he loves." BANGER BANGER BANGER

this one is another favorite that unfortunately needs prior knowledge to make it really stick but just enjoy the absolute batshit, feral behavior of leonardo brutally making the bird mutant essentially flightless.

"get away from her. can't you hear? she's done."

"yeah. i think you're right." HELLO????

there are plenty more moments of hinged leo behavior in idw but just overall. he's sooo good in idw okay he's a great brother and really amps up the parent behavior and i may have talked about only him, but idw has great angst for donnie raph and mikey too (like. GREAT) flawless raph and mikey character building, a fresh reincarnation plot, MOM TANG SHEN, lowkey bad parent splinter, jenny and the foot leo plot everyone alr knows, interesting mutant characters, saki has a sexy kitsune wife, gods exists and idk man it's just an amazing tmnt run go read it. (and then come talk shit about the +100 chapters with me bc they mostly suck </3)

[fernsnailz]

i love reading your sonic loreposts i was wondering if you could please explain archie charmy to me, i have heard stuff and i am so curious but i am not a comics in general kinda person. the lsd poisoned friend or the brain damage literally just anything that happens to him your pick

hi anon i’m just going to go over everything that happens to archie charmy pre-reboot so i hopefully never have to talk about it after this. i'm sorry i'm so so sorry

Archie Charmy is subject to a lot of controversy and discussion because despite his limited role in the comics, he goes through some of the most batshit insane character and plot beats in the whole series (and that you’ve already mentioned). I’ll be skimming over some of the more boring parts, but the wild stuff I'll go pretty in-depth with.

I’ll also be attempting to explain WHY all of this happens to Charmy Bee of all characters, taking into account the context of the story, what was happening behind the scenes in the writer’s room, and even comic trends in general. I want to try and keep away from the very reactionary “wow archie sonic is sooooo crazy” discussion that happens around this stuff and hopefully provide a little more useful analysis. i talk about comic PSAs for a while so be warned

There are some very, very important content warnings that are coming with Archie Charmy lore: warning for non-consensual drug use and overdose (specifically LSD), child death, genocide, implied ableism, memory loss, implied age regression, breif homophobia mention (not related to charmy)

this is going to be a very long one. charmy lore under the cut

INTRODUCTION - CHAOTIX

Charmy Bee’s first appearance in Archie Sonic is in the Knuckles’ Chaotix special, which adapts the first game he appeared in. This issue introduces the entire Chaotix cast (six new characters) in a mere four pages, so Charmy doesn’t make much of an impression other than “bee who likes to explore and adventure.” He lacks that annoying little brother personality that he has in most Sonic media, and he’ll often speak with language that feels extremely out of character for the Charmy that most people know.

This is because this version of Charmy is based off of his character description from the Knuckles’ Chaotix game manual. Despite the series being based off of the video game franchise, the Archie Sonic writers were often given very little information about upcoming game releases from SEGA when they were asked to adapt them into the comics. Often they had to go digging for the canonical materials themselves - for example, the only way they were able to adapt Sonic Adventure into the comics is because Patrick Spaziante (one of the comic’s artists) had a Japanese version of the game that he bought himself. They had no English translation and zero guidance from SEGA, so they had to attempt to piece the story together without SEGA's help. This was the case with most of the game adaptations, and it was honestly a miracle that they had access to the manual for Knuckles’ Chaotix at all.

There’s just one problem: the manual for Knuckles’ Chaotix describes a version of Charmy that is very, very different from the one we know of today. It describes a 16-year old that is… sophisticated?

(sorry for the low quality, there aren't many images of the manual. also fun fact, there was no age for Charmy listed in the original Japanese manual)

Charmy's differing age and personality will lead to many, many problems, as the writers decided to give the “sophisticated” Charmy darker stories. This brings us to the Knuckles the Echidna mini-series.

The Knuckles mini-series is. Bad. Charmy Bee is certainly there for the first few issues (as are most of the Chaotix), but he doesn’t get much focus until issue 13.

I don’t know how to put this in a way that doesn’t sound extremely blunt: This is the issue where Charmy’s best friend overdoses on LSD and dies.

PART 1 - MELLO

Charmy's best friend is named Mello Bee. This is his first and last appearance in the series.

Mello started feeling strange on their return trip from Happyland, a sketchy theme park that recently reopened under new management. Charmy isn't sure why Mello died, but Constable Reminton (essentially the sheriff of Echidnopolis) reveals that there have been a series of cases similar to Mello's - cases where people were suffering from… Lemon Sundrop Dandelion poisoning.

The Chaotix go to Happyland to see if they can find the source of the poisoning, but what they don't know is that it's actually laced into the food. The manager of Happyland, Renfield T. Rodent, has been lacing the park's chili dogs with LSD in hopes of making everyone addicted to them. However, the amount of LSD he's been putting into the food is too much for most people to handle. This is probably the most insane paragraph I've had to write for one of these loreposts

Unknown to the Chaotix, they all start eating the chili dogs during their investigation (except for Julie-Su and Knuckles, who is absent) and start tripping balls.

Continuing the story into issue 14, Charmy’s LSD trip reveals that he’s actually the prince of a bee colony and has been running away from his responsibilities as a member of the royal family.

Charmy is knocked out for the rest of this arc as he goes through his trip - they have to operate on him and some other stuff happens I guess (Julie-Su gets thrown off of a roof, Knuckles fights some guys in a desert, Vector is a misogynist, stuff like that). At the end of issue 15, Charmy learns from his trip and returns to his family, temporarily leaving the Chaotix to return to his royal duties. Mello's family and his all mourn Mello's death and bury him back at their home.

So. What was the fucking point of all that

In the long-term, Charmy returning home to his family essentially writes him out of the story for a while. Knuckles the Echidna issue 15 released in 1998, and Charmy doesn't really return until 2001. While I'm not entirely sure what the reason for this was, there were so many members of the Chaotix that I honestly think this was an okay decision.

However, there's one very important question left to answer: Why was LSD and a drug overdose included in this arc at all?

When I first read this arc, I had a burning thought that I couldn't get out of my mind:

PART 1.5 - wait is this an anti-drug PSA?

(if you want to avoid me talking in-depth about the abilities of LSD and my ramble about comic PSAs for a while, you can skip to PART 2 where I continue the Charmy lore)

Comic PSAs (Public Service Announcements) and propaganda are a fundamental part of the medium’s history, whether it be to aid their country’s war efforts, give health information to their readers, or warn kids about the dangers of drug abuse. While a comic being used as a PSA isn’t inherently a bad thing, it’s usually VERY obvious. One of the most interesting ones I've found is a PSA that features Green Lantern debunking misinformation about the AIDS crisis. The image quality isn’t great, but the comic doesn’t hold back when talking about how the AIDS crisis is spreading homophobic ideology - if you read this, you know it’s a PSA and you know what message it’s trying to send. Sometimes propaganda can be subtle, but PSAs are usually loud.

(cw: homophobia)

This is why anti-drug PSAs are so common and so remembered - they’re over the top, they’re blunt (lol), and they have a very specific message they’re trying to send. For example, there’s an issue of New Teen Titans from 1983 that introduce a character called the Protector to teach kids about drug awareness where the issue literally starts with the Teen Titans in an auditorium telling kids about a dangerous drug. This issue also includes some bad trip imagery, and it’s uh… honestly i kinda love this

Anti-drug PSAs usually don’t work for this very reason - showing how a drug affects fictional characters can increase interest in the substance, and a single superhero telling someone to stop smoking is not going to break someone’s addiction.

So. Is Knuckles the Echidna issues 13-15 an anti-drug PSA?

Probably not, but if it is it’s doing a fucking terrible job of it

Some of the main factors of a PSA are the information it's presenting, the opinion it wants the consumer to develop, and the bluntness of its presentation. While this part of the Knuckles series is certainly over the top, the rest of these factors are really muddy. First, anti-drug PSAs usually don’t create a fake drug to replace the one they’re advising against. An anti-weed campaign will just tell you that weed is bad because that’s the opinion it wants you to walk away with. So when Knuckles issue 13 introduces a substance called “Lemon Sundrop Dandelion” and never actually refers to it as LSD, it’s less of a message about “drug bad” and more just a sly nudge and wink that goes “hey you see that? yeah, that’s drug.”

Then there’s the problem that there isn’t really much of a lesson to be had from these issues regarding drug use. Yes, Mello dies horrifically of an overdose, but most of the cast is able to walk off the trip like it’s nothing. Charmy needs to be operated on, but the doctors literally treat it like it’s fucking NOTHING

he's literally talking about how he told a patient that couldn't afford surgery to go to the butcher like HUH?????

In fact, Charmy’s trip seems to help him in the long run - he’s forced to face his past, and eventually returns to his family because of the literal guilt trip he has. It’s a fundamental part of his character arc.

This isn’t to say that I wish these issues were explicitly drug PSAs - I bring all of this up because these issues were released in 1998, in an era where the anti-drug movement was arguably at its peak. The people working on these comics would KNOW its content is similar to and even promotes the anti-drug movement. While I don't consider these issues to be an anti-drug PSA, they can definitely serve as anti-drug propaganda.

With this in mind, considering Knuckles the Echidna as a form of propaganda really opens up how utterly terrible these issues are. These comics can be genuinely harmful pieces of anti-drug propaganda because the way they use LSD to advance they plot is untrue to how the drug actually works and relies entirely on fear mongering. While LSD can be laced into other substances like drinks, it probably wouldn't last long in cooked meat - LSD usually degrades at higher temperatures, and telling comic readers that they need to be afraid of LSD-laced fair food is fucking stupid and likely based on false urban legends. Not only that, but Renfield T. Rodent’s plot to addict everyone to his LSD chili dogs is also fucking stupid because LSD is not considered an addictive substance. It can be extremely dangerous at high or multiple doses, but LSD does not normally lead to compulsive use.

I don’t talk about all of this to be a cinemasins guy or to nitpick a comic from 1998, and I also don't want to imply that PSAs can't spread lies and misinformation (anti-drug PSAs famously over-exaggerate things). I bring all of this up to show an ineffective and possibly dangerous use of something that could be considered anti-drug propaganda. Spreading blatantly untrue information and placing false fears into a reader’s mind is truly incompetent on the writer’s behalf, especially considering that this comic was targeted at kids. And that’s not even mentioning that there’s barely any moral to all of this. There’s no lesson and they never talk about this again.

Do I think this was all intentional on the behalf of the writers? I have no idea. I have no goddamn idea what they were thinking with this one, and I honestly don't think much thought was put into this arc at all. Maybe this was a strange attempt to make a Sonic-themed anti-drug PSA, maybe they were just inspired by the drug PSAs of their time when writing this, or maybe they just did not care. I don't know man. Anti-drug propaganda is stupid and it doesn't work and these comics drive me crazy

alright enough of that. let's talk about genocide

PART 2 - SAFFRON

don’t worry this part will be shorter (cheering and clapping)

Like I mentioned a while back, Charmy is essentially written out of the story for a while after the Mello incident. While living in the Golden Hive Colony, he reunites with another friend, Saffron Bee. Saffron becomes Charmy’s girlfriend, and they’re together for basically the rest of the comic. Usually if Charmy shows up, Saffron is there too.

(image of Charmy and Saffron I stole from... the Shipping Wiki??)

They eventually return to help Chaos Knuckles, a green version of Knuckles who is uh. Kinda going through it. Not much important Charmy lore needs to be discussed here, but some of his actions do eventually lead to him creating a genocidal villain that will cause many problems later. Don’t worry about it.

Things are quiet for a while for Charmy and Saffron. That is, until Eggman attacks their colony and wipes out most of its population.

Charmy and Saffron are the only survivors we see from the Golden Hive Colony. Eggman transforms the colony into a new base and traps its residents in an invention of his called the Egg Grapes - basically, he puts Mobians in these little pods that sap all of their life force, powering his empire. Most people do not survive the Egg Grapes.

The two bees return to join the Chaotix for a little while, and the rest of the Chaotix confirm that the Golden Hive Colony and its residents are truly gone. Espio destroys what’s left of the colony so Eggman can’t use it as a base, and no other survivors from the colony are found.

So. yeah what the fuck

Archie Sonic is known to have a LOT of characters - I’ve talked about the sheer number of echidnas the series has before, but there are a lot of characters that have massive extended families. The arc where Mello died introduced like eight new bee characters, but most of them were background characters that didn’t need to stick around.

Most people cite writer Ian Flynn’s debut to the series as when a lot of these unneeded/background characters were written out or killed off, and I agree since one of his objectives as a writer was to tighten up the story. However, the trend of “Archie background characters getting killed off or written out” started a little bit before he joined the team. There’s the destruction of the Golden Hive, and many echidnas in this arc suffer from the horrors of war - a number die off after Charmy and Saffron rejoin the Chaotix. yeah it's kinda fucked up

This is the second major arc where Charmy has lost people close to him - first Mello, and now his entire family and kingdom. The same goes for Saffron - they only have each other left. I mean the Chaotix are also there but still, trauma is trauma

How could it get any worse?

PART 3 - CHARMY

Remember how Archie Charmy is based off of the Knuckles’ Chaotix manual? The one that said he was sophisticated and 16?

This is about to cause a few problems.

At this point, it’s around 2007. The Knuckles’ Chaotix manual is terribly outdated, and most versions of Charmy within canon are 6 year-old kids. Charmy is known to be the annoying comedic relief, which is the exact opposite from how he’s portrayed in Archie Sonic.

So when SEGA asked writer Ian Flynn to change Archie Sonic to be like his video game counterpart, the solution was uh. well. it could have been handled better

Like how he obliterated the Golden Hive Colony, Eggman’s next target to destroy is Knothole, the city where Sonic and the Freedom Fighters all live. It’s a surprise to all of the residents, and he manages to teleport most of the population into his Egg Grapes. Before Sonic can save them, Eggman singles out Charmy to be used as an example of how the Egg Grapes work.

Sonic and friends manage to get Charmy out, but not before the damage is already done. In the limited amount of time the Grape sapped his life force, Charmy’s memory was partially wiped and personality changed forever. After this, Charmy has very little memory of the Golden Hive Colony at all, only seeming to remember Saffron and his friends. His becomes much more child-like, similar to his game counterpart.

the fucking sigh i just sighed

For clarification, Charmy is still 16. The only thing that was altered was his mind, with the intention to make his personality more in-line with his goofy video game counterpart. The problem is that giving a character brain damage to turn them into a comedic relief character is fucked up and unintentionally ableist.

This is something that writer Ian Flynn identified pretty early and openly regrets (I’m not sure what the source of that statement is, I’m assuming an episode of Bumblekast but I’m don’t know which one. I’ll edit this if I find it). Because of this, he mostly kept Charmy out of any comedic situations for the rest of the series. Charmy has a very limited role in the series after this until the reboot, only appearing sporadically and in one Sonic Universe arc. When he does show up, his childish demeanor is usually met with the patience of the Chaotix and their sad expressions.

Although the intention was to make Archie Charmy more like his game counterpart, in practice I honestly think this action only made Archie Charmy even MORE distant from his game character. From the Egg Grape incident to the reboot, Archie Charmy’s trauma never leaves my mind and leaves me feeling strangely hollow.

CONCLUSION - WHAT THE FUCK

I find the Archie Sonic series unfathomably fascinating. While I love the series, I can’t deny that most of the events I went over are poorly handled by the writing team and leave the series with such a strange legacy. With Archie Sonic, it’s often incredibly easy to see the biases of the writers and how they affect the characters and stories, leading to some genuinely fucked up moments that could have easily been avoided in my opinion.

Archie Charmy was really one of the characters that got it the worst, but it's honestly so strange that all of this happened to him specifically. The fact that all of this shit happens to a silly little bee is so, so Archie Sonic to me. Charmy is such a simple character to understand - he's a funny kid who's kinda annoying and hard to handle. So when I look back and see the 3,000+ words I just wrote about Archie Charmy... fucking hell why did i do that

In conclusion. I am sorry and do not become a comics person

thanks for reading if you got this far. as always let me know if i need to tag any other content warnings or if there was anything i got wrong! alright good night tristate area

[icekingofhope]

who is your favorite character from LMK? And your least favorite?

oh well I have many favorites of mine although my main favorite is the camel ridge trio (Peng tusk and azure) they are honestly not just my most favorite villains of lmk but in media

And what the season 4 special did to them was such bullshit but I already went in why I hate the special before

Cause like I can see their cause and actually rooted for them to win in season 4 I can see why they want to dethrone the jade emperor and why they wouldn’t let anyone stand in their way!

especially considering the times of ancient China cause let’s face it despite how beautiful and amazing the ancient times were…they were really problematic cause like slavery was a thing and normalized back then

and we also have problems in modern society with politics world hunger etc so it would make since why azure Peng and tusk would do the things they do and I can understand why they felt so betrayed by wukong cause imagine your leader who you haven’t seen in 500 years (assuming they didn’t even know he was sealed away under a mountain) and hearing about him again but he is working for a monk who was a celestial to get scriptures from India and your said brother had attacked not only demons but your old sworn brothers as well and even killed one (aka macaque)

I would honestly feel betrayed and angry myself yet I love how azure doesn’t hate wukong or hold grudges he literally was gonna keep him in the scroll till he killed the jade emperor then he would have released him and help him see reason

like I can talk about these three All damn day they are my absolute favorites of mine and they deserved a lot better then what the special did (and azure definitely did not deserve to be villainized and transformed into some type of tyrant and don’t say “well he had a lot of power so-“ my friend he was king before and from what I seen in jttw he was a great leader he literally calls his soldiers little wind cutters and don’t say they were always evil keep in mind it was wukong who attacked first they weren’t gotta hurt the monk or anything it just when wukong attacked they got pissed off cause it this)

and it makes me sad that people would hate these guys subjecting them to stereotypes that Peng is a asshole azure is a evil person and Yellowtusk…well who cares about him? Cause like all three of them are amazing characters in the show and book and mythology (even though it’s mostly Peng who is most of the mythology)

anyways for my least favorite…

it has to be either xiangliu or the mayor

unfortunately I could care less for xiangliu like I personally think he is a massive hypocrite and also batshit insane-

like he is not a monster he is just a psychopath cause who in their right mind literally starts the end of the world CAUSE OF FUCKING CHAOS?!

Now he may probably come back in next season I don’t know but right now I hate him

for the mayor….to me I don’t really also care much to me he is just the lady bone demons servant and it sucks cause like we don’t get to see why he is the way he is and why he fellows lady bone demon like a lapdog

and it feels weird at the end of the season 3 special he is nowhere to be seen i feel like if they expanded his lore more i may would have find him cool but like there is barely shit about him

(also I kinda hate his design it just looks so basic like I’m not asking for full details but make him not look like a business man with a bad haircut)

so yeah my main favorite is azure Peng and tusk and my least are either xiangliu and mayor

[anonymouslobster01]

Why each loser in IT 1986 is better than the 2017 version

Bill

-HES SO FUCKING SASSY IN THE BOOK! it’s so fun. he’s much more of a leader in the book and he’s really cool. Bossy too, but in the way where his character has depth and isn’t just annoying. Also he’s not a fucking dumbass! In the movie, he’s all like “georgie isn’t dead, he’s missing :(((“ but in the book he’s like “this fucking clown murdered my brother, time to go get my revenge” he’s just so much better but honestly not the one I have the most beef with

Mike

-oh, you mean to tell me in the book he actually has a character? he’s not just there for no reason? WHAT AN INTERESTING CONCEPT! too bad the movie decided not to keep it. He’s an icon in the book, smart and controlled and understanding of the world and the cycle. In the movie, Ben is the one who talks about derrys history, but Mike takes that role in the book, something much more befitting of his character imo. In the movie, especially the 2nd, he’s a raving, frantic maniac who has lost his mind after staying in Derry for so long. This isn’t his character at all in the book. He actually knows what he’s doing and is the most measured out of all the losers [also in the book he almost fucking dies lmao]

Bev

-I have mixed feelings about Bev’s character tbh. Her character in the book isn’t the best, due to ✨sexism✨, and on the surface she seems a lot cooler in the movie BUT HERES THE THING they basically took Richie’s book character and gave it to her. The whole bravery thing, sticking with bill, etc etc THAT WAS RICHIE!!!! THAT WAS HIS CHARACTER!!!! HE WAS BILLS RIGHT HAND MAN!!!! WHAT THE FUCK!!

Stan

He doesn’t have much of a character in the book, and the movie isn’t much better. I like him better in the book bc he’s autistic and his special interest is birds and he yells the names of birds at It it’s really cute

Richie

dear god. WOW I LOVE HOW THEY REMOVED ALL OF HIS DEPTH AND MADE HIM A SILLY LITTLE SIDE CHARACTER THAT ONLY MAKES JOKES!!! I LOVE HOW THEY REMOVED HIS VOICES!!! I LOVE HOW HES SUCH A WHINY BITCH AND HE DOESNT WANNA DO ANYTHING!!! I LOVE HOW HE FOUGHT WITH BILL!!! I LOVE HOW HIS FEAR OF EYES IS NONEXISTENT!!!! I LOVE HOW HES THE FIRST ONE TO DROP OUT WHEN THINGS GO WRONG!!! /S NO FUCKING NO THAT ISNT HIM AT ALL!!! HES SILLY AND A DUMBASS BUT IS MORE OBSERVANT THAN ANY OF THE LOSERS AND HES BATSHIT INSANE AND IS FUNNY AS FUCK AND ACTUALLY HAS TRAUAMA AND CHARACTER DEPTH AND HES MY FUCKING FAVORITE WHY DJD THEY DO HIM LKMD THIS IT MAKES ME SO MAD

Eddie

He’s almost worse than Richie. almost. In the book he’s both athletic and really good with directions, but in the movie he’s neither of these things. He’s pathetic, but he’s not a wimp. WHEN THEY WERE FIGHTING AN EYE THEY WERE ALL GONNA DIE AND THEN EDDIE STSRTED FUCKING PUNCHING IT AND HE FIGURED OUT HOW TO BEAT IT AND SAVED EVERYBODYS LIVES GODDAMN IT WHY DOES THIS FUCKING MOVIE GIVE EVERYONE ONLY ONE CHARACTER TRAIT WHAG RHE FUCM also his abusive relationship with his mom is never looked into on a deeper level but at least we got the gazebos line. I genuinely love that

Ben

I had no great love for him in the book, but at least he’s not a stupid fucking dumbass. WHY DID THEY MAKE HIM A NEW KID IT MAKES NO FUCKING SENSE

feel free to debate if you disagree!!! I’d love to see other opinions!!!

[hellsquills]

Ranking the Revenge crew from oldest to youngest sibling

Lucius: PEAK eldest daughter energy. No explanations needed. He's the one caught in the middle of his parents' fights, the one who tries to get them together, and the one who has to deal with the divorce. He's also their confident, the one who dares to speak up to them, and the one who pays the highest price. No I'm not projecting wdym

Jim: Protective older sibling, but there are still some signs of them not being the oldest. They will take the lead if needed and all of their younger siblings respect them. However, they're also very silly and great at taking care of the youngest ones.

Pete: He GETS. THINGS. DONE. Street smart, practical, resourceful. Seems and acts though, but he's really thoughtful and sensitive. He strives to be dad's favorite and ends up looking desperate in front of the rest of his siblings. Still, he's the one you can always look for when you need help with something.

Roach: One of the older siblings, but he gets along more with the younger ones. He's the type to help his parents at home because he genuinely enjoys domestic chores. He's also batshit insane, and people tend to think he's younger because of it.

Oluwande: He's right in the middle, which makes him pretty neutral when it comes to arguments. He tries to keep the peace because he's got four older siblings and four younger ones, so he can't pick sides or hell WILL break loose

The Swede: Middle-young sibling, the first one to move out of the house. He's very sheltered by his siblings, but he's the most independent of them all. Always a surprise with this one.

Fang: The little brother who has more emotional maturity than you'd expect. Loves spending time with his older siblings and they reciprocate. Actual dad's favorite.

Frenchie: Sneaky little bastard. He's well-mannered, and people assume he's older because he knows how to talk to older people. In reality, he's just REALLY good at lying and adapting to the situation.

Wee Jonh: The youngest brother who got insanely bigger than all the rest of them. He also is the one who will make fun of his siblings the most but will kill anyone who makes fun of them.

*Buttons and Izzy are not on this list because to me, they're uncles.

**I could include proof for every single one of these statements but GOD would that take a lot of time