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yukidragon · 2 years ago

Note

The pregnancy AU is so dark but good. Realistic.

CW discussion of abuse and suicide mention

What Ian is doing to Alice in this AU is called post-separation abuse (and arguably stalking). Using child support money and visitation to keep his hooks in her are particularly dirty tactics, as is trespassing in to the hospital to hound her while she’s vulnerable after the birth, and the fact that his suicide attempt injuries are creating guilt in her.

He’s taking advantage of her inability to set boundaries and completely ignoring those of the hospital that are set for patients safety and wellbeing.

Ian paying for the flat trying to get Alice to move back in is favour sharking and trying to maintain control over her through financial means.

I do know exactly how dangerous Jack is after what he did to Nick. And that he’s also 100% manipulating MC/Alice, and half considered the theory that he may want to take over MCs body. I don’t think things will end well. But in this particular instance I’m actually more on Jack’s side and despite his ulterior motives think him hitting the call button to help Alice/talking to her about Ian’s manipulation is super reasonable.

Even from source material I genuinely don’t think Jack is the only shady manipulator in the game. Unstable yandere Ian is plausible.

Canonically Ian’s got his own issues resulting from abuse and is pitiful but he’s still got the upper hand financially and whether consciously or not he can be a manipulative softboy. Ian’s crying and incessant calls pressure MC, he talks about their history and grabs for any emotional hold he can get. They can’t afford to cut ties by moving out of the flat he knows the location of and presumably still has keys to, and he doesn’t give MC any choice around him returning to try and get back together. He knows the calls are unwanted as he “didn’t think you’d answer”.

He’s scary persistent. Abandonment issues are making him irrational. This is beginning to border on post separation abuse/stalking.

Plus to me Ian’s ‘intimacy’ while together seemed very one sided, kind of forced or forceful with what he did at the end. You’re welcome to disagree but I found it pretty difficult to listen to that encounter. His wants trumped her comfort level.

It’s ok if anyone likes him as a character, he’s cute, nobody is all bad and it is fictional.

I’m just saying I buy this AU because personally even canon Ian gives me bad vibes.

This is a very thoughtful analysis on the pregnant with Ian's child AU I posted here and here, but also MC's relationship with Ian as a whole. I'm also glad that you enjoyed the AU, even if it's pretty darn dark.

I have actually touched on Ian's personality in several past posts, particularly in this in depth one where I examined why he might have cheated. I do agree that Ian is being manipulative with his phone calls, from the way he words things to how he reminds MC of their past together and how much he loves and needs them. How far he'll go to get them back is something we'll have to wait and see, as the demo only gives us a glimpse into his desperation.

I do agree that Ian's sex scene was a bit rough to get through. You're not alone in thinking that he was being too forceful since he wouldn't let MC stop, pleading with them and even physically taking control away from them. Even MC thinks of it as them being used.

It was like being used. And somewhere in the back of my mind, I didn’t care if he WAS using me.

I won't go as far to say it's dubious consent, but it did feel like MC's ability to say no or stop was denied because Ian was horny and really wanted them to get him off.

Some people like being choked/suffocated during sex, but that's not everyone's fetish, and MC wasn't given a choice in the matter, nearly blacking out from lack of oxygen at the end.

It's possible that this is a similar situation to the sex scene in the "no" route where the writing didn't quite convey the tone intended. I'm willing to accept that may be the case and reserve my judgement for intent with the scene for when the updated demo comes out and reexamines that scene in particular when it comes to MC and the player's ability to make choices.

However, as we've seen in the demo, Ian gets pointers on how to have sex from ecchi/hentai. I don't know about you, but those sex scenes tend to have the penetrating male partner be excessively forceful, with the submissive partner at times protesting or even clearly saying "no," only to have it be framed as them actually being shy and wanting to be dominated so forcefully. It's a "romanticized" view of sex that lacks real communication for the sake of keeping the action going, as it were.

There are plenty of people who learn misinformation from hentai/ecchi/porn/word of mouth, especially if they're inexperienced, as MC and Ian are. Often times these types of porn are meant just to satisfy the straight male audience without considering other genders or orientations. There's plenty of bad lessons about toxic masculinity in these types of fiction and how much focus and glorification there is on the dominant male partner to get off. If the media shows that the other partner is satisfied by these actions that mostly just gratify the dominant male, and Ian is not getting feedback from his partner to tell him what they disliked, he can just happily think nothing is wrong with his technique.

This is especially true when it comes to having a partner who struggles to advocate for their own comfort if it might make the other partner feel bad. This is the narrative I'm exploring with Alice and Ian in Sunshine in Hell, and is part of why their relationship turned toxic. Lack of communication on boundaries, and Ian taking more from Alice than she should have been giving, ultimately led to an unhealthy dynamic between them.

As we've seen in the demo, while MC did take the lead at first during the sex scene, wanting to make Ian feel good, when they tried to pull back, he stopped them, giving them pleading eyes and saying it's the first time they got so far and it feels so good. They love him, so they give in to his needs. They're used to taking care of him and his needs, as we saw a few times earlier in the demo. He's sensitive, cries easily, and is very apologetic. Someone who is empathetic will have a hard time wanting to do anything that might upset him, like, say... telling him that what he's doing is hurting or suffocating them. They might even just skip asking him to return the favor by going down on them next since he's tired.

That's the case with Alice. She consented to sex with Ian, but there was this undercurrent of pressure to it. They're in love, it's what he wants, he says such sweet things, and it's something natural that couples do, right? If they don't have sex, well... isn't that just saying that she isn't attracted to him, like those bullies that mocked his looks? Isn't that comparing him to the people who forced SA on her? Isn't that saying that his sex drive is wrong like his mother always told him? I don't think pressuring her was a conscious choice on Ian's part, but when Alice struggled to deny him what he wanted and was so used to helping and taking care of him since he needed her... there's this undercurrent of obligation that encouraged her to just, well, "lie back and think of England" as the saying goes.

In their relationship, Alice's comfort and needs were sacrificed over and over for Ian's sake, because he needed her. He needed her to be the strong one, to support him. He had a shitty life and was all alone. He couldn't face the world without her. Without her, he had no one who loved and cared for him, no one to find him desirable. He got spoiled by her in ways... so when he no longer had her and he suddenly had to stand on his own... he felt very lonely. And very horny.

So it's really not any wonder that Ian was tempted when other people, besides Alice, started paying attention to him, liking him, and finding him desirable... especially in a place where Alice simply wasn't around to fulfil all his needs.

I think Ian is a really interesting character to explore. I do think his story arc is going to be one of redemption for his mistakes, both with the cheating and with their relationship in general. He's flawed, and I think that's the point. I don't think it's bad to like him or want to give him that second chance. I also don't think it's bad to dislike him and feel uncomfortable by the way he manipulates and pressures MC.

Ian has done damage to MC with his cheating. Whether or not the rest of his relationship with MC was healthy, well, I think that we might have to wait and see and/or do our own headcanons there. I'm sure for plenty of Ian fans, what went on between him and their MC was a lot healthier, just with a few hiccups and one major issue with his cheating.

I do know that Alice and Ian simply weren't a healthy relationship. They won't work together, even if he never cheated. Too much damage has been done and continues to be done. What Ian does with the phone calls is crushing to someone like Alice who only wants him to be happy... even though he broke her heart over and over again... and he continues to do so in a desperate attempt to return things to the way they used to be, when they were happy.

Ian just doesn't understand that there were too many times that his happiness came at the cost of Alice making herself unhappy... while she lied to herself that she was happy just because she made him happy.

To be fair to Ian, he can't exactly understand that he's taking too much when Alice doesn't love herself as much as she loves him.

@channydraws @earthgirlaesthetic @sai-of-the-7-stars @cheriihoney @illary-kore @okamiliqueur

#Sunny Day Jack #Something's Wrong With Sunny Day Jack #SunnyDayJack #sdj #swwsdj #Headcanon Ramblings #Ask

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justagalwhowrites · 10 months ago

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Oh.

Oh my god.

I truly didn’t know what would shake out with Savvy, if they’d find her or not, who would find her, when, where, how. This was so good. So perfect. The fact that Ellie was with Joel surely put Savvy at ease. He knew just what to say. The fact that truly Ellie was integral since she clocked the snare in the first place.

I have read SO MANY Pedro fan give in the last year. Like a gross amount. Three have made me cry, and I’m not a crier. This chapter, this moment was one. For the record the other two were also yours 🤣

THANK YOU and holy CRAP I want to keep reading!! I know it can feel weird but please consider setting up a Kofi or something. Maybe you can’t use the money but then maybe donate it to a cause you love bc you deserve SOME kind of compensation for the professional quality gut punch beautifully crafted work you deliver, and with some an incredible speed at that 😭❤️

(ALSO I was very concerned knowing Bambi was going to tentatively get with someone else and even knowing it wasn’t going to work I was so scared. But I think it was important she doesn’t just get back with him. She’s been so hesitant and guarded it makes sense her incredibly strong feelings be tested and dang if the proof isn’t in the raspberries that Joel is it for her.)

Hi Bestie!!!!!

I really tried to keep Savvy's fate a mystery so we really felt some of how Bambi's been feeling all this time! But Joel immediately going into girl dad mode with her just... I love him. I love him so much. And Ellie being there helped so much, both because she saw the snare but also because she was basically a walking green flag. This young girl is OK with this man - clearly willing to kill for this man - so he's trustworthy. She was integral to getting Savvy home. Joel's baby saved Bambi's baby and I love them for it.

OMG I'm so happy my writing has made you feel so deeply! These characters and stories mean so much to me and the fact that they have an impact on others is so extraordinary to me. I love storytelling so much, that we can all experience these things together and share in the grief and the love and the passion and the joy.

You're not the first to mention a Ko-Fi and I haven't set one up simply because I genuinely don't need the money? In a lot of ways, I've lucked into a fairly comfortable life (not trying to downplay the fact that I've worked and struggled but I've had a lot of privilege and a lot of luck) and have everything I need, most things I want and a nice savings account. But the donation thing is a nice idea! So I think I'll turn on the tip function here on Tumblr and see what happens with the intent of donating what I get from it. That being said, if something I've written moves you to the point that you'd like to pay me for it, please consider tipping another author who hasn't been as lucky as I have financially. I'm sure they would really appreciate it and I'd love to support other authors vicariously!

And AHH yes I totally get you! I wanted Julie to happen for a few reasons? Mostly so Bambi wasn't just singularly focused on Joel. I don't think that suits who she is as a person and I don't think it would be good for her to do that, either. But I also wanted her to really understand that yes, Joel is it for her. She's never felt this way about anyone else and she never will again and moving beyond that - especially when he's RIGHT THERE - isn't going to happen. She needs to learn how to accept and forgive his past and trust who he is now otherwise she's going to be stuck living without the kind of love she knows is out there. She really knows that now and it's putting her in the right place to really process what happened with Joel. They're so close! They really are!

Thank you so so much for reading and for your kind words, Bestie!! Love you!!

#fanfic #joel miller x female reader #send asks #kit answers #yearling

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earth-scented · 1 year ago

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tbh you’re not being offensive, just annoying with your point. there’s a difference between trying to prove a point with valid evidence and reasons, and just straight out stating something with nothing behind it. if you wanted to point them as scammers or con-artists, you could’ve started it in a better way than writing it out like a 12 year old on the internet: “scam and colby the CONjuring house.” after seeing that post, i immediately didn’t take you seriously. i would be more open to listen to your reasoning and argument if you would’ve of come off so fucking idiotic in the first place and that’s coming for someone (no matter how much i like/love a youtuber) is willing to be open minded about anything. if you’re going to point fingers, say we’re ignorant or blind, shrug your shoulders and state bullshit— and yes, maybe it’s not bullshit and you’re completely right—but if you want people to not call you a hater/troll/drama queen, at least come with a little bit of evidence other than just “your word”.

if you reply to this like: “i don’t care what y’all have to think. you have opinion and i have mine.” then… that’s just sad.

What exactly is the point of this whiney rant

Call me whatever you want but i certainly can't take an anonymous rant seriously 🤷🏽‍♀️ People scared of their own opinion are hilarious. But I've had a good night sleep so let me explain it once more.

As far as I'm concerned, stay blind to all the stuff that's been debunked already, it's fully your choice. Don't take in consideration the fact (not opinion) that people who dare to question this are being silenced, that Cody and Satori lie about financial gain and how their method works. They refuse anything that would actually debunk them. In the first video during the preview they're shown without socks (picture down) yet that debunking scene never made the cut of the uncut video lol. It's left out on purpose because it clearly shows how it works. SnC "overlooked" that, not by accident.

The video below shows Cody manipulating his body parts to make sounds. Anyone with a set of eyehole holes and earhole holes will notice it. It doesn't show clearly in the clip downstairs because it's zoomed in, but in the full uncut video Cody waves his hand in this one as a magician would to distract you while performing a trick. And if you'd observed their behavior and interaction more before jumping to defend it, you'd notice they're using performative tricks like that all the time.

So none of the evidence is just my word, and it's enough for me to give them side eye instead of participating in this "the next Ed and Lorraine" obsession, on this huge platform of 10 million people they've now been given. By Scam and Colby yes, who are willingly promoting this and being dishonest on a very large scale for money. And if you think that's okay and acceptable then I am not the problem, I can assure you.

The burden of proof lies on them, and they're unwilling to take it. They have grandiose, extraordinary claims and that requires grandiose, extraordinary proof to support it. You can't just expect people to believe their word, unless you're extremely naive and gullible.

I want this to be true as well because it would honestly be amazing, but sadly the facts don't give a shit about my wishes, or yours.

#cody and satori #xplr #sam and colby

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aqours · 11 months ago

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i'm OP it's kind of hard to ignore you when you're having a debate in my notes. like it's actively difficult to ignore this when my last 20 notes are from this. i am assuming you are willing to have a discussion on something when you have replied to somebody else ten times on my post. that being said upon re-reading it i kind of went all over the place in my post so let me try to rephrase everything.

i am telling you it doesn't fucking matter. the discourse around this game has reached such fucking levels that war crimes are seen as better than it when you can just ignore the fact the game exists. "it fetishizes incest" so does a billion other things. just ignore it and move on. i take issue to acting like you're giving us a galaxy brain take when you're really not. that's it. i bring up the other thing because i explicitly said the context behind these posts is related to a much bigger problem in general.

i am reading your replies. you do not seem to be beyond a very quick glance, so let me rephrase.

you're not saying anything worth listening to. you're fighting for the sake of dying on a hill nobody actually cares about.

everyone knows it. everyone gets it. anyone that thinks you're unreasonable in disliking it from the bottom of their chest is either a fucking goddamn moron that's either stupid as fuck or just wants to fight for the sake of fighting by being an annoying motherfucker.

you've done nothing to actually refute ebenelephant in any of your replies. ebenelephant has repeatedly stated that anyone is free to write about what they want and portray what they want: and ebenelephant is correct. you do not like how it portrays incest. that is completely fine. you are just free to move on with your life. it will not change anything. you talk about how it's immoral and no shit. anybody that supports this shit irl needs fucking therapy immediately. but it's a work of fiction. you can block people, blacklist it, move on with your life and only focus on the things you actually like.

all your replies boil down to trying to scream about the fact you don't like a game romanticizes something while the other people tells you "dude, they can still make it if you want," and acting like we're the ones without reading comprehension. it's annoying. you're not dying on a hill like some hero and you're not making a point. in fact, you're actively demonstrating what is anti-media analysis (as you seem to think i haven't read your posts...)

there is nothing to learn or to get from a serbian film. its meaningless violence to shock. and there are a lot of violent medias written like that. you dont watch a serbian film and come out with wonder that "wow what great political/social/etc commentary" because it means nothing and has no message to say.

people have discussed seriously if this movie means anything or not, and it's own director explicitly stated it was indeed a commentary. using another infamous movie as an example: The Cannibal Holocaust was explicitly stated by it's own director that it was meant to be nothing more than an exploitation film to make money. even today there are people who seriously discuss this film as a reflection of a society that glorifies violence for gratification and sensationalism. something meant solely to squick you out to make money is talked about seriously sometimes in film circles. Salo, or: The 120 Days of Sodom is also in that camp of infamous torture porn/squick movies that's still discussed today. that's the beauty of critical discussion and media analysis. to me, in TCOAAL, it's both in how it romanticizes this incest while also making it clear both people involved are utterly fucked up mentally in every way imaginable and that somehow it's less toxic than the world around them to a society that wrote the Graves siblings off as less than worthless to be sold to an organ harvesting scheme even before that happened. i find it interesting.

you do not get to say that something is bereft of literary analysis because of an arbitrary belief. you are wrong. and i want to make that clear.

and you don't have to find it interesting. but it's really fucking weird you just outright say certain media has nothing to discuss intellectually in any capacity and it makes it obvious you don't actually fucking understand it. a movie that was intended to have no social commentary unintentionally created some that is discussed many years later. a movie that was meant to have commentary is often derided as less worthful in it's discussion and the main commentary (politicians in Serbia) is less worth discussing than just it's edgelord aspects, if anything if you want to discuss it it's more worthwhile to talk about it's portrayal of violence in pornogrpahy and abuse of women in pornography.

and the beautiful thing is you can pretend those movies don't exist either. but they had a right to be made. if you're not interested in anything TCOAAL has to say it's fine. if you don't like something bc it romanticized incest it's fine. everything is fine and i'll defend to the fucking death your right to not like it and anybody who says you just don't get it are actually just fucking wrong. the same way you're not really saying anything worth saying.

ebenelephant is right in that anything has a right to be made as long as real things weren't hurt (which is why if i had a magic button i'd just erase The Cannibal Holocaust from existence, any critical discussion to be made about it be damned). you are correct in saying that people dislike it for this reason. that is factually correct. that does not mean it didn't deserve to be made, that people who like it have no reading comprehension or are just stupid. it's just... a taste in difference. that's all this is, what any of it is.

does that make sense?

we've entered a really fucking weird era of shipping discourse ngl

#starposts #discourse cw #long post

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speakergame · 4 years ago

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Helllo! I would like to start by saying that I love Speaker. I started reading yesterday and I got immediately hooked! 😍 Hello dear! I've noticed that you only have 2 possible tiers on patreon which both are honestly very low paying. I would love to give you more support. Do you plan on making higher patreon tiers in the future? Or do you prefer us to support you via kofi? I'd rather give you support in a more benefiting to you way! Take care sweetie! 💖

first off, thank you for your support! it means a lot to me! 💙💙💙

I have considered adding higher tiers to my patreon, but right now I am not really sure what I can offer besides what I already do 😅 I’m certainly open to suggestions for things to add for, say, a 10/15/20$ tier, but as it is I don’t have the first idea of what might be fun/interesting/compelling for folks to want to pledge at higher tiers

currently, all money made through patreon and ko-fi is going into a pile that I intend to throw at an artist to get some “official” artwork done (headers, logos, RO portraits to use for character pages, things like that), once I find an artist willing to sign on for something like that

#speaker game #asks #the fact that there is anyone willing to give me money to support my writing is still baffling to me #tpcignits

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millenialfanfictionaddiction · 3 years ago

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🐺 Being Poly with MSBY 🐺

MSBY Black Jackals x Female reader

Warnings: mentions of polyship, I kept it clean 🙌🏻

AN: This is an Anon request!

🌠 Please Like, Reblog and/or Share to help support my writing 🌠

YN you Bit-

Nope I'm not going to say it 😊

Seriously the fact that you simply exist is a gift

But the fact that you took four extremely good looking men off the market 😐

Honestly I'm really impressed

Seriously, this was not how you planned this

Honestly, the only ones who seemed even remotely excited about you was Hinata and Bokuto

They are the two most open of the group

And they will always let you know how they feel

Atsumu is more of man who will let you know he likes you by teasing you 😏

While Bokuto and Hinata literally want to take up all your free time, Atsumu will take any time to get a dig in

He will tease you about everything from your height to your hair

But like it's cute teasing

And if anyone else teases you, Atsumu is not having it 😒

"Stop teasing my girl" 👉🏻 Atsumu 😑

You 👉🏻 what did he say 😃

If that isn't weird enough, throw in Sakusa and it's like a whole circus up on here

Sakusa doesn't let many people in

It's actually not until he sees you using sanitizer wipes to wipe down your door handles that he starts to open up

Sakusa definitely has a crush on you but won't make it as blatant as the rest of them

Now, hear me out here ✋️

You have a slight clue Bokuto and Hinata have a crush on you

Atsumu is a bit more hit and miss

Sakusa, well good luck reading thay man 😅

Things come to a head when Atsumu not so casually brings up wanting to ask you out

Bokuto and Hinata's necks literally snap to him

Serious whiplash happening here

"What makes you think she wants to go out with you?" - Hinata

"Yeah I was going to ask her out"- Bokuto

Soon there is squabbling happening between the three

Sakusa will be observing and planning his move

He figures while the other three are arguing, he can just swoop right in

Which he does 😳

He asks you for your number and on a date

Hinata, Bokuto, and Atsumu all see this exchange and we are graced with a generous Sakusa smile 😁

But that doesn't deter the other three, oh no no no

Now it's become a competition

Needless to say YN, you life just got a heck of a lot busier

You end up going on 4 seperate dates with these men

But here's the kicker

You can't pick 😭

So you decide to tell them you can't date any of them

I meam, you don't want to ruin their friendship and team dynamics

Honestly you are so selfless YN 🤗

But these boys are not willing to give you up just like that

Oh no no no

In fact, it's Atsumu who brings up you dating all of them

Sakusa 👉🏻😐😳

Bokuto 👉🏻 🤸‍♂️🙌🏻

Hinata 👉🏻😐😃

You 👉🏻🤨😳🥴💀

Seriously he's off his rocker

Probably from the beatings he took from Osamu 😅

This is how your poly-ship starts

Now it's slow going at first

You hang out with one or all of them

Honestly any combo inbetween

Seriously they are alot of work YN

Bokuto himself is a full time job so add in the other 3 and 😅

Things progress slowly because you are dealing with alot of personalities here

You spend time getting to know each of them

And I definitely think you are going to have to take turns sleeping at each of their places

It's a rotation YN

Each one needs their own special time

But eventually that special time morphes into a special joint time

Like soon Hinata and Bokuto are hanging out with you and Sakusa joins you and Atsumu's date nights

Eventually you can merge them all under on roof 😅

Seriously these boys are rich volleyball stars they have enough money

Please you literally have a full time job being their SO

You still have to divide up personal time

Lile you and Atsumu go on morning runs together

You and Bokuto go to the movies

Sakusa and you cook nightly dinners together

Hinata and you totally do crafts together ✋️

You make it work YN

Seriously you are simultaneously the luckiest and most exhausted person in the whole wide world 🤣

#hq msby #msby headcanons #msby polyship #msby x female reader #msby four #sakusa kiyoomi #miya atsumu #hinata shoyo #bokuto kotaro

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myshroomz · 2 years ago

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why i’m glad i got banned from the bittersweet candy bowl server.

i’ll start off with a disclaimer: i recognize that for the sake of my peers i should have kept some of what i said to myself (intending to pull monetary support and harshly criticizing rather than being constructive) but make no mistake, i don’t regret having said what i said. i’ve been a reader of bittersweet candy bowl since september 2011 (half my lifespan, literally!); continued to subscribe to patreon since it was an option, occasionally maintained my club member status, purchased from the store and remained active in the community due to my love of the comic stemming from it’s start in 2009 to when it went downhill after the start of vol. 6, additionally my admiration for select characters and a, clearly, pointless and blind hope that the writing would continue to meet or perhaps re-improve to meet the standard of excellency that it had prior to mid 2015 kept me reading.

on pulling monetary support

i’ll start by acknowledging the fact that my displeasure with the route of the story isn’t an excuse to publicly question whether i’m willing to financially support the creators of this comic. with that being said, this is something i’ve been considering for a while, and not just because i’m unhappy with the writing. that is certainly part of it, but also due to the fact that suitcase, for MONTHS, has publicly disclosed his gambling habits (and it’s gambling, y’all, and if it’s not it’s a pump and dump) and the money he’s losing as well as requesting donations to fuel his desire…

sure, it’s his server. however, discussing your losses and asking for more money from a group of people who are literally financing you, paying you for your living, is extremely irresponsible and quite frankly tone deaf. as well as aggressively responding to someone, who pays you monthly, for having a concern regarding your wellbeing.

why only mention the storyline when discussing financial support of the comic then? suitcase is a tricky individual and quite frankly i felt more comfortable expressing disappointment from the story itself rather than directly mention something suitcase seems to deem a necessary part of his life. essentially, i was more scared of being kicked for criticizing suitcase’s announcement of slap-in-the-face choices than i was expressing discontent with the comic, based on how he responded to others regarding his, um… habit.

if it’s such a waste, why continue giving money? frankly it was a shit taste joke at the expense of the authors because it’s $120 per year at $10 a month….. me personally? didn’t ever notice missing $10. tbh i don’t think the authors themselves are worthy of respect after all the shit they’ve said and done, not just to me but some of my friends so after a point i stopped caring about whether what i’m saying would be hurtful towards them. i’m a stranger on the internet y’all will never meet in person it’s not that deep lol. plus spending money benefited me so at the end of the day my “support” turned into it just being convenient for me as a reader.

the mods

it isn’t easy modding, sure. yet in retrospect i’m now fully aware of the times i’ve come close to crossing the line before, in the presence of mods, and was not given an individual warning for my behavior. “you should know better” isn’t an adequate excuse when it comes to the fact that when people are rowdy or you believe there is an issue, it is your responsibility as a moderator to call out the behavior, explain how it goes against the rules. and issue a warning. if it continues, or worsens, it should automatically result in a ban. for those who were active in gifted-and-talented, you may recognize the name lusus. lusus was a consistent issue for months: nearly everything they sent into the chat was an aggressive attack on anyone who disagreed with their opinions, they twisted peoples words and used insults and generally were not a pleasant person to be around. it. took. them. months. to finally kick them. and lusus is not the only person who behaved similarly that the mods also consistently only gave a warning in the form of a timeout or a slap on the wrist to. multiple people who eventually got banned got away with HARASSING people for an unreasonable amount of time while others were begging for the mods to do something. every update they got a warning.

this was about someone who spent months harassing and insulting people. multiple people left the server or avoided the chat when lusus was present due to their behavior.

shutting down differing opinions

this i don’t have screenshots for because, well…… didn’t think ahead to grab them…. but on multiple occasions suitcase and taeshi would shut down or (in taeshi’s case) react passive aggressively to anyone who dares to disagree with them. i DO have this very public disagreement taeshi and suitcase had back during the height of mike derangement syndrome while eternal flame was releasing

suit replies that it was a fundamental misunderstanding of what he was saying but i was present for this, and his initial statement prior to taeshi’s correction was a snarky shut down of a perhaps poorly worded, but valid, criticism of mike. honestly, and i’ve been active in this discord for at minimum two years, a lot of opinions supporting lucy, sandy, or paulo’s anger towards mike, or general anger towards mike, were consistently attacked in homeroom and gifted-and-talented. and in some cases, suitcase himself offers support to whoever is attempting to shut down the offending (anti-mike) opinion. of course there’s bias because he knows how the story ends, but supporting those who were slinging insults and being aggressive toward anyone who didn’t agree with what suitcase thought should be the overall opinion… not acknowledging that different people will consume and have different perspectives on your content and proceeding to be passive aggressive to whoever doesn’t support what you believe to be the “correct” viewpoint… yikes! there have been multiple times the both of the higher powers so to speak negatively spoke about their characters, seemingly to paint them in a further bad light that is not shown or said in-comic. it’s like no one can have an opinion or support a character that the authors themselves aren’t in favor of.

the server in general

anti-mike opinions, even after eternal flame hype died down and less people were… aggressive, about their opinion, are still continuously shut down and argued with. this is less a suitcase-taeshi issue, and more an issue with the general population of fans. long winded example: refusing to see other points of views and sticking their “all hail michael” opinions down other’s throats recently. i wanted to see a character worthy of forgiveness not watch the storyline circle around mike being “not a bad guy” and how guilty he feels and have that be extended in the readers. i wanted a community that actually heard my opinion instead of shutting me down for it. i already read a comic that doesn’t do justice to my favorite character with authors who hate the character they wrote, i just wanted a space to express my opinion without having a cyclical conversation about how i’m actually incorrect and wrong for defending, for example, sandy. when my friends or people who showed genuine support for those with differing opinions (shoutout aqua splotchi and two other folks who’s names i’m blanking on) weren’t present in the chat, it felt extremely alienating and like i had to argue and defend my point rather than simply debating it. i left the first time for that reason, and came back when it seemed to have settled. it hadn’t.

tl;dr: the comic’s going downhill anyway with nonsensical and predictable plot “twists”; lack of character growth, character regression, boring cyclical storylines we’ve seen over and over for a decade, the community shut downs and invalidates anyone who disagrees with the “general” “correct” opinion, the authors themselves are passive aggressive and mean regardless of your stance, and your money’s wasted on crypto gambling anyway.

#hopefully scheduled tumblr posts work but if this is lost to the void on the fifteenth uhhhhhhhhh #who cares…. cared enough to write this don’t care enough to check on it or whatev #i think it’s actually hilarious i got banned and the response people had to it #i said more than the screencaps provided but ban bot deletes everything so i don’t have it saved #i just don’t rmbr what it was otherwise i’d have expanded but eh….. you get the jist

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opinated-user · 2 years ago

Text

hi, LO. since you had the grace of sharing my name on your blog, it seems rude to not respond to some key points.

Like, my and Lizzy’s accusations of abuse against each other are literally She said, She Said (down by the she shore). I said Lizzy’s abusive, Lizzy said I’m abusive back, and a lot of these “people” chose to believe Lizzy because they already hate me and that’s literally it. That’s where the proof begins and ends. They chose to believe the person who wasn’t the one they already hated.

indeed, we only have each other’s word to know what happened between those two... unless you ignore all the evidence that supports Lizzy’s narrative, that includes witnesses, screenshots, and how LO in three years of bashing Lizzy (going so far as using her legal real name on her pokemon comic) has never been able to provide any evidence at all for her claims. the thing with Lizzie is that her story paints a pattern of behaviour that LO has shown herself to follow to a t. namely the pressuring people into being sexual with her on ways they didn’t entirely consented to, using manipulative tactis like a supposed third person triangulating her targets or just money. the person that @britts-galaxy-brain demostrated through her screenshots of her old conversation between her, Tara and LO pre-transition, is the exact same person who Patch dennounced on his own video and that is the exact same person that Lizzy talked about on her twitlonger. Brittany showed us a immoral person willing to do anything to satisfy her own selfish sexual desires. Patch talked us about someone sexually frustrated with her partner and has no respect for her enough not to conciously cheat on her behind her back. Lizzy talked us about a partner that was always demanding too much of her and cheated on her. these three narratives perfectly match each other to paint the same picture, despite not one of these people sharing any previous close relationship and despite their narrative having years of difference between each other. not only that, there’s even more people who can testify to LO’s hypersexual nature that seems to disregard the existence of boundaries or takes consent for granted. i posted multiple clips of different streams where LO does just that, as recent as a couple of weeks ago, on the post responding to another one of her that can be found here. i didn’t put more clips simply because it was getting redundant but anyone’s free to follow @lilysstreaminghiglights to see much more, including videos where LO admits to writing Stockholm, something she denies to this day. on one side we have Lizzy, who never had any other allegations from anyone else but LO before nor shown to be violent, agressive or as sexually needy as LO claims her to be. we can’t forget that nobody who saw her twits and read her posts actually knows her as intimately as a family member, a irl friend or a partner could know her so we could, theorically, think that Lizzy is just that good at hiding it and only ever showed that other side to LO. abusers can in fact do that. the problem with us going on that direction, is that still doesn’t explain why Patch’s testimony matches and complements Lizzy’s so perfectly. it doesn’t erase the fact that LO has been a creep and acted predatory towards her fans, regardless of any of the people who accuses her, which gives at least some legitimacy to both of their claims. the allegations of Lizzy are credible with what we have come to know about LO from many different sources, including her own performance during streams. LO’s actually the only one who only has her word to give, so it truly depends on how much weight any particular person is willing to give to that. i personally have come to the conclusion that even if Lizzy made mistakes, even if Lizzy could have handled things about their relationship better, which i might never know for sure, what she accuses LO of doing are things i can see happening. not the other way around.

Likewise with the porn accounts. It’s confirmed because… the name is similar to someone who edited my TVTropes page years and they think that account was me because… ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

@britts-galaxy-brain can explain this better than i can here, but to give the short version: alcohorative was admitted to being another account of tara, a sockpuppet account that LO used to catfish and traingulate Brittany when they were still friends. the rest of her post is so full of wild assumptions without any base that it’s really not worth responding at all.

#lily orchard

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leviiattacks · 4 years ago

Note

levi and erwin as dads with their s/o headcanons please? 🥺

author note :: anon later came back in another ask and specified they wanted modern levi and erwin so i’ve done that !! i’m working my way through requests and i may not do them all but reminder as always that requests are open ;-) ALSO WOOOH finally time to write erwin.

levi

he finds it hard to figure out how to be a dad at first because he’s never really had a solid father figure that’s consistently been there. he worries occasionally thinking whether or not he’s doing a good or bad job

but what he knows for certain is that his mother was a great parent and he decides that he’ll be like her because she made him happy when she was around

he enjoys dressing the kids up when they’re super young

like really enjoys it. he loves onesies it’s so odd to you because he just comes back home one day with a snowman onesie, a demon onesie, an angel onesie, ALL THE ONESIES IMAGINABLE???

you have to admit it’s cute

very doting, he’s that dad that’ll pack lunches for his kids without being told to do it by you. he does it because it makes him happy to see the lunch boxes return empty at the end of the day

also loves feedback on his lunches

you’d think he’d be the type to toughen the children up and tell them to not cry over cuts and scrapes but he literally carries around cute band-aids with him in case of injury

does NOT tolerate a messy room.

spring cleaning is a thing and he does not care how much the kids whine they have to participate

teaches them how to use the washing machine, iron, fold their duvets, organise their wardrobes from a young age

still very strict. no sleepovers. he does not trust his children in the hands of anybody.

you scold him for it because ??? the kids need to interact with others ??? but he’s adamant he doesn’t like the idea. no means no.

“if you want a sleepover so bad your friends can come over here. that’s the best you’re getting.”

but you know he says that because he cares. levi would never invite outsiders to the house because of his low tolerance for germs but if he’s willing to do it for his kids then it’s obvious he won’t change his mind on the sleepover rule for their own safety

adding onto this he’s protective, anyone who messes with his kids will have a stern word thrown at their parents

“behaviour like this tends to be learnt in the home so if your kid cusses mine out again i’ll be back and you’ll have to put some money in the swear jar. got it? :-)”

will not put the kids in classes for things like swimming he prefers to teach them himself

“why the hell should i do that when i could spend that time with them? i think my breaststroke is pretty good y’know.”

then he looks at you waiting to agree and when you don’t he grumbles saying you’re just jealous that he can swim better than you

will never get angry at the kids, rarely shouts or argues when around them in general. level headed, sure he gets annoyed because they’re children of course they’ll annoy him at some point but he’ll never take it out on them

as long as they’re happy he doesn’t care about the career they choose

like at all, he’s supportive of anything and everything as long as they become good, genuine people

whatever his children like or show an interest in he’ll buy in bulk - you grimace thinking of the time he showed up with a huge cart of oranges and his literal explanation was “the kids said they like them.”

erwin

he’s so excited to become a parent, he’s been looking forward to it for a long time and he knows he’ll love talking to his kids and teaching them what he’s learnt through his lifetime

but really that’s his advantage, he finds it easy to understand how his children feel and he sympathizes well with them

does not like negative reinforcement or making his children go through punishments, instead when they do something good he positively reinforces them to encourage that they keep up the good behaviour

big on bedtime stories, wants them to have a love for reading.

“y/n what do i read to them tonight? i have so many choices but i can’t even pick?”

sports, arts, music, extracurricular activities in general

will encourage his children to participate in a hobby but they’re free to choose what it is he doesn’t mind what

if they’re really good and have events or recitals you can bet for a fact that erwin will be sitting proudly in the front row cheering them on

“YOU GOT THE BALL YEAHHH KEEP GOING YES YES YES!!!!”

he’s very out of character because he gets so loud but his enthusiasm never fails to encourage the children or to make you smile

if his child ever gets in trouble at school he’s going to defend them

“so this is the school’s reaction to bullying? i think my child stood up for what was right.”

only if it’s clear his child is in the right though!!

takes them fishing he thinks it’s important to spend quality time together and what better way to spend time by conversing for hours on his boat? sharing life stories and giving them advice

he’s really really busy but will try to find as much time as he can with his children. when he does get free days most of his time is spent talking to them and asking how school’s going

he’s not good at showing affection but when they’re asleep he’ll sometimes kiss their foreheads before leaving the room

“hey, look at you being soft.” you’d tease from the doorway

“i’ve always been soft i just don’t know if they’d be embarrassed by me doing it in public...” his confession catches you off guard because you know the kids wouldn’t mind it

“oh god, you’re their dad have some confidence, they’d love it!!”

he’s really self conscious after hearing that children don’t like affection in front of their peers because he doesn’t want to embarrass them

but the night he admitted that to you he realizes that the kids rush to kiss his cheek more often or to give him a hug

he has a suspicion that they heard what he said, it allows him to learn it’s okay to inquire and ask them questions about what they like and dislike more often

he learns more and more along the way and it’s one long journey but he’s a great father in the end. endlessly supportive he takes the title of father incredibly seriously.

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vaveyard · 2 years ago

Note

Please don't talk about POC and Queer authors getting hate when much of the criticism you receive IS from POC and Queer readers and you answer their asks with snark and memes, and laugh about and dismiss them with other people messaging you 🙈

How many struggling, oppressed authors could your contracts have fed? Don't speak for them when you contribute to their oppression. Redistribution of wealth and equality can't happen when white mediocrity gets 6-7 figures, and excellence from people of color gets almost nothing.

Please stop painting yourself as the perpetual victim and even comparing yourself to systematically oppressed people. Please. Surely there has to be a limit as to what you're willing to do for attention.

Most people (like me) do not criticize you for attention (hello? we're on anon? and you have all the power to delete the asks?).

The fact that you think that says a lot more about you than it does about your critics.

The fact that you think that criticism only comes from "one person", because you can't believe that more than one person in the whole world might find you lacking, that's just too absurd and improbable... is also very telling.

Most of us are people of color or members of the LGBTQ+ community or both. You're another white liberal author pretending to be anti-oppression while at the same time supporting the system, putting yourself at the center of the conversation, giving a platform to racist people making fun and/or dismissing people of color, and even participating in this behavior, and getting money and fame as a result. While the same authors of color and Queer that you speak for are left to fight for scraps.

You're not a martyr. It's obvious that you only post these asks to get sympathy and attention by people like you, because the mean oppressed people dare criticize you.

When oppressed people speak, please be respectful enough to listen. And if you can't be bothered to do that, at least keep quiet instead of dismissing them and putting YOURSELF at the center of the conversation.

Feel free to delete this if you wish, I'm not sure a public response would improve the situation. Positive change of behavior is the best show of taking accountability and apologizing for harm.

And so far, in all these years, your behavior towards readers has changed negatively.

Money, greed and entitlement really are a sickness.

Again, your issue is with the publishing industry (and the structure of capitalism in general, it seems), not with me. I'm flattered you think I have much power over either. I cannot control what manuscripts my publisher signs or who they choose as a lead title. I am also not going to refuse support for my own writing (as I am a working writing myself). I can control who I tour with and what panels I agree to be on. I'm grateful to be in a position where I can ask to do events with marginalized and/or debut authors/authors who debuted during the pandemic who didn't get a fair shake. That's been my protocol for the last few years.

And I stand by what I said. I know whatever "hate" I get is minuscule compared to what marginalized authors and creators deal with. I must acknowledge that, and I don't think that's "speaking for" anyone. Just stating the very obvious on the off chance someone thinks I'm getting an inordinate amount of negative comments. There is no comparison between my experience and their own.

I am a flawed human far from perfection. Trust me, I know many people find me lacking, some with valid cause and some without. But the vast majority of them are not on tumblr, sending a barrage of messages all at once, every few weeks, using the same syntax and focusing on the same issues every single time. It is very easy to tell which messages are from the same source.

I also have no way of knowing who a person actually is on anon. Or sometimes when it's coming from a named account. Quite frankly, I am usually the only part of the equation that is known in my interactions on here.

Regarding centering myself in conversation - I am responding to messages in my inbox, on my account. Perhaps that's the disconnect here? Unfortunately, the messages I answer are about me? As a rule, I don't answer any messages, comments, questions, or insults towards other authors that end up in my inbox. That's poor form in my opinion. And I can only talk in depth on my own experience.

#ask

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absolutepokemontrash · 4 years ago

Text

MC’s Half Demon and They Look Awfully Familiar

(Part 3! Starring Mini Mammon and Mini Asmo!)

Part 1 Part 2 Lessons 1-5 Underground Tomb special Group Retreat Lessons 10-12 Part 4

MC names:

Lucifer’s kid=L!MC | Mammon’s kid=M!MC | Asmo’s kid=A!MC

Why did bad things happen to good people? Well... Lucifer being a good person is up to interpretation. He hadn’t done anything too heinous recently, his instruments of torture were collecting dust for goodness sake! So why oh why was he staring down two half demon children who looked suspiciously like two of his brothers?

The first kid to step forward was Mammon’s without a doubt, but their general demeanour was very different from their father’s. Perhaps their other parent had done a good job-

“What the fuck was that?!”

Never mind. The kid had Mammon’s pottymouth.

The other child surveyed the scene with a nervousness that their suspected parent never possessed. The kid’s gaze fell on Lucifer, their eyes began to glow ever so slightly. “Uh-um...” the kid cleared their throat. “Someone explain what’s going on!”

Was this child seriously trying to use manipulation powers on Lucifer? He almost laughed at the mere idea of someone trying. The child didn’t even seem to be aware that they were doing it. When their question was met with blank stares, they instantly shrank back and practically hid behind the first half demon. Despite the severe self-esteem difference, this kid was Asmodeus’.

Lucifer’s own child cleared their throat and smiled. “Welcome to the Devildom!”

The Uncle That Looks Like he Has his Shit Together but he Leaves the Reunion Drunk off his Rocker (Lucifer)

Ah shit here we go again-

Okay- okay. Normally he’d scold L!MC for taking Diavolo’s line, but Dia had recovered from his shock and was now gushing over the new exchange students like an excited puppy.

“Okay... L!MC you’re going to need to share your room.”

“What?! Why?!”

“Unless Belphie is willing to give up the attic as a nap spot-”

“OVER MY DEAD BODY!”

“You’re sharing your room.”

RAD was buzzing with gossip for the entire first month of the second attempt at the exchange program. The threats of being eaten were once again stamped out very quickly.

(Special thanks to L!MC for being a good bodyguard)

Now, Lucifer didn’t exactly know what to expect when it came to the child of his favourite brother. Mammon was a dumbass, but this kid... this kid...

Was smart.

For the first time in Lucifer’s very long life he felt compelled to place someone in a higher echelon than himself.

Mammon’s child managed to successfully budget that dumpster fire of a house. On the first fucking day. Not only that. This kid managed to skim FIVE THOUSAND GRIMM OFF THE TOP AND THE BUDGET STILL WORKED! WHAT KIND OF BULLSHIT-

Lucifer and Mammon thanked whatever spirit was watching over them because they truly believed their financial woes were over.

Shame that M!MC also spent their money on dumb stuff they didn’t need. Like father like child.

It’s no secret that Lucifer does have a bit of a soft spot for Asmo, I mean, who doesn’t love Asmo? But A!MC was a blessing sent right from the Celestial Realm.

They were just... too sweet. Way too sweet. Lucifer was actively getting cavities just being near them.

Anyone who bothered A!MC and M!MC during the first month ended up getting... uh... suspended.

(We can assume the threat of suspension would have extended to those who bothered L!MC but all the lesser demons were already terrified of them.)

Normally when Lucifer called someone into his study it was to lecture them for at least four hours and then send them to their rooms, but he was having quite the difficult time actually being upset with M!MC and A!MC.

A!MC looked close to tears and M!MC just stared right back at Lucifer with little to no fear in their eyes.

“Starting a fight during the first week of school is not how I expected the exchange students to behave.” Lucifer pinched the bridge of his nose, and prepared to continue the lecture, when he heard a sniffle. There wasn’t enough Demonus in the entire Devildom...

“I-I’m s—sorry...” A!MC sniffled, quickly wiping at their eyes. “Th-they were being r-really scary and we did-didn’t know what else to do...”

“So you threw them out of a window?”

“I threw them out of the window.” M!MC huffed. “They were bein’ a dick.”

“So you threw them out of a window?”

“That um...” A!MC mumbled. “That’s not all... I may have... told them to stick their head in a toilet first...”

“You made them stick their head in a toilet,” Lucifer turned to M!MC. “And then you threw them out of a window?”

“Yes.” M!MC and A!MC replied. Lucifer downed the rest of his glass of Demonus and debated whether or not it would be a show of weakness to slam his forehead into the desk in front of the children.

Lucifer looked between the two for a moment, then shook his head and sighed. “It’s my job to deal with threats to the exchange students, not yours.” Lucifer stood in front of the two, he rested his hands on their heads and gave them a quick pat, before knocking their heads together. “Next time someone bothers you, tell me. If I hear even a whisper of you two getting into another fight, I’m hanging you from the ceiling. Is that clear?”

A!MC and M!MC looked at each other, then back at Lucifer and nodded. “Yes sir!”

“Good.” Lucifer removed his hand from their heads. “Now shoo.”

Flying lessons for the two of them went way quicker than it did for L!MC, mainly because L!MC was a way better teacher.

As much as Lucifer loved his newly found niblings, he couldn’t show it too much. Outward softness was reserved for L!MC and L!MC only. M!MC and A!MC were stuck with silent acts of affection.

Every once and a while a little present or two would end up in M!MC or A!MC’s possession. Some ice cream money for M!MC when they blew their part of the budget on fancy sunglasses, a multiplayer video game that the three half-demons could play together, new shoes when A!MC accidentally ruined their’s...

He’s a good uncle. A scary uncle. But a good uncle. ^_^

(Don’t tell him I said that, I’m still in trouble for advertising Mammon’s escape Go Fund Me and I don’t want to have to write the rest of this HC hanging upside down.)

He’s Not Like the Other Dads, he’s a Cool Dad! (Mammon)

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA (Fear)

He’s a dad?! HE’S TO YOUNG TO BE A DAD! Hang on- he’s over five thousand years old...

Oh would you look at that! His kid pulled out a calculator.

...his annual income? Uh... why do you- HEY! WHAT’S WITH THAT FACE?!

M!MC puffed out their cheek as they continued to add the ever growing list of numbers into the calculator. Mammon was trying to get a peak at what they were calculating. M!MC suddenly looked up and practically lit up the room with their smile. Aw, their fangs were growing in!

They had a devilishly charming smile, just like their pop! A real chip off the old block! It almost brought a tear to Mammon’s eye and he actually felt compelled to give this kid all the money he had on him. Maybe even his Rolex too!

“Mammon, Avatar of Greed,” M!MC said sweetly. “My... dad.”

“Yep! That’s uh... that’s me!” Mammon awkwardly ruffled his kid’s hair, the kid laughed good naturedly.

M!MC’s sweet as honey smile flipped from elated to malicious in a manner of nanoseconds. “You owe over thirteen years of child support. Dad.”

Everyone say thank you to Lucifer and Diavolo for getting M!MC to compromise and not try and sue their father.

If you thought Mammon spoiled L!MC you’ve got another thing coming. Mammon’s wallet never stood a chance against his kid.

Poor Goldie, press F to pay respects.

Mammon also tried to teach A!MC and M!MC to drive, M!MC has no regard for their safety, the safety of others, or the laws of the road, buuuuuuuut they manage to get the car back with no dents and no property damage bills are being delivered to the house sooooo...

A!MC can drive fine... it’s just that they adhere to literally every law known to demonkind, which means neither Mammon or Asmo are allowed to open up the sunroof and do that movie thing where they pop their heads out and yell something. ITS NOT SAFE!

Our beloved dummy also tried to teach his kid how to play poker, with... limited success.

“Aw, come on kiddo.” Mammon smirked, flicking his kid on the nose. “Your poker face is awful, I can also see your cards from here.”

M!MC growled and held their cards closer to their face. “My poker face is fine!” It was in fact, not fine.

Mammon scratched his head and thought for a moment. Was he sure that this kid was his? I mean, they weren’t good at poker, had terrible luck in blackjack and roulette, and could barely understand the rules of craps. Craps! While he was lamenting the loss of possible gambling winnings, an idea hit Mammon at a thousand miles an hour.

“Hey kid, you’re damn good at math like your great and amazin’ father, have you ever thought about learnin’ how to count cards?”

Fancy outfits on, hair done (sorta), car ready, the two were off to the casino after quite the intense training montage. It appeared that casinos in the Devildom allowed children inside... Diavolo should really fix that.

“Okay M!MC, you remember what to do, right?”

“Yes. Remember the signal, and if someone catches on, deny deny deny.”

Mammon gave his kid a slap on the back. “Damn straight! You got this, bud.”

As the night dragged on, M!MC and Mammon had made their weight in money, paper money, they had made a SHIT ton is what I’m saying. Tragically, neither the Avatar of Greed or his child had any sense to leave before their luck crashed like the Stock Market in 1929.

They were both Icarus, and they were playing chicken with the sun... and by 3 am they were also playing chicken with security.

“GO GO GO!” Mammon shouted as he and M!MC sprinted towards the car, the night’s winnings in hand.

“I think I lost a shoe!” M!MC gasped as they scrambled into the car, security on their heels.

“I’ll buy you new shoes JUST PUT ON YOUR SEATBELT!”

Re-enacting every Fast and the Furious movie in twenty minutes was how that lovely night of father/child bonding should have ended... until they got home and realized they were locked out.

“The window to my room!” M!MC whispered, pointing up at their window. “It’s usually unlocked, we can climb up to get to it.”

“Good idea!”

M!MC tucked the bag full of their precious money under their arm and began the climb to their window, their father close behind. They had almost made it, they were so close, M!MC could literally touch the window-

The window swung open and the smiling faces of L!MC and A!MC greeted them.

“Oh my, it looks like we have some delinquents breaking curfew~.” L!MC cooed, resting their head on their hand.

“You shouldn’t be gambling this late! A-and your accessories don’t match!” A!MC huffed.

“Oi! L!MC, A!MC! What are ya doin’ up this late! It’s not good for ya!” Mammon whisper-yelled.

“My sleep schedule should be the least of your concerns right now, right A!MC?” L!MC elbowed A!MC, who nodded enthusiastically.

“Yep! Those who break curfew are hung from the ceiling by their toes.” A!MC shuddered.

M!MC rolled their eyes and stuck out their hand. “Come on L!MC! Let us in! You should listen to your older cousin!”

Upon hearing M!MC pull the older cousin card L!MC smiled deviously, grabbing both of M!MC’s hands. “Of course, dear cousin.” They leaned in. “Long live the king!”

L!MC shoved M!MC downward, Mammon caught them, but lost his own grip and they both lost hold of the money, which fell out of the bag and onto the ground like snow. Paper snow...

Oh well, at least Mammon and M!MC landed in some of the bushes...

“Ya know,” Mammon said as the money fell around them. “I’ve had dreams where this has happened.”

“Wow,” M!MC smiled. “Me too!”

Yep. This was his kid alright.

Not all his father/kid time revolved around money, it also revolved around both of them trying to avoid horror movie night without making it look like they were chickening out.

“Okay, I’ll fake a medical emergency!”

“Kid, no! They’ll never believe that!”

Since A!MC had their father’s eye for fashion and none of the judgemental comments, the kid became Mammon’s unofficial style coach.

“U-um... I hate to say it but those shoes don’t match with the rest of the outfit, the silhouette is confusing...”

“What’re ya talkin’ about? I look fantastic!”

“Are you blind? You look like a thrift store threw up on you.”

“Who invited you, Asmo?!”

“I’m here to support A!MC! You’re doing great by the way, sweetie!”

He may have cried a little when M!MC was able to fly without help... sniffle... they grow up so fast...

Oh- oh fuck they both crashed into the tree-

Oh My God he Actually Showed Up?! (Levi)

That... that couldn’t be real life! A shut-in’s worst nightmare! More people he needed to talk to!

Considering Mammon and Asmo’s track record with taking care of his things, Levi was incredibly hesitant to invite the two to binge anime with him and L!MC.

It seemed that the two normies inherited their fathers’s level of respect for closed doors. What I’m saying is the two crashed anime night.

“I have never seen such bullshit before.”

M!MC’s hands were stuffed in about five pairs of socks each, effectively turning their hands into useless nubs.

“You be quiet! This is to make sure that you don’t take any of my things and try and sell them on Akuzon!” Levi hissed, turning back to make sure his figurines were safe from the mini Mammon. A!MC was standing awkwardly next to L!MC, who was sitting in Levi’s gaming chair reading manga.

“So what are we going to watch..?” A!MC piped up. “I haven’t really watched much anime but I did watch Digimon...”

“I was more of a Beyblade kid.” M!MC hit their sock-stumps together to make a thumping noise.

Levi looked like he was ready to have a stroke. “L-listen! Those are gateway anime! You two need to watch proper anime! Non-dubbed anime!”

A!MC let out a shriek and stared at their reflection in a very shiny looking gundam figurine. “Have I been wearing off colour lip gloss the entire day?! O-oh no... I’m a mess!”

Levi let out a strangled wail and snatched the gundam out of A!MC’s hands. “D-don’t touch that! It’s worth more than a house!”

“It is?!” M!MC perked up and tried to wrestle their way out of their sock-gloves.

“Don’t make me stick you in a straight jacket...” Levi growled. He turned to L!MC with a pleading look on his face. “Please make them stop...”

L!MC grinned deviously and closed their book. “Of course I’ll help you, if we watch season two of The Promised Neverland.”

Levi shrieked and nearly pulled out his hair then and there. “It’s manga divergent! MANGA DIVERGENT! THEY SKIPPED SO MANY ARCS!”

M!MC and A!MC continued to wreak both purposeful and accidental havoc on Levi’s room, he was just about ready to summon Lotan then and there when L!MC shrugged.

“The ball’s in your court, Levi.” L!MC leaned back in the chair and resumed reading their manga.

Levi’s willpower shattered the moment he heard something fall off one of his cabinets. “WE CAN WATCH WHATEVER YOU WANT JUST MAKE THEM STOOOOOP!”

Quick as a flash, L!MC was out of the chair and had both M!MC and A!MC by the ears.

“HEY!” L!MC growled. “STOP ACTING LIKE IDIOTS OR SO HELP ME GRANDFATHER YOU TWO WON’T LIVE TO SEE GRADUATION!”

M!MC and A!MC became the most well behaved children in the Devildom after that... and L!MC and Levi got to watch their anime in peace.

Okay, Levi wasn’t heartless, he loved his lame normie niblings. They were just very very loud...

Though, M!MC was very good at finding merch for way lower prices... and A!MC actually really liked some of the anime they watched... Maybe they weren’t so bad.

M!MC’s attempts to budget that financial dumpster fire of an otaku was not going well, at least until M!MC convinced Lucifer to dangle concert tickets in front of Levi like a carrot on a stick until he agreed to do his best to stay within the monthly budget.

Levi had learned his lesson from L!MC’s flying lessons and steered clear of them, but luck was not on his side. The ONE time he willingly stepped outside of the house...

Both M!MC and A!MC crashed right into him.

The Uncle With the Cat You Never See and Aren’t Really Allowed to Pet. (Satan)

Oh fuck him sideways the house was going to be so much louder... Say goodbye to his quiet reading time...

On the bright side, the look of pure disbelief and exhaustion on Lucifer’s face gave Satan the biggest rush of serotonin he’d ever had in his life.

To be honest, he got on well with Asmo, and he... well it’s Mammon.

Could have been worse.

Could have been ANOTHER child of Lucifer.

“So... who do you think did it?” M!MC asked as the opening to the fourth episode of the murder documentary they were watching began. “I think it was the sister.”

“On what evidence do you make that assumption?” Satan asked.

M!MC shrugged. “Chick’s shifty.”

“I um... I think they disappeared on their own accord.” A!MC murmured. “I mean, so far it seemed the two’s home lives sucked...”

“Good theory.” Satan nodded to himself. “But both of you are wrong, it was very clearly the mother and the neighbour.”

“On what evidence do you make that assumption?” L!MC asked, imitating Satan’s voice. Detective Toe Beans was sprawled out on their lap.

Satan glowered at L!MC and leaned over to scratch Bean behind the ears. “The step-mother and neighbour are backing up each other’s alibis and they have a motive, access to a possible murder weapon, and a way of disposing of the corpses.”

L!MC rolled their eyes. “That’s a load of crap. It was just the step-mother. The mother had the motive, she and the father were on the outs, she wanted the father’s inheritance all to herself so she got rid of his kids.”

“How many more episodes of this are there?” M!MC asked. “This seems like a really dragged out way of just saying: I don’t know.”

“Sh! They’re explaining possible corpse disposal methods!” Satan hissed.

The four of them traded theories until the documentary series eventually ended with an unsatisfying ‘we dunno’.

“This is such shit...” M!MC muttered. “How have they managed to fill eight episodes with all these leads and evidence and the case is still unsolved?!”

“It’s because everyone involved was incompetent and stupid.” Satan sighed.

“You know,” L!MC smirked. “With all the true crime stuff the four of us watch, we could create the perfect crime.”

“We really could.” M!MC nodded in agreement.

“Using A!MC’s powers no one would suspect us...” Satan rubbed his chin thoughtfully.

“Uh...” A!MC shifted uncomfortably. “On an unrelated note... I’m going to go...”

As A!MC scampered out of the room, L!MC turned to Satan and M!MC.

“There’s always the one weak person in the group who’s not down with murder.”

“A sad truth.”

“Hang on I thought we were talking about theft or something-”

Satan and M!MC are surprising study buddies, hell, they even help Mammon study. Or... it’s more accurate to say that they try to help Mammon study.

A!MC is good company, they’re quiet when they read, unlike most people in the house who felt the need to provide commentary on every single event that occurs in the book.

After proving to be quite useless in L!MC’s flight lessons, he just reminded the two new half demons to wear protective padding.

The Hot Single Dad That’s In Every Romcom That Features a Child (Asmo)

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA (excitement)

Oh... his... father... HE WAS A DILF NOW-

He practically vaulted out of his seat to coo and fuss over his new found hellspawn, they were just SO CUTE!

Their wings were just like his! So adorable! Oh and those little horns! They were so cute Asmo just might have combusted then and there.

Of course, he couldn’t combust without finding out which of his flings had made such an adorably shy mini-him.

“Ah! I remember that party!” Asmo squee-ed as he looked at a picture of A!MC’s parent. “They looked so hot in that outfit I swear I was completely-”

“Asmodeus.” Lucifer grumbled. “That’s a child in front of you.”

“Oh! Right! Mind if I call your ren, A!MC?” Asmo asked, ruffling their kid’s hair. “I want to see if they remember me fondly!”

As Asmo chattered with A!MC’s parent about just how adorable and perfect their kid turned out, Asmo leaned over to A!MC to ask a question.

“A!MC, I know this is sudden but how do you feel about getting a sib-”

“ASMODEUS IF YOU FINISH THAT SENTENCE I WILL FEED YOU TO CERBERUS!”

“Tsk. Rude.”

It’s safe to say Asmo adores his kid. I mean, they’re 50% him, how could he not.

He didn’t exactly have experience with the whole... being a big part of his kids’s life thing. Sure he held the unofficial record for most kids but that was because effective birth control hadn’t been invented at the time when he was allowed to run rampant in the human world, not because he was an A+ dad.

None of that mattered! He was going to be a 10/10 dad to A!MC!

They were so shy... so... mouse-like...

“Um... dad?” A!MC awkwardly twiddled there thumbs as they stood in the doorway to their father’s room. The sweet smell of whatever essential oil was being spread with the diffuser did next to nothing to calm the poor half-demon’s nerves.

Asmo popped his head out of his walk-in closet with a sparkling smile. “Yes, child of mine?”

“I um, just wanted to ask...” A!MC was desperately trying to stave off an oncoming stutter-spiral. “H-h-how- *ahem* how do- ugh...”

A!MC steeled their face and straightened their posture.

“How do I be confident like you?!” They blurted that out a little too loud for comfort, but Asmo’s near-immediate joy quashed any embarrassment A!MC was feeling.

“You want to be like little ol’ me?” Asmo gushed, clearly trying to hide just how flattered he was. “Well, of course you do! Your dad’s got your back. So first what we’re going to do-”

The Avatar of Lust had done the stereotypical early 2000s movie makeover many times before, but never with so much enthusiasm. His kid’s style was fine, it wasn’t a lack of pizazz either, it was the lack of confidence in the pizazz.

“Okay, now stand up straight.”

A!MC straightened their back as much as they could.

“Perfect! Chin up, shoulders back, and there you go!”

A!MC didn’t look too different on account that Asmo felt like their fashion sense was perfect, but dear not-old dad coached MC on a new walk, better posture, and Asmo filled their arms with about seven boxes of self-care supplies.

“What’s all this for?” A!MC asked, shifting the weight of the boxes slightly so they could actually see their dad.

“That, A!MC, is all the stuff you need to have confidence.” Asmo explained. “It’s not required of course, but it sure does help.”

“I’m not sure I follow...”

“Oh sweetie, it’s simple really. When you take care of yourself, you feel better, and when you feel better, you look better, and when you look better and feel better, your confidence skyrockets!” Asmo shifted some of the boxes A!MC was carrying around so they could stand up straighter and not be held down by the weight of the self-care arsenal. “Good posture stops your back from hurting, dressing decently helps you feel better about your appearance, as does taking care of your skin, aaaaaand all this will culminate in you being your best!”

A!MC still looked a bit skeptical, but they nodded anyway.

“Remember MC!” Asmo said as he led MC back to their room to help them sort their new stuff. “Confidence in yourself doesn’t happen overnight, so don’t let Mammon try and sell you a fix-all potion because it’s just boiled Gatorade.”

“O-okay- wait did you just say-”

“Yes, boiled Gatorade.” Asmo shuddered. “Let’s not talk about that.”

Dear uncle Asmo? A financial dumpster fire?! It’s more likely than you’d think.

Sure, Asmo’s got a job and makes his own money, but Geez Louise... one demon does not need that much hand cream! Or that many questionable Akuzon packages that everyone is too afraid to touch...

M!MC had their work cut out for them is what I’m trying to say.

Of course... once M!MC realized what a lost cause getting Asmo to stop with the obsessive bath bomb purchases was and a few too many insults were thrown at M!MC’s dear dad... some of Asmo’s things went uh... “missing”

But would you look at that! No one went over-budget!

Even though their dads have a fierce party related rivalry, A!MC and M!MC get along great. It’s very wholesome.

The Uncle That Helps You Pester Whoever is in Charge of the Food at the Family Reunion About Dessert (Beel)

Yay! More kids :)

Do you think any of them know how to cook? No? Okay... :(

Beel adores his new niblings with all his heart and soul, and Belphie’s out of the attic and is able to meet them with everyone else this time! Yay!

I didn’t mention this in the other parts- but Beel totally gave L!MC piggyback rides whenever they asked, but now that two more kids have arrived... it’s now a fight to be tall.

But yea- kids like uncle Beel. Strong contender for favourite uncle.

“Do you think this is right?” A!MC asked as they fiddled with the settings on the stovetop.

“No clue. Do we put the cheese on while the meat is cooking or do we wait until after?” M!MC asked, they flipped through multiple cheeseburger recipes on their DDD, their frustration growing. “Hang on- do we have a deep fryer?”

A!MC rummaged around the cupboards and shelves for a good fifteen minutes and came back empty handed. “No, but I’ve seen videos of people making fries without a deep fryer, I think we just need to heat up vegetable oil and drop the potatoes in.”

After setting up the make-shift deep fryer, the two cousins carefully dropped the first fry into the oil, then screamed like banshees when some oil splashed close to their hands.

“Did you get burned?!” M!MC asked, A!MC shook their head.

“No, you?”

“Nah...” M!MC eyed the oil warily. “We should do this one at a time to be safe...”

It was an awkward process, grab potato, place potato, scream, make sure no one is burned, repeat. As... decent as the process was, with both of them manning the deep fryer, no one was manning the patties that were now completely charred.

“What’s going on in here? It smells like Solomon’s cooking.” Beel poked his head into the kitchen and saw two very upset children and the world’s messiest kitchen.

“We’re failures. That’s all...” M!MC murmured.

“We wanted to make lunch for all of us and we ruined it...” A!MC added.

Beel’s heart was set to explode then and there- but his stomach growled. “You tried your best, don’t feel too bad. Let’s get cheeseburgers somewhere else with Belphie.”

M!MC and A!MC nodded enthusiastically as the three of them left the destroyed kitchen behind them.

After Beel had to sling a sleeping Belphie over his shoulder, the now four of them were halfway out the door before they heard L!MC scream bloody murder.

“YOU IDIOTS COME BACK HERE AND CLEAN THIS MESS UP RIGHT NOW!”

M!MC and A!MC made eye contact, then sprinted out the door. “CHEESEBURGERS FIRST!”

A!MC and M!MC probably go to all of Beel’s games like the little super fans they are. Beel is very grateful for the support! :D

Flying lessons? Nnnnnot again. He’s here for moral support and moral support only. And to catch the two babs when they inevitably fall.

The Uncle Who Was Like... Really Racist the Last Time You Saw Him But He’s Not Anymore (Belphie)

So he uh... he didn’t try and kill these two. That already gave the two newbies a better first impression than what he gave to L!MC.

The Anti Lucifer league ALSO grew, just by one member though. A!MC was very easily persuaded to snitch on whatever prank the group concocted.

The attic nap club gained two new members, but Belphie still had to deal with wings hitting him in the face and waking him up. He’d usually return the favour with a swat from his tail.

“M!MC I swear I will throw you out of the window if you kick me again.” Belphie murmured, mashing his face into his pillow.

“Mmmph.” M!MC threw a pillow in Belphie’s direction.

“Quit whining, Belphie.” L!MC huffed. “You’re doing better than me.”

A!MC had attached themselves to L!MC like a sloth to a tree and would not let go or stop drooling. Ah schadenfreude, the best feeling in the galaxy...

“Stop with that look.” L!MC hissed, Belphie snickered. “I’m telling you to quit it because you’ll wake up Beel, and Beel is solving your M!MC problem.”

Belphie turned to see Beel practically crush M!MC into a bone breaking hug in his sleep.

“Should we do something about that?” L!MC yawned.

Belphie smirked his little douchebag smirk. “Eh, let them stew for a few more minutes.”

“Help me...” M!MC rasped.

Out of the three, A!MC is probably the best nap buddy, they bring in their own pillows and don’t hog the blankets.

Belphie is once again at the forefront for taking videos of the flying lessons, at least till M!MC accidentally broke Belphie’s DDD.

Just a friendly reminder, the sleepy cow man would kill for these kids.

Look at them funny and no one will find your body.

Okay! That’s part 3 done! I had to cut Belphie’s and Satan’s short because of post limit stuff, but the stuff with the side characters is coming soon! Also, Mammon would like me to inform all those who donated to his Go Fund Me that you will NOT be getting your money back, he has a kid to deck out in full Gucci now, he needs the cash!

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scandalsavagefanfic · 4 years ago

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I can't understand how so many people can say that Urban Legends did Jason character justice?! It literally ruined it to prop out Bruce.

In the beginning, we were all swayed by Jason getting a kid and the fact that characters who are often the conscious/voice of reason in the batfamily were sympathetic to Jason/critical of Bruce (in this case, Alfred and Babs, only one missing is Dick). We were so excited by these scraps, that we were willing to forgive/look past the red flags being thrown up.

And to be honest, some people are so desperate for Bruce to be written like a fucking human being, that they care less about the batkids that might be thrown under the bus for that, than the fact that they're finally getting the version of Bruce they want.

I love Bruce and I also desperately want him to be written as a flawed man who tries his best. But I also like the batkids, and nothing bothers me more than when their characterization is sacrificed for Bruce's sake. Because at the end of the day, each batkid is a child that Bruce taught to be a vigilante, and while I think the "child soldier" angle is silly and that's where we, as readers, should suspend disbelief so that we aren't ruining the fun of comics, I also think that doesn't preclude writers from remembering that fact and giving the kids the benefit over Bruce.

And with Jason specifically, it's extra frustrating when they tone down Bruce's tendency towards ultraviolence and rage, and simultaneously shove it at Jason. Because Bruce's violence and rage issues aren't OOC. He's been written like that on and off (and mostly on) for over 30 years. Jason... hasn't. Not really. Not in any meaningful way. Because the instances where Jason is written like that fall into two categories. Morrison, or retcons to Robin!Jason. The first category consists of a grand total of 6 single issues (one of which, Jason is barely in). And the second category is, in it's entirety, an example of Jason's characterization being cannibalized to Bruce's benefit. It exists entirely to absolve Bruce of his part in Jason's death and excuse his immediate replacement of a murdered child sidekick with another child sidekick. It exists to try to place all the blame of Jason's death on Jason, the 15 year old kid who was just trying to find/help his mother, so that Bruce isn't a villain who trained a child to fight supervillains and was surprised when his luck ran out, so that Bruce isn't a hypocritical sociopath for letting Tim become Robin just a few months after Jason died.

So yes, I want Bruce written better, but if the choice is between one of the kids and Bruce, I'm gonna choose the kid.

That said, I'm not sure why I have to choose? These characters can be written without fucking one of them over. I almost said Chip Zdarsky is a better writer than this, but now that I'm thinking about it, I only know him as an artist. Sometimes, I feel like DC thinks that writing is easy, anyone can do it, so as long as the art is nice (for the most part... for characters they care about anyway), then the writing doesn't actually matter. It's frustrating as hell when the thing keeping you engaged with these characters is their potential for amazing stories.

I rarely buy a shitty story because the art is nice (though I have before and I'm doing it now, with Urban Legends, just to support Marcus To). But I buy comics despite the shitty art in the hopes that the story will be good all the fucking time. By the time I find out the story is also garbage, it's too late, I've already given DC my money.

I want DC to know that hope is what drives their sales, not quality. Because of the way the industry is set up, comics companies don't have a reliable way to judge their sales. They know how many copies comics shops purchase, but they don't know how many of those copies actually make it to readers. AND they have a tendency to consider a drop in sales representative of a drop in interest in the character, when in reality it's almost always because of bad storytelling.

Does DC even have group editors anymore? Is there anyone there who has actually read comics for the characters they're in charge of writing/wrangling?

Sometimes it really doesn't feel like it.

#jason todd #bruce wayne #batman urban legends #dc comics #meta #scandal's wild rambles #sorry #kinda went off on that one

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chibivesicle · 3 years ago

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Golden Kamuy - Kikuta deserved better - 273-276

As I catch up on things, I’m gonna hit the highlights that really stuck with me. Ogata is able to escape from Vasily using the tactics he observed from the showdown in Barato with Hijikata cutting through random row houses. He’s seriously gotten into Vasily’s head as he hesitated to snipe aggressively after killing the wrong guy with Ogata’s cloak.

The only worthwhile thing from this continued and seriously a no longer interesting plot point, is getting to see Ogata wiggle under a fence like a cat.

So, I approve of this at least. My own cat scores this as an 8/10 in cat wiggling. Minus 2 points for not enough emotion from Ogata’s face.

Thankfully, Asirpa was able to escape with Sofia after Tsukishima gunned down Ariko. It seemed to me that Koito froze/hesitated during that situation. Tsukishima had no problem brutally shooting Ariko at point blank while Koito literally just hung back and watched.

Asirpa is in a state of extreme shock. She just interrogated by Tsurumi to give up the code, watched Ariko be shot and now sees Boutarou’s corpse in the bottle-mobile. Our girl needs years of therapy - she’s reaching the same level as our male cast members at this rate.

At least she breaks down in tears as Sugimoto tries to console her. The artwork for this part of the page is excellent, it really does capture the melting of her mind and how she’s realizing how deadly the gold is.

It ties directly back to her argument with Kikuta before all this shit went down. I’m always giving Sugimoto crap for being a moron, but it seems that he did make the right action by reaching out to allow her to hug his arm. There is that soft look as he gazes down at her and just lets her be emotional. It is clear that his presence is a comfort to her as she takes her time before returning to a more lucid mental state. This is shown by how she opens her eyes and looks up before declaring that they need to meet up with Hijikata since she’s figured out how to crack the code.

Meanwhile, Kikuta rushed Ariko to a clinic to save his life. Being the father figure/older brother he is, he tells him that it isn’t his time to die; he never made that makiri yet! And to my relief, Ariko wakes up! Noda didn’t go for the lazy writing of killing of the minor Ainu character, something I was afraid of.

If his father saved him, it means his makiri was where he was shot in the chest under his uniform. There is a lovely transition about a makiri in a fictional museum that was made by him, implying that he returned home and did make the makiri and likely resolved some of his identity issues, though it was still likely a tough life for him. Ariko apologies for not being able to work as a spy for Central and really it isn’t like he’d be able to do so anyways. But he did verbally point out he’s now politically on the side of someone like Asirpa to fight for their culture and right to exist in spite of colonial powers. The middle panel of Kikuta bidding him farewell just gives me the feels. It is so clear that Kikuta knows he’s toast. He saw Tsukishima shoot Ariko and Tsukishima likely watched him as he tried to save the man.

The fact that he said a casual line about going to an onsen. Ugh, death flag for sure right there. It seems Ariko knows that as he looks forlorn. Kikuta is that sort of suave man who is going to look cool even though he’s doomed; he’s that awesome.

The action returns to Tsurumi at the church having solved the code. With Tsukishima gone off to try to kill Ariko, Koito has remained behind. All of a sudden Koito reverts to his extreme Satsuma accent when addressing Tsurumi in the absence of Tsukishima. I think he didn’t even realize it at first, just like how after they escaped the fight with Boutarou, Koito spoke normally to Tsurumi without realizing it.

It is clear it took him a moment to realize he was speaking ‘Koito’ as Tsurumi is unable to respond to him and he then panics. Koito is more than willing to chase after Tsukishima and support him, but Tsurumi instead recalls him.

At first he consoles himself that everything is okay.

He is trying very hard to convince himself that everything that they witnessed through the keyhole was all an act to get the key! Yes, it isn’t that Tsurumi doesn’t have some sort of awesome goal and this isn’t about how the death of his wife and daughter left him unhinged!

But the other random members of the 27th then comment on how strongly Nikaido reeks of beer . . . and Koito then thinks about how he and Tsukishima were hiding in the room at the church when Tsurumi ‘checked’ that he was alone. And then it hits him - they were also played as a part of the ‘Tsurumi theatre’. Unlike Tsukishima who has whole-heartily given himself over to Tsurumi, it is clear that Koito can’t.

That monologue sounded too good to be true. He weakly says Tsukishima’s name into the rain as he then thinks ‘No . . .’ The rain is really fitting in this scene, I think it really is a stand in for Koito’s own disappointment and tears in this entire crazy quest for the gold. Is he worried about his ‘older’ brother figure? Himself? Both of them?

He continues to try to rationalize the performance that Tsurumi gave them - even if Tsurumi lied to them, it wasn’t all a lie. Oh Koito. I want to give you a hug and pull you away as your little bon-bon-ness has won me over. Most of that speech wasn’t for Koito, it was for Tsukishima. Speaking about helping Japan is what Koito would like to hear but we can tell he doubts that as well. Hence, his waffling.

But then he realizes that as Tsukishima has given so much - all of Tsurumi’s words, even if they were ‘sweet lies’ as he he referred to them on Karafuto, it was just perfect for Tsukishima. However, Koito has broken the spell that Tsurumi held over him. The final page of the chapter of Koito looking at the illuminated Tsurumi and shutting the door on him. It is the exact opposite of when Tsurumi rescued Koito from the kidnappers when in his youth. I now find myself wondering how this relates to the tiger curse. It is clear that the curse for Tsukishima will not end well. After he shot Ariko, his eyes regained their sparkle! Not good, not good at all! However, have I misinterpreted it for Koito that by becoming disillusioned with Tsurumi he will be cursed to be miserable through him gaining independence from his hero worship of Tsurumi? The idea that ignorance is bliss, and now Koito is well in the know. The fact that when he and Tsukishima were sort of on the same page was when he could speak to Tsurumi but now that he’s on a different path from Tsukishima he’s tripped up again.

Chapter 274 finally allows Asirpa to determine the fake skins after what she witnessed with Boutarou in the brewery and thinking about Ainu garments that she figured out that Edogai likely went above and beyond with his fakes. Thanks money counterfeiting guy from the fake Ainu village for the inspiration. It is a lot of pages that tie together other plot points nicely but really doesn’t do anything for me as a reader personally.

The most important point is that as Sugimoto falls asleep while Asirpa and Hijikata work with the skins is that we get another flashback - one that links him to Kikuta!

and even more importantly - Hanazawa Yuusaku! Chapter 275 starts out with an homage to the classic movie ‘Singing in the Rain’. As soon as I saw Sugimoto spinning on a lamp post, it was obvious. Yes, small town boy in the big city - causing trouble. He gets in some sort of brawl with random guys from the army and is ‘rescued’ by Kikuta, who immediately realizes that he’s hungry and decides to treat him to some lunch.

It shows that Sugimoto has a short fuse and is an impulsive youngster. Really, he is lucky that he didn’t do more stupid shit to get him in trouble. We can also clearly see that Kikuta is a member of the 1st Division, the Tokyo based one that Sugimoto eventually enlists with.

Kikuta decides that he wants Sugimoto to impersonate Hanazawa Yuusaku and to go on a marriage interview for him. This is because Hanazawa Hiro, the now identified wife of Hanazawa, is pulling the strings in the background to prevent Yuusaku from becoming a flag bearer.

This then makes us wonder why these two parents have such contrasting expectations for their only son. It makes me think back to my theory that Yuusaku was a pretty poor solider and lacked any skill or potential. Long ago, Tsurumi told Nikaido that Ogata is the ‘true heir’ of Hanazawa inheriting his military and [some] leadership skills as he stood on the watch tower in Barato ordering the random gangsters how to fight effectively. Yuusaku is a disappointment for Hanazawa - he can only save face by having his son become such a symbolic part of the army.

I laughed at the next page where Kikuta confirms that Hiro is colluding with the young heiress to steal Yuusaku’s virginity and thus preventing him from becoming a flag bearer. I love the posture of the terrified Yuusaku!

However, Hiro’s plan has been found out by Hanazawa and he consulted with the leader of the 1st Division to assist him with resolving this unpatriotic and embarrassing issue. Recall that Ogata was born as a result of Hanazawa being posted to Tokyo - this implies that he likely became good friends with the leader of the 1st Division during this time.

To prevent anyone from identifying Sugimoto, he’s the perfect substitute for Yuusaku and changes into Kikuta’s uniform. He’s one of those guys who just has that look. Sugimoto immediately thinks that since he’s been treated well by Kikuta, joining the military might be a good way to find security - in food. However, we get a link of the cap to Kikuta and what appears to be his dying younger brother.

Kikuta looks so sad, like there is something unfortunate with Sugimoto’s statement of food. We don’t get to see his expression, indicating he’s likely hiding his emotions from Sugimoto and instead tells Sugimoto he’s going to have to train him in food etiquette.

He’s presented with some Western cuisine, something that may blow his cover and something that Kikuta didn’t expect as he watches from a tree outside. But again, due to his extreme luck, he’s able to use nervousness as an excuse and it gives him time to state his family his super traditional so they wouldn’t have eaten food like this. When he’s removed the cap, Kaneko Kaeko is smitten with his handsome face. He can use his excuse as a way to have an out for not knowing how to eat that tasty ebi fry (why to I hear ‘ebi fry’ in Nyanko-sensei’s voice?).

As she explains the fancy places she’s dined at, Sugimoto thinks about how he was living off of cat food. Cue another reason why he just hates on Ogata, since he was stealing food from Ogata’s people!

The rest of the dinner goes well, and Kikuta checks in with him. Meanwhile, our wealthy heiress is completely smitten with him!

As Sugimoto mulls over the idea of a somewhat arranged marriage as a negative he spills the beans about Toraji and Umeko. And Kikuta isn’t having any of his bullshit. I love how Kikuta points out how selfish and downright stupid Sugimoto is being in all of this. Kikuta gives Sugimoto good advice - which he’s clearly still never followed.

He makes it clear that he’s got to give up on that hometown and move on. Which will be completely ignored as Toraji will end up in the 1st Division with Sugimoto in the trenches. I’m now wondering how Toraji and Sugimoto reconnected. Hrrrmmmmm? Is this something that Sugimoto encouraged and that’s why he has all of these unresolved emotions about Toraji’s death in the war?

The chapter reveals to us that Tsukishima’s love ended up marrying the cousin of Kaeko, making Tsukishima’s acceptance of her ‘death’ even more heartbreaking as he thought that Tsurumi had lied to him about her fate. [weeps bitterly].

As Kikuta and Sugimoto discuss what appears to be Yuusaku’s lack of a free will, he’s told not to meddle in others concerns. What does Sugimoto do? The man just can’t keep to himself and he goes and finds Yuusaku to confront him. He wants to know if Yuusaku wants to be a flag bearer even though it is a death sentence. How does that conversation go? Just how we’d expect with all of the information we know about Yuusaku.

I love how he’s like it isn’t to meet my father’s expectations! It is because understand my father’s convictions and fight for my country. Okay, you keep telling yourself that Yuusaku, but it still sounds like you are doing this for your father, you know tomay-to, tomah-to. Sugimoto mulls over what Yuusaku would choose if given the choice. I just sigh as we know enough about Yuusaku’s backstory that the man only does what his father says - with great conviction. All of our Ogata flashbacks have made this so clear, Yuusaku is a doomed man from the moment he entered the army. Maybe even a doomed man from his birth even. Perhaps, he’s acutely aware of this, but based on how freakkin’ awkward he’s with Ogata and his older brother actions, I continue to think he’s not the brightest bulb in the pack and can only be used as a patriotic pawn.

Yuusaku then becomes suspicious of Sugimoto’s line of inquiry and realizes that he’s got Kikuta’s cap.

Not sure how to respond, he runs away and we learn that Kikuta’s younger brother died of illness during the first Sino-Japanese war. That same war that killed Koito’s older brother and that Tsurumi and Tsukishima fought in as well. With the statement of illness, I know what most likely killed Kikuta’s younger brother - malnutrition - specifically beri beri. As the Japanese military rapidly modernized using European models, they ran into an issue with many soldiers and sailors dying of some sort of mysterious illness and it wasn’t something that impacted the Westerners at all. Most of this has to do with the ability to eat white rice which was much more processed. It made it more expensive, but was nutritionally bad for men who came from lower incomes or poverty. Remember how stoked Asirpa was when she ate white rice all the way back at the herring fishery? If anyone has read “House of Five Leaves” by Natsume Ono, you’d know the protagonist is a poor ronin and he falls ill due to beri beri. The solution was to return to the countryside/hometown to eat a more diverse diet. For a more detailed explanation of how bad this was for the Japanese military check out the video by Linfamy on youtube here.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IzIBpFDRr5g

The video even highlights the fierce (and counterproductive) competition between the Army and Navy which has already been well defined through Koito’s backstory. The chapter ends with Sugimoto dropping the cap and the polite man who picks it up for him is Tsurumi with Ogata, Usami and Tsukishima in Tokyo. The plot thickens . . . somehow Sugimoto got mixed up in the business of the 27th and apparently Tokyo isn’t a vast city that you can get lost in and everyone knows everyone. Like how I was on flight to Saskatoon and the man next to me started up a conversation how he was from Burlington and went to Guelph and my friend who I was going to visit was also from Burlington and went to Guelph it is a small world kinda moment and in agriculture. I digress though. Things are starting to pull back together but I’m still not 100% on with this plot direction/story arc.

#golden kamuy #golden kamuy meta #sugimoto saichi #ogata hyakunosuke #asirpa #ariko rikimatsu #ipopote #warrant officer kikuta #tsukishima hajime #koito otonoshin #hanazawayuusaku #hanazawakoujiro #hanazawa hiro #kaneko kaeko #Usami Tokishige

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