#there is probably an alternate universe me who just became some guy but i don't really want to be some guy exactly

[gideonisms]

any time I use the feminine pronoun or gendered titles for myself please put the ancillary justice gender filter over it. this is a gender of convenience to fit in with the locals and if I'm being honest I still find it inconvenient and counterintuitive

[thestargayzingheroine]

Why A Better World is my favourite "Evil Superman" Story

So in the last two decades or so, there's been a notable amount of dark and edgy stories around superheroes turning evil and whatnot and most of them really love to do their own expies of Superman. I've never been the biggest fans of these kinds of stories.

And then there's the actual stories of Superman and other heroes being outright villains or at least just massive assholes. In recent years, this has been largely thanks to the influence of media like the Injustice Games or the Synderverse DC movies. It's... honestly become a trope I am tired of.

Because you know the damnest thing? There is a story that does all these ideas really damn well and arguably better. It is the two-parter from the Justice League cartoon "A Better World".

Now, I am aware how most people favouring the DCAU has become a bit of toxic nostalgia at times and it's something I myself am trying to work through a bit. But in this case, I do think it's the best idea of doing an evil DC story, much better and more interesting than the Crime Syndicate, who if you ask me are not very interesting, though I do remember liking the Crisis On Two Earths movie a lot, which funny enough, was originally going to be this two parter before various things led to it being canned and then later repurposed as a direct to DVD movie.

Anyway, my main crux of why I love this story is simple... The entire Justice League turns evil... and the reasons are very much in-character for all of them. You look at the scene with Justice Lord Batman for example.

As fucking evil as the Justice Lords are... Batman can't quite fully hate his alternate self for his reason for taking part in all this being basically one-step further than his own mission, that no child should ever go through what he did. Hell, I recall reading that the reason the writers had Batman drop his batarang at the end of this scene... was because he genuinely wouldn't be able to come up with an argument to that.

Superman likewise kills Lex Luthor because yeah, Luthor literally exploited the flaws in Democracy and became president of the US, threatening to kinda basically start world war 3. It's obviously horrible... but Superman is a character whose main motivation is making the world a better place. And if people who abuse the systems of power of the world are hurting people, why shouldn't Superman put a stop to that?

And yeah, Superman should obviously never kill, he's the most paragon of paragons of the DC universe, a man committed to always being better than the villains he fights... but this is him pushed to his most logical extreme. Hell, the main Superman knows this and its why Lex used his knowledge of this alternate universe as part of his plan in the season after this, to goad our Superman into crossing the line because yeah, there's a part of him that could go this far.

But right as Superman is about to apparently finish him, the big guy says this.

"I'm not the man who killed President Luthor. I wish to heaven that I were but I'm not."

Because Superman like everyone else, obviously would have those same thoughts and same urges. He's human.

I've kinda gone off Injustice a bit because to be honest... the injustice games were kinda just this but a bit too edgelordy. Hell, in A Better World, Lois Lane still lives and the whole genesis of it doesn't revolve around her getting fridged.

So yeah, A Better World is probably one of my favourite mirror universe stories because of the fact that well... it really is like looking in a mirror and seeing just how easy the greatest heroes can become evil and how they wouldn't be massively out of character doing so. But also it reminds us that as much as this darkness can tempt some of our finest, the ones who don't go down this dark path are stronger in heart than anyone else. Because when the world becomes a dark and horrible place, it becomes very easy to be just as dark. But even though it can be hard to still try and be a good person even in dark times, it's ultimately worth it. Because good always triumphs over evil.

[clarisse0o]

Camp Wiegman-Part 48

Lucy Bronze x Ona Batlle

Alternative Universe : Military School

Words: 7K

TW: Violence

Masterlist

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Saturday, February 6th; 8:30 PM - At Miller's.

I don't feel very comfortable being here. Miller's house is packed. After getting out of the pool, Mapi received a message from him, inviting us to his party tonight. Surprisingly, our friends were tempted to go. I didn't expect Lucy to be one of them; she usually prefers to keep me away from parties. The fact that she's coming with me must change things a lot. So here we are, standing in front of the house, frozen, unsure if we're going in or not. I don't know about the others, but for me, that's definitely the case. The music is so loud it's making the walls shake. It's a typical college party, the kind we all know. Just on the porch, we can already see a dozen young people with red cups or cigarettes in hand, maybe even joints.

"I feel like I'm going back five years," Ingrid comments.

"That's probably true," Mapi giggles, earning a glare.

"Is this a fraternity?" Lucy asks.

"Oh no," Mapi laughs. "It's Miller's house, a friend of ours. His parents are often away on weekends, so he takes the opportunity to throw parties. Since it became a regular thing, his parties ended up becoming well-known."

"So, are we going in, or are we just going to stand here staring at them like idiots?"

The girls look at me, astonished. I was the one who wanted to come the least, so it's no surprise. However, I feel really stupid just waiting here. Besides, if we don't go in soon, I might end up turning back because of overthinking. Memories of my last parties are starting to resurface. If Lucy knew this was where I woke up with a rubber band around my arm, she might not have agreed to come. Ingrid and Mapi are the first to move forward. Lucy gives me a smile, which I return. I grab her hand as she extends it to intertwine our fingers. It's comforting to have her by my side tonight. We follow the girls through the crowd. Some people look at us like we're oddities, while others whistle at us. I chuckle as I see Lucy roll her eyes at their futile reactions. Initially, I always saw Lucy as a party girl, given how badass she seemed, but after getting to know her, I realize it's quite the opposite.

"Are they always like this here?" she murmurs.

"Are you overwhelmed?" I tease.

"No. I was just wondering if students are the same everywhere, but it seems like I have my answer."

"I've always said it gets worse every year."

"You're right. That's one more reason not to leave me alone tonight."

"I wouldn't dream of it."

I press against her to accompany my words. She wraps her arm around my waist in return, kissing my temple. I feel safe by her side, just as Lucy seems reassured, given how tightly she's holding me. What bothers me is that she doesn't seem very comfortable in this environment. We walk through the hallway where I greet a few high school acquaintances who recognize me. I glance around to make sure Feli isn't here. I sincerely hope she's given up by now. I don't know how I'd react if we ran into her. I take a deep breath at the thought. We're interrupted when Lucy has to take my hand again to navigate through narrower passages. She leads the way, firmly holding my hand. This gives me a chance to enjoy the view. I haven't had many opportunities to see Lucy in anything other than her uniform, but it's definitely worth it. I love her style. Right now, she's dressed all in black, which must clearly be her color. A sweater, jeans, and little boots that accentuate her already well-toned legs. It's safe to say she's irresistible. I feel almost pathetic in my black skinny jeans and denim shirt. I look back up at her face when I sense her turning around. Her expression makes me realize I've been caught red-handed. I blush with embarrassment, and fortunately for me, we arrive in the kitchen. This is where the guys usually hang out at the beginning of the party. It seems that's the case tonight as well.

"And here come the queens of the party!" Wick comments when he sees us. "Hey, girls... And you're accompanied too."

He looks at us all one by one, lingering first on Ingrid, then especially on Lucy. I frown, forcing Lucy to lean back against me.

"Go elsewhere, Wick. She's already taken," I reply sharply.

Lucy chuckles, wrapping her arm around my waist again. I don't find it funny. Wick is a big flirt when he's single. As far as I know, he doesn't have anyone right now, so he better not try to get close to my girlfriend. No one will get close to her, not tonight, not any other day. She's mine now. Under the laughter of our friends, Wick stammers an apology as he realizes our relationship. I never really showed off with Mapi back in the day, but I won't hesitate to do so with Lucy. We do a brief introduction before Miller speaks up.

"Well, welcome, and make yourselves at home. We're happy to see our girls accompanied," he smiles. "The girls will show you around; they're regulars here."

"We gathered that," Lucy mutters.

"We were thinking of heading out if you'd like to join us," he continues.

"We'll grab a drink first, and then we'll join you," Mapi announces, looking at us to give us a chance to object.

"Yeah, no problem," Miller finally responds. "See you soon, then."

Our ritual remains intact. We each go our separate ways, stopping at the drinks table while the guys head out. I don't worry about Mapi, who prepares my drink as usual.

"What can I get you, girls?" she asks after handing me my drink.

"Definitely not the same as Ona," Lucy grimaces after sniffing my drink. "What did you put in there?"

I smile at her expression. Something tells me Mapi made my drink strong.

"Do you want a taste?" I joke.

"No, thanks. But I think one drink is enough for you."

"Come on, it's not that strong!" Mapi protests.

"It's not up to you to decide," Lucy retorts.

"Oh, don't be such a wimp, Miss Picky. We'll show you what real fun is like here in Barcelona!"

"Hey, don't say that," I interject. "That's not what tonight is about."

"Of course," Mapi replies, rolling her eyes. "Your responsible one is here, and you're going to play the goody-two-shoes."

"Don't push it," I exclaim, playfully hitting her arm. "I've just decided to be reasonable."

"Sure," she mocks. "And the drinks?"

"Two beers will do," Ingrid replies.

"Pff. You guys are no fun," Mapi comments as she opens the two beers.

Having gone out with them before, their choice of beer no longer surprises me. It seems to exasperate Mapi, though. She probably expected something different from tonight.

"Times change, Maps."

I give her a wink, grabbing Lucy's hand to pull her outside with me. I needed some fresh air with all the people starting to suffocate me. We join my friends around the patio table.

"Hey, Ona! I didn't think I'd see you here again."

"Hey, everyone. And you're Alex, if I remember correctly, right?"

The poor guy gets booed by his friends because of my response. It's hard not to remember him. He was Joan's friend's brother.

"Um, yeah, that's right," he sulks. "I hope you still remember me. We met in Manchester."

"Yes, I remember very well. You tried to hit on me and convince me to reply to your messages."

Once again, his friends roast him because of me. It wasn't my intention. I just wanted him to understand that I still wasn't interested. I sit next to Lucy, who had found a spot, and smile when she immediately places her hand on my thigh. I catch Alex out of the corner of my eye, looking at us strangely. He must have figured it out. I don't pay him any more attention, preferring to focus on Mapi and Ingrid, who have finally settled in front of us. Now that we're seated, I take my first sip of my drink. I quickly regret it. I force myself to swallow the liquid that almost ended up being spat out.

"Damn, Maps! What did you put in this?!"

"The usual. Why?" she teases.

"No, this is not the usual! It's super strong!" I complain.

"Wimp," Ingrid mocks.

I hand her my drink, challenging her to take a sip. She laughs, raising her beer.

"Sorry, I've already got my drink. You only have yourself to blame for trusting Mapi to make your drinks," she replies, making my best friend laugh.

I grumble, giving them a grand middle finger. They've really hit it off.

"It's not like I didn't warn you," Lucy adds.

"I have to admit," Mapi chimes in. "I was afraid you'd stop her from drinking it, but I'm glad you didn't. Her face was priceless!"

"You learn through experience," Lucy teases.

She pulls me closer when she sees me pouting. That was really not cool. Lucy takes advantage of my mood to steal a kiss, which instantly cheers me up. She takes my glass and places it on the table.

"How about we go get you a new drink, hmm? I'd rather you have something else. »

I nod while smiling. We apologize to the others before heading back inside. Lucy stands by the table while I prepare myself a new drink. I opt for vodka with orange juice, measuring it much more carefully this time. I glance at Lucy, who seems completely absorbed by what's happening in the living room. People are going wild to the music. She turns back to me, tilting her head with a small smile when she notices me.

"So, this is the kind of party you like to attend?"

"Let's just say it's Mapi's thing, and I've always gone along with her."

"But you've grown to like it. You seem comfortable in this environment."

"Let's just say I've gotten used to it," I reply, shrugging. "I don't care about all these people. If I'm here, it's only for my friends who make it a good time."

And that's the truth. It's the only reason I used to enjoy coming. There were times I didn't come and later regretted it. I always felt like I missed out on the best moments, like I was excluded for not being there to share in the latest craziness.

"And you? Did you go to parties when you were in high school or college?"

She takes a sip of her drink, covering her little smile. A few days ago, she confessed to me that she was a bit of a nerd, but I still have a hard time believing it.

"No. I wasn't very popular, and I have a rather rational mother. I guess she passed those traits on to me."

"You can be rational and still go to parties."

"True, but it wasn't my style."

"Not even in college?" I ask, surprised.

"Well... Jenni did try to take me to a few parties when we were in Manchester. It was at a place like this that I met Kiera," she admits.

"I see..."

"I went with Jenni sometimes, but those weren't the places I preferred to go."

Now that I know all this, I understand better why she didn't like knowing I was here alone. Kiera was a junkie who used drugs at parties after all... She must have been afraid I'd do the same. I push that thought away to avoid dwelling on it here.

"So, what's your thing then?"

"My thing?"

She smiles again and finally looks at me. I nod.

"I prefer going to bars, restaurants, or the movies. Things like that. It might be more boring than parties full of drunk people for you, but it's what I enjoy."

"I don't find it boring at all. After everything I've been through, it'll probably be better for me to move on to that kind of gathering."

"I don't want to stop you from doing what you love."

"You're not stopping me, Luce. If my mom wanted me in this school, it was so I could find myself and grow, and that's exactly what's happening thanks to you."

"That doesn't mean you have to adopt my lifestyle. It's okay to have different styles."

"I know, but you were right about one thing. Parties aren't the best places for a former junkie, so I can make some concessions."

"Hmm..." she smiles behind her beer. "Then let's enjoy it. Do you want to dance?"

"I'm not a big fan of dancing," I giggle.

"Oh, come on. You could make an effort. Come on."

I glance at her hand for a moment, biting my lip. Her offer is very tempting.

"It's just that I don't really know how to dance. I don't want to embarrass myself."

"Ona, no one here knows how to dance if you watch them," she laughs. "Please. I really want us to dance together."

"I'll need several drinks first, in that case."

"Definitely not," she says, grabbing my hand. "I'll show you that we can have fun without drinking."

I groan as she pulls me toward the living room. We quickly find ourselves among strangers dancing together. I feel uncomfortable being here. Lucy tries to reassure me by placing my hand on her waist and smiling at me.

"Relax," she whispers.

She lets go and starts moving her hips in front of me. Damn... She must want to kill me. I'm practically frozen by the provocative scene she's giving me. She syncs with the rhythm of the music. I snap back to reality when she places her hands on my waist to get me to move too.

"You know, you'll look more ridiculous if you let me dance alone. Maybe I should find another partner."

"Definitely not," I growl.

She chuckles and slips her hand around my back to pull me closer. We're so close that I can feel her breath brushing my cheek. The tension is strong. So strong that I grab her neck without warning to claim her lips. It's been a long time since I felt such a powerful desire. Lucy softens our kiss to make it less rough. I then bury my head in her neck to collect myself.

"Let go," she murmurs to me through the music. "I'll take the lead."

I could almost believe she's talking about something other than dancing. She probably is, since it's clear she'll be the one leading our relationship. As she said earlier, she's the one with the rational nature. I don't doubt that she'll find our balance. In a surge of confidence, I wrap my arms around her neck to feel even closer to her. We've never been this close outside of a bed after one of my anxiety attacks. She pulls back slightly to look between our bodies moving in sync, thanks to her hands on my waist and one of her legs between mine.

"You told me you didn't know how to dance. That's not the impression you're giving."

"It's because you're guiding me," I giggle, making her shake her head.

"No. Your body moves very well. You just don't have confidence in yourself."

She's probably right. I enjoyed dancing when I was in high school. That's why Mapi insists so much when we're here. I brush her neck with my nose, focusing only on her presence that gives me the confidence I was missing.

"Ona...?"

Our bubble is burst by the one person I wanted to avoid tonight. Of course, she would be here... I force myself to turn around to make sure it's her.

"Finally, I was starting to lose hope!"

She tries to touch me, but Lucy steps in front of me, pushing me behind her. Feli doesn't seem pleased, furrowing her brow. Recognizing those eyes perfectly, I cling to Lucy. I can't tell if it's to protect myself or to stop her from tearing Feli apart, given the way she's looking at her.

"Who is this?" Feli asks harshly.

"Her girlfriend," Lucy answers before I can.

Feli's eyes narrow even more as she looks at me. Reflexively, I pull Lucy back, and this time it's out of fear that I do it. I recognize the signs of Feli when she gets angry.

"Please," I murmur to Lucy, tugging on her sleeve.

It's all I can manage to say, but Lucy must have understood my distress signal. She takes a step back, which immediately triggers Feli, who literally explodes.

"No! You're not going to run from me again!"

She tries to get close to me, but Lucy acts, shoving her away forcefully.

"Don't come near her. She doesn't want to see you or talk to you. Don't you think you've hurt her enough already? If you loved her as much as you claim, you'd do well to never contact her again."

"What business is it of yours, you little bitch? You don't know anything about what we've been through," she snaps.

"I know enough to convince Ona to take you to court."

Those words were too much for Feli, who decided to lunge at Lucy. I scream, closing my eyes to avoid seeing what happens next. I expected an imminent impact since I was standing right behind Lucy, but nothing happens. I slowly open my eyes, and what I see petrifies me. I expected to find Lucy on the ground, but it's quite the opposite. She's overpowering her... Feli, my ex, who traumatized me for years. This seems to enrage Feli even more as she tries to hit her repeatedly. Lucy dodges her punches one after another with great agility. She waits for her to lose steam before landing a punch on her cheek. Faced with this action, which I didn't expect at all, I cover my mouth to keep from screaming again. The blow was so strong that Feli stumbles backward, completely shaken. From the look of her, she must not be sober right now.

"That's for drugging Ona at a party. And this..."

She hits her on the other side, making her lose her balance again. She doesn't wait for her to regain her senses before grabbing her by the collar. The silence that reigns makes me realize the music has been turned off.

"And that's for daring to touch her. Now, stay away from her. Otherwise, she won't hesitate to press charges for what you did to her and for harassment too. Do I make myself clear?"

Feli is so stunned and intimidated by Lucy that she nods frantically. I knew she was intimidating, but not to the point of making my enraged ex give in.

"Good. Then stay out of her life, or I'll destroy yours by making sure you end up in jail," she threatens her.

"Oh my God, Ona."

I turn toward Mapi's voice as she immediately pulls me into her arms. I'm too shaken to understand anything. She steps back to examine me, keeping her hands on my shoulders.

"Are you okay?"

"I think so," I murmur.

"Let’s go," Lucy announced, extending her hand to me.

I took it without hesitation. Given her mood, this wasn’t the time to refuse her anything. I glanced over her shoulder to see Feli watching us with sorrow.

"We're coming with you," Ingrid said.

"There's no need," Lucy replied. "Enjoy the evening. We'll meet back at home later."

"Please take care of Ona," Mapi conceded.

"That's my intention," Lucy reassured her with a small smile.

We wished them a good evening, and then I let Lucy lead me toward the exit. The crowd that had formed had dispersed, and the music had resumed. I forced myself not to look back. It was a relief to finally be outside, where I could breathe again. I still couldn't believe she had hit her—twice, no less.

"Thank you..." I murmured once we were far from the house.

"You shouldn't thank me," she sighed in frustration, rubbing her forehead.

"You defended me."

"I'm not proud of hitting your ex, Ona. Even if she deserved it, it makes me feel like I'm just like her."

I stopped abruptly, making her do the same since our hands were still linked.

"You're nothing like her, Luce. You have nothing in common with her. Feli was violent and angry. You're not that kind of person, as far as I know."

"That's all the more reason to take her to court," she retorted. "I really don't understand you on this!"

I bit my lip, staring at the ground. I couldn’t give her an answer to that question. Feli had been a part of my life. No matter how much she hurt me, I still care about her.

"She's not a bad person deep down," I murmured.

"Oh, so hitting her girlfriend is being a good person!? When will you open your eyes, Ona? This isn't the Feli you met! If you do nothing, she won’t hesitate to hurt others, if she hasn't already! Is that what you want? For her to hurt other people!? Because I can assure you that’s what she'll do now that she knows she’ll never have you again!"

Lucy had never yelled at me like that before. Sure, she had scolded me, but never like this. I still didn’t dare look at her, now that tears were in my eyes. She was right. Of course she was right. When was she ever not right? She sighed again as she approached me, cupping my face in her hands. She must know me well to instinctively wipe my tears away with her thumbs.

"I know it’s painful, honey, but it’s the truth. I just saw Feli for the first time, and I can assure you there's nothing good in her. All she wants is to make you feel guilty for leaving her, so you’ll go back to her. Is that what you want?"

I shook my head and threw myself into her arms. Of course not, that’s not what I want. She pulled that trick on me for months. I literally collapsed in her arms. Everything I had kept bottled up since our encounter finally spilled out. I would have preferred to do this at home, but it was inevitable that the subject would come up on the way. I tried to speak, but nothing coherent came out, making her hold me tighter against her.

"Shhh. Calm down. I'm sorry for being so harsh, but it’s the only way for you to open your eyes."

"I-I don't want to... Y-you know that, right?"

"Of course I know, baby. But if you really want to move on, you have to take action. She won’t leave you alone otherwise."

I resigned myself to nodding. I had to do it. I’d been putting it off for far too long.

"D-don't leave me."

"Never. We’ll face this together, okay?"

I clung to her desperately, nodding again. She was my lifeline. Without her, I would have drowned in an endless ocean. She kissed my temple and rocked me until I pulled myself together.

"I'd love to stay here holding you forever, but I’m sure your bed is much cozier. Besides, my hands hurt."

I pulled away from her and wiped my cheeks with my hand.

"Sorry for thinking only of myself... Let me see your hands," I murmured.

"Don't apologize. And as for my hands, you can see them when we get to your place. Then it'll be your turn to take care of me... The idea of having a personal nurse sounds quite appealing."

I smiled at her attempt to lighten the mood. It wasn’t surprising that she was in pain. Having dealt with Feli myself, she must have used considerable force to destabilize her twice. She was really strong.

"Let’s head home, then... It’s my turn to take care of you. And even if you were joking, it’s non-negotiable."

"Is that an order, Princess?" she teased.

"Absolutely, Commander."

"Then let’s hurry. I can’t wait to be pampered by you."

I kissed her tenderly before we finished our walk without another word, staying close to each other. I appreciated the way she held me against her. I felt like I belonged. It was as if I could already see my whole future. It only took two weeks apart for my world to fall apart. She had become my everything, my reason for living, to the point where it was almost frightening. We arrived at my place, where a royal silence reigned in the hall. Well, that was until Joan came to greet us as we took off our jackets and shoes. It was so early that she was still awake. She was quickly followed by a very surprised Sophia.

"You're already back?" she asked us. "It’s only ten o'clock."

"Yeah... The party wasn’t that great."

I lied to avoid worrying her over something so small. She didn’t seem to question it. Lucy, on the other hand, remained silent, much to my relief. Sophia would have panicked if she knew the truth and would likely have insisted on making a diagnosis before I could even explain anything. I smiled when Lucy hugged my brother at his request. That was something new I hadn’t expected from Joan.

"Still up, huh?" she asked her.

"I was just about to put him to bed," Sophia admitted.

"We'll take over then. Thanks again for watching him tonight."

"No problem, Ona. What time are you leaving tomorrow?"

"Same as usual. Early in the morning."

"Well... I guess I'll see you next time then."

"We'll be back, I promise. Now go home, you’ve earned it."

"Thanks," she smiled. "Sleep well, girls."

"Good night to you, and be careful on the road."

"I will."

We exchanged a hug, and she gave Lucy a friendly nod before leaving. As for us, we headed upstairs, leaving Joan in my girlfriend's care. They went to my room while I searched for a pajama for him, as he had declared that he could still sleep with us. Given the circumstances, I would have preferred that he leave us alone tonight, but I said nothing since we already see each other so little. When I joined them, I found them deep in conversation. The bond between them was working out wonderfully, which delighted me to no end.

"Here, Jo," I said, handing her the pajama. "Can you get dressed by yourself? I need to take care of Lucy."

My brother pouted at my request but accepted without protest. Lucy smiled softly at me and let herself be guided to the bathroom, where she sat on the edge of the tub. I took her hands in mine and noticed that her knuckles were extremely red. I bit my lip, imagining the pain she must have felt.

"It’s not that painful," she reassured me calmly.

"Don't move, I’ll be right back."

Without another word, I went downstairs to fetch an ice pack for her. When I returned, my brother was keeping her company while brushing his teeth. The sight made me smile. It was the first time I didn’t have to fight with him about it. She gave me a smug smile when she saw what I had in my hands.

"Really, Ona? I'm not in that much pain, you know," she teased.

"Don’t argue. I promised to pamper you tonight, so you’re not allowed to protest," I replied in a mock-threatening tone.

She chuckled and nodded, not losing her smile. Before starting anything, I glanced at my brother to see how he was doing. He was wiping his mouth.

"All done," he said proudly.

"Go to bed, we'll be there in a minute."

He nodded, smiling. He then rushed into my room. I closed the door behind him for some privacy. As soon as I did, Lucy pulled me between her legs, making me let out a small cry of surprise. She smiled at me with that goofy grin again.

"So, where do we start, nurse?"

"Stop, it’s not funny," I giggled, playfully pushing her shoulder. "Come on, give me your hands."

Her hands, which had been caressing the back of my knees until then, slid to the sides and moved up to my waist. I grabbed them before they could go any higher and looked at her sternly.

"That’s enough, bad girl," I warned her as best I could. "Be serious for a moment!"

"Bad girl, huh?" she grinned, crossing her feet behind my legs. "Is that how you see me now?"

This action brought us even closer, making me blush. She was distracting me from my examination. I let my thumbs gently caress her knuckles.

"Of course not... Does it hurt? »

"I already told you it doesn’t."

"Put the ice pack on them anyway, please. They’re very red."

"Anything my princess wants."

I realized she was lying about the intensity of her pain when I tried to flatten her hand in mine. I looked up to see her grimacing, even though she was trying to hide it. I bit my lip to keep from commenting. This was definitely not the right time.

"Hold this. I’ll see if I have any cream to help with this," I said, placing the ice pack on her hand.

She held the ice pack without saying anything. The roles had changed drastically in such a short time. If she did this, it was for me, so I could only be grateful. I searched through all my drawers for the tube I had brought back from Manchester. A victorious smile spread across my lips when I finally found it. Even though I’m a doctor’s daughter and studied in this field, I don’t doubt that my care won’t be as good as hers, but I’ll do my best. I’ve always thought that it takes a certain instinct to take care of people. As for me, it’s clear that I don’t have any. 

Returning to her, I noticed that she had alternated the ice pack between her two fists. I took over as I moved back between her legs to apply cream to her first hand. I made sure not to look at her to avoid being unsettled.

"Why does she call you 'Oni'?" she asked suddenly, making me chuckle at the memory of that story.

"I’m not really sure, actually. I think she was confused that we don’t have the same last name so he wanted to give me a nickname to feel close to me. »

"Oh... So she has her father’s name?"

"Yes. His name is Joan Pascual."

"And your mother?"

I sighed at that question. It was a rather sensitive topic, but I played along and answered.

"She kept my father’s name. I never really understood why, knowing that they’ve been divorced for several years."

"Maybe to keep the same name as you?" she guessed, making me shrug.

"I don’t really know."

"And what about him?" she redirected the conversation. "Do you like him?"

I didn’t need more information to know she was talking about Marcus. Her change of topic wasn’t the best, given what I think about him. She seemed to understand because she removed the ice pack to stroke my cheek.

"You don’t have to talk about it."

"I will talk about it," I said, taking her hand again to give it the same gentle caresses as the other. "To be honest, I don’t have anything against him specifically, but I had a hard time accepting the relationship he had with my mother."

"Why?"

"I thought it was too soon. My mother wasn’t even divorced yet, and then, she didn’t tell me about it. I found out when I saw them in bed together... Imagine what that does to a troubled teenager..."

She nodded in understanding. The fingers of her free hand stroked the back of my knee like earlier.

"You weren’t a troubled teenager... You had the right to be hurt, confused, and angry about discovering that. How is your relationship now?" she continued, gently pulling me closer to her.

"Strange. I never really accepted it, but I was lucky to have him as a stepfather. He always tried to ease my relationship with my mother, and he’s always been a good father to Joan."

"How would you feel if he married your mother?"

I froze for a moment at that question. Of course, I had already thought about their marriage. I had already wondered why they weren’t married yet. After all, they’ve been living together for almost ten years now, and they have a daughter together.

"I’m not really sure... Better than a few years ago, for sure... If my father were still here, he would have told me to accept it because he would have been happy for them."

"He must have been a good man."

"He was," I said, wrapping my arms around her neck. "You remind me a lot of him, if you want to know the truth..."

"I doubt that. He seems much wiser than I am. Anyway, I’ll support you in all your decisions, no matter if I think they’re right or not."

"See, that’s exactly why you remind me of him," I giggled. "He used to say the same thing. I wish you could have met him... He would have adored you."

"And I imagine I would have adored him in return."

"Enough about me. What about your adoptive parents? Was it always smooth sailing?" I joked. "You’ve never told me much about them."

"There’s not much to say. My mother seems cold and strict at first glance, but she’s really kind. I wouldn’t be who I am now without her."

"I’m already dreading the first meeting," I muttered. "She’s going to terrify me..."

"Definitely," she laughed. "She loves to scare my partners. She always does that to see if the person will let themselves be intimidated or not."

"That must be unsettling..."

"It is," she smiled. "I’ve never seen anyone stand up to her."

I groaned just thinking about it. I know we’re not there yet, but if we stay together long enough, I’m sure I’ll meet her one day.

"Don’t worry, baby," she said. "She just keeps that tough exterior to make sure the person is right for me. Then she’ll warm up over time."

"Her opinion matters to you, doesn’t it?"

"A lot. No matter how much I cared about someone, she always opened my eyes when it was someone bad."

"Should I be worried...?"

"Of course not," she smiled. "You’re not a bad person; she’ll see that. But if I can give you some advice, don’t let her walk all over you... Otherwise, you’re doomed," she laughed.

"Oh my God," I muttered in despair. "Finding the right balance will be tough. Tell me your dad isn’t like that too."

"Oh no, he’s the opposite. He’s a bit naive, gentle, calm, and very caring."

"You must have your father’s heart and your mother’s character then..."

"I’ve never seen it that way, but you’re probably right."

We exchanged smiles after her response. She slowly leaned in to capture my lips. The kiss was very gentle and restrained. She timidly asked for access to my mouth by teasing my lower lip with her tongue. I granted it willingly. My stomach flipped in response to this unexpected affection. With her newly freed hand, she gently moved it up to my stomach. I immediately realized she had placed it on my bruises, which I could hardly feel anymore. She pulled back to whisper softly.

"It’s my turn to put on some cream."

"I already applied some this morning..."

"The more you apply, the faster it will heal. Isn’t that what you want?" she arched an eyebrow.

"Fine," I resigned, though I pouted.

I would have preferred to get back in bed now, but there was no point in arguing when she was right. She smiled victoriously as she grabbed the tube of cream.

"Lift your shirt."

I took a deep breath and decided to take it off entirely. After all, it wasn’t the first time she’d seen me like this. My action surprised her. She lifted her head to find my eyes.

"Come on, do your job..."

Without a word, she started applying the cream to my bruised stomach. She took great pleasure in doing it thoroughly.

"On your face too?" she murmured when she was done.

"I need to take off my makeup first."

She nodded, letting me move to the sink. I quickly removed my makeup, reminded of the situation I was in. When I turned around, she was looking at me in a way that made me blush. Her smile slowly widened.

"What is it?"

"Nothing... I’m just happy to be with you, that’s all."

"We could have been together sooner if it weren’t for your behavior," I teased.

"I have a feeling you’re going to remind me of that more than once," she laughed.

"That’s the only mistake you made, so... yes, definitely."

"Come here, you little rascal, so we can finish up."

I laughed, knowing full well she was joking. At least the tension had time to dissipate before our night. Otherwise, I wouldn’t have been sure I’d sleep well. I returned to her so she could finish the job before putting away the cream. I went to brush my teeth, giving her time to change. As for me, I did it in the walk-in closet where there was enough space. We came out of our rooms at the same time.

"Do you want to watch a movie?" I suggested.

Our evening had fallen through, but that didn’t stop us from continuing it. To my surprise, she shook her head.

"I’d rather we go to bed. We can watch one during the flight."

"Okay," I agreed, looking at my bed.

I sighed when I saw my brother in the middle of my bed. It was going to be more complicated than expected to spend our night in each other’s arms. He must really like Lucy to have placed himself there.

"You’ve got to be kidding me," I muttered. "We can always go to another room. There’s no shortage of them here."

"Don’t be silly," she giggled. "He’d be upset if he didn’t find us here tomorrow morning. Hang on, I’ll move him."

"Be gentle; he can be a light sleeper when he wants to be."

To our relief, she managed to move him without waking him up. She motioned for me to lie in the middle, and she quickly filled the last space in the bed. The light was quickly turned off, and Lucy’s arms tightened around me. A sigh of contentment escaped me as she kissed my forehead. I snuggled up against her, trying to close any gap between us.

"Going back to school is going to be hard," I murmured with a groan, making Lucy laugh.

"It’ll be over soon," she said, holding me a little tighter. "The hardest part is behind us now."

She was right. We were closer to the end than the beginning. I leaned up to reach her lips. Then I settled back into her arms, where I truly felt I belonged. Our evening didn’t go as planned, but it ended much better than it could have.

[amazing-spiderling]

For the character ask game, Scott Summers and/or Kurt Wagner, #7 & #12

<3

7. What’s something the fandom does when it comes to this character that you like?

Scott: People making jokes about Scott yelling "JEAAAAN :00000" all the time will never not be funny to me. IDK there's just something about people who end up marrying their high school sweethearts that's a little wacky. And as much as I enjoy ragging on the guy, I am glad that the fandom has come around and is appreciating his character development, especially from the last 20 years of comics.

Kurt: I've literally never met an X-Men/comics fan that doesn't like Kurt. Like he may not be their FAVORITE, but he's kinda the unproblematic fave of the fandom, so if you bring him up, the odds of people having something positive to say are pretty high. If anything, I think people are better about criticizing a bad writer or bad production decisions for any wonky characterization, rather than jumping to, "this is why this character sucks" like I've seen them do for other characters in comics.

12. What’s a headcanon you have for this character?

Scott: Wow, my feelings about Scott are kind of a jumble. I haven't read that many comics that focused on him specifically, so I feel like I'm drawing from all of the various media interpretations... I hesitate to make a claim about comics Scott because I'll say something like, "he writes a blog about baking" and someone is going to come in and be like, "X-Factor explicitly stated that he writes about gardening".

Okay, upon a little thought, I do have one. After he was resurrected following whatever the hell was going on between the Inhumans and Mutants in "Death of X", Scott felt REALLY BAD about what happened to my boy Alchemy, and we didn't see it, but offscreen he made sure that Tom was at the front of the line for Mutants to bring back to life on Krakoa. He yelled at Emma about it, too. (That last part probably was elaborated on, but I want to imagine that he was mad about that death in particular, since she used his voice/commanding personality so heavily and ended up getting Alchemy killed without a second thought.)

Kurt: I guess I'm not really sure if this is a headcanon or just like, a gut feeling- but... I don't see Kurt ever settling down, getting married, having kids. Which is kind of a wild thing to say because the man is HUSBAND MATERIAL THROUGH AND THROUGH and Marvel writers who get to take a swing at future versions of the X-Men love giving him a family... but he's always married to some rando who showed up in one (1) forgettable comic from 30 years ago that nobody remembers. It's sort of the problem of having chemistry with everyone, but then maybe not having a "spark" with one person in particular.

My use of the word "spark" here is intentional- as those familiar with his arc during the recent Krakoa era of X-Men comics might have picked up. Kurt creates the idea of a "spark" as a universal concept for Mutants of any/all faiths to embrace, a means to protect the sanctity and respect for the miracle of life. He was one of the few to recognize the need for Mutants to have something outside of themselves to pursue, and it came at no small cost to himself. In fact, he became something of an outsider, observing the community he loved, so that he could better serve them- and that I think is the crux of the issue. His "true love" is not another person, it's the preservation of a dream, and providing hope to all mutants. Even in the alternate world where he married Wanda and they had TJ, the couple lives apart from one another, each a part of their own respective teams because while they loved each other, they realized they could not focus on their duty when they were together. The mission still came first. I don't know that I mean he should join the conventional priesthood (if only because time has shown not enough comics writers are well versed enough in organized religion to write convincing and compelling comic stories about it) but his devotion to the Legionaries was close enough for me.

It's a bit of a double edged sword- I think it's something that makes his character unique, and I could turn this idea over and over in my head endlessly, but it comes at a bit of a cost from a meta perspective. I think part of the reason there's not as much fiction for the poor boy is because he doesn't have really solid canon ship fodder (NightWolves shippers have all my respect, mind you, but somehow it seems to draw a niche crowd?), so he tends to sit in the background like charming blue set dressing. It's okay though, we all still love him.

[mackmp3]

tell me about christopher ecclestons doctor vs david tennats doctor

or explain what the hell is goin on with the daleks

or you could tell me about (insert musician)’s influence on music

just some options for you to lore dump to :)

RAHHHHHHH OKAY THANK YOUUUU this will be um. super spoilery for doccy whomst.

okayyyy so christopher eccleston plays the ninth doctor who tragically only gets one season AND HE'S SO FABULOUS he's really funny and sarcastic and he says 'fantastic! :D' a lot and is also a massive dork and yayyyy i love him - the interesting thing with nine is that we dont see his regeneration. like we don't see him come into being but its implied that the incarnation before him was horribly injured in The Time War and then became nine, who wanders around alone for a bit racked with guilt and lonely and full of regret and all that fun stuff until he meets ROSE :DDD who pretty much says you're super weird & offputting but also the most interesting thing that's ever happened to me and he's like cool uhm. maybe i do need friends after all so then he takes her on a date to the destruction of her planet to show off that he wasnt kidding about the time machine bit. he also has a really cool leather jacket. and a northern english accent and a sliiiiightly butch lesbian buzzcut. anyways he's very fabulous and also kinda tragic but yeah!! i love him.

BUT THEN universe under massive threat from daleks etc the only way to save the world will be massively catastrophic etc etc so he sends rose home to save her. and she is understandably super upset by this so she ABSORBS THE HEART OF THE TARDIS (pro tip : usually people dont survive that) so she can get back to him, resurrect this other guy who kissed them both and rewrite time so that this will definitely always happen & also destroys a whole lot of daleks. this is called BAD WOLF (<- the capital letters are important. to me.) and its killing her so nine kisses her to pull it out of her (she doesnt remember this) so it kills him instead. then *magicical girl transformation* he explodes into golden light and becomes david tennant!!!!!

david tennant is the tenth doctor and I LOBVE HIM FORVER ADN EVER my specialest little scrunkly girlboy pathetic wet cat terrifying alien guy-shaped-being <33333. rose is understandably like wtf who're you (because the doctor Never does timelord 101 and tells them about regeneration and the two hearts thing) and he is sad about it. so he takes her home. then passes out in front of her mother and sort-of-boyfriend who're also like wtf. anyways he's fine and rose pretty immediately is like wow this guy is actually beautiful & way less grumpy now and they go n do a whole bunch of stuff and they very clearly love each other A Lot (like she loves him when he's nine too of course but it changes) and in my head it's teenage lesbian undefined relationship mutual obsession b/c those be the vibes. a Thing happens and she end up trapped in an alternate universe from which she can never return and the doctor manages to hologram himself in there for a minute to say goodbye and HE ALMOST SAYS I LOVE YOU TO HER but the connection runs out. a lot of other stuff happens and ten is actually pretty scary at points in a way that nine never gets to and A Lot happens to him. my beautiful babygirl she has Every Problem.

see cos the doctor is actually massively emotionally repressed and while nine was a lot closer time-wise to destroying his own planet, ten was coping a whole lot less. ten is often described as the most emotional and most human of the doctors and thats probably true but he's also the most afraid of that vulnerability - he just cant help showing it. he's full of love but he's also full of a desperate sadness and guilt. a lot of guilt. nine has this guilt and the love he just has found a way to not be so raw with it. he is far more measured with his emotions. i reallllllllyyyyyyyy wish we could have seen what would have been done with his character had we got more time with him but alas t'was not to be.

like a good example of that is when we meet nine he's been alone for some time and appears to be more or less okay with that, maybe not super happy but more or less adjusted and functioning. when ten is alone for a while he sort of loses it a bit until he find someone..... like after he and rose get separated, and i mean IMMEDIATLY AFTER, he meets donna who I LOVE :D but he's still so racked with grief that he kills a whole race of spider things and canonically would've destroyed himself along with them if she hadn't been there to tell him to stop. (like legitimately there's an episode, Turn Left, about what would've happened if the doctor died and it's uhm. its unnerving to say the least). ten can't deal with being alone but Also can't deal with loving someone. especially when he is so very aware that he has to lose them.

ten has three seasons & then a year of specials, and he has and then loses the most companions of the doctor and the way he deals with this is Fascinating. he is separated from rose, martha leaves of her own volition b/c she realises that she cant spend her whole life living For Him and that she deserves her own life too, and then he has to wipe donna's memory to save her (she gets it back like. fifteen years for her and ~1000 years for the doctor later but thats a whole thing). like nine does the whole 'no one can get close to me because i will always end up hurting when they die/leave and that will usually be my fault' thing BUT TEN. TEN feels the same way he just can't help himself from making friends and falling in love (grayaroace) with everyone he meets and still being emotionally destroyed when they die. nine's way of coping with the guilt of the time war is to push people away in the first place and ten's is Never Stop To Think Never Stop To Examine Feelings. so yeah. lots of fun.

ALSO the daleks!! theres a ton of lore to them as well, but in short they're genetically modified creatures who have been selectively bred by this guy davros (who has major darth vader vibes. down to the voice and the mechanically supported body) to only feel hate and want to destroy everyone who is not a dalek. they're these weird little things that kinda look like rubbery octopuses inside the metal thing (they're not robots they are actually alive) and they suck. also they're really hard to get rid of like. i swear at least five times the doctor says 'this is the last of the daleks' like bestie just you wait about half a season. the daleks and the timelords (the doctor's species) fought The Time War which really really sucked and they're mortal enemies. so yeah!

[justsomestoicguy]

What Now?

So, imagine this: you wake up one day, and boom, you're in the world of My Hero Academia. 

Well… technically I was reborn into this world and became conscious of the fact when I reached five, but still. 

And as any self-respecting nerd would, you immediately start freaking out. 

Not because you're in a world full of superpowered teens (although that's pretty wild), but because you know what's coming. All For One. Big bad boss. The villain of all villains. 

And guess what? You're expected to help take him down. So, there I am, hyperventilating in my new anime-ified body, thinking about all the ways I could die horribly.

That's why, first thing's first: research. I head straight for the internet. Because even in an alternate universe, Google, or in this case 'Moogle', is still my best friend. 

I start typing "All For One" into the search bar, expecting to see news about his latest atrocities or a dramatic showdown with our beloved heroes. 

Instead, I get this headline: 

"All For One's Defeat by a Noble Vigilante's Sacrifice. What Comes Next?"

...

Wait.

Hold up. 

WHAT?!

I had to reread it three times just to make sure I wasn't hallucinating. But nope, it's real. 

Some vigilante named Scourge had already taken down, and by taken down, I mean obliterated the big baddie. Did some martyr stuff and strapped a bomb to herself before caging All For One inside a barrier she created. 

Next thing you know…

BOOM!

Okay, that was insensitive. My bad.

Getting back on track, and to basically top it all off—

I have no idea who Scourge is. 

Naturally, my first thought is that Scourge is probably a side character I forgot about because she wasn't memorable.

But then I remembered my current age, which was ten. And if my plot knowledge isn't wrong, the first All Might versus All For One fight should've happened already.

Yet it didn't.

Instead, a different major event occurred.

Before I was even born.

They called it the Villains vs Heroes vs Vigilantes Incident (or VHV for short), where All For One died and All Might came out notably less injured than in canon.

And guess who led the vigilantes to not only get involved, but insinuate the whole thing in the first place?

That's right. Motherf*cking Scourge.

How the hell did I miss someone as pivotal as her?

Answer is: I didn't.

So I got to thinking again and came up with a more plausible explanation. Maybe Sourge is like me, another poor soul who got yeeted into this universe ahead of me. Maybe she knew the plot, jumped in early, and bam—no more All For One. 

So here I stand, in the middle of this bustling city, feeling this immense wave of relief. I don't have to worry about the biggest, baddest villain in town anymore. No epic battles, no life-or-death struggles. I can just…live, right?

But then it hits me. Like, really hits me. What am I supposed to do now? I mean, defeating All For One was the endgame, the ultimate goal. And now, it's already done. No more stress, sure, but also no more purpose. 

Why then was I brought here if the biggest threat is already gone?

Here I am, a guy in a world full of heroes and villains, with knowledge of a future that will never come.

What now?

—

Next Chapter

[pttucker]

Han Sooyoung spoke through gritted teeth. "Yoo Joonghyuk became an 'author." "Why did he suddenly get such an attribute?" "I guess he wanted to write a new story in a very sincere manner. That is the condition to opening the 'author' trait." I could understand but also didn't understand. A world that couldn't complete the round but was struggling to survive… Yoo Joonghyuk went out of it in order to write his own story.

Okay, so it’s actually possible that Dokja will get the writer attribute one day as well? I assume if he happens to get it, it'll be when he stops thinking of himself as a reader and completely deviates from the novel.

Like, Dokja keeps talking about wanting to make his story, and he has made choices that Joonghyuk didn’t make, but I’m guessing he’s actually been following the novel in some way probably 60-70% of the time. Sure, Joonghyuk didn’t destroy the Throne in his third round but he did eventually destroy it. He didn’t fight an outer god in the early scenarios but he did fight one. He eventually went to the underworld. He eventually did most of the things Dokja has done. So I guess that while Dokja remains somewhat on the path of Joonghyuk, even if he’s stopping to do some things Joonghyuk wouldn’t chose to do, he won’t be considered making his own story.

"Yoo Joonghyuk is no longer a character. What do you think that means?" I closed my mouth. "It is no longer a novel." My heart pounded at Han Sooyoung's words. [The exclusive skill 'Fourth Wall' is strongly activated!]

And speaking of stories, Dokja is really holding onto the idea that this is a novel, isn’t he? I mean, obviously he would see it as a novel more than anyone else, save the author, but I’m starting to worry what might happen if he fully accepts that it maybe it isn't. People are starting to question Dokja over his belief that it's a novel and, honestly, whether it started as one or not, the fact that he's living it right now and can't seem to find a way out of it sort of implies that it's not anymore? Or that it's both at least - a novel and real life.

Actually, Dokja hasn’t gotten back around to looking into it yet (if he even wants to) but there's still so much going on in regards to Dokja being a character (potentially, we don't know what his attributes window says right this moment) and Joonghyuk not being a character. So because Joonghyuk is moving past what the novel has written about him, he can no longer be considered a character, which is the opposite of the apostles who became characters when they reached the end of their knowledge for TWSA.

But that just makes me wonder how Dokja could ever possibly be considered a character. (Without getting into theories of Dokja having always been one, which I’m still on the fence about.)

Obviously the Sooyoung of the 1863rd realm is a character now but I’m starting to wonder if it’s not as simple as “you’ve read up to here and this person hasn’t” or vice versa if you started as a character. I’m wondering if it’ll come down to Dokja really accepting that this isn’t a novel anymore and how that might affect his ability to change (or even read) TWSA.

Also, the fact that both Joonghyuk and Sooyoung were able to split themselves, and that's not even counting the fact that Dokja went into a parallel TWSA while his 3rd round still existed somewhere, really does lead me back to my old theories that Secretive Plotter and/or Joonghyuk's sponsor is going to be alternate universe Dokja and/or Joonghyuk. Not to mention the fact that Dokja's ending is both final chapter and eternity while Joonghyuk is the eternal guy who can't die due to his sponsor's stigma...

It does answer a question I had about whether Joonghyuk could choose not to regress or not. Like, Dokja's Joonghyuk seemingly did just that, but now I wonder if that was just for that moment and if he dies fully he can't stop it? Like, if it were that easy for Joonghyuk to just not regress, why hasn't he before? Unless the only reason 1863rd Joonghyuk was comfortable not regressing was because he believed Sooyoung would save the world for him.

...Which is, uh, kind of similar to the faith Dokja's Joonghyuk has placed in him now that I think about it.

[therese-lokidottir]

Okey, I confused with mobius arc a d personalities actually I confuse with all tva personalities. Let's little recap mobius 'empathy and pitty' in season 1.

He showing some sympathy tona schild in ep 1 by make him laughing but them he well let the child died

Then with loki, he claim they are friend but when actually they became friends? When he keep down him and keep remains loki that he is his jailor

Mobius very much aware that what he did, he literally tell loki he didn't care as long he have some power and he said it with very casual and no forced. He didn't want to know if he was wrong, he keep obey it was because it's easy things rather actually for good reason

The only reason he Rebel to tva it was because turn out he is not special brinh, he just a human that easy tossed away when no need it anymore, there's no remorseful or guilty or apologize that out from him

Let's side by side him with he in season 2. Well in season 2 he short of showing some 'guilt ' and turn out the reason he have 'pitty' to childrens it was because he was a dad.

The rest he still sound like an idiot that trying sound smart but look more stupid everytime he open his mouth like in season 1

Oh, let's not forget loki time slipping to first time them meet and asked mobius advice. This part actually make me more confuse with his actually personalities. In this scene mobius said that he choose his burden for greater good

Ummmmm did we see same mobius? Because he literally not care about greater good, he keep obey it was because he got power, and peoples that actually got burden they never look to relax like him, he showing no remorse at all. So that is not burden, I don't belive that.

I meant if he belive what he did for greater good he will showing some remorse but well he not showing any of that on season 1 , like hwr self that claim what he did for greater good and a mercy he showing to much happy and glee for someone claimed that.

So, no. Non in tva doing it for great her good, they probably belive but come on they have brain and eyes to see that what they did basically useless and only doing more harm to multiverse.

And please stop claiming but hey are innocent and right while in reality they are not

have not seen season 2 will not be watching season, because from everything I've heard about it they keep trying to justify the fascists rather than just admitting these characters were cruel, did terrible things and believed a lie when it convinced them. Like they keep trying to write it so in-universe the circumstances justified the characters. But from a real world viewer perspective I don't care about the in-universe circumstances. I think it's messed up to write a story where fascists are excuse because they thought they had a good reason instead criticising that mindset or at the very least exploring why someone would think like that. Made worse by the unbelievably tonedeath advertising and merchandising of season 2 which seem to be endorsing the TVA.

But moving on to Mobius I have said this many times, all his kindness is conditional and performative. He never shows regret for his action only not getting what he wants. If you cut out episode 3 and went directly ep 2 to ep 4 Mobius sounds outright delusional, because he forcing Loki to work for TVA, and through out episode 2 Mobius is distrustful and hold the treat of death over his head.

This goes into the show not just bad morals but complete lack of morals or sense. Loki has no obligation to Mobius or The TVA, not only is he being forced to go along with them, THEY'RE THE BAD GUYS! There is nothing wrong in any sense with running away from them. And what makes it worse is that Loki, truly and genuinely never betrayed Mobius. He ran off to pursue Sylvie, the thing he was brought on to do. Sure, Loki had alternative motives or at least he claims to. But who cares because they don't even have a chance to manifest again why should we care the episode where Mobius calls Loki a bad friend who betrayed him is the episode where see the TVA pull a child from her home, arrest her and presumably forcibly stripped her of her clothes. Why should we care Loki fled from these people just because Mobius spared him? Are we suppose to agree or sympathize with Mobius and think Loki is in the wrong for his actions? and not just view Mobius as a deluded cruel fascist.

The ironic thing is Mobius ends up having more narcissistic traits. Mobius the one he thinks he is just entitled to thing, friendship, loyalty or praise. He is the one who refuses to admit wrongdoing, doesn't even seem to comprehend being in the wrong and refuse to apologize. Even when Sylvie corners it has to be forced and even then, he says it in a way where he refuses to admit wrongdoing on his part. Mobius is the one who aggrandizing himself while tearing down others.

Mobius tears Loki down and mocks him but then says he could be good and that suppose to make them friends. It's terribly written and when you step back and look at it, it keeps getting worse

Anyway the next episode of EMH is going to kick off the Kang arc so that will be an interesting trip

[wingitbold]

Final Destination

So, Final Destination is a good franchise, right? Freak accident that traumatized us since we were kids (I am a genZ born before 2000), traumatized us, gave us some freaky life lessons on how to not drive behind a truck carrying log, NEVER ride a roller coaster, do NOT plunge your hand into the drainage pipe (OK, but who does that?), make sure your cup is not leaking on electronics, stay away from things if they are just looking out of place, look for signs, among other things.

I wonder if half of my anxiety and obsessing over double checking things comes from that. Which is, mayhaps a good thing. But, to me, after recent binge watch session, I guess these movies rather should be put in the psychological horror section rather than pure horror. Because, when you watch them, even 4 of them in one sitting, they don't really phase you much. But then everything related to it keeps messing with your head. Also the fact that, all these freak accident can very much happen to anyone of us doesn't really give us a lot of confidence.

Now, coming to the plot, I have questions.

1. Who is the death?

See, they don't really emphasize on a personification of death or its logic of justice much in the film series, but I am reluctant to believe that death doesn't have some uncanny connection with the guy form morgue. He, whenever mentions death, acts like he is talking about an eccentric friend who we find quirky but can be scary to others. Like, how he words his thoughts or warnings on death is creepy and amusing. A mere mortal shouldn't be that amused when talking about death and its "design".

2. Death's Design

Now, coming to design, what was it? Considering in FD1, deaths kept visiting them in a "first come, first serve" basis. In part 2, it went on reverse gear.

In 3, deaths kept taking its turn not only based on order, but also based on some creepy hints laid around through pictures taken before the first premonition happened. Showing, death had an alternate plan for all of them since the beginning. I also believe, among the students on the roller coaster, some were never meant to be saved even by Berkeley. Like, Jason whose picture had only the roller coaster rails behind him, indicating he was designed to die from the freak accident from the beginning.

3. Cheating the Design

Now, this is an exam where no one can cheat. Some characters might feel at some point that they were saved, and cheated death successfully, but their claim were always refuted soon enough. The only one to successfully dodge it are from Final Destination 2, but then I guess the design was hinted at being reset again after that kid's death.

4. PTSD??????!!!!

However the biggest question of them all, was PTSD a thing in that universe. Man, the things they witnessed, how most of the characters became witnesses to other very gruesome deaths make me wonder, how the f#ck they didn't die of stress, fear, heart attack, or even dead appetite before death could even knock on their door. Because, tbh, Frankie's death in 3 or Billy in 1 would most probably kill me just by excessive vomiting. Those kids had the heart of fudging Hercules.

Anyway, thank God I will be working from home today, or else riding on that metro (subway) would have stressed me out.😐

[savyir-genesizz-the-wizard]

Non-Destiny OC directory

Azya Zaavim

Funny little guy what more can I say! Ok, I can say a lot actually. He's 42 and lives in the capital of country Ajiadiali, which exists on an alternative Earth. He loves Sanrio and all things cute and pastel but because of his job he can't express himself too often. So, he's a politician currently (he used to be a popstar but then his band's frontman died)! He also unfortunately suffers from depression and anxiety which is probably not great with his current career. Oh, also he suffered a hemorrhagic stroke when he was 30 and still suffers from some complications of it. My plan for him was to have a webcomic (Tomorrow It Will Rain) about him but we will see how it turns out? For now it's mostly my world building project. Aside from that until the story happens he's doing fine. He got married to a man who was his best friend before they started dating a few years ago and they have two fat orange cats together. Tooth rooting fuff. But watch out.

Supersonics/ Policy Of Truth characters:

Yuurg O'kweensgeyt

Alien lost in a new big city. He basically comes from a mostly human colony, from a family that expected a lot from him. When his disability made it impossible for him to become a professional racer (or rather the physical fitness requirements) he ran away from them and tried living on a huge multiracial transit station where he befriended (or rather was befriended by) a famous local detective. And still became a racer because fuck yeah. He's kinda cranky and it takes him a lot of time to open up to people.

Javier Caliban

The detective! Very outgoing and friendly but sooner or later you will realize that you actually don't know anything about him! Does anyone? Does he?

Cherry Bomb

An alien rock star! Not much to say about her yet. There is some more musicians that I had in mind for that universe but who knows what will come out of it.

Savyir the Wizard

A personification of my #personal posts. Or just my tumblrsexymansona? I dunno. He's made of light and top of his head is a literal textpost.

Małgorzata Bzura

A magic spells student (engineering). Honestly I've made her when I was 14 and mostly forgot about her but she's revelant to me again. She lives in modern fantasy Poland and I like imagining her studying on my uni. I probably should draw her one day again. Her only backstory is that when she was a teen she wanted to conjure a spell on herself that would give her a permanent tattoo to look cool but messed it up (bc of not being a professional obv) and is now stuck with a Van Dyke type beard which can't be shaved off. She ended up actually liking it a lot tho. She's certain that girls love it (mixed results).

Savyir the Farmer

My main Stardew Farmer. Not the best person but he's doing his best. Dates Shane - not in a "I will fix him" way but in a "two guys who are just as bad" way. They might have some good impact on each other tho. We will see.

Gideon (the Farmer)

A guy from my second save, not much to say about him bc I only have 6 hours there.

Niemir Szumilas

(huge post about him anyway)

[phanboyo]

Everyone, immediately: yeah yeah, evil alternate universe Batman, we've all seen it. Good alternate universe Joker??? I mean it's not technically unheard of but it's really not as common, and still a little bit of a new concept. Like, who would ever think the Joker would be the good guy? Especially if Danny mentions he has an evil alternate future self who kills everyone and takes over the world??? Everyone's immediately like, oh yeah that sounds more like what we'd have expected of an alternate universe Joker.

"But don't worry guys I screamed at him and now hes in a thermos outside of time so that universe doesn't exist anymore." <<Danny doing more to protect people from the ""Joker"" than Batman ever did, or so think the JL.

Haha kidding.

But still, the idea of a good Joker is so strange, people think that Danny's just pretending to not be a horrible person so that they let their guards down and he can set up an evil plan to stab everyone in the back. It takes a while for them to warm up to him. Especially when he brings up weird science haha

I like to think that some Gothamites saw a confused Baby Joker step out of a portal and immediately thought time travel. This must be Joker before he became the clown prince of crime. Quick someone kill it before it becomes more powerful!

But when Joker sees internet videos of a confused Baby Joker stepping out of a portal? 50/50 whether it's fight on sight or a new protege with some good taste. It probably changes from moment to moment tbh. But even if he decides on the latter, he's immediately outraged as soon as Danny takes more of Batman's attention than the Joker does, let's be honest.

Danny, seeing another billionaire vampire wannabe taking an interest in him:

In other words, this kid is definitely not like any Joker Batman's ever seen before lol

Oh! But can you imagine if Danny mentions Red Huntress as the frenemy ("well, she thinks we're enemies but I think she's starting to warm up to me") who's always trying to shoot him? And he refers to her as Red? "—with this red mask on all the time and new gadgets she steals from Plasmius—yeah the rich vampire guy—cause she used to work with him but now she hates him—" and now they're all convinced she's Red Hood's alternate universe counterpart?

(Not) Another Joker

Over time, effects from Danny’s ghost form starts to bleed over into his human form.

His skin gains a deathly pallor. His hair turns white before gaining an ectoplasmic green tinge. When he smiles, it looks just a bit too wide to be human.

He, completely coincidentally, looks a lot like the Joker.

Not that he realized that fact for a while. Sure, Joker’s crimes may make the news sometimes, but it’s not like anyone in Amity Park paid that much thought to a criminal in an entirely different state. The connection just… never occurred to anyone.

Well, that was until Danny ended up in Gotham for [dealer’s choice of reason—college, vacation, runaway, etc]

Because then everyone noticed, and it started to cause lots of problems for him.

[gch1995]

Out of curiosity, do you have any good star wars fic recommendations that are pro Anakin? I've been trying to find them. Like I don't hate Obi-wan as a protagonist, but they're so ubiquitous and it gets old. it would be nice to read a fanfic that treats Anakin better.

Oh, yes, there are a number of fanfics out there that treat Anakin/Vader as a really great protagonist. My favorite ones are the time travel fix-it canon divergent AUs and the ones where he see him trying to be a dad to Luke and Leia. People in this fandom know how to make it both heartwarming and terrifying when he’s Vader, and it’s great.

The Truth by MJ Mink - This is probably my favorite canon-divergent AU fic. In this fic, Luke Skywalker is an essentially goodhearted, but rebellious 15 year old boy when meets his father Darth Vader. After losing his Aunt and Uncle Beru, he goes to live with his father. Of course, this fic takes place in the series after Anakin has become Darth Vader in the story, so he’s not always a good dad to Luke. There are some instances where he goes into the abusive parent territory, even if it’s not premeditated. While there’s no excuse for it, he has become so used to just being Palpatine’s deeply and horrifyingly angry, disillusioned, domineering, and merciless attack dog/galactic dictatorial enforcer/murder servant Darth Vader.

Understandably, it’s not just this easy cycle for Anakin to break right away after spending 37-40 years as both the perpetrator and/or victim of systematic abuse of power, crime, manipulation, oppression, and violence to deal with problems and threats under corrupt male toxic authority figures from whom healthy support and safe escape was always highly risky. However, Anakin’s greatest morality pet is his son Luke and family in general. That’s true in this fic too, which is why he gets better at being a good dad to Luke over time the closer they become.

While never putting up with his dad’s shit, Luke also does learn to ultimately forgive and love his father, the more Anakin softens up towards him, and the more he learns about just how tragically fucked up and unfair his dad’s entire life has been.

It’s a really great story with plenty of really great angst, character development, and humor. This Luke isn’t pro Sith because I mean, look at the crimes they commit! However, after hearing his dad’s story, he’s not really pro-Yoda, Obi-Wan, and the old Jedi Order’s way either. He’s neutral, which I really like. Although the Jedi started out as the good guys in the SW universe, it quickly became apparent that most of them only got to hold that title because the Sith were their only competition who were far worse. It always bugged me that we could never get a SW canon story that had more characters pointing out that both sides suck, and deciding not to be either as a result. The closest we got to that in canon was Ahsoka Tano, but the Mouse ruined that too.

Test of Time Book 1: A Father’s Son by AngelDesaray - This is a whole story of Luke Skywalker being thrust back in time by the force, learning about his father, bonding with his father, and changing the entire future by stopping him, Obi-Wan, and the Jedi Council from falling for Palpatine and doing all their other bullshit. It’s followed up by Test of Time Book 2: The Past Meets the Future and Test of Time Book 3: Blood, Sweat, and Tears. The sequels follow the Skywalker family in the alternate future that Luke created after going back in time, particularly Anakin and Luke. The first two fics in this series are complete. The third one still hasn’t been marked as complete yet. There’s also a series of cute, fluffy, and funny one shots that talk about the years in between the alternate timeline with Anakin, Padme, Luke, and Leia as a happy family called Life as a Skywalker. Yeah, Obi-Wan makes appearances as Anakin’s and the Skywalker family’s friend, and, occasionally the twins irritated babysitter, considering the fact that this version seems to have learned from his mistakes with Anakin, but he’s not a main character.

Future Imperfect by TheRealThing - A time travel fic where Anakin is sent 19 to 23 years in to the future to witness the consequences of his and the overall Jedi Order’s actions.

Ambient Dreams by sohna - After his dream of Padme dying in childbirth, Anakin has another dream of what will happen if he pledges himself to Palpatine to try to keep her from dying in childbirth. Obi-Wan and Yoda are there, but Anakin’s the main character, not them.

There are a lot more on ff.net and ao3.org in the Star Wars sections, but these Anakin/Vader fics stick out the most to me.

[n1kolaiz]

The Six Realms

Okay, so I was pretty close to giving up on writing analyses but I'm back LMFAO plus I see we're close to 100 followers and I just want to thank you guys for being so very supportive <3

Alright, I'm not sure if anyone's ever written about this, but if an analysis like this exists, please do let me know because I'm kind of curious as to what other people think about this, too!

Remember that time Fukuchi spoke about bringing "about the five signs of an angel's death"?

I read a little bit more about it, and as a minor content warning: this analysis will focus on a few religious aspects (Buddhism + Hinduism). So if I get any of the facts wrong, firstly: I do not mean any disrespect to either religion, and secondly: please do correct me if I interpret anything in the wrong way.

Spoilers for BSD chapter 90 onwards + BEAST!AU under the cut!

So I'll start by talking about the Decay of Angels. As we all know, the members include Fyodor Dostoyevsky, Nikolai Gogol, Sigma, and Bram Stoker, and their leader, Fukuchi Ochi. After Fyodor's arrest, the Decay of Angels came into light with Nikolai murdering four government officials in a week. These murders symbolise the Buddhist cycle of existence, or otherwise known as samsara: the cycle of life, death, and rebirth.

"We are the Decay of Angels—hiding here as terrorists, a 'murder association', five people who will announce the demise of the celestial world."

Nikolai Gogol, chapter 57

Samsara is described to be a concept beyond human understanding. According to Hinduism, samsara is the physical world where every being has its soul trapped into a physical vessel. The Hindus believe that everything has a soul, and due to a soul's attachment to desire, it is forced into a deathless cycle of being born, dying, and reincarnating into a different body. In Buddhism, the ultimate way to break free from this cycle is by obtaining nirvana.

Nirvana is a Sanskrit word for the goal of the Buddhist path: enlightenment or awakening. In Pali, the language of some of the earliest Buddhist texts, the word is nibbana; in both languages it means "extinction" (like a lamp or flame) or "cessation." It refers to the extinction of greed, ill will, and delusion in the mind, the three poisons that perpetuate suffering. Nirvana is what the Buddha achieved on the night of his enlightenment: he became completely free from the three poisons. Everything he taught for the rest of his life was aimed at helping others to arrive at that same freedom.

- TRICYCLE'S definition of nirvana

As Fukuchi mentions in the panel above, there are six different realms of existence. These realms represent every possible state of existence, but one cannot live in a specific realm forever. Depending on whether or not one's past actions were morally good or bad, an individual is born into one of these realms. Basically, the controlling factor of which realm a person is born into is dependent on their respective karma. The realms are separated into two categories: the hellish ones and the heavenly ones.

The Deva Realm: where beings are rewarded for the good deeds they have done. This realm is void of anything unpleasant. It is basically paradise— empty of unfulfilled desires, any form of suffering, and fears of every kind. Religious individuals, however, do not seek to be born into this realm since its attitude is more or less carefree.

The Asura Realm: where demigods are admitted. Asuras are driven by greed and envy, and may come in conflict with human beings since they are quite similar. They are powerful beings, but quarrel with each other quite a bit, making this realm quite undesirable to be reborn into.

The Animal Realm: where beings are given the form of an animal (you probably guessed that lol). Individuals here don't actually have good karma to take pride in, but rather, they are born into this realm to work off their bad karma (by being slaughtered, hunted, or forced to work, etc). Being born into this realm forces one to atone for their past sins by living out their life as an animal.

The Hell Realm: where one is punished for their evil actions. The most merciless of realms, where one pays for their transgressions through pure suffering, methods of which include: dismemberment, starvation, and psychological/physical torture. However, once a person's term is fulfilled in this realm, they are presumably promised to be reborn into a higher state.

The Preta Realm: similar to the hell realm, in which beings pay for their past sins (specifically: greed and stinginess) by having to survive through hunger and thirst. This realm is also known as the 'ghost realm,' because some pretas are psychologically tortured by being forced to live in places their past selves have lived in. They are invisible to human beings living at that time, which pushes them to face the depths of despair and loneliness. Your typical horror movie, really.

The Human Realm: the only realm where one's actions determine their future. The status (social ranking, physical wellbeing, and so on) of a human being in this realm is determined by their past actions, but due to the fact that a person has their own conscience to differentiate good morals from bad, the actions they commit in this realm have the power to determine which realm they are sent to next.

Okay, so now that I've got that out of the way, let's shift our focus to the Book. Very little is known about the Book, but the basic fundamentals of how it works is that whatever is written in the book will come into existence only if its contents follow the rules of karma. In addition to that, only a few sentences can be written into a single page of the Book, and it must follow the current narrative of the story.

If I'm not wrong, the first time the Book was mentioned was by Fitzgerald, who wanted it to resurrect his deceased daughter in hopes of restoring his wife's mental health. The next time the Book is brought up is when Fyodor's intentions to possess it are divulged; his goal was to decimate the global population of ability-users. And now, the current arc has the Book as its central focus, with a single page in Fukuchi's possession.

[ BEAST!AU spoilers ]

The Book acts as the central point of multiverses, with each character's lives differing from universe to universe.

Dazai committing suicide in this alternate universe stands in sharp contrast with how he decided to start up a new life in the main universe.

Oda staying alive to act as a mentor to Akutagawa in the ADA differs from how Oda uses his death to prompt Dazai to "be on the side that saves people."

And of course, the way Atsushi and Akutagawa have their positions switched in the two universes depicts how different their lives would be if they were given the chance to be mentored by different people— these are just a few examples of how the Book houses an endless amount of possibilities.

[ end of BEAST!AU spoilers ]

Hypothetically speaking, this kind of reminds me of the differing realms I mentioned before, where suffering is promised in some realms, and better things are granted in the rest, depending on one's karma, or the deeds they've done in their past lives. In this scenario, perhaps one's past life can be understood as one's current life in a different universe. That's just a personal opinion though. Take it as you will.

side note: Keep in mind that the person who is more or less impervious to the Book's effect is Dazai, with his nullification ability. I wouldn't want to propose any theories in this aspect (I don't believe I'm fully fact-checked ;_;), but I could use Dazai as a raw example of how your choices affect your future. If Dazai had decided to stay in the Port Mafia after Oda's death, or if he even decided to go through with his suicidal fixations, life would've been different for him in the root universe (obviously, ryley) I mean, you could basically understand that from how he ended up in the BEAST au, but imagine if he really did slip up in his decision-making in any of the universes.

Many analysts have proposed that he went MIA (early in his life) from the main universe for a while to figure out how the BEAST universe worked, whilst having the Book to his advantage. Perhaps his actions were guided? I'm not saying he's all-knowing, but he's sure as hell smart. I'm not sure if Kafka was trying to highlight the concept of karma when it comes to Dazai, but if he is, then I suppose you could say that Dazai is pretty much unaffected by the rules of karma, existing as the centerpiece of all the multiverses. No Longer Human is the namesake of his ability, but the book talks about disqualification from societal norms and generally, the world. I was talking about it with a friend, and they reminded me that Yozo (the main protagonist) was pretty strong in his views against society. Like he didn't speak out of total defeat, he spoke out of defense. If there was anything Dazai actually lost to, it was his guilt— "Living itself is a source of sin."

Then again, that's my personal interpretation since everyone has their unique perspective of his writings. In terms of the actual adaptation, you could translate the word 'disqualification' to 'insusceptibilty' when if it came to the Book's effects on Dazai? This side note is becoming really long lmao anyways I'll link a few theories which afflicted me with brainrot down below.

Another thing before I wrap up, the name 'Decay of Angels' stemmed from Yukio Mishima's book entitled 'The Decay of An Angel.' This is the final novel to the author's tetralogy: 'The Sea of Fertility.' The main protagonist, Honda, meets a person he believes to be a reincarnation of his friend, Kiyoaki, who takes the form of a young teenage boy named Tōru. The last novel of this series enhances Mishima's dominant themes of the series as a whole:

the decay of courtly tradition in Japan

the essence and value of Buddhist philosophy and aesthetics

Mishima’s apocalyptic vision of the modern era

Again, this could be referred to what Fukuchi goes on to say:

Some people view the concept of samsara optimistically, justifying it by saying that perhaps each individual is given a second (third, fourth, fifth, who knows) chance to refine their actions in order to be birthed into a better realm, with their karma being the independent variable.

On the other hand, other people, specifically the Hindus, view the cycle of existence as some sort of plague. To them, the flow of life and being forced to endure the suffering of mere existence in any form was somewhat frowned down upon. Some Hindus viewed samsara as a trap. Besides, having one's soul being limited to a physical body for the rest of eternity was not very appealing, especially since where they ended up at depended on the karmic value their past actions surmounted.

Even so, particular types of Buddhists don't seek nirvana, but instead, like the Hindus, they make an effort to be good people of society, building up their good deeds to increase the likelihood of being reborn into one of the better realms.

As mentioned before, the Deva Realm was the home of angels, the most carefree, gratified beings to exist. Fukuchi describes these angels as the people who don't get their hands dirty, the people who act as the puppeteers of society: politicians.

In terms of parallels, angels were the most fortunate and powerful, but they didn't have anyone ruling over them. A lack of supervision would lead to the abuse of power, which is what I believe Fukuchi was referring to. Deeming himself the Decay of Angels, he sought to prove himself as the 'sign of death that falls on the nation's greed.'

A few fun facts (okay, not really) about Yukio Mishima: he committed seppuku (ritual suicide by disembowelment) on the day he held a speech to voice out his unpopular political beliefs to the public. Mishima deeply treasured traditions and opposed the modern mindset the nation was advancing forward to adapt eventually. In his last book, The Decay of an Angel, he spoke about the five signs which complete the death of an angel:

Here are the five greater signs: the once-immaculate robes are soiled, the flowers in the flowery crown fade and fall, sweat pours from the armpits, a fetid stench envelops the body, the angel is no longer happy in its proper place.

The Decay of an Angel, p.53

The reviews about this series I've read so far describe Mishima's works to be quite complex; his writings demanded a lot of time to deconstruct and understand. They were highly symbolic, and he was pretty obsessed with death and the 'spiritual barrenness of the modern world.' I think you could attach a few strings from here to the mindsets of the DOA members. Of course, this parallel is completely abstract, but I'll go on rambling anyway:

He should have armed them with the foreknowledge that would keep them from flinging themselves after their destinies, take away their wings, keep them from soaring, make them march in step with the crowd. The world does not approve of flying. Wings are dangerous weapons. They invite self-destruction before they can be used. If he had brought Isao to terms with the fools, then he could have pretended that he knew nothing of wings.

The Decay of an Angel, p.113

I suppose you could resonate Nikolai with that excerpt. As much as Fukuchi takes the lead in this whole murder association, I'd like to believe that each member of the DOA plays an equally interesting part in whatever movement they're trying to execute. Fyodor feels it is his god-sent purpose to cleanse the world of its sins, his motto being, "Let the hand of God guide you." Sigma doesn't know where he belongs, since his origination comes from a page in the Book, and is fueled by the desperation to find a reason to live. Bram holds one of the most powerful abilities which is counted to be one of the "Top Ten Calamities to Destroy the World."

What I mean to say is that the DOA members are incredibly powerful, and they're not your ordinary antagonists (or I'm just biased). It's not just overthrowing authorities, mass genocide, and world domination— you could say that each individual is trying to utilize their purposes to their fullest expenditures, and the way they're trying to assert their plan into action is a little more passive-aggressive (framing the Agency, having a convo with a suicidal dude in jail, etc). They're the gray area between evil and good. As they framed the good guys for their own crimes, they're trying to conquer the bad guys for exploiting the innocent as they please.

This post would definitely age well if all hell breaks loose in the current arc (as if it didn't) and Kafka doesn't give us a happy ending.

That's all I have to say for now I guess! Thank you for reading, and once again, if anyone else something they wanna share, feel free to do so <3

sources (tryna follow Q's example ^_^) :

the six realms

samsara

the decay of angels

beast!au

the book

the sea of fertility

yukio mishima

theory: dazai’s emotional/mental state in beast!au

q’s theory: dazai being the protector of the book

theory: beast!dazai and the book

[sammysdewysensitiveeyes]

AoA and Exiles.

Obligatory explanation - TAS Morph was loosely based on obscure (and long-dead) 60's villain Changeling from the comics, although they were greatly reworked to become Morph. Changeling did not have a human name in the comics, and so neither did Morph in TAS.

In the Age of Apocalypse comics, we got an alternate universe character named Morph whose personality was very clearly based on TAS Morph (a silly, jokey type of guy), but who was directly stated in the comics to have been formerly Changeling. That Morph was referred to as "Sydney" sometimes, and even referred to himself as "Sydney" or "Syd" in thought balloons, so it seemed like a first name. But then in Exiles, we got another AU version of Morph (and therefore also an AU version of Changeling). This Morph was officially named Kevin Sydney, and that became the character's name going forward, and is generally now treated as Changeling's name in the 616 universe. (Not that Changeling gets brought up much......last I saw bro is still dead.....)

TAS/X-Men 97 Morph hasn't had their human name ever revealed on the show, but I ASSUME that they would be Kevin Sydney, just like Rogue would presumably be Anna Marie (Rogue also didn't have a human name in the original animated series, because her name hadn't been revealed in the comics yet). However much Morph was changed from the original Changeling, there has been SO much influence back and forth between the comics and cartoon, down to X-Men 97 Morph having been redesigned to look like AoA/Exiles Morph, it's pretty safe to assume that they are all variants of the same person.

If OP is interested in Morph appearances in the comics, we've got:

The X-Men 97 prequel comics series that is coming out right now - Morph just showed up at the end of Issue 2. This is meant to lead into the X-Men 97 series, so this is literally cartoon Morph.

Age of Apocalypse - specifically the four-issue series Astonishing X-Men - Morph is a member of Rogue's team, and is silly to the point of being obnoxious at times, but is badass and has a lot of heart. Not exactly like cartoon Morph, the character has a different history of course, but similar.

Exiles - this is a fairly long-running series, and Morph manages to be a mainstay for most of, if not the entire run. Basically a team of alternate reality heroes displaced from their own timelines, hopping through different realities. Also not exactly like cartoon Morph (doesn't have any of that history with Sinister, for example), but similar enough. Exiles is probably the most development Morph has gotten, and it wouldn't surprise me if some of Exiles Morph's backstory gets used for X-Men 97 Morph, since we still don't really know much about them. I will say Exiles Morph seems almost aggressively straight, to the point of making a lot of sexually harassing "jokes" to his female teammates, but I mostly blame the early 2000 writing, back when it was more acceptable for the "funny guy" to be all "LOL, boobies, amiright, guys?" Which is funny given that X-Men 97 gave us nonbinary and "nursing a secret crush on Wolverine" Morph.

Y'all.... Y'ALL.

HOW LONG AS MORPH'S COMMON NAME BEEN KEVIN SYDNEY????

I was looking through the X-Men '97 (2024) tag and was thinking like "Kevin Sydney?? Huh, must be Morph's VA"

I DIDN'T KNOW HE HAD A COMMON NAME???? FOR HOW LONG??? SINCE WHEN!?

Like is there/are there a/some comic book appearance(s) I don't know about??? Damn 😔

Anyway!! Super excited for Season 2!!

[bamfdaddio]

Uncanny X-Men Abridged: 1982: Fairytales & Nightmares Edition

The X-Men, those fantastical mutants that have sworn to protect a world that hates and fears them, are a cultural juggernaut with a long, tangled history. We’ve been untangling that history for a while, but sometimes, you really want a more in-depth look. Interested? Then read the (un)Abridged X-Men!

(X-Men 153 & 160) - by Chris Claremont and Dave Cockrum, Josef Rubinstein, Bob Wiacek, Brent Anderson

I love how every character gets hit with a good dose of magical fairy dust except for Wolverine and Nightcrawler, who get turned into the Tasmanian Devil and a horny smurf, respectively

1982 is a pretty arc-based year. Most of it is dedicated to space operas, the Brood and Shi’ar politics (yawn), but there are a few outliers. Most notable of these two exceptions are issue 153 - Kitty’s fairytale - and issue 160, the introduction of Limbo. I’ve chosen to highlight these two issues because they are fun, fascinating and, moreover, they are sort of dark mirrors of one another.

Both feature Illyana as a catalyst for the action; both of them feature someone spinning her a little fairytale..

Both feature alternate takes on X-Men: one high fairytale, the other grimdark.

Both are standalone issues that barely feature into the main Shi’ar-plot of 1982 -- seriously, you can take them out without disrupting any narratives -- while still introducing plot points that would become a part of the X-Men mythos. (The Lockheed dragon; the bamf and, most importantly, the introduction of Illyana as Magik.)

It’s funny how the Brood saga takes up almost 80% of the narrative space this year, whereas the whole Limbo/Belasco/Illyana-thing is almost a throwaway plot that is arguably more iconic for the X-Men currently than the Brood are.

Anyway, context. The mansion is in shambles after the attack on the Hellfire Club. Illyana hasn’t returned home after being kidnapped by Arcade -- perhaps to give Colossus a little relief of his homesickness. Illyana then tempts fate:

Take note of that stuffed Fozzi toy, wocka wocka!

Illyana prefers Kitty to tell the story, and I get it. Colossus is a sweetheart, but the dude’s not exactly light of heart. Piotr would probably tell something dreary and fatalistic about three old sisters in a decaying orchard, while Kitty is a lot more fun.

Claremont shows that he is familiar with the workings of the teenage mind, because when faced with the challenge to tell a story, she does the same thing I did when I was thirteen: she goes for a self insert. And she incidentally writes in the boy she has a crush on as her boyfriend.

Look, all I’m saying, we’ve all been there, right?

Anyway, Kitty’s fairytale. Kitty is a pirate, Peter is her shipmate and they stumble upon a quest when ruffians accost a blind prince -- Scott -- and a wizard on his own personal flying carpet -- Xavier. They help out and get roped into the prince’s quest to save his princess from an evil corrupting influence. Sound familiar?

In true Final Fantasy-fashion, all the other party members are introduced one by one. Kitty calls upon a dragon called Lockheed she befriended while Piotr saves a weather goddess trapped in a bottle by the cursed princess. Best highlights, however, are Kitty’s versions of Kurt and Wolverine.

Way of X, I love you, but take note. Kurt was never meant to be puritan.

One of the best parts of this issue is the reaction shots of the other X-Men who listen in to Kitty’s tale. Most of their alternative versions fit stock fairytale characters, although Bamf is more a Disney sidekick than anything else. Wolverine is straight up a Looney Tune though:

At some point, someone looked at this character design and first thought of Sabretooth, right?

The kicker of all of this Kitty wasn´t actually there for the Phoenix Saga: she only met Jean once, briefly, when Jean saved her and the other X-Men from Emma. Kitty never met Dark Phoenix, she only ever heard the details secondhand. Still, she gets it mostly right: prince Scott and princess Jean are star-crossed lovers until Jean is cursed by a corrupting force. As Dark Phoenix, she is hellbent on stopping wizard Xavier and the prince in their tracks, lest they lift the curse by confronting her with her one weakness.

THE HUMANITY

Xavier uses Jean’s humanity to fight off the dark Phoenix and, in this particular universe, they succeed. Scott and Jean get the happy ending they didn’t get in the actual timeline: Kitty even cures his cursed eyebeams. It’s kind of funny that this is the only happy ending the X-Men will ever get during Claremont’s reign.

Speaking of a lack of happy endings, the dark counterpart of Kitty’s fairytale also starts with someone telling Illyana some sweet little lies:

I’m assuming that the whole Stranger Danger-campaign only got big after the eighties? Illyana has all the self preservation skills of a lemming.

Kitty notices that Illyana has vanished and is curious, following her. She steps on a strange light disk and vanishes.

As a slightly piquant aside, I was pleasantly surprised when reading this one digitally. I own a copy of this comic in Dutch (straight from the eighties) and apparently, they censored the version for the low lands. In a comic with creepy assaultey Nightcrawler and many, many, many naked Storms and Wolverines, this page was a bridge too far:

Look, maybe they weren’t entirely wrong. Last time three guys were bouncing around me and I invited them for a shower, I wasn’t entirely innocent either.

I was “also not welcome in that gym again” but that’s besides the point.

Who knows, maybe they just wanted to cut out the clunky exposition of storylines recent. In any case, the X-Men decide to investigate and they are also whisked away: those disks of light are apparently teleportation circles.

Also, can someone please tell Chris Claremont that German sometimes does have i before e?

They’re pulled into a pocket dimension where time and space are treated as guidelines rather than hard and fast rules. While Belasco taunts Kitty (and pulls her skeleton from her body to keep her from escaping), the other X-Men get separated, wandering about this utterly foreign dimension and encountering future/alternative versions of themselves.

I still love how alien this first version of Limbo is. The comic is titled ‘Shoots & Ladders’ and it’s exactly like that, except in creepy, never-ending tunnels and topsy-turvy, shadowy caverns.

Both Wolverine and Colossus are confronted by their dead selves, killed by S’ym, Belasco’s brutish lackey. The alternative Nightcrawler, meanwhile, has been perverted into a freaky little toady who has no qualms about touching Kitty inappropriately. (He's essentially the creepy, disturbing version of a Bamf.) Storm, meanwhile, is aided by an older, jaded version of herself. She’s also the one in charge of teleportation disks, which she uses to aid the X-Men:

Kitty’s casually waving skeleton always sends me

Storm is furious with what Belasco has wrought onto Kitty, her Mother Bear Instincts activating. She wants to give chase, but that’s when older!Storm intervenes. She warns Storm that this is a crossroads. In her variant universe, the X-Men chased after Belasco and it went badly for them: Wolverine and Colossus died, Nightcrawler turned evil and Storm became trapped in Limbo.

There’s no word of what happened to their Kitty or Illyana, but I think that’s because Limbo does not play by any of our regular rules. See, if Belasco wanted Illyana, wouldn't he have one now? But he doesn’t. So maybe Limbo is the Schrödinger’s place, where the X-Men both did and didn’t chase Belasco. Because if they didn’t give chase, they wouldn’t have the older Storm to tell them they shouldn’t give chase, which they end up not doing. But if they don't, there wouldn't be a Storm to warn them from not going, so they would. But they wouldn't.

Got that?

Just when older!Storm prepares to send them home, Belasco returns with an army of demons.

See? I told you that paying attention to that Fozzi-toy would pay off! (Wocka wocka)

And it ends there, with Illyana rescued from her nightmare, but with the promise of more darkness in her future.

I love how Chris Claremont takes a soap opera trope -- aging up a child in the shortest amount of time possible to an age where there’s more to do with them narratively -- and makes it fit into his crazy X-Universe.

And that’s it. Two relatively pared down stories where the normal rules of reality take a backseat: one to lift Illyana’s spirits, one to break her beyond belief. In a year that’s defined by space opera, these two stories have always stuck out to me, simply because of the way they break the mold of the X-Universe. More importantly, they've given us Magik. And Bamf!

Next up: Brood, Brood, Brood, and Shi'ar.

[five-rivers]

So first, I just want to say that I love Mortified, especially the arcs involving Ereshkigal and Innana. The whole thing is absolutely incredible, and I'm always thrilled to see an update. Second, I was rather hoping to offer you a prompt I've had swirling about my head. What if there is some sort of research facility exploring "that which is unknown and previously thought to be impossible" (i.e. magic but they don't call it that because people don't really know about magic and ghosts in this AU) and Danny's class is invited to go on a field trip there. At first, everything is normal, but just after the class leaves the researchers realize that their instruments show that some sort of Eldritch Horror is nearby and they start freaking out, but it's just Danny. I don't know where else this would go though.

Mr. Lancer chewed on the end of his pen.  It was a disgusting habit, he knew, but he could never quite get himself to kick it, especially when he had a problem to confront.  

Said problem was, presently, that enough of his students had expressed an interest in careers in ectology and paranormal science that he really had to give them a relevant field trip.  Unfortunately, there were very few reputable options for such a field trip.  The Fentons were unsafe, Axion Labs refused to give tours, the GIW were essentially a government sponsored hate group.  Most other ‘ghost hunting agencies’ were outright scams.  

But there had to be something nearby.  Or at least in the state.  Maybe not something that explicitly or solely dealt with ghosts, but something.  

Maybe...

Oh!

He shifted to sit straighter in his chair.  That would work.  He started typing an email.

.

“We got a what?” repeated Johannsson.  

“A field trip request,” repeated Deer.  

“Like... from a school?” asked Johannsson, cautiously.  

“A high school,” confirmed Deer, sounding rather stunned.  

“Do they... know what we do here?” 

“Evidently,” said Deer.  

“Like, they know we research magic and telepathy and stuff.”

“Yes.”

“And astral projection, higher-dimensional beings, alternate universes, that kind of thing?  Fringe science?”

“He says the junior class is interested in the ‘paranormal sciences.’”

“Wow,” said Johannsson, finally bringing his coffee up to his mouth and sipping at it cautiously.  “Where,” he started, “where are they from?”

“Um,” said Deer, peering at her computer screen.  “Casper High.  One sec.”  She started typing.  “It’s in Amity Park?  Do you think it’s a joke?”

“Ah,” said Johannsson.  “No, that tracks, actually, if it’s Amity Park.  We’ve got some weird readings on file from there, if you look it up.”

“It’s close,” said Deer.  “If we get readings, why don’t we have a presence there?”

“Another agency called dibs first,” said Johannsson.  “We have enough trouble.  No need to step on toes.”

Deer looked up at Johannsson incredulously.  “We fight eldritch abominations from the edge of reality,” she said.  “Is the boss really worried about stepping on toes?”

“Hey, that’s how we get funding,” said Johannsson, shrugging.  “We don’t want to end up like MKUltra.”

“MKUltra was a scam, Steve.  And also mostly illegal.”

“Yeah?”

Deer shrugged.  “Anyway, should I send this on, or...?”

“Yeah, go ahead.  The boss will probably get a kick out of it, if nothing else.”

.

“I would not have told the boss about this if I knew I’d be the one babysitting a bunch of teenagers,” said Deer through a clenched smile.  She jerked on the hem of her blouse, not used to the more formal clothes she was wearing on this momentous occasion.   

“Yeah,” said Johannsson, “but it isn’t like we get a lot of people coming into this profession for this profession.  And they’re kids.  So be nice.”

“I’m always nice,” grumbled Deer.  

“Well, look like it,” said Johannsson, elbowing her.  He caught sight of the yellow school bus.  “Here they come now.”

They waited until most of the students had gotten off the bus to approach.  

“Hi,” said Johannsson, “you must be Mr. Lancer.”

“That’s me,” said the rather frazzled-looking teacher.  “Come on kids, let’s get settled down.  Listen to our guides.  Let them introduce themselves.”

“Yeah, hey,” said Johannsson, waving.  “Welcome to the Edge Institute, where we study that which is unknown and often thought to be impossible.”

“Hi,” said Deer, frowning at one group of students in particular.  Johannsson followed her eyes.  

The trio in question didn’t seem particularly out of the ordinary.  Except...  Well, there was a reason Deer worked here.  

“I’m Steve Johannsson,” he said, getting back on track.  “This is Sylvia Deer.  We mostly work in report processing and assessment, but that brings us into contact with all our other departments, so we’re more than suited to show you around.”

Sylvia put her thumbs up.  “Yep,” she said.  

“Most of what we work with isn’t terribly dangerous, however, there are exceptions to that rule, and we have some classified projects, so don’t wander off.  Stay within view of us at all times.”

“What if we need to use the bathroom?” asked a student.

“Well, that’s different,” admitted Johannsson.  “We’ve got a couple scheduled stops, so make sure you go at those times.  Other than that, don’t go through any doors we don’t open for you and don’t touch anything without asking first.  Got it?”

There was a soft murmur of assent.  

“Come on, kids,” said Mr. Lancer, clapping, “he asked a question.”

The murmur became slightly more unanimous.  

“Right,” said Deer.  She jerked her head towards the building.  “Let’s go.”

“Anyway,” said Johannsson, “this is reception, which is the only part of the building freely open to the general public.  If you do need to go to the bathroom, they’re right there.  We’re going to hang out here for a few minutes, get everyone taken care of.”

Most of the students made their way to the restrooms immediately, however, that one trio stayed put.  

“Hey,” said the smallest of the group, “do you guys hear that?”

“Hear what?” asked Johannsson.

“Um,” said the boy, slightly rocking forward on the balls of his feet, “there’s, like, an alarm or a siren going off?  It’s really faint, but is everything okay?”

“We’d get a text,” said Deer.  “Not to mention an announcement on the PA system.”

“And the radios,” said Johannsson, tapping his.  

“Right,” said Deer, nodding.  “Maybe you have tinnitus or something?”

“Isn’t that recurrent, though?” asked Johannsson.  “He’d know if he had it.”

“I do not have tinnitus,” said the boy, firmly.  “I really think there’s an alarm going off.  Or maybe someone has a mosquito ringtone.  Gosh, I hate those...”

Johannsson glanced at Deer and noted that she, once again, was staring at the children rather intensely.  Mostly at the boy, but that made sense since he was the one speaking.  

“Danny has good hearing,” said the girl, who was decked out in an array of gothic and mystic symbols.  One which, on closer inspection, would probably be fairly effective at passive protection.  

Johannsson wondered if that was the result of research, intuition, or sheer luck.  

Perhaps that was why Deer was looking at them like that?

“Maybe I’m just imagining it,” said Danny, shaking his head.  “Let’s go to the bathrooms.  There’s probably a line by now.”

Once the kids were gone, and Johannsson and Deer were more or less alone in the entry hall, Johannsson turned to Deer.  “Think we should call Detection?”

“Yeah,” said Deer, pulling out her phone.  “There’s something not right, here.”

“Maybe he’s a sensitive?” suggested Johannsson.  “He could be picking up a project.”

“Or maybe he’s like you and he’ll break every piece of tech invented in the last twenty-five years as soon as he touches it.  Or he was cursed by a goddess, like Vicky in Containment.  Or maybe he just has tinnitus and is in denial.  I still don’t like this.”  She finished dialing Detection and brought the phone to her ear.  “Hey, I-”  She pulled the phone away, glared at it and cautiously brought it back.  “What’s going on?  An incursion?  Then why aren’t we on lockdown?”

Johannsson’s blood ran cold.  “An incursion?  How big?”

Deer held up a hand.  “That doesn’t-  You know we can’t detect everything!  It doesn’t matter if nothing else gets triggered, the protocol is lockdown until we can determine- If you had done your job, the kids would still be on the damn bus!”

At this point, Deer’s shouts had drawn the attention and worry of Mr. Lancer and several of the students who had emerged from the bathrooms.  

“Is everything alright?” asked the man.  

Johannsson glanced at Deer.  “No,” he decided, just before the security shutters slammed down and the emergency lighting came on.  “I’m really sorry,” he said, “but it seems like some of our colleagues were overly excited about your tour and didn’t, er, follow proper procedure following a, uh, event.  So-”

The PA system stuttered into life.  “Attention.  A level seven entity has been detected.  All nonessential personnel, please proceed to the nearest shelter.  Repeat-”

“Seven?” echoed Johannsson, starting to sweat.  “Seven?”

“It’s probably a false alarm,” said Deer, putting away her phone and smiling in the way only people who feel very ill do.  “None of the other incursion detectors went off.  No radiation associated with dimensional breaks or anything.  We should still get everyone to a shelter.  Maybe you can round up everyone from the bathrooms?”

“Right,” said Mr. Lancer, who was enviably calm.  

“Is an entity like a ghost or something?” asked one of the kids, who clearly weren’t grasping the gravity of the situation.  “How strong is a seven?”

Level seven entities couldn’t be described in terms of strength alone.  They were eldritch, uncaring gods that tore at the fabric of reality with their very presence, creatures that had no business being on the material plane.  They shed bright magic and dark science in their wake, leaving those unfortunate enough to see them grappling with madness that was not.  

He really wanted to know what was happening in Amity Park (ghosts?) that made these people so blasé about the alarms, flashing lights, and security shutters.  

Wait a second.  

He unclipped his radio from his belt.  “This is Johannsson, calling detection.  Can you describe the signal to me?  Over.”

The radio crackled.  “Slowly rising over the last thirty minutes, peaking and plateauing in the last ten.  Why?  Do you have something?  Over.”

The bus had arrived ten minutes ago.  Johannsson closed his eyes.  “Maybe.  Will inform.  Over and out.”

He looked over at the bathroom where Danny and his two friends were emerging.  Danny had his hands pressed over his ears.  Whenever the overhead lights flashed off, the boys eyes reflected green.  Just for a second.  

Yeah.  Johannsson had something.  The question was, what was he going to do about it?