#realizing i never had a solid ending to this comic..

[fxckn-sxck-fr]

Hii!! Just a thought, would any of the yanderes baby trap a particularly difficult reader?

𝐘𝐀𝐍𝐃𝐄𝐑𝐄 𝐂𝐎𝐌𝐈𝐂 𝐁𝐎𝐎𝐊 𝐌𝐄𝐍 𝐀𝐍𝐃 𝐁𝐀𝐁𝐘-𝐓𝐑𝐀𝐏𝐏𝐈𝐍𝐆…

!!! GN reader, children (lmao), manipulation, coercion into parenting, delusions, slight threats, impregnation mention (it’s not the reader, though), obligatory Tim Drake warning, mentions of possible harm to children.

I’m assuming you just mean the comic book yanderes. Let’s see!

I kept the actual baby-acquisition vague. Could be one or both of y’all’s biological kid, could be adopted, could be kidnapped. Who knows! I also gave them ratings on how they would be as a father, cuz why not.

Bruce Wayne: Yes. Absolutely. This is Bruce we’re talking about. You know, the guy who’s never beating the empty-nester allegations? As long as you’re with him, you’re bound to end up with a kid one way or another. Whether he set out to baby trap you or ended up with a child by chance, he is for sure going to hold it over your head. This kid is going to have both of their parents in their life, biological or not. It’s like a new kid spawns in the manor every time you get even a little bit rebellious. (7/10 father; still has his issues, but he’s learned from his past mistakes.)

Bucky Barnes: Okay, I don’t think he’d initially see himself as a family man. Just never crossed his mind, given his life as the Winter Solider. If he did end up with a kid, it would definitely be by accident. But when that happens, he’ll start to give it a little more thought. The idea of a family… it sounds so domestic; so normal. Uh-oh. Instant baby fever. Now he wants even more kids, and he’ll acquire them by any means necessary. Doesn’t manipulate you with any children, but you may feel obligated to stick around; the Winter Soldier does NOT seem like the type to be good at parenting. (5/10 father; doesn’t know what he’s doing, but he’s at least enthusiastic.)

Clark Kent: This man wants the classic nuclear family life. While he wouldn’t set out to baby-trap you, it will inadvertently happen with his desire for children. He wants to be tackled by at least 3 kids every time he comes home! And if he’s already had Jon, I can see him making it his mission to find the perfect spouse; that’s how he finds you!! Oh, you’re not good with kids? Doesn’t matter. This man is delusional as fuck. It’s not like he sees you for who you are, anyway. Keep in mind that he’s projecting an idealized version of a spouse onto you. (10/10 father; amazing with kids and is willing to pull your weight when you’re being difficult.)

Dick Grayson: If it comes down to it, he will. Any form of manipulation is fair game, and hey… he’s always dreamed of starting a family of his own one day. Even if you’re not big on kids, he’s willing to play the long game to try and get you to change your mind. And if you never do? Welp. That’s too bad. You’re still gonna end up with a child somehow (Dick’s got plenty of ways to make sure of that). When he finally gets what he wants, he’s for sure using the “think of our kid(s)” card any chance he gets. (9/10 father; he’s a family man at heart, and everyone around him thinks it was only a matter of time.)

Hal Jordan: A bit iffy on starting a family. He doesn’t hate kids, he just isn’t sure if he’s ready. However, as soon as he realizes a child in your life could make you more compliant, he quickly starts to sing a different tune. Now he’s all for having kids!! He’d be obsessed with the power it gives, every interaction between you two having that subtle warning of, “try and escape me now.” Papa-Bear Hal is not a force to be reckoned with. You may find yourself not liking the consequences of trying to break up this happy little family. (8/10 father; there’s a bit of a learning curve for him, but he’ll eventually fall into the groove of it.)

Jaime Reyes: Nope. The thought of having kids makes him sick to his stomach. He knows there’s something wrong with him… god only knows what would happen to his kids. The what if’s would drive him insane, easily trumping the possible gains of baby-trapping you. Sure, it might be a bit tempting — and he’ll admit, a small part of him wishes he could one day be a father — but not only would he feel extremely guilty, he also knows that it’s a bad fucking idea. Hopefully, he can continue to ignore Khaji Da’s own thoughts on the matter. It doesn’t matter how important “continuing the Reyes legacy” is, he’s not taking that risk. (6/10 father; despite his fits of spiraling paranoia, he needs to give himself a little more credit).

Peter Parker: Honestly, it’s a toss up. He’s got his concerns with being a father, but thinking about it makes him all giddy inside. I think this would be another case of accidental baby-trapping. He didn’t set out to do it, but hey… if it works, it works. Any “but what about our kid(s)” that he throws at you is by no means intentional manipulation; he’s just genuinely worried what would happen if you left. Then again, I can also see him slightly doing it. As soon as he realizes it works, he’ll keep it in mind. A thing he’ll tuck away for later and only use when absolutely needed. (9/10 father; loves his kid(s) and would do anything for them).

Remy LeBeau: Yeah, probably. As long as he’s in a position where he can have a kid or two, he’ll go for it. Remy secretly longs for a family (though he’ll never admit it), and if starting one means earning your compliance? Well, shit… that’s just killing two birds with one stone! But again, this depends on if he’s in a position where kids are viable. Should he still have some unfinished business to attend to, he’s not gonna be dumb enough to have kids. Growing up in the Thieves Guild taught him a thing or two about why that’s a bad idea. Otherwise, you are not immune to a sudden baby-acquisition by yours truly. (7/10 father; he gives chill baby daddy vibes who tries his best to be there for his kids.)

Scott Summers: Oh, yeah. It’s guaranteed to happen. This man is committed to having a semi-normal life, no matter how unrealistic that may seem. He wants a family. He wants you to be obedient. He wants a sense of normalcy, goddamnit. Y’all are having a kid whether you want one or not. And he leans heavily towards having a biological kid. If you don’t have the means to get pregnant — or fight tooth and nail against the idea — he’s 100% impregnating someone else and stealing their baby. Yes, it’s a crazy idea. Yes, he’s willing to go that far. Don’t test him. He’ll yell and shout at you about how you need to be there for this fucking kid, even if it’s not yours. It’s in your best interest if you comply. (6/10 father; he’s chronically fighting against the absent father allegations and MIGHT be winning… results are still pending.)

Steve Roger: Poor guy wants to settle down so bad. Yes, he’d baby-trap you, but I can see him feeling guilty for it. He knows it’s wrong, and it would especially weigh down on him if you didn’t even want kids in the first place. But he wants a family so bad. He can’t help it!! And as big of a piece of shit he may feel afterwards, he’ll do what’s necessary to make you behave. You need to be here for your kids! If a little bit of manipulation makes you stay, then so be it. He’s surprisingly good at guilt-tripping, making a good case with the image he has to uphold as Captain America. What would people think if they learned he was a single father? What assumptions would they make about you if you left him? Society might not be all that kind to you. It’s best to just stay. (8/10 father; can get a little busy, but he’s definitely there when it matters the most.)

Tim Drake: Not a fan of kids. There might be a chance of him coming up with a baby-trapping scheme during one of his weird fits, but let’s hope he snaps out of it before it’s too late. Do NOT let bro be a father. On the off-chance that he does acquire a kid… pray. And I mean PRAY. His version of baby-trapping ranges from “but this kid needs you” to “I will fucking kill this kid if you leave.” A situation like this means you have to familiarize yourself with Tim’s mood swings. Be compliant at first, then when he starts to second-guess himself, try to gently coax him into giving this child a better home. Hopefully, that poor kid will survive everything unscathed. Tim wouldn’t know what to do with himself if something bad happened to them. (0/10 father; he’d actually do an alright job when he’s mentally stable, but I think everyone — including Tim himself — would agree that he’d do more harm than good raising a kid.)

Wally West: Yup. No hesitation. As soon as the thought crosses his mind, he will get to scheming immediately. His goal would be to make it seem like a natural evolution, even if you’re not keen on the idea of kids. Wally is such a master at masking his manipulation, to the point where it’s unclear if he’s actually baby-trapping you or not, and by the time you’ve realize it… welp… too late. Arguing with him is absolutely frustrating, cuz Wally West does not argue; he smooth talks until makes you feel like an idiot. Wanna know how cruel he is? Those kids will grow up to be accomplices in his manipulation, whether they know it or not. No one can put a stop to his fuckery. (9/10 parent; turns out to be a phenomenal father, I just have to take a point off simply because raising your kids to be just as manipulative as him probably isn’t good.)

[2aceofspades]

hiiii

I really like your comic with Leo and Donnie (whose dead)

Hi hello! 🙌✨

Ohmigosh I almost forgot about that comic!! Reeee! Thank you so much! 🤗✨ I loved drawing ghost Donnie and Karai 💜🩵 got me reminiscing about this panel fr

I'm a sucker for drawing spirits ngl hehe..

[thewriterg]

𝐬𝐞𝐚𝐬𝐨𝐧𝐚𝐥 𝐬𝐰𝐞𝐞𝐭 𝐭𝐨𝐨𝐭𝐡

pairing(s):spencer reid x gn!reader, mention of spencer x derek

summary:your meanings of a sweet tooth increased to a ten fold when the leaves start to change and the air becomes crisp. however, you have a level of self respect that your boyfriend doesn’t

word count: 650+

warning(s): fluff, pumpkin spice slander, pet names, kissing, and language

A/N: —GIFs; @undertheniall & @chemicalh3arts— im a little rusty give me a break

Spencer eyed you warily at your foreign action. Right before he could press the skin of his lips onto yours, your head turned with a quickness. A passion. The brunette racked his mind of what he could’ve done going down the mental checklist in his head.

Took the trash out, watered the plants, closed the drawer in the kitchen you frequently bump your hip into early mornings going to brew your coffee when he leaves it open, —boxes of tea sitting against each other in tip top shape and organization—

There were established boundaries in your relationship that the two of you silently promised to never cross. However, the doctor couldn’t help but to itch to break your most solid concrete one.

You weren’t allowed to profile one another.

No matter how dire the situation seemed, or how well intended it seemed. No. Profiling

All of this amused you to no end. While you struggled to keep a decent poker face at your boyfriend’s kicked puppy expression, he battled internal conflict on what could’ve changed in two hours. You were fine getting ready this morning, you were fine at the office, you were fine leaving the office, hell you were fine even with him telling you him and Morgan was going to try a coffee shop down the road.

What changed in a mere hour!?

“You’re a liar!” You accuse strongly, it’s funny how your top doctor lover couldn’t pick out the dramatic undertone in your voice. It was only a matter of time before you were going to crack your ‘hurt’ facade.

“What!? Ab-”

“Out of all the seasonal treats… Apple pie, sweet potato pie, cookie butter, pecan everything, apple cider donuts, fritters, cinnamon swirl bread, the list could run forever!” You throw the back of your hand over your forehead in mock distress. It’s comical the way Spencer deflates at the realization.

“You dare try to lay your lips on mine with that horrid, wretched, foul tas-” Before you can finish your sentence the lanky brunette is already plopping down onto the couch surface with a irritable sound of protest muffled by the fabric of your sweater.You smile down at the head full of curls staring back you, running your fingers through them making more by separating the bunches they make.

“Can’t believe I fell for that” He mumbled almost sadly for himself going crazy that he was so weak to your advances… I mean you worked with these types of people everyday! To think you were actually upset with him for a… rational reason. Instead you were ‘hurt’ simply because of his choice of pumpkin spice black coffee Morgan had convinced him to try.

“I can’t believe out of everything you chose pumpkin.” You teased in a matter of factly way while still massaging the back of his scalp. You could feel the curl of the brunette’s lips past the thin sweater you were wearing. When Spencer finally moved his head from being burrowed in your stomach the big guns were out and blazing. A certain pout with his combination of sad eyes made you fold everytime and the brunette knew it too.

“Spencer.” It was your turn to whine now dragging out the final ‘R’ in his name and he hummed satisfied. Pursing his lips and inching towards you. However, he was still to be met with a completely different texture than the softness of your lips by rather the palm of your hand.

“You seriously have to brush your teeth”

“Well studies recorded that if you face your discomforts head on then you’re 20% more likely to be less uncomfortable about it.” You can hear the smirk in his voice as he inches closer, making you squeal. You quickly turn yourself loose from his hold before it can tighten around your arms and you two spend the evening playing catch the cat with smiles on your faces.

©2024 thewriterg spooktober do not copy, translate, or modify.

[candycandy00]

The most hilarious thing in the world to me is watching all the right wing morons freaking out over X-Men 97 being “woke” and accidentally revealing that they have in fact never read an X-Men comic book and if they watched the old cartoon at all, it was only in passing and they never paid attention to it.

I’m not even talking about the fact that the X-Men have always met their definition of “woke”, even from the very beginning. No, I’m talking about the utterly baffling number of straight up factual errors I see them spouting. It’s absolutely embarrassing. They present themselves as fans, and are the exact type of guys who would gatekeep comics and assume any random woman in a comic store is a “fake fan”, but they have no clue about some of the most iconic elements from both the comics and the old cartoon!

I watched a video by a guy who had no idea Morph was a character in the old cartoon, and had never even heard of the Age of Apocalypse (one of the most famous X-Men stories in existence). I watched another by a guy freaking out over Storm’s Mohawk, not realizing it’s part of one of her most iconic looks from the 80’s. He showed a picture of her in her first costume from the comics (on a cover of X-Men Classic of all things) that looked way sexier than she was normally drawn when wearing that costume. Then said they “toned down” her look for the original cartoon, not knowing that her cartoon look was an exact replica of her look in the comics when the cartoon was made. They didn’t tone down anything. That was just what she looked like in the comics at the time.

The new cartoon is great. And I say this as a person who was totally obsessed with the old cartoon to the point that it worried my parents. To the point that I (a super calm and well behaved child) threw a massive tantrum when I realized the VCR had failed to record a new episode while I wasn’t home and cried on the couch for hours. To the point that my entire family still, to this day, knows every character’s name (and real name!) without ever watching the show because I talked about it so much.

I’ve never had a problem with “fake fans” of anything, because I figure if you fake something like that, odds are good that you’ll end up genuinely getting into whatever you’re pretending to like. And more fans of something is always a good thing in my book. But when those fake fans are actively trashing something I love just to grift to their narrow minded audiences, using completely false information, it’s ridiculous.

Honestly I wish I could just force these guys to read any storyline from Claremont’s 80’s run. It doesn’t even matter which one. They’re all solid gold. But maybe reading something so freaking great would open their tiny minds just a little bit.

[crustyfloor]

lowkey becoming a Till hater after this. I hte that guy (Regretted writing this 2 seconds later)

It was established earlier in the series that some of the cast do have parents, some know their parents or remember their face, some don't, I feel like it was important to us to know this fact about Till, because this comic answers more questions about him than I had thought, such as where his sense of humanity originates from entirely.

Starting the comic off with "Lo has always wondered ever since the creation was born whether or not providers also felt the same emotions that they were feeling towards the creation" shows more about the environment of Alien stage than I initially thought, Lo seems to love Till more than any "parental figure" I've seen in alien stage, its real, its affectionate, but Alien stage is so dystopian and detached from our society that Humans have no real solid attachment to morality, social code, etc. Aliens could never relate to humans either, so how can they enforce what they don't understand? This leaves Humans to figure it out on their own because no matter what, they'll still be human and feel inexplicable emotions. Love is one of these major emotions that get confused. and loving someone is normal, but I can imagine "Providers" can't afford to be as attached to their "Creations" as Lo was, they couldn't help forming a special bond with Till. But I love that it's immediately established that Lo loved Till as much as they could, and he wasn't brought into the world without care and familial love.

And it's also made clear that Till's passion for art and music was apparent from the jump.. even as a child, he composed his own song and sang it to his mother, he started showing skill and talent at a young age, he was as much of a prodigy as he's always been said to have been, but Lo's expression upon realizing that is so unmistakably afraid. Lo knew more than anyone in that situation how risky it would be letting Till go on because singing, they were more than familiar with the environment of Alien stage, the elaborate display of talent and entertainment on the big screens, the inauthentic excitement of the performers, Till was almost just like them, and Lo knew that Alien stage was where innocent children like him go to be chewed and spat out by Segyein until they had their fill and moved on to the next talent, Lo feared that fate all the same, humans like them didn't have the right to just sing when they want however loud they want, their voices didn't belong to them. Not anymore, but Till had made it into something of his own, he was too naive to know the truth.

They knew the risk, as a survivor, Lo knew what life, what horrors Till would be subjected to if this was ever found out by the aliens who would only use it to hurt and market him, to put him through a grueling cycle of pain until he too met his end on that stage. Lo's ear notch is a nod to their experience, and they were completely right. But as a mother, they didn't even want to take that innocence away from Till, not when his eyes sparked so brightly and pitifully.

In relationships like these in Alien stage, I always see that there is a choice to make between breaking making reality clear or reveling in obliviousness, it happens with Ivan and Sua, Sua and Mizi, Till and Mizi, etc etc. Something has to give and take.

Sua's sister is my favorite example of this kind of exchange, she told Sua bluntly that she would be doomed on that stage as she is now, that she was pitiful, if only to ensure her safety in some twisted, caring way, it effected Sua a lot as a child, living with such deep seated trauma caused Sua to develop an obsession with safety and security based on the fear her sister instilled in her so deeply, to find that warmth in Mizi, Sua was content living in delusion until she had to face it, continuing the cycle.

Lo made the decision to let Till remain oblivious, they, too, found comfort in such childish carefreeness. Like they had hope, they let Till keep singing despite their unease. They cared so deeply about Till enough to prioritize him being himself rather than making him suppress his spirit. The darkness that shadows over Lo's perspective in contrast to the light that makes Till's shines behind Till shows the difference between living in fear--delusion and living freely, oblivious.

The cruelty of their situation was overshadowed by love for a moment, Lo's one wish for their son-- that he would grow up knowing what it's like to love and be loved and chase after the feeling--if only in his heart he would remember how much they tried to show him that love and actively seek it after they're gone, or give it to someone else. They wanted to teach him to be himself through encouraging his love for music.

I don't believe they failed at all. Till was fully aware of how much he meant to his mother, it was so obvious. He loved making them proud, and making them smile and sing with him every time he tried to replicate those 'good cries', Till loved Lo back equally, and as he grew up he never stopped loving.

One thing about Lo's wish was that they hoped Till would never grow up alone. Till's separation from his mother must have had more of an impact on him than we could ever realize from his perspective, even if we never hear about it again, even if he's forgotten about it, suppressed it, it's a trauma that has deeply plagued his subconscious. He lives with that wariness for the rest of his life.

It was Till's fear that stemmed from the pain and regret of losing his mother that caused him to avoid attachments, emotionally suppressing himself, and he keeps his heart behind restrictive chains because he can never let that vulnerability be used against him again, it explains a lot about his relationship with his friends, how he percieves his own relationship with them after going so long not addressing his feelings. He craves connections but fear, and being in the middle of confusion makes him freeze in place and run back to old habits. Jumping to feelings he can easily rationalize, hatred, anger--or avoiding conflict all together.

Even after Lo and Till were separated, Till did not grow up without love, or without the feeling of loving, even though he was alone in his own self-made bubble distanced from his peers, there is a difference between isolation and loneliness, in his case, he remained distant even with his closest friends, or the girl he loved more than anything, as a way to protect himself. But he was never left alone with 4nakt beside him.

When Till can only realize he's loved when he can recognize it and see it for himself, thats what makes the comic being focused on the whole group rather than just Mizi or Ivan interesting, and telling about his character. It drives home the fact that Till was also a little kid who craved connection just like the others, he expects to be left to himself, and his friends seek him out naturally. He valued and loved all of his friends. rather than a specific person like Sua focuses on Mizi and Ivan focuses on Till this shows that everyone who stayed with Till had an importance to him

(Even Sua looks somewhat fond...)

Till grew up knowing what it was like to be cared about and loved it, sought it out, and inherited that touch from his caretaker, What Till gained from his relationship with his mother shows in the way he treats Mizi, Ivan, even Sua. Mizi's kindness and care were a familiarity, something that instantly attracted him to her, it likely reminded him of his mother in a way and he subtly sought out her attention for that very feeling of love and feeling cared for.

With Ivan, he couldn't help caring about him in little ways, it was only natural, if only because it was part of Till's nature to nurture, letting Ivan be himself around him as a parallel to the way his mother encouraged him to be loud about his interests. And Sua, even if they weren't close at all, Sua was an acquaintance to him, hell even the way he treats a little broken flower with just as much compassion shows us how much Lo impacted Till's growth

To the Segyein, Humans are nothing more than a product, to those who disobey, they are punished, to those who comply, living to sing on stage and feed the aliens is their "prize" for living through it all. Their separation was something Lo saw as a their punishment for having their own little rebellion in making music for themselves, loving it, making it into something the aliens couldn't use against them, it was their own little fun, and they could do it freely. It was an inevitable consequence that they could have prevented as Till's caretaker

In the end, Lo probably never lived to see her son grow up, but they prayed for Till's pursuit of happiness. The traces of them, the evidence of their care that they tried to deeply thread into Till's person stayed with him forever, exactly what kind of trace Lo had left on him...they taught him how to love and be loved, they let him love art, they showed him what living freely with no restraints was like, that's the kind of life he fights for even after he's trapped in this system. her impact keeps him kind-hearted and fighting. It keeps him human despite all of the pain he was burdened with as he grows up

And even when his art is his pain, the creation of art and music reminds him of why he lives, what he lives for, it gives him a vague sense of hope even if for a moment, it brings him that same joy he had when he was a child

"Exactly what kind of trace"

The traces you leave behind is what's important to a human, every human is born to die, what matters most is how you live your life, what impact and memory you leave behind, I love Lo's character, even if we have little context around her background, because she knew that fact and wanted nothing more than to leave a meaningful impact on Till, if they were to one day die they wanted to leave him with a trace of them, a message he would never let go of. and that sentiment became deeply intertwined in his being. Till's emotions, his love, makes him the character he is.

The title of the comic expresses this too. "evidence" or "traces"--this comic is evidence of Lo's impact, evidence that Till was loved and knew how to love in return, Till had relationships. His entire existence was the product of love, it's evidence that he was alive and had humanity, that's what makes this comic even more tragic. It's evidence that he was human at all when we can forget that in the midst of the chaos of all of their lives. Innocence where the aliens don't bother to acknowledge. Till isn't a weapon, or a product. And this perspective of him through his mother's eyes reflects that.

The humanity that he holds within himself even after losing family connects him to more people who prove to care for him as deeply as he cares for them. Till was lonely but never alone with the love he had around him, they always come back, the relationships around him that his mother wished he would have so that he would never sink into a lonely abyss, only a boy and his song, and on that wall is a drawing that draws a picture of a life he's always wanted, a real heavenly garden with real trees and a real sky, and the drawing includes the four of them together, because he had always envisioned a life worth living, free, with all of his friends by his side.

The translation is done by @/WhatfaFruit

[thr0wnawayy]

Imo the League of Villains should have never existed from the main story of MHA. They were utterly unbalanced and were so flawed that no attempt of fixing could fix them.

I get where your coming from. I

I honestly believe the LOV really needed was time to grow away from the spotlight.

Think of the LOV as leftover pizza (I know, just stick with me for a minute)

Too long in the microwave/oven/pan and it tastes like hardback, too little and it becomes soggy muddled. There's a very specific way you need to do things and that's by not overthinking it.

Hori kept the microwave on too long and the LOV's potential evaporated.

From what I can tell, MHA worked best when it had a 'Villain of the week's type of thing going on.

This was most prominent and best set up with Stain, Stain's character/arc not only expanded the world of MHA but also brought up deeper questions about Hero society

What's most important here is that Stain didn't overstay his welcome. He rolled in, made every panel count and then went out like a champ. Affecting the protagonist and those around him.

He had an impact that's felt throughout the rest of the series (There is no Internship Arc in Ba Sing Se) not inspite of his short lived presence but because of it.

At some point, Hori lost this concept and the plot went with it.

I think the main problem with the LOV started after Kamino. Before this, every member has solid, or at least tangible ideals.

The Vanguard Action Squad was the LOV at it's most raw, not perfect but functional. They felt like people, when Spinner stops Magne from pursuing Midoriya, it feels real for the world.

Simply put the LOV (much like 1A) worked best as individuals, differing worldviews and all.

So when Hori robbed the LOV of their autonomy by practically wrangling them to Shigaraki, it in turn killed the LOV, because now nothing was individual about them.

If you want an example, how about Magne's death. Her last words are the very last time anyone in the LOV asserts any belief besides Shigaraki's own.

After this the LOV barely give any resistance to Shigaraki's plans no matter how short sighted or convoluted.

Kurogiri is outright sacrificed by the narrative so that Shigaraki finally has to step up.

Shigaraki's reaction to Toga's rage and grief follwing Magne's death can be amounted to: "Trust me bro, we're doing this for us bro, please believe me bro."

It's absurd.

As for being flawed, I'll assume you mean their motives.

What needs to be understood is that the LOV (Pre Kamino) and the PLF (Post Kamino) are not the same characters

Flanderisation is the phenomenon of a characters worst traits being exacerbated over a period of time until said character is unrecognizable from their original self.

This is what Hori did the LOV and he did this intentionally.

At some point he realized that the Villains actually had more of a point than the heroes, this likely occured after the MVA arc when fans began rooting for the LOV.

To counter this Hori sabotaged multiple characters and plots in a desperate attempt to justify his woolies and unfortunately for everyone who's isn't an abuser-stan (Enji and Bakuo). The rest of the cast and world suffered greatly.

What you ended up with are characters so detached from their origins that they might as well not even be the same characters at all.

There's an image somewhere that encapsulates this perfectly, it's a 4 panel comic with two stick figures (one black and one blue). If I ever find it or someone links it I'll be sure to upload it here

[pootimedes]

random heavymedic rant

as much as i like the idea that heavy and medic were in a relationship during the gravel wars, i feel like a more cannon-accurate representation would be that they had feelings for eachother, but just didn't know how to express it, or just didn't realize or acknowledge them, since there was still a lot of prejudice towards queer people in the 60s-70s.

i believe heavy to be bisexual. while he has shown that he loves medic, he has also expressed that he's interested in women as well (ex: him and soldier passing around the pictures of scout's ma in meet the spy, as well as heavy being a bit of a mr steal yo girl in poker night)

while it is implied that medic has/had a wife, we don't know all the details. he is never seen wearing a ring, which might imply that he's divorced, or that demo was just pulling the "i fucked your wife shitlips" card without actually meaning it. a lot of people believe that medic only married a woman to avoid suspicion that he was gay, which is a solid explanation why he would be divorced, and honestly, i'm siding with this theory.

i believe that one of them will confess their feelings in the 7th comic (i'm leaning more towards heavy), and hopefully, everything goes well with them, maybe even leading up to the events of the dinner dates after the comics. (i honestly believe their first time actually fucking would be during the second date since the improv literally implied that the date ended in them fucking)

so yeah thats my take on cannon heavymedic

thank you for coming to my ted talk

[seffen]

Your leshycat pregnancy comic is my favorite

i love it so much

i hope this was easy to translate!

Hi, it's a pleasure to read this. I have a translator helping me with the translation, so it's fine.

Actually these comics are just quick drawings for me to make fun of. But I still wanted to keep a bit of believability in these comics. Childbirth, it's scary, it's painful, and it doesn't end with childbirth, because now you have to babysit a baby when your body is still in shock. In fact, I am greatly educated in this topic, even though I have not given birth myself and in the near future I do not plan to, but it is not surprising given how many horrors I had to learn.

In fact, there were many scenarios. I can say two of them, those that will never materialize:

I had the idea of open bleeding after childbirth because the cloaca Leshy could not stretch to the size of the egg and ruptured, I can say that there would be a lot of blood and then would have to stitch. But I refused, it was difficult to realize and very long.

When I drew the postpartum Leshy I wanted to add a lot more consequences. For example as changes in the blood clotting system, incontinence or hemorrhoids. There were also more "harmless" consequences like hair loss or in this case leaves, but I thought that Leshy had suffered enough.

And that it was not one solid text I will add a picture with a small scheme. The leshy actually has rather narrow hips, more volume is given to him by his leaves. And if you're wondering how the egg went through his pelvis, it's simple and painful….. The pelvic bones can move apart during childbirth, now live with it.

[atopfourthwall]

Tbh you lament what people say about you and bemoan "harrassment and bullying". Yet you told RLM to "eat a bag of dicks" unprompted. You said Oneyplays "Are assholes, fuck them!". You'll constantly lecture your own fans, angrily yelling at them for asking when new Power Rangers are out, or for giving you simple, solid advice like below. You say youve calmed down in reviews yet still yell at the comic creators over minor stuff. The comments you complain about getting seem tame in comparison.

Okay, first of all I did not tell RLM to "eat a big of dicks" unprompted. What I said was "Eat a dick, jackass" while talking about the Plinkett Reviews in regards to how parts of them have not aged well, in particular the line that I felt was a bit racist - "Black people don't like Star Wars" (to be clear - I don't think anyone at RLM is racist [AFAIK]. The remark itself feels like it is, though, but that's also emblematic of edgier, wince-inducing internet humor from the time - we're all guilty of awful jokes like this to some degree, myself included). Now I ended up removing this line from the Star Wars Prequel reviews compilation because I realized it was needlessly inflammatory towards them and some perceived it as me attempting to star a beef with them… when of course I don't want to start a beef with ANYONE, much less someone much, MUCH more popular than me.

And no, I did not say Oneyplays "Are assholes, fuck them" (unless I said this on Twitter a long while ago). I'm assuming this is in reference to a part of the Fallout: New Vegas streams. Someone in the superchats asked a question relating to them and my other guests didn't know who they are. I proceeded to spend all of 40 seconds calmly explaining (though admittedly with a bit of light irritation) "They're other streamers, one of whom apparently does a GREAT impression of me. They're also responsible for popularizing calling me Lightbringer, soooo… screw 'em." That was it. But apparently "screw 'em" was TOO MUCH for a lot of people, because I got flooded with hate from that - videos made about how I was "TRIGGERED!" and "HAD A MELTDOWN!" Because that was one of the first public times I ever talked about how I wasn't okay with the nickname. We'll circle back around to this in a minute.

"You'll constantly lecture your own fans, angrily yelling at them for asking when new Power Rangers are out-" Aaand right there you prove that you don't actually watch my stuff. You're just repeating the same garbage from people who ALSO don't watch my stuff, but assume I have not changed at all, that I am the same person forever whose opinions don't change, whose attitude doesn't change, never gets better, etc.

Because I haven't been angry at people asking when the next History of Power Rangers is out in ALMOST TEN YEARS.

And the reason I know that number in particular is because I started my Patreon in 2014. The question annoyed me so much because I didn't have an answer for them and it seemed like they didn't care about anything else I did. But then I started my Patreon and one of the Milestone goals was actual release dates for HOPR. And thus since then I've been able to answer when new ones are coming out.

You want to know how NOT angry I am about the question I am now? I put it on t-shirts.

You can buy them at https://atop-the-fourth-wall.creator-spring.com/listing/when-is-hopr?product=2 and https://atop-the-fourth-wall.creator-spring.com/listing/when-is-hopr-03?product=2 (I was going to post pictures of them but Tumblr keeps breaking when I try). There's a third one, but I don't think I put that one back up because it was intended for Shark Robot where colors are limited and it didn't do very well.

But this is a thing that's brought up by people who hate me - my irritation at the question as if it was still something that bothered me because, again, they cannot conceive that maybe I've changed. No, I am cringe forever and there is nothing I can say or do that will satisfy them.

But no, I "lecture people constantly" evidently. People say I'm obsessed about this topic, about the bullying, that I just talk about it soooo much and I can't move on from it and it haunts my every waking moment and that such "simple, solid advice" like "Be okay with being bullied" is met with unreasonable hostility and my mind fixated on it constantly.

Unless of course you actually look at what I post, what I reblog, what I tweet about and then you discover "Oh, he actually only talks about it when people bring it up to him. He only made that thread because he said the harassment is starting to rise up again and that was days and days ago and hasn't said anything about it since. In fact, on this very Tumblr he's only bringing it up again because somebody ELSE is bringing it up, allowing him a chance to further break down why asshole behavior is still asshole behavior.

So let's bring this back to the "screw 'em" thing. You'll notice that in none of these longer rambling statements I've made have I brought them up. Sure, in that 40 seconds during the stream I did… but that was in the middle of the first wave of it where it really WAS affecting me psychologically hard… and I have not talked about them on stream since then. I don't talk about them in these threads. I don't tell my fans to harass them. I don't make up some nickname for them or mock them or do anything other than maybe some frustration at them during the thread a few years ago (and I am explicitly telling my fans not do so - if you want to be an asshole to them, you can fuck off from my fans). Because I don't WANT to talk about them. They can do whatever the hell they want on their streams. They can call me Lightbringer there, make weird memes about me. It's THEIR space to do with as they please.

The problem is entirely that their fans come to MY space to be assholes. To repeat those memes, to bully me and call me the name. Some do it innocently, thinking I'm okay with it (which, again - is who that thread was directed towards)… but there are others who are being assholes about it. And I'm going to call them assholes about it and block them. And I'm still not going to talk about Oney because I don't want to - they're not the ones who are spamming Lightbringer in my chat or comments or trying to find some way of sneaking it into the comments past my comment filters to try to get a gotcha on me. Hell, I've gotten some people who have said they discovered me and love my stuff now BECAUSE Oney talked about me.

And I'd really like to know which recent review you saw where I was specifically attacking creators in the manner you seem to think I did. Because being angry at a plot point or a narrative decision is not the same thing as attacking a creator. I'll freely tell you about the ones I HAVE specifically called out for shittiness - the racist, the homophobic, the sexual harassers, the transphobic, the one that spread misinformation, or just the greedy assholes. But just looking at the list of the last 50+ episodes I've done that maybe… once or twice? And even despite ALL those horrible things, I STILL tell my fans to leave them alone - to not start fights with them, to not send my videos to them, etc. Because I don't want my fans to be bullies, either.

I will end this with one final thing: "The comments you complain about getting seem tame in comparison." Yeah, well, that's because you're you and I'm me. Something that seems innocuous to one person may be deeply triggering for someone else. Something that seems like an innocent joke might actually be really fucking with someone mentally, as it was for me. And that's why I've tried to tell people "Hey, please don't do that." Maybe I do it aggressively. But sometimes that's the only way people will listen. If people are still doing it even after I've expressed how much it harms me - telling me that I should just "get over it" or "let them do it and respond with a laugh" even though I keep saying it DOES affect me, then those people are assholes and I don't see why I should give them the time of day.

Hopefully this lengthy response (I really am a windbag) helps people understand or it clears up some bullshit. And if it's still not good enough for you, then nothing less than complete capitulation to being called Lightbringer is the only thing that will satisfy you… well, fuck off.

[jhondoe789]

One Bad Day

This is my first ever post on tumblr and I’m not sure if anyone will ever see it or if it’s worth reading but I had this thought and I wanted to share it with others. If anyone does read it I’d love to hear your thoughts.

In the famous comic/movie “The Killing Joke” the Joker says that it only takes one bad day to drive a person insane. As a fan of the Lackadaisy I had the realization that this can applied to all of the current and former main Lackadaisy characters (Mitzi, Mordecai, Victor, Zib, and Rocky). This collective “one bad day” was the day Atlas was murdered. This might not sound like it makes sense or could be applied to everyone but the day Atlas died started a chain of events that permanently changed all those affected by it. To best break it down I’ll go over how this “one bad day” affected each character.

MITZI

As the grieving widow Mitzi let her grief drive her to make increasingly morally questionable decisions that led to her losing Wick and Zib. Her pain led to her manipulating those around her, Wick for money, which would be discovered and ultimately lead to a break up with a woman he clearly had feelings for, and getting Rocky into getting alcohol despite the danger this puts him in. She becomes so obsessed with saving the Lackadaisy that the ounce beautiful Georgia rose was reduced to a prickly bush. When Zib offered her a way out her pain her trauma prevented her from doing so, all stemming from that one bad day.

MORDECAI

a man defined by order and precision, Mordecais meticulously constructed world fell to pieces thanks to one bad day. Atlas raised him and when he was taken away the structures that protected him collapsed. Despite his cold exterior he does hold compassion for those he cares about like Victor and Atlas. He abandoned and crippled Victor, his one and only friend after he refused to retire. Mordecai infiltrated the Marigold to find Atlas’s killer, making reckless choices, like crippling his best friend, getting sucked into a voodoo cult, kidnapping a man for information under the Savoy’s noses, and robbing the Lackadaisy, choices defined by pain, fear and desperation.

VICTOR

he never cared much for Atlas but his death made him lose his one freind who crippled him and now is forced to watch the Lackadaisy a place he helped build, rot. All while being reduced to a bartender and being further damaged by a shotgun blast to the chest, one can compare it to being trapped in purgatory all thanks to one bad day.

ZIB

Zib hated Atlas, not because of what he was but for what he did to Mitzi. Mitzi married a villain and after Atlas’s death became one. He held on to the hope that she would leave, that they could go on the road again. In the end, Zib would give up on her leaving her to pick up her pearls. After years in the Lackadaisy, Zib had been hollowed out, reduced to a drunken, tobacco stained shell of his former self, but watching Mitzi turn into the ruthless criminal she married broke him, a chain of unfortunate events stemming from one bad day.

ROCKY

Rocky is arguably the most tragic of all the characters in Lackadaisy, losing his parents at a young age, dominated by some form of mental illness that leaves him despised by most, kicked out of his Aunts house for an incident he may or may not have been responsible for, finding solid ground with the Lackadaisy only to see it all fall apart. Seeing everything burning around him he gave into his worst impulses in order to make himself useful to the Lackadaisy. His love (plutonic love) for Mitzi and his desire to be a part of the band led him to become increasingly erratic and reckless, he enlisted his cousin and Ivy into the fight, leading to Calvin becoming a killer and Ivy becoming more afraid and confused. Rocky may always have been crazy but the innocent antics of his youth were transformed into something darker and more destructive. One bad day brought the worst side of Rocky out just like the others.

CONCLUSION

“One bad day”, the Joker lost his family and was deformed by chemicals, his already poor life experiences provided a foundation for his madness. Like Joker the characters directly affected by Atlas’s death provided the final push that sent them into a spiral of despair, chaos, sadness and even madness. While none of these characters were exactly “ordinary” or good people in general, they had stable lives but when that was stripped away they were left broken and vulnerable leading them on their respective paths to damnation. Of course this is just my interpretation of these characters and I wouldn’t consider this little essay to be anything taken seriously.

thank you for anyone who took the time out of their day to read this and if you have any comments I’d love to hear them!

[freudyou]

"Make it look like a freak lighting accident"

It’s been years since I’ve revisited Due South, but the @ds30below event sparked my interest again, and I decided to watch a few episodes with my bud @flownwrong  to celebrate. We watched three episodes that stuck in my mind the most over the years after being absent from the show for so long: Bird in the Hand, Eclipse, and The Ladies’ Man, and I found all three to be a very rewarding rewatch, even though my memory of the rest of the series is a bit hazy.

Bird in the Hand: 

When we started our mini marathon, I didn’t realize that this was the only ep of the three where Fraser’s dad plays a role, and I forgot how solid Pinsent was at pulling comic relief duty. The scene where he popped up demanding that Fraser murder Gerard immediately after Gerard was droning on about how Robert’s dogged nobility was his ultimate downfall had me rolling, as did the bit where he—probably correctly— asserted that Ray would shoot Gerard for him if Fraser really asked him to (aww). One thing in particular about his character  that struck me while watching this episode were the moments where he actually interacted with the environment around him in a way that impacted people other than Fraser by implanting the idea to retreat in McFadden’s mind and having Gerard attempt to grab his hand while dangling in the air. In my memory, it was a lot more ambiguous whether Robert was actually a spirit or a figment of Fraser’s imagination, so that ended up being kind of a fun twist for me. 

Since the other two episodes we watched were very Ray K centric, I’m glad we did one that had a focus on Fraser’s emotional state. The scene where he confronted Robert about stubbornly refusing help in life and  said “I never loved anyone as much as I love you” while Robert was still trying to find ways to derail the conversation is a fan favorite for a reason; it’s a rare, intensely vulnerable moment for Fraser and I really enjoyed the way that Paul Gross pulled back from it a little. In another show with another character, it’s easy to imagine a scene like this being a more blatant, emotional showstopper, with the neglected son saying this in a fit of tearful anger that’s meant to make his father rear back in surprise. Instead, Paul Gross delivers the line in an understated way that’s almost more like puzzled frustration, as if Fraser is trying to piece something together about himself instead, which I thought was a really nice touch to the scene that made it feel very Fraser. I also love the cunning way that Fraser brought it back around just a few minutes later by weaponizing male emotional repression in order to freak out everyone else in the room and gain the upper hand (as well as have an opportunity to annoy Ghost Dad by calling him short) while also delivering some genuine truths: Gerard really did break his heart. 

Last but certainly not least, I adore how Ray kept trying to take care of Fraser throughout the episode in his own grumpy, special way. Sure, trying to orchestrate some Fraser-on-Gerard police brutality didn’t end up being the most well received suggestion, but it’s sweet that he acted extra vengeful to make up for Fraser’s dutiful restraint. I also forgot that the “Mentally Deficient” sticker gag and the tape recorder conversation were both in this episode. The Bickering Married Couple vibes between them were always such a classic part of the show, so it was nice to see that on display. 

Bird in the Hand really held up strongly against my fond memories of it, and I was a little surprised at how easy it was to slide back into this world and be immersed in it after being away for so long. Sometimes I guess you actually can go back home again.  

[howlingday]

What if insted of the everafter team RWBYJ + neo landed in the dc universe

Ruby is in metropolis with superman

Weiss is in gotham with batman

Blake is themescera with wonder woman

Yang is in central city with the flash

Jaune is on oua with jessica

And neo with lex luthor

So, full disclosure, I have not seen much of RWBY/Justice League beyond the little stories in the comics (that I did not like all that much). However, I do enjoy what if scenarios, so let's see if I can make a little something out of this.

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

Hailey Rose

Ruby's eyes fluttered open. After her unfortunate fall from the bridge between Atlas and their destination of Vacuo, she thought herself as good as dead. And with the death of her sister, she supposed it was fitting, in a tragic irony sort of way. However, as the stars once gold now changing to white, she realized she was falling from the night sky.

What truly clued her in was the honking of a horn below. She turned around, finding a veritable metropolis, like a much, much warmer Atlas. In the distance, she thought she saw an angry Neopolitan falling herself. She hoped she was wrong. Unfortunately, as her signature parasol opened, she'd known it was too good to be true.

And now she was falling. Aura low, weapon gone, it all added up to being a bad day for her. Or night. Bad night. Maybe the last night of her life. Should she scream? Cry? After everything going wrong in Atlas, she began questioning herself as a huntress. As a hero. And so she closed her eyes and waited for the inevitable.

"Whoa! I got you!" A voice said, her body suddenly supported by something warm. "Are you okay?"

Ruby opened her eyes, whirling her head around and finding a smiling face looking at her. He had dark hair that ended in a little curl at the top of his forehead. His blue eyes held so much kindness in them, and a bit of worry, too. Looking down, but not too far down because they were still who knows how high in the air, she saw a blue outfit and a red cape fluttering behind him.

"Miss?" Ruby shut her eyes, thinking this was a dream. People can't fly, right? "Miss, your heartbeat is a little erratic. Try to breathe." Taking a deep breath, she finally spoke.

"Can we go to the ground, please? I've never been this high up outside of a bullhead before." With a nod, he slowly lowered themselves down to the rooftop of a nearby building. With her feet on solid ground, Ruby gave a shudder of relief. "Even with my semblance, I've never gone that high before."

"I take it you're not from Metropolis, are you?"

"Metropolis?" Ruby cocked her head. "Where on Remnant is Metropolis?"

"Ah..." The man nodded. "Definitely not Metropolis. This is a planet called Earth." Ruby's eyes almost popped out of her head. He raised his hands in a calming manner. "Let's start from the beginning. My name is Superman, and I'm a hero. And you are?"

"I'm... I'm Ruby Rose. And... And I was a huntress."

_______________________________________

A Cold Reception

"And what exactly is a huntress?"

"A person who dedicates their life to protecting the peace from the Grimm." Weiss couldn't tell, but the... man?... whom she was speaking to didn't offer much emotion on his end. If he was confused, angry, or some third emotion, she couldn't tell. What she could tell was he wasn't happy. "And you are?"

"Responsible for protecting the people of this city." The man tapped into his gauntlet. His entire appearance was nothing like she'd seen on Remnant. His face was mostly hidden, with stubble dotting along his jawline. His entrance was also concerning as she saw no sign of him or even heard him, and yet he took hold of her unarmed, only to let go when he got a good look at her. "You might say like a huntress. I'm going to scan you."

"What?" Weiss, surprised by the sudden shift in the conversation, could only watch as a little camera pop out of his wrist, and a shimmer of pale light quickly passed over her.

"Hm. There's no record of you. At all." By his tone, he wasn't happy to hear this.

"And this is a problem because...?"

"You just neutralized a gang of thugs using a weapon that encases them in ice." He took a step closer. "There is no record of you in any database I have, and I have everyone in my database." He now towered over her. "And now you're in my city, from out of thin air. There's a lot of problems."

"W-Well," Weiss gulped, "it's not like I came here voluntarily. I fell off a bridge in my world, and now I'm here without my team."

"And who else is on this team?"

"And why should I tell you anything, Mr. Batman?" Weiss stepped away. "For all I know, you could be just as dangerous as these men I just neutralized."

"I'm not." He leaned closer. "I'm more dangerous."

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

Ominous Omens

"I swear, I'm not dangerous!"

"That is not for you to decide." Said the woman holding Blake at spearpoint. "Your arrival could be a foul omen from the gods, and even if not, you are still an intruder."

The situation swiftly went from bad to worse. Not only was she down a weapon, she was also low on aura and separated from her team. Or at least, what was left of her team. Her jaw clenched at the memory. She then felt her entire body tense. The warrior in front of her was about to strike when suddenly,

"Enough!" A voice called. The spearwoman relaxed, stepping away from Blake. A new woman arrived, donned in armor that reminded her of a more colorful Pyrrha Nikos. She placed a hand on the other woman's shoulder. "Allow me, Agnes." The other woman bowed and stepped away. "You have trespassed on sacred Amazonian ground. Explain yourself willingly, and you may be pardoned."

Blake took a moment to glance up and down the imposing woman in front of her. She didn't have armor covering the space between her wrists and torso, nor anything from the top of her knees and the top of her thighs. At her hip, she wore a lasso and sword in it's sheath, and she saw the round edges of a shield peek over her shoulders. This woman was a warrior and considering how the other women bowed at her approach, she was also royalty.

"My name is Blake Belladonna. I come from another world, my world, and I fell onto your island." Blake began. "I was separated from my team after we were escorting civilians from Atlas to Vacuo."

"Atlas?" The woman asked. "The titan, Atlas?"

"What? No, Atlas is a city. It was in danger from a man named General Ironwood, and we were ambushed by a woman named Cinder Fall-"

"Enough." The woman held up her hand. "Agnes, Gloria. Escort her to the prison. I wish to speak more on this in private."

"As you wish, Princess." The two bowed and took Blake by her arms.

"And be careful," the princess warned, "there is something about her that tells me there is more going on here."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Flash Fact Yangers

"I'm sorry, a what?"

"A semblance." Yang repeated herself. "Everyone on Remnant has one. Mine is when I get angry, I catch on fire."

"And you think my 'semblance' is super speed?" Asked the man in the red bodysuit. With a big lightning bolt in the center of his chest, he looked pretty ridiculous, though it wouldn't be the first time she was caught off guard by a guy in a onesie.

"It wouldn't be the first time I've seen it." Yang shrugged. "There was an Ace-Ops chick who really put my sister through the ringer back in Atlas."

"And where's Atlas now?"

"Far as I know, it's still floating where it was when we evacuated." Yang gave a sigh. "Too bad I fell off and now I'm here."

"That's pretty nuts. You think everybody made it?"

"Probably. Even with Cinder and Neopolitan attacking us, I'm sure she kept her head on tight and got everyone out of there."

"You must have a lot of faith in your sister, huh?"

"Oh, uh, y-yeah." Yang blushed. "My sister. Totally."

...........................................................................

Guardians of Peace

"Penny!" Jaune awoke with a start. Looking around, he found himself inside a prison cell. As he approached the green window in front of him, a girl half his size stepped into view. "Uh, hi?"

"Who are you, and why did you come to Oa?"

"Oh-ah?" Jaune repeated. "What's an Oa?" Her eyes went wide, and she turned away cursing at herself. "H-Hey, are you okay? Let's start over. My name is-"

"Prisoner 07132013." The girl finished. "And you were imprisoned on Oa by order of the Guardians while you await your trial."

"Trial?" Jaune looked around. "Wait, what happened to Atlas? And the civilians?! My team-!" Jaune stepped away and started taking deep breaths.

"Um, are you okay?" The girl asked. "What civilians are you talking about?"

"We..." Jaune took one more deep breath. "We were escorting civilians from Atlas to Vacuo using a bridge made between the kingdoms. Suddenly, we were ambushed by Cinder Fall and Neopolitan, both criminals and monsters working for Salem. We tried to fight them off, but Cinder escaped with both of the relics, and I was too late to escape."

"Wow..." The girl breathed. "You're, like, a real hero."

"No." Jaune felt his chest tighten, remembering green eyes just like the girl's. "I'm not a hero."

"Well... I think you're a hero." She looked left and right, then whispered to him. "I'm supposed to be impartial, but I'll be rooting for you. Just... quietly. Really, really quietly." Jaune chuckled at that. "I'm Jessica. And, uh, what was your name again?"

"Jaune." He smiled. "My name is Jaune Arc."

**********************************************

Worst Case Scenario

"And you must understand that I have a... certain image to uphold." The man said, pouring himself a glass of bourbon he keeps on special occasions. Though, he never drank it in front of company. Instead, it was a show of wealth, power, authority. It let people know where they stood with him. "An image that cannot be compromised under any circumstance."

The man approached the window, glaring down at the city. He kept a certain distance away to ensure this... visitor didn't try anything funny. Lex Luthor was a businessman of many interests, chief among them being not dying at the hands of some creature lesser than himself. Or dying at all, really.

"You say you fell from the sky, after being betrayed by your previous employer in a grab for power." He turned around. "I suppose I can relate to such circumstances. I too have been betrayed by those closest to me, and all because I wanted to live in a world that I felt belonged to me."

He kept his eyes on her. If she made a move he didn't like, she would be full of holes from the gun turrets in the ceiling before eleven and at the bottom of the lake before midnight. Still, it was slightly unnerving how she didn't move. She sat perfectly still, poised with a straight back. She clearly had a sort of refined academy, likely similar to his own.

"You want revenge." He stated plainly. "I've met many like you, and only so few of them are not after me. So I must ask. What's in it for me if I help you?"

In an instant, the girl changed in front of him. Her body fell away like shattered glass, replaced by a new face. This time, a different girl sat in front of him, with silver eyes and short hair that ended in red tips. She smiled at him.

"And why should that matter to me? Do you think I'd care about someone I never met?"

The next body she adopted was a man. Tall and imposing with burly muscles and dark hair. The only thing that didn't change with her was the color of the cape behind her. She then drew a thumb across her neck with a sadistic grin.

"So you're saying you saw the girl and Superman with each other? Why should I care?"

At this, Neopolitan changed into Lex, and gave the exact same smarmy smirk he'd been constantly giving her.

"Alright. I'm listening..."

[bcdrawsandwrites]

[ID: A Team Fortress 2 fanfic chapter banner in the style of the achievement icons. The RED Spy, depicted in solid orange, is standing around a corner, holding up his knife. Meanwhile, the BLU Spy, depicted with orange outlines, is approaching Pyro, preparing to backstab it. Pyro is depicted in solid orange and is preparing to fire its flare gun. The characters are against a gray background. In the bottom right corner in white text against a gray box is text reading "CHAPTER FOUR: SPIES LIKE US." /end ID]

Flickering

Fandom: Team Fortress 2 Rating: K+ Genre: Hurt/Comfort, Friendship Characters: Spy, Pyro, Medic, Heavy, plus some of the other mercs in smaller roles Warnings: General references to trauma, TF2-typical violence, panic attacks, self-harm Fic Description: After the events of the comics, the mercs try to go back to how things were, but it’s never that easy.

Spy can see his teammates going through their own struggles… but something seems to be very, very wrong with Pyro in particular.

And since no one else seems to be doing anything about this, Spy makes it his mission to get to the bottom of what is troubling Pyro. For no particular reason. Beta Readers: @mechmolar, @gonturan0, @junuve

---~~~---

Chapter 4: Spies Like Us Summary: In which Spy does some digging.

---~~~---

Spy knew he was being stared at as everyone stepped out of their vehicles and headed out to the next day's match. He pointedly did not meet their gaze until a flash of white caught his eye and he realized it was not Pyro, but Medic fixing him with a look. "What?" Spy snapped.

"I appreciate your enthusiasm, but usually I am the one to make the cuts," Medic replied, holding up his bonesaw.

It took a moment for Spy to realize what he meant, and he lowered his voice. "It was attacking me, if you must know."

"Oh, interesting." Medic rubbed his chin in thought. "Was it merely a side-effect of its pyromania, or was it actively attacking?"

"It set one of my items on fire and then attempted to grab me," Spy muttered, then gave a start. "Wait, how did you know that was me?"

Medic gingerly felt over the teeth of his bonesaw. "Not all blades cut the same way. I know the cuts your knife can make."

Spy frowned; it wasn't like it was the first time any of them had fought with each other. But something struck him, and he looked the Medic in the eyes. "You know some things about... that creature, do you not?"

"Somewhat. Why?"

Spy held his tongue for the moment—what would he even ask? It didn't matter—they were nearing the site of their next match anyway. "Nevermind," he grunted, and followed the others to spawn.

Much to Spy's irritation, he found the Pyro already there, and already staring at him. Not this again. He stared back at it, and when it did not waver, he activated his Cloak and Dagger and crept over to another part of the room. The Pyro seemed to have expected this as it crept around, searching for him, but Spy kept his distance.

Well, it seemed his momentary lack of calm hadn't deterred it. He wished he could figure out a way to communicate with it—he made a mental note to ask the Engineer for advice later.

Speaking of, Engineer was approaching Pyro. He patted it on the back to get its attention, and it whirled on him in surprise, but made no sound.

...Sound.

Spy's mind drifted back to the day prior, when he thought he might have heard a faint sound when he defended himself. Had that come from Pyro? He hadn't been entirely sure... but if it had been Pyro, it had made the noise when he'd attacked it.

Interesting.

He wasn't keen to repeat that—Medic would notice again and grow suspicious. But maybe...

"Begin!"

The mercs rushed out into the fray, Pyro following Engineer. So it was going to defend the gadgets again—it would probably be fine while the Engineer was still there, but Spy made a note to check on it later.

The match progressed as usual, and Spy of course did not twist his knife when stabbing the back of an enemy sniper that was aiming at Scout. Once he was sure Scout was able to slip into the enemy base, he turned around to check on the Pyro.

Sure enough, Pyro was defending the Engineer "nest" as fiercely as ever, if not more so. The sentry caught an enemy scout, while an air blast sent an enemy sniper's arrow sailing right back. Spy sat back, cloaked, and watched the Pyro for a moment. Ordinarily he would have been impressed at how efficiently it was defending the Engineer's gadgets and their team's intelligence, but as it stood, he found himself annoyed that no enemy was landing a hit on it, and was then annoyed at his own annoyance.

Spy heard a faint noise behind himself, looked to find nothing there, and knew what that meant.

He should have tried to attack the enemy spy himself. He should have at least called out a warning. But for the moment, he held himself back.

And the Pyro, occupied with firing its flare gun at an enemy soldier, was backstabbed by the enemy spy. It let out a strangled, muffled yelp, and dropped to the ground.

Spy wasted no time in backstabbing the enemy himself before their intelligence could be grabbed. As soon as the enemy fell, Spy bolted back to spawn. He was certain he would find Pyro pouting or throwing a tantrum, and he was already planning a snarky remark to throw at it for finally catching it.

The scene at spawn, however, made the words die on his tongue.

Pyro was kneeling on the floor, hands clutched near its own throat. Its body was shaking, its chest was heaving, and its filtered breathing was rapid.

Was it... panicking?

Before he could be noticed, Spy cloaked himself, but he only continued to stare, dumbfounded. He could not recall an instance of Pyro acting this distressed, ever. Even when they had been attacked by the blood-sucking robots before, Pyro had not panicked. Why now?

The match was still progressing, but Spy found himself rooted in place. What was he even supposed to do?

Fortunately he didn't have to wonder for long. In a flash of light, Soldier burst into existence next to Pyro, stumbling as he recovered from the respawn.

The Pyro immediately drew in a sharp breath, shakily rising to its feet as Soldier got his bearings.

"Blasted sniper shot me right out of the air," Soldier grumbled, turning to glance at Pyro. He gave a double-take when he saw it still breathing heavily and trembling slightly. "Now's not the time to be quaking in your boots, Smoky Joe! Move out!" With that, he charged out of spawn.

Shaking its head, Pyro followed Soldier. It ran past Spy's hiding spot, but paused just at the doorway, leaning a hand against it as it fought to catch its breath again. Its breathing had calmed, but it was still shaking.

For the briefest of moments, Spy considered saying something, but held himself back, and Pyro moved on.

Well... this would certainly be something to keep in mind. As it was, however, Spy crept back out into the fray, looking to place some sappers on the enemy sentries. It was time to focus on the match, and he wasn't keen to see... whatever he'd just seen again anytime soon.

—-

Rather than retreating to his smoking room, Spy immediately headed for the Medic's lab, activating his cloak as he did so. Medic had not yet arrived, as he was preoccupied with celebrating with some of their fellow mercs. Spy didn't know quite how long he'd be away, so he would try to keep it quick.

His cloak wore off as he reached the doors to the lab, but that was fine. He'd be alone in here, so—

He opened the doors to a flutter of pigeon wings and immediately winced. Ah, yes, the pigeons. Well, he'd have to watch that they didn't leave droppings on his suit, but he should be fine otherwise.

Turning to the desk, he nearly jumped out of his skin at the sight of gleaming fangs in a set of red jaws open wide. But then Aristotle closed his mouth again with a contented sigh, and snuggled deeper into the spare coat that Medic had left draped over the desk.

Wonderful.

Well, at least he was still asleep. Spy checked his watch, but it hadn't recharged just yet. He'd have to be careful around that stupid baboon.

Creeping over to a nearby filing cabinet, Spy checked it over before selecting the middle drawer. It opened with a soft rattle, and a quick glance at the birds and the ape assured him that he hadn't attracted their attention. From there he flipped through the folders and smiled as he came across one marked with a flame symbol.

Perfect.

Spy slid the folder out of the drawer and began to skim the papers within. They were all medical documents, of course. Several were injury reports detailing gun and knife wounds and their treatment, almost always involving a simple application of the medi gun. These interested him less, though he did briefly skim the report the Medic had written after they'd returned from Gray Mann's base. It was a report detailing the process of the emergency blood transfusion that Pyro (as well as multiple others) had gone through. It wasn't a procedure Spy cared to dwell on, having gone through it himself, but he did take note of a scribble toward the bottom of the sheet that mentioned Medic had had to clean the soot off of the tools he'd used after he'd operated on Pyro.

His mind yanked him back to the smell of blood mixed with soot from last night (and a more distant smell of blood and smoke), and he quickly moved on to the next few papers.

Still very little yielded information that was relevant. Spy already knew that the Pyro could be injured and could bleed just like the rest of them, though there were frustratingly few notes on its physiology other than the soot, and nothing about its mental state. If there was any injury that had left Pyro shaken, Medic had not noted it.

Something else was missing as well. While the file listed many injury reports, there was no medical profile, which might have yielded more answers. Why would it not be in Pyro's file? Surely it would be kept here, unless it were—

Spy paused, and looked at the desk again. There, on the right side, just barely poking out beneath the coat the monkey was sleeping on, was a stack of papers.

Grimacing, Spy put the file away and gently shut the drawer, keeping quiet so as to not wake Aristotle or aggravate the pigeons. The baboon merely sighed, his tail twitching in his sleep.

Spy crept up to the desk, watching the baboon all the while. When it did not stir, he grabbed the edges of the papers, slowly easing them out from under the coat. After a small eternity, they came loose, and Spy was finally able to search through them.

It didn't take long to find the Pyro's class symbol, and he began looking over the papers. One was an injury report. Spy skimmed it, realized it was detailing a knife wound in the arm, and quickly set the paper aside. The next sheet, meanwhile, profiled the Pyro.

...Or attempted to.

Name, age, gender, and country of origin were all listed as "unknown." Spy had expected as much. The height and weight were listed, with a caveat that the weight included the clothing. A blood type was listed as well. The notes that followed, however, were far more interesting:

Species: Unknown.

Patient would not submit to a standard physical.

Higher body temperature than standard, often exceeding 100 F. Patient shows no signs of illness, so this is taken to be normal.

Patient's body is perpetually covered in soot. Body emits a faint glow beneath.

Internal anatomy roughly comparable to humans. Megababoon heart replacement was successful. Patient was awake for surgery and behaved in a threatening manner when further examination was attempted. (Someday...)

Fascinating, but not exactly information that would help him. He was nearly tempted to crumple the paper in frustration when he noticed a small "1 of 2" at the bottom. So there was more information, but another quick search of the papers he'd pulled out did not yield an answer. He looked back at the lab coat, and noticed one last paper sticking out from beneath it. Eyebrows raising, he began to lift up the coat again, only to pause.

...Wait.

He stared at the white coat and the brown hairs dotting it, and slowly turned his gaze to the left.

Aristotle stared at him, then gave a quiet ook.

"AGH!" Spy cried out in spite of himself, jumping back, and immediately the baboon began to shriek. The pigeons startled from their roosts, flying every which way, and Spy scrambled to avoid them.

Aristotle was leaping around the lab erratically, shrieking and howling and beating his tiny fists against every surface he encountered. Papers scattered everywhere, and a few vials were knocked to the ground and shattered.

"Merde!" Spy hissed through clenched teeth. Grasping his watch, he activated his cloak, and cast one last look at the chaos behind him as he bolted out the door—

—straight into the Medic, who subsequently crashed backward into Heavy. Spy's cloak flickered at the collison, but it was enough.

"Ah, Spy," Medic said, an unhappy smile crossing his face. "I didn't hear you come in, but I certainly heard you leave."

As Spy turned off his cloak, Aristotle scrambled out of the lab and leaped up into Medic's arms, chittering and pointing at Spy.

"Yes, thank you, Aristotle, I noticed."

"What is Spy doing in Medic's lab?" Heavy asked, brow furrowed.

"Nothing, now," Spy muttered, and brushed past them, only for Heavy to grab his arm. "What—"

"I don't appreciate people snooping around my lab," Medic said, staring directly at Spy and petting Aristotle. "What were you trying to get into?"

"I was merely performing an investigation. It has nothing to do with you!" Spy struggled to pull his arm away, but the Heavy held tight.

"I see! Nothing involving me... in my lab."

"Spy is acting strange," Heavy said, his grip tightening ever so slightly. "Maybe is not our spy."

Spy went still for fear the Heavy would break his arm. "I'm not, I—" He faltered. "I used my disguise kit to turn into Bela Lugosi when we watched that terrible movie a couple Halloweens ago."

Heavy immediately let go, while Medic gave him a look of bewilderment that was shared by Aristotle. "You what—"

"Spy is our spy," Heavy said simply, and crossed his arms. "Still acting funny, though."

"Yes," Medic agreed. "What are you up to?"

Brushing off his sleeve, Spy heaved a sigh. "I was just looking into some files."

Medic eyed him for a long moment, while Aristotle fixed him with a judgmental stare. Then the Medic's eyebrows raised in recognition. "Ah, you were peeking into Pyro's files, weren't you?"

Spy looked away, idly lighting a cigarette. "That is classified information."

"Indeed!" Another unhappy smile crossed the Medic’s face. "Those documents are classified."

He bit into the filter. "You're one to talk about ethics, Monsieur Working-for-the-Other-Team."

"We were fired," Heavy cut in. "It was only team at the time."

Spy opened his mouth, faltered, and let out a stream of smoke through his nose. "Fine. Yes, I was searching the Pyro's file for information."

"Information that you were about to ask me for this morning." Medic looked him in the eyes.

Sighing, Spy turned away, his feet itching to retreat back to his smoking room, or his bedroom, or literally anywhere else. "Oui. I just decided to take matters into my own hands."

"Why?"

He paused. Slowly he turned to face Medic and Heavy again. "What?"

"Why take matters into your own hands?"

Heavy nodded. "Spy's hands are tiny. Cannot hold much."

"You are not a doctor," Medic went on. "Why not ask one, if you are seeking medical information?"

"Because..." Because why would you want to help? "Because it is my mission."

Shrugging, Medic allowed Aristotle to hop down from his arms. "Well, I'm not part of this mission, so I suppose I will not pry." He then crouched down to address the monkey. "Come now, Aristotle. Help me clean this mess."

With a snort, Spy turned to leave, only to jump back when Heavy's arm blocked his path. Spy glared up into the Heavy's face. "What?"

"Spy's hands are tiny," he repeated.

Spy's teeth ground against his cigarette. "Yes, compared to your monstrous mitts."

Pulling his arm away, Heavy held out his palm. "Heavy's hands are much bigger. Can hold more, help carry."

Freezing, Spy looked between Heavy's hand and face a few times. Finally he gave a derisive snort. "What would I need help carrying?" he grumbled, and stormed off.

[just-jordie-things]

I've got one!!!!

#1 with gojo but they're grown ups and all the war (like,ij the manga) has ended and they wake up peacefully in each other's arms!!!

1: "Good Morning" Kiss ___

you'd spent years so violently plagued by nightmares that you'd grown used to waking up gasping, in a cold sweat, tears falling from your face as your mind conjured horrid images- images most often torn from your memories. you'd rarely known a full night's sleep, although you were in a stage in your life where a solid eight hours was much needed to get your energy up, eight hours felt like a luxury compared to the measly rest you'd been getting.

however this morning, you wake up with sun shining over your face. you squint against the light as you stir from your sleep, stretching your legs, and then your arms, while trying to keep the morning sun from penetrating your eyelids. but it was no use, you were awake now. your limbs fall back to the mattress with a soft sigh from you. staying in bed just seemed so good today. the matress felt extra cozy, and the sheets were warm tangled around you.

you realize they're tucked perfectly around you, and you turn your head to find the other side of the bed is empty.

odd, you think. he's never up before me. and when he wakes up before me, he always wakes me up.

there's a slight furrow in your brow as you sit up, trying to rack your brain for some kind of plan or appointment that he could've had this morning. nothing comes to mind.

it's then that a familiar smell wafts by your nose, and you notice the door to your bedroom is ajar.

bacon.

with a grin and newfound energy, you slide out of bed, tugging down the material of the oversized shirt that had ridden up on your hips.

the man was a giant, nothing would ever fit properly on you. but he liked it that way, and to be honest, so did you.

your feet pad softly down the stairs but with great swiftness. when you finally round the corner to the source of the delicious smell, you grin.

satoru's back is to you as he's dancing around to the quiet music playing from his phone. you can see he's pushing the bacon around in the oiled pan with a pair of tongs, and much to your delight he's shirtless. although you can see the strings of an apron tied around his back. it was most certainly a sight you could get used to.

"you gonna keep staring at me or are you gonna c'mere and say good morning?"

he doesn't even look over his shoulder at you, but he doesn't have to. he'd recognize your presence in a crowded room with a blindfold on. (which he has)

you make your way into the kitchen and smile when he finally does turn to look at you. just as he leans down to kiss you hello, you're laughing.

"when the hell did you buy that?" you snort, and he follows your line of sight to the apron he's wearing.

kiss the cook, it reads, with a big red lipstick stain under the text.

"it's a classic!" he declared with a proud grin. "i got it as soon as you moved in!"

you're still laughing, though satoru thinks you're laughing at him, and not at the comical apron.

"you don't like it?" he pouts, and you smile up at him as you wrap your arms around his waist, leaning your chest into his.

"no no, i love it,"

you're lying, you really just think it's sexy of him to wear the apron and just the apron, but truthfully, satoru's more than fine with that.

"good morning, satoru" you finally tell him, and he gazes at you fondly as you tip your head back to look up at him properly.

you're so cute in the mornings, with your sleepy eyes and disheveled hair, and his shirt that hangs off of you so perfectly for your bare legs to be on display for him.

it's been a year of mornings like this now, and still, he doesn't think he'll ever get used to it. but he's okay with being pleasantly surprised, every morning, to have you here with him, smiling because you didn't have a care in the world, smiling because you'd had another full night of sleep, smiling because he's with you and you're with him and you're here, safe, together, and it was going to be like this for the rest of your lives.

every morning gojo satoru woke up pleasantly surprised to have this happily ever after he'd never thought possible.

so with you hugging onto him now, he can't help but lean down and press a kiss to your lips- even though the pancakes he's made are going cold and the bacon he's frying is getting too crispy for either of your liking- he drops the tongs and cups your face in his hands as he kisses you longingly, deeply, pouring all of the love and happiness he held for you right into your mouth. he only hopes you feel at least an ounce of it.

you smile against his lips, and when he pulls away you steal one more chaste, sweet kiss, before you let him stand back to his full height, the two of you smiling at each other like a couple of lovesick idiots. (which you were)

"g'morning sweetheart" ___

a/n: i'm not caught up in the manga rn i'm stalling bc i don't want to hurt i want to live in my fantasy world where everyone is happy >.<

xoxo ~ jordie

[shininglynxie]

Alright, the 5yl motion comic's new chapter just came out, and it was absolutely INCREDIBLE! I want to share my thoughts and observations with you because I have a lot of them. I know this isn't exactly a topic I covered here and that most people who follow me would be familiar with, but I absolutely love 5yl, and I really wanna talk about this incredible series!

Spoilers for 5 years later, its 11th chapter specifically, below. Go watch it here first, or read my whole post. Maybe I'll convince you to watch the whole thing.

Sorry for the weird crunchy collage images. I needed more than ten images to illustrate my points, so I had to compromise.

As usual, the motion comic manages to enhance the original comic version with the voice acting and other visual additions. Rob's direction and animation work, his and Crystal's visual effects, Noximation's score and everyone's voice acting under the direction of Xander and Kellen are all amazing and on point, as always!

I like the little changes they did to the intro with this and the last episode, too! It makes me feel like I'm watching a TV series with an evolving plot. Really reminds me of watching Omniverse as a kid with all its altering intros. I absolutely love this detail!

I don't know if that happens in the og chapter, but I like that the fact that Portaler was able to warp from Divinity's hold is emphasized here. Hell, Ben even acknowledges this feat himself in the very next scene. This, along with his ability to create unstable wormholes, as showcased in the previous episode, really showcases why Ben put Portaler in the powerhouse playlist. Which is a really important detail to set up, as this is an alien we've never seen before and don't know what he's truly capable of.

Seeing The Void animated was really cool! I'm not sure how this was done in the original comic, but I love the sheer sense of scale they showcase in the top scene here! It really emphasizes how absolutely massive thus alien is! I also love the twisting effect they gave to his dark matter when it's absorbing Big Ben's arm! It's just like I imagined it!

After watching this episode, I realized that I didn't really remember this scene at all from the time I read this comic. I'm glad I was able to properly appreciate it now, as it's quite a nice scene.

What Future Fenton says here is interesting. Obviously, their goal is to help Ben and Danny take down Divinity to rewrite the awful future they come from. With this outcome resulting in Future Fenton's erasure from existence. According to this plan, their fate is predetermined. Or is it? It just makes me wonder what will happen next. Btw, Rob has been absolutely killing it as Future Fenton! He isn't really a voice actor, and he's pulling off some very clean line deliveries! It must be some solid voice direction on Xander's and Kellen's parts!

I really like the exchange that Lula, GoTro, and Crawnch have here. It's a nice scene for them. I like that they discuss their reasons for being plumbers, have a bit of an argument, and in the end decide to help Ben. I like how this scene showcases their characters.

This scene also gave us some incredible surprises!

Just like with the revamped Albedo's ultimates sequence in episode 8, they decided to give us an unnecessary but very welcome Ben 10-themed surprise with all these omni-chimeras. I'd love to break these designs down, but I fear it would be adding way too much text to an already long post. I might do a breakdown of their designs a separate post later. Omni-chimeras are one of the funnest concepts to come out of 5yl, in my opinion, and this scene is definitely making me want to draw some.

I also wasn't expecting to get such a glimpse into the time Future Fenton came from. It seemed to me that Rob wanted to keep their future ambiguous and shrouded in mystery. I love Vlad's tastefully extra ruler outfit with that elegant black and red color scheme and the flaming ctown. (Also, I like how Divinity's outfit references future events)

Getting all these other crossover cameos in such a substantial way is pretty crazy! Especially crazy is the fact that we got proper non-silhouetted cameos of Rex and his brother Caesar, too! The fans have been asking for this for so long, so it's a little hard to believe that their pleas have finally been answered.

Not pictured here, but I love that we get a look at the complete Orion Knight. From what I remember, either the original description of the incomplete Orion Knight concept art on The Ink Tank's website said something about us, maybe, seeing the complete one someday or it was Rob who said it on a stream once. So, this kinda leaves wondering if it was a tease for the motion comic or something else that's still coming later.

A small yet neat detail I noticed here is that Big Ben shoots a strong sonic blast from his Stick n' Slide leg, which matches that alien's abilities. I'm pretty that wasn't in the original chapter, so it's really cool to see!

Now, Full Stop. It was awesome to finally see this fan-favourite alien in motion comic format. I like Aj Beckles' performance for Full Stop! t gives him a very appropriate cool guy vibe. I like how well his powers were showcased here. Everything he holds truly comes to a complete halt. It's great!

Danny's "nightmare sequence" is what i was excited for the most, and I had every right to be. It was AMAZING! The motion comic brought it to a whole new level!

The transition into it was perfect! The drowning that fades into a jarring awakening. It's so good! But it keeps getting better! The beginning of the sequence was also very well done! That part in the og comic wasn't that great, and I always thought it would be better with proper voice acting, and I was totally right about that! Now, I'm not a Danny Phantom fan, but I assume that there were now heart-to-heart reconciliation scenes between Danny and his dad like here in the actual show. I think the fans might appreciate a scene like that, and it's a very nice and tender one in general. I absolutely loved seeing Ash's nightmare Jack creature animated! The zombie Sam scene was so nicely done, too! It was gross eerie in the best way possible! Paxton's delivery during the Ben part was stellar, too! Also, fun fact, but all the aliens Ben erupts into here are ones that Danny had actually seen Ben had used so far. On the topic of voice acting, it was absolutely on point for this entire scene! It truly elevated it to a whole new level! Can you tell that this is my favourite part? Anyways, moving on.

I don't think this scene was in the original comic. I really like it, though! This is some real funny banter between Vlad and Ben!

I absolutely love how Fury Danny's emergence was handled here. I don't remember if those Orion Squad lines on top were there in the og, but regardless, they really helped establish the insane speed at which Danny was flying here. His sheer new might is conveyed perfectly here! That ending scene was perfect, too! The line delivery was very on point once again! This solidifies it as a perfect spot to end this chapter on for me!

Whew. That was probably the longest I've rambled about anything here so far. I just can't help but gush about this project sometimes. I just love it so much, and The Ink Tank always does such a great job with it and their other projects, too! All in all, after all this, I'm extremely excited for episode 12 and the two final chapters! I know, It's going to be something spectacular!

[mandatory-blog-stop-asking]

Weird thing, but I miss Alfred.

It's shaping up to be one of the longest "deaths" of a famous, legacy secondary character, at least in modern DC history. And in that way, it served the narrative pretty well, subverting the usual problems with death in comics. Sure, it was all over an ego trip some bad former Editor in Chief decided to have on a whim; King didn't really plan to kill off Alfred so nonchalantly and it wasn't meant to stick. People know that, it's well documented and they even had foreshadowing that he was Clayface being a part of the plan. So the fact that it sticks should be lauded, right? This is, after all, how death works.

And, sure, it made some characters grow. Bruce, specifically, moving to a brownstone and taking care of his son all by himself is a genuinely cool idea and I'm enjoying seeing him bond with Damian in ways he never bonded with the others. Dick as a billionaire philanthropist dedicating his newfound fortune to Alfred, his late sponsor, is a genuine stroke of genius. Actual change and progress in comic books, holy shit. A feast Spider-Man fans don't even remember how it tastes!

Yet it sometimes feels like you're reading a Batman book in an empty house, because Alfred is gone, and it was over nothing. An unplanned death that took him suddenly with no real gravitas or preparation. Not exactly the same -- okay, not the same by a wide margin, -- but it kinda reminds me of how Buffy fans reacted to The Body.

The character was here, and now they're not, and it genuinely feels empty and real in a way you're not really expecting popcorn media to feel. There's no power fantasy or melodrama or anything. Someone broke his neck and threw his body on the floor, and that's the end of Alfred Pennyworth.

And like, yeah, man, people obviously write stories about other versions that are alive and flashbacks. Nobody is literally gone from comics, things don't move forward *exclusively*, Alfred is a brand unto himself and will never be truly gone. It's the same reason why aging up Jon Kent isn't that big a deal; Super Sons will release as long as someone gets the approval, it's just going to be a flashback. It's fine. But to see the world having to move forward without him has been quite something, you know? People have had big personal moments that he's not there for.

Dick and Barbara got back together, Jason moved to the Hill, Tim got a boyfriend -- it's the kind of stuff these kids could rely on Alfred to talk about, or to help out with, or to simply Be There as a zealous figure for them, and he's just. Not. And the story moves on all the same, yet now it feels like there's a panel missing, somewhere.

Albeit they had like two or three individual times when the actual fucking ghost of Alfred Pennyworth came to say goodbye and peace out to Bruce, I still think it's a pretty solid guess that he'll come back before the end of the decade. The nature of comics means sometimes you need a back from the dead story to keep things fresh, and those can be done extremely well -- Resurrection of Magneto might be the best thing released in the Krakoa era, as far as fully realized minis go. But...

Shit, Alfred missed Damian going to school, you know? That's really sad. I miss Alfred. In a way I'll never miss Uncle Ben or the Wayne couple, I really miss opening a monthly and reading the latest wit out of Alfred's mouth at his silly son and his funny crusade. The nature of comic books being infinite until they're cancelled means this sort of relationship just doesn't get cut like this very often, and I can't recall the last time I *cared* when they tried cutting it.

It will be an awkward day when he comes back and it's back to normal business again, honestly. There's now an understanding of what Batman is without Alfred that I feel they don't have a great way of addressing. Don't really envy the writer who gets the job.