#speaking of I want to make the positions and poses here more dynamic. They’re kinda just standing around

[clegfly]

Who are THESE weirdos???????? Looking into MY floating mirror????????????

[auburnflight]

Jeanne, Vanitas and Agency

From the little I’ve dipped my toes into it, the VnC fandom seems pretty heated regarding Jeanne as a character. In drastic situations, I’ve seen accusations of misogyny based solely on someone’s comments on their feelings about Jeanne... a single character. And while yes, critiques can certainly be rooted in misogyny (must women be strong all the time? must they be submissive?), I think it’s important to consider not just the character herself, but how the story treats her and why we’re making the critiques we are.

Given that points of view in the fandom are so polarized, I’m going back to canon--to the text itself--to orient this essay. In particular, I’m going to focus on the point of agency--the freedom to make one’s own decisions about one’s self and one’s course of action. This goes beyond just Jeanne’s background as a borreau, trained to fight and follow orders. Agency is also consequential in her relationships with other characters and with the story as a whole.

(Content warning for discussion of abuse dynamics, and brief mentions of sexual assault.) 

--

It’s natural to start off with Jeanne’s first appearance in the story: alongside Luca, she’s introduced as a new agent of conflict with Noe and Vanitas’s budding alliance. In fact, she is the one who initiates the physical altercation with Noe and Vanitas, while Luca is still trying to talk them into giving him the Book of Vanitas:

Aesthetically and conceptually, she’s introduced as an active element of the story. At this point, the “forced kiss” scene during the initial fight seems more like a fluke, a comment on Vanitas’s personality (and willingness to do despicable things to get what he wants) rather than Jeanne’s.

That brings me to why I found it so jarring when colored art of her that was subsequently revealed: that agency fell away to portray a visually more passive air.

In the existing full-color art we have of Jeanne, she’s more static in her environment, looking towards the viewer but with a face that looks rather blank, even meek. Specifically I want to point out this wallpaper, which I obtained from the official site fairly early on in Vanitas’s serialization (December 2016), in contrast to another piece of official art that was released of Noe and Vanitas with Memoire 11, around the same time:

In both cases, the characters are posed intentionally, rather than actively doing something. And, they’re aware of the viewer’s gaze to some extent. However, Jeanne has her back turned to the viewer, and her expression is more idealized and ambiguous. Meanwhile, Noe and Vanitas are rather assertive: their expressions are more intentionally focused, and they seem to know their situation in the artwork. Jeanne is simply passive, very nearly objectified.

...Yeah, maybe this is just my art background speaking. But I also notice something similar happening in other official colored pieces of Jeanne, such as the cover of volume 4.

By this point in the story, lack of agency has become an even more significant element in Jeanne’s character arc: we learn that she’s been cursed. Not only is she unable to speak of the curse, it’s also in direct opposition to one of her primary character motivations, to protect Luca and those she cares about. Due to her uncontrollable urge to kill and drink blood, Jeanne fears that she’ll unintentionally hurt the very people she’s trying to protect. 

Jeanne’s involvement with Vanitas also unfortunately comes with a sacrifice of her own agency. Seeing that she’s been cursed, Vanitas demands that she drinks blood from no one but him in exchange for keeping her secret. He further establishes her sense of reliance on him by promising that if he ever does see her lose control, he’ll kill her (so that she doesn’t harm Luca). Whether he’s simply a smitten 18-year-old who doesn’t yet know how to conduct healthy relationships, or whether he’s crafty and intentionally drawing Jeanne in further--or even whether it’s a mix of both--this idea of Vanitas’s control over her is reflected in the cover art for volume 4.

At this point, considering the literal events of the story, Jeanne’s passiveness is not only visual, but symbolic. In this illustration, Vanitas’s hand is grabbing Jeanne by her bow, and functionally by her neck: she’s being dragged along against her will, with little means of escape. And she looks at the viewer with a surprisingly similar expression to the previous illustration: one that communicates little say in the situation.

This matches up with their literal relationship in the story itself. Knowing she’s cursed, Vanitas is establishing her exclusive reliance on him, in exchange for keeping important secrets from others with whom she’s close (i.e. threatening to drive a wedge into their relationship). He’s already pushed himself upon her physically with clearly no warning or enjoyment from her. Yes, he’s been kind. And when Dominique trails Vanitas and Jeanne on their date, she notes that Jeanne is “terribly weak against any sort of kindness.” But in spite of some more “cute” and candid moments, the overall dynamic between Jeanne and Vanitas is far from genuine kindness. Returning to how Vanitas garnered an edge over her in their initial fight--with taunting, carefully chosen words--I would phrase it more as that Jeanne, a borreau trained to kill and inexperienced with matters of feelings, is particularly susceptible to emotional manipulation. (There’s more than a little irony in this internal comment from Jeanne, at the beginning of her date with Vanitas:)

Jeanne’s relationship with Vanitas becoming important isn’t, in isolation, inherently an issue. In most cases, it’s fun to see how a character who usually appears unshakeable is rounded out when we see them at their more vulnerable times. What makes me feel squicked out and worried on Jeanne’s behalf is how it’s executed, considering how it works in opposition to how she was introduced as a character, and how Jeanne and Vanitas’s relationship harkens back to known dynamics of abuse. 

In other words, my discomfort is not at Jeanne herself for falling for Vanitas and his tactics. It’s at how she’s introduced with a promise of agency in her own story, and that agency is subsequently taken away in how she’s portrayed in official art, and in plot points as the story progresses. It’s at how their relationship begins to fall into a harmful template perpetuated by rape culture, where a man forces himself upon a woman at first, but she is shown to eventually enjoy those advances even when unwanted. I had high hopes for Jeanne as a character developed with her own agency, motives (and yes, for cool fight scenes that WLW like me can admire), and so far, Vanitas’s effect on her has threatened to overshadow these. This is where I think sections of the fandom throwing accusations back and forth of each other being misogynistic, on the grounds of criticizing Jeanne and her relationship with Vanitas, fail to see the wider issue.

Of course, eliciting this sort of discomfort may even be the whole point. Jun Mochizuki is known for putting her characters through tragic and painful situations, and her previous work Pandora Hearts is rife with unstable, imbalanced, and otherwise less-than-perfect relationships. But even without this background knowledge, a decisive scene that convinces me of the intentionality of this purpose is one I’ve written about before: Jeanne’s internal fantasy as she’s left unattended by Luca and loses herself in a storybook.

Here, Jeanne fantasizes about being the agent in her own story, a position that, the art reminds us, is often occupied by a male character such as a prince. Ultimately, this progression looks innocent and could serve to remind us of Jeanne’s more vulnerable, innocuous side. But including it here in the story could also serve as foreshadowing, a contrast to what Jeanne’s situation is like for her in reality. (If you want to read more on this panel specifically, my analysis is in the source link of this post!)

Essentially, critiquing Jeanne as a character requires more nuance than simply judging her individual characteristics. It’s necessary to also take into account the way that the story treats her and her relationships with others and other forces in the story. Not just is she allowed to be soft and emotional, but what consequences does this have for her, and how do the story elements lead the reader to feel about her being soft?

Personally, I think she’s very likeable as a character--her situation just seems unfair, and I feel like she deserves so much better than Vanitas and his schemes. I mean, she could easily destroy him with her gauntlet, and he knows it! But, then, it’s Jun Mochizuki. We should probably expect to be feeling pain and pity for her characters. Still, the relationship between Jeanne and Vanitas has always kinda rubbed me the wrong way, and I think this pretty much sums up why.

[theglguidetowebcomics]

Full review: Girly

What’s Pink, insane, NSFW, hilarious, and somehow heartwarming at points? This comic is a ride and a half, and I’m genuinely surprised more people haven’t heard of this one… I’ve been wanting to talk about this one for a WHILE. 

So let’s talk about the elephant in this room… Because I think it just ate someone’s couch. 

Slightly NSFW review with spoilers below.

Girly, by Jackie Lesnick was a webcomic that ran between 2003 and 2010, (and really has some of those early webcomic hallmarks). Its monochromatic pink, vertical, with a poppy early cartoon feel. It’s also listed as a romantic comedy, which is… correct, but cuts a whole lot of what makes this comic good, short. 

This review was always going to be one of the 4 I really struggled with. And not just because I lost it the first time without a back up in a code glitch, got distracted by a pandemic, then procrastinated my way to finally making a second version in my new backup folder… No, well also yes but no. This was a comic I read when I was younger (and should NOT have read  when I was younger), and have always had a soft spot for. I’ll admit as much as this comic has its flaws or weird moments or just weirdness in general, its one of the few comics I’ve found myself rereading in its entirety more than once. And no matter how much I know it's coming, find myself sobbing, uncontrollably, at the final panel. There’s surprisingly a lot of heart in this comic, and a whole lot of honesty in just the direction the author took this weird little thing. But, first let me take of those rose tinted glasses as much as I can… (actually that might not work too well with a pink comic seriously whats with all these early 2000s lesbian comics being PINK?). And give this old comic a look and a bit of a dust. but , first...

Sex.

Getting to the point - page 3 of “Girly”

Girly is a NSFW comic. It’s not shy about it either. It hits the audience (and the main character) over the head with it literally in the first pages. It has sex positive characters, a sex positive world, some characters with… sex powers almost, and Dildos, a whole lot of dildos. Some even with smiley faces on them. It’s a pretty unavoidable part of the comic that makes up a large core of it’s humour and is baked into its wacky world. So if that’s not your thing, and it’s not really skippable in this case, you won’t like this comic.

But, if you’re alright with that part of it this might just be a hidden gem. Moving on.

Art

Artwork is always interesting in webcomics. They’re usually one man shows, have a weird niche / strong influences, and or usually go on massive journeys as the art improves. Girly is no different here. 

Girly starts out rough. Some poses are wonky and its a bit scratchy. Technically speaking it has a few issues, which is fine. Its a free webcomic, from the 2000s that didn't copy and paste faces. (Won’t name names, you know who you are). You can’t be too harsh on a free comic, though.

However, what the art style does, even early on is set the style and feel of the comic. Anime inspired faces, bold outlines, and blocky silhouettes that were really popular with 90’s and 2000s cartoons. It has a newspaper, manga comedy strip vertical style, too. It fits the style of story well as a poppy wacky story. It's the perfect art style it could take.

Its rough in the beginning, but moves on from its scratchy days, to loose pen brush, to finally a polished free hand poppy style. It gets more technically advanced as it goes along, but it keeps its core style throughout. It’s fun, a little unhinged, and just pares perfectly.

The one issue I have with the art is it comes off as a bit cramped. It certainly matches the energy of the story, but it also feels like it doesn't let the characters have any breathing room in the frame. It comes off as squashed, and can make some character poses hard to read. That’s the only complaint I can find though. The issue even fixes itself later in the story, but just very very close to the end. It looks great there, but the majority of the comic is a little cramped. Still that’s just a small complaint.

Nitpicking here but some panels need a lil more room

This a humour comic foremost. It's the biggest part of what makes Girly specifically Girly.

Humour

The humour is mostly wacky nonsense, playing off its insane characters, physics defying world, everything being dialed up to 11. It also works a lot like satire, poking at what influences it, and playing with cinematic expectations. The first page has Otra shooting someone into space on a rocket because they annoyed them, the first “adventure” the character’s go on is stealing everyone’s pants because they couldn’t find anything else to do. Then there’s the kidnapping adventures, knight trials, and slice of life shenanigans that happen. All of it as wacky as the last. I haven’t really found any other lesbian comics like it. Its not everyone’s tastes, but it is certainly unique.

If you’re into a willy wonka tunnel of over the top characters and plots, you’ll like Girly.

Characters

Girl is a LONG comic, it ran for 7 years. The art evolved, the story writing, jokes, and themes along with it. It was originally meant to run for only 50 strips... and it ended up with 764. 

so, there’s a lot to unpack.

Firstly, the premise of the story is somewhat simple. It focuses on Otra. The kinda straight man to the entire universe. She starts out almost depressed, out of place, and bored of the wacky inhabitants of her world. Until one of those wacky residents smacks her over the head with a giant dildo and won’t leave her alone for the next 7 years of run time. 

What follows is the sullen Otra being pulled around by the always cheery and zany nonsensical Winter as the sidekick for bizarre adventures. Otra’s depressive grounded view keeps the bizarreness funny, while Winter cuts through her negative attitude and causes a lot of the over the top plot. Leaving Otra to warm up to the world, and Winter to get less reckless as they balance eachother out. It’s a fun dynamic, and works as an emotional core of the story. No matter how weird the plot and rules of the world are, their relationship keeps the story somewhat focused and rewarding to see develop.

An example of bold wacky character designs from even early on

The comic isn’t just about them, though. As an ensemble comic there's plenty of side characters that go through arcs and beats as well. From el chubacabre, the man that woman find so irresistible that they sleep with him as soon as they see him; detective Clapjaw the street wise detective who is very bad at his job; Officer Hipbone and police guy from the cute P D; captain fist the ever popular bad at his job superhero who gets all the credit; the news reporter obsessed with captain fist; the woman with babies; Steak;  the elephants that just… appear and eat buildings; among many many others. A lot of whom also have nicely written character arcs and depth in later chapters. Many of the character however are simple and remain simple, which isn’t a bad thing. For such a large cast, having a diverse range of strange characters with strong identities and looks even if a bit simple stops it from getting bogged down. It strikes a good balance. Plus there’s plenty enough of characters with more depth later on. 

 All the character’s are insane, and over the top in a way that really sets up the world they live in and how it works... as dysfunctional as it is. There’s something very Cartoon Network about all the characters, but with some wider influences. something about  dumb characters, with very specific goals and quirks that work on their own physics to feed into the high energy insanity of the world. Its entertaining to read, and leads to a weirdly charming feel of the comic. 

Story and plot

For the bit people actually want to know about. What is it about?

Just a little bit of influences...

For the style itself the comic comes off as a mix between early 2000s slice of life-y anime, 2000s cartoon Network, and a dose of 2000s webcomic sarcastic action/adventure flare. It definitely has one of the most pronounced styles that I’ve seen, and even if it's very much a webcomic of it’s time it also goes a bit beyond that into something that feels personal to the author and honest. Its a batshit comic. But, it wears its influences on it’s sleeve and really plays with tropes and ideas the author found engaging at the time. It somehow comes off as refreshing in just how willing it is to go weird or niche for no other reason but because it wants to. It's what I appreciate most about the comic. It’s honest.

The overarching story of the comic is without a doubt about Otra and winter growing together as people. But with a comic that’s run for 7 years a little bit more happens in the journey, at least you hope it would. Girly runs on chapters, 15 in total (with 15 having sub chapters due to being the story’s climax), and each one of those chapters follows a different plot or adventure with Otra’s and Winter’s developing relationship gluing them together. 

The plots themselves are wild and vary a bit in quality. But for a long comic that’s understandable and expected. They go from solving elephant problems, super villains, body swapping, fantasy parodies, and all sorts of strange things. Sometimes a few plots drag and a few character arcs feel a bit bland. It still manages to be entertaining all the way through though. The plots themselves work to get the character’s to play off each other and explore the strange world it takes place in. Exploring evil teddy bears, or an entire town devoted to cheap gags. No matter what, all the plots work in fleshing out the world and pushing character’s out of their comfort zone or forcing them to change. There are some that are less fun than others, but none of them manage to be boring or useless. Which for a long comic such as this, is quite an achievement.

Conclusion

Girly is a hidden gem, Its an insane sex positive comic. A loose style and even looser physics. It’s bold and unabashedly itself. But, at its core it's about the love story of Winter, the wacky insane woman needing to slow down and open up, and Otra, a sullen woman who’s deemed herself only worthy of being on the outskirts of society. It’s two people growing together in a world that’s up to its ears in care bears, sentient dildos, earth shattering cloning, and jabs at 2000’s paste it comics. And somehow it all sticks together.

The characters resonated, at least with me, which may be the nostalgia talking. But by the end of the comic I can’t help but  think back on how long it took them to get there. The bits that made me laugh (a lot of them), the stupid parts, and the character’s arcs, as over the top they could be at times.  It may not everyone’s cup of tea. But it has a lot of heart at its core. (If you get past all the dildos). 

For all it’s flaws and weird bits. I still find myself going back to Girly. 

Maybe now, some more people will too.

[dent-de-leon]

What Voltron ships do you think have a chance or don't have a chance at becoming canon?

Pretty much 100% guaranteed in my book: hunay. Shay is the one who really inspires Hunk to stand up for a cause, and it’s her bravery that helps Hunk find his own courage. How much she means to him is what sets off the balmera arc, which is integral to his character development. He says that the balmerans made him see the war in a whole new way, that he finally realizes that there are countless other people and planets that Zarkon has conquered and it’s the paladins’ mission to free them. The way he’s always so concerned about her and the others tease him for his crush is pretty obvious and incredibly sweet. I don’t think they’ll just put Hunk with someone else after that. Hunk and “the rock he admires very much” are adorable together and I’m so happy for them 

I’ve written like a hundred meta on this, so I’ll try to brief, but–yeah, I think sheith has a really good shot. Time and again they are established as the most important people in each other’s lives (“your friend desperately wants to see you,” “it’s good to have you back,” “it’s good to be back,” “that really stayed with you, didn’t it?” “Shiro was the only one who never gave up on me, I won’t give up on him,” ect). The way Keith is always running to Shiro’s rescue is characteristic of the traditional knight and princess trope, and Kuron is even so bold as to tease him about it–“How many times are you gonna have to save me before this is over?” “As many times as it takes.” 

The way Keith has so many grief-stricken outbursts over losing Shiro and acted as if no one else cared about him the way Keith did–it really feels like Keith is mourning a over. The way everyone else urges him to move on while he’s still carrying a torch for Shiro only serves to further support this. It’s also important to consider that “Keith latches onto Shiro at times because Shiro’s sort of the only thing that can really calm him down and keep him in check.” Because we know Keith’s volatile emotions stem from being galra, and Shiro is literally the only one that soothe that side of him. On it’s own this trope is romantic, but we also see it reflected in Zarkon’s relationship with Honerva as well. “Honerva has really softened you up old friend.” There are so many parallels between sheith and zaggar, and I don’t see why they’d do that if sheith wasn’t also meant to be interpreted as romantic. 

The framing, exclusive privacy, and tone of many of their scenes also feel exceptionally intimate and romantic (see: their first scene together, that part where Keith promises that nothing’s gonna happen to Shiro and Shiro gives him the fondest look, the BOM trial, the hug, how the season 3 reunion was exclusively between the two of them and complete with longing looks as they slowly drift into each other’s orbit, the bedroom scene, ect). At this point I literally can’t imagine either being paired with anyone else. And even if they are, I’m beyond the point where I would be able to rationalize it. They’ll always love each other first and foremost. And the creators have honestly talked about lgbt representation quite a bit. They’re so invested in it that, I think if they were to make a gay ship canon, sheith is our best bet. 

A ship I also think has a really good chance: allurance. I’ve made a few posts on that already, and you can check this one here for a more detailed explanation. But basically, I think season 3 went out of its way to really develop their dynamic. It’s not Keith who hands of Red to Lance and tells him he’s that should pilot, it’s Allura. And this distinction is quite interesting. It feels a lot like how Shiro left Black to Keith (and I mean, I think I’ve already made it clear how I see their dynamic as romantic). Allura also tells Lance about her very personal history with Red and how she wants Lance to carry on that legacy. She could’ve had this conversation with Keith at any time, but she didn’t. It’s Lance who she opens up to and sees her father in. It’s Lance who she look to for advice (”What would Lance do?”) and it’s Lance who looks out for Allura during The Hunted while Keith was ready to leave her behind and couldn’t care less. 

And we also get that sweet moment where Allura only explains what her armor means to Lance. And then Lance hands off his bayard to Allura and says “If I had to lose Blue to anyone, I’m glad it was you.” And Allura looks so fond at hearing that, her gaze softens and I find it hard to believe she isn’t at least a bit taken with him. The way their hands touch when they exchange the bayard and Lance expresses how much Allura means to him, how he’d rather it be her than anyone else? Yeah, we never get any scene like this between Keith and Lance. It feels intimate in the same way a lot of Shiro and Keith’s interactions are. And if Lance or Allura were to end up with anybody, I think this ship just makes the most sense. It would also fit the “slow burn” profile for Lance’s love interest Jeremy mentioned. 

A ship that I thought was more promising in season 2 but now feel like it doesn’t make much sense: ka/llura. It feels like they could’ve been going somewhere after the galra arc, but then the ship just burns out and loses all momentum. During season 3, I think there was a clear divide between them. The only episode that felt ka/llura to me was A Holy in the Sky–but even then, that felt more like a homage to 80′s voltron than anything. I honestly can’t forgive the way Keith completely turned a blind eye to her safety in The Hunted.

And if they were ever going to establish Keith with another love interest, I think now during Shiro’s disappearance would have been best the time. So that they could be there for Keith when he needed some support the most, so they can affirm that there are others who care for him and he doesn’t be alone. But no, that’s not how it is. The most meaningful interaction between Keith and Allura during that time is Allura reaffirming how Shiro is irreplaceable to him. It’s not about Allura’s feelings for Keith, but rather acknowledging Keith’s feelings for Shiro. 

Narratively speaking, Shiro is literally in the position of Keith’s love interest during his leadership arc. And this is further underscored by how Keith doesn’t go to Allura or Lance or anyone else when he wants to talk. He goes to the Black lion and tries speaking to Shiro. Because even if Shiro’s gone and everyone else is right there, he still shoves the other paladins aside and reaches out for the one he lost. That’s love. 

A ship that I can kinda see happening: plance (pidgance?? I dunno, I’ve seen lots of different names for it, sorry). Anyway, I honestly got the feeling that Pidge might have a bit of a one-sided crush on Lance. She’s the one that gets the most annoyed by Lance flirting with other girls, and it’d be an interesting dynamic to show Lance developing a romantic relationship with the one girl he never actually flirted with. 

And I mean, Lance was the first person paladin to try and reach out to her. Even though she blew him off, I think she was still kind of touched by the gesture. And we do still see Lance being protective of her at the garrison, so I think it’s possible she could’ve starting feeling something. I think it’s likely it might go unrequited–maybe something like Sokka and Toph–but it’s possible it might head somewhere later. 

And ya, this is my own personal opinion based on what I’ve seen in canon, but I’m certain k/l is never happening. As far as I’m concerned, there’s nothing about their interactions that reads as romantic to me. Also, as a bi guy, I would find it offensive if Lance was meant to be bi representation when they’ve gone so far to establish him as incredibly straight in canon (flirts excessively and exclusively with girls, his literal bio says “he thinks he’s everyone’s best friend, especially if they’re cute and female,” he only ever expresses explicit attraction to girls (”mrs blue lion”), he has fantasies where he’s standing in a male power pose while a girls is down on their knees clinging to his leg, perpetuates harmful bi stereotypes like “flirty playboy,” “straight with an exception,” this notion that somehow internal homophobia manifests as bullying the guy you like, ect). 

Most notable of all, when asked if k/l would be “teased” because of how popular it is, Joaquim and Lauren literally shut that down on the spot. As a bi guy, part of why I support canon sheith more is because it seems like a real relationship to me and not something that would just be “teased” for straight girls (as that’s the very definition of queerbaiting and not representation). 

Interview: “I feel like there was a little tease? It seems shippers want to ship Lance and Keith together, so are there gonna be any hints of that at all? Or is it just more like–okay, they’re friends, they’re starting to become friends.”

Lauren: “I think we had a very natural arc in mind for those two. Which is, they start out at odds, but then they grow to kind of respect each other. And if that leads into people being like–they’re spending time together! Then that’s a ‘thing,’ but…We’re not trying to cater to or bait anyone into anything, we’re just trying to do what’s right for the story.”

Joaquim: “We also try not to be overtly affected by what popular opinion might be.”

Lauren: “And we’re working in animation. Our schedule is so far in advance for that–even if people shipped Keith and Lance, we couldn’t go back and just change the story–to be like and now they’re in love!”Joaquim: “There’s just no way. We’re already years past that storyline, you know?”

The only way k/l would happen is if it was intentional and they’d already established it in show. And personally, I just don’t see that. Also, this idea that they can’t “just change the story–to be like and now they’re in love!” and how they’re “already years past that storyline”–that tells me that they’re not, so I just don’t see it happening. 

I also personally just don’t see any romantic chemistry between Shiro and Allura. And if they were going to do that, I feel like showing Allura’s feelings during Shiro’s disappearance would’ve been the time. The fact that they didn’t tells m there’s just no spark there. Anyway, I think that’s most of the “major” ships. Again, these are just my opinions. And just because I don’t think some of these ships have a chance in canon doesn’t mean I don’t think people shouldn’t still enjoy shipping them (hell, I ship some ships I think have no chance at all myself). I’m no authority on the subject I’m just a fan myself, so yeah. This is just for fun 

[resbang-bookclub]

AMA Transcript: Tenderly Touched by the Massively Muscled

For our next AMA, @sandmancircus, @peregr1ne & @sojustifiable (Amanda on Discord) stopped by to chat about their Resbang, Tenderly Touched by the Massively Muscled! Here’s some of what went down:

*Please be advised that this AMA contains spoilers!*

Q:  What inspired the title? :D

Sand: I wanted something touching and relatable.

Q: Which was the hardest scene for you to write, do you think?

Sand: The last battle scene was hard, just coordinating everything and getting it down so it was smooth.

Peregrine: You did so good, it was a whole lot of characters to keep track of.

Q: Artist-chan/kuns, what made you pick the scenes you chose to art for?

Amanda: Ahh, I guess it was just things where the image stuck out and I felt like I needed to see it. With Eruka's tantrum scene, I also thought it would fit well with the style I wanted to use, with lots of swirly swirls and dramatic colors.

Peregrine: Well, for my first I wanted to do like a good intro iconic scene, so their first meeting was a good choice to set the stage and such. For the other two, I just wanted to do cool group shots because I wanted to draw all the characters but not 10 different pictures. Especially the last picture, I just really like drawing like… ‘epic’ scenes.

Q: Sand, what was your writing process like?

Sand: Uh, for this Resbang I mostly wrote in chronological order, which is unusual for me. When I had time, I just sat down and stared at the screen until something came out. I also kept a joke doc for jokes I wanted to use.

Q: Speaking of jokes, can you explain dog farting all the time?

Sand: Farts are funny.

Q: LOL. Do you have any funny/iconic comments that betas or artists left that you want to share?

Sand: Kat kept getting mad every time a penis happened. A bunch of "I’m too ace for this."

Amanda: Same.

Sand: Also the pinching of the clover got a bunch of yells.

Q: What was the inspo behind the pomegranates?

Sand: The pomegranates were just a throwback to the original myth.

Q: How did you come up with Soul's role in your fic? I thought it was really cool and imaginative.

Sand: I thought it would be funny if Soul was a soul, like Dog is a dog.

Q: What inspired so much peen? Cause like, there's much peen.

Peregrine: Sarah thinks dicks are funny.

Sand: I honestly can’t remember why I chose to write him as a nudist. I just think it’s a nice role reversal having the man be hyper sexualized.

Q: Somewhat related: how was it writing the smexies!!! And will we see more smexies????

Sand: The smexies were very hard to write, would not recommend. Will maybe try again in future.

Q: Also, for the artists -- how long did you spend on each piece?

Amanda: The first piece too a long time cuz I used masking fluid and had to wait a long time for different layers to dry to do details. The other pieces I did more quickly just because of the style. The time taken mostly depends on waiting time which there is less of if you do everything wet.

Peregrine: I don't remember how long I spent on my pieces because I break them up a lot? Usually I'll spend a while doing the rough sketch because I'll move things around and erase the whole thing and start over a lot because if it doesn’t feel dynamic super rough, it's not going to look good when I clean it up. That takes a while to plan out I guess, but it’s also the funnest part because I can draw a lot more freely. I'll usually then leave it for a day to see if it's still solid later and then lineart can take anywhere from 3 hours to like a week depending on how frustrating it is, and then I usually colour in a day (by a day I usually mean like 3 or 4 hours because that’s how much time I’m usually able to spend when I have time to draw). But yeah idk, in general pics usually take me like 3 days unless they're group shots, like 2 of these were, because lineart takes forever.

Q: Were there any scenes that came out way differently than you'd initially planned?

Sand: The whole fic changed as I wrote it tbh, which usually happens with me. I have an original idea of what things will be like, and it gradually shifts and alters to become something new, or at least very different.

Q: Has anyone already asked you what inspired this bad boi???? I remember there was an art.

Sand: Yeah I did art for Freeruka a year and a half ago for Freeruka week which was supposed to be for the prompt "myth". The idea just stuck.

Q: Which was your favorite scene?

Sand: My fave scene was probably the one where Eruka got back talked by Free because of her stalking after she went bananas.

Q: Amanda did you have a fave piece between the three?

Amanda: I think Eruka's tantrum scene was my favorite to do and fave as an end product, though that free style of painting in general is really fun.

Sand: That was also the piece that we got to see Free's booty.

Peregrine: It was an interesting challenge for us artists to draw for this fic trying to position the characters so we wouldn’t have to draw a dick.

Sand: Amanda threatened to leave if I described her art as sezual.

Peregrine: But yeah, it was very deliberate for every piece like 'alright how do I draw this scene without Little Free?'

Q: Where did your inspo for Jackson come from???????

Sand: I needed a sassy side character, and he just kinda grew into something super fun to write. And it’s very hard to write a character without arms, so I gave him arms.

Q: How did you come up with the mythos? It was a neat spin. I liked that the positions got filled when someone dies.

Sand: Well, I needed a reason to call Eruka ‘Eruka’ and not ‘Hades,’ so it turned out to be more of a title, which led to "oh, well then could someone else be hades," and it kinda grew and grew from there.

Q: Kinda in love with Maka as new Zeus, not gonna lie.

Sand: That was actually Pere's addition.

Peregrine: I based Maka's outfit off one of the ones from the Wonder Woman movie that’s Zeusy and she was part of Zeus's crew and after Zeus died the position was open so I suggested it to Sarah because I thought it would give some good closure - and also Maka as Zeus would be super badass.

Q: Was there a scene that was really surprisingly easy to write?

Sand: The opening scene was really easy to write, surprisingly. It kinda all just flowed out really well and really easily.

Q: What drew/draws you to Freeruka?

Sand: I love Eruka, I like that she's sassy and that she's a morally grey character and that she's a complete coward, and I love her dynamic with Free. He's this big macho guy who is incredibly loyal and also a bit of a klutz and is a fucking WEREWOLF (heyo!) and they just mesh really well in this weird way that I adore. Witches are cool, wolves are cool, smoosh them together please.

Q: Is there anything you wish you could've done differently?

Sand: I think I would've liked to give them more time to get to know each other before everything goes down - at least a few months, just to make their connection more believable. But time, man.

Q: Pere did you have a favorite piece??

Peregrine: I think I like how the first pic came out the best. It's a nice standalone. But the last battle scene was the funnest to do because I just like drawing action poses and snarls the best.

Q: What are you working on next?

Sand: Nothing so far.

Peregrine: Uhhh Reverb I guess? Right now I'm doing a commission tho.

Q: For Peregrine: Do you feel like you grew in your art skills through this bang? If so, how?

Peregrine: Uhhh not really? I think I grow in my skills by doing experimental pieces but I don't do experimental stuff when it's like for someone else, I do that on my own time. The stuff I did for this was the kind of stuff I just always do.

Q: Doing Resbang next year Sarah????    

Sand: Unfortunately, I probably will be suffering again, yes.

[a chorus of cheers]

---

Thanks to the team for stopping by! More transcripts coming soon!

[lvtvr]

s4 thoughts under the cut

i have criticism and i have praise, but most importantly i have common fucking sense and i dont lose my mind if a kids cartoon doesnt go my way so dont worry about that palios

please read this post in a neutrally speculative tone because that’s my voice in my head as i’m typing it. also of course my opinion is just a star in the sky and your mileage, as always, may vary. warning its the Great Wall of Text

sweet stuff

most importantly its a great time to be a lotor stan. i love my boy my problematic trash fav i love him so much hes officially my favorite character now 1000000000% (it used to be lance, but he’s been dethroned for real now)

not only is he a fucking babe but whenever he appeared the plot was guaranteed to move forward so every time he came onscreen i got my two favorite things in one

listen im just not going to go overboard w this but lets just say i think about him and grin a lot what a fucking GREAT character he’s so MORALLY GREY so FUCKED UP so INTERESTING so sexy

matt holt is in fact a meme! good job fandom, well predicted. the allura heart eyes stuff was lame stock cartoon humor which imo added Nothing of value, but that aside he’s an angel boy and brilliant addition to the recurring cast and i love him

i thought the rain and the big no during the cemetery scene were kinda over the top cheesy but that episode was, overall, really great

okay but real talk that one dog looking captain has to be somebody’s fursona???????????? somewhere a furry is fucking thriving right now

fighting animations and space backgrounds were gorgeous, as always

i adore where they’re taking keith’s development!!! i had some pretty serious concerns post s2, but they’re taking him in exactly the direction i had hoped for

i feel like he’s honestly really happy with the blade, their style really suits him and i mean that both figuratively and literally *wink wonk*

he’s a loner, but he’s not alone. he’s in a position where he’s expected to function as an independent unit within a team, instead of being literally connected to the others in his squad; at this point in time that autonomy is what’s important for his development. he has both the insight to realize that and the empathy to be concerned that it might be selfish or wrong in the eyes of others

but his friends support him!!!!!!!! the group hug oh my god

his self sacrifice... i almost died that was just so. beautiful

im just really emo about keith

why does zarkon hate lotor SO much? i have a feeling it must be connected to the circumstances of his birth. SOMETHING is up and i can’t wait to find out WHAT

and what the fuck is going on with haggar

shes still the most aesthetic character in the show sjlgdjsdgjsg PURPLE WITCH PURPLE WITCH

LANCE AND ALLURA!!!! OMG IM CRYING honestly i am still rooting for no canonical romance but at this point i wouldnt even mind canon allurance, because the way they’re having lance mature and act around her is just... im still crying dont look at me

that said i think its beautiful how canon lance, in stark contrast to the awful character that is fanon lance, is a selfless and insightful boy who -- once he steps out of his theater-kid attention-seeking leo persona -- has a better grasp than perhaps anyone of the true dynamics of the team

he gave allura the speech that shitty lance stans want the rest of the team to give him. i can’t believe he single handedly screwed over all bad characterization. im so proud of him.

salty stuff

lance’s sweet moment at the end of ep6 aside, i’m still pretty bitter about the fact that we know virtually NOTHING about either lance or hunk. to some degree shiro is also still a mystery.

the reason it’s so frustrating is because to varying degrees, keith, pidge, and allura all have some sort of backstory and ongoing arcs

in comparison, hunk and lance have been kind of stuck in support roles for four seasons now. they are occasionally shown maturing, but im just lacking a foundation for what’s driving them?? besides lance’s insecurities, what do we really HAVE?

episode 4 was a waste of time that i hope the under-12 demographic enjoyed more than i did. the meta wasn’t on point like, for instance, the avatar theater episode. also, it treated hunk terribly. like, lampshading how horribly he’s treated as a fat comic-relief character isn’t funny when your writers are the ones giving him that treatment in the first place lol???

it was, how u say, a shitty filler that could have been dropped entirely without affecting a thing

the sailor scout poses were pretty okay tho

why would you create a setup for whatever is going on with shiro and then not so much as allude to it during an entire season? 

like, a forty-second scene implying some weird juju would have been enough, but completely dropping one of the plot threads for six consecutive eps makes for a pretty porous story-tapestry. im assuming they’ll pick it up again but this season is just... a gaping hole, dramaturgically speaking.

if i had written it i would be kicking my own ass for lack of continuity

seriously this makes me feel less bad about my first-draft mess of a fanfic because holy shit lol its a lot tighter than this was

lotor killing narti came literally out of nowhere, and im not saying this to defend him (she was my favorite general and im incredibly sad she’s gone?? im lowkey hoping haggar’s mojo will revive her tbh) -- but, again, we have some really weird writing decisions going on here

lotor was set up in season three as someone who values mercy and explicitly orders his people not to kill. like, im not trying to excuse what he did -- im just saying it seems like a contradiction, based on what we’ve been shown

why wouldnt he just incapacitate her or kill kova instead?? the nature of the psychic bond was never addressed enough to make killing her seem motivated, and his character was never built up as someone who would succumb to a random murderous impulse, so tl;dr I Don’t Get It

also we havent been given enough background on the team to be able to say for sure, but what i assumed was a tight-knit elite group with history seems to have actually been a ragtag group of neutral-aligned mercenaries, temporarily banded together for personal gain.

while i’m okay with a plot-driven show that doesn’t spell things out and leaves most things as implied subtext, i still feel like there is such a thing as being too subtle

like you can’t set up plot threads only to put them completely on pause to have some ships blow up, it will only frustrate the audience and make the action seem like a cover-up for the writers having no idea what the fuck is going on

its not hard!!! to just throw in allusions to things!!!! like we’re talking literally just tossing out HINTS so people remember that “oh yeah that thing existed at all” @ dreamworks please uh... do that?

the pattern seems to be that we get a mindblowing season followed by a mediocre season so time to hype s5!

so anyway those are my two cents ("its more like ten dollars char" yeah yeah i know!!!) and i’m very happy to discuss the events of this season, and for people to disagree with me (as long as its polite and... at least relatively motivated lol)

[beevean]

So what are your overall thoughts on Forces storywise? Positives and negatives? Where do you think the story ranks in the series?

Maybe it’ll be easier to just list positives and negatives (warning: long post):

Positives:

- Even by watching a low-quality stream of the Switch version, I can say the game looks gorgeous. It does suffer a bit from the Adventure 2 syndrome, where the art direction can bet too dull for you to appreciate the graphics, but some stages are breathtaking. Egg Gate in particular looks amazing.

- While the plot on its own doesn’t belong in this section, I appreciate the simple fact that they actually dared to break from the lighter and softer approach that’s been going on since 2010, and the fact that they remembered that the cast isn’t just made of Sonic, Tails, Eggman, Orbot and Cubot. The concept was awesome! The tone was perfect, serious but not depressing and too try-hard! There was some action! It’s a step in the right direction, and I hope people will criticize the plot for the right reasons and not because “lol sonic shouldn’t try to be edgy”.

- Shadow will be playable. Even if he’s at his core “Sonic with a OP Light Speed attack” this is very important.

- While at first I was annoyed at seeing old levels again, I’m actually happy with what they’ve done. They’re not just rehashes, they’re treated like actual dynamic environments. Green Hill is not just “hey remember this level”, it’s a place dear to Sonic that was ruined by Eggman. Chemical Plant is also ruined and repurposed as a space port, almost like a Sonic CD Bad Future. Only the Death Egg is pretty much the same, although I admit, the Classic level using the same gimmicks as the S3&K version was a nice touch that I forgave because it made sense in-universe.

- The dialogue! Aside from a couple of stupid lines, mostly by Sonic, there was no trace of childish, jarring humor, nobody was OOC or treated as simple comic reliefs, and the interactions between characters were genuine and believable. Some parts kinda reminded me of the Boom cartoon. “See, Infinite, now we het to know each other! So what’s your favorite color? Do you enjoy long, romantic walks on the beach? What’s the source of your powers? You can skip the first two questions if you like” “Maybe he’ll have more friends if he stopped talking about himself in the third person.” (maybe I just have a bad sense of humor idk :V)

- Eggman and Knuckles were perfect. We didn’t see them a lot, but their characterization was on point. Knuckles was just full of charisma and he radiated confidence, a far cry from the butt monkey he’s been since Sonic X. And Eggman was actually smart, with some clever ideas like having backup sources for the Phantom Ruby, rightfully chewing out Infinite for not killing Sonic, and… well, we didn’t see it, but I like the idea of him keeping Sonic alive in his cell just so he could see what happened to the world thanks to his absence (that’s perfect fanfic fuel). And Mike Pollock managed to sound badass in certain parts. “The sun will fall upon you. Boom! The end. Your pathetic lives… are over.”

- Speaking of Pollock, the voice acting was some of the best in the games this far. I can count on a single hand the times someone sounded fake or unconvincing (mostly Silver, sadly, and Sonic was a bit oscillating). I think I gushed about Liam O’ Brien enough, he clearly had so much fun with Infinite. I can’t wait to hear the Japanese version

- And finally I love Infinite way more than I should. His design, his voice (especially his voice

- I like that thing Infinite did in Capital City. You know, when he mind raped everyone in the city by conjuring those abominations of nature. That was a clever use of his powers.

- The last shot of the game, with the Resistance hideout shining under the sun’s light and a single flower at the center, with the instrumental version of the credits’ song in the background, is honestly moving. Even after the huge disappointment that was the ending, this part made me feel satisfied and like I accomplished something (and I didn’t even play myself). It reminds me of Wiosna from Katawa Shoujo, and if you played it you know how it feels to hear that music after finishing a route.

Neutral:

- The scrapping of lives. I’ve seen people complaining that it makes the game too easy, but

1) there’s still some punishment if you lose a life, just like in Unleashed the timer doesn’t reset and of course you lose all your Rings, so if you die you can kiss that S rank goodbye;

2) lives have been pointless since the introduction of save files. Let’s be honest, when was the last time you got a game over in a game that saved your progress? And what was the punishment for a game over? At worst you just have to restart the level you died in.

So while I’m not particularly happy, I’m not disappointed either and I welcome the change.

- The music. I put it here because it’s kind of a mixed bag, there are tracks that I hate with a passion and tracks that I can’t get enough of (and I’ve only heard a tiny fraction of the whole OST). So overall I would say it’s average-to-good. 

I really wonder why they’re insisting of forcing Ohtani to compose whole soundtracks - the guy is seriously talented and I admire his work, but why can’t he be helped by someone else? I know Kenichi Tokoi and Naofumi Hataya also worked on the soundtrack, but afaik their roles are minimal.

- The Avatar himself. I’d enjoy the idea a lot more if 1) they talked, and 2) the characters stopped shilling them just a tiny bit, especially since everyone else was relegated to the background. Still, the concept of a muggle wanting to help the heroes is cool, as it goes against that sort of “elitism” in the Sonic series. And I just grew too attached to Gadget the Wolf :)

- The level design, the thing people trashed for months on end… it’s okay. Is it good as Generations’? Absolutely not. Is it bad? I don’t think so, because when I think “bad level design”, I think of Knuckles’ Chaotix and Sonic CD. 

Forces is inoffensive in this regard. On one hand, it’s not as linear as it looked like, there are multiple paths and some nice platforming sections. On the other, the 3D parts are few, short and in general not that engaging, and yes, Classic Sonic’s stages are supported by too much automation because the physics engine can’t handle him apparently. In short, if you’re okay with shallow fun and you thought Colors was fine, then you’ll be okay with Forces. (and while we’re not supposed to judge the developers as people, considering the level designers were all newbies I’d say they did a good job)

Negatives:

- the fact that you can’t recollect your rings unless you’re playing as the hedgehog Avatar. That just flies against the very core of the Rings concept.

- The sheer lack of “show, don’t tell”. Most of this game is just told, in fact most part of the plot is told via walkie talkie convos. The majority of the cast is just there to comment and guide the characters during the levels, only Silver is shown actually doing something. The most offensive example is how Eggman conquering the world is “shown” by a simple text box (people are already speculating it’s another sign of troubled production). And we don’t even see that much of the conquered world, either, aside from City (no seriously that’s the name of the area).

- What happened to you, Tails? What happened to the boy who wanted to be more than Sonic’s sidekick? Why the mere sight of Chaos 0 sends you into a panic when you fought Chaos 4 before? Why thinking Sonic is dead makes you “lose it”, when the same thing happened twice already (or once, if you want to discard ‘06) and in both cases you were devastated but still managed to kick ass? Why are you just an exposition fairy? Who hates you that much in the writers’ team? :(

- THE. RUSHING. Oh my god I could rant for hours about how the game not only is too fast-paced, but outright misses chunkes. I already mentioned the text box part, but what about the part where Infinite sends Sonic and the Avatar into null space… and they get out of there in literally ten seconds? What about Fake!Chaos and Fake!Shadow being dispatched like that, without even the simples of boss fights? What about Silver, Shadow and Omega just appearing out of nowhere? What about the “fake sun” plan being thwarted simply by the Avatar after less than ten minutes? What about the relentless teasing of Infinite’s origins, all culminating in a big fat nothing (he didn’t even take off his mask for fuck sake)? What about Eggman just vanishing after the final boss? What about the fact that two thirds of the final boss are rehashes, and at this point I’m seriously insulted by seeing Egg Nega Wisp for the third time?

- Going hand-to-hand with the rushed plot, the wasted potential. Sonic gets tortured in isolation, so you’d expect some consequences to his characterization. Nope! Not even a reveal that he was just hiding his fear by acting tough. Why are Shadow, Chaos and Zavok on Eggman’s side? Lol, they were just illusions, the real Shadow is fine and the others just don’t appear. All the cool hints about a tragic past for Infinite in his own song? Nothing mentioned in-game. He’s an experiment, that’s it. The connection with Mania? Just an excuse to justify the presence of Classic Sonic, whose only purpose in the plot is to snap Tails out of his depression. This game is just begging, “Rewrite me, please!”, and if I could write decently I’d do it myself, I’m that disappointed.

- What’s the deal with Aqua Road? It’s the only gimmick level in the game and it looks like the unholy child of those horrible bingo tables in Bingo Highway and this part in Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban for PC.

- Very minor, but if Eggman could see the fake sun, that means he would’ve been incinerated too. Considering how smart he was otherwise, that seems like a huge hole in his plan.

That’s everything I can think of. So, in conclusion, the game is generally good but overall mixed, and I dread the coming of November 7th because I can’t even imagine the kind of reception this game will get (and since it’ll come right after Super Mario Odyssey I don’t think it will sell well :\). 

I would personally play it if I had the chance because the game doesn’t look broken, boring or frustrating, and if I can manage to have fun with ShTH Forces will definitely be entertaining :V but it’s clear something went seriously wrong during the production and it feels like there are bits of the game missing, bits that could’ve elevated the quality from “good” to “excellent” - which is also why I hope Sonic Team doesn’t throw everything away but keeps the good parts and expands on them to create an even better game next time.

So if you’re planning on getting Forces, ask yourself what do you want to see in a Sonic game, because that’s the thing that makes the difference between “it’s not perfect but I can have fun with this” and “this game is absolute trash and Sonic doesn’t deserve this”.

[whyarethedolanssoattractive]

Paint You Wings ~ Ethan Dolan {Part Six}

Ethan’s POV

After what happened the day before, I was spiraling the drain of love even more helplessly. Averly was dynamic. She wasn't one of those people who have one interesting quality, then they're just like everyone you've ever met.

She focusing intensely on my face while she was painting. My hands were covering my mouth again, as requested, and my arms started to cramp a little bit.

Her tongue was sticking out of the side of her mouth and one eye was clamped shut. She added a few brush strokes, then stepped back.

"Okay, you can rest your arms a minute now." She sat her brush down and glanced from me to the painting. Without another word, she walked to the wooden table stained with random paint and grabbed a knife.

I was curious to say the least, but didn't want to break her concentration.

The next thing I knew, she stabbed the knife through the canvas and took it off the easel.

"Averly, what are you doing?"

She sighed and sat the knife down, then put the canvas in a big cardboard box. "The proportions were all wrong. There was no saving it." She wiped her hands on her shorts, then grabbed a new canvas. "I'm sorry, I probably should have told you that this is gonna take a while. Do you want me to just take a picture of you instead and go off of that? It wouldn't be that diff-"

"No! Averly, this is seriously so much fun. I mean, yeah, I've gotta sit here like a statue, but I get to talk to you which makes it okay." I stood up and walked over to her.

She looked at me and sighed. "Okay, okay, but you have to swear that if you stop enjoying modeling for me, you'll tell me." She pointed her index finger at me and raised one eyebrow.

I laughed and folded her finger down. "Swear."

She smiled, then sat back down in front of her easel and motioned for me to go back to my stool. I put my hands back over my mouth and looked up at her. She made a few pencil lines, then gasped and stood up. She started erasing what she'd drawn.

She sprung from her seat and walked over to me quickly. "Shut your eyes." Her hands grabbed the sides of my face and angled it towards the floor. "Perfect."

She ran back to her seat and started sketching again. A few seconds later, she turned on some music. I'd never heard any of the songs, but she knew every word to them all.

We took a few posing breaks where Averly mixed colors or washed off a brush. She was good at making sure I wasn't bored. There were hardly any silent moments.

"So what got you and Grayson into YouTube?" She asked after asking me to get back into my position.

I smiled as I remembered. "We've just always had a passion for entertaining people. We actually started on Vine and got kinda big, so then we figured that we could make more people laugh or smile if we switched to a bigger platform."

"You guys are honestly the sweetest guys I've met. I mean, you ask some people why they do stuff like that and they all say money or fame." She commented with a disgusted scoff.

I laughed quietly. "Yeah, Gray and I never really thought we'd get where we are now. It's kinda crazy."

She slapped her hands together a few times, then sighed. "I think we're done for today."

I opened my eyes, then stood up and stretched. She showed me the canvas and I was immediately awestruck. It looked just like me. The shading was perfect and even every eyelash was distinct and precise.

"Averly, this is. . . Oh my God." I didn't even have words. I was just amazed.

She laughed and put her brushes in a jar filled with water. "Thanks. Are you available for the next part tomorrow?" She asked while she put the canvas in a cabinet and started flipping the light switches off.

"Yeah, totally." I nodded my head and checked my phone. Grayson had texted me asking what Averly and I wanted to eat. "Gray wants to know what we want for dinner."

She grabbed her phone and keys then led me towards the door. "I don't-"

I groaned to interrupt her, but we kept walking. "Don't say you don't know or care. Just, what do you wanna eat?" I laughed and closed the door behind me.

"I legitimately don't care." She laughed and walked to the driver's seat of her car. "Whatever Gray wants to make."

We slid into the car, turned on the radio, then I texted Grayson back.

"Whatever Gray wants to make" sooo go nuts

Averly handed me her phone when we started driving. "Here, will you read this message to me?" She asked.

I nodded my head and slid the message over. She put her thumb out so I could unlock her phone, then her hand returned to its place on the steering wheel.

"It's from Ellie. She said, 'I know we fought the other day, and you're probably still mad at me, but don't come home because I want you to. Dad really really wants you to come back just for a few days even. Please please come home, we need you back here. I love you."

She mumbled something under her breath and shook her head. "Will you answer for me?"

"Yeah, what do you want to say?" I looked over at her and awaited her answer.

She sighed and clicked her tongue a few times. "Say, 'I love you too and I'm not mad, but I'm not coming home. I left for a reason.' I swear, it's not as sketchy as it sounds." She laughed quietly.

I smiled to the side and sent the message. I didn't want to know right then why Averly had been kicked out. She hadn't told me yet because she didn't want me to know yet. I was okay with that. I knew that if she wanted or needed me to know someday, I would.

We didn't say much more in the car, but when we got back to the parking lot of the apartments, I got an idea for a short video.

"Yo, Averly, when we get inside, we should freak Gray out and act like we pissed each other off." I smirked at my idea and leaned against my door.

She smiled and nodded her head. "Yeah, yeah! But why are we mad at each other? We have to have our stories completely straight." She pointed a finger at me and raised an eyebrow.

I thought about it for a minute. "Ooh, okay, I ripped one of your paintings and thought you overreacted!"

She beamed. "Yes! Okay, okay, come on!" She started to get out of the car, but I grabbed her hand and pulled her back in.

"We've gotta record this, so let's do our intro real fast." I got my phone out of my pocket and got on the camera. "Hey everyone, this is Averly, you might recognize her from our video with Jack and Aaron, might not, whatever. Okay, so we were just now at her art studio and Grayson didn't go, so we're gonna act like we're pissed off af each other and see what he does. Let's go!"

After that we hopped out of the car. I kept recording as we walking up the stairs, making sure Averly was in the frame. Before we got inside, we let all of our little laughs out. I walked in first and tried to close the door, but Averly stormed in after me.

"Ethan, this conversation isn't over!" She shouted and grabbed my shoulder to turn me around.

I rolled my eyes. "What else is there to say?"

Grayson popped his head out of the kitchen and looked back and forth at us.

Averly turned around for a second and scoffed. "Are you serious? That you're sorry! Or that you'll pay me back for my now-wasted supplies!"

I turned around and walked to the couch, then sat down and picked my phone out of my pocket. I laid down strategically so I could record Gray without him suspecting anything. "Yeah, I'm not gonna do that. It was an accident! Why should I pay?"

Grayson chose to speak up. "Guys, what's-"

Averly interrupted him and groaned in frustration and out her hands in her hair. "You're an asshole! Don't come to my apartment for anything. Ever." She turned around and started walking to the door.

I stood up and out my phone back in my pocket, then speed-walked over to her. "Av, wait. I'm sor-"

She slapped me. Right. Across. The. Face. Immediately, my hands flew up to hold the place where her hand hit me.

Then we started laughing. She grabbed me and pulled me into a hug, then rubbed my face. "I'm sorry. I got kinda passionate there." She laughed.

"What's going on?" Grayson narrowed his eyes and put his hands on his hips. Averly and I laughed again, then I pulled my phone out.

"You got played, boy!" I shouted and out the camera in his face.

He swatted it away and rolled his eyes. "I was scared that you burned our bridge with Averly." He laughed.

Averly shook her head and put her arm around my shoulder. I put mine around her waist and pulled her closer to me.

"Nope, were still buddy-pals." She laughed.

Grayson shook his head and called us idiots, then went back into the kitchen. Averly and I went and sat down on the couch. She put her legs on my lap and we both got on our phones. She got a phone call, but rolled her eyes and declined it.

"Was that your sister?" I asked and looked up at her.

She nodded her head. "Yeah, but I can't deal with her right now. I'm still smiling from the memory of slapping you." She laughed.

I smiled and shook my head. "You're legitimately different from every girl I've ever met. But in a good way."

She scooted closer to me and put her legs on the table, then leaned against my chest. "Of course I am. It's one of my charms."

And it was. She was absolutely amazing, and I knew then more than ever that I was helplessly falling for her.

[floralmotif]

3.12 is a test for 5.01: Sympathy for Jus in Bello

So... this was meant to be my Round 4 of @elizabethrobertajones Great Meta Scavenger Hunt. Comparing 3x12: Jus in Bello and 5x01: Sympathy for the Devil. I had a lot of this written but was really lazy about editing it and um… I don’t care if I don’t get points. I just want to get this thing out. 

This isn’t the best organized thing in the world. I took a look at some parallels I found and looked at the ladies a little. Other people have looked into them better than I did here, though, in my opinion. I mostly talk about the parallels I see here.

Nancy, Nick, the Supernatural and world views: Nancy and Nick are the “Cats” in these episodes. They are the innocents. They’re the ones that the plot needs to convince for the drama and message to be conveyed and for the audience to find it’s moral seat. They’re both told by their respective convincers that they aren’t the bad guys and are misunderstood. Both eventually believe them and both pay the price for it whether intentional or not on the part of the convincers. We know and care about the Winchesters, we know they don’t mean Nancy harm but from her perspective, they are the scariest of the scary. They go against her beliefs and are considered worshippers of the devil. They are “As Satan” to her. She is convinced by the end of the episode and is willing to say yes to her sacrifice. Just like Nick. Nick is also approached from a prisoner who needs him for a purpose but Lucifer's purpose is much more selfish despite the nuanced framing. Even though both Nancy and Nick are discarded for their trust, the context is very different.

 Through these two episodes we are shown the difference and similarities between the Winchesters and Lucifer. We are also given a Lucifer catalyst as a mirror context in the form of Ruby. The Winchesters would never put Nancy into that position themselves and would never really want her to sacrifice herself for them. Even though they have approached Nancy in a similar manner, they are literally not the devil as he is later seen in SPN. The Winchesters and Ruby comprise the Lucifer parallel for this episode. By their powers combined they are Luci, but only combined. They may feel toxic by losing the PD to Lilith at the end, but they would never be Lucifer on their own(outside of metaphor) and they would never go through with it. I believe this is why Nancy is framed as the little Christian innocent. She is posing that question as we would, the audience: So boys, who are you and how far are you willing to go for people you don’t know? This is a “you are not our tools” display. Sam and Dean really do try to be the good guys here.

Now the above is involving humans. If you want to delve into fun fun land, consider the scene in 5.01 with Zachariah.. Different approach but also kinda Winchestery If you’re not human. They treat the Supernatural in a similar way to Zachariah(minus the sexual assault references) willing to torture and give ultimatums for compliance. Zachariah seemingly views the humans and other species in a similar way Dean and Sam view most Supernatural beings. Gotta love characterization and world view! I think the earlier set is what the show is going for though *cough* SPN is very anthropocentric most of the time. I have some thoughts on that but they’re probably best somewhere else.

More under the cut:

Nancy is interesting, if unfortunate There are several instances of Nancy being resourceful in 3.12. Even if it is all in a typically female coded, nurturer way. I think it’s meant to frame her as innocently as possible even if it’s cheap. She is our Perspective Lens of the “not audience” so we can sort of understand the situation for the people who don’t know the Winchesters and recognize them as the dangerous people they are instead of just the guys we know. She knows her way around the place and how to dress a wound (or at least how to tend to one) She knows the people in the town and is the only one to show genuine care for them on a personal level. She shows agency on multiple occasions even if it’s a little contrived and focused on her sexuality and sacrifice.(ugh) She’s better than some others at least. I think the most interesting thing about her interactions with the Winchesters is how despite her framed innocence, Dean still can’t believe she’s a virgin. Virginity is so strange and Supernatural to him that he can’t believe it. I didn’t get to re-watch further episodes with Meg, Bella. Lillith and Becky so I focused more on other characters.

Ruby and Lucifer Ruby was kind of the perfect pawn of Lucifer and I’d say she’s the most like him of the demons we meet. She also uses trust, blood and a loved one as an avatar of herself to get what she wants. She plays the long game pretty well and just like Lucifer, technically targets individual people by offering them power and a means to an end. Her end was with Lilith’s, the final seal to open Lucifer’s cage. 

Means to an end There’s a lot of talk or at least parallels to the idea of “a means to an end” with Ruby or the lives of innocence against the lives of the few as the catalysts. The name of 3.12; Jus in Bello, even basically translates to the humanitarian law of preventing as much suffering as possible. It is sort of a question of “What is the measure of suffering and innocence in times of war” This idea gets pulled directly into 5.01 with Dean basically asking that question entirely to Zachariah. In 3.12, the question is posed to Dean and Sam by Ruby with a similar situation. Zachariah’s method of winning the war stands as another answer to this question: with the idea that sacrifice is necessary. 3.12 is in a lot of ways, a test for season 5. In fact, a lot of season 3 is. It’s the setup for the war arc, it’s the gun that we’re shown. We’re reminded of in season 4 and is fired in season 5. In some ways, it’s setting up the audience for the Winchester’s answer to this question in season 5: the innocents are everything. 3.12 is like a microcausan and a confirmation of the Winchester’s stance before the real test begins. Even with the death of the PD, we still know the ultimate answer.

Wardings Both these episodes also containing wardings that are new to the series as far as I know. I don’t remember the little pendants anytime before or since. The rib sigil sticks around though. Speaking of the pendants: Why don’t they give these to every person they ever encounter when demons are involved? Oh yeah, that’s why we don’t see them again. Watching 3.12 and seeing the convenient pendants and then seeing inexplicably unwarded-ass Bobby getting possessed in 5.01 was awkward to say the least. How is Bobby not warded? Was his tattoo burned or cut off? The wardings and rules in this show get so muddled sometimes.  Henriksen Henriksen kind of reminded me of Bobby actually and a lot of Dean as well. He somehow gave me a vibe of Dean finding a similar outlet regardless of whether he was a hunter which made me think of his apparent dissatisfaction with his life with Ben and Lisa later. He mostly reminded me of Bobby in the context of the episode comparison though. A veteran of their field being possessed by a demon on their home turf and suffering for it. Henriksen is also what happens when you combine Somerset and Mills from Se7en into one dude. This is why they aren’t one dude. I like Henriksen and he works here but that movie would would not have worked the same way with one character instead of two. I believe a similar reason is a step in the decision to make Dean and Sam separate people. The dynamic of the show and how we are given plot would be so much different if Sam and Dean were a single person.(despite how deuteragonists work) The show needs that dual dynamic to function how it does and not just from a characterization standpoint. 

Some parallels between Zachariah and Ruby: And now we come back to Zachariah. The scene in 5.01 where he shows up and confronts Dean and Sam in the storage unit mirrors the scene where Ruby comes to convince everyone to sacrifice Nancy in 3.12. Demons are destroyed, the possibility of innocent deaths on the table and individual lives at stake. Again, Dean denies the sacrifice. Both scenes are very manipulative with Zachariah operating in an actively antagonistic(sexually assault coded) way and Ruby playing the long game. Sex and trust are also in her arsenal with Sam. She’s relying on her relationship with Sam to keep him on her side. Both lay out how it’s gonna be, both lay out the order of things and their bargain. These two scenes culminate the main tension of the episode. We know Nick will accept Lucifer’s offer, they wouldn’t bother with the setup if he didn’t. The scenes with Zachariah and Ruby are the “debates” they are the main conflict for the characters and the A-Plot. I find it interesting that the scene in 3.12 ends with them deciding on a different path and Castiel “captain flip the script” shows up to end the 5.01 scene. Both offer an impossible situation with lots of casualties. One succeeds on delivering them, one fails mostly. Both decided no to sacrifice. The 3.12 one probably really fed the seed of them being toxic to them. Poor guys. 

BMoL and Angels Part of these two episodes present a lot of similarities between each other and the Men of Letters. The eps and BMoL involve instances of a designated law enforcement (the police/FBI and The Host) deciding on how to deal with the Winchesters and how they operate. In all cases, they also seem to have false information involving them. 3.12 and 12.01 even show similar charts with false information on them. There have been several instances of the Host being confused by the operation methods of Cas and the Winchesters and wanting to “set that right” by whatever means they deem necessary.

Bonus notes: If you squint you can see all of the “Don’t” on the cell wall (No spitting, No shouting, No smoking) demonstrated by possessed Agent Steven. He shoots Dean to spit Dean’s blood(on the sign no less in case you needed convincing), he shouts when expelling the demon, it smokes out. Who the hell is Molly Baker? The camera focuses on her Wanted Poster in 3.12 a few times and it’s weird.