#that is another mistake they made with our boy in that comic

[dementedspeedster]

//Me, every time I need an out of costume icon for Thad: OTL rip to how little Bart smiles in F:TFMA

[dfortrafalgar]

would you be interested in a more Platonic type fic? Like being good friends with Robin?

alternatively if it has to be romantic: Law being forced on a disaster of a date only to meet a super helpful (comic) bookshop employee and she starts seeming cute when he finds out she has similar interests? (Boy probably went into cardiac arrest at first when someone caught him not being broody)

hope this isn’t too much!

and you’re doing awesome!

thank you so much for your request, anon!!!! im actually going to use both of your ideas, but i started with the Law one because that hit seriously close to home. ive been on some absolute TRAVESTIES of dates in the past, and i needed to write law suffering through a similar fate or i'd die!!!!! I hope you enjoy, and pretty soon I'll post your platonic Robin request as well! I love writing platonic stories just as much as romantic ones <3

An Out.

Law x Fem Reader

Law made the mistake of letting his friends talk him into a first date… and now he desperately needs an out. Fast.

Warnings: an absolute disaster of a first date for our wonderful nerdy man. modern au, implied college setting, some mild slight suggestive language but nothing more than that

Trafalgar Law tried in vain to recount the series of events that led up to this very moment.

There was the dusty apartment floor discussion about how the med-student hadn’t gotten laid yet, which was followed by a raunchy comment about a girl in someone’s class, it was revealed that this girl was single (‘and ready to mingle’), and her number was forcibly input into Law’s phone.

For the week that followed, he was inundated with flirty texts from this girl he had never met in person.  He was forced to send her a picture of himself, mostly to get her to stop blowing up his texts every hour, and that was the next mistake in the line-up of unfortunate events.

Turned out she had a thing for facial hair.

Then, instead of getting pestered with general flirty messages, it was general flirty messages that were ramped up to a nine.  ‘I’d rip your clothes off if you give me the opportunity,’ kind of nine.

Law knew he was a virgin, but at least he wasn’t this desperate, nor did he have any inclination to be.  If anything, the texts he received from this stranger were making him want sex even less.

And yet… he was still pushed into this.

A date around downtown with this girl.  She clung to his arm, tried to loop her fingers into his, and yet had absolutely no interest in anything he had to say.  At all.

First red flag: she mentioned her ex.  Three times.  In four minutes.  Everything was about what he did wrong to upset her, no self-awareness to be found.  Second red flag: the clinginess.  Law hated public affection, but any attempts to urge her to give him space resulted in a childish pout and her arms caged around his, almost pulling him to the ground.  Third red flag: she couldn’t give two shits about Law, in any sense of the word.  She wouldn’t stop talking about herself.  Her looks, her clothes, her favorite music, her favorite shows to binge watch, her distaste for the area of the city they were in, her distaste for the lunch Law had [regretfully] paid for, her distaste for the speckled jeans he decided to wear…

He could feel the premature wrinkles forming in between his eyebrows the longer the date went on.  He was starting to wonder if he’d have to throw out the shirt he was wearing later.  It already reeked of the too-strong, powdery-scented perfume she bathed herself in.

“Where do you wanna go?” she suddenly asked, still tugging on his arm.

“I kinda want to stop by the bookstore before we leave,” he suggested, his feet already carrying him, and by extension, her, along the sidewalk to a small bookshop that had just recently opened.

“The bookstore?  What kinda guy brings a girl to a bookstore on a first date?!” she demanded, showing off yet another childish pout.  It wasn’t a good look on her.

‘A guy who knows this girl’s not getting a second date,’ he wished he could say.  Instead, all the snarky remarks stayed locked inside his weary brain, bouncing around like a caged lion desperate to escape.

The girl didn’t make any motions to ditch him to his nerdy reprieve, and instead followed on his heels as he pulled open the bookshop’s door, the familiar, calming scent of new books, fresh paper, and ink filling his nose.

“It smells gross in here,” the girl huffed.

Aaaand there went Law’s fleeting moment of peace.  Out the window.  Down fifteen stories and splattered on the pavement.  He needed to violently restrain the eyeroll that begged to appear.  His ocular nerves ached to be a dick in the pettiest way possible.  He inwardly hoped that by dragging this girl to the most unassuming bookshop would encourage her to leave, call a friend or get a cab to take her back to her home, but alas, she stayed glued to Law’s side like a lost dog.

She followed behind him as he blindly perused shelves of new and pre-owned books, Law’s feet subconsciously guiding him to the back of the store where he knew the comic books would be located.

If anything would turn this girl off for good, it had to be his love for all things superhero.  His comic book collection would dry her up like a dessert in a drought.  Or at least, it fucking better.

His eyes lit up as he approached the expansive comic shelf, immediately spotting the latest print of Sora: Warrior of the Sea- Volume 10.  It had finally been officially localized, and he had been saving some of his spending money for this very moment.  He eagerly grabbed the book from the shelf, thumbing through the pages.

“How old even are you?” jeered the girl by his side.  “Comic books are, like, little kid shit.”

“I’m five years old,” barked Law, refusing to look toward her as he continued to analyze the pages of his favorite series.

To the average onlooker, they both probably looked like complete jackasses towards one another.  And while Law was at least brave enough to admit that his behavior was certainly petty, he felt like he was warranted a Get Out Of Jerk Free card for all the painful hours of suffering through this atomic catastrophe of a date had put him through.

“Whatever, I’m going to find a bathroom,” the girl finally groaned, releasing his arm and trudging through the aisles of books toward the checkout counter to ask an employee where the bathrooms were located.

Law watched her go out of his peripheral vision, refusing to exhale a sigh of profound relief until she was completely out of his line of sight.  With shoulders that finally relaxed, free from the overbearing tension, he turned his focus back to the comic in his hands, continuing to thumb through the colorful pages of artwork.  He flipped the book around to examine the price, smiling at how reasonable it was.  He filled his arms with a few other comics from a series he had been meaning to pick up, and retreated toward the cash registers to buy his books.  The sooner he got his treat for this ordeal, the sooner he could get out of here, call this girl a taxi home, and spend the rest of his life as a willingly single comic book mega-nerd.

But reality wouldn’t let him off the hook so easily.

Not when the girl sitting behind the register thumbing through another copy of Sora Volume 10 was an absolute bombshell.

When she looked up at Law, her eyes quickly went wide.  She placed the book under the register counter and eagerly leaned forward, her hands supporting her over the counter.  “Are you alright?” she asked, her voice laced with worry.

Law cocked an eyebrow, confused.  “Yeah, why?”

“That girl you’re with is making you miserable.  You walked through the door looking like you wanted someone to grant you a mercy killing,” she huffed.  Her eyes were clearly concerned.  “Are you dating her?”

Law felt his guard dropping without even realizing it the longer he was in the presence of this cashier.  “My friends set me up on a date with her, but I’m having the absolute worst time of my life.”

The new girl’s own eyebrows angled downward in concern.  “Do you want an out?”

“A what?”

“An out,” she repeated.  “An excuse to get her to leave you alone.”  Time was running out.  At any moment, she could leave the bathroom.

Law frantically looked back and forth between the cashier and the small, short hallway that led to the single restroom.  With pleading, golden eyes, he silently mumbled, “Yes, please.”

The cashier kept her eyes on the bathroom door as she began unloading Law’s hands, spreading his books out on the counter to make it look like she was busy ringing out his purchase.  Law watched with an analytical gaze as she fumbled with his items, clearly buying time until the bathroom door opened.

He didn’t have time to ask what she was plotting.

The second the door cracked open, the man’s shirt collar was violently clenched in the cashier’s hands as she pulled him over the counter, smushing her lips into his.  Law’s fingers flexed in thin air as he froze, brain completely fried as he was frozen in this sudden kiss.

His first kiss.

“What the fuck?!” the girl screeched, exiting the bathroom in a frenzy as she booked it toward the heated exchange happening over the cash register.

The new girl pulled herself away from Law’s face, but only enough where she could display her best rendition of a weary, tired war-torn wife waiting on a cliffside for her husband to return.  “Baby, please just take me back!  My life isn’t complete without you!”  Her voice was cracking as she fake-wailed, her grip on Law’s shirt never faltering, not even once.  The few customers who also occupied the store turned to stare at the commotion, frazzled and befuddled.  “Nothing in life is as good as it was with you!  I’m in shambles!  You were the best sex I’ve ever had!”

It took a few moments for Law to catch on to the ruse.  As soon as he put the puzzle pieces together in his mind, however, he was grabbing the wrists of the cashier and bringing his lips back to hers, closing his eyes and trailing his arms up to grasp her face.  Completely disregarding the fact that they were still separated by the heavy check-out counter between their torsos.

“You were dating someone?!” snapped the original girl.  “Why didn’t you tell me?!”

Law pulled away from the cashier’s lips, his own skin immediately feeling fifteen degrees colder from the loss of her contact.  “I wasn’t.  Until now.”

The new girl put her arm around Law’s shoulders from across the check-out counter, her deft fingers caressing his skin through his shirt.  “I’m sorry, but I’m taking him back, I can’t stand to be without him any longer!  The sight of him with another woman…” she made a show of clenching her chest, “makes me sick!”  She was damn good at this, in a way that almost made Law concerned.  The fact that she was pulling all of this out of nowhere, and the fact that her first course of action was this drastic, made Law’s heart flutter in his chest.

“Ugh, whatever.  This place sucks ass anyway.  I’m going home.”  She finally shouldered her bag and marched out of the shop, her feet stomping across the hardwood floor until the sound of the front door slamming closed finally made the cashier release her arm from Law’s shoulders.

And once again, the man was feeling oddly cold without the contact.  He glanced at her as she started ringing up his items for real.  “You’re… a good actor,” he blurted.

The girl hid her face in her arm with shame, an awkward laugh bubbling from her throat.  “I’m so sorry, I was trying to think of what to do to help you but when the door opened I panicked.”  Her eyes were focused on her work.  “I’ve been on some absolutely awful dates myself, so I understand.  Sometimes I’ve wished I could have Prince Charming swoop me out of the movie theater where a guy made fun of me for my interests the entire run-time.”

His jaw went slack.  “Are you serious?”

“Deadass,” she replied, quick as a whip.  “Insisted on holding my hand the entire time.  I think he was convinced that I had taken him to see a horror movie because I wanted to act scared in front of him, but his hand was so clammy and sticky the whole time.  And not in the endearing ‘Aww he’s shy!’ kind of way.”

Law wished at that moment that he had more charisma.  He was sure one of his friends would be able to pull a witty, flirty quip from their asses like it was nothing, but Law’s personal dictionary of flattery was nonexistent as it was.  He balked while he listened to the cashier who just took his breath away lamenting about her own poor experiences with dating, and he was sure that her example in this moment was only one of many.  Instead of continuing the conversation, his mind blanked.  He stated, more like whispered, “That was my first kiss.”

The girl’s hands stopped scanning his books halfway through.  Her wide eyes darted up to Law’s, her jaw slack.  “It… It was?”

“Yeah.”

Her hands flew to cover her mouth, eyes wide with shock.  “Oh my god… oh my god, I’m so sorry!”  She dropped her head onto the counter, covering her despair with both of her arms now.  “First kisses are supposed to be special and I just took your’s away from you…”

Law shocked himself by smiling at the weary display in front of him.  “If it makes you feel any better, that was far better than the date I was on.  But I’m sure you already knew that.”

She picked her head up, a trembling hand grabbing one of his last books to scan.  Her eyes nervously darted back and forth as she silently worked, once in a while sucking her bottom lip in with her teeth before releasing the flesh.  She was clearly lost in an intense inner turmoil.

“It’s really alright,” Law muttered, now growing shy himself.  He was just now realizing the gravity of what had happened… and how truly adorable this girl was.

She tapped a few buttons on her cash register before finally making eye contact with him again.  “You are a pretty good kisser… you’re really sure you’ve never done that before?”

He affirmatively shook his head.  “Never.  I’ve never been… popular with the dating scene,” he muttered.  “Hence this awful set-up date.”

The cashier’s eyes went wide again momentarily.  “That’s kind of surprising to me… I would think someone like you would get any girl you wanted.”

Law backpedaled.  “What does that mean?”

She pulled his total up on the small screen that faced him.  She was turning away from him as if to hide her face, her entire expression teeming with a child-like embarrassment.  “Well, you’re crazy hot, for starters.  And you like Sora, clearly.”

Law felt a smirk emerge on his lips.  “Is Sora one of your only qualifiers for a decent partner?”  He began to rekindle some of the confidence he had lost throughout the day.  The longer he spent in this girl’s presence, the more he felt the tension in his body leaving.

She grinned, the stress in her shoulders from her own actions finally releasing.  “Only guys with fluffy black hair and golden eyes that read Sora, if you want my honest answer.”

Now this was flirting.  Law had to admit, he was pretty pleased with this sudden turn of events.  The atmosphere this girl radiated was immensely calming, allowing him to chip through his reinforced walls just enough to feel like a somewhat normal person.  He started to wonder if she could break through his barriers even more.

“What’s your name?” he finally asked, taking out his credit card and swiping it through the machine to finally cash out his order.

The girl excitedly revealed her name.  “And your’s?”

“Trafalgar Law,” he replied.  “I go to North Blue University for med school in the next town over.”

“No shit, so do I!  I’m getting a worker's license there,” she added, her expression shifting from one of moderate happiness to one of excitement.  “I doubt we’ve had any of the same classes, but we should hang out sometime!  Get coffee, maybe talk about Sora…”  Her voice trailed off, her eyes growing soft.  “Unless you’ve been completely turned off to dating after what you’ve clearly just been through.”

Law took a few moments to ponder over her words, watching as the receipts for his purchase slowly emerged from the thermal printer.  “I think I can make an exception this time.”

The smile that broke out on the girl’s face may as well have blinded him.  She was truly dazzling, even in her ratty-looking employee apron and an oversized T-shirt accounting for her work attire.

Law placed his new assortment of books into his own bag, the girl snatching his receipts from the printer and stashing one of the copies in the drawer below the counter.  When he looked back up, she was holding out his second receipt, folded in half.  She gave him a fond smile when he took it.

“I hope you’re able to relax later today, and enjoy your books!” she called, waving to Law as he exited the store.

Once outside again, the air felt clearer now that he was alone.  The day was still young, hardly a cloud in the sky and a pleasant breeze coasting through the city.  He looped his bag over his shoulder and opened the receipt, peering at what was written on the backside.

Call me for Sora… and for just me ;) <3 1125-354-9854

[ficsinhistory]

Spider sense and bonds - A meta about the bond of Miles and Gwen.

Hello, hello, tumblr fellas! The final scene where Gwen senses Miles in danger even in another universe has been rent free in my head for the past month, so I've tried to think of how that works.

(If you want to comment on something here, please do! I love hearing what others have to say!)

Let's go! Let's start with what we know. Spider Sense is in the movies:

Just like in the comics, I'm assuming that Spider Sense exists thanks to the Web of Life and Destiny.

(Beatiful, isn't it?)

Being a clairvoyant power of certain level, it works with what can happen and the most relevant will be warned to the spider. In we have -

a. A danger sensor, be it yours or a loved one of the spider in question. Like Miles and Jeff in the spot fight at the beginning of the movie.

Or Pav and Gayatri in the bridge scene.

b. A sort of sensor for other spiders. In the first movie, that's how Miles and all the other spiders were able to connect and recognize each other.

However, this does not happen so often in ATSV, with just Margo and Miles at Society HQ

(Remember this information, it is important.)

Which brings me to my theory.

Spider sense works as a connection and communication between the Web of Life and Destiny with the spider, which studies all the possibilities that can happen and warns and guides the spider to the event.

Most often with imminent danger.

In the case of Miles and Gwen, like bonds of compatibility, guiding them since they met and only deepening over time.

Gwen felt Miles even in completely different universes because they are the multiversal soul mates most appropriate to each other among the possibilities of the Web of Life and Destiny.

And don't get me wrong, they don't have that connection because they're a couple written in stone by some higher force. Because the Web, the Spider Sense, doesn't work with anything written in stone (including that's where Miguel made a mistake).

If they had never met, they could fall in love and live happily with other people. But they are each other's ideal people. The best compatibility of each other. And that it would only be enough: for them to coexist, to have the possibility of seeing each other, and boom! This connection so strong that it could exist was put to roll.

That's why Gwen was taken to Visions even before Miles was stung. That's why she feels Miles universes away. Of the probabilities in entire realities, they are the ones that work the best. The multiverse judged it that way and guided them and guided them, because they looked alike and because they worked, not because they were destined to do so.

(After all, the whole theme of the movies is about fate is bs and it's more about the odds and your actions on things, so...)

And you must be wondering: why Miles then doesn't feel Gwen the same way? And got that instant hookup vibe with Margo instead?

Here comes the fun part.

Our Gwen from Earth-65 is the best match for Miles Morales, the boy from Earth-1610. And Margo with Spider-Man from Earth-42. Miles from Earth-42. And as Miles was bitten by the spider from Earth-42, Margo and Miles felt that residual connection. (And so I call Prowlerbyte in Beyond)

Remember I said it's not Destiny? Our Gwen and Miles work, but not all versions of them will work. Some are, some aren't (yes, Earth-8 can still be a thing, no worries.)

And that's their fun!

They fall in love, love each other, because they are the best for each other. Because they, just like in real life, found each other and clicked.

They are soulmates because they love each other, and they don't love each other because they are soulmates.

[epiemy]

Jason Todd x Fem!Reader from our reality!

Warnings: just cursing (you're a crazy bitch)

Part 1 of 5.

Welcome to my new serie of JT =)

Sorry for grammar mistakes. Enjoy!

Sounds like a complicated story but it all started when you hit your pinky on the edge of the table, yes, completely ridiculous and painful.

"Fucking motherfucker" you curse as you limp towards your bed, sitting up and holding your foot to try to ease the pain. "I swear this is all fucking Jason Todd's fault, I had to stay up late reading the goddamn comic book..." you mutter.

What happens is that you woke up at 3 am not knowing where you were and, in fact, that's why you ended up tripping over your desk.

"If I could, I would punch him just for hurting my foot" you sigh, but widen your eyes as you look at the table, seeing a red light appear in the middle of your room. Oh shit, my parents are going to kill me - her thoughts.

Now what would a smart person do? It would walk away from the spot glowing blood red, right? Right. Then explain to me why you went TO TOUCH the suspicious light!

As soon as your body has made contact with red, you feel a sudden dizziness and try to hold on to your desk, but it's not there anymore (?). Her face fills with panic as everything goes white in her vision and suddenly, she's thrown full force to the ground.

"Oh fuck!" you scream in frustration when you realize you're in the middle of a street and to top it all off, you feel the water falling on your body to show that it's raining. You could cry right there, what a hell of a day!

"Do you kiss your mother with that mouth, Princess?" A male silhouette and well, hell, tall as fuck comes into her line of vision.

"If you're going to rob me, do it soon, seriously, where is downtown LA?" His short answer made the guard laugh and finally show himself, with the recognition you gasp his name "Jason?".

"How the hell?" He snarls in your direction, pointing a gun, but you're too busy looking at your favorite character alive in front of you to worry about him pointing a gun at your forehead.

"You're alive! Oh my gods... he's alive... does that mean Dick is too?" You have a little fangirl access and he gets more and more confused, deciding it's best to take you to the Batcave. Fuck Batman to deal with this - he thinks.

"You're coming with me, princess." He mutters as he gass you out in his shoulders, loading your body onto the motorcycle, heading towards the mansion.

--- In the Mansion - Time cut to 5am ---

"Did you seriously have to erase it?" Tim scolds Jason about his methods again. The youngest doesn't think it might be a good approach considering that the stranger (you) knew their real names.

"I wouldn't spend another fucking second listening to her talk about 'Dick Grayson's amazing ass'" he quotes wryly while his older brother just smirks, happy with the recognition of his years as an acrobat.

"She's awake, you know," Dick mutters in amusement, while the other two look like deer caught in headlights.

"Thanks Richard. Now why am I tied up like I'm the Joker? Come on! I can't even walk a mile without falling over by myself!" You recognize the place where you are and almost pass out, shouting afterwards - "IS THAT THE BATCAVE?"

"Oh boy, we are going to have a big job with this one." Words from an tired Jason.

[mdhwrites]

Do you think, in fiction, characters can cross a line where it's stupid or wrong for their friend to forgive them, no matter how sincerely remorseful they are?

Yes... But it's complicated.

I know, shocking answer from me of all people. /s

Anyone who wants to say "If you do X, your character is irredeemable" is lying to you. There is no steadfast line because the circumstances for every story and every character is going to be different. If you show yourself to be a ruthless murderer to Batman, he'll disavow you forever, at least in theory. Do it with the Punisher? So long as you kill the right people, you're a brother in arms. Destroy an entire star system? Well what were the circumstances, such as potentially research being warped, ends justify the means, etc. like that.

To list specific acts is to pigeon hole stories in a way that isn't fun, useful or even all that interesting because you're trying to apply our real world to a fictional world without any consideration for its rules and logic which is just, bluntly, boring. So that begs the question: Do I have advice on this matter? Well, I do actually and it comes back to the example I gave earlier.

When you take a life, you risk creating another Batman. That is why Batman doesn't kill because his goal is to make sure no young boy suddenly loses his parents ever again. You have gone against everything he stands for... And so that's it. You can be on the same side as Batman but you cannot be Batman's friend while being a killer. I know you can bring up a lot of stuff in the comics but this is true 90% of the time and I think we can all agree with that. There is almost no amount of sorrow, or saying it was 'what had to be done' that can get around the fact that you have fundamentally offended him as a person and warped how he will ever be able to perceive you...

...Which is actually how lost friendships work in the real world. You can be friends with a criminal. You can know someone does awful things. If you still see them as your bro though, it's going to be hard for you to want to let go of someone you're already close to. We like the bonds we are familiar with and grow attached to. As such, to lose a friend, you have to fundamentally see them differently. To believe there is no reason to keep them around. Otherwise, that attachment may linger, much like how hard it can be to entirely quit an ex because you yearn for the good times, despite the bad times, because you brought them in so close as to have a label that meant so much to you at some point.

I cite Luz from The Owl House abandoning her friends to death a lot because of this element. Luz is seen as the one they can rely on, as the one they can trust, as the one who will be there for them to the very end. That even if she wrongs her friends, she would do her best to make up for it like she always has. Then she decides to not just leave them to die while keeping her safe. Not just dooms an entire world. She does so while claiming it's because she just feels so guilty about a mistake she made that she refuses to even try and fix it.

If she had ever told her friends... How do you handle that? How do you handle your friend telling you that everything you thought they were was a lie? How do you look at them the same way ever again, let alone her girlfriend amongst that group who has to deal with the fact that Luz didn't even consult with her about this matter. Just one day Luz was gonna go bye as an entire universe separated them and she would be left abandoned, alone and betrayed, everything Luz symbolized no longer being what her life had to be. How do you ever recover that relationship? How do you ever allow that sort of trust again?

This is why in media when characters have big fallouts, you'll often hear, "Oh come on, I do this all the time!" rebuttled with, "No! This is different! Look at what you did? How could you have done this? Sure, you're an asshole but I always thought you cared at least a little! I guess I was wrong." Because in that moment, the character cannot see their friend the same way. Something has fundamentally changed about their relationship and so even if they make up, their relationship is going to have to be different from what it was before. Otherwise, all you're doing is reminding the person of all the scars you've left on them.

Because the only fix to change is change, but sometimes there's no way to prove you won't become the person who hurt them in the first place. Sometimes that trust can never be recovered. But how that works will be specific to each character in a narrative because each of them should have a different view on the matter. Otherwise they're one homogeneous blob and just like how that's uncomplicated, it's also pretty boring and that's always the worst sin you can commit with a story. See you next tale.

======+++++======

I have a public Discord for any and all who want to join!

I also have an Amazon page for all of my original works in various forms of character focused romances from cute, teenage romance to erotica series of my past. I have an Ao3 for my fanfiction projects as well if that catches your fancy instead. If you want to hang out with me, I stream from time to time and love to chat with chat.

A Twitter you can follow too

And a Kofi if you like what I do and want to help out with the fact that disability doesn’t pay much.

[callipraxia]

From A Certain Point of View

I managed to rewatch "Double Dipper" in its entirety, and was inspired to try my hand at recreating a scene from the point of view of one of the clones. Specifically, from the point of view of Dipper Three, later known as Tracey. Paper Jam Dipper's dialogue and maybe half the rest of the dialogue is transcribed from the cinestory comic. Enjoy!

The high-pitched humming which filled his ears ended in a sort of shtunk noise, and Dipper had just enough time to notice how weird the ceiling looked from his current point of view before he felt himself falling. Lightly, lightly falling. Drifting, really, for the few feet between the printer tray and the floor of Stan’s office.

And then, all at once, he could see his own nose again. A moment later, the ceiling started looking normal as his eyes blossomed into 3D form and Dipper stood up, shaking away the excess paper which had encased his limbs. Tyrone grinned at him and gave him a thumbs up, which he returned.

“’ Sup, man?” they asked each other simultaneously, and then they both laughed.

The copier lid screeched, and Dipper Pines clambered down on the floor to beam at Dipper and Tyrone. It occurred to Dipper that one of them was really, really going to need to come up with a third name they liked. Maybe he should be Mason? It felt kind of weird, plus he knew Dipper – the original Dipper – was sort of thinking about maybe calling himself that someday, too, maybe in high school or something, but he was going to give himself a headache at this rate, if he didn’t come up with something to call one of them other than Dipper….

“Eugh,” he said in the meantime. “Fair warning, guys, that jealousy fantasy you just had? It’s not any more fun remembering it than it was seeing it.”

“I know, right?” chorused the other boys, and Dipper felt a fleeting sense of dislocation – he was the Dipper who was out of step, but they were all Dipper, so how could they not be in step? They’d all just had the same memory, simultaneously, for crying out loud –

The Other Dipper made a face. “Our entire plan – “  the long to-do list Dipper had written earlier – “will be completely wrecked if anything like that ever happens in real life – “

“ – so we’ve got to get rid of Robbie,” Tyrone finished for him.

“And that’s where you come in, number three,” said Other Dipper, leaning forward to scribble a 3 on the front of Dipper’s hat.

The other two were still smiling, but Dipper saw a problem that neither of them seemed to have considered, and frowned around another fleeting moment of desynchronization as he pointed it out to them. “But what if Robbie catches me?” he complained. He glanced at Tyrone for backup. “I’ll be all alone.”

“Yeah, he makes a good point,” said the clone with a 2 on his hat, but Other Dipper was already nodding.

“Okay, one more,” he agreed with them both. “One more clone.” He lifted the copy machine lid and scrambled up onto the copying surface once more. “Four Dippers. This is a four-Dipper plan.”

The machine hummed again, and light washed over Dipper’s face as he perched beside Tyrone on the desk, just as it must have washed over Tyrone’s face alone only moments before, though Dipper hadn’t been able to see that at the time. This time, though, another perfect copy of them all didn’t fall to the floor immediately, and instead, the humming of the machine was overridden by a horrific screeching.

“Uh-oh,” said Tyrone, jumping down to help pull Four out of the machine, seemingly ignoring how it was smoking and smoke meant at least the potential for fire and fire probably wasn't good for any of them. “Paper jam….”

Tyrone glanced back over his shoulder with a slight smile at Dipper, which was why Dipper was, by a millisecond, the first one to yell “aah!” in surprise as something that nobody could ever mistake for Dipper began to materialize in front of him.

“Nyanyanya!” wailed the misshapen face rising from the crumpled sheet which had apparently not been improved all that much by Tyrone’s efforts to smooth it out on the floor before Number Four could rise. “Nyanya-Naaaaa-naaaa!”

Dipper had no idea what that meant, but he was pretty sure he agreed. Or would have, anyway, if he had been a paper jam clone of himself – but he’d never been a paper jam copy of himself, so –

“Aaxuxaa!” exclaimed Paper Jam Dipper, laboriously pulling himself into a sitting position beside Tyrone, who was still kneeling on the floor, paralyzed, like Dipper and Other Dipper, with shock. “Ssuaa-aaaa!”

The three normal Dippers all glanced at each other at the same time, and Dipper knew the other two were thinking the same thing that he was: if nothing else, this Dipper would sure be able to act as a distraction, all right….

“C’mon!” he exclaimed when neither of them seemed like he was likely to get there any time soon. He understood why Tyrone and Other Dipper were a logical team, it had been their joint decision to even print him in the first place, but - “You’re not gonna make me partner up with him, are you?”

He expected Tyrone to immediately agree with him again, so it came as a surprise when the other clone glared at him, getting onto his feet and carefully lifting the Unidentified Dipper-Like Object from the floor.

“Ssshh!” snapped Tyrone. “Don’t be rude!” He turned back to look at the mangled version of them in his arms. “Hey, buddy,” he said kindly to it, further continuing to act like he thought it could even understand him, even though they had absolutely no evidence to support that idea right now. “Hey, it’s okay – “

“Aaaa-kkkkxx-kkkkxxx-a!” gabbled Paper Jam Dipper. Dipper, out of options for clone solidarity at this point, looked instead at Other Dipper, who was still seated on the copying machine and who nodded.

“Okay, just one more clone,” he agreed, lying down and pulling the lid as far shut as it would go for a third time while Paper Jam Dipper somehow maneuvered its hands well enough to grab the bill of Tyrone’s hat and pull it down over the other clone’s eyes.

While Tyrone scrambled around trying to push it back again without dropping P.J., Dipper hopped down from the desk to hover anxiously over the output tray as the copier hummed back to life again. This time, though, there were no screeches or puffs of smoke, and he caught and then quickly smoothed out a sheet of paper which held another perfect replica of the boy on the copier, only distinguishable from Dipper and Other Dipper because he was currently two-dimensional and in black and white.

“Whew,” said the latest Dipper as he stood, shaking off his excess paper as he finished assuming his third dimension and the ink on his body dried into the standard colors they all had. “Am I glad that worked better than the last time….”

“Dude!” complained Tyrone. “You’re supposed to be us, why are you both being like this?”

Dipper exchanged a glance with his newest clone and then said, “be-cause you’re also thinking the same thing and just not saying it because you were printed off before we realized a magic copier could paper jam?” he hazarded a guess. “Unlike us?” he pointed to New Dipper.

“Yes I am!” said Tyrone. “And so’s he – “ Paper Jam Dipper shrieked again – “and him, too.” This with a nod to the original Dipper, who was once again getting down and opening his Sharpie in order to write a big 4 on the blank patch of New Dipper’s hat. “We’re all we, guys, come on.”

“We are?” said New Dipper. “I – “

“ – don’t have time to have an existential crisis right now,” said Other Dipper, snapping the cap back onto the Sharpie with a click that seemed meant to cut off that line of thought. “We’ve got to get moving. You’re good with the plan, Dipper Four?”

“Of course I am, Dipper One,” said the newly-christened Dipper Four, with a bit of an eye roll. “I made the plan, remember?” They all laughed, and Dipper Four grinned, clearly pleased with himself for restoring the good mood. “So, how many Dippers do we think it takes to change a lightbulb?”

“Probably more than it takes to steal a dirt bike,” said Dipper, before the new Dipper could embarrass themselves any further. “Since that’s just the two of us. C’mon, let’s get this show on the road.”

[bluejaysandblackbats]

Ocean View

Fandom: Superfam, Batfam, DC Comics

Summary: A pair of shoes, a fragmented memory, and a collection of newspaper clippings.

An empty box of cigarettes, a second phone, and a beach house with locked rooms.

Chapters: 7/?

Characters: Laney Kent, Jason Todd, Clark Kent, Lois Lane, Bruce Wayne, Dick Grayson, Chris Kent, Tim Drake

Relationship(s): JayLaney, Clois

Additional Tags: No Powers AU, No Capes AU, Secret Identity, Social Media, Romance, Angst

Chapter Seven: First Shoot

Mom never slept through the night, so I wasn't surprised to see her in the kitchen when I got up to get a drink of water. She sat at her computer with a glass of wine. "Pinot?" I asked. She shook her head and invited me to sit down.

"Reisling," Mom whispered, "Get a glass." I nodded and got a wine glass, and she poured me a little.

I took a sip and ate a few crackers. "It's good," I whispered.

Mom pinched my cheek. "Why aren't you sleeping?" she asked. I twirled the glass.

"I usually wake up around this time. Wander for a little while, and then I go back to sleep... Mom, remember when I was little, and you would count the hairs on my head until I fell asleep?" I asked. She finished her glass of wine and nodded. I took a few more sips of wine and ate another handful of crackers.

After I finished my drink, she sat with me in my old bedroom, and I lay my head on her lap. "One. Two. Three. Four. Five," Mom counted in a gentle whisper. She usually didn't have to count any higher than one-twenty before I fell asleep.

I woke up to Kit shaking me awake. "Hm? What's the matter?" I asked as I rolled onto my side. He had this look on his face as if he'd made a huge mistake of some sort. "We can fix it." He didn't say anything. Kit just stood over me, hyperventilating in the dark. "Christopher?"

"I had a dream that you—." His voice broke, and he started to cry. "And I couldn't—. I didn't get to say goodbye."

I rolled out of bed and embraced him. "It's okay. I'm right here," I reassured him, "What time is it?"

"Huh?" Kit mumbled as he wiped his tears away. I checked my phone.

"I'll make you some eggs and peanut butter toast," I offered, "Come on. Let's go." I took him to the kitchen and made him some scrambled eggs. He was silent until I made his plate. We sat across from each other, sharing a plate of eggs.

"I'm sorry. It just—. It felt—."

"It felt real. I understand," I interrupted. Mom came to the kitchen, and I gestured for her to stay out of sight with my eyes. "Don't ever feel like you have to worry about me. I'm alright. I may mess up sometimes, but I'm gonna be just fine, Kit."

He didn't say anything. "Dad's the only one in this family who gets any sleep," I whispered, "Betcha, he still snores. Good old bear snores." I imitated Dad's snores, and Kit smiled.

I smiled and nodded, and Mom made herself known. She started some coffee and kissed the tops of our heads. "I gotta go follow up on a lead. Eggs, please," Mom whispered. I gave her a spoonful of eggs from my spoon. "Thanks, sweetheart. I love you, boys."

"Love you, Mom," we both replied in unison.

Dad woke up a little while after that, and we sat with him watching old home movies. I fell asleep with my head tilted back, only waking up to the sound of my phone ringing. I went back to my old room and answered it. "Hi, handsome," I whispered.

"Hi, I was wondering if you still wanted to hang out today?" Jason asked. I smiled and tapped one finger to my lip. I wanted him to think that I had to consider it. "We can reschedule, but I just-. I wanted to see you."

"Meet me at my place in an hour. Wear something romantic, okay?" I whispered.

"Hey, Lane, will you—? We haven't talked about—."

"I'd love to talk about the other night... Just not here, because I stayed the night at my parents'. But I'd like to do more than just talk about it later," I whispered. I closed my eyes and thought about how he made me feel. "I'll buy lunch."

"Can we get a soupy something?" Jason asked. I flopped back down on my bed. "Lane?"

"I'll see you very soon... And you can have whatever you want," I whispered, "One hour." We hung up, and I hopped in the shower.

I gelled my hair back, and I buttoned up my shirt. Kit knocked on my door, and I let him in. "Are you leaving?" Kit asked. I nodded.

"I wasn't gonna leave without saying goodbye. Come here," I whispered. Kit hugged me. "Are you staying here, or do you want a ride to the skate park?"

I could see on his face that he wanted to say yes, but he was hesitant. "It's okay. Maybe some other time," Chris whispered. I nodded.

"Yeah, that's fine. I'll see you soon," I replied. I said goodbye to Dad on my way out, and I drove back to my apartment. I tidied up and made a sandwich before setting up the living room for our third date.

My phone rang. "Are you at the door?" I asked.

"I am," Jason answered.

I hung up the phone and let him in. He looked so handsome. He wore a peasant blouse and jeans, and he looked more like a soft watercolor painting than a person. His cheeks were still rosy from being outside. I kissed him. I ran to get my camera. "I didn't know that you were serious about wanting to take my picture... It looks like a real studio in here," Jason stated. I grabbed my camera from my bedroom, and I grabbed his hand and led him to where I needed him. "You look so serious."

"You look beautiful," I replied as I positioned him the way I wanted. I wanted it to be flawless. He was a perfect model. It was like Jason knew what faces to make and how to find the light. "Jason, you wanted to talk about the other night, right?"

Jason furrowed his brows and grabbed my wrist. "Not while you're hiding behind your camera," Jason whispered. I set my camera aside and sat across from him. "I like having sex with you. I think we're a good match for each other."

It sounded as if he were about to make a business proposal. My face warmed up. "And what do you propose? More sex?" I joked. Jason chuckled.

"I'd like that, yeah... But I mean, is that all there is or are we eventually gonna—?"

"We're dating, but I wouldn't use the word boyfriend for another two weeks tops... But you're the first person I've even considered in that capacity," I explained, "For now, can we see how things go?"

"Okay," Jason whispered, "Do you want me to take my clothes off now?" We both laughed. It was a cute joke.

"Fourth date, maybe," I whispered. He played with my fingers and kissed each one. He kept eye contact with me while he did it. I took his hand and did the same before sucking on his fingers.

"Lane, no. Not now, okay? I don't want to have sex. I just-. I want you," Jason whispered, "I want to enjoy you."

That was it. That was all he had to say to get me. At that moment, I fell head over heels for Jason Todd-Wayne.

[rootbeerrex]

@taters-for-tots ranks more dc characters: this time heroes

learning from our past mistakes, this version will be one long post.

once again, all opinions belong to

Superman (5/10)

"This kind is better because he's... he's just more wide, do you understand? he's more superman cause he's just very wide."

"Superman is like custard... and I won't elaborate on that."

"He's just. There's not many things you can say about him, everything's already been said. And also because he's a boring white boy. I am more interesting than superman."

"I haven't seen a superman who looked over the age of thirty in so long... this is what we should be doing. Superman should be a tired older man."

"Overwhelmingly average"

"The wonderbread of superheros, mostly in the color scheme."

2. Batman (6/10)

"We have discussed this before, but we need to bring up the duality of his ears..."

*looks up bat*

"order of flying mammals, that sounds like they're an organization" (Rex note: I don't think he knows what taxonomy is, but that's gonna be a shock for another day).

"what kind of bat is batman supposed to be. that's my question."

"'The batman cannot be comprehended and therefore cannot be stopped' I think I could stop him pretty easily. He can definitely be comprehended, I'm comprehending him right now! look at that, it's batman!"

"I'm just so desensitized to batman cause he's like. Everywhere."

(BTAS specific)

"Batman the animated series is so wild because- okay I love his design because he's so ANGULAR. This man is a POLYGON. that's just how things were in the 30s 50s 90s."

*rants about mickey mouse vs batman for about a minute straight*

"I know there were different rating systems when BTAS came out, but it's wild to be watching an animated PG series and seeing the joker fully pull out a machine gun and start SHOOTING at him. It's even MORE wild when he pulls out a pistol! And then it's not the little flag-gag like you expect, and he actually SHOOTS him!"

"I also think they got the length of his ears right on this one."

3. Wonder Woman (9/10)

"This crown design is. Goddamn."

"Wonder Woman is pretty cool. I have a Wonder Woman cape in my closet. I just think that she's pretty neat. I thought the Wonder Woman movie that came out recently- (rex note: it was 7 years ago) was pretty good!"

"I think it's cool that she's got her initials not once but twice on her outfit, and doesn't use a lot of weapons. She's got her lasso and her cuffs, and other than that she's just kinda punching people and that's awesome. And no one asked but she would beat captain america in a fight."

"Original comic wonder woman is also cool. She just always looks neat."

"The CALVE strength this woman must have to be doing all of this in high heels must be insane and I appreciate her so much for that."

"DC Superhero Girls newest version isn't very good because they made her too spindly, but this version looks like a person."

4. Martian Manhunter (guy/5)

"Hello?? who is this guy?? what's um... why is... what. who?"

*hearing his name without seeing spelled*

"John... Jones... Is his name???"

5. Flash (7/10)

"I want these boots. let it be known that I want these boots. Him eating a burger while running very fast.

"a lot of the rating for the boots, and the rest because his name is barry"

"I think it's fun that they were like- these other heroes have all these things like Superman has X-ray vision and flight, and Batman has grappling hooks and tech, and Wonder Woman is a GODDESS, and he just. He go fast and that's who he is."

"He's just a guy. He's just a little man. I like his little ear lightning bolts. Sometimes I forget that's what they're supposed to be and I think he's just wearing bluetooth headsets on both ears for some reason"

"I'd very much like to know what's going on here."

"This might've been a joke but... is there a reverse flash? What's his deal? I like to think that he runs really slow and it doesn't benefit him at all."

7. Cyborg (6.5/10)

"He's a guy. For sure. I don't know what's happening here where the skin on his fingers is all- like- crinkly? That's weird. But otherwise I think he's pretty cool. He's got a nice color scheme going on, I'll give him that."

"There's a cyborg guy, right? Is his name just cyborg?"

"I think he looks cool. It's a neat design, I just think he looks neat. yeah. I think he's pretty cool. I remember him mostly from the justice league ride at six flags because there's a really creepy animatronic of him standing outside the ride."

"Neat idea for a character, IDK a whole lot about of him, but he looks pretty cool."

---

And that is all for now, once again don't shoot the messenger for these opinions, @taters-for-tots is the one who called superman the "wonderbread of superheroes."

[phoenixtakaramono]

Sending another ask, because of lack of space: I loved the idea of the Fix-it because billy in it is pretty much steering HL away from his worst impulses, not because HL is automatically a better person when he's in love, but because their association has taught him how to think for himself, how to be more subtle, to not trust Vought uncritically and to gather information when possible before making a decision, and to think through how to present it to the public, instead of depending on PR only

Re: Fix-It AU Threadfic (🔗)

Initially I started this threadfic because I saw a tweet of someone saying how there were no Fix-Its in the 200+ Butchlander fics on AO3 (sorry, my mistake 🙏, someone has reminded me that there is at least one):

At the end of the day, I’m glad I was operating under an erroneous assumption because if I hadn’t, I wouldn’t have bothered writing this.

The way I’d envisioned it: we start with that Diabolical episode where Homelander had just had his hero debut (~18 y/o), and that’s our future husbands’ first official Meet Cute (/j). Billy, at this juncture, is a young CIA operative (~23 y/o) but he has not met Becca yet. It’s essentially a honeypot/ honeytrap operation—but without the seduction at least not from Billy’s POV; the readers voted for the yandere speedrun option with Homelander planting cameras in Billy’s flat at the Flatiron, haha, so obviously certain things will follow because of that chosen route. It also allows us an opportunity to play with HL’s past as a lab-rat (I’m playing with the possibilities), and have that affect the threadfic.

We then tie in the more important The Boys canon comic events and events from the TV version—and “fix” a couple of the more pivotal disastrous f*ck-ups such as the Cruz Chemical incident (animated show canon) and the crash of Transoceanic Flight 37 (TV canon), etc, with a couple original incidents if I’m feeling up to it.

I love what you wrote about how HL’s not automatically made a better person just because he’s in love. Billy can steer him from his worst impulses to an extent. But at the end of the day, the idea is that whilst it is a Fix-It, and we are rewarding him with Billy as a boyfriend for his “good behavior” (later, so he gets his crush fulfilled), John as The Homelander is still not a very good man. I very much enjoy reading about a psycho narcissistic HL who has an obsessive crush, and I think a lot of people like reading that too. We have Billy as the hot older European young and bright CIA operative whomst HL wishes desperately to impress (gotta give it to a guy who’s infatuated). He one-sidedly envisions William Butcher as his partner-in-crime. William, in the threadfic, represents the CIA, a secret government intelligence agency that has the legitimacy Vought desperately wants—and so far only Homelander’s been given this opportunity. It’s a resource that only he has access to—and it makes him feel ✨special✨ —> William is special —> thus, William can only be his. Homelander doesn’t like to share (in this AU).

The silver lining is this HL, while still objectively awful, haha, is encouraged at his younger age to not be so reliant on Vought—and that impact will carry into his 20s, 30s, and 40s. We are essentially weaning our brainwashed murderous baby from sucking the teat of corporate.

[treetownconfessions]

new-ish to the blog (been here about a month....,,) and i wanted to finally get this off my chest bc it was killing me. i'm queer as hell now but BACK THEN when i was 11-13 i was a cis boy who just liked reading comics and doing a jump everyday in hopes of becoming the tallest jumper in the world. and at the time i found out about happy tree friends and got into it very fast, both bc the gore and extremity was edgy and cool to me and because i genuinely liked the characters. i developed a crush on flippy, because, who didnt, and finding out a LOT of htf fans felt the same made me happy at first. but it became really clear nearly all the people who crushed and fangirled over him were girls irl and i felt like a weirdo about it because i was a BOY and i had a crush on flippy who was ALSO a boy. BUT seeing those same people ship flippy with other boy-characters in the show gave me massive mixed messages, because everyone seemed to love it when it was in-show only and i hadnt EVER met another boy online who had a crush on flippy so i wondered if it just wasnt allowed when it was outside of that, even though i wanted to express it with everyone else so bad. i couldnt go to my irl friends bc none of them were into htf and i was worried theyd think i was weird anyway. so my solution to keep crushing on flippy while still being normal to everyone else was making a htf oc that was quite literally a self-insert of myself, all the way down to the comics i liked irl, and shipped him with flippy. but i never told anyone it was my self-insert and just said it was an oc very unrelated to me and i wanted to keep it that way. i made horrible art of us and wrote equally horrible fanfic of this "oc" and flippy, bc i thought it was a genius solution to expressing my adoration for flippy whilst keeping the handful of followers and online friends i had satisfied bc it was boy x boy stuff. i never wrote/drew raunchy stuff about them bc as far as i can remember it was just shit like going on a date with flippy at the library or having picnics with him etc etc. but once i shared a recent fic with one of my online friends about them and at some point they went "you wrote it like an x reader so i thought it was self insert lol" and i was genuinely in shambles. i thought they were accusing me of having a crush on flippy myself and they were about to expose me or something (they didnt even know i was a boy irl so i dont know??) so i defensively told them it wasnt a self insert and i wasnt attracted to flippy in the slightest. but i was really rude about it and they replied saying they never said that, they never accused me of having a crush on flippy or anything like that and it was just a mistake. i dont remember the entirety of our messages but i remember getting so butthurt and angry i kept telling them to fuck off and that it wasnt a mistake on their end and they HAD to be accusing me of actually liking flippy. i blocked them and i cried so hard into my pillow i could barely breathe and i considered running away from home that day bc i was convinced that person was gonna tell everyone i liked flippy even though i was a boy and somehow get to my irl friends and family and i would be considered a freak for it forever. i stopped posting my art and fics of that "oc" and flippy after that and i didnt know how to delete my account at the time (it was on deviantart) so i just logged out and never touched it again. ive been thinking about it recently now as an adult and i forgot the password to that account so everything is still up and there hasnt been a new comment since 7 years ago but it keeps me up at night thinking about the person i cussed out and all the published stuff

[lighthouse-enjoyers-anonymous]

The CSH pipeline (aka my downfall)(aka my favorite band ever)

Last year around June, I listened to Car Seat Headrest for the first time, I think starting with Sober to Death. I had seen mention of the band before in memes about it being "incel" "male manipulator" music, but it was associated with a lot of bands I already had an interest in. My first instinct when seeing that something is being shit on is to go and consume the media so I can judge for myself whether it's actually that bad or if the fanbase is just being characterized by a couple shitty fans and if it's being meme-ified like Weezer. This has lead me down some questionable paths but I ultimately like this way of consuming media because I do end up finding new stuff I enjoy without being restricted to what's popular. I started listening to Mitski because I saw a tumblr post about how people don't like her work. Idk. Anyways I loved Sober to Death and started listening to their other top songs to get a feel for it. I think I mainly just listened to Twin Fantasy and Teens of Denial at first, then ToS and MBIKMB after a while. I wasn't hardcore into it and I knew barely anything about the band except I had picked up somewhere that Will was a furry (I have zero idea when I learned this but at the time I thought it was the most hilarious thing I've ever heard). I was just focused on my other interests much more (you know how it is). Fun fact, my ex included "It's Only Sex" on our relationship playlist when we dated in March, which

1- is an absolutely insane red flag 2- proves I knew about the band earlier than I remember Flash forward to February. I must have seen CSH mentioned a lot more on tiktok or pinterest or something, because I suddenly had a lot of interest in it. Sometimes I get waves of "oh god i'm a fake fan for not knowing everything about this subject" and that spurs some manic search to CONSUME ALL. I started listening to every album available on spotify, learned about Will's pre-CSH projects, and was instantly hooked.

This guy had written songs that spoke to me in a way only several other artists had in the past. On top of that, he had lived less than an hour away from me for the majority of my life (until he relocated to Seattle in 2014), AND most of his music was written at the age I am now. There was something so personal to me about it. Obviously, it was a popular-ish band so it wasn't really underground or anything, but it wasn't known by everyone so I still had the opportunity to introduce it to my friends for the first time. That being said, I still got teased a bit for listening to "sad gay furry music" :/ Touché.

Anyways, I then learned about 1 Trait Danger. Oh boy. I had heard the "Timmis" sound going around on tiktok without realizing it. God Andrew Katz is amazing too. It was silly, it was stupid, it had a new plotline to follow for each album, there was a discord server, there were costumes, there was Will Toledo, there was SO MUCH TO LEARN. So naturally I joined the Patreon so now I get some sick behind the scenes video game development content.

Deeper into the rabbithole comes Cate Wurtz's comics, which are mentioned in several CSH songs, and generally help to contextualize Will's work. Holy Shit I love Crow Cillers. I only started reading it yesterday. I have yet to fully understand what's going on because there is such a mash up of themes. It's entirely possible I made a mistake and managed to skip some crucial lore, but I'll figure it out eventually. Ynce Iche is badass. Other things that this hyperfixation has caused me to get into:

Radiohead and Weezer. more stereotypical incel music but I D K

Costume design? I'm in the process of building a trait mask, and I will make another post about this because I need help!!

animation, possibly. I'm hoping to animate parts, if not all, of 1 Trait Bangers. I have no prior experience with animating so this will be.... fun...

video production. I am ALSO in the process of creating a series of tiktok style videos to all of twin fantasy. if each one is about a minute, I should have... 71 videos. 1 down, 70 to go! This is cool because I got to visit the spot in Harper's Ferry mentioned in BL-I-D.

CSH livestreams. I looove the acoustic sound. Do miss the other band members though. Lots of his covers have lead me to find new music as well.

Will Toledo's tumblr. I scrolled all the way to the bottom of it and i'm attempting to compile a playlist of every song he mentions on there.

Will Toledo's spotify monthly playlists. That funky guy is listening to soooo much welsh folk. This raises questions about what the possible new album will sound like, but I'm down for anything!

Andrew Katz's instagram reels. I love these funky little videos it's like a vine revival with all of our favorite band members.

Will Toledo's high school bands/comics. The Mr. Yay Okay facebook page is so blessed I love seeing shitty home video recordings of them playing with a Ouija board.

New friends! Shout out to the cool people on the 1td discord server. game nights are always hilarious

Pop culture references. I have been convinced to buy several books simply bc they were mentioned in a song or his tumblr. also I started NGE and I will eventually get to Twin Peaks.

That's all for now! I should be able to update as I find more stuff to deep dive into, and as my creative projects unfold. It's going to be a busy couple of months in my house though, as I prepare for college. If I end up switching hyperfixations before I complete anything, I must apologize. But I don't owe "you" anything. I say to my singular follower, cheezbot. Hi cheezbot.

[thedoggoesed-ward]

under the cut;

So let’s pick this apart a little bit

There is nothing to be learned in a lesson without pain, because you can’t gain anything without losing something in exchange. But when you overcome that pain and make the lesson your own you will obtain an infallible, irreplaceable fullmetal heart.

Now since this is a comic we also have to take the image itself into account. None of the photos are of just one person. Even the dog managed to have puppies. So we can assume that the idea of community is also integral to what Arakawa’s trying to say here (I hesitate to say friendship, because, well, not all of these guys are friends, lol). Also, during Edward’s final showdown with Truth he states he’ll make due without his alchemy so long as he’s still got other people he can rely on

And Truth’s response is basically “Ding ding! You finally get it! Go claim your prize at the door, I never want to see your ugly mug again.”

(I don’t know Japanese, but I’m pretty sure that’s an accurate translation)

At its barest bones Fullmetal Alchemist is about overcoming past mistakes with the help of others. This is all fine and dandy, but without proper execution they just become empty words pasted onto the final pages in a halfhearted attempt at depth. I think most people know of stories about sacrificial love where there is neither meaningful sacrifice nor a healthy portrayal of love, or stories about overcoming overwhelming odds through the power of hard work and effort where every victory is handed over on a silver platter of asspulls and accelerated training arcs. It doesn’t matter how good something sounds if the execution sucks.

With that in mind, let’s look at some of the characters of Fullmetal Achemist and the mistakes they’ve made.

Fullmetal Alchemist: A Series of Terrible People Trying to Become Less Terrible

So this one is super easy. We’re presented with our lovable protagonists’s first major screw up on chapter 1, page 1

Oh look, it’s that quote again. Golly gee willikers, it’s almost as if Awakara knew what story she wanted to tell and integrated the main theme from the very beginning.

It’s not terribly uncommon for a manga to make some sort of thesis statement during their first chapter, but from the (few) long-running serializations I’ve read, the longer a series runs the more muddled these things get as far as theme and narrative go. It’s one of the difficult things about trying to keep an audience engaged over a long period of time. 

Fullmetal Alchemist is more tightly plotted than most shonen affairs, but there’s another thing that helps it keep from undercutting its own themes, and that’s that it lets its protagonists actually make terrible mistakes, and more importantly makes them suffer because of it.

The Elric’s attempt to resurrect their mother is never treated as anything but a horrible thing that never should have happened. Yes, the boys’s plight is sympathetic and the loss of their mother after their father abandoned the family was a tragedy, but they were told time and time again that human transformation was not only impossible, but forbidden

Of course the Elric brothers don’t listen, because otherwise there wouldn’t be a series. It cannot be overstated that they purposefully kept their plans secret. They didn’t tell Winry or Izumi or any one else that they were going to try to revive their mother. Perhaps they don’t feel like they can talk to anyone about their grief, but there’s also a definite hubris involved. Edward and Alphonse -- but especially Edward -- think they can accomplish something “adults” have found impossible.

Perhaps if they had talked to Izumi more she would have been able to guide them through their time of grief, but it goes back to one of the main themes of the series: Camaraderie, doing things together, trusting your friends, community as apposed to isolation. The Elric brothers lock themselves away to their father’s dark library and perform illegal experiments in their basement -- hidden from anyone who might try to stop them. 

And they suffer for it. 

Perhaps if they had talked to Izumi more she would have been able to guide them through their time of grief, but it goes back to one of the main themes of the series: Camaraderie, doing things together, trusting your friends, community as apposed to isolation. The Elric brothers lock themselves away to their father’s dark library and perform illegal experiments in their basement -- hidden from anyone who might try to stop them. 

And they suffer for it. 

(Keep in mind the word ignorant. We’ll be coming back to it later.)

This in and of itself is good, but this message is hammered home by the supporting cast, especially the characters from the military. Remember Roy Mustang, suave up-and-comer who wants to completely reform the government from the inside out for the betterment of the people?

Complicit in genocide

His number 2, all around team mom, and rescuer of cute puppies?

Complicit in genocide

Husband of the year and eternal winner of Best Dad Joke?

Complicit in genocide

Human teddy bear, series aesthete, and walking meme generator?

Complicit in genocide

The beloved small-town doctor?

Complicit in genocide and human experimentation

The grumpy curmudgeon with a hidden heart of gold?

Say it with me now, complicit in  freaking genocide.

That’s just looking at Armestrian military during the civil war. When the series jumps to the present day we see Scar has become a serial killer, while midway through the series Ling willingly becomes the vessel for an inhuman monster, nearly loosing his identity in the process. Hohenheim abandoned his family and was (unwittingly) complicit in a genocide of his own. In her grief Izumi tried to bring back her dead child via human transmutation, violating one of the fundamental laws of alchemy. The list goes on. 

It is impossible to fully implement a theme of overcoming past mistakes without having characters be fully responsible for said mistakes. I feel like it’s a common trap to sacrifice likability for pathos. How easy would it have been to say that Ed and Al couldn’t be held responsible for their actions because they weren’t aware of the consequences, or had never been told that human transformation was forbidden? How easy would it have been to say that the military made Roy and Riza and the rest participate in the Ishvalan massacre?

Luckily the writing never goes this route. While the various characters might not fully understand the ultimate outcome of their choices they never have their agency stripped away by something outside of their control. Each and every character in the series thinks they’re doing the right thing by acting the way they do, which not only makes them feel human as characters but brings me neatly into my second point.

Overcoming Ignorance and Finding Truth

During the Ishvalan flashback we see both Roy and Riza give their initial reason for joining the military, citing their desire to protect others as one of their main motivations.

Edward and Alphonse were young children when their mother died, and their desire to bring her back stems from a child’s love. Izumi and Sig had struggled for years for a child, and the grief of losing a baby after longing for a family for so long led her to try to resurrect her child.

None of these desires are in and of themselves bad, but they stem from a place of ignorance. Attempting human transmutation was forbidden for a reason. The military ended up not being as altruistic as the young soldiers were led to believe. The world, which our main characters looked at as a simple, understandable thing, turned out to be complex, and hard, and unforgiving.

With their worldviews essentially shattered it would have been easy to give up or give in to the darkness that they had seen, but instead each main character decides to take full ownership of their mistakes and takes steps to correct them.

There are very few irredeemable bad guys in Fullmetal Alchemist, and it’s a series that ultimately has a very hopeful view on humanity. Because of this underlying philosophy people are not ruined or broken by their pasts, but rather learn from them. 

This is the Truth that is presented. It’s not facts or book knowledge, which any alchemist capable of performing human transmutation would have in spades, but growth through life experience. Ed and Al see firsthand the evils alchemy can commit and strive to correct them. Roy and Riza stare down the barrel of the military machine and seek to dismantle it, even if it results in their own undoing. Ling learns to recognize the futility of his country’s current clan system and seeks to protect even the weakest of his people. It takes awhile, but Scar realizes that vengeance can only breed violence and strives to rebuild his people instead of the destruction of those who killed them in the first place.

None of these goals can be accomplished alone, building on the theme of camaraderie, but there’s also the side effect of preventing others from going down their path. 

That is Fullmetal Alchemist in a nutshell. It’s a series about flawed people making horrible mistakes, overcoming them with the help of their friends and in turn preventing others going down that dark path of destruction. It’s not a smooth transition, and the lessons learned are full of pain, but in the end you’ll find your own Truth and come out the other side a better person. The rest is just gravy. 

Although I will concede that having a main character who can turn his arm into a knife probably helps.

How Fullmetal Alchemist Integrates Theme and Character

In a world where everything is subjective and polarizing opinions are the norm, where anti-fans and trolls take ‘love to hate’ a little too far, and where any story popular enough to become a pop-culture phenomenon is almost guaranteed to have a small-but-vocal minority that can’t see what all the fuss is about, I have never once seen, read, or heard of anyone say that Fullmetal Alchemist is a bad story. 

None. 

I’m sure they exist, but during the course of its run Fullmetal Alchemist reached the rarefied air of being almost universally beloved within the manga/anime community and being critically acclaimed as a damn good story. This success is wholly deserved. Arakawa was able to do something that a lot of shonen mangaka can’t, and as a result Fullmetal Alchemist is one of the best plotted, tightly written manga I have ever read. 

Others have and will write about the philosophy Arakawa presents, point out the incredible amount of research she was able to cram into her series, extrapolate on the world building better than I could, but today I want to talk about something I’ve not seen anyone else touch on, and that’s how she integrates her themes into her characterization in order to really drive the point she’s trying to make home. 

So what’s the main theme of Fullmetal Alchemist? Luckily Arakawa tells us directly on the next to last page of the series. 

Keep reading

[newstfionline]

Saturday, October 19, 2024

Global water crisis leaves half of world food production at risk in next 25 years (Guardian) More than half the world’s food production will be at risk of failure within the next 25 years as a rapidly accelerating water crisis grips the planet, unless urgent action is taken to conserve water resources and end the destruction of the ecosystems on which our fresh water depends, experts have warned in a landmark review. Half the world’s population already faces water scarcity, and that number is set to rise as the climate crisis worsens, according to a report from the Global Commission on the Economics of Water published on Thursday. Demand for fresh water will outstrip supply by 40% by the end of the decade, because the world’s water systems are being put under “unprecedented stress”, the report found.

Israel complicates election’s final stretch, an issue Democrats hoped would fade (Washington Post) President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris hoped the ongoing violence in the Middle East might simmer below the surface in the final weeks of the presidential race, but fresh Israeli military offensives are making that virtually impossible. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has set the Gaza Strip ablaze with a renewed bombing campaign and launched a ground invasion into Lebanon alongside aerial strikes in Beirut aimed at annihilating the militant group Hezbollah. He is expected to order an imminent attack on Iran’s military facilities in response to its missile strike on Israel this month. The rapid escalation has tied the Biden administration in knots, resulting in the United States first calling for an immediate cease-fire in Lebanon only to reverse that policy nine days later and openly endorse Israel’s ground offensive. The whiplash has caused confusion and consternation among Washington’s European and Arab allies who are pushing for the United States to restrain its closest ally in the Middle East. But administration officials remain loath to pick a public fight at such a tenuous moment politically. “They clearly want to avoid any public confrontation with Netanyahu over Lebanon or Gaza that could result in blowback from Israel’s supporters before the election,” said Frank Lowenstein, a Biden ally and former Middle East negotiator in the Obama administration. “At the same time, they are sensitive to losing critical Arab American votes in key swing states if their rhetoric leans too far in Israel’s direction,” he added.

Both Parties Are Getting Men Wrong (Politico) With the election just a few weeks away, the contest for the votes of men is heating up. Young women’s support is effectively locked up for the Democrats, but young men still seem up for grabs. There is a real political opportunity right now for a party to craft an agenda that speaks to men—and addresses their real problems. Contrary to progressive belief, young men are not turning into a generation of misogynists. Support for gender equality continues to rise, including among men under 30. The problem seems more to be that many men simply don’t see much recognition of their issues, or even of their identity, on the political left. If the Democrats are the “women’s party,” as one party strategist claimed, it might not be surprising that men are looking in another direction. The official party platform lists the groups it is proud to serve; women are listed but men are not. There is a new Gender Policy Council in the White House, but it has not addressed a single issue facing boys or men. When problems are neglected, they metastasize into grievances. And grievances can be weaponized in service of reactionary goals. The solution, then, is almost comically simple: Don’t neglect the problems. The mistake being made on both sides is to see gender equality as a zero-sum game; that to do more for boys and men means doing less on behalf of girls and women. But working on behalf of women doesn’t require politicians to turn their backs on men.

U.S. Charges Indian Official in New York Assassination Plot (NYT) Federal prosecutors have charged a man they identified as an Indian intelligence officer with trying to orchestrate from abroad an assassination on U.S. soil—part of an escalating response from the United States and Canada to what those governments see as brazenly illegal conduct by a longtime partner. An indictment unsealed in Manhattan on Thursday said that the man, Vikash Yadav, “directed the assassination plot from India” that targeted a New York-based critic of the Indian government, a Sikh lawyer and political activist who has urged the Punjab region of India to secede. Authorities say Mr. Yadav recruited an associate to find a U.S.-based criminal to arrange the murder of the Sikh activist. Last year, U.S. prosecutors charged the man accused of being Mr. Yadav’s henchman, Nikhil Gupta, and said Mr. Gupta had acted under instructions from an unidentified employee of the Indian government. Now, prosecutors have charged Mr. Yadav with orchestrating the plot.

Former Mexican official sentenced to 38 years in U.S. prison for taking bribes (Washington Post) A former top public security official in Mexico on Wednesday was sentenced to more than 38 years in U.S. federal prison for accepting millions of dollars in bribes to allow Sinaloa cartel narcotics traffickers to operate with impunity under his watch. Genaro García Luna, 56, was convicted on Feb. 21, 2023, of engaging in a continuing criminal enterprise, conspiracy to possess and distribute cocaine and other related counts after a five week trial in U.S. District Court in Brooklyn. In addition to being sentenced to prison, he was fined $2 million. García Luna’s case has riveted Mexico, which has suffered about a half-million homicides since President Felipe Calderón declared a “war on drugs” in 2006, unleashing bloody fighting between security forces and crime groups. García Luna served as minister of public security in 2006 to 2012 under Calderón and was responsible for creating a new federal police force. He was a key U.S. partner on a multibillion-dollar plan known as the Merida Initiative, aimed at dismantling the cartels.

Power Outage Plunges All of Cuba Into Darkness (NYT) Cuba’s power grid failed and the entire nation plunged into darkness Friday, less than a day after the government stressed the need to paralyze the economy to save electricity in the face of major gasoline shortages and large-scale, regular outages. The electricity went out nationwide Friday morning after a failure at a thermoelectric power plant in Matanzas, east of Havana, Cuba’s Energy Ministry said on X. The announcement came less than a day after the prime minister, Manuel Marrero Cruz, held a late-night television address with state officials to discuss the ongoing electricity crisis, which experts said was the worst the nation—long accustomed to food and electricity shortages—had ever experienced. For weeks, the country has lacked the fuel to run the power grid, which has left large parts of the nation without electricity for up to 12 hours at a time. To ease the strain on the electrical network, officials announced on Thursday night that all schools would be closed until Monday and cultural and nonessential activities such as nightclubs would shutter.

Russia flaunts its nuclear weapons to keep the West from ramping up support for Ukraine (AP) This year has seen President Vladimir Putin repeatedly brandish the nuclear sword, reminding everyone that Russia has the world’s largest atomic arsenal to try to deter the West from ramping up support for Ukraine. He ordered his military to hold drills involving battlefield nuclear weapons with ally Belarus. He announced Russia will start producing ground-based intermediate range missiles that were outlawed by a now-defunct U.S.-Soviet treaty in 1987. And last month, he lowered the threshold for unleashing his arsenal by revising the country’s nuclear doctrine. Putin is relying on those thousands of warheads and hundreds of missiles as an enormous doomsday machine to offset NATO’s massive edge in conventional weapons to discourage what he sees as threats to Russia’s sovereignty and territorial integrity.

Japan tourism boom (Nikkei Asia) Spending by foreign visitors has already reached 5.86 trillion yen ($39.1 billion) in Japan in the first nine months of the year as the country experiences a massive tourism boom. That’s already smashing the record of 5.31 trillion yen spent in all of 2023, with still three months to go. The average spend per visitor in the July-to-September period came in at 223,000 yen, which was up 40 percent year over year. The number of visitors in the first nine months came in at 26.88 million, also beating the 2023 full-year tally handily. The government projects that this year they might finish at 35 million visitors.

For Charles’s first visit as king, Australians are royally unimpressed (Washington Post) When King Charles III arrives in Australia on Friday, he’ll receive rock star treatment—just not in the way he might have hoped. Instead of drawing the massive crowds that often awaited his mother, Charles’s first trip here as monarch is likely to be a mellower affair. The king will meet with Australia’s prime minister, review its naval fleet and greet supporters outside the Opera House. But many state leaders are staying home. And perhaps the liveliest reception will be from members of Australia’s republican movement, who are selling sarcastic “Monarchy: The Farewell Oz Tour” T-shirts, as if the royals were an aging band on the brink of retirement.

The war trudges on (Foreign Policy) Hamas confirmed the killing of leader Yahya Sinwar by Israeli forces in a televised eulogy on Friday and vowed to continue its war against Israel. Sinwar’s death “will only increase the strength and resolve of Hamas and our resistance,” said Sinwar’s longtime deputy, Khalil al-Hayya, who has been living in exile in Qatar. Hayya reiterated that Hamas will not end its war against Israel until both sides agree to a truce deal in Gaza that includes a complete Israeli withdrawal from the enclave and the release of Palestinian prisoners. Netanyahu also vowed to continue the war effort. Sinwar’s killing is a “great opportunity to stop the axis of evil,” he said, referring to Iran and its proxies, which include Hamas in Gaza as well as Hezbollah in Lebanon. The Israeli military announced on Friday that it would add an additional brigade of reservists to fight along the Israel-Lebanon border, and it said that its forces had killed Muhammad Hassin Ramal, Hezbollah’s commander of the Tayibe area in southern Lebanon. “We had hoped, really throughout this, that getting rid of Sinwar would be the turning point where the wars would end,” a senior diplomat working in Lebanon told Reuters. “It appears we were once again mistaken.”

More than 40% of people in Gaza to face ‘catastrophic’ levels of hunger (NBC News) Some 41% of people in Gaza will face “catastrophic” levels of hunger in the coming months, a global authority on food security warned Thursday. The report emerged as Israel came under increasing pressure, including from its most important ally, the United States, to allow in more essential humanitarian aid. The Integrated Food Security Phase Classification, which sets a scale used by the United Nations and governments to assess hunger, said that there will be a persistent risk of famine in Gaza this winter unless more humanitarian aid reaches the Palestinian enclave. The release also said that nine in 10 Gazans—roughly two million people—face “acute food insecurity” in the months ahead. and came as Reuters reported that the Israeli government has stopped processing requests from traders to import food to Gaza.

US long-range B-2 stealth bombers target underground bunkers of Yemen’s Houthi rebels (AP) The U.S. military unleashed B-2 stealth bombers to target underground bunkers used by Yemen’s Houthi rebels early Thursday, a major escalation in the American response to the rebels’ attacks on Mideast shipping lanes that appeared to be a warning to Iran as well. While it wasn’t immediately clear how much damage the strikes caused, the attack appeared to be the first use of the B-2 in combat in years and the first time the flying wing targeted sites in Yemen. In announcing the strikes against the Houthis, who have been attacking ships for months in the Red Sea corridor over the Israel-Hamas war in the Gaza Strip, U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin made a point to offer a warning likely heard in Tehran as well. “This was a unique demonstration of the United States’ ability to target facilities that our adversaries seek to keep out of reach, no matter how deeply buried underground, hardened or fortified,” Austin said.

[pwblogarchive]

May 2002

May 2, 2002

“i wrote a reminder to make sure i remembered to sleep through everything today.” 

it turns out i didn’t need the note. the sky is dark and open over school- if i didn’t know better i would think this might be hell. my core is copper.

i would kill to make it gold.

May 4, 2002

“you’re just a glorified mommas boy” 

spiderman- what a piece of shit. seriously so many complaints i’m not gonna list them all. from the shitty cgi to the people on the bridge “nobody messes with new yorkers” post 9/11 line. horrible. the only people into this crap probably never read a comic. thanks for ruining another piece of my childhood. enough being bitter about a movie haha. i’m going to american nightmare tonight and you’re probably not. too bad for you. oh yeah brand new smokes everything out there right now.

heart pete

May 5, 2002

“i saved latin, what did you ever do?”

i recieved my first hatemail for this thing- PRICELESS. it only adds to the narcissism.

okay after much flak for my attack on spider-man i’m gonna go for more and rate comic movies-

batman [tim burton you can’t go wrong]

batman 2 [see above comment]

superman [for nostolgia- hackman is great barely edged out x-men]

X-Men [the only good recent adaptation in my eyes- very true to the comic but at the same time not nerdy haha]

The Punisher [this thing simply beats ass, dolph lundgren word]

superman 2 [not as good as the first but still up there]

Captain America [so bad but so good]

superman 3 and 4 [tied for crappiness]

Hulk the tv show [only low on the list cause this is supposed to be movies but honestly i’d rather see this in the theater over the crap beneath it]

spider-man 70s version [it’s bad that this thing beat out the new spiderman cause its pretty much a piece of shit]

new spider-man

honorable mention- superman: quest for peace (sucked my balls) and Fantastic Four movie (i’ve never actually seen this but supposedly ben johnson the rock guy is made out of foam)

sitting in the computer lab= me wasting time thinking about how i am going to be far away from here in a van all summer.

driving home tonight= calling up everybody i know so i don’t drive off into the night by accident.

trying to fall asleep= thinking about you.

i bet i’ll be awake forever.

May 9, 2002

“a trophy wife in the parlance of our times”

yeah. i am sick. it sucks. tommorrow Arma is playing at Rubes for what may be our last chicago show ever- we’ll see. like anyone even cares. my birthday is on june 5 though i will be accepting presents all month. remember i like nightmare before christmas toys, live animals (no cats or dogs only scaled things), and i wear extra- small from everywhere but banana republic where i only wear a small.

at least you have your health.

pete

May 12, 2002

“i know i’m not your favorite record anyhow”

thanks to everyone who made the trek through madmax country to see us. i think we may have played the Orphans secret hide out. i hope noone got beaten up too badly.

also, please keep the anonymous slander and shittalking focused on me here. A. i am an egomaniac and it helps me feel like the world revolves around me B. Heather is a cool girl- shes probably like 5 years younger than who ever is talking shit- so stop or have the balls to leave your name.

come out an see us at hellfest, it is always fun- im sure we will have some suprises for everyone.

May 13, 2002

“somehow i think this was all a big mistake.”

and noone should ever feel this way.

May 16, 2002

“the score.”

star wars rules. girls do not.

May 18, 2002

“the phone is lying on the ground twisted and dead- off the hook. i look at it adoringly wishing it was you.”

sleep is such a good thing.

i wish i was better at it.

pete

May 19, 2002

“nothing you say or do is real to anyone” 

i woke up today and thought- i wish you would prove me wrong. and your lipstick tastes like shit. and you remind me of everyone else. and how i love to laugh at bad movies with you. i felt not dead for the first time in awhile when i sat out on my roof and watched all of the backyards. i yelled at the city but i don’t think you heard “be yourself, don’t ever apologize”. the phone is ringing. my feet are running up the stairs. i hope that its you.

May 24, 2002

“the greatest 21st century romance”

sometimes i wish i smoked- i bet cigarettes are like friends.

i wish you could buy friends in packs and then burn them.

i vaguely remember watching jacobs ladder when i was little. i watched it last night and realized my nightmares are exactly out of that movie.

it’s really strange.

when he said “there are five great kisses on record and this one topped them all” doesn’t it make you wonder what the other five kisses were?

sometimes i’m sure one of mine made it.

but then brandonbobbybagwell emails me and i feel relieved that i am just the same shitty boy who still lives with his parents.

May 25, 2002

“with friends like you, who need friends”

gordon gecko is pretty awsome.

we hung out the other day and he ate like 11 crickets.

it was so great.

i wrote the people at captain crunch today.

pretty good letter it included lots of swears and stuff telling them it’s about time he gets a higher rank than captain.

for the record vanilla coke is pretty great.

i came up with a scam that will get me 20,000 dollars by this summer.

it’s gonna rule.

so is the movie bottle rocket and the boxcar racer cd.

today will be spent painting my nails with whiteout and eating coco puffs for every meal.

i think i am mildy retarded.

May 26, 2002

spitalfield smokes. knockout was good and so was showoff. good show. once again got tricked into going to a party which once again sucked.

im gonna create a blog- if you’re lucky you’ll get an email. no more real stuff will be posted on here.

pete

May 30, 2002

“i wish i was drunk or dead”

i called mike from American Movie tonight- greatest guy ever. go watch this movie- you will not be disappointed.

fall out boy record will own you.

oh yeah and thanks for my birthday presents. you are always the nicest and i am always such a wreck- im sorry.

[hoardofshinythings]

Hauled In To Fandom Kicking and Screaming

Look. I usually dance along the periphery of fandoms, ones I have actually watched the shows of and ones I am literally just in it for one or two good fan fiction writers. It is VERY rare I see a character and it actually makes me want to get in to a fandom. My ADHD/Autism combo makes it hard for me to get in to the mood to watch shows okay? Movies maybe. but series? oh lordy I have been bitten and burned so many times I am gun shy as heck with getting in to watching a show. I have gotten involved with to many shows for them to get axed for attracting the 'wrong' fans (Teen Titans, Motor City), or bizarre choices to take everything that attracted people to the first seasons and toss them in the trash and stick a sexy white woman in peril as the main into it's place. Weirdly specific but the fact it has happened several times is... something (Grimm, Sleepy Hollow). Or later episodes fall down the Stairs of Stupid Out of Character Decisions and Mistakes An Idiot Plot for a Plot Twist. I'm sure at least a few shows popped in your head at that one!

So I am .... reticent.... to get in to anything these days. Enter Eddie Munson.

Look. Stranger Things is in the background of the internet fandom zeitgeist. Okay creepy monsters, 80's, people actually LOOK like they are from the 80's and aren't airbrushed into an inch of their lives. Made a huge splash in its first season then kinda... floated in the background for the next few seasons.

Nothing about it really grabbed me. Looked fun. Not enough to attract my scraggly feral arse.

Then THIS little curly haired muppet man starts showing up on my dashes.

Eddie before disaster.

See. I KNOW this fucker. See I was a wee barely existing bean in the mid 80's. I have a brother who is over a decade older then me who thankfully I grew up having a great relationship with. So he was a TEENAGER during the 80's. Closer to Henderson's age then Munson's during 86. But I look at this fucker, and I KNOW him. Eddie Munson is the cobbled together pieces of my older brothers friend circle. The hair from one. The weed from another. The fashion from a few of them. My brother was more of a Johnathan type fashion and music wise (not personality), but a lot of his buddies were heavy metal or grunge. And more then half of them were in to DnD and comic books. Two of them were always writing or playing an instrument while hanging out at our house or back yard. They gamed at our house or at the drug dealer guys house (I didn't know he was back then cause again, baby wee me, but I remember he did cool smoke ring tricks and got my younger brother and I a huge pile of dinkies, so A+ dude to me) because hey, GUESS WHAT, the Satanic Panic was even a thing in but fuck nowhere Eastern Canada. My dad was Atheist (GASP) and my mom was vaguely Anglican (Sunday every week for socializing) but had logical heads. Mom was scared at first when my older brother got in to DnD, but despite being a early 20's young mother to two toddlers and a teenage step son with the whisper of church ladies in her ears... she sat down and learned about it. Found out it's just creative writing within a group with math. So we were the one place other than the drug dealers house they could have their games without judgement. Obviously our house was nicer so they were over a LOT. Which with it being the 80's, and both our parents busy nurses overworked and always on call, that resulted in a bunch of teenage scrungey boys babysitting tiny me and baby brother while playing DnD, practicing, hanging out, or whatever. I KNOW this fucker. I know Eddie Munson. All the pieces that make him I know them because I grew up with them. I have NEVER had a character give me a whiplash feeling of nostalgia for the past like THIS MOTHERFUCKER. Yes. I got bitch slapped by a blorbo in to watching a show so I can actually tell if the character is written believably (much more elastic then you think) or if the fandom is full of poop.

So I watched short snaps of just his scenes. God dammit he is Like That. Well NOW I have to go back to the beginning of the show because guess fucking what you shit heads. I want to actually try writing fanfiction. I want to making Eddie Munson SUFFER my twisted form of love.

I haven't done that in over 10 years. I've kept up with character writing, but nothing beyond role play games. This FRIGGER is making me dig up so many things from the graveyard of my fandom enjoyment past I may as well accept my new life as a Necromancer.

The show is meh, I know this, but the world has so many options of PROMISE. MUSIC THEMES. the fucking 80's! The characters, once again, do NOT look like airbrushed, they actually look like 80's awkward kids and adults and people. There's mullet's and mens crop tops and short shorts. All on the background of Modern (ish) Suburban Hidden World Fantasy with a good and proper horror twist. Shitty government fuckery. Monsters. Weird powers with no real explanation as to WHY. POTENTIAL!!!! SO yeah. There was a shiny toy in the sandbox (Eddie Munson) and I'm joining in, cat turds and cigarette butts be damned. I am going to try and slap in my observations of each episode as I go. Have fun watching me hate but love it all.

[down-the-yaoi-hole]

Vacation boys love reads! Split personalities, magical virgins, and the crème de la crème: DICK FIGHT ISLAND.

I spent a week in the woods with my cousin / best friend / platonic life partner for my summer vacation this year. We would go hiking in the morning, and then came back to our AirBNB to read all afternoon--it was heaven on earth. Naturally, I brought along a couple of books I wanted to finished and didn't read ANY of that shit. No, instead I read some very good, and some very bad boys love. Here's the best of the best and the best of the worst!

My favorite read of the week was by far "Double Trap" by Goodmen, available on Lehzin Comics. It was like watching a soap opera... I just kept reading the most absurd plot points aloud to my cousin so she could laugh along, but truthfully, I LOVED every second of over-the-top melodrama. This comic is like if "Killing Stalking" and "Banana Scandal" had a baby... an edgy affair with some great humor.

Jinsung (our twink MC) has always had a crush on big brother figure / boy next door, Yura, who's 6 years older than him, 6 inches taller than him, and took Jinsung in after his parents died in a car accident. Jinsung has accepted that Yura won't return his feelings, until ONE NIGHT when Yura suddenly comes onto him! They f*ck, and Jinsung is left dripping c*m the next day while his 'big bro' gets ready for work, seemingly unable to remember anything that transpired between them! Was it another man entirely who came onto Jinsung? Or was it.... A SPLIT PERSONALITY??

10/10 so far, since this is an ongoing comic, but it has everything I look for in a boys love manhwa: good art, drama, humor, a terrifying man with bags under his eyes, and lots and lots of kinky, borderline CNC sex!

My next favorite read of the week was "Cherry Magic! Thirty Years of Virginity Can Make You a Wizard?!" by Yuu Toyota. If the title alone doesn't sell you, you're making a big mistake. Huge.

Adachi (another twink MC) turns 30 while retaining his virginity and discovers a special power: he can now read minds! Much to his surprise, his coworker, Kurosawa, apparently has a THING for him. Every time they get close, Adachi can hear Kurosawa thinking about how cute he is, how sexy he must be under his baggy clothes, how much he just wants to F*CK him, and slowly but surely he warms up to the attention and starts dating Kurosawa.

8/10, and I will definitely continue reading as it publishes! The art is solid, the writing is HILARIOUS, and I'm always a sucker for a cute lil office romance.

Apparently, "Dick Fight Island" by Reibun Ike has been making its way around TikTok, so when my cousin and I stumbled across it in a Japanese bookstore, she MADE me buy it--and I will thank her with my dying breath that she did. This is hands down (dicks down?) the FUNNIEST SHIT I have read in AGES.

The story is set on a remote island populated by a dozen or so different clans. Every year, the clans get together and have one representative battle it out for the title of king. How do they fight, you ask? Well the rules are pretty simple: whoever c*ms first, loses.

When our MC, Harto, returns from studying abroad, he brings a new, surprise technique into the competition: prostate stimulation.

Full of excellent in-jokes for longtime boys love readers, "Dick Fight Island" is a humorous romp with some great, uncensored peen front & center. 10/10 for absurdist comedy.

Probably should have sorted these according to genre, rather than my personal timeline, but there you go! Some great reads from summer vacation 2023.