#potential spoilers for both the comics and the show i think?

[piningpercussionist]

Howdy, Pine! Can we get three headcanons for all your favorite Scott Pilgrim characters? :-)

Oh absolutely!!!! Lemme think for a minute...

((FUTURE FUTURE ME: I LITERALLY JUST PROCESSED YOU SAID THREE HEADCANONS IM SO SORRY--- YOU WILL UNDERSTAND 😭))

Okay I had a whole thing here, but we're gonna try this again but slightly more Hinged-- forcing myself to format so things don't get out of hand again. I will HAPPILY elaborate, though!!

((Whoop this is future me. This post is going to be so long if I dont do this, so I'm going to put this all under the cut! I'll try to remember to come back up here with the characters I talk about- alternative, should I not do that, maybe check the tags! I'll try to only tag the people I'm directly talking about))

KIM PINE

sexuality: very likely canonically Bi, I am a very big fan of her being a comp. het. lesbian, though (I get this both from my read of the comics/her character and just me Injecting myself into my favorite characters ✌️)

pronouns: she/her usually, but I think she'd be very open and vibe with they/them (me injecting myself again, but also she's just chill like that. I think she prefers if strangers use they/them for her, and her friends or partners use she/her. I'm undecided if she prefers her partners call her their girlfriend or their partner, though.)

Characters I think she has feelings for: RAMONA FLOWERS, Lisa Miller, (MAYBE Scott Pilgrim, still)

Elaboration on that:

I honestly think I can just. Point at some comic panels for Ramona. And the goat thing again. They make me Unhinged that's how canon that is.

Lisa!!! My beloved!!! I think she had a tiny crush on her in high school and had no idea that it was a crush until way later in life- maybe shortly after seeing her again, actually. But like. She's so obviously smiley and happy when she's around, I really can't help but read it that way! She, at the very least, gets an extreme mood boost in her presence, so she really likes having her around.

Scott Pilgrim.... *scrubbing at my face* okay. Okay. So, I have a couple different reads on her feelings for Scott, they're kind of complicated for me to dismantle. Especially since I haven't started my reread of book 6 (I've been giving my thumbs a break, which I am currently prolonging but I have been DYING for someone to ask me to talk about this series.) I'm going to go with my more canon read and leave it at that I think, because it's already becoming this text wall.

Scott was really important to her, I think. She's this aloof, sullen, bitchy girl and she knows it- and then this dorky idiot walks into her life and they really hit it off! They date, they have really sweet, private moments together- it's everything to her. It's someone loving her in spite of the hard shell she initially puts out, and managing to reach her soft, easily bruised heart in ways no one had before. But then he left so abruptly, and that heart was crushed under the weight of her own ribcage. I think she carried that hurt with her every day from that point- I don't imagine her having a particularly roaring love life after that. I think she kept that hurt bottled, and it made any relationships she DID attempt fall apart. It's a wound she's been nursing for way, way too long, and I think she knows that- that's why she wants so badly to forget about it. But then she goes to Toronto and runs into Scott again at the lowest point in his life, and she can't get herself to step away, because this is the only person who ever claimed to love her in a way she felt. I think her decision to stay was sort of... detrimental to her moving on. If she'd detatched herself and stepped back, maybe she could have moved on eventually- she could have worked on herself, or maybe lucked out and found someone who could get through those walls without a sledgehammer, and she would have been better for it. But that's not what happens. She stayed, and I think the longer she stayed the harder it became to keep herself completely shielding from him, because he's still that same goofy guy at his core- he's just a bit worse than she remembered him being. But damn near everything he does throughout the comics just continues to crush her until she HAS to leave- he can apologize, and she can accept it for the version of him she loved, but he's not enough to convince her to stay anymore. I'm going to cut my canon analysis there until I reread their next scene, rather than just continuing incase my thoughts have slightly changed, but like... man... they hurt me in a very unique way. If it was anyone other than Scott, it'd be tragic. (Maybe it still is, maybe that's the Kim Bitterness talking)

For a brief touch on my less canon take, with Kim being a lesbian: I think Scott would have been better placed in her life as a best friend than a partner, but when you're young, and honestly even when you're not all that young, emotional distinction like that can be so, so confusing. So all of the hurt remains very genuine, because she does love him, just not the way she thought she did.

((Because I do love the trans!fem Scott HC as well, I will say. I feel like it would be really, really funny for Kim to realize she's into women and be like "wow sure dodged round two of the Scott Pilgrim bullet" and then one day Scott shows up having started her transition and is like "Oh hey Kimmy!! I'm a lesbian AND a girl, like you now!!!" And Kim just. Crushes her drink or something in her hand like "oh no... oh no she's attractive again... FUCK FUCK FUCK." Obviously a lot more nuanced than that, though. I should probably clarify that I started answering this ask almost IMMEDIATELY after waking up and also BEFORE I've taken more pain meds. If this post has been or starts to become very scattered again, that's why lol.))

Bonus consideration: Hollie. I can dig her having a crush on Hollie, but I feel like it faded a little living with her, and then shattered entirely after the Jason Kim situation. Even an overwhelming attraction to women ain't savin that one, chief. That's just too severe a betrayal.

The Knives Situation: Oh Boy. So in the original answer for this I had a whole thing done up, lemme try to condense it. Basically, I think Kim woke up the next morning HORRIFIED by what she'd done. Like, dry heaving in the bathroom horrified. And this likely really hurt Knives's feelings, should she see! Which Kim would feel horrible about. I'm undecided on if she just runs from the situation before Knives can wake up, or if they have a sort of agrument/one-sided rant on Kim's part afterward where she just really tries to hammer home for Knives how not okay it was for them to do that- for HER to do that, given their ages and inherent power imbalance. In the event that this discussion happens, Knives absorbed none of it, and probably leaves that conversation a little wounded. I think it would proceed to play back in her mind when she and Stephen are talking at one of Julie's parties later on, though, and she'd probably approach Kim after that to thank her for being a reasonable adult about that, unlike how some of her friends had been. Once that understanding is reached, I think they could be good friends, although Kim probably teases her for how she started to dress like her after they first met.

Silly little things: If anyone's familiar with Night in the Woods, do you know the part where Mae's like "that's not drums... that's a computer..."? I feel like that has Kim energy. To me.

Also I think Kim sucks at Rockband- I know that releases like, way afterward or something so far as comic timeline goes, but bare with me, okay? It's my silly little headcanons! Anyway, she'd suck really, really bad on the drums, since so far as I can recall, they don't REALLY correspond with the music. If her friends force her to play, she demands either the mic or the bass, because "fuck you Scott, you try playing their stupid fucking drums." He proceeds to play flawlessly, much to her chagrin. She fairs better on the bass, but only a bit better than the drums, since her fingers aren't quite used to the movements.

Kim didn't think she liked cats for a while, mostly because she was only ever around them fleetingly, and generally in the homes of people who should have been cleaning their litter boxes more regularly. After hanging around Ramona's house more, though, she discovers she really love them! She feels a sort of kinship watching how they actually behave, and I think Gideon ends up warming to Kim very quickly, which probably helps with the very quick turnaround on her opinion. I think it'd be funny if sometimes, when Kim's over, Scott will try to beckon Gideon over to him for cuddles or affection, and the cat will just. Stare at him entirely unimpressed before jumping up into Kim's lap with exaggerated purring and chin rubbing before curling up for a "nap." Kim was in awe the first time this happened, and Ramona finds it ceaselessly amusing every time it happens. ((Funny additonal scenario: once after this happened Scott was whining to Ramona, who was coming to join them on the couch, looking generally very sad/cute/pathetic, and overcome with a sort of playful evil, Ramona proceeded to sit by and cuddle up to Kim as well. Kim immediately froze up and went bright red and wide eyed, Scott's jaw probably dropped before he dove into a theatrical, exaggerated spewl about the betrayal of it all, and Ramona just got to blissfully enjoy Kim cuddles while giggling at both of their reactions and petting Gideon.))

Conversely, I don't know how Kim feels about dogs. Like, I don't think she hates them or anything like that, but maybe they fill her with a sense of pity, for their associations with unwavering loyalty. Something about that specifically runs too close to things she considers about herself, at times, maybe. Idk, just kinda spit ballin here.

I think she does like rats! And mice. Idk. They're cute little guys and I like them, let me have this--

Oh man... just Kim's section is so long. And I have other characters to get to,,, buckle up I guess--- I mean, I did start with My Girl, so maybe the others will be shorter?

((This is future future me again... this is where I actually went back and processed the ask properly :') I have no words to describe my current emotional state beyond that I am trying really hard not to burst into a little fit of laughter at myself and wake my roommate--))

Three! Three headcanons!! I can do this (restraintrestraintrestraint)

Okay! Let's try being Normal About Media- and just as a note, they aren't really in any particular order, beyond Kim being the first because she IS legitimately my favorite, I think. Idk she's very Me.

Ramona Flowers

1. She doesn't really do labels, for things like her idenity; she does think pride flags are pretty, though. Scott got her a bi flag once and she decided to keep it and hang it in her room for this exact reason, though she did explain to him that she doesn't really consider herself anything but herself- Ramona Flowers. He's very understanding about that, although a little confused in the typical Scott manner! They eventually come around to just considering it being his flag, when he comes to terms with himself (yeah, spoilers, I HC him as bi)

2. Her hair actually does have magic properties to it that prevent it from getting absolutely butchered by all the bleaching she does- she doesn't know how or why, though. Maybe it's less magic and more to do with the supplies themselves? Unlike Scott, she's not as meticulous when it comes to reading the status effect labels on things she uses or consumes.

3. Of her former partners, I think she does have genuine lingering feelings for Roxie. So far as the comics/movie go, she simply repressed the hell out of them and plays the Deny Deny Deny! game, but so far as the show goes, I think she's come to terms with the fact that she still loves her, but horrifically fumbled her- she doesn't want to hurt Roxie like that again, so she's unlikely to ever try things again between them, I think. Not unless Roxie was the initiator, and even then, it'd take some coaxing.

Bonus 4. She absolutely has feelings for Kim. I feel like maybe further into their relationship she'd 100% ask Scott like "hey... you know your really hot friend Kim?" and proceed to discuss with him if being in a polyamorous relationship is something he could get behind. Maybe it'd happen after a period of time with Kim living with them too, or something.

Roxie Richter

1. She gets ALL the girls- all of them. She's an unholy TERROR for men where she lives, because she is notorious for giving women the night of their lives and making them never look back so far as dating men goes. Now, I don't think she deliberately breaks up people or goes after "straight" girls or anything, but it's probably something that's happened on accident before, so she's A Menace. I will say that she might deliberately swoop in and woo a girl she knows is taken if it's extremely clear that their relationship is just Not Right- like if she's seeing clear signs of abuse, or something. She isn't intending to get with these girls when she does this, but she is fully intending to get them out of shitty situations. She's even turned girls down after their (ex) boyfriends have stormed off in a huff, simply out of respect for them- she'll try to give them advice, and if they're adamant in trying New Venues, she might play matchmaker where she can, but she isn't really comfortable sleeping with them after doing stuff like that- to her, it feels gross, maybe even exploitative.

2. I actually don't know if this is meant to be canon or not, because it's noted alongside some of her sketches, but she's german/japanese in my eyes- but raised in the states. She knows English the best, and some German, but she doesn't really know much Japanese, much to her own agitation- she just struggles with it a lot, for whatever reason. She can kind of read some things, but if she tries to speak it she runs the risk of butchering the words. I personally further HC her dad as German and her mom as Japanese- dad by process of elimination, mom based loosely on how I read some of her and Ramona's conversations in the comics.

3. She is in fact whistling the tune in the show intending it to be from the Robin Hood movie- in fact, I think I'm going to HC it as one of her favorite animated films from childhood. (... do I HC her as a furry now?)

Lisa Miller

1. Disaster Bi! She's a bit of a Menace and she knows it; she likes to rile people up, but she can't really take what she dishes out. Like, if she'd done the kind of seductive teasing she does to Scott to Kim and received any sort of flirting back, her brain would shut down and she'd need to reboot. She doesn't know how to handle when someone else takes the reigns, which is why it was so easy and fun to play with Scott- he was too stunned/shy to play back, which she enjoys. Not to imply she doesn't enjoy having her brain melted a little, of course.

2. I think she makes it big after she heads to America! Or at least, bigger than she was. She sends her friends back in Toronto signed copies of movie posters and CDs and things when she can- she doesn't expect them to keep them, although she loves it when they do, but at least in Scott's case it's sort of a "incase of emergency, please sell" sort of situation. He does not, obviously. (Ramona probably does, though, both from admittedly petty lingering jealousy and because they just don't have room for all of it; Scott rarely seems to notice anyhow, and the money usually goes towards rent or random gifts for him anyhow)

3. I forget if everyone's sudden absence is noticed when they Poof briefly during the finalt episode of the show, but if it is I feel like Lisa starts to talk to Kyle, since he's in front of her, like "hey, what exactly happened there-" before looking out over everyone else who reappeared in their seats and noticing Scott is actually up there with them. She spends the rest of that night chatting up him and the league, and maybe even scores an in with Matthew for getting a foothold in her acting career!

Matthew Patel

1 . He absolutely has a dedicated cult following for his theatrical works, and it's warranted! He's genuinely good at what he does, and his passion is clear as day; any production is lucky to have him, and he knows it, which can kind of lead to butting heads behind the scenes. I feel like he might come across to his fellow performers as full of himself, especially given his proficiency with one man performances, but he truly is just deeply, deeply passionate about his work, and he wants to feel that passion with anyone he works with, too. He NEEDS his energy matched to feel like it's going to be a grand performance, and he simply doesn't notice how off-putting this can be for his coworkers as a result.

2. The demon hipster chicks have always been the visual age they are now, even when Matthew was a kid; he viewed them as older sisters growing up, and they're very protective of him perhaps as a result. At his current age, they're his best friends and personal body guards- they'll descend like rabid dogs on anyone that steps out of line around him, if he doesn't call them off. Sometimes it's a bit much for him, but they're usually pretty good about understanding when they do and don't need to interfere on his behalf.

3. Ya know I'm not sure if it's a HC I've seen at all but I could really vibe with trans!masc Matthew. I would love that for him, truly.

Scott Pilgrim

1. Look... I really love any trans!Scott headcanons. Like, any direction, I've said before; I genuinely have such a problem figuring out which version I enjoy best: he's trans!masc and has been all along, or trans!fem and Ramona eventually helps to crack that egg. But also, while I'm saying this, he is. So stupid. Not like maliciously stupid in this sense, absolutely not, but I feel like he's the kind of person to like. Run into someone from his past post their transition, with THEM coming up to HIM to be like "oh long time no see, Pilgrim," and then he would say something to the affect of "oh, you have the same last name as (DN)!!! Are you related? Kim, Kim!! Do you know if (DN) had any siblings?" while Kim and the other person just stare at him deadpan for a bit before bursting into laughter at his expense. He would then proceed to be really confused and just not get it, either until they explain it to him or like, he'd just suddenly sit up in a cold sweat later that night realizing what he did like "oh my GOD that WAS them, I said their dead name at them like seven times!! I am Going To Hell!!!" (And Ramona would just kind of blindly, lightly slap around in his general direction, like "honey you're not going to hell for basically affirming the effectiveness of their transition, go the fuck to sleep. They would've said something if it was a problem." Idk, that's just how he feels to me.)

2. When he has his own money for things, and space living with Ramona, he spends it on video games or video game related merch- it's probably a lot of patches and t-shirts, but I can see him starting to collect plushies, too! Like some of the really old kinda silly looking Sonic plushies, for example? If I had my Knuckles one on hand I'd use him as an example, but I think he's in storage somewhere :(

3. Gets into really heated arguments about video game mechanics and stat stuff where applicable; like, Ramona has to drag him away or else he will actively start fighting people kind of heated. He can hold chill conversations, but if he feels like he's being talked down to about a game that he's REALLY into, like Sonic Adventure (he has the director's cut!)

Wallace Wells

1. MENACE TO SOCIETY. He's comparable to Roxie in this way except he is so much worse (I say this affectionately <3) because he does just straight up, in canon, do things like steal Stacey's boyfriends! And that's his friend that he's doing that to! So I cannot IMAGINE what mischief he gets up to when he goes out drinking. He's probably ruined so many lives, naybe even marriages. What am I saying, maybe? Definitely. And he feels no remorse about this! In his eyes either your man was already gay or you needed to treat him better, sweetie; he HAS been rejected before, so clearly his charms can't ruin what ain't already broken.

2. While he does have feeling for Scott, which is basically canon I don't even want to hear it, he KNOWS better. Like, he'd been living with Scott for a while, so he knows if they were legitimately dating he probably would be even more sick of him than he already is. When they were still living together, though, there were times where he couldn't help but wonder if it would really be all that bad... right before Scott comes in and does or says something that just highlights for Wallace that he's making the Sane choice. Besides, Wallace is (and i hate using these terms but I straight up don't know what other words I could possibly use) a sugar baby; he can't keep up being both a sugar baby and Scott's effective sugar daddy (HATEHATEHATE THAT WORD) while ALSO paying rent. It doesn't really work out that well, especially with him having, at the time, such a shitty apartment to begin with.

3. I feel like Wallace really enjoys his nightlife and getting to sleep around, so I'm unsure if this is something still in play while he's with Mobile, or if he respects Mobile enough to do away with that entirely. Like, different situations work for different relationships, so if Mobile is fine with it then maybe it's something that continues! But taking into account the sparks from the show, maybe he'd actually be really fine being exclusive with Mobile. Especially given how well their future selves seem to be doing. Idk! Basically the sum of this one is just that, if Wallace is exclusive with Mobile, he misses be a bit of a whore, but he's very happy where, and with who he is, now.

Envy Adams

1. She gives me vibes.. queer vibes... in some sort of direction.... idk if I'm fully behind her also being a comp. het lesbian or just labeling her a disaster bi, but I also get a vague sense of gender fuckery. It's entirely her name thing, probably, but I can see Envy being genderqueer.

2. She probably hunted Lynette down after that show- an arm was likely Not Enough to quite satisfy that rage. Especially since she didn't get the satisfaction of beating Todd more thoroughly herself, since Scott stepped in. Conversely, for the show canon, Wallace has a target on his back for the rest of her life, as far as she's concerned, even in a world where her feelings for Todd were just misunderstood- she considered him her best friend, and you don't get away with hurting her friends like that unless you're her.

3. I think I'd like to HC that some part of her regrets booting Scott from the band the way she did back in college? Maybe not immediately, or even soon, but I feel like sometimes she would think about him and their relationship as a whole and just feel bad, Idk. Like, she doesn't want to get back with him at all, but I could maybe see her offering to promote Shatterband (or Sex Bob-Omb, in the show,) or even play with him as a genuine apology instead of a coy trap somewhere down the line.

Knives Chau

1. Look... look I know I'm about to sound like a broken record... comp. het. lesbian or bi. HEAR ME OUT: her puppy dog love for Scott is really just that- something cute and innocent, but very intense, especially once he cuts her off in that honestly really brutal manner. Teenage heartbreak is messy- even if you feel like it was real, true love you had, you can often realize later in life that what you felt was just admiration, or something else innocuous like that. I think she reaffirms it to herself as a deep and true love because of how intense the pain of that breakup was, paired with everything that comes after, and I think the show really highlights that for me? Because in the show, with Scott out of the picture entirely, she's just a lot less intense about it. I think after playing music and hanging around his friends, she realizes she didn't really love him all that much, just thought he was a cool older guy and liked that he took an interest in her, even if she recognizes how wrong that was now. ((I probably have more articulate thoughts on this but I am really starting to feel the lack of pain meds so I need to get through this--))

2. Knives is really good at rhythm games and things like DDR or, when it's eventually released, Just Dance. Like, freakishly good. She picks them up just as well and just as quickly as she did her instruments.

3. With how quickly she picked up her instruments, she kinda gives me honor student vibes? Idk. I feel like it'd be a little stressful for her later on, because I do think her passionate drive for music makes her grades take a slight spin, but she just gives off that energy for me. Knives is a lot smarter than people give her credit for, I think, Idk.

... yes, I am very normal about media... spending 3 hours on 1 ask that offered me a lot more simplicity than I can apparently manage...

[wokecipher]

Billy Pines AU

Say hi to an AU I started drawing right after the book came out, it's funny to see it show my art journey of learning to draw Bill Cipher over time.

(above being something I made yesterday vs the first time ever drawing for this idea)

This is an alternate universe of Gravity Falls, where during the collapse of Weirdmageddon, the Universe makes a teensy tiny mistake...

When Weirdmageddon was thwarted, the sudden release of chaotic energy accidentally flung a younger version of a familiar face right into Gravity Falls. This younger Bill Cipher stumbles around looking for his parents, lost and alone, until stumbling upon the statue of his "future" self.

He stays by the statue until he's found by Mabel Pines, who immediately panics and kicks him, not realizing that this tinier version of Cipher isn't the same as his counterpart.

(more doodles and huge infodump below! I plan on turning this all into a comic at some point, so, SPOILERS!! if I decide to do that, that is :P)

After the initial panic, Mabel ends up calming and realizing that this sobbing smushy version of Bill may... not be Bill. At the least, not in a way she's familiar with. She ends up retrieving Grunkle Ford who takes Billy away to study him, paranoid Bill somehow returned yet again.

Billy is frantic and confused, being in an entirely new reality is incredibly overwhelming and scary. He's also lonely and worrying, being away from his caregivers is intensely stressful and he is unable to go to them for help, comfort, or advice. Stanford is sadly not very nice at all to Billy, and sees him as a ruse by Bill to trick everyone into helping him... somehow.

Stanford and Stanley are both heavily against Billy and want him destroyed, Dipper wants him gone as well... but Mabel doesn't feel the same.

After awhile, Mabel becomes increasingly anxious over the scenario. She's worried that Billy isn't an actual threat, and starts wanting to help and understand him. Mabel is also feeling slightly guilty from kicking the kid. Meanwhile Dipper is frustrated and scared of Bill's potential return and fights against Mabel's various theories about Billy. One of Mabel's leading theories is that Billy is actually Bill's child, who just happened to show up at around the same time. She notes how young and confused he seems as evidence, alongside the obvious resemblance to Bill Cipher. Dipper thinks this is insane.

The two end up getting into an argument over the theory, leading to Mabel running out on Dipper because she's very upset over everything. It'd sorta go

Mabel would sort of start it, defensive, "He's just a baby, you guys can't do this to him without knowing it's Bill first!"

Dipper is frustrated "This is obviously a trick, Mabel! Bill is trying to trick us into... whatever this is!!" He'd probably waves his hands around, not sure what to do with himself.

Mabel is upset too, she wanted to defend the defenseless, "But what if he's not? What if he's just Bill's kid??"

"You'd take that chance?!" Dipper is very much done with this.

"... :(" Mabel doesn't really have a response. Because Mabel wants to say "YES!" but also she hates Bill too, and doesn't want him to hurt the people she cares about because of her again. So she'd probably get upset and just leave because this is VERY morally conflicting for her.

Later, Mabel decides to sneak into wherever Ford's lab is, and starts attempting to communicate with Billy. She draws and lets him draw too, but she does her best to be cautious. Mabel doesn't want to make a mistake and accidentally trust Bill again, she feels enough guilt for "starting Weirdmageddon" the first time (regardless of if its really her fault, regardless of how many times others reassure her).

(To note, Bill Cipher is still very much around, and very stuck in the Theraprism! I'd like to think he, at some point, found out about this "impostor" version of himself as a child through some doodle either Billy or Mabel made. He was probably flabbergasted and furious.)

Ford would eventually conclude this is probably not some evil plot by Bill, at least if it is, it's very convoluted and doesn't make too much sense for him to actually believe it.

Mabel eventually takes Billy home with her and Dipper because Ford can't handle being around Billy without acting very disturbed, and she can't in good conscious abandon the literal child. It also helps that she seems to be the only person Billy trusts at all.

Ford only allowed this with frequent visits and check ins.

To make this VERY long plot summary a bit shorter, what happens after this is general shenanigans a la the OG Gravity Falls show (minus the Bill Cipher drama, just fun hijinks and adventures)(there's still huge drama when it's discovered that Billy IS just Bill as a kid though, that sure won't end up deeply traumatic for any reason)!

But eventually, people grow up, people die, and Billy is left with an extinct world and alone, similar to his predecessor.

I don't think he'd turn out okay what so ever given he was ripped away from his home reality, got stuck in a place where he's hated by everyone, and raised by a family that was deeply traumatized by an alternative version of him so he's always eternally guilty for things he literally never did. Also, constantly not being able to interact with society, participate in things like school and being with people like him his age... yeah this kid isn't growing up stable I'm sorry.

Don't worry! After millions or billions of years, he ends up in the... exact same place as his counterpart. Good job Billy! Get better soon. Bill hates his ass so much.

That's all byyyyeee!

[stoplookingup]

Umbrella Academy S4 reaction (spoilers)

I'm a little surprised how negative the reaction to S4 has been. It's flawed and a bit too loose, sure, but I think there's a thematic arc, to do with the painful but redemptive potential of selfless love, that a lot of people didn't recognize, or didn't like, possibly because it's too sentimental, or too tragic, or both.

In particular, I have a really different take on That Relationship. You know the one I mean.

But before I get to that, I just want to address the issue of unexplained plot points, of which there are certainly many.

Short version: Just let it go.

Long version: Comic-book storytelling is all about the impossible premise, the unlikely twist, the overblown threat, the arbitrary race against the clock, the catastrophic non-ending. A big part of TUA's appeal is that it takes that formula to an absurd extreme, unwinding a plot so convoluted and horrifying as to be comedic, then offering a resolution that raises more questions than it answers, and that seems final -- but is it ever? There could always be more. Even now. Because reasons.

But scratch the surface, and it's really all about the over-the-top super(anti)heroes who are surprisingly endearing, nuanced and tragic, whom the audience roots for despite a million reasons not to. Would S4 have benefitted from a few more episodes? No doubt, mostly to give each character their due (Klaus, my Klaus, you deserve more!), and to let the story breathe a bit. The plot probably wouldn't have made any more sense anyway. But c'mon, did it ever, really? So, why a subway? Why a squid? Why a diner? Does it really matter?

On to That Relationship, the much-criticized story of Lila/Five (aka Live -- can I copyright this?). This comically trope-laden ship (forbidden love, montage love, love triangle, enemies-to-lovers, pocket universe, happily-ever-after, etc) fits right into TUA sensibility. Despite being a bit underbaked, it's moving. The actors play it well, and in dropping their characters' armor, you realize how much armor they're usually wearing, how hard they're always working to cover their feelings. Out of all the characters, seeing these two having real emotions is most devastating, especially with each other. It's because this pairing is wildly unlikely that it hits.

Lila and Five have similar histories as traumatized, sensitive souls turned cold, cruel killing machines. They're smarter, more cynical, and stronger-willed than everyone around them. And they are clearly starved of love and desperate for connection. (Everyone on this show pays a price, but I find Five's terrible loneliness the most heartbreaking of all.) So then fate throws them together in a way that makes it inevitable they'll form an attachment, only to then demand of them the ultimate sacrifice. Their surprisingly quiet, life-affirming, Guinevere-and-Lancelot love is redemptive, in contrast with the meddling, selfish, and/or destructive love of others: Reginald and Abigail, Ben and Jennifer, Gene and Jean. Live aren't an unnecessary digression, they're central to the thematic development of the story. Sacrifice saves the world, but without love, there is no sacrifice.

And yes, I absolutely think Lila loves Five to the end. And while I appreciate that some might find the age difference between the actors off-putting, I don't think there was anything inappropriate on a Doylist level, and it all makes perfect sense on a Watsonian level.

Also:

Aidan Gallagher and Ritu Arya are extraordinary;

the use of Baby Shark is genius;

Diego, Luther and Allison have been the least interesting characters from the start, and S4 does nothing to change that;

Viktor needs a sense of humor;

I love that alternate universes are all the rage these days (so many great tropes started with Trek), but tbh Loki does it better;

as visual representations of the space between realities, I love both the Loki automat and the UA subway, but at some point, using recent-past retro design to signal liminal space is going to get old, which, come to think of it, will be deliciously ironic.

[sonicjustbecause]

Shadow generation. Impression (from the videos).

Only about the story.

Actually I didn't play the game, I just watched the cutscenes. Maybe I will buy the game someday.

First - the non spoiler thing:

Shadow's story has few aim: being fun and having a compelling character to control. Nothing complicated. So, although nothing special, it is pleasant, simple and relaxing. Also for once Shadow is not tied on certain Sonic rules that don't allow for more than few actions. Is a character that can open several scenarios. Speed and agility might be the mandatory characteristics but he can potentially do many things Sonic can't.

Shadow himself is better than what he used to be the last decade. Is not perfect (but I'm a fan of Maekawa's Shadow as I stated more than once in previous posts), but finally is relatable again. Seeing emphasis on the Doom Powers in the preview, I excepted him being a super edgelord, even worse than the one in IDW comics and without flaws, instead we see him being vulnerable, suffering the side effects of not taking care of his well being and a interesting side about his personality that can teach one thing or two to Sonic.

The spoiler (characters):

Maria, how much we waited to know her.

We hear about her since 2001, we saw pictures of her over and over but we never knew who she was. She was this gostly, mysterious figure in Sonic adventure 2 (I was wondering: "How comes this innocent looking good girl wish for total destruction? Something is not right!"). For long people assumed she was pretty much a strong person, but we never knew for sure.

She is a young teenager. The way she thinks shows that she's not exactly a child. But she's still extremely spontaneous because she has no real life friends around telling her she must act like an adult. So she still jump when excited and has lots of childish characteristics normally at her age and maturity she would have outgrow.

Her only two friends on ARK are one literal child, and an alien/hedgehog with no social skills. They would not pressure her into acting proper because they know nothing.

Idealized? Maybe. But we are seeing the story through Shadow's eyes. That's the point.

Also, finally she doesn't look anymore like a vintage italian doll. First time I saw her I wondered who was the one who though at that, uh, not so great design.

Gerard

Hints from Sonic Adventure 2 suggested that Gerard and Shadow are very similar. But Gerard has on his side the wisdom that comes from age. Also, unlike Shadow, his way longer life experience has been varied, with both good and bad moments, shaping a more mature and less emotional personality.

We never knew what was the relationship between Shadow and Gerard. For now we learned the bads, Gerard getting mad and turning Shadow into a weapon, condemning him to a miserable life.

But, both the Maria and Gerard we see in SxS gen are from before the raid, so we see the fatherly side of Gerard. Surely when he created Shadow, he didn't consider him a living being. But then he learned to love him. He's rightfully his son after all, even if an artificial being.

I'm glad Gerard and Maria aren't Black Doom illusions who serve him but they're the real ones, and they truly help Shadow though this adventure. Clearly they understand what is going on, and even that in the future they will not be on Shadow's side. So they decided to help him as much as they can to make him taking the right decision.

Shadow

Now, I think I have a lot to say about Shadow, he is both the protagonist and the main character.

He showed us sides of his personality that were either hidden and/or forgotten for a long time. Knowing his story he gave me the impression he was just forced to grow against his will.

Maekawa's Shadow used to be balanced, surely stubborn/laser focused, very quiet but also mischievous, good hearted and capable to take care of his well being. But after Sonic 06 his personality was changed into a cold, selfish mean edgelord without remeding qualities, that was on the good side just because of his whims. That was what made him into a joke among fans and a hero only among (few) kids aged 15 and below.

But now we seems we are starting from the basis. Peraphs Shadow will one day be similar to what he used to be. His personality will not change overnight, that would be jarring, it will be gradual. I hope he will act more rationally and balanced from now and in the future.

The side effect of his lack of self care.

They started from his superhuman laser focus and his stubborness, traits that were especially underlined after Sonic 06:

What if this slowly takes a tool on his mind? From dark beginnings, we see that Shadow is at his limits. His focus start to fade, he gets distracted easily by both his own tiredness and outside distractions. Dangerously on breaking point since he can get on the verge of panic attacks. And he is very harsh toward himself. Not just 'focus' but also 'what are you doing? Stop daydreaming'. Seems the hard hearted father toward his son. The only reason he doesn't get slapped for not being a good boy is because he can't slap himself.

Family.

Though he is nowadays known to be a loner... I wasn't and I am not so sure about this trait. Introverted for sure but I remember him always surrounded by friends (still in smaller groups than Sonic) in Maekawa's stories. Rouge and Omega in Heroes and 06, Knuckles, Amy and Blaze in Black Knight. In Adventure 2 he was alone, but he was a good team worker.

He feels more like lonely. In SxS Gen he was so happy to have found his family again and so hopeful to have a second chance that he seemed quite in good mood with everybody. Rouge, Gerard and Maria were very kind toward him, but they also did want him being real, to prepare him to the outcome. A real family (Maria and Gerard) and a real friend (Rouge).

Now, that's might be my interpretation, but Shadow seemed to wanting to show his progresses to his family, maybe to hear their approvations. And he searched their advices, listening carefully, being a good boy for people that are way kinder toward him than himself.

And now the thing Sonic needs to learn from Shadow (perhaps also Shadow from himself). Shadow is capable to be open and sincere toward his family more than how Sonic is toward those that consider his family (Tails). Maybe Shadow is afraid to open up toward Rouge because of this, SxS Gen, Sonic Adventures, Heroes, 06 and Sonic Battle showed that contrary to popular beliefs, Shadow is quite bad at hiding his emotions. He might not cry but is behaviour pattern changes noticeably. And he doesn't seems that annoyed when Rouge lend him her voice when he is unable to speak.

Normal and upset.

Mmmh is OK, I was just a bit tired, you know, running around...

Shadow is surprising again.

Well when you see a face like this:

What do you think the outcome would be?

The first surprise was discovering he was way more chill than what his face suggest. It is always a welcome feeling when a character surprises you in one or more ways. I'm always on the edge when I see Shadow approaching somebody or being approached in the game. And then, he just acts normally.

Though this is logical and excepted, no, this is not Shadow.

Compassion was the thing that saved him originally. And then this trait was removed. Now he is compassionate again.

David Humphrey on what he was told about Shadow when he worked to SA2. You can see the interview with him and Scott Dreier on YT.

It should be underlined that Shadow doesn't know yet who the girl is.

Better to avoid to compare with IDW or Sonic Team Racing, when he doesn't save Rouge and Tails and when he even steal popcorn from a chao.

Doom Powers

They are helpful in game, but what I focus on is how Shadow is always in pain, maybe even afraid everytime he gets a new power. The 'NO!' plead was in Italian too. Another thing is the colour distortion when he gets seemily possessed by Black Doom.

In another videogame I used to play (Saints Row 3 and 4) the same colour distortion was there when the character was high.

So I associate that efect with altered consciousness.

Shadow's body language and expressions...

I did noticed he was very expressive in the trailer. But so he was the whole game. He communicates/emotes through both his face and his body. With the player and with the NPCs around. If his personality keeps improving and he will be back to the Shadow we all loved, and maybe they will keep that friendly attitude toward the player, baybe making a Shadow games not every year, but occasinally when they have a good story, he will be super fun to play.

[kuoukyeee]

Sekibayashi Jun sfw alphabet

Spoilers!!

Tw: drinking

Gender neutral reader!!

A = Affection (How affectionate are they? How do they show affection?)

He is on the more affectionate side out of all the fighters. He wont hesitate to swing his buff arm over your shoulder and brag about you, his wonderfull s/o, to anyone who will listen. Hes not afraid to snog you infront of others and tease them for being single if they comment . He wouldnt discourage you from initiating affection.

However, I feel like there would be a difference in the affection he gives in private and in public places. In private he would be more mellow and tender with his affection, taking it slower and appreciating the more inimate moments. Though still containing small undertones of playfulness and teasing in his voice and actions.

B = Best friend (What would they be like as a best friend? How would the friendship start?)

He probably met you at a match of his, or through an aquaintace. His charisma and positivity definetly reeled you in.

He would be the best hypeman and shoulder to cry on. He literally trains a whole gym of dudes in omega, so at times he can feel kind of a mentor. You guys definitely gossip and have inside jokes which crack you guys up every time.

C = Cuddles (Do they like to cuddle? How would they cuddle?)

Big guy likes to squeeze you as close as he can to himself, its almost as if he wants to wear your skin.

He likes when you wrap your arms around his neck and hold the back of his head, smooching him. If youre tall enough you guys are chest to chest , or he bends down and lifts you up to reach his face . Nevertheless smirking and leaning into your kisses.

D = Domestic (Do they want to settle down? How are they at cooking and cleaning?)

He's not actively searching for a longterm partner, he probably only casually dated in his youth, focusing on his pro wrestling career, but as he gets older he realises its something he would like to have.

Its canon that he's a good cook. In the mini comics in ashura he literally made cosmo a full course meal and was proud when he ate everything, even Wakatsuki thought he was like a grandma. We can also see in omega that he cooks a mean curry. When it comes to cleaning he probably doesn't like it much, but it has to be done yk?

E = Ending (If they had to break up with their partner, how would they do it?)

One day he realises you guys cant continue your relationship anymore and approaches you. His signature smile is replaced by a serious almost worried look. He crosses his arms and sighs, uncharacteristically quietly , he tells you that he wants to break up.

He probably wouldn't end things on a bad note, you guys still being friends. But its never like before, you guys feel tense near eachother.

He would cook for two only to realise you're not there.

F = Fiance(e) (How do they feel about commitment? How quick would they want to get married?)

He likes being a free man, so I think that marriage is not a must for him. Not minding if you guys stay dating or if you guys move onto marriage, its mostly your choice. However he does want a partner and to grow old with. So he always keeps an eye out for any potential candidates.

He would probably get married maybe after 6 years(idk?). He's not in a rush.

G = Gentle (How gentle are they, both physically and emotionally?)

He's very playful, but as an older man he knows his limits when handling you.

Mentally, he's very attuned to other peoples feelings and can definitely read a room. He will try to not sugarcoat what he says , but if you're feeling off, he will try to find a way to tell you something as to not upset you.

H = Hugs (Do they like hugs? How often do they do it? What are their hugs like?)

Hes neutral about hugs. I dont hink he initiates much hugs. Unless he's dating someone, at a special event or something amazing happens. But he never fails to hug you back.

I = I love you (How fast do they say the L-word?)

I don't think he says it fast, he probably shows his love through doing things for you.

He probably said it after a match. Maybe after realising that the only thing he was focused on was your cheering for him.

J = Jealousy (How jealous do they get? What do they do when they’re jealous?)

He would get angry at the perpetrator. He wouldn't tell you he is jealous, but he would act sassy-er with you. When you ask him what you can do to make him feel better, he gets this big grin on his face and taps his cheek until you get the message and kiss him.

K = Kisses (What are their kisses like? Where do they like to kiss you? Where do they like to be kissed?)

They leave you breathless and flustered. Your whole body is hot, and if you didn't have a skeleton you would be a puddle on the floor. (You cant tell me this guy doesn't have experience at kissing people).

He'd probably like to kiss you on your lips, stomach and thighs, he would smile into the kisses and blow raspberries into your skin if you're ticklish to make you laugh.

He likes it when you kiss him on his cheek, it make him feel giddy like a schoolboy. He also like when you kiss his adams apple or his collar bone, it makes him feel manly.

L = Little ones (How are they around children?)

He would deffo play princess tea party and let them put lipstick on him. He would play hide and seek with them and hide in a really shitty place and pretend to be upset when they find him.

If this man ever has kids youre gonna see them running around and laughing all day. When they do something naughty he will half heartedly scold them before he tickles them mercilessly. He would also cook them food and he would melt when he has to plate mini portions for them. He's a natural when it comes to looking after kids. They love him and he loves them.

M = Morning (How are mornings spent with them?)

You probably wake up in a mess of tangled limbs, with your face smooshed against a random muscle of his. Most of the time you guys kind of wake up at the same time. If both of you are free you guys just laze around in bed, cuddling and talking about random stuff.

N = Night (How are nights spent with them?)

He likes to go drinking at a bar with you, wakatsuki and sakura. You guys would sit as a group in a booth, just talking and laughing.

Otherwise I can see you guys guys staying at home and eating a home cooked meal.

O = Open (When would they start revealing things about themselves? Do they say everything all at once or wait a while to reveal things slowly?)

He would open up as you open up. He would first tell you about his grandma and then about his training. He probably tells you this in big chunks.

P = Patience (How easily angered are they?)

I cant see him getting angry. I see him getting frustrated.

Q = Quizzes (How much would they remember about you? Do they remember every little detail you mention in passing, or do they kind of forget everything?)

He would deffo remember a lot . But he forgets unimportant things.

R = Remember (What is their favorite moment in your relationship?)

Probably the first match he had after you guys were official. Its his favourite as you were no longer cheering as a friend, but as his s/o.

S = Security (How protective are they? How would they protect you? How would they like to be protected?)

He knows you can handle yourself (hopefully). He would only be protective if someone insulted you or tried to hurt you. He would snap back at them with a witty quip or punch them so hard that it would send their jaw spinning and them seeing stars.

T = Try (How much effort would they put into dates, anniversaries, gifts, everyday tasks?)

He has experience with impressing people and he is also very charming and charismatic, so he knows what makes someones jaw drop.

U = Ugly (What would be some bad habits of theirs?)

He wouldn't take some things seriously/he wouldn't be serious, this can make you feel like he's not listening or hes absent.

V = Vanity (How concerned are they with their looks?)

I don't think he's that concerned with his looks tbh, he seems quite self assured.

W = Whole (Would they feel incomplete without you?)

He wouldn't necessarily feel incomplete but he would always have this feeling in the back of his mind. He has lots of friends and he's very extroverted, but i feel like he would get lonely at times without you.

X = Xtra (A random headcanon for them.)

Sometimes he spoon feeds you. When he does he always pretends the spoon is a train or an airplane. He would release one of his hearty laughs before saying 'open for the airplane' or 'choo choo'

He has a dad sneeze.

Y = Yuck (What are some things they wouldn’t like, either in general or in a partner?)

A party pooper.

Z = Zzz (What is a sleep habits of theirs?)

He has a death grip on you when you guys sleep, the only way to get out is to wake him up. At times he can smack you with his arms when he turns in bed. Sometimes when he sleeps on his back he starts snoring.

[sylvieserene]

My thoughts on Primer: Clashing Colors #1 - "Color Me Impressed" (2024)

This was a comic I was waiting a long time for and was super excited about its story. Not because omg New character, Primer!! Nah, because of Teen Titans lol

That too the TEEN TITANS ANIMATED SERIES 2003

I seriously had high hopes for this comic but let's just say I'm disappointed.

Without getting into spoilers,

The writing is just meh at best. Primer is fleshed out decently but the writing for TT03 cast is horrendous at worst and ooc at best.

This comic also suffers from the "Telling but not showing" problem, similar to Nightwing (2016) comic by Taylor.

It's clear that the writers prefered Primer but it's almost like they didn't really do much research over the Titans' personality and that was of less priority. They act a lot like their TTG! (2013) Counterparts rather than TT03 characters. Even the humour is similar to TTG! (2013) and not the original show unlike what was being advertised.

As a Primer comic, it gets the job done and highlights her nicely but as a teen titans fan who was looking forward for the TT content rather than Primer, it's pretty disappointing and saddening.

⚠️ Now getting into spoilers ⚠️

(click off if you want to or scroll down to the end if you wanna skip and basically go to the summary)

The introduction to Primer is pretty decent and I think it does a decent job and blooming her personality.

I believe most of you here must have seen this particular panel in the teasers before the comic's release. It catches the TT03 essence nicely but this is where characterisation jumps in.

As I said Primer as a character isn't of concern to me but as a TT fan, TT is.

So here's where things went downhill in characterisation and character consistency.

You are saying Slade came out in the open, got unmasked and it's of NO big deal to Robin?

Lemme rephrase this to you; Slade, the evil mastermind, who never does anything without a reason and NEVER leaves his basement other than the reason for kidnapping children, touched grass and came out at day and Robin is unphased? It doesn't make ANY sense.

Even more so, when the story tries to pretend it's on purpose.

Slade was NEVER unmasked other than that skull reveal scene and that one Easter egg from TTG! 2003 spin off comics. So the fact, this scene was displayed as something comical is genuinely baffling. The Titans KNOW he doesn't get caught unless there's a catch. This part makes absolutely zero sense.

Then this part ...

The problem with this part is, characterisation. BB debatably acts like himself but Raven? No. It's ooc for her to go "Awww :D" like that. If anything, the best possibility is that she'll say the same line but she'll say it with full and utter sarcasm.

I think most BBRAE fans will agree with me on this one but they both had romantic POTENTIAL but they weren't anything other than good pals in the show. And we haven't gotten any hint at their relationship even in the spin off comics which were canon to show. Which in simpler terms means, this is ooc. Most of the development BBRae can have is after the show and after they get older. But the comic claims they are same Titans who haven't aged a day thus THIS IS OUT OF CHARACTER FOR RAVEN TO SAY!

Raven is a gloomy, sarcastic character who doesn't express what she feels instantly or openly, it would have made a lot more sense if she said the same line sarcastically (where she could blush implying a subtext incase they really wanted to insert BBRae but not making too obvious)

It really makes no sense for her character as depicted in TT03 to suddenly melt at the idea BB giving her tulips if it is the same Raven from TT03. Raven isn't that stereotypical girl character. She's a reserved and introverted person who was still learning to open up even to the series very end.

If this is the TT we know and love, this can't be her.

I'm not bashing the ship btw, I'm bashing the writing. Atleast be faithful to the character's personality while doing fan service!!

If you say, it's the same people who haven't aged a day since the last time you met. You can't have it be that oh yk they changed. Both the statements can't be true at the same time.

Then this scene:

This scene looks straight up from TTG. Back to making Robin dumb af and the team bashing him into normalcy. I'm tired of this trope like jeez, TT ROBIN WAS NOT LIKE THAT!!!

Infact if anything, "Can we just call it 'the battery'?" Line is something BB would say not Raven. Also Starfire getting mad at Robin for saying a long name and rolling eyes? She would never. Robin taught her earth customs and language patiently. If anything, she's that one person who would never eye roll on Robin even if he says something dumb. If it's the same Starfire from TT03 AS ADVERTISED.

Then there's this panel....

Two things, Robin never had a car in TT03. He had a bike named R-Cycle. Second, Starfire always carried Robin while Beast Boy carried Cyborg as a Pterodactyl. The Titan with a car was Cyborg. And when the car was out, everyone rode the car instead of taking the skies. Why the hell would Cyborg be carried out by Starfire when the car is right there??? It makes no sense.

It's incredibly strange how the writer is going long lengths to not make the two (Robin and Starfire) even merely interact with eachother.

How hard is it to just be canon accurate? These are stuff you catch on literally one rewatch. Did the writers not even do that or did they go with fanon or what they remembered from their childhood or like spent 5 mins trying to remember the characters through YT shorts and called it a day?

Like this is the only time they technically look at eachother to talk anything other than business:

Then coming back to Slade, I said the story tries to pretend it was all on purpose.

This further proves that this Slade isnt the same evil mastermind we knew of. This is some other guy.

Then this,

Yk what the awful part is? This . This isn't something you would see in TT03 or anything similar. This is simply something you can expect to see in a fan comic.

And wanna know what's worse? Ravager already existed in TT03 verse except she was Rose Wilson not this guy. This simply just means the writers didn't even BOTHER doing minimum research on the show beforing stamping in characters.

========================================

SPOILERS END!!!

Like I am genuinely lacking words as to describe this mess of a Teen Titans 2003 representation. This isn't them at all.

If anything, this isn't anything like they promoted and advertised. If anything, this is simply a TT03 AU which has nothing to do with the show.

It's neither faithful to the show nor the characters nor the established canon.

If anything, this feels like a shameless cash grab..ik some of y'all be mad at me for saying this but yeah. That is what this is.

If anything, it feels like a clickbait way to get people to Primer without actually bothering to respect that clickbait through which you are trying to pull people in.

It's shameful and disappointing and if I'm being honest, this got boring fast. I didn't enjoy it at all.

The writers prioritised cheap comedy and Primer over the Titans who are apparently a big part of her journey. They didn't even feel hesitant in making all the characters go ooc. The story itself is pretty bland and not interesting and genuinely nothing unique about it other than the Titans who apparently were TT03 as left on the final episode.

Anyway, this feels like an AU TT03 self insert OC fan comic at best or a version of TT based on TTG 2013. Frankly, it has the humor and characterization of TTG. Infact, I think this can totally work out as a 'tame' episode in TTG.

Introduction of Primer to TT and her demeanor to them to get along and on the team gave off Massive Terra vibes, it's almost like the writers got heavily inspired from it.

Tldr, the characterisation and characters of TT aren't like their TT03 counterpart but rather TTG one with a lot more grounded personalities. They often go ooc and say things which they won't say if we went with TT03 canonicity. Deathstroke is basically a joke now. The story itself is boring and uninteresting and doesn't make me like Primer any better. The comic falsely promotes this as the TT03 version even though this is, at best, a TT universe maybe inspired by the 2003 show but not the 2003 show. It's closer to 2013 one.

Personally, I'm severely disappointed and I'm gonna say it again, this is a total cashgrab and not worth reading.

[invinciblerodent]

My silly little post talking about this tweet

popped up on my activity page again, and in light of the recent info about choice imports, I can't seem to stop thinking about this lol

I think I've some pretty reasonable predictions for companion returns, so I kinda wanna ramble a bit about this- please, bear with me and my utter wall of text. (I tried to break it up a bit, but I am mostly just rambling and speculating, roughly a month before Veilguard's release. I kinda just wanna refer back to this post-release, to see if I was right.)

To preface, I feel like it bears stating that when conflicting info is given, I personally consider the comics to be less canon than the novels, and the novels less canon than the games, if that makes sense. I believe that the comics and novels are both meant to be set in "Bioware's canon", so I consider them more like suggestions, with a slight bit more emphasis on the novels for how often they're interconnected with the plot of Inquisition, and how Masked Empire and Asunder fed into Inquisition, and how Last Flight and Tevinter Nights seem to feed into Veilguard.

That said.

Origins

With the exception of Morrigan, much as we love them, I think none of the Origins companions are ever likely to return, as they can all have (mostly) on-screen opportunities to die, as the consequence of player choices.

No matter how unlikely each outcome is, Zevran can die (I think maybe twice), Leliana can turn on the Warden and die (and despite her returning for Inquisition even then, the end of that game suggests that that death was actually permanent, and she was actually some sort of a spirit), Shale can turn against the Warden if they side with Branka and die, Sten and the dog can die due to the Warden's neglect, and Loghain and Alistair in particular can be dead like three times over, with Alistair having three drastically different life paths he can have, only one of which leads to him being at Weisshaupt at any point past 9:41.

Oghren can die in both Origins (but gets better) and then Awakening, and regardless, (spoiler) is more or less implied to be dead both by Wynne in Asunder, and by the letter he sends his child in World of Thedas 2 (I believe). Finally, even if Wynne survives the Circle Tower quest, her death is discussed at length in Asunder.

And yeah, neither of these last two is an on-screen death, strictly speaking, but they happen in auxiliary materials the contents of which are more or less treated as canon by Inquisition. (end spoiler)

(Plus, by Veilguard, Wynne would be roughly 80-85-ish years old at minimum, so god, please let that woman retire lol.) (Yeah, if Asunder is supposed to be fully canon, then Shale has to be alive, but again, comic<novel<game.)

Awakening

These companions are a bit less clear-cut, because most of the potential deaths can happen either in epilogue text, or they straight up just disappear, which is kind of promising.

Of the ones who only appear here, Nathaniel can die defending the Keep (and at no time after, interestingly), Sigrun is heavily implied to be dead in at least two of her potential epilogues (leaving for one's Calling is pretty much a death sentence, and it's been roughly 20 years since), and Velanna disappears with -as far as I can tell- no text indicating that she would have died, as her body was never found.

I feel like Velanna, being staunchly Dalish, is a somewhat likely candidate for a returning character, possibly to feature in either Davrin's or Bellara's storylines. The only thing making me doubt this is that she'll have been a Grey Warden 20+ years at that point, and while Wardens typically get 30-ish years, Sigrun leaving explicitly for her Calling in one scenario leaves me nervous about Velanna too.

Dragon Age 2

Most of the DA2 companions can also be dead: Anders' potential murder is a very prominent plotpoint (and it affects Sebastian's outcome greatly, which leads me to believe that despite showing up as Prince of Starkhaven in both The Knight Errant and a letter in Inquisition, he won't appear either), Bethany/Carver can die at least twice over, Merrill can die defending the Circle if Hawke supports the Templars, and Fenris, despite featuring heavily in the Blue Wraith comic, can turn on Hawke and die by their hand.

Justice leaves me in a bit of a pickle, as he is a spirit, even though he is fused with Anders- I wouldn't fully distance myself from the possibility of him being able to survive Anders' death, but I think if he showed up as a truncated, disembodied spirit-fragment, he would probably need to mention his host's death, so he's not very likely to be featured either.

Aveline and Isabela are the only ones who can't actually die, as even if she turns on Hawke, Aveline refuses to fight them and walks away (and the main difference in her life is just whether she was married once or twice), and Isabela sides with Hawke no matter what- plus Varric says that she probably evaded the qunari if she was handed over to them (which she might not need to ever acknowledge), so if anyone from this cast is likely to appear, I would say it'd be those two.

Inquisition

In Inquisition, it's yet again a little bit less clear-cut: Blackwall, Bull, Cullen, and Leliana are the only ones who can be explicitly dead by the end of Trespasser. Cole is a bit of a mystery (but, since his essence can be fundamentally altered by player choice, I doubt he'll show up), and the fates of Cassandra and Vivienne have a lot of variables to account for (with them potentially having the responsibility of being the southern Divine), so they're not likely to appear either.

Sera on the other hand is in the same place/position regardless of whether she was recruited or not (starts a Red Jenny, ends a Red Jenny), as is Josephine (head of the Montilyet family in Antiva), and Dorian (a Magister in Tevinter, even if he wasn't recruited).

As for The Descent, yeah, Renn is super dead, but I'd be very happy to see Valta in some capacity, and it's heavily implied that she will be relevant in some way.

I think of these four, Dorian is the most likely to return, given the setting, how he literally cannot die or be in a place other than the one he is in, how heavily he was featured in some of the comics, and (spoiler) someone having confirmed that Maevaris is going to make an appearance, which, it'd be strange if she showed up, but not the far more prominent fan favorite character she's standing next to in the epilogue slide lol. (end spoiler)

So, this is kind of my prediction.

Sorta-conclusion

If only one companion character shows up, it'll be Dorian. And I'm not saying this out of bias, or because he's my canon romance and favorite character, he's just... by far the most clearly set up to come back, with him being in the literal city where the prologue is set, and being a genuine fan favorite- I would think it to be actually very surprising if he didn't appear.

If multiples, then Shaper Valta, Velanna, Josephine, Sera, Isabela, and Aveline are the ones who, imo, have a somewhat good chance of appearing in a meaningful capacity, in roughly that order- both due to them not having a lot of player-dependent outcomes that are that different, and just... them being the ones who are alive (or at least not-dead) no matter what.

And I'm personally very, very okay with this spread, lol.

If we're a bit more lenient with choices and on-screen deaths, that could also add Cassandra, Vivienne, Sebastian, Nathaniel, Sigrun, and Cole into the running as well, but I believe these characters showing up to be far less likely than the first batch, to the point where I'd be pleasantly surprised (though potentially a bit confused) if they did feature.

These are my -I think- realistic expectations for major characters- for minor ones, there's too many to break down like this lol, but I want to say that if there is a version of reality in which a character is dead, I don't personally believe that they are going to appear.

(Side note, very interesting that with the exception of Dorian, all the companions who are likely to show up according to my interpretations are women. Which, while I'm happy about, I do wonder if that's coincidence, the result of conscious planning to include these characters in particular in the future, or just... the devs being ever so slightly more reluctant to give the players opportunities to kill women.) (Literally, of the characters that can be dead by the end of Inquisition, Leliana is the only woman, and the only way for her to be dead is if she was killed in Origins and had been dead a decade by then! It's interesting!)

[freddie-77-ao3]

sup yall we're vibing here

anyway. hey, my name's freddie, and i'm finally trying to write an actual intro/master post which... we'll see how this goes.

important stuff is highlighted in orange.

so, basic stuff:

as I said, my name's freddie. he/him pronouns. i'm a college student (majoring in accounting, might add a psych minor). not gonna say which college but i'm currently in california.

i've been on tumblr since 2019 i think? not under this account, this started as a fandom account and then spiralled out of control... really fast. um, my regular tumblr which i've not actually opened in ages is @chronicchthonic14 so. yeah.

not particularly relevant to this blog, but i might mention it at some point so, i have autism and adhd. and some other things but. like. that list is very long and those are the two most relevant because i promise if i come off wrong/mean, i didn't mean to, i just forget to make my words normal. but. those are the two most referenced. if for whatever reason someone wants to know more or has questions you can send an ask ig?

i'm scottish, born there. moved to US when I was four. finishing uni and moving back.

some quick warnings

this blog definitely contains cursing/vulgar language, whatever you want to call it, so if you're not comfortable with that, probably not the blog for you, as i don't tag cursing or anything for you to filter out.

if, for whatever reason, if i ever reblog something that contains a slur (against racial minorities, queer people, anything) i will ABSOLUTELY tag that though.

also if anyone has any trigger warnings they think any content needs, please let me know-- asks, dms, comments, reblogs

the cursing thing also applies for sort of dirty jokes? think that only applies to like. two posts and very not explicit. those aren't currently tagged but if they get any more explicit they certainly will be.

queer identity because the explicit reminded me, i'm asexual, and probably straight. maybe bi? dunno, don't particularly care. and i'm trans. ftm. this isn't the blog i talk about that on usually though, unless it relates to a specific ask or a fandom thing.

which, getting into what this blog is for because i can't think of anything else i need to add here (guys let me know if i forgot important stuff, please, i'm an idiot!!! i will forget the important stuff and write random shit instead!! i've already deleted three tangents from this!!)

sooooo

fandoms!! ones i write and/or post about or will potentially post about

percy jackson extending to hoo, toa, tkc (definitely post way less about this), mcga (again, way less). haven't read TSATS or COTG yet, but spoilers are fine. i post way more about minor characters. write fanfiction for and have some posted (both on here and ao3) and a bunch of snippets.

dcu-- films, comics, animated shows, all of it. personally, my favorites are young justice (the comics, not show version), new teen titans, and batman inc (batgirls, nightwing, and red robin esp). late 90s yj run is my favorite, and i loved the DCeased event. favorite batman comic is definitely court of owls run. no fanfics posted, but some on docs.

mcu-- way less so, but have a stucky oneshot. slowly making my way through in timeline order.

throne of glass. i'm an aedion and chaol apologizer because they do a bunch of dumb shit but then WHO DOESN'T in this series. fanfics in doc, not posted.

this would go on for ages if i listed everything so instead, here's an ask i answered on my fandoms/genres and everything. feel free to send me asks about anyone. if you send me something about radium girls i may cry though (tears of joy) so there's your advanced warning.

main things you'll see on my blog are incorrect quotes, snippets, and the occasional fic

this^^

my... idk, contact policy? seriously what do i word this

asks are always open, anon is on.

if you send hate... whatever. i'll probably delete it.

unless i find it funny. then I'll post it. there's really little you could say to me that would hurt.

when i say asks are always open, you can drop anything you want.

literally anything

you need to vent? want advice? want to request headcanons? request a fic? give me a prompt? ask random things about me? something else I've forgotten? go right ahead

if you want to ask me to update my fics? go right ahead. sometimes i forget i didn't post something.

send as many asks as you want, i don't care if it might be spam

i can't promise i'll respond to asks in a timely manner, sometimes i open my inbox and forget they exist for months, i'm sorry. if it's something you really want answered you can send another one

dm's are alright? if you want to be friends or something, go right ahead.

anyone can reblog any of my posts/comment/heart, i don't care. you want to heart 50 things in a row? i adore you. if i had kids, you would get my firstborn

if we're mutuals you can ask for my insta/give me yours.

now, other accounts:

anyway, i think that's it?

[havendance]

hii haven! thinking of getting a comic on steph to join my favs and start reading about her, but i'm not the most knowledgable when it comes to her character and have no idea where to start. do you have any suggestions for me? thanks! <3

So to start, the thing about Steph is that she is very much a supporting character throughout most of her time. This means that comics with her are going to be very scattered and it's harder to find stuff focused on her. If you're the person who likes long lists of comics, I'll link you to this (very indepth) reading list by @bitimdrake. This basically has every comic she shows up in post-crisis broken down into eras so it is very informative, but also has the potential to be intimidating.

Now for specifically buying comics featuring Steph, I'll point you in a few different directions (Note: this will be focused on collected editions since I am of the opinion that if you're looking for single issues, your best bet is to go out and dig around until you find something with her on the cover and then go for it. It may be bad, it may be good, but I think it will certainly be fun. That being said, if you do want recs for individual storylines/issues, feel free to send a followup):

Batgirl: Stephanie Brown Vol. 1 -- This collects the first half of Steph's one and only solo run. It has what no other option on the list has, and that is a complete focus on her. It also has the advantage that it's being reprinted and will be released on October 22nd, just a month from now, so it will be easy for you to obtain. A lot of people really like this run and think it's fun. The main downsides I can think of for this is that it's set right at the end of post-crisis and also features her as Batgirl rather than spoiler so if you're interested in exploring an earlier era for her, it's less suited for that.

(Honestly, the trade that features the most both as spoiler and a key player post-crisis is probably, uh, War Games which is... it's own can of worms. I do not think I need to tell you that while this was a significant storyline for her it was not good and you should not start here at all.)

Batman: The Dark Knight Detective Vol. 8 -- In contrast to the first item on this list, this volume goes all the way to the beginning of Steph's history and collects her introduction storyline. Pros to this comic is that it was released just last year so it should still be easy to find and it's her introduction--which is iconic. Downsides: she only shows up for 3 of 12 collected issues (this will be a common thread through the rest of these recs). That being said, if you're interested in more than just her I think this is a pretty good volume for that as it also contains a Batman and Robin (Tim Drake) team-up storyline, an annual that has wormed it's way into my brain, and also the story that reintroduces Huntress into bat comics.

Robin Vol. 3: Solo -- Once again, Stephanie shows up for a three issue storyline, this time in Robin comics! Most of the points for Dark Knight Detective apply here, honestly. It has a team-up story with her and Tim that I remember enjoying and otherwise collects Robin comics.

Finally, I'll toss out trades from Tynion's run on Detective Comics. This is from rebirth rather than post-crisis continuity wise and I think Steph fans tend to not like this series as much for her. I personally enjoyed her arc in it. That being said, this is a team comic and she is a member of the ensemble in it. I think I'd probably recommend the first two trades of this in terms of where she has more story focus.

Hopefully this helps and gives you some ideas!

[annon-secretcave]

Sonadow, Sonamy...

OK so we all know that there's a civil mid-joke war inside the Sonic Fandom about preferences between Sonadow and Sonamy, right?

And yeah I don't care barely at all about ships or ship wars and stuff, and everyone can have their opinion! But as someone who loves to relate the lore to everything because autism I really like analyzing things and it helps me understand everything better, I thought to maybe give all the canon/non-emotions related stuff to explain how these relationships, friends or something more (spoiler alert, something more does not exist in canon), work inside canon and how they would work in the far future.

REMINDER THAT THIS WILL NOT SIDE WITH EITHER SIDE MUCH UNTIL THE END ("In my humble opinion..." part)

THERE'S ALSO AN ANALYSIS! But at the end, since it's more of a personal analysis that is not fully factual, just a study of the characters.

Yeah so here it goes...

(Everything with a "*" means that it will be explained at the end with the more "sonic" stuff, less related to the ship.)

Sonamy

Realistically, Amy was created to be more of "just an addition to the Sonic team" with more female representation. She started off as just Sonic's girlfriend or love interest, even though he never showed as much interest for her as she did for him. In short, her interest in him did show since she made her first appearance, clearly showing that that would be the main or most shown romantic relationship in the franchise.

At the beginning, she was completely a Sonic fangirl and had much interest in him, specifically shown in shows or some comics... but as they realized the potential of the character, they stopped making her whole reason to be there sonic, changing it slightly, but still firing the character. This also meant that they stopped making her be "madly in love" or that interested in sonic, who was never interested in the first place. This, outside of the franchise is clearly the creators noticing the potential of a character with a heart as big as Amy's, but inside of the franchise it was probably her maturing (going from typical teenage romance-obsessed phase to just a normal crush), which was (ok this one thing is my opinion, yeah...) a big improvement to the character, to give her a story, more personality...

Now, about the ship itself... Sonamy has always been one-sided, or at least in most cases. And this had been stated and was seen clearly throughout the franchise (ok realistically I did not watch sonic boom but that one is not really canon in the main story which is the one that I am talking about). At first, maybe it was not shown in a very modern or uh... less obvious way... but listen the 90's are the 90's ok. but they showed it nonetheless. So, respectfully, Sonamy has not been canon from both sides clearly in most of the canon storyline.

Sorry Sonamy shippers...

(further study of this ship is after Sonadow, but that is a more personal review so I understand if you are not so interested)

(I'd add a single picture of these two but all I can find is FANART...)

Sonadow

So yeah I think we can all accept that no matter how gay it looks we have no proof that they are canon with facts and from a less biased point of view...

We have Sonic's line "I heart you too, Shadow" hope that's enough to feed ya xd

Nah but seriously there is an analysis to these two, it's just not that based in facts and hints like Sonamy had.

The analysis...

Now that the factual part has been explained, let's see this from a more Sonic POV, okay?

Sonic

Sonic is a character that likes to do everything, achieve everything, and be the fastest. His quote is quite literally "Gotta go fast". Of course, in a relationship, he would, not only be interested in, but also need, someone who can "keep up", as toxic as that sounds. He does not really need someone as fast as him, just someone that he can trust to be there by his side at every fight (or most of them), someone who will be at his level enough to fight by his side, otherwise it would be too dangerous. Something else that I've noticed is that the ones he is closest with, or has shown more attachment towards, are also people that can keep him with his feet on the ground, people that know when and how to say "You are not going to do this" and convince him, or, people to just keep him company and remind him who he is when he forgets (and, hey, it's Sonic, he also likes to have a few laughs).

As coincidental as that sounds, being able to both keep up and slow him down are traits that both characters mentioned earlier fulfil (yeah maybe Shadow more specifically... but shut up this is also supportive for Sonamy shippers ok LET THEM BE HAPPY LET THEM ALL BE HAPPY)

In any case, Sonic is a free-spirited supersonic hedgehog that will go wherever he wants whenever he wants, he helps people that are in trouble if he has the chance, and will fight and laugh alongside people who were once, currently are, or have tried to keep up. But being in a relationship itself is more effort than occasional visits, and Sonic knows that; he will be in a relationship with someone that can "keep up" and stand by him for the good of both of them. Obviously, he will also give, put in the effort to make the relationship work, but he knows who, when he gives 50, can give back 50, and those are people that will keep up with his adventures.

In my opinion... (the logic of the analysis applied to my train of thought, this is more biased from now on)

Sonamy

I understand why people see these two as a cute couple. Honestly, it makes sense. She does fulfil most of the traits and he does fulfil many of her expectations, from what I have seen of her...

But it's the keeping up part. Amy is a kind, warm hedgehog who loves nature and loves protecting nature. I have always had the feeling that, at some point (when she's a young adult probably), she would get a small house, near a natural area, where all her friends are, and stay there to protect them in that area. She would stay in one place that would fully grow on her and she would spend all her life there, protecting what she wishes to fight for and taking care of nature, as well as some visits every now and then to her friends if they are far away.

Sonic does not seem to like physical affection too much, except for certain moments with certain people, and the way Amy keeps asking for affection might make him uncomfortable or even bore him most of the time. In a relationship? It might just bore Sonic too much, and Amy would not change to much anyway...

I have never been a fan of the concept of a one-sided ship, due to how toxic it can be. But there is something about the way that Amy, even with her crush, respects Sonic's boundaries, that makes me feel like this is the one single one-sided ship I find interesting and perfect as it is. Sonic is not uncomfortable with her, on the contrary, he enjoys spending time with her a lot, but when she goes to a more romantic mode, he does seem more uncomfortable in most cases.

Plus... this one small part is way more of a personal opinion, but Amy staying single and possibly being a single mother feels very in-character and sweet.

Sonadow

Shadow. As cryptic as he chooses to be at times, he has shown that he cares about Sonic before, which for the character, someone who lost everything in a person who meant the universe to him, is quite a lot. He has been open- or as open as he can be- with Sonic before, which clearly makes their friendship-rivalry slightly more different that his relationship with other people. Shadow's only "problem" is that at times he cannot express himself well.

They respect each other, even if they don't always show it. They care about each other, and even admire some actions the other does. Their rivalry is not toxic, it's just competitive.

Shadow does have the traits that Sonic would be most interested in, like Amy, but in his case, he is less feeling, but he can definitely keep up and even slow Sonic down. He has followed him when he thought he could put the world or himself in dagger multiple times, but he has not shown that well his ability to encourage Sonic (yeah no he has his own way with words and that way is not saying anything, much less to someone with Sonic's high self-esteem)

Sonic loves excitement and enjoying life to the last minute, doing everything that might sound extreme just for fun. He has always admired Shadow's power and angry determination, and found him and his powers amazing, even if he won't admit it. Shadow doesn't mind living extreme situations at all, apparently even enjoying certain activities that involve the excitement of a battle of any kind. Sonic finds that part of Shadow fun to mess with, and Shadow either doesn't care or is barely angry, but actually, in a way, enjoys having someone to fight or just spend time with that won't push any emotional talk or physical signs of affection too much.

Apart from that, my pov again for the future, both of them could make great parents, and their relationship in a family could be interesting since they already act like a married couple xd but then again, Sonic does not seem like the kind of person who will just have a kid unless something "eye-opening" or lifechanging happens to him.

Conclusion

But then again this is just an analysis that would be in case he would settle with either of them for life, so it might not be the best if we are just keeping them with their current age or a bit older xd

Plus, this is more related to their personalities, facts and lore... since I'm not the most adequate to judge how romantic and other kinds of attraction work haha (aroace nation rISE)

Also, as un-biased as this is, this still has a bit of personal opinion, so don't take it too canon and stuff

And remember everyone had the right to have their own opinions, even if we don't like them. Respect everyone and their opinions! They aren't hurting anyone anyway, right? (unless it's something highly immoral or just straight up not legal worldwide)

So yeah, at the end of the day, it doesn't matter if you ship Sonamy, Sonadow or something else, we're all just having fun after all, and if you insult people's opinion you're just being the angry bully in the playground who steals toys and breaks them because it's fun for them, a bitch.

Sonic's got 2 hands after all, ammaright

(this is totally official art trust not al all made in 2 minutes in board with a mouse)

[mischief-lies-and-stories]

Analyzing Loki's Love Interests (Canon and Foreshadowed and Not-So-Canon)

As always, spoilers for Loki, a multitude of comics, and the MCU. I'm focusing on primarily canon love interests and implied to potentially become canon love interests, with one glaring exception because I think they deserve to be included here.

Women Love Interests

Amora: leads Loki on and then betrays him (Where Mischief Lies)

Lorelei: betrays Loki in Agent of Asgard at least twice (and she's made appearances as Loki's love interest in other comics, too, but none that I've read). It should also probably be noted that Amora and Lorelei are sisters and both have also dated Thor in other comics.

Wanda: brief but a bit of a lead-on in Scarlet Witch 8. I wouldn't say she betrayed him, though.

Leah: they're children, mostly, so there's not explicitly romantic scenes. But Kid Loki is the reincarnation of his previous self, and Leah is a clone of Hela (which makes things weird, since Hela is inconsistently acknowledged to be Loki's daughter in the comics). Leah essentially betrays him, too. (Journey into Mystery)

Sylvie: Of course, she betrays Loki at the end of season one. On the one hand, it may be worse, because unlike all but Lorelei (of the comics I know), she led him on to the point of actually kissing him. Now, I will concede that she doesn't actually lead him on throughout the show (by my definition at least), so in this, she's certainly better than Amora or Leah. I think a few times she tried letting him down gently. But if you only look at the point of betrayal, I believe she and Lorelei are the only ones who kissed him, though Amora may have, too.

Men Love Interests

Theo: The only canon male love interest on the list; trusts Loki, believes he's better than the stories say, sympathizes with him and his feelings of being outcasted. He's courageous and determined and snarky, but with Loki he's ultimately soft.

Mobius: He knows Loki, from an academic standpoint, probably better than anyone. And then he gets to know Loki off paper, so to speak, and it rewrites everything he thought he understood, about this specific person, about himself, about reality itself. But his compassion remains, his kindness remains, and he directs it toward Loki when he needs it most. And he discovers he believes in Loki, and his potential, and his ability to dismantle everything everyone expects of him, at a moment when Loki's not even sure he believes in himself. And the trailer for season two means one of two things: One, if the Mobius from the finale is not our Mobius, then Mobius very quickly moves heaven and earth (or rather, alternate timelines) to get to his Loki. Or two, if the Mobius from the finale is a memory-wiped Mobius, then even when he doesn't know Loki, he's still determined to help him. (Or Loki was able to restore his memories, but even in the finale we can still see this care Mobius takes with a frightened stranger.)

Thor: I think the way Thor feels for Loki is clear (whether you interpret it as brotherly alone or romantic). In Ragnarok, you have his line "I thought the world of you." And you have the many times in the comics Thor claims him as his own. "You are my brother, and I love you." In Original Sin, it's so interesting to hear their language very subtly cause a conflict between them. When referring to Angela, Thor always says "our sister" and Loki always says "your sister." To the point that Thor actually calls him out on it once, though I don't think Loki really addresses it. And I think Loki's wording is an attempt more to distance himself from Odin and all the shit he caused, and now Freyja, too, after the betrayal of the All-Mother in securing Old Loki's promised future at the cost of Loki's penance and redemption. And then you have that moment in King Thor, my favorite comic panel, when the Necrosword is swallowing them in darkness and in the very last moment they reach for each other. Because Thor will never give up on Loki. And, try as he might, Loki cannot hate Thor. Not permanently.

I feel like Loki's writers, when they give him these women lovers, almost do it to spite him. They think this is the only type of woman to catch Loki's attention and that haha, Loki's been outmatched by a girl (if misogynist) or diva (if they worship the ground this woman walks on). This idea that the only interesting or believable romantic subplot for Loki is with a woman who will ultimately turn on him. Once again, in all aspects of his narrative, Loki's stuck doing the same thing over and over again. Except this seems like the one thing all writers are willing to let him keep up the cycle, and be seemingly okay with upholding the cycle.

In the case of canon, an argument could be made about this kind of woman (and all of these women are very different except in that they betray him eventually) being Loki's type. There's a rather sick sense of irony in being aware of the narrative, yet being so attracted to a certain quality that he keeps sowing the seeds of his own destruction even in knowing how it's going to end.

Of course, like I've said, this doesn't mean Loki can't love a woman. This doesn't mean I don't want Loki to ever have a girlfriend. I just want Loki to have a love interest for once who isn't going to hurt him before the novel or issue or season ends. I don't even care what gender they are. I just want him to be loved. Because he keeps insisting that he isn't and that he's incapable of it. And I'm tired of that story. And I think he might be, too.

[romancomicsblog]

5 Characters who should get an Invincible Special Episode

Invincible Season 2 has just wrapped up, and while some fans are a little disappointed with its ending, overall the general consensus has been positive. From excellent music, to phenomenal voice work and animation, along with X-Men '97 its been a great time to be a superhero fan AND an animation fan.

This season also brought in a handful of new characters, as well brought some fan favorites to the forefront, including Allen the Alien, Rex Splode and Immortal.

I think I speak for everyone when I say I love being in this universe, and would love to see more. And while I know Season 3 will be here sooner than Season 2 was, I've been thinking about all those incredible characters and the Atom Eve Special.

It went a long way in showing how good the animation got, expanding on Atom Eve, and evening building up threats like The Lizard League.

I think theres alot of potential in expanding some of these characters, seeing their origins and helping build up their character development.

So I'm going to go through some, along with ideas as to how the episodes can play out. Spoiler Warning for Invincible Season 1 & 2 and mild spoilers from the comics.

5. Bulletproof

Starting off with one of the newest members of the Guardians of the Globe, Zandale Randolph AKA Bulletproof is definitely a character you forgot was in this season.

While he is known for a few big things in the future, he didn't really get to do much this season. He wasn't very useful in the sequid invasion, didn't really help in any major fights, nor do we know anything about him. So why him?

His history in the comics is rather tragic, and I think is something we are going to explore. His twin brother, a mad genius, attempts experimenting on Zandale in order to give himself superpowers. Instead it gives Zandale superpowers, and kills his brother.

Due to this, and unable to tell his parents, he pretends to be both brothers to preserve his brothers legacy.

That tragedy is alot, and could make for an amazing episode, with his brother being the villain and explain why he is so guarded.

Plus, I love Jay Pharoah. More Jay Pharoah please.

4. Dupli-Kate

We got some hints at Dupli-Kates origin in her eulogy from Immortal. Her powers come from a curse upon her family, that led to both her and her brother gaining the ability to multiply.

What you don't know is they started off as a brother sister team before going their separate ways.

We actually see Kate's brother Multi-Paul in the cell when the Maulers escape again. Seeing a young version of Multi-Paul before their inevitable confrontation in a later season could give us more stakes.

Yes, this is another sibling rivalry just like Bulletproof, but this could start way more fun than Bulletproofs.

And two multipliers who are children fighting it out in a dramatic finish? Also good television.

3. Monster Girl

Talk about a tragedy.

Monster Girl's curse was given to her after falling in love with a man whose grandmother disapproved of her. That grandmother was a witch, who turned her into an ogre with extraordinary power.

We don't get much else from her origin, which could give us some wiggle room.

This could start as a love story turned horror story, unable to get out of her monster form, feeling trapped in her own body. We can have the witch be an Agatha Harkness type, and a physical threat in the episode too.

Once she is defeated, Amanda is able to turn back and be with the man she loves, until she realizes months later, that she is getting younger, and he breaks her heart.

The beats are all there, and I'd love to see a magic based episode in the Invincible Universe mixed in with some Hulk style action. Plus, building up Amanda will be important as she is vital in the comics.

2. Thaedus The Great Betrayer

You didn't think I was only picking Guardians did you?

Thaedus' episode could be by far the most interesting, showing us Viltrum from a first hand perspective, before he betrayed and before he formed the Coalition.

I don't want to get too heavy into spoilers, but he causes a brutal blow on the Viltrum Empire I'd love to see first hand. We can keep Peter Cullen, or get a younger voice actor, but either way, seeing a younger Viltrum Empire would be very intriguing and a bloodbath.

1. Rex Splode

Despite being one of the most annoying characters in Season 1, Rex is by far the standout of Season 2 in my eyes.

Another origin that was slightly teased, I can imagine Rex's episode can be his sad origin, meeting Atom Eve in act 2, and taking out his oppressors by the end in a good old fashioned team up.

This could be a direct sequel to the Atom Eve Special, giving us more Eve, and help us understand their relationship even better. Plus Rex being blind sided with a girl who can make anything? Sounds like a fun battle to me.

Thank you so much for reading! Please consider following, and check out my socials and other sites here! And let me know: Who do you want to see get an Invincible Special Origin Episode?

[aro-geo-turtle]

ok i've watched the first three episodes of the apple WondLa show. Here's my thoughts (minor spoilers ahead)

my biggest take away is that, despite aging Eva up to 16, the tone is much lighter than the original. I do love the montage of her growing up with Muther, I really do, but starting with that instead of "Eva Nine was dying, waiting for her body to shut down from snake bite" (even if the latter was just a simulation) just sets such a different vibe.

Besteel's still scary, that's good, but we don't see him butchering Otto's herdmember right in front of everyone; Rovee's knife cuts through ropes like they're cobwebs instead of having to saw through; we first see a baby sandsniper in distress instead of a mother looming ominously in the distance; ep 3 invents a whole silly character and a rather bland "gamble so we can get money" subplot. There's no blood, no cuts or rope burns or anything. The landscapes are still beautifully alien, but there's something a little more pastel and whimsical about them.

the animation style, particularly of the landscape, Eva and Muther, has something just a bit...plastic-y about it. I don't really understand why Eva and Muther's redesigns are so drastic, though I can imagine some bits and pieces of them that might be hard to animate I suppose?

and otto...my boy otto what did they do to you??? he is not supposed to be the comic relief animal sidekick guys, this is not my otto!

I'm not saying the show is bad, though.

Rovee was always my favorite character and they've really nailed him, both in design and in vibes. Seeing Hostia's family was wonderful (though I haven't see the migration mural yet, which is kinda important...?) and Muther, despite the redesign, talks and acts and reasons like Muther does. They're hammering home the themes of family really well, especially with Muther's thing about not being human.

Introducing Cadmus earlier is a change that I think has a lot of potential, and I don't have a problem with hinting towards Eight leaving the WondLa for Eva. Did I see Hailey's name in the Sanctuary hub? I admire how closely they're sticking to the plot and the slow pace with the episodes directly being adaptations of chapters. Also, why do they keep saying Eva's name like that??

[casuallyanidiot]

Cowboy Bebop Rant Ig

Side tangent completely unrelated to the rest of my normal stuff, but oh my god I just watched cowboy bebop and the ending like actually pissed me off so much. Like I think that there was so much wasted potential in the ending that could have been saved if like, they didn't write off the comic relief characters in the episode before the finale.

So, Spoiler warning for the end of cowboy bebop I guess.

Like, I completely understand that the writers of the show probably wanted to shift the tone to something far more serious for the ending, but I think that by writing out Edward and Ein, you kind of take away a lot of the heart of the show. Like Fae, Jet, Spike, Ed, and Ein all kind of make up a found family of sorts. They're all kind of strange and it's not perfect, but they return to each other and rely on each other a lot of the time.

Fae is always searching for a place where she belongs because she doesn't know who she's supposed to be. She's lost all of her memories and has to become a completely new person all on her own with no past. I think that because she is a person without a past to fixate on, her and Spike are often foils of each other. They're both brash, egotistical, and highly focused on trying to make sense of what happened to them in the past. While Spike is running from the past, Fae tries to find it in order to make sense of who she is. She also disappears frequently from the crew without telling them where she's going, but she usually returns or tries to find out where the rest of the Bebop members are. Like in the episode where they're finding the memory tape, she seems genuinely hurt and surprised when they left without her, and I believe that it's because on some level she's kind of identified them as her people. They accept her even with all her flaws and despite the fact that she often even steals from them. Albeit Jet and Spike often butt heads with her, they do try to find her and worry about Fae when she's in genuine trouble (like when she gets hypnotized in the weird TV cult episode). I think Fae's character arc is supposed to be finding where she belongs and not running away anymore. She even explicitly says to Edward that "the best place you can be is one where you belong", and I think that having her return to the Bebop in the finale was a good move because its like, yeah, that's where she's supposed to be. I think the tragedy in the finale with her is that she realizes where she belongs, and then Spike just kinda ruins it all with his stubbornness.

But also, I feel as if Fae shouldn't have had the episode where she realizes there's no where else to go be divided with Edward's departure.

Edward doesn't have a character arc because they're a kid without a real past, and they're fine with that. For the whole series, Edward is primarily concerned with living in the moment and moving on to the next fun thing. I think that when they introduced their father, it provided an interesting opportunity to have Edward display some more serious thought about where they want to end up. But Edward doesn't seem like, very interested in being with their dad? They kind of just have one interaction, and it's implied (?) that Ed and Ein go off to find their father? But I think that it's particularly lazy writing because Fae plants this idea of belonging into Edward's mind, and it's stated throughout the episode that Edward just kind of wanders like most of the other people in the cast. I think the difference with Edward in comparison to most of the cast is that they have never really expressed discontent with wandering up until this point. In fact, they literally hack into the Bebop so that they can go explore the galaxy. Edward's character doesn't change by the end of the episode. They don't really express any desire to stay when their father presents them the option, and it feels like a very spur of the moment decision on Ed's part. This normally wouldn't be out of character for Edward, but that's the thing. There's no change to Edward whether they stay on Earth or are exploring with the rest of the crew. I feel like they just wanted to get rid of Edward and Ein before the finale because they weren't sure how to fit more one dimensional silly characters in the serious, tragic ending.

But I honestly think it would've been more interesting if they had stayed because it would present Spike with a more difficult choice. I think Spike was upset by Edward and Ein suddenly leaving based on the way he stared out at their goodbye message since he usually tends to shut down emotionally. So if they were still part of the crew, it raises a more interesting dilemma. Do you stay with your found family where people care about you, or do you go and try to face your past?

I feel like having Spike choose to go and die after Julia is killed with EVERYONE in the crew, not just Fae and Jet, warning him not to or giving him a reason not to, I think serves as a better lesson and ties into the themes better. I feel like with that with their little family having already fallen apart, the reasons that Spike has to not throw his life away are already a bit lessened narrative wise.

Idk, I just think that by getting rid of characters your protagonist is shown to get along with and care about before you show him making the foolish decision to forsake everything good in his life for a shot at revenge and settling old wounds, you kind of water down the tragedy of his decision.

Idk if this makes sense I'm just having a lot of thoughts.

[rontra]

I have never played persona so I wasn't sure if I would understand your failteacher comics but I just looked up the characters for a little bit of context and I'm 👀👀👀👀 at it now xD

Without being too spoiler-y, why would you say they'd have a messy relationship? (Besides the fact of Becky taking advantage of her client's loneliness)

HAHAHA yea i think the like dramatic irony enjoyment of knowing (even just roughly) what's going on with becky is very strong so good on you there (obviously toriumi has no idea what's going on with her and becky is doing her best to Handle It, but it contextualizes her behavior for Us...<3)

it's yummy isnt it... its yummy

anyway, the rest of this very long post is just me analyzing a fictional situation i myself engineered, so if that sounds boring please dont click the Read More LMFAO <- cursed to put a lot of thought into Character Stuff

basically they have great potential for mess, which they're Currently keeping a lid on, but would exponentially increase with time. teehee.

as for what WILL happen, im not spoiling anything concrete of course… (winks at the Knowers who already know my Vision….

well, this AU isn't ever going to devolve into a "super destructive toxic nightmare" mess or anything, just to get our working definitions of 'mess' sorted out at the top of the post. not this time. atm (as of comic #3) it's shaping up more like a "this seems . inadvisable and absolutely Don't Try This At Home, but i guess it won't…kill you" mess (LMAO)

to assess their situation at present… there is one half who wants money (and can't ever make enough of it to satisfy her extortionists), and one half who wants intimacy (and is scared and unable to get it on her own). on its exterior face, it's simply a lonely person hiring a professional to keep them company, which is a fairly common thing n not rly super noteworthy; the parentheticals are what make things a bit uh thorny for these characters

the "problem" here is not the transaction itself; they're both willing to supply their half of the trade just fine, and neither party is doing anything wrong by engaging in it. but for these two specifically, there is also a mutual willingness to bend the rules of their transaction—because they're both cornered in some way, and desperate for what the other one is offering to trade

to elaborate on "rules", i mean, first and foremost, that their relationship is not "real"—these people Don't know each other personally and intimately, and they're Not Supposed To. their relationship should never be "real"; they're not friends! (or lovers, for that matter!) they're in a conditional exchange of money for services. right now, these characters are participating in and maintaining a kayfabe; they should operate under a tacit understanding that A) this is not real, B) they both fully know it's not real, and C) following the script is the comfortable way to get what they both want without causing undue risk to either party. creating and then maintaining a fake "reality" together is regulated by a contract between them, and it ends when their booked time ends (and not a minute over time!)

but to return to the earlier point, they're also both cornered and desperate, which drives them both to go beyond what might be considered appropriate. i think this is compelling; it's probably unnecessary of me to add this paragraph but i want to underline (just in case) that i don't think either of them is like "at fault" or w/e (there is no "villain" between them). they're showing Signs Of Mess that could snowball into something much more messy, but it's not something they're doing to hurt each other; they're making decisions based on skewed risk/reward estimations that might not be healthy, and could realistically have harmful consequences for both parties, but they're not, like, Evil (lol). two women getting wrapped up in each other's personal graveyard spirals…it's yuri, isn't it?

with that squared away, and putting it plainly;

toriumi should not be asking her to "break character" when the character itself is what she's paying for; this nudging of their little kayfabe, if indulged, could easily snowball and erode the professional boundaries between them (what she calls "distance" in #3). she is paying 'becky' to 'be here' (paying kawakami to conjure 'becky' into existence by pretending to be her), but she isn't really being mindful of the type of role that this necessarily demands of her in turn. the built-in emotional walls between them are there to protect both of them, but she doesn't fully respect them (despite instinctively sensing their protection in how "safe" becky feels to her). in the end, toriumi is bad at "staying in character" herself, and she can't help but try to root out the actual person behind the mask—despite the fact that no one wants this erosion to happen! possible dire consequences for her wallet aside, losing sight of the line between "transaction" and "investment" (pardon the pun) is a one-way ticket to a very messy place where one or both of them is likely to get hurt...

on the other end, and not helping the situation at all, kawakami identified toriumi as a soft target pretty much immediately, and is actively trying to elicit sympathy and endear herself to her (she is being quite choosy about what vulnerabilities she "lets slip" in #2) in order to make her keep booking and paying. of course some amount of "salesmanship" is part of the job—#grindset always be plugging smash that like button comment n subscribe—but the major difference here is that she's overtly attempting to foster in her client the exact kind of dependency/personal attachment she should be discouraging (for, frankly, both of their safety). like not only is she out fishing to get toriumi hook line and sinker on purpose, but it's also alarmingly reckless behavior on kawakami's part; there's a lack of regard for her own wellbeing involved here on top of it all. again, a messy place where someone, maybe everyone, gets hurt in the end

crucially though, as comic #3 finishes setting up, they're both willing to endure these shenanigans from the other half. at this stage, toriumi does realize that kawakami has her unilaterally wrapped around her finger, and nonetheless agrees that she'll call her again; while kawakami knows very well how this kayfabe is supposed to work, but is indulgent (even rewarding) towards toriumi for her clumsiness. that mutual willingness to keep playing this game would—if the AU continued on these tracks uninterrupted—probably compound until the situation they've made becomes super confusing and unclear for them emotionally...

of course "taking advantage" is sort of a loaded phrase colloquially… but i would say in many ways they are "taking advantage" of each other, yea. the "we both benefit, so it's okay" logic was already vaguely raised as justification in #3; if elaborated a bit with the above in mind, their situation is one where "even if they're both overstepping what is considered appropriate for their arrangement, they've also both decided the benefits outweigh the costs by a wide enough margin to make it worthwhile"

it's got the marks of a sort of symbiotic relationship... their individual motivations for being involved w each other are totally unrelated (cue the "hold on, does. kawakami even like women???" question), but they both feel they benefit enough towards their priority goals to be OK with the other one taking something "less valuable" from them (toriumi even calls out the “sales pitch” becky is doing in #2, but ultimately decides that’s fine because she’s willing to buy). i think each and every moving part here has great capacity to go "too far" and ruin things (perhaps even causing Severe damage in the collapse), but if the situation were to continue in this same rhythm, without that kind of dramatic change, i would say "they're both evaluating the scenario with their own personal goals in mind, and are extracting what they want from one another relatively(?) peacefully(??)". like it might ultimately be a selfish game but they're adults they'll figure it out probably idk its none of my business what they choose to get up to. wouldn't get into that type of shit myself though LOL

women are playing kind of dangerous games with each other but i forgive them because it's interesting to rotate in my mind...<3

another thorn to consider for their future bonding endeavors from here on ofc is that without being "cornered" the way they are, they would not be running this type of "risk math" in the first place. it's hard for either of them to fully back away at this point because they're already cornered in their personal lives; toriumi is incredibly isolated and lonely with a pretty insecure lifestyle even when she's NOT actively sawing through the branch she's sitting on, and kawakami famously MORE THAN ANYTHING ELSE, NEEDS A LOT OF MONEY RIGHT NOW because she's being extorted by an unrelated third party. looking ahead it does kind of start to look like an ouroboros of "taking advantage of each other" bc it's hard for both of them to leave their individual situations; it's kind of like, if they weren't here with each other they'd be ... well, they'd be here—just with someone else...

they didn't put each other in this jam—it was unrelated personal circumstances and sheer coincidence that pushed them together—but now that they've committed to each other, it's hard to reverse back out, if that makes sense. i think that kind of thing is interesting too, because it makes me want to see them recognize this, connect, and help each other pull out of their Greater individual personal messes. you know? we can make it if we try... just the two of us... 😔

(unfortunately step 1 of that is ofc to make a genuine personal bond that isn't wrapped up in all this for-pay roleplay stuff. drat!)

tl;dr they're both simmering under high pressure and don't try this at home, but they do already have a sort of tacit agreement forming that this level of messy play is OK between them—as long as the rewards continue to outweigh the risks. at the end of the day, it's a delicate balance ultimately hinging on a money-for-services transaction, so if either of them stopped feeling like paying their half was worth it, it would rapidly come apart. i guess it's kinda like the ways you can tell if animals are genuinely beefing or just playing rough—are they willingly coming back? 💀 ...

no lmao where's that post thats like "this would be terrible if it was anyone else, but considering the people involved this is actually the best option" HRBHJDJG that's kind of how it feels. like if they're gonna be stuck with Somebody (and they would be), its probably good luck that they got Each Other. at least the narrative can sustain the balance of this one and maybe even solve it down the line. heart

to round this post off i would say if i had to nominate one of them, kawakami is probably the most "in control" atm—since she figured out very quickly that she was dealing with an easy mark and moved in to make her a regular customer (quite successfully i might add per the end of #3 lmaoo). i think that's been kinda fun, since in her SLink she's immediately on the back foot due to being unmasked by the inciting incident. we know she will lie and attempt to play to the listener's sympathy, so unleashing her with her Mask Still On has been fun 😭 for her part, toriumi is not only taken with the funny maid (& emotionally invested in her IRL situation to boot), but also very clumsily trying to obtain something she's scared to have, which makes her very impulsive/erratic in her rulebreaking compared to kawakami's much more intentional plays...

play of the game 🧹 (<- there's no maid emoji idk its housekeeping)

of course, my future plans will immediately jostle this entire dynamic into something else and make this whole post obsolete, but i don't wanna lay that out ahead of time. smiles.

anyway, otome dissection on the playlist or whatever

[bringerofdarkness-fancomic]

Important Notes Segment - #1

I want to bring up some things before I finally get around to posting Bringer of Darkness here! I don't know if I'm gonna write more important notes segments, but I figured I'd number it as the first just in case. Contains some minor spoilers.

Please bare with inconsistencies/wonky-looking art.

I personally don't mind them; looking back on these early pages have shown me how I've improved since I started, yet I felt like I'd give people a head's up regardless how I feel about this comic.The comic's about a year old, as I first started posting BoD on the twelfth of April last year (2023).

This especially applies to Amy and Exnic's heads. I didn't have any proper references for them when I started working on the comic, so they may look WEIRD from certain angles. Just expect potentially weird looking panels from somebody trying to figure out poses they've never practiced drawing before.

Exnic is only allowed to say "I AM GOD" once.

Being an alternate take on Sonic.EXE for Bringer of Darkness, I personally figured it'd be odd if Exnic didn't say that at all. However, I put a limit on how many times I'm allowed to write him saying that to ensure I don't overuse it, and I landed up choosing once.

It's pretty early on, too, just to get it out of the way. Don't worry, he has a reason to say it, and it's one of my favourite moments in the comic so far (huh. maybe the real reason I haven't dropped this comic is because of how much fun I'm having writing Exnic?).

The only blood we're going to see is from Exnic himself.

Being an alternate take on the hedgehog known for having blood pouring from his eyes, it'd be weird if I said we weren't going see any from him at all. That being said, I'll be treating it more like tears and saliva for him, which means we won't be seeing it all the time.

I think that's both interesting and funny at the same time. Nobody but Exnic is allowed to bleed in this comic. Plus, you don't always need to rely on copious amounts of blood for something to be horrifying, do you? :)

This is the last post before the comic.

That's right, it's about time I stop beating around the bush and actually start showing the comic off soon! Although, if you're seeing this post, then that means this blog's week long hiatus has already started. This is just to give everyone a break from seeing Bringer of Darkness stuff before the comic starts posting.

Not to suggest anyone's tired of BoD, but I don't wanna push things. Besides, as much as I'd love to post all fifteen pages I've got right now, I ought to pace myself. So this is less under the assumption people are annoyed, and more under careful moderation.

Cover drops July 12th. See you there. :)