#meanwhile on ‘posts i never expected to pop off like they did—’

[reason-with-the-underdog]

workaholic kaveh (bc career>therapy)

love the hc where kaveh, fresh off the heels of the thesis breakup w alhaitham, basically just launches himself into massive overwork

bc u can't dwell if u're constantly working! 🧠

after the palace of alcazarzaray's second rebuild, that was the first free time he's had in years

bc he had to probably do a ton of extra work for graduation after their thesis failed, he mentions in his vl's that he was overworked by his seniors at his first job post-graduation, and he achieved a TON portfolio-wise in the 5-10 years since he left the akademiya

the benefit of all this overwork is:

his reputation is GREAT even tho his clients grumble about his attention to aesthetics🙄

he doesn't need to think about his personal problems! at all! absolutely no time for that!!

which includes never needing to reflect on the roots of the breakup

so in the wake of his self-inflicted bankruptcy post-palace construction... the workaholic that is kaveh finally has free time

and he has absolutely no idea what to do with it

and he's not comfortable bc he's:

bankrupt

homeless

alternating between being incredibly day drunk/hung over

finishing a massive creative project is just EXHAUSTING. like so much energy and passion and emotional investment was put into that palace, and now he's getting congratulated for the palace while also having to pretend like he's totally hanging around a tavern 24/7 bc he WANTS to be there (and not for any other reason)

and with free time to think about, well, everything

oh how the insecurities & anxieties & Bad Thoughts start to creep in🥲

but who can kaveh talk to about this? he can't let anyone know he's ruined by his greatest work yet (he can't let the palace be tarnished by his bankruptcy)

but kaveh's also incredibly strong emotionally, despite all of his troubles

he's able to redesign the 2nd floor of lambad's tavern in literally less than the 2 weeks he stayed there, and he kept up his social image of the famed architect celebrating a masterpiece of the ages

i think a lot about how kaveh seems uncomfortable in times of rest and tranquility... that bad hours and urgent deadlines and a too big workload done pro bono (for free) feels easier/more natural...

aka why he's so good at denial & Not Thinking about certain facts in his life 🙈

such as why alhaitham might have extended a helping hand and offered his home to kaveh without seeming to get much in return...

altho as part of kaveh's character arc, which includes reconciling with alhaitham post-PoP, he later starts to have an inkling...

the big question ofc is will he process /why/ alhaitham helped 😆

but in general i think keeping busy as a way to Not Think contributed a great deal to why kaveh's relationship and reactions to alhaitham's behaviors/words changes so much from when we first meet him in the Sumeru AQ to now (his bday letter anyways)

consider this:

alhaitham had 2+ years of akademiya after the thesis breakup (less if he graduated early ig, but regardless, years) without his most significant friend/influence/confidant around so he had a lot of time to process what happened and to make changes from then

meanwhile kaveh's constantly caught off guard by the differences in his expectations of how alhaitham would react (based off of akademiya-era alhaitham)

vs alhaitham's current-day behavior

like ofc its normal that people change after several years and after not being in school, but kaveh basically froze himself and his understandings of alhaitham's character in time, like a fly in amber

so he has to make much more obvious changes in his behavior to catch up on all those lost years, which we see happening in real time in canon!

alhaitham changes too (look at him distracting kaveh from his depression like a champ in kaveh's hangout! uh huh he really heard us thru his noise cancelling headphones? 🤨)

but they're more subtle shifts

anyways hyv did so good when they cooked up kaveh and alhaitham dkfdlijdk

[heyftinally]

Swifties do love setting Taylor up.

Just what I saw on Twitter Yesterday:

1989 is a pop Bible that everybody knows. - Well if it's trash maybe.

Reputation is hip hop ??? - What?

Reputation is goth Rock ?? - Lol

That Reputation is also supposed to be R&nB - like where?? wtf?

And her new album the Treacherous Dead Poets Default is an album with a new sound.

Or this yt lady on tt that was claiming that no other artists has transcended genres as successfully as taylor did. 😭 And she mentions Rock? Girl where? And literally there are tons of artists who did it way better than her.

Or that one video which they have now deleted bc taylor was getting dragged. It was a video of her just walking on stage and singing (not live) and the caption was like: I can't believe she was doing that for the first time. ' - Some small part of me does feel sorry for these delusional fanbase. Cause she has the highest grossing tour right now. Big emphasis on right now cause that record is not forever. Anyways they can not post much about her performance anywhere without people using it to drag her. Cause let's face it. She can't perform. She's not serving. She's giving nothing. Her dancers slay more than she does.

Pffffft Taylor went from pop country to pop and never changed again. Slightly different vibes? Sure. Still pop. She wouldn't know rock if it smacked her in the head.

Missy Elliott is hip hop. Early P!nk (ie Most Girls) is R&B. Sumo Cyco is goth rock (+ others, but still). Taylor Swift wouldn't touch any of those genres with a 10ft pole, and quite frankly she'd suck at them if she tried lol.

She doesn't "transcend genres", and considering she can't even make different versions of pop sound good, I think we know why.

And no, she can't perform. Let me flex my expertise here: I'm a trained dancer. Specifically with 26 years of training in tap, jazz, ballet, theater, and contemporary, with additional training in commercial/street jazz (aka music video and tour choreography) and various other styles in sporadic classes. I've literally been choreographing since I was about seven years old, and have been analyzing commercial choreography since I was 15.

That said,

Her performances are not only weak, but they show me that her tour choreographer either

Doesn't exist and she created all of her own "dancing" herself

Doesn't know how to adapt choreography for someone with virtually no dance technique

Actively has something out for Taylor and is trying to make her look bad

I'm going to reference "Look What You Made Me Do" from the Eras tour, because that's the most recent and clearest to illustrate my point

A video of the performance in question, for reference.

Okay, first off, right off the bat, her hand floating on her hip looks awkward and uncomfortable. It's giving "over-excited 8yo at recital". For someone with as much experience as she has performing, I'd expect her to look more settled in her beginning pose. She looks like she's overthinking, and thus it looks under rehearsed.

Then we have that flexed hand - yes it's a nit pick, but that pose belongs very few places outside of a 6yo's tap dance.

Movibg on, her robotic movements look messy as fuck. Sharp isolations like that are HARD. A lot of dancers with years of training struggle with getting the kind of sharpness you would expect to see from that choreography. And on the scale of a stadium like she's in, everything is amplified. If it's messy, it's going to look five times as messy as it might on a smaller scale, because the further away the audience is, the more detail gets lost. So you're movements need to be SHARP in order to translate to the audience. Add to that that this is clearly filmed professionally/intentionally, and it really just looks unprofessional/poorly planned.

Meanwhile the things like the "don't like you" scolding (besides looking childish) are so small that you wouldn't see them beyond the front row. When you're choreographing even for a normal stage, the #1 rule is make everything BIG and intentional. If you're kicking, you're hitting AT LEAST a 45° angle, and with the force of trying to kick the winning soccer (football) goal. Taylor doesn't do that. Those movements are small, sad, and weak, and it honestly looks lazy. I know a 10yo currently doing a competitive dance solo to this song, and I shit you not that 10yo is 50x more interesting to watch perform than Taylor.

So yeah, her music has been one note since Fearless one note (uninspired pop), and her "stage presence" is about on par with an 8yo who doesn't want to be here.

[floatingcatacombs]

Bandai Taketh Away

12 Days of Aniblogging 2023, Day 1

Last year I wrote a post extolling the virtues of Birdie Wing, 2022’s breakthrough “how the fuck did this get made” mafia golf campfest. It’s the little show that could, animated on a shoestring budget to an audience of maybe two dozen extremely online yuri fans who tried their hardest to get literally anyone else to watch it.

It was almost certainly a financial failure for Bandai Namco, whose hopes for kicking off a VR-focused franchise fizzled in real time during season 1. But the resulting anime was a blast, a shoujo sports melodrama where literally anything could happen.

Birdie Wing took a few seasons off between its cours, during which Bandai Namco’s second lesbian anime of the year began airing: Mobile Suit Gundam: The Witch from Mercury. My jaw dropped as I watched the first episode recreate Utena’s setup beat for beat, including the female main character taking another girl as her fiancé. It’s a gutsy move which set my expectations high. G-Witch was my introduction to Gundam, and the highs of the first season were amazing. Even if I had some occasional complaints with the pacing, the cliffhanger ending and narrative ambition left me very excited for more.  

Season 2 of Birdie Wing was set to fill the gap between cours of G-Witch, but ~something~ happened behind the scenes. It ended up being delayed to Spring 2023, where the two shows would air together. Great! That means double the lesbians. Or…zero?

Fair warning: From here on out I will be both a hater, and a spoiler.

Both seasons start without a hitch. G-Witch finally pops the safety bubble of its setting, with a terrorist attack on the academy followed up by an episode from the viewpoint of Dawn of Fold soldiers trying to survive a retaliatory crackdown from the Spacians. It pulled no punches with its violence and war orphans and trauma, a good sign for the struggles that awaited the main cast. Meanwhile, Birdie Wing continued to pay tribute to old-school Class S after its boarding school arc by involving its cast in a nightmare incest soap opera concerning Eve and Aoi’s parentage and the sins of the previous generation. Both are great developments for their respective shows, suggesting plenty of good stuff ahead.

Unfortunately, this is when both of these shows begin to fall apart. Eve and Aoi manage to beat the incest allegations, but afterwards their relationship just…stops. Their chemistry all but dissipates, the homoerotic rivalry giving way to their personal relationships with golf instead of with each other. The plot keeps the two of them apart as much as possible, devoid of the angsty longing from season 1, as the girls each succumb to a different form of golf cancer (even without the gay-baiting, at least Birdie Wing is still insane).

For G-Witch, a much more ambitious anime, this decline manifests as a creeping realization that they’re simply going to drop most of the open plot threads. The show takes its sweet time, even as it becomes clear that it’s barreling towards a finale at 24 episodes. The long-awaited plot twists are handled fine, I guess. But any sense that the show is aiming for greatness fades away, as it simply tries to drag itself to the finish line, buckling under its own weight. What we see on screen is what we get, and you’ll have to fill in the blanks yourself to really be happy. The Earthian-Spacian conflict ends up as mere set-dressing, and characters who clearly had intertwined backstories never even get the chance to interact. The obvious examples are the man who killed Suletta’s dad in the prologue resurfacing and that never really coming up, and everything to do with Chuchu and Nika’s backstories. I’m not here to nitpick, but it’s a shame that everyone’s characterization is left so thin. G-Witch really feels like it was meant to be a full 50-episode series, and I’m led to believe that this trimming down happened during production, as there’s just no other reason to set so much up without resolving it.

At last we reach each show's conclusion. Birdie Wing is saddled with a final arc full of professional tournaments, which is always going to be weaker than the dirty mafia golf on a conceptual level. The timeline begins to rapidly accelerate and suddenly we’re skipping ahead months, and then entire years. We don’t get to see most of Eve and Aoi’s final game, or even the period of time where they reconcile. An enduring friendship and rivalry is implied at the end, but it’s nowhere near the mutual obsession that the prior season depicted. Not an ounce of queerbait remains, even for the terminally yurigoggled such as myself.

Meanwhile, G-Witch dedicates some of its precious final minutes to a fight with Lauda (Jesus Christ is the Schwartzette is wasted on him), and just like Birdie Wing the two girls at the heart of the show barely get any time together as the end draws near. They ultimately opt for a Macross-Symphogear ending in which Suletta pilots a Gundam that shoots gay rainbow lasers and defeats her mom with the power of love and friendship. That’s fine! But that’s the ending for a show that didn’t happen! In its last act G-Witch retreats into its shell, unable to commit to the moral weight of the world it had built up. Laughably, the epilogue time-skips to a neoliberal utopia where Miorine solves the earth-space conflict through her sheer girlboss acumen. Suletta and Miorine’s gay wedding is implied at best, and an after-credits message states that this is the conclusion of The Witch from Mercury as a story, prematurely killing any potential follow-up.

The rest is history. Kadokawa redacts an interview to remove references to Suletta and Miorine being married, Bandai releases a statement that their status at the end of the show should be left up to interpretation, and everyone is mad forever.

What happened? Both of these shows fell apart at the same time, and both in a manner that defused their implicit queerness. Birdie Wing was always a bit of a trainwreck even at its best, so in a vacuum I would have just concluded that the production ran out of steam, unable to live up to its earlier writing. But the timing of Season 2’s delay, combined with the corporate meddling that affected G-Witch, makes me downright conspiratorial. Something went down at Bandai Namco, and it led to them ordering their productions be revised halfway through to scrub out all the gay shit and play things safe. I wouldn’t be surprised if this occurred at the same time as G-Witch was trimmed down from its initial 50 to 24 episodes with no chance of a continuation. It’s also not too much of a stretch to imagine Birdie Wing receiving a “stick to sports" mandate and Yosuke Kuroda subsequently phoning it in. I don't know how else to say it: there's no reason to do an incest fakeout if you're not even going to follow up on it afterwards once you've gone through the difficult work of exonerating them.

Witch from Mercury was a commercial success (it sold a shitton of gunpla, at least!) so it seems like a surprise that Bandai Namco would clamp down creatively in such a destructive way. Or maybe not. This may be the first female-led Gundam, but in a lot of other ways it’s fairly restrained as far as Gundams go. Perhaps BN decided that G-Witch had to be a balancing act to please everyone, preventing the creative staff from truly swinging for the fences in the end. Of course, that backfired horribly and they ended up pissing off himejoshis and regular mecha fans alike. I know it’s something of a fool’s errand to expect undeniable LGBT representation from anime, but when you begin with an explicit Utena homage, I expect better.

This has all been a bit of a downer, so I wanted to end things by sharing the anime I watched this year that actually gave me what I wanted out of those two shows.

Watching through the original Mobile Suit Gundam made me realize just how conservative G-Witch is in a lot of its storytelling. 0079 is a deeply radical show for its time, and still would be if you made it today. The unhesitating depiction of war and death through the aesthetics of a 70’s children’s show is particularly bold, and even the parts of the anime notorious for being overlong successfully reinforce the overall mood of the work. Amuro’s transformation from innocent child to unrelenting psychic soldier is as inevitable and upsetting as it should be, and even with all the “filler” the script feels much tighter than the G-Witch, which ambles around with side stories that don’t resolve and characters that don’t go anywhere. Imminently watchable. I love that the mommy issues in Gundam go all the way back, and I'm also starting to understand why you fuckers have been arguing about Char Aznable for 40 years.

you.

I also watched Kakegurui this year, which served as a great alternative to Birdie Wing. It doubles down on the best parts of that show – mostly-female cast, high stakes gambling, dubious lesbian rep – with an all-consuming sleaze to it. Grab some friends who aren't easily scandalized and try not to worry too hard about gaze or the intended audience, and it will be a hoot. The production values are great, even if most of it inevitably goes to girls making upsetting faces. The first opening in particular is an animation highlight. Of course, this is a MAPPA production, so they’re far too busy flaying their workers alive in the pits of hell to ever get around to another season. May their company unionize or perish.

[templeofbhalls]

Show Me How

Wyll x Divya (OC) | 3.5k words | 18+/mdni

content warnings: oral sex/cunnilingus

originally posted 01/09/24 (reposting bc it got deleted)

Divya shows Wyll how to take care of his horns, while he shows her how good she makes him feel.

After a long day of adventuring, the party finally made it back to camp. 

It had been their hardest day yet – upon arriving at the Risen Road, they did not expect a pack of gnolls to be waiting for them. They slaughtered them all, saving the lives of two Zhentarim smugglers and getting paid rather handsomely for it, too. One of them even suggested for them to check out their hideout in Waukeen’s Rest. They planned to do just that, but first, they needed a well-deserved long rest.

Shadowheart was tending to Lae’zel’s wounds she received in battle, Karlach was handing off some food so Gale could make his classic stew supper, and Astarion? Well, he was already one deep in a goblet of red.

Whether it was wine or blood he was sipping on, the party will truly never know.

Meanwhile, as the sun set over the horizon, Wyll followed Divya to the camp’s riverbank. It had taken some convincing, but she finally got him to agree to teach him how to care for his horns. He figured he might as well, if Mizora herself said she couldn’t undo his transformation.

Besides, he definitely wanted to share another moment alone with her, away from the prying eyes of their colleagues.

“Are you ready to have the best looking horns on this side of the Sword Coast?” Divya grinned as she sat on the ground, already digging into her pack for her supplies.

Wyll chuckled at her excitement, sitting cross-legged by her side. “Of course, especially with you as my teacher.”

The tiefling woman blushed as she pulled a leather pouch from her bag, opening it to reveal two bottles with labels almost too small to read, even with his infernal eyes. He squinted to try to make out the text, but it seemed like she didn’t need to read the labels anyways.

“Do you see these right here?”

Wyll nodded, watching her eagerly.

“These are the only products you’ll need, don’t let anyone try to convince you that you need anything else.” She began to explain, specifically grabbing one with a clear liquid inside. “This one is used to clean your horns. Don’t know what they put in this, but it works a lot better than just plain old water.” She carefully popped the cork off with a skilled claw. “Can you get me one of the rags from my pack, please?”

He handed her a rag, his fingers softly brushing against her own. He pretended like it didn’t have any effect on him, but after the tiefling party, he definitely had let his mind wander, thinking about touching her again, feeling her warm, bare skin underneath his fingers.

In fact, it was something he thought of a lot.

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

Click her to continue reading on a03!

[problemswithbooks]

It’s so obvious hori only has no problem with killing off non lov villains, if it’s hero or lov they all got ridiculous amounts of plot armor. stain getting killed off by afo is exactly what I expected, how else can hori show that afo is not just a punching bag for every damn hero of every level? look! afo can actually kill someone super easy!

sorry, just can’t find this exciting

Yeah, I totally agree.

As I said in my previous post I always expected Stain to die (or just be forgotten about/thrown back jail). I was never someone who thought my fav would have a happy ending. In most media I consume my favorite character is usually a low level villain that gets killed, so I'm more then used to it. Him dying isn't my issue--it's how lazy and little story impact it had.

Some of my other favorite characters that have died have been Greed, and Kimblee from FMA, Nnoitra and Tesla from Bleach and Han'nya from Rurouni Kenshin.

All of these had deaths that either matter plot wise or were given emotional impact. None of these characters are particularly big players when it comes to screen time, especially Han'nya and Tesla who were essentially side-kicks. Yet, their deaths are given a decent focus and/or effect the plot/themes of the work.

Hori did try--I will give him that. He did have Stain think something somewhat sentimental and sort of pray, but it's just not really enough. All might wanted to save him, sure, but after he gets killed, All Might is then the main focus and his death is pretty much dropped. It doesn't effect All Might and why should it when Stain wasn't really given much personality besides 'crazy guy' even right before he died.

And I saw that someone said in my last post, I was jumping the gun and Stain could be alive--which, yeah, I guess Hori could pull another Gran Torino and hand-wave him back from what clearly looked like his upper body being turned into mush, but why would he?

The reason I think Stain is super dead is because he's so unimportant. Hori has given him zero story value. Even him helping the Heroes with Info was rendered pointless because Star reset the clock for them. Nor has he done anything to expand his character past 'insane murder man'. Heck, I'd argue he actually had more nuance when he first showed up then he did in his last chapter, that continued to paint him as an All Might obsessed weirdo (which isn't me saying he shouldn't hold AM up as an ideal, but maybe not have him remember his scent and sniff rocks--he could have just watched and seen which blood was AfO's).

There's very little reason to bring him back in, especially since he has no Quirk and would be super injured. The only reason to have him pop back up alive is to save All Might again and get a slightly better death scene. But then the one we just watched is rendered even worse because it was a waste of time.

And I guess Hori could just say he survived at the very end, but again what would be the point? To go back to jail? I don't see anyone but the main LoV getting off scot-free, so this would only make the situation look worse, since Stain actually tried to the Heroes (twice) and gets prison time, meanwhile the LoV who were helping AfO up until the very last minute get nothing. It would be equally weird to have him just pop up at the end and get a panel saying he was also rehabilitated when Hori never painted him as anything but a crazy killer. Like it'd need a bit more of an explanation, then i think Hori wants to spend time on.

IDK, I just think he could have given Stain's death a bit more oomph--mainly by giving a little flashback to his childhood. It would have helped with the theme of villains having been kids once, while also showcasing how much AM mattered to him.

But I guess we'll see how things go. Maybe Hori will surprise us and have Stain do something in the vestige world because AfO stole his Quirk. I doubt it but who the hell knows, Hori is unpredictable.

[felixcloud6288]

Fullmetal Alchemist Chapter 48

Heist 3 is a success, but everything quickly falls apart.

Hawkeye shows off her marksman skills. She managed to shoot Scar while driving a vehicle to a skidding stop.

Lin nearly threw his back out lifting Gluttony.

If the fight with Scar had background music attached to it, Ed and Al's dramatic speech as they prepare to defeat Scar would be accompanied by a crescendo followed by off-tune tuba note when May interrupts everything and helps Scar escape.

Something seems off about Wrath's expression when he sees Hawkeye and Lin traveling together.

It's like he's excited to realize Roy has some connection to the foreigners who he caught hunting the Homunculi.

After it's first mention in chapter 32, we finally see a demonstration of Xingese Alchemy being used for healing purposes. May mentions that she can't heal where the "flow of power" in the human body can't reach, nor can she grow back limbs. So that means she can't give Ed a new arm nor heal Havoc's spine.

And now that everything's calmed down, Scar takes a moment to reflect on what happened with Winry.

Not really sure how Xiao Mei got separated from May Chang. She probably got lost in the smokescreen.

Al tosses Xiao Mei into his armor in the next scene.

Scenes like the one where Winry is sharing a drink with Bradley are so much better due to us knowing he's actually Wrath. We see Ed and Al walk into the room that Winry is in, then turn the page and see Wrath. If you didn't worry the first time you read it, then you've somehow skipped every scene every scene he's been in. We'd spent the last few chapters watching him hunt down Lin and Lan Fan like a monster. Then he suddenly appears in what is supposed to be a calm scene. And even though he takes his leave and tells Ed to take care of Winry, we're left with a sense of unease that Ed and Al are completely oblivious to.

Winry had Ed's jacket in her lap during that scene but when they're all traveling to the hotel, the jacket vanishes. No one is carrying it and Ed is never seen wearing it again.

Winry gets a call from Garfiel and all the clients she's helped since taking on an apprenticeship with him. They all reaffirm what Ed told her. She is someone who saves lives, just like her parents. And there are people waiting for her help.

Meanwhile, Havoc is doing what he can to stay fit despite his condition. He's accepted that he won't be able to stay in the military, and plans to find some other way to help support his team. They're waiting for him to catch up.

Ed promises that he won't make Winry cry again, except out of happiness. And she glimpses his back one last time before the train leaves.

Xiao Mei popped out of Al's armor when Roy picks them up. He's even petting her.

Roy picks up Ed, Al, and Dr. Knox in a new car since Scar destroyed the old one. I have no idea what happened to the one Hawkeye stole commandeered in chapter 45. She drove it into the fight to pick up Lin and Gluttony, but it's nowhere to be seen later.

Also not sure where Lin go the new shirt and jacket. Roy's wearing the same shirt and jacket so maybe Roy has some extra clothes lying around that house just in case.

Roy and Lin's discussion confirms this is the first time they've actually met despite working together for the Heist. I guess this means Roy didn't intend to involve Lin in the Super Heist and Lin decided to inform Al and join in for his own reasons.

There's a jacket laid over Lan Fan's bed. It appears to be the one Dr. Knox was wearing.

During their post-Heist 3 briefings, Lin reveals how he caught a WAY bigger fish than expected when he discovered Bradley was a Homunculus. Roy's eyes did that thing when he got that bit of info.

But things start to fall apart when everyone starts arguing over what to do next since they all have their own separate ideas of what to do with Gluttony. And then things literally fall apart when he breaks free and begins to rampage.

Poor Dr. Knox is another normal person being dragged into the shenanigans and uncovering grand conspiracies, just like Maria and Danny. He has nothing to do with any of this and now he's privy to the existence of the Homunculi and he gets to find out that the President is a Homunculus. And now the poor guy is caught up having to deal with Gluttony going on a rampage.

back

[sinceileftyoublog]

Superchunk Live Show Review: 7/8, Square Roots, Chicago

BY JORDAN MAINZER

From the Czar Bar to the middle of Lincoln Square: Such is the story of Superchunk’s three-decade history in Chicago. Looking on at the crowd Saturday night at Square Roots, it was clear to Mac McCaughan that not many people knew what he was talking about when he mentioned the long-defunct venue. You know what, though? That’s Superchunk’s fault for attracting a new generation of fans. Since 2010, the band has released three great and one very good post-hiatus records. Saturday night, the crowd was perhaps expecting to hear more of their latest, 2022′s Wild Loneliness (Merge); instead, the set was practically two-thirds old material, including a few deep cuts, geared towards perhaps the very people at the Czar Bar in the early 90′s.

Superchunk’s brand of indie rock never went out of style. Even when baroque instrumentation pervaded the sound of the who’s who of independent music, there were always fans of power pop-bordering on-pop punk to be found, somewhere in between Cheap Trick and the Warped Tour. McCaughan and company’s earnestness never wore off. During the Aughts, the band simply wasn’t releasing music, but as soon as they did again, they returned right where they left off. All of this is to say it makes sense that Superchunk could attract a wide variety of listeners, versatility they showed off better than ever on Saturday. The gentler-than-usual lilt of What A Time To Be Alive’s “Black Thread” found a kindred spirit in the sway of “Driveway to Driveway”, while burner like On the Mouth’s “Precision Auto” mirrored the urgency of Majestry Shredding’s “Learned To Surf” and I Hate Music's shout-along anthem “Me & You & Jackie Mittoo”.

Meanwhile, the festival offered an opportunity for established bands like Superchunk to reflect on themselves and the others playing, how far all of them have come. During their set, McCaughan shouted out the stage’s previous occupants, local alt rock legends Eleventh Dream Day, as well as the Mekons’ Jon Langford and Sally Timms, who both joined Eleventh Dream Day and played a set of their own across the grounds earlier in the day. As for those who weren’t there, Superchunk dedicated No Pocky for Kitty’s “Seed Toss” to the late Rick Froberg, the Pitchfork/Drive Like Jehu/Hot Snakes lead vocalist who passed away late last month. They unexpectedly ended their set not with a no-brainer like “Slack Motherfucker” but their version of Lou Barlow’s oft-covered “Brand New Love” from their 1992 Tossing Seeds singles compilation. On Monday, I looked at the band’s setlist at Thalia Hall the following night to find there was not much crossover. For the uninitiated and the familiar, every Superchunk show is an invitation to dive in or rediscover something great that just happens to have been there the whole time.

[sick-ada]

OKAY SO HERE'S THE OVERVIEW:

marie and callie swap, classic. marie still wins the final fest but she's the one who gets kidnapped and hypnoshaded

flora and bola swap. for those who i havent brainrotted about these guys at, flora is my agent 4 and bola is his roomie/squadmate/platonic bestie/whatever who's unassociated with the NSS. the swap in this context means that bola becomes agent 4 and flora is unassociated with the NSS

(flora on the left, bola on the right)

in my normal canon, flora goes along with marie bc he's hard of hearing so he literally doesn't hear her "rescue my cousin from the octarians" explanation, but he's willing to go with the flow when someone hands him a military-grade weapon

bola, on the other hand, is a lot less compliant. callie actually seeks them out, since her approach is to recruit the scariest person she can find rather than recruit the first person she finds.

bola is also less willing to "go with the flow." they dont agree out of the goodness of their heart, they make a deal: they'll help callie with this if callie agrees to help them out after (their goal being to fuck with squidforce as much as physically possible)

also in my canon marie and callie are field agents while agent 3 stays at the back and gives commands, so callie and bola go through the kettles as a two-person team

while bola is an octoling, they're not an octarian, and they react very badly when callie is like "man you sure must be glad you deserted these guys they suck"

cue callie having to beg bola to come back when they storm off for like 4 days

over the course of the campaign, they have to learn to work together and cooperate and shit, and callie is kinda forced to examine the biases she inherited from capn cuttlefish because she's working with an octoling and they're nothing like she expected

this continues post-campaign where bola cashes in their side of the deal and gets callie to help cause problems for squidforce. this means even more self-reflection for callie since now she's hanging with the Leftovers Squad (bola, flora, CB-808 and bubbles (my agent 8s)) and they're so different from what she's used to

especially since CB and bubbles are actually octarian, now that i think abt it. huh. oh and also cause theyre close with marina

meanwhile, marie is feeling abandoned/betrayed, since from her POV callie has ditched her for a group of people that marie absolutely does Not get along with or fit in with

marie does not get along with bola at all. i love bola but God they're such a bitch. callie gets along with them because she was forced to get along with them by circumstance and has spent a lot of time with them, marie has not and so marie feels like she's been abandoned for someone who hates her guts

bola doesnt even hate her they just dont care. they hate agent three though. fuck that guy

the distance between callie and marie grows and grows until the breaking point; when CB and bubbles get all their mem cakes back and are like "hey why did you cause a famine" and callie is like "we did What" and they all confront three who reveals they knew that their actions in splat1 caused a famine but didn't tell either of the others

callie quits the NSS along with bola (the eights were never really in it to begin with, since they met cuttlefish + 3 after pearl and marina in the metro) but marie, who feels like she's already lost callie and not wanting to lose anymore family, refuses to quit

callie can't really forgive that because holy shit we caused a famine how can you just ignore that so then they sort of become estranged! this is usually the bit where pops yells at me /silly

the squid sisters disband, and callie makes a new moniker! "odd1out" cause it's a combination of agent 1 and the leftovers

im so insane about this

do people wanna know abt the odd1out au

[astaroth1357]

The (Un)Dateables Catch the MC Dancing/Singing By Themselves 

Full disclosure, couldn't think of anything for Luke... Sorry.

Diavolo

There are some human rituals that Diavolo finds just fascinating… One of them being the act of filming yourself dancing to a short clip of music then posting said film to the internet. He hears it's a surprisingly popular human world activity!

So maybe the MC shouldn’t have been AS surprised by his reaction when he walked in on them doing the latest internet dance craze alone in the RAD Student Council room. They have figured that he would scold them for doing something so silly in such an important place… but he actually seemed intrigued!

Actually, scratch that. He was delighted!

Maybe it’s his human world fascination or because Barbatos never lets him have any fun - or maybe he just wanted the chance to be a part of something with the little human - but he insisted that the MC teach him the steps to whatever they were doing so he could join in!

A couple hours later, Levi and Asmo are running around to all their brothers and thrusting a viral video of the MC and the Prince of Hell dancing together on whatever the Devildom version of TikTok is...

And somewhere parallel to that, Lucifer is trying desperately not to choke on his own coffee as Diavolo sends him that same video over chat with the message:

Diavolo: Lucifer! Lucifer!

Diavolo: I think I’ve become a meme! :D

And lo, a new TikTok duo was born.

Barbatos 

Afternoon tea at the Castle is both a very extravagant and yet casual affair. Barbatos always provides the best service and the grandiose setting of the palace give everything an air of splendor, but getting to actually sit and chat with the butler is anything but stiff and formal. 

It’s usually calming more than anything. The kind of activity that shouldn’t feel as relaxed as it is but always somehow turns into a tranquil, dare say familiar, experience. 

So it really should have been expected that the MC would feel comfortable enough to sing a little om--in the garden’s gazebo while they waited for Barbs to brew their tea. They must have thought they were alone… but not really.

Very few things that happen in the castle without Barbs knowing about it. He was bound to walk in on them eventually. 🤷‍♀️

And of course Barbs, being Barbs, left no hint that he was listening until they were pretty much done with the song. All he did was quietly clear his throat from where he had been standing, leaving the MC to wonder if he had been standing there the whole time... (Seriously, this man could be a ninja. He’s so hard to notice sometimes…)

When he brought their cup over to them, he just smiled at their embarrassment and caught their chin between his fingers...

“While I had intended to prepare oolong tea for us tonight, perhaps I should have brought you chamomile instead? I would hate for such a lovely voice to get strained... Should I go fetch us some now?”

Barbatos used Charm! It was Super Effective!... MC fainted…. 😔

Simeon 

Libraries are usually quiet places and the RAD library is no exception. Unless a natural loudmouth like Mammon or Asmo passes through, most of the time it’s dead silent in there. 

Now, the RAD library is also HUGE. If you were to walk from on end to the other, you’d pass by hundreds of shelves of old tomes, spellbooks, novels, scrolls, songbooks… just almost every kind of print in the world. Someone can go in with a friend and, if they weren’t paying attention, lose track of them for an hour at least.

So the MC could honestly be forgiven for thinking that they could sing to themselves without anyone noticing. What were the chances that a demon student would want to go by the Christian fiction section???

Well, though it was true a demon may not want anything to do with the overly Jesus-y stuff, an angel may enjoy poking some lighthearted fun at it. Or at least one angel in particular, anyway.

Poor MC could have gone from singing to screaming when Simeon came up behind them and popped out one of their earbuds! Though he wasn’t particularly sneaky or anything, they just had their back to him and he thought it’d be cute to see them jump… 🙄

That still didn’t stop him from smiling inches from their face like he totally didn’t know exactly what he was doing right then.

“I’m sorry, MC, I didn’t mean to startle you.”

Whether or not the MC wanted to complain, they get cut off by a warm, gloved finger pressed against their lips.

“You really shouldn’t be singing in libraries, MC… They’re meant to be quiet places. But if you’d like to sing somewhere else, I’d love to come along! I think your voice is just stunning, if you don’t mind me saying so.” 

Translation: Someone’s looking for a private show... The sly bastard... 😖

Solomon

The MC's first mistake was rummaging through Solomon's things and assuming everything would be fine.

They weren’t doing anything nefarious, they were just looking for a particular spellbook of his, but Solomon keeps his laboratory bedroom at a near constant state of clutter.

They can't really remember how it happened… Maybe their hand brushed a bottle that knocked over a test tube then rolled across a table to hit something else and so on - but as they were searching they found themselves struck with a sudden uncontrollable urge to… dance.

Dance with all their might! Dance like the world was ending!! Dance until they could no longer stand!!! DANCE DAMMIT DANCE!!!

And that's how Solomon found them. Moving and shaking like their life depended on it in the middle of his bedroom… It didn't take him long to work out what happened.

You know that French Dancing Plague? The one that caused a town to dance until they dropped? … Would you believe that he may know a thing or two about how that started? Not ALL of his experiments are successful you know. 

The merciful man would have cured the MC of their affliction on the spot. … But the clever man sees an opportunity. 😏

What's the harm in doing a little dancing when he can have such a lovely partner all to himself, yeah? 😌

And so, he let the plague consume him and danced the night away with the MC in his arms (with the spell needed to the cure the “plague” still totally in his memory, of course).

Meanwhile, it had already begun to spread to Luke and Simeon… then got carried to the House and Demon Lord's Castle… and then to the rest of Devildom as all of Hell's denizens danced for hours utterly mystified by their own actions.

The event would later be known as "The Festival of Madness," Devildom historians to this day still don't know what caused it… (and he's not itching to explain either. Let's let that just stay a little secret between him and MC, cool?)

[itsclydebitches]

May I rant about rwby’s character design in your inbox, please?

I’ve realised that interesting character design has a subtle element that reflects something contradictory about them, i.e. Zagreus looks and dresses like Hades, but his personality is more aligned with Persephone, and we see that through his one green eye. Catra gets a red and black villain outfit, but her freckles and cat features make it easier to endear the audience to her when she’s later redeemed. Arcane’s Jinx has a chaotic grungy-punk aesthetic, but her blue flare tattoos show she’s clinging to her past as Powder and finding Vi.

The thing with RWBY is that while their characters' (early) designs promise depth but the canon doesn’t deliver on that come V4-onwards. Now we’re stuck with designs that theoretically do work (thank god they at least got the colour palettes down), but they’re often misplaced, over-indulgent, impractical and boring.

Feel free, anon! lol

Yeah, I've never been as invested in character design as some other fans, but I definitely had Thoughts™ about the latest looks and whether they do (or do not) tell us anything notable about the characters. For example, something I always liked about Weiss' original outfit was the red lining of her jacket. Not only did it help to break up all the white, but it was a pretty obvious, visual connection to Ruby during an arc when they were learning to get along. Now, we still have that splash of red, but it's on the back of her skirt... meaning it's completely invisible unless you're a) getting a near full-body shot of Weiss and b) that shot is from an angle other than straight on. Meanwhile, her red jewelry is likewise impossible to see unless there's a closeup on her.

Yang has the splash of purple on her leg which many fans read as a connection to Blake, but like Weiss' new use of red it's lost in Yang's overall design. Others have pointed out that she's slowly moved more towards brown than yellow, losing the bright cami she used to wear that created a nice line between her gauntlets. Now, with a shot like this

Yang's pallet is brown, darker brown, pops of orange, darker yellow edging into brown again... and she happens to use a yellow weapon, painting her arm to match. To say nothing of those impractical aspects. In an effort to keep her party girl personality, we have a Yang braving the tundra with an exposed chest and rolled up pant leg, which I personally always thought looked ridiculous.

Blake is purple now instead of black (it's not so much RWBY anymore as it is RBPB: Red, Blue, Purple, Brown)... with massive zippers down the fronts of her legs? And up her front, and over her chest, and down her arms... It's an accessory problem that plagues Weiss as well, with pockets and straps galore. Out of all the girls I think Ruby looks the best by far: sensible clothing for Atlas, has detailing but nothing that's too over the top (even if I'd still strip away some of those buckles), predominant color is red, neutrals to balance it out, and a new white undershirt to pair her with Weiss/tie together Blake's suit and the fur of Yang's jacket.

Meanwhile, the hair is a whole other issue. Jaune's banana locks aside, why is Blake cutting her hair when Weiss is the one whose hair is so recognizable and whose long locks are visually a tie to the other Schnee women, arguably something expected of them while growing up with Jacques? Let her cut it all off in an attempt to distance herself from the girl who used to be trapped here, forging her own look alongside her own destiny. Instead, we get an impossible braid given the hair Weiss had (which still just looks bad imo, even post-Volume 7) and Blake cutting her hair... because? I guess that's what you just do after killing your ex? Idk. I expect they wanted to contrast Blake with Yang there, but who can say.

[mythiccheroacademia]

The whole time traveling children has me feelin some type of way tbh. Imagine Mirio, Kaminari, and Tamaki walking into their respective rooms and there are just small children vibing. Mirio with his daughter, Kaminari with a daughter and Tamaki with a son. 😭

as i said, parent!bnha is SUPERIOR

A/N: So, instead of making these separate asks, I’m just going to make it one giant post. I thought it would be easier that way. Probably the only post that’ll have more than three characters lol

Warnings: none

Kaminari Denki:

when kaminari walked into his room, he didn't expect to see two children on his bed fighting like wild animals

the younger girl was totally beating the boy’s ass tho

kinda embarrassing bc she’s gotta be like, seven, at most

as if it’s not the weirdest thing he’s seen (bc it’s not) he rushes in to break them apart

he manages to separate them with his arms 

the boy with yellow hair snaps his jaws at his sister’s fingers

“hey! bad! no biting!” he scolds

the little girl blows a raspberry and taunts “yeah! papa says no biting!”

the older sibling just rolls his eyes “rat”

meanwhile, denki is literally malfunctioning

papa?

PAPA? HUH???

the only person’s pants (and heart) he’s been trying to get in to for the past three months was y/n’s and he sure as hell would remember if he did

he didn't have kids

especially one that was his age

“sorry! you two are cute, but i’m not your pops”

thus, they begin to tell denki about how they mayhaps followed him and their mother into a dangerous mission and got hit with a time travel quirk

denki just nods his head

tbh, he’s not that weirded out

weirder things have happened

but, he does have one question

“who’s the lucky woman?”

coincidentally, you bust into his dorm room, wet from a recent prank and head steaming with anger

“Kaminari Denki!”

his son juts a thumb over to you

“the woman that’s about to murder you”

“oh say less”

his life literally couldn't get any better

before you get the chance to throttle him, the little girl jumps in your arms and your anger is immediately quelled 

“hey mommy! i just wanna let you know that it was [son’s name]’s fault that we followed you when you told us not to”

“WHAT!?”

you’re to busy trying to get them from killing each other to comprehend anything that’s going on

kaminari is in a love-struck gaze bc hot damn, he won the jackpot, huh?

if he wasn't in love with you before, he’s in love with you now

you and your feral children

it was nice being God’s favorite

Kirishima Eijirou: 

funny thing was

kirishima woke up from his afternoon nap with his mini-me in his arms!

at first, he was really confused as to why there was an 8 yr old boy with spiky teeth and (your hair texture) black hair on his bed

he thought he was dreaming

then the little boy bit his nose and grinned like he had done the funniest thing in the world 

“WAKE UP DADDY! WE GOTTA GET SWOL TODAY”

did he get hit with some duplication quirk?

and what was that he said...daddy?

as in, father?

kirishima is wide awake now, but before he can ask the kid what’s going on, the boy is up and making use of his punching bag

he decides it wouldn't hurt to get a morning work out in, so he decides to humor the kid

after a mini workout, kirishima is in near tears as the boy tries to flex the little muscles he has 

eventually, he gets the kid to tell him what happened and finds out he was hit with a time travel quirk of some sort

instead of being weirded out, kirishima is ESCTATIC 

he has a family in the future 

he’s so excited and proud that he just has to show his son off to his friends!

the first thing he does is go and bother bakusquad in the common room

he’s bragging like shit to them and his ego swells as they all swoon over how cute and handsome the kid is 

you and bakugo come out of the kitchen to see what all the commotion is about and the little boy excitedly runs to you and jumps into your arms 

“momma! you’re here! you’re so pretty! why’d you marry daddy when he looks so unswol?”

it’s silent before bakugo fucking dies of laughter 

“y-you finally let shitty hair hit it? and got knocked up?? LMAO”

everyone’s dying and kirishima wants to die

he can’t believe this was how his long-term crush on you was getting outted

by an 8 yr old boy

so not manly

you look confused before you put the pieces together

the kid did look like you and kirishima

you want to console kirishima about the crush that you lowkey knew he had on you, but your son was one step ahead of you

with a gracious smile, he hits bakugo’s head

hard

“what the fuck kid!?”

“don’t make fun of daddy, uncle bakugo! at least daddy didn’t faint at his wedding″

Bakugo’s contemplating murder and everyone’s rolling on the floor

“WE BEEN KNEW YOU WERE THE BIGGEST SIMP”

even ten years later, bakugo still holds a grudge against your son

Togata Mirio:

i’m about to kill y’all w this one

since year one, mirio has been feigning over you 

but 1) you were too dumb to notice 2) you both were really busy with, y’know, school and 3) he lowkey gave up bc he thought you deserved better

so imagine his surprise when he sees this four year old girl on his bed

and she looks like you with his features

mirio might not be the brightest crayon in the crayon box

but he’s got eyes

and it wasn't like he’s memorized your features to the T

the tiny girl is swinging her legs absent-mindedly before exploding with happiness when he sees him

she runs to mirio and he catches her with open arms 

“daddy! daddy! i got hit with the coolest quirk at school today!”

proceeds to tell him about her best friend discovered her quirk and it was a teleportation quirk 

mirio can’t help but giggle along with her even tho he knew it was a scary situation for the parents

speaking of which...

he innocently asks her who’s the mom

“mommy is the prettiest mommy in the world! she has e/c eyes, hair like me, and the most beautiful s/c skin! her name is togata y/n!”

if he wasn't geeking before, he’s geeking now

not only did he manage to marry you, but you let him be your baby daddy?

him?

big bet

mirio doesn't even care at this point

he’s parading around UA with the fattest smile as he introduces his daughter to damn near everyone 

everyone’s freaking out bc wtf when did mirio get someone pregnant??

maybe he should've explained himself, but he sees you at your locker and makes a b-line for you

“good morning, y/n!”

he doesn't notice that you slam your locker close and hide the confession letter you wrote to him behind your back

you’re a stuttering mess and he’s too busy basking in the fact that he’s holding y’alls child 

y’all look like a mess

but he’s ready to lay it on thick when the little girl kisses your nose and cheers,

“mommy, i missed you”

he explains the situation 

you cant help but smile, “you know this could potentially ruin the timeline?”

and you feel like melting as he gives you the softest smile 

“there’s no way I’m letting that happen. not when i end up with the woman i’m in love with. we’ll just have to twist fate together”

and twist it you did

Tamaki Amajiki:

tamaki wasn't the bravest person ever 

and he knew his crippling anxiety got in the way of a lot

but he had never been more proud of himself for managing to invite you to his room

it was supposed to be a study date

despite how bold you normally were, he took comfort in how nervous you seemed 

now, you two were leaning in, about to kiss

and then a voice from behind interrupts 

“uh, am i interrupting something?”

you two let out the ugliest squeal and jump 50 feet away from each other 

you’re all over the place, trying to explain the situation

tamaki’s heart is barely beating at this point

it takes the kid, who looks about 16, about thirty minutes to calm you down and revive tamaki

explains that he’s from the future and a descendant of tamaki’s family

decides to leave out that you two are his parents so he doesn't risk possibly erasing himself from the space continuum 

that would be bad

despite how surprised you two were, you two take it rather well 

you three spend the day together bc you and tamaki feel this weird sense of responsibility for the guy even though he’s only two years younger

the boy is trying his hardest not to expose himself, but it’s so hard

you two are asking him everything from his favorite food to if he has any siblings

he’s good at pretending that he’s cool, calm, and collected, but he wants nothing more than to jump into his parents’ arms and cry about how scared he is of messing up

but he won’t 

bc he’s a strong boy

but he slips up

“how far are you down the future?” tamaki asks

“uh, about like 100 years or so--”

“you’re lying”

the kid nearly chokes on his food as his father blinks at him

you try and scold tamaki but he continues

“i don’t mean to be mean, but your nose twitches when you lie. y/n does the same thing”

that’s when the jazz record stops and everyone is staring at one another

“....wait”

this time, you nearly pass out

y’all had a kid together???

THE HELL??

the boy, coincidentally, starts fading and he thinks he fucked up

now he’s full out sobbing into the both of your chests, scared that he’s disappearing

despite the news, you and tamaki calm down, look at each other, and hold your son

“don’t you worry, baby” you coo, kissing his fading hair

“i have a feeling we’ll see you quite soon” tamaki comforts, closing his eyes

Bakugo Katsuki:

bakugo finally understood when his mom said

“the meaner you are to your parents, the nastier your kids will be to you”

he regretted being such a demon bc his kid was literally the spawn of satan

katsuki didn’t need an explanation to know that that...thing was his kid

he looked damn near identical to him with features that he couldn't quite place

but anyways, that wasn't the focus rn

rn, he was trying to figure out a way to keep that animal caged

as soon as katsuki took his eyes off him, the six yr old ran out the door as fast as his little legs could carry him

“catch me if you can, you old bastard!”

yup, it was his kid

“GET BACK HERE YOU LITTLE FUCKER”

his son is blasting his way through the halls, skillfully evading Katsuki’s grabbing hands 

he’s wildly laughing as he flips and turns through the doors, watching with glee as his father falls on his face

multiple times

the small boy latches on to a cupboard and smirks

“no wonder mom always beats your ass! you weak!”

katsuki nearly looks like the devil, eyes white, and face red with fury

his pride suffering by the second

he’s about to cuss the kids to hell when you come out of the kitchen, confused

you were about to ask why katsuki looked like a rat with rabies before you caught sight of a basket of fruit teetering on the edge of the cabinet, above the little boy’s head

“look out--”

the basket falls on the kid’s head and he’s on the floor, reeling from the hit

katsuki would've normally laughed his ass off, but he felt kind of...concerned?

he watches you run towards the child who’s trying his hardest not to cry

the boy holds his head, fat tears in his eyes as you pick him up and coddle over him 

“i’m sorry, baby. I'm sorry i didnt get there in time” 

cue the waterworks 

the boy is full-on sobbing into your chest about how his head hurts

you bounce him and kiss his forehead as katsuki checks over the red bump 

“you’ll be okay, brat” he comforts, voice softer than usual

in that moment, katsuki can’t help but notice how much a family y’all look like rn

then the dots start connecting and he goes 

oh shit 

so, maybe, he’s had a tiny crush on you

and it didn’t help that you two were friends with benefits bc yall were horny teenagers

but who knew he’d get the balls to ask you out on a proper date one day

he was such a simp for you gosh it was ugly

“you have to be more careful from now on,”  you say to the boy 

the brat suddenly looks innocent and katsuki wants to throw him

“sorry, mommy. i’ll be gooder”

the look on your face is priceless 

bakugo uses it as a chance to kiss you 

“huh?”

“i guess now’s a good time to tell you that i want to be your dick on demand but with feelings and shit, dumbass”

[tommybaholland]

when their s/o suddenly quits/loses their job

featuring: team captains (aka daichi, kuroo, bokuto, oikawa, wakatoshi, and kita)

dedicated to any post-grads who might be struggling with finding their place in the world right now. you are valuable, especially to the haikyuu boys. enjoy <3

daichi

he’s just as shocked as you are when you tell him 

no matter how you felt about your job, he knew it was important to you and you always tried your best

he’s confident that you’ll find something else easily 

literally the most dependable and supportive boyfriend

“wait, are you serious?”

you shifted in your place while looking down at your feet and nodded. the realization hit hard in that moment as you felt the tears spill over your eyes.

“aww, sweetheart. come here,” he consoled, moving closer to take wrap you up in his arms. “let’s go sit down.”

he takes your bag for you and sets it down before leading you over to sit on the couch. he quietly hushes you while rocking you gently back and forth in his arms. one hand remains on your back while the other comes up to pet your head, smoothing down your hair. 

“i’m so sorry this happened to you, babe. i know you loved working there.”

“maybe i wasn’t doing a good job,” you sniffled before sobbing harder. 

his arms tighten their hold around you. “i don’t think that’s true. you are so wonderful and hardworking, it was probably a really hard decision for them to make. but i’m sure they didn’t do it to you on purpose, sweetness.”

“okay,” you agree, pulling away from him to give a weak smile as you wiped your tears with your sleeve.

“would you like a tissue?” he asks, reaching behind him. “here you go, sweetie. there you go.” 

“i think you’ll find something else in no time,” he encourages while continuing to rub your back. 

you’re not so convinced, still shocked that this even happened to you. “you think so?”

“don’t you think so?” he asked.

you shrugged, avoiding his gaze.

“babe, i absolutely one hundred percent think you will. even if it takes a little while, that’s okay! i know you’ll pull through and get something great or even better than your old job,” he assures. 

you manage to nod and wipe your eyes, mumbling a quiet thank you as you wrap your arms around him. he smiles as you nuzzle into his shoulder.

“we should get you up and doing something to take your mind off of it. are you hungry? i think some food might help clear that pretty head of yours,” he offers, nudging your head gently with his nose. 

kuroo

you had quit your job after finally deciding that it wasn’t good for your mental well-being 

but that was several months ago and you hadn’t been able to find another place that would hire you 

the more time that went on, the more you felt you had little support from others except for kuroo 

he could see that the pressure was weighing hard on you and you were getting more discouraged 

you remained in your seat on the couch as your boyfriend was tugging at your arm, determined to follow through with his plans. 

“please, baby. let me take you out somewhere.”

“i don’t know, tetsu. i’m not sure that i can afford to go out right now,” you reply solemnly. you didn’t mean to be such a downer but it was the truth in your mind. 

“um, what makes you think that you’re paying? i mean, what else do you have me for?” he jokes.

“noooo. that’s even worse,” you object, hiding your face in a pillow. “i don’t want all your hard earned-money to be spent on me, a freeloader.”

he scoffs. “you’re not a freeloader, babe. i want to take you out and treat you to a nice dinner and some good wine. we could go to that bakery that you like too,” he offers, wrapping an arm around your slumped form, rubbing up and down your arm.

then he hears your sniffles. “hey, sweetie. are you crying? oh, no. come here.”

he pulls you closer and you turn to cry into his chest. “i don’t think i deserve it.”

“hey, hey. it’s okay,” he soothes, hugging you tightly. “listen, i know you’ve been having a hard time adjusting with being in-between jobs. you might even regret quitting your old one. but i want you to know that i think you did what was best for you and i’m proud of you for that. and i think you’re doing your best now with what you have. it might not feel like it but you are doing something to help yourself and i think that’s something you should be proud of. so i think you deserve to go out for a fun night with your handsome, charming boyfriend and get your mind off of jobs and everything. so will you please come with me, hmm?”

you sniffle a few more times before looking up at him. “we can go to the bakery?”

“yes, kitten. we can go to the bakery,” he laughs. “if that’s all you want to do, we can just do that. i just want you to relax and see you smile again.”

you nod, giving him a small grin. 

“i’ll take that. thank you, beautiful,” he muses as he wipes a stray tear from your face before leaning in to kiss your forehead. “now, come on. go get ready, babe.” 

bokuto

has a rather overreaction when you tell him that you were let go from your job

meanwhile, you’re unfazed by it and understand their decision 

you try to remain positive about it and he’s happy to see that

insists on helping you look for new jobs and even offers you a spot on the volleyball team

he never took bad news very well, especially when you’re acting so nonchalant about it.

“babe, did you just say that they let you go?”

“yeah?”

“WHAT?! why? how? they can’t do that! so you’re not sad at all?”

you shrug. “i mean, it sucks for sure. but they had to get rid of someone and i was the last person they hired so i understand why they would choose me.” 

“but you’re, like, amazing,” he observes, his hands coming up to squeeze your shoulders. “didn’t they take that into account?”

“thank you, kou,” you grin, patting his cheek lightly. “and yeah. i’d say i was pretty good at my job but honestly, i don’t know that i could see myself working there long-term. and besides, now i can go to all of your games.”

his smile grows ten times bigger as stars shoot through his eyes. “oh, you’re right, babe!” 

he squeezes you into a hug. “i can’t wait to see my pretty baby there while i’m playing.”

“i’ll have to get another job eventually, you know,” you remind him gently. 

“right. right. don’t worry, babe! i’ll help you and-- oh! you know what you should do? you should be on the team!”

you smile, amused by his suggestion. “babe, i don’t know that they’d let me play.”

“you don’t have to play! you could be a manager or something, i don’t know. i’ll make up a position if i have to!”

you laugh and hug him tightly. “you’re silly, babe. i love you.”

“i love you more, my dearest s/o,” he replies before kissing your head. 

you saw nothing but puppy dog looks for the next few weeks when he would try to convince you to come work for the team. you’d had to explain to him that it sounds great but that you should have something of your own to work for. it’s never an easy conversation to have and he’ll pout for a little while but he knows you want him to succeed on his own and he wants that for you as well. 

oikawa

comes home to see you crying

he doesn’t like to see you upset but he loves comforting and coddling you

you try apologizing for crying over something that you could easily replace

he doesn’t mind one bit that you’re crying but they should know that they messed up

you wipe away your tears quickly as you hear the door open and close followed by his voice ringing out through the apartment. 

“helloooo, i’m home!”

you attempted to breathe slower so you could talk to him without hysterically crying. it was hard to keep the tears in as you saw him enter the room, coming closer to where you were seated.

“you’re home early. how’s my sweet s/o doing, hm?” he greets, kissing the top of your head. he notices the redness in your eyes and the tension in your posture. 

“is something wrong, babe?”

you immediately started crying again, hiding your face in his chest as you gripped the back of his shirt. 

“aww, baby. what are these tears for, hm?” 

you tell him about what happened at work that day. 

“those jerks. i’m so sorry, honey. i hope they regret losing someone great,” he responds, brushing hair away from your tear-streaked face.

“i’m sorry for crying about this. it’s so stupid,” you chuckle, wiping away the last of your tears.

“no. don’t apologize,” he objects. “you weren’t expecting it so it’s okay to feel emotional about it, babe. now we just have to think about how we can make it better.”

he suggests that you go have a hot bath while he starts dinner and you nod in agreement. 

“now, let me have one last hug.” he hugs you extra tight. “hmm yeah. i’m going to get all of the sad out of you.” 

your back suddenly makes a popping noise and he feels you relax a little more in his arms. “did you hear that? i felt it. i bet you feel a little bit better now, huh?” 

wakatoshi

you had just quit your job and didn’t explicitly talk with him about doing it

you were nervous to tell him for some reason despite that he’s never judged you for the past decisions you’ve made

however, he’s not very expressive so the stoic look on his face when you told him got you a little worked up 

he’s anything but disappointed in you 

you felt good leaving your, now old, workplace early after you finally decided to quit. you felt good about it until you were driving home and realized that he would be the first person you were going to tell about it. your nerves started to creep up on you, making the hair on your arms stand on their end. 

you decided to do this randomly and didn’t talk to anyone about your thoughts of quitting. you wanted it to be something that you felt you were making the right decision on and would have no regrets about it. so it didn’t make sense why you were feeling nervous to tell him. 

you opened and closed the door without making your presence. you knew he would hear it. 

“y/n? is that you?”

“yeah. it’s me, ushi,” you confirmed monotonously.

“did you forget something?” he asked, popping his head out from the kitchen area. 

you put your stuff down, shaking your head.

“no. i, um, i just quit,” you revealed, unable to meet his eyes.

“oh,” he replied simply. his habitual stoic expression remained which was putting you on edge. 

“oh?” you repeated. “is that all you have to say?”

“i mean, i didn’t know you were going to do that.”

you lowered your head, suddenly ashamed of your decision. “yeah. i’m sorry i didn’t tell you. i didn’t tell anyone that i was thinking about it if that makes it any better.”

you then felt his hand on your shoulder, squeezing lightly. “it’s okay.”

you wrapped your arms around his waist, looking up to him. “do you think i made a bad choice?”

he rubbed your shoulders gently, trying to relieve the tension. “i think it’s rather spontaneous but i know you meant well.”

you grin up at him, grateful for his undying candor. “thank you, ushi. i love you.” 

“of course, sweetheart,” he replies, hugging you tighter. he then suggests that you try to relax for the rest of the day and try to enjoy your newfound freedom.

kita

after you quit your job out of the blue, you managed to find a small part-time job that was flexible and let you work from home

you didn’t make a lot of money as much as your old job but it was the most ideal for you

however, you were getting burnt out from it and even though you were trying your best to find a full-time job, nothing seemed to change

you seemed very unfocused and distracted to him

“dear,” he calls in an attempt to get your attention. he then puts a hand on your shoulder, shaking lightly. “hey. lovely.”

you jolt slightly and turn to look at him. “oh. yes, shin?” 

he frowned at your forced smile. “are you alright?”

“yeah. why?”

“you just seem very distracted lately. this isn’t the first time i’ve caught you staring at nothing.”

your expression dropped into a frown, nodding at his statement. you didn’t really know how to explain what you were feeling. 

“i don’t know, i guess i’m just..tired,” you began. “i’m frustrated with everything and i’m stuck in this cycle that feels like it’ll never end. i want to do something but every day feels like i’m doing nothing and i hate that.”

he nodded in understanding, wrapping a comforting arm around your shoulders. “i think you’re just restless, sweetie. but you know, it’s okay to not do anything for a while.”

you rubbed your hands over your eyes and forehead. “i know but it’s hard. i just feel kinda useless, i guess.”

“you don’t believe that, though, do you?” 

“i don’t know. maybe,” you reply solemnly.

“well, i’d like to remind you that you’re not. just because you’re not working right now doesn’t mean that you’re productive. you do so much, precious, even when you’re not working. i’m worried that you’ll burn out completely and there won’t be anything left for yourself. let me help you take time to relax so you’re ready for whatever comes along. please, babe.”

he ends his response with a few kisses on your cheek. you’re reminded that you feel so lucky to have such a caring partner. you turn to meet his eyes and nod, smiling softly. 

“good. thank you, cutie.”

he pulls you closer in for a sweet kiss, one that makes you feel loved all over. 

keep pushing on, haikyuu night! request some comfort with your favs..

for more writing and nsfw versions, join me on Patreon!

[deadly-departed]

Awwww thank you for appreciating my request!! I actually love it when you do one of them so I come and check if there's anything new everyday lol. Ok ok so how about some fluffy headcanons with Hanako, Tsukasa, Teru and Akane (male) and how they would react when s/o is on her period? I'm currently on mine rn and I. AM.DYING.

Qfohsxohwgjpvshpcd OMFG YEEEEEESSSS!!!!!!!!! I love your requests much! I didn't expect so many of them at once lmao but I love them!!! Also if you wanna know when I post you can turn on notifications for my acc if you're on moblile-

You are by far my favorite anon that I've had over the course of my Tumblr HC days, which honestly hasn't been too long, at most a few months over all my accounts but still!!! I love you-

Hanako-kun The Bathroom Ghost, Wonder No. 7

He'd be pretty confused and worried

Like

You're bleeding??? Out of your baby maker hole??? Why?????

Once you explain to him what's going on and that you're in pain he'll be the sweetest little ghost boyfriend ever

Are you craving something? He'll do his best to get it. And by that I mean he'll ask Kou or Yashiro to get it for you.

Do you want cuddles? He's not exactly warm but he'll happily cuddle you whenever you want!

Having mood swings because hormones? He'll understand and not hold anything against you!

He is kinda clueless as to why you are on your period and why it's so necessary but just give him time, he'll understand eventually.

He can't exactly do much for getting pads or tampons so guess ya gotta ask Yashiro or Aoi-chan for those but you can't blame him, he's dead.

If he notices blood on your skirt before he understands what's going on his have a panic attack, thinking someone hurt you.

But hey, at least it was him who noticed and not a classmate or teacher.

Just so that he doesn't seem dumb, he'll ask Yashiro questions to help him understand. That leads to her being a blushing mess though.

But you really gotta give him some credit for trying

He never got to learn this when he was alive!

He's just really trying his best, comforting you when you're cramps are bad, playing with your hair to call you down if you get upset, whatever

He's always there for you, even if he doesn't completely understand what's going on with your body

Tsukasa Yugi, The Rumor Spreader

You will never see this boy more confused then when you tell him you're on your period

Like, fr, he would be absolutely clueless and wouldn't understand a single word you say

Use small words, like you're talking to a 4 year old

"Me go hurtie hurtie, body want make baby." You say, trying to hold in your laughter as you watch Natsuhiko in the background losing his shit

"Well then tell it to stop." Tsukasa says, smiling like he had just solved a cold case that has been ongoing for 23 years.

"I can't do that." You say, laughing as Natsuhiko wheezes behind Tsukasa.

"I have to just wait it out. And while I do, I'm going to be in a lot of pain." You explain, trying to help him understand what you're going through.

He nods a bit, seeming to understand.

And like that, he brought you literally everything he thought would help you.

Some of it was nice.

Like tea, sweets, heating pads, a stray cat to pet and keep you company.

Other things, not so much.

"Why did you bring me homework? It's not even mine."

"How did you get a hold of an Exorcist's Staff? It can't even work, it has a seal on it!"

"Did you just bring me someone's shirt?"

Meanwhile Natsuhiko is desperately trying not to fall onto the ground as he laughs.

Sakura has the look of 'yep, same old shit'

Once you leave to go home, he'll ask Sakura questions about periods and for some reason the questions get more and more personal???

"Why do they happen?" "Will I have them?" "What are they like?" When was the last time you had one?"

Yeah after that last question Sakura just noped out of school for the rest of the day.

But like, the boy has a morbid sense of curiosity, what do you expect?

When you come back to school, hell hopefully have a better grasp on the concept (thanks to Natsuhiko being shameless in talking to him about it)

So he'll be better at comforting you

Akane Aoi, The Time Keeper

Gets exceedingly flustered when you mention that you're on your period

Like wow ok that's something to hear at 7 in the morning

Will try to help out as best he can, grabbing a pad or something out of your backpack for you, getting you something to snack on

Just like, not around Teru.

He'll try to laugh it off then immediately feel really bad and just silently get up and get the thing you asked for.

Akane will also cuddle the life out of you if you want, he will never he able to get enough of you

Probably has a stash of your favorite foods somewhere in his room for you to eat when you start to get cramps

His moods will swing with yours.

Are you happy bouncy and giggly? So is he! Are you crying because you just accidentally dropped a pop tart on the floor? He'll be on the floor with you, crying.

But!!! If you get angry for any reason, he'll be so calm and understanding and just let you get all that angy out of you.

Once you're done he'll hug you and kiss the top of your head and ask if you feel better now

Man's really out here, buying a heating pad or a heatable stuffed animal if your cramps get too bad

Cannot tell me that Akane wouldn't make an excuse for you if you have to skip school because of the pain

"Sorry sir, she can't come in today, she has a doctor's appointment."

Teru Minamoto, The School Prince

Surprisingly knows very little about periods

Like yeah he has a sister but she's like, 5 so-

Hes probably red in the face when you told him

He's not grossed out or anything! Just wasn't something he expected to hear when he walked into school that morning.

Has absolutely no shame in asking one of his female classmates for a pad/tampon if you need one

Besides, what are they about to do? Tell the school prince no?

Yeah that's what I thought.

We know this man can't cook for his like so he'll ask his little brother to make some cookies or something.

He's not going to be specific, he doesn't want to embarrass you.

Hell just be like 'hey, would it be alright if you make my girlfriend some cookies? She really likes your baking'

And Kou will just 'yeah why not?' And do it

He'll bring them to school along with one of those stuffed animals that are also a heating pad and hand them to you with a smile on his face and fidbdj-

Just an overall nice experience. Kinda. Youre on your period after all.

[madcatdaderpydrawer-blog]

Hey, I wrote Monty reacting to newly infected Moon so why not explain how it would go the other way round? This is in the “twin dads au”, post Gregory arrival. 

At this point, Moon is comfortable enough to be more gremlin in style, so while chatting excitedly with his brother in his head he decides to try and spook him. This isn’t unusual, and Monty usually finds it funny once he gets over the whole “where the fuck did you come from-” aspect. But this time, Monty seems so irritated the moment he pops down from the ceiling and just walks past him. Now that was weird, and when he realized that Monty wasn’t in a good mood he stopped being a scuttering gremlin child and instead tried to ask what was wrong and if something happened. Sun was the one who started questioning if this behavior was alright, because “he’s being a bit rude, isn’t he?” and also asked his brother if Monty is supposed to have purple eyes. Moon hadn’t noticed that before, too intent trying to keep up with the irritated gator to notice. But in the moment he tried to shrug it off as looking like that because of the shades.

No matter where he tried to take the conversation, Monty seemed to have none of it and it seriously worried Moon; He was never this shut off from him, especially as they had been talking for a while. He tried his typical anger management methods, to turn on the cooling fans (animatronic equivalent of “take a deep breath I suppose lmao) but somehow that only made it worse.   Monty got really offended by that simple statement and basically immediately responded with “are you of all people talking down to me?” which, yeah hurt a bit more then Moon expected. Sure Monty is infinitely more important then him in every way possible... but still! He doesn’t have to point that out. Well that didn’t stay on his mind long anyways because Monty snapped and pulled him down from the wire- he was dangling upside down, because he likes popping down from the ceiling like that for maximum spook. He got startled by the sudden landing and didn’t react in time before Monty slammed a foot into his chest. And god that shit hurt. Monty is BIG, and getting basically kicked in the chest by the massive gator is HORRIBLE. So he had the natural reaction of curling up in pain and asking Monty what the actual fuck that was for. But he shouldn’t of raised his voice because that made Monty angrier, and he grabbed him by the neck leaving Moon trying to pry his hand off before the claws rip through his neck. Meanwhile Sun is just casually watching through the headspace, losing his fucking mind and yelling for Moon to get away from Monty. Monty finally let go of him, and the moment he got released he bolted back into the ceiling. He didn’t understand at the time why Monty did that, and why he was so angry. Sun was too busy yelling at Moon, but he didn’t think the minor injuries were a big deal. 

He was more concerned about why Monty hurt him. Monty never did that before...

[bigskydreaming]

If you were editor of Nightwing's book ever since at least the start of Rebirth to today and you were given free reign, what would your story mandates?

Oh no, this is dangerous. LOL. Hmm, I have no idea what to shoot for here, so I'll try to keep it to ten. That's reasonable right? Ten is good. Yeah. Is fine.

Okay, so, in no particular order:

1) Let Dick be competent 101. None of this him having to play hype man for every other character to pop up in HIS title bullshit. Nope. That's not what they're there for. He's the lead man, LET HIM BE THE LEADING MAN. Like sure, everyone has their areas of expertise, he doesn't need or have to be the best at everything, blah blah blah.....but its about the nuance. All of that is kinda lip service because the thing is, you don't go into MOST comic books and NEED to be reminded of that because the lead characters of those books are all constantly getting saved or shown up or chastised by every guest star in their books, you know? This is a very weird, very niche phenomenon very specific to Dick's character, and I'm super over it. I'm here to read about the guy who has literally been doing this longer than most superheroes twice his age. The guy who's been doing this since before he hit double digits. The born acrobat. The destined ultimate warrior or whatever of Gotham's Ornithological Society Of Murder and Pretentiousness. Gimme that guy. And that guy doesn't need to be 'humbled' every other page, because the thing is, he's not some egomaniac to begin with so the everpresent need to humble him doesn't actually come off as humbling! It just comes off as pandering and not even to actual fans of the actual character, so its like.....wyd DC.

2) Let other people take responsibility for their own crap with Dick rather than always just expecting a mea culpa from him. I'm so unbelievably tired of the words I'm sorry from Dick. I love personal accountability, so I never thought I'd have to say this about a character, but enoooooough. They have made it completely in character for this dude to apologize to everyone ELSE for being brainwashed, getting amnesia, being KILLED, like.....the amount of things he's groveled for forgiveness for when he didn't actually do a damn thing wrong or worse yet, was the ACTUAL victim of is like....pretty damn staggering. And meanwhile, there's nary a peep of apology from the people who regularly insult or belittle him, get physically violent with him, take advantage of him or take him for granted, etc, etc, etc. Its entirely too one-sided and imbalanced, and the pendulum needs to swing the other direction, like YESTERDAY, and in a fairly big way, IMO.

3) None of this Baby's First Social Justice Awakening 101 crap. I'm sorry, but no. Especially not when you go out of your way to acknowledge that Dick is Romani, only to then turn around and act like he's only JUST had his eyes opened to an awareness of like, classism and poverty and the real struggles people face day to day? Sorry not sorry, but especially for other white writers out there, do not use people of color as self-inserts for dipping a toe into Learning To See Past Privilege. And especially when talking about a character who has a history of being actively abused and hurt by the system and institutions of power, or hell, even leaving out that particular origin story, who has still been out on the streets helping people since he was a literal child. You can not tell me that this is his first face to face experience with social issues, or the first time he's had the inclination to try and address those head on. (And its also particularly egregious that the people second-guessing Dick in his own title and giving him reality checks or acting like they have more of an awareness of all this than he does like, happen to all be white? OPTICS. LEARN ABOUT THEM. COMMON SENSE. GET SOME.)

Know what would actually be a better way to approach this? Flashbacks. Show us Dick running into situations that make him think back to a case when he was still Robin, when he and Batman had started fighting over their approaches to things, actually SHOW us those conflicts and how their viewpoints had started diverging, and how much of that was due to Dick not having the same experiences as Bruce, or the same standing in society, no matter what house he lived in. THEN you can jump BACK to the present, with the reminder/awareness that this is something that isn't NEWS to Dick, but that he in the past felt he was forced to make his peace with as something he wasn't in a position to do that much about....only NOW, he's in a very DIFFERENT position, and suddenly it just hits him how he's still acting like he did when he was limited in resources or in having to be part of a chain in command or having to factor other responsibilities into things....now he ACTUALLY has the power and the resources to make meaningful change in the ways he ALWAYS wanted to, but maybe just needed time to figure out HOW.

Like you know what would have made Shawn Tsang's story arc so much better? If Dick didn't just remember her as the Pigeon's one time teenage sidekick he'd briefly fought as a kid, but like.....if he remembered her as someone he and Bruce had FOUGHT about. Because he didn't agree with sending someone to juvie for defacing public property as a form of political protest, when it was someone's LIFE who was going to be irrevocably damaged by that while the damage to the city could be fixed with a check, and what made Dick any more deserving of Bruce's leniency and faith in his potential or underlying goodness than Shawn?

But he was still a kid himself back then, and when Bruce responded with his usual conviction, talking about the importance about rule of law and etc etc, Dick just didn't have the words to get through to him then, to get him to understand that this wasn't just Dick not getting it because he was too young, it was BRUCE not getting it, that Dick was literally just saying well he wasn't too young to have been in juvie himself, and of the two of them, he's the one who has experience there so why was Bruce's opinion on whether this was the punishment that fit the crime the one that got to hold more weight here? When Dick's the one who knows what that punishment actually LOOKS like beyond the abstract, for whom it was a reality that still haunts him in ways that even defacing a few statues of some rich old fucks doesn't deserve?

Or hell, go back FURTHER than when he was Robin. Idk where any of those posts are, but I've always wanted to see something where Dick maybe runs into someone he remembers from his time in juvie, maybe a guard who is like, the source of the reasons Dick mistrusts figures of authority and is so hung up on independence and not being under anyone's thumb, or maybe someone who was in there with him, another kid who looked out for him when he didn't have to, etc. Gimme Dick tackling head-on his firsthand awareness that there's no rehabilitation to be found in a jail for kids, when most of those kids don't even need rehabilitation in the first place and only did what they did in order to survive or escape from worse situations or like, were there purely because of racist cops, etc. Let him go after THAT system, driven by personal experiences and memories that maybe only hit him in full after recovering his memories from the Ric Grayson arc, like they're things that he put in a box in his mind a long, long time ago because he didn't have the spoons or reserves to deal with them when he was a kid still so traumatized in so many ways, like, something had to give and so he put all those memories away for another day and just....never got back to them because life kept hitting him with new and fresh trauma every week.

But now something has him thinking back to those early days in Gotham, and reminding him that not everyone had a Bruce Wayne willing and able to give them an out from that place or acrobatic skills to escape it on their own, and like. You want to do something about the cycles of violence in Gotham and Bludhaven? Why not start with the places that literally MANUFACTURE cruelty on an institutional level, that teach kids that no matter what they did to get put there, even if that was nothing at all, they're all going to be treated the same way and given no reason NOT to do whatever it took to be top dog in a dog eat dog world by the time they got out.

There's SO many better approaches to social awareness in the Batbooks than what we're seeing, and like. Sheesh. The bar is way too low.

4) On a related note, if I'm editor of the Nightwing book, the FIRST thing I'm doing is making it a priority to find a writer of color for that book, ideally someone of Rom descent. Its waaaaay past time to let a Romani writer take the reins on Dick, Wanda, Pietro or Doom, aka some of the only prominent Romani characters out there? You can't tell me that there aren't talented writers who identify as Roma who would be more than willing to add their perspective to Dick's archive of narratives, and if an editor's gotta go looking for them? Go fucking look. DC and its fans have milked a lot of mileage out of the idea of Dick being Romani with very little in the way of nuanced storytelling to show for it in the past twenty years, and if DC wants to trot out little reminders that Dick is Romani every couple years, like in the form of a freaking line that has no follow up or expansion to any degree and is offset by an internal monologue that otherwise reads as incredibly privileged, the least they can do is TRY to expand on that with the narrative perspective of someone they claim to be representing via that character.

And no, this isn't gatekeeping, this is prioritizing. Its not about preventing other writers from writing this character, like just for the hell of it, its about being proactive about finding a writer who can write specific aspects of this character that have long gone unaddressed or poorly represented. And like. Okay. Its not easy breaking into the comics industry for anyone, but its particularly not easy for marginalized writers. Most every major comic book company just recites 'make your own stuff first and then show us that' but when you're a writer specifically, finding a compatible artist to partner with on creator-owned indie stuff first, when those artists are in the same position as you are and apologetically and understandably tend to have to take paying work over yours if you can't pay except on the back end, like....there are a lot of hurdles to getting your start in comic books, and while there are more and more marginalized writers in comics these days, DC and Marvel kinda fucked up, because you know what?

After being told 'make your own first, then we'll talk,' writers DID do just that....but then found out that well, due to the ease of online distribution and access these days, for any writers who CAN find an artist to partner with, its a hell of a lot easier to get their content out there these days WITHOUT a major publisher behind them.....and for a lot of marginalized writers in particular, its worth it to keep full creative control in exchange for smaller circulation. Especially when they don't have to deal with editors 'softening' their work to make it more palatable for audiences that quite frankly aren't necessarily their primary target. So yeah, marginalized voices are becoming more and more present in comics, but Marvel and DC for the most part are keeping the same voices centered they always have, and what these voices have to say is becoming less and less relevant and outdated. Because much like this arc from Taylor, even when they DO dip their toes into story matter that's of interest to wider audiences, they're doing so to a degree that still puts them years behind the conversations everyone else is having.

5) The same holds true of disability representation. I stopped reading Taylor's run for a lot of reasons but his way of responding to people unhappy with his depiction of Babs was a key one. If I'm editor on a book, and someone tweets at one of my writers that their depiction of a disabled character was hurtful because it feels like they're doubling back on everything Babs has ever said about not being defined by or ashamed of her disability and now its being treated like a dirty little secret, and that writer's response is essentially to just laugh at them and say there's nothing wrong or ableist about their writing of a disabled person, TO a concerned disabled person? That writer's ass is getting fired. Full stop.

Either you give a shit about this stuff or you don't. Don't pay your readers lip service about how important social issues are to you and how much you care about using superhero narratives to inspire people on these matters if you're gonna turn around and show your ass the second you don't feel comfortable and prioritized by the conversation, like it wouldn't exist without your oh so valuable contributions. ESPECIALLY if you don't identify as sharing the same identity of the marginalized character you're writing. You are a guest in someone else's lived experiences at that point, and you think you've got the right to belittle and talk down to the people who LIVE THERE? Fuck off, my dude.

6) Re-center Dick as someone who the superhero community RESPECTS. I love seeing Dick depicted as someone who has an awareness of his own limitations and an appreciation for what others bring to the table, and so I'm not opposed to him calling on others when he needs to.....but I also would like to see more of the opposite. But not in the way we usually see it these days, where he's asked to come help with a crisis and then usually second-guessed the whole way, and then sent back home without so much as a thank you when its done. Yawn. Sorry. I've read that story by now.

You know what story arc I freaking LOVED as a kid, back in the 90s? In Green Lantern, when Kyle Rayner first became the sole GL, one of his very early arcs, before he ever joined the JLA or anything....was him realizing how little he knew about being a superhero. He was like, my predecessors all had a full fledged CORPS to teach them everything they needed to know, but I had a few lines of exposition from a funny little blue guy in a red pillowcase and then I was off to the races. That's not good enough. There's so much I don't know about being a hero, I don't even KNOW what I still need to know.

So he went on kinda a superhero training roadtrip. He went to Metropolis to ask Superman for advice, he went to Batman to learn from Batman and Robin (Tim at the time). He went to Wonder Woman, Sentinel (Alan Scott, the first Green Lantern), etc, etc. And in the end, Kyle very much became his own kind of hero who wasn't just a pastiche of all those other heroes and the advice they gave him, but like....this put him on the road to that.

And I'd love to see something like that happen in Dick's solo title. We've seen him train in a team setting, we've seen him train the other Robins.....I'd love to see like, young superheroes from OTHER books, not ones created by the title, but like names people actually recognize from other franchises, like, guest star in Nightwing's book to learn from HIM, specifically. I wanna see something where Wally looks at the latest speedster and is like, you know what, if you really wanna be the best hero you can possibly be, then Nightwing's who you gotta go to, because there's no one I trust to make a better hero out of someone than him. I want the newest kid on the JLA block to worry that people aren't taking him seriously because of his age or experience, and he's always hearing them talk about Nightwing and how young he was when he started and so if anyone knows something about how to gain the respect of your older superhero peers, that's the guy to talk to.

Gimme Dick's couch being crashed on at various times by a half dozen new or upcoming young superheroes who all heard or figured out that if they really want to up their superhero game, Nightwing's the guy to see.

7) Bring back Bea. There's no long paragraph expansion on this, its really simply. Bring back Bea. She was one of the freshest breaths of air in Dick's supporting cast in ages, most of the current run is based off her character direction in the first place, she's literally the best suited TO help Dick in this venture, and the reasons they gave for writing her out of Dick's life were all bullshit and they just wanted to focus on his previous relationships, which would be fine if they didn't fall into the same two endless cycles of bring back up, go nowhere with, awkwardly avoid each other for years, rinse and repeat. Like. Bring back Bea, please and thank you, the end.

8) Focus on new villains. Heartless is meh, but the idea of new villains is still better IMO than rehashing Blockbuster, Zucco, etc. Like, nostaglia ain't it. If I want to read Blockbuster fucking up Dick's life, I can do that. They're called back issues. The thing is, love it or hate it, the Blockbuster arc WAS iconic. It left its mark. And anything that doesn't leave just as much of a mark, if they're going to bring him up again, is just gonna be a waste of time, you know? It'll just dilute his overall presence when like, what he was - worked fine as is. We don't need Round Two.

The trick to good villains, IMO, is they have to speak to a fight that needs fighting.

What I mean by that is....the best villains are those who resonate on a more instinctive level because they embody something that already exists in a reader's mind as a conflict that needs fighting. Like, if superheroes exist, if the embodiment of larger than life presences and forces devoted to protecting the world from various things are real....then their villains need to embody the kinds of fights or conflicts that NEED larger than life figures to combat them, at least on a one to one level.

Look at Superman and Lex Luthor. Superman at his core embodies the strength of community. He's the ultimate hero of the people, his essence is that he was the last survivor of a doomed race who was raised by two honest, hard working people to see the beauty in just being ONE of them, in using what he had on behalf of all of them and not just himself. In contrast, Lex Luthor is basically the embodiment of capitalist greed, of excess, of the entitlement of being able to have anything with a snap of your fingers and thus assuming that gives you divine mandate to make the kinds of choices that he sees as only his right to make.

He hates Superman, ultimately, because Superman is the WRONG savior of the people. He wants their only savior to be HIM, half the time he honestly believes he's saving the world FROM Superman, but just as often he's perfectly content to be the villain and not shy about it....because Lex Luthor's ultimate motivation is he wants everyone to know when he's dead and gone that LEX LUTHOR WAS HERE. He genuinely doesn't care WHAT his impact or legacy is at the end of the day, just that it exists and it overshadows most everything else...because all that really matters to him is the irrefutable proof that HE mattered. And thus at their cores, Superman and Lex are perfectly opposed. Ideally situated to eternally be in conflict, their own forever war, because their core natures are incompatible. They CAN'T compromise, without compromising themselves and essentially ending up as someone totally other than who and what they are already.

And you can go down the list. The Joker is the chaos to Batman's order, while Mr. Freeze is the stagnancy of that order taken too far, he's what you get when you freeze everything in your grief and refuse to let anything go on, anything new grow, because that would mean having to admit once and for all that what you're mourning is really gone. Two-Face is the ultimate embodiment of Man vs Self, a once good man at war with his own worse nature, and reminding everyone who looks at him how easily they could fall to the same fate.

And so on and so on. What Dick needs, is more of the same. Like, as much as I'm not a huge fan of Talon stories, I maintain that the Court of Owls were a great foil for him - just they tend to be poorly used in canon as well. But I also think how poorly they come off in canon has a lot to do with canon not really touching on WHY they're such a perfect foil for Dick....and that's Dick's history with being outside the system, mistreated and even exploited by the system. Because the Court, their core concept, is they ARE the system. They are entrenched, enfranchised, institutional power, passed down through generations, dynastic control that is a perfect counterpart to the dynastic power of the Wayne family, embodied in its youngest generation in the form of Bruce's FOUND family, the children he adopted regardless of whether or not his peers found them deserving of that honor. The Court, and their entire....thing...about the Gray Son, is the entitled fury of those denied something they deem theirs simply because they WANT it, and who will burn the whole world down rather than admit defeat or let someone else have it instead.

And that resonates. It could resonate a lot MORE if DC would actually lean into those concepts and allow Dick to explore how the Court are nothing he's not used to, they're literally made up of the same people who have looked down on him ever since he came to Gotham, but now they're actually a face and a name put to all those attitudes, something he can literally FIGHT BACK AGAINST. The Court are literally human-sized embodiments of everything and everyone who's tried to confine Dick since his parents' deaths, tried to define him without his permission, tried to make him other or lesser than who and what he is.....and who thus now exist in a form that Dick can literally BATTLE. So that he doesn't HAVE to just take this stuff lying down.

Thanks to the Court, he doesn't HAVE to just passively accept it, that this is just how life is, that some people are going to view him this way and think this about him and there's nothing he can do about it. He CAN do something about it, in superhero stories. He can kick its ASS, in the form of the Court of Owls and everything its members think about him and intend for him. He can refuse to bow down to them, to accept their mark on him. He can say lol, no, and then blow their shit sky high, ideally with a little help from his family. He can BEAT them, in this incarnated form, and in doing so, even though he can't beat everything they stand for and represent, that victory still matters, still means something symbolic to readers it resonates with.

And that's what we need more of. Villains created specifically to embody concepts that are diametrically opposed to Dick and what he represents. The system, yes, but also villains who embody the kind of tyranny and control he fights back against in his constant battles for autonomy and self control. Villains who embody the 'new hopes' of a second generation just like Dick himself is the focal point of the hopes embodied by the second generation of heroes. I'm actually not the hugest fan of multiversal constant Dick Grayson, but I might like it more if he had an opposite number there, someone he was specifically contrasted with. Idk.

But you get it.

9) Dick having a social life. Gimme the Titans and his siblings showing up JUST to show up. We have room enough for at least a couple pages every other issue where we just get to see these characters having some breathing room, taking a beat to stop and be something other than just a superhero, to be human as well. There's more to life than 24/7 fighting, even for them, and that's largely been lost in modern superhero comics, which kinda sucks, because that was what made most of the more iconic and lasting dynamics between various characters like, STAND the test of time. The larger than life battles between good and evil might be what many of us come to superhero comics FOR, but the relatable back-and-forths and ups and downs of their private lives spent with friends and family tends to be what keeps most of us coming BACK. And lately its all just mission, mission, mission, and I'm like blah, blah, blah and its like, meh, meh, meh. Y'know? Give the guy some down time, and let his friends come spend it with him.

10) Boone. This is purely self-indulgent, but if you know anything about me, you know my obsession with Robin: Year One, Dick's brief time at Vengeance Academy, and the hate/hate relationship he has with his brief frenemy from that period, Boone aka Shrike. This character has SOOOOO much potential to be Dick's true archnemesis and rival, and like. *Sobs* I can't get into it all again. Its too much. I can't do it.

Okay, I absolutely can. And will, probably. But like. Later.

BONUS ROUND:

Other thing I would absolutely insist upon if I were Nightwing editor....

GET THAT FUCKING MEME SHIRT ABOUT BRUCE SLAPPING DICK THE FUCK OUTTA HERE.

Like. Seriously. WHAT THE HELL. Why would you double down on THAT? Why is Babs STILL wearing it? (Last I checked, like I think I saw it in a scan from last issue? I'm pretty sure its still there? If not, forget this entire rant, and I am very embarrassed. Okay not that embarrassed. I don't really care if I'm wrong here but like, in case I'm not)...

WHY. Who thought that was funny? No, seriously, on behalf of any other abuse survivors who like me are SERIOUSLY not amused, who the FUCK thinks its FUNNY to have one of Dick's best friends sporting a shirt that no matter what it represents IN universe, to readers OUT of universe, is always going to call to mind the fact that this meme only freaking EXISTS because of all the times DC has obliviously and without acknowledgment written Bruce abusing his children, including the BFF that Babs is literally wearing that right in front of.

Like omg do you hate her, DC? What other possible reason could you have for thinking that would be a cute, funny thing for her to wear around the guy getting SLAPPED, by his DAD, in your shirt's iconography.

Okay I'm done.

LOL.

Sorry, that last one was brewing for awhile. Deep breaths. Woo.