#this is the original 'i need to kill him' blorbo

[slavhew]

Happy Birthday, dickhead.

[cookiesnpaste]

idk what to say i just think he's neat

[sleepless-in-starbucks]

having to restart my fic because i realized its initial premise would give luke an ethical dilemma and he's already going to have his mind full enough as is

[salty-an-disco]

*thinks about how there's several different versions of Hero who acts a little different depending on which route you take him through–*

*thinks about how the Hero that appears in the middle of the final battle describes himself as being 'all of them'*

*thinks about how all those different Heroes might not have been able to completely integrate themselves into a single individual*

Conclusion: Hero would develop a system (a median system, to be more exact)

Yep. This was the main reason I started drawing different variants for Hero in different chapters and givin' them different names, everyone can go home now /lhj /silly

Anyway, since I already drew all the guys, might as well talk about them in the context of Hero being a system

(note: I've semi-recently found I, myself, am a system, so a lot of this is me processing this stuff and trying to puzzle things out through my blorbo. shout out to Hero for making this discovery a lot easier to digest. that means a lot of what I'm writing here comes from my own experience and perspectives. Also, I'll be calling the different Heroes 'facets', as that represents better what they are to him)

Since they all come from the exact same source (forms through Chapter I), they don't really see themselves as all that separate or different people. The different titles are more nicknames than anything, they're all 'Hero', just– from a slightly different angle and with different roles/priorities. Hero doesn't hear distinct voices in his head like Quiet, he's more like Shifty, in a way, having their feelings and different texture affect his behavior.

Hero is vaguely aware of these different facets, even giving them those titles as a way to organize and understand himself, but doesn't worry too much about it. That's just how he is.

As for the different facets and their role within the system–

– Hero: Host; front-stuck – Technically speaking, his route would be the Stranger one, as that's where he spent the least amount of time in Chapter I and didn't develop any other identity besides 'Hero'. Not necessarily the 'original', and would rather not worry about that lest it triggers another existential crisis, but is definitely the 'main one'. The main face that's always there. Behavior and thought-process can change depending on other facets present.

– Savior: Protector/Persecutor – Formed when his will power was broken and subdued by someone far stronger. Is intent on not letting that happen again. Very headstrong and certain of himself; he has to be, or else their willpower will break again. Mainly appears to help deal with threats much bigger than them. (Fun fact: in warped AU, he and Hero were fused together)

– Champion: Physical Protector – Formed by a desire to fight and persevere against an opponent that can kill you. Very strategy-minded, focused on better ways to get out of a confrontation alive. Will always try to get out of battles with the least amount of injuries to the body possible. Does not like confrontation, but will go through it if it means survival. Appears anytime there's a need to fight and/or survive. Often alongside Savior or Fledgling.

– Liar: Social Protector/Caretaker – Formed when forced to betray someone you previously intended on helping. Despite the title, Liar is very aversed to lying, and despises when others are being dishonest. Why play these weird games that just makes things more difficult? Can't we just be blunt with each other and makes things easier? Appears when the host feels judged or like he's being given an unfair assumption during a social encounter, or later on, when the host is thinkin' back to a certain social situation that didn't go to well. Helps process those leftover feelings and make sure the host is doing well emotionally and socially.

– Fledgling: Protector – Formed when made to feel cornered by a dangerous creature and clawed to death. Similar role to Champion, in theory, though he appears, more broadly, when the host starts feeling cornered in any way. Which doesn't happen solely in physical fights. Very helpful when appearing to deal with a physical threat, not so much when the threat is more emotional or social.

– Dashing: Emotion Holder/Uplifter – Formed from a desire to do nothing but good to someone else. Not as positive and optimistic as his paired voice during The Damsel, but still makes sure the host knows doesn't forget there's always a bright side and some hope to hold on to. Makes sure the host is taking the time to appreciate the things and people he love and that he isn't getting to caught up in worries and anxiety.

– Accomplice: Memory Holder/Cheergiver – Formed when despite your misgivings, you put your trust in someone else. His role is more vague than the others, but is generally there to give support to those outside of the system. Makes the host take a step back and let someone they trust take the reigns, for once.

– Haunted: Caretaker – Formed while spending a good few lifetimes in Nothingness. Not exactly sure what he's supposed to do here, but tries his best to help. Took some pointers from Cold and encourages the host to put feelings aside for now, if only to focus on taking care of the body before diving back into them. The one that knows self-care, and appears when the body desperately needs it.

– Dreamer: Trauma Holder – Formed as you tried to close your eyes and pretend there's no danger just in front of you. This one is Trauma Personified and mainly only appears when the host is triggered. When he appears, it's very difficult for Hero to differentiate reality from delusions, and it feels like he's back in the construct, fighting for his life and sanity.

– Ribbons: ???/Shell – Formed across 4 chapters; as more pieces broke off, very little was left of him. Less of a facet and more a general feeling of Nothingness. That can be useful when the host is feeling too overwhelmed to think. Just kinda makes Hero zone out and shut down when he appears.

Bonus: what it looks like when some of the facets are close to front. Whether or not Hero will shapeshift depends on how long a facet lingers, and how much they're affecting him. Often, he doesn't shapeshift at all despite the many facets that appeared throughout the day

[tcfactory]

Been thinking about MoShang and the question of how they would handle SQH ascending, because depending on how the world works (which we don't really know based on canon tbh) the heavens might be a completely separate plane of existence you can't easily come back from if at all. Also what about BingQiu? Bingge or Bingmei, he would raze everything to the ground, kill everyone and salt the earth if he got separated from his Shizun.

I know the easy answer is MBJ's teleportation powers or SQH pulls some author nonsense, but hear me out:

Heavenly demons are called that because they were originally kicked out of heaven. Probably primordial deities of sorts. So technically it should be possible for them to ascend again.

So clearly the best way to make MBJ eligible for ascension is to turn him into a heavenly demon. Do they borrow the heavenly aspect from LBH who can ascend either as a heavenly demon or just a regular cultivator? Do they go through a bunch of wacky hijinks ft. TLJ? (“It’s a bit like mold, divinity. You only need to give a little and if the target cultivates the right way it will spread and he will become a proper heavenly demon over time. I’ll help him get started!”) Who knows, I haven't thought that far, this idea starts and ends with 'what if heavenly demon MBJ ascending with his husband?' actually.

Also if they decide that LBH should ascend through his heavenly demon ancestry, then he would need to actually better himself and sort out all his insane neuroses which sure would be An Event. Shen Yuan trying to very belatedly instill Good Morals (any kind of morals, really) in his husband would be a trashfire. MBJ can cultivate towards detachment or something, he has the temperament for it, but LBH can't and it would bug him so much that MBJ is beating him in something. All the while TLJ is giving Advice (Wrong Answers Only) from the sidelines because he put off trying to ascend until ZZL gets reincarnated, but that doesn't mean he can't be involved in the proceedings and have fun.

And once they are all gods there can be some extra shenanigans, because I always thought that it must be one hell of a time to sort the twelve peak lords/new gods out and this batch comes with two extra. Transmigrator and Airplane reveal? Sure, why not. Shen Jiu waiting for them there because he lived Shen Yuan's life (got all the therapy he needed, bettered himself and worked off his karma) and then the universe short circuited and he got pulled back here ages ago and he's kinda pissed that his martial siblings took this long? Hell yes (QiJiu are my blorbos, Do Not Separate).

Just a whole pile of "We ascended to heaven and it was only a medium-sized disaster, actually".

[soft-cristobalite]

Watched arcane season 2 act 1, thought abt it, so here are some of my thoughts in no particular order. Obvious spoilers.

Also, i watched in dub. Important to know when i am quoting charaters + when i am talking about their tone.

Starting of with something that is directly affected by dub — ukrainian Jayce is my Jayce. Ppl said he sounded condesending while talking to Ekko — not. at. alllll. true for my Jayce. My Jayce sounded tired, emotionaly burn out. "You drink tea, Ekko?" said with no though to it, in a context of continues talking of "Haha do i live here? Hahah....... Do you guys want tea? Want some tea? I'll make tea. Do you drink tea, Ekko?". But d-dub is supposed to stay true to the original— I DONT CAREEE. I love my blorbo almost-himbo Jayce, never changing his characterisation in my mind.

And i will hold Jayce's hand when i say this — you were. Just so gay for like... Essentialy going "Are you okay? Good, good" to lady Mel Medarda HERSELF and then seeing Victor and losing your mind. Sprinting with him in your hands to your lab. LIVING in your lab to monitor him. I just... I get it, you don't have many friends. But like...... Really dude. Reaally.

Give Mel and Ekko thirty minutes. I promise you they would work it out. Eternal piece would be achieved.

I know there are a lot of different opinions regarding Caitlyn. I will not be explaining in-depts what i think about her acr, because a) who cares and b) i like to see her go cray-cray. But like — why isnt anybody exept for Vi attempting to stop her??? Like why is Jayce mourning Victor's twink death instead of, yk, stopping his childhood-best-friend-kinda-younger-sister from killing ppl of Zaun, the last thing Victor wants btw? She and Vi are twenty-ish — WHYYYY are they going through it by themselves??? Why doesnt baby yoda guy with German name that i dont dare to write trying to stop the daughtrer of his ex-collegue? He is 600 or something, im sure he could've come up with advice.

Cait pointing her gun at a child is terrifying, it opens up the possibilities of her going even more blinded with anger, doing even more horrific things, and Vi is right to try and stop her. However... I know damn right i would've believe her when she said she will not miss 😭 Every single time she fired her gun she was very precise. Even in that scene she aimed at the gun the girl was holding like two seconds ago and got a perfect. fucking. score. Like i dont remember her missing at all, actually.

"Ohhhhh you're gonnnaaa haaaaaattteeee Maddie after act two—" says who? On that note, i hope both Cait AND Vi will sleep with a few random people. Good for them. Let them try to forget about each other only to realise just how down bad they are for one another. Let the scenes of Cait and Maddie hooking up intertwine with Vi's one night stand.

"Maddie is just gonna be a victim of comander Cait :(((" and i do not have any thing to say to that — we dont yet KNOW what will happen — but I dont think Cait will try to manipulate her into this. I think Maddie will flirt a bit, Cait will try and seek salvage and vulnerability in someone, especially since she is now constantly in public's eye and needs to project hope™ and stoicism™. It will be a genuine attempt to move on — not anybody's fault she can't.

But oh god, oh goooddd i cant wait for Maddie to loose the spark in her eyes due to lesbian situationship.

[pluckyredhead]

For your Fourth World reading do you have a reading order you could share with us? Or recommendations on where to start? Sorry if this has been asked before

No need to apologize! I've been meaning to write up my Fourth World recs so thank you for the reminder. Also it is unfortunately a short list lol.

The Fourth World by Jack Kirby:

Superman's Pal Jimmy Olsen: Kirby wrote and drew issues #133-148. This is where he launched the Fourth World, and where we first saw Darkseid and a number of other characters and concepts. It is a little tangential to the main Fourth World storyline (and some of it, like the two Goody Rickels issues, is REALLY weird and not necessarily in a good way). I would say if you are interested in the Fourth World from a comics history perspective, you should read Kirby's Jimmy Olsen, but if you are interested from a blorbo perspective and just want to read about Orion or Scott or whoever, you can skip it.

New Gods (1971): This is Orion's series. An absolute must, this is the heart of the Fourth World. The original run is issues #1-11 (there are a couple series that pick up the numbering, but the first 11 issues are the real deal).

Forever People (1971): I would say this is the other book that is really central to Kirby's magnum opus and the themes he was exploring. Again, less interesting from a blorbo perspective (I'm sure Mark Moonrider is someone's blorbo...) but it's only 11 issues so I would recommend reading it for the historical/thematic value. Do it for Kirby!

Mister Miracle (1971): The other blorbo! Kirby's original run is #1-18.

New Gods (1984) #6: In 1984 DC reprinted the original New Gods run as double-sized issues (so #1 contains the original #1 and #2 from 1971, etc.). Issue #6 reprints the original New Gods #11 and then adds new material to "conclude" Kirby's story. But you'll want to continue and read...

The Hunger Dogs (also called DC Graphic Novel #4): This was Kirby's conclusion to the Fourth World saga. It's not his original vision, but it's the most DC would allow him. He is not quite at the heights he was in 1971, but it's nice to see him get a chance to conclude his tale, and it's a must-read if you ship Orion and Lightray.

The Fourth World by people who aren't Jack Kirby:

New Gods (1991): This is Rachel Pollack's run and it's excellent. The art is extremely 1991 but the writing makes up for it. The last three issues of the series are written and drawn by John Byrne instead, and they're fine - you can read them or skip them, doesn't matter.

Orion (2000): Walt Simonson's run, AN ABSOLUTE MUST-READ. RUN DON'T WALK. PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE READ THIS. Orion suffers so much and it's so delicious to me.

Solo #7: There are only two pages of Fourth World content in here but it's Orion betting Scott he can come up with a death trap Scott can't escape and then literally just trying to kill him for fun while Lightray has a panic attack. Orion and Scott are both lunatics and I love that for them. Brothers of all time.

Both of DC's YA graphic novels about these characters, Mister Mircle: The Great Escape by Varian Johnson and Daniel Isles and Barda by @ngoziu, are excellent.

AND UNFORTUNATELY THAT IS IT. Scott and Barda are in JLI which I will always recommend, but it's not strictly speaking a Fourth World book. Orion is in Grant Morrison's JLA which is a classic, but he doesn't have a huge role in it as I recall. You should already be reading Kelly Thompson's current run on Birds of Prey because it's perfect but Barda is especially perfect in it.

The nice (?) thing about the Fourth World is that every writer basically completely ignores all previous writers except Kirby so there's not a lot of continuity to track. If you read Kirby, you can encounter the characters anywhere else and know everything you need to know.

Happy reading!

[winn-schott-throughtheheart]

For the headcanons thing (that you posted 6 months ago - sorry)

Winn Schott

If you’ve already done him (which is highly likely) give me another character you haven’t done and please tag me in the Winn one :)

I COMPLETELY FORGOT ABOUT THIS LMFAOOO thank you for reminding me that's so embarrassing

anyways, I'd had Winn and Lena requested but Kara is my second fav blorbo after Winn so I did her too <33

also, this is going off the premise that both Winn and Kara are autistic, it's canon because I said so I have lists you can fight me on this

Winn

Realistic: Winn is notably the only analyst (in the main cortex at least) that wears dress clothes instead of uniform. At the beginning he really did try to stand the uniform, but he ended up convincing J'onn to let him off because he just couldn't deal with the feeling of it on his skin.

Hilarious: Being the only human member of the Legion of Superheroes, Winn got asked A LOT about human culture. A blatant lie that originally stemmed from being asked the same ten questions a billion times, snowballed into a complicated lore about humanology and Gods and belief systems (because he was too embarrassed to admit to the original lie) and he ended up being the accidental cause of organised religion in the 31st century.

tldr: Winn Schott manages to shitpost his way through space and time

Also, he's asthmatic as fuck. He has to carry an inhaler in his bag and he hates it.

Awful: He hates the smell of teakwood and tobacco because it reminds him so viscerally of an abusive foster home that it genuinely makes him physically anxious and nauseous.

Unrealistic: He's actually really good at handling spicy food. He's even out-performed Alex a handful of times.

Lena

Realistic: Lena actually really hates chess. She hates how everything needs to be calculated properly, how everything needs to be thought out exactly, and it just reminds her too much of how she was brought up.

Hilarious: She has a peanut allergy. Similar to Winn, she has to carry an epi-pen in her bag. This is not public knowledge, of course, because that would probably bring her quarterly assassination attempts up to weekly.

Awful: Lena can only fall asleep with a nightlight- she isn't really sure why, all she knows is that her bed feels less like frigid, murky water when it's on.

Unrealistic: She doesn't know how to cook or how to drive. Her whole life she's had people cook for her and drive her places, so she never had to learn how to. She'd like to one day, though.

Kara

Realistic: Kara LOVES dinosaurs. She didn't have birds on Krypton, which implies either all the dinosaurs were wiped out, or there never were any in the first place, and she was immediately enthralled and fascinated by them when she first learned about them.

Hilarious: She's dyslexic. She relies on Grammarly like it's lifeblood.

Awful: She's insanely afraid of thunderstorms. It takes everything in her not to have a flashback or a panic attack or a meltdown, and she will point blank refuse to patrol if it's storming.

Unrealistic: After Red Daughter was killed, Kara's heat vision stayed permanently purple, and her eyes were purple too for a very long time afterwards.

maybe that first ones a bit of projection, i fucking love dinosaurs

[bonzos-number-1-fan]

TMAGP 10 Thoughts: History Lessons

What an episode. I'd love to do a bit of preamble up front but there is a load to talk about. No one needs me to ramble before the ramble. This will be a long one so buckle in, kids.

Spoilers for episode 10 below the cut.

Another episode that jumps straight into the incident. I really enjoyed this one. Both for its novel format and also for the way it lays the foundations of what's to come. It's also nice to see an incident that is mostly mundane. There was very little in this, outside of an allusion to something more sinister, that was out of the ordinary. A fairly British dude telling a unique British story. However, I don't think there is an awful lot to say here that isn't quickly expanded upon later in the episode or that won't be best served talking about elsewhere.

So let's get to the more interesting bit of this case. For those of you not from here, or a little too young to remember, the reason it's all so authentically British is because Mr. Bonzo is TMP's version of Mr. Blobby. A very real TV show mascot from the 90's. A lot of what was just discussed in that interview is lifted from Mr. Blobby's real history. He first appeared on a Saturday night variety show called Noel's House Party in its "Gotcha" segment. He was first introduced as a children's TV character to prank unsuspecting celebrities. He got very popular and became a mainstay of the series, became a huge icon at the time, launched a fairly massive range of merchandise, plans to create a Mr. Blobby theme park happened, and he even had a chart topping single. Blobby was a big deal and still pops up a fair amount. He didn't do any murders that we know of, and no one dressed as him to kill either. There is also this which I think everyone should watch to better prepare themselves for Mr. Bonzo, or to soothe the horrors he's already inflicted.

Colin's back! He's still weird! Not much to say here but it's nice to see him and Celia interact.

Next up were hear Alice and Sam, via Sam's phone, exploring the damp ruins of the Magnus Institute. There isn't a whole lot to say in this portion of their exploration but it's nice to see them outside of work again.

Gwen's section of this episode was really the standout IMO. Anusia is killing it and continues to kill it more and more each episode. I think Gwen is now my #2 blorbo. Colin had an early lead with a great email but is more of a background character at the moment. I am really excited to see how Gwen is going to react to this down the line. Whether the abject terror of meeting Bonzo is going dissuade her from pursuing Lena's job or further stoke that fire. I also wonder if she's going to assume what a lot of us are assuming. That the more recent Bonzo related murders are perpetrated by Bonzo, and that the envelope she gave him was his next target, which further plays into the golem references. Can't wait to hear more about what his role is in regards to the OIAR.

But no one could possibly replace Mr. Bonzo as #1 and I'm sure we can all see why this episode. Just everything about how he's being handled is perfect. A lot of history to ground him, incredibly ambiguous origins, his teeth are not soft, topped off with one of the most impactful "screen presence" of the entire TMA cast. Everything I was hoping for.

For those not a part of the ARG, and not a part of the Statement Remains discord server for it, Mr. Bonzo quickly became a massive fixture of basically everything that happened on that server. It's where my blog's name is from. Which is to say Mr. Bonzo has been a HEAVILY anticipated character and has had no small amount of hype built up around him. RQ have managed to deliver on that and then some. It's really pretty amazing he's managed to show up and not be a disappointment if you were part of that crowd, but they really pulled it off.

Bonzo Fact: Did you know that Mr. Bonzo is entirely unique in all of TMA? He's the only character to have a canonical design. He's the only character we can truly behold, and his visage is glorious and awe-inspiring. He is, quite literally, more real than any other character in the show. (Ignoring historical characters we never met)

I'm sure lots of you will have seen what Mr. Bonzo looks like but for those who haven't and have missed it on my posts, it's this.

If you checked out the links earlier, which you should have, you'll see that he's very close to Mr. Blobby. And, yes, he is kinda creepy if you're grossed out by weird mascots but he's not "Oh my god!" levels of horrifying. That's the original Mr. Bonzo, Mr. Bonzo the suit, not Mr. Bonzo the monster. This is who Gwen met.

Which really raises a rather interesting question; when did the suit stop being just a suit? Which in turn raises a more interesting one; why did the suit stop being just a suit? It's pretty clear that Mr. Bonzo really did start off as something mundane but whatever he is now very clearly isn't.

After all that excitement we return to Alice and Sam fumbling about in a ruin. Interestingly we're no longer listening through their phone, but a tape recorder. Which is actually a fairly big deal. Not because it's a TMA thing but because it's an analogue format that's not being digitised. So far that's not been something we've been able to listen through. Which means "Freddy" has some tricks up its sleeves, or "Freddy" isn't the one listening. The actual contents of this part isn't terribly important for the most part. Archivist's office, worms and trapdoors for an allusion to TMA, mystical symbols maybe, lots of books, etc. The real revelation here is "why they chose us… why they didn’t choose me". Likely confirming that the contents of CHDB (see masterdoc) was mostly the first step. Sam "failed" and wasn't chosen for whatever came next. It also likely confirms that Gerry wasn't chosen either as the two had remarkably similar test scores. Anyway, after that they call it quits and head on home.

Now, if you weren't reading the transcript's you'll have missed the introduction to a new character, [Error] played by Beth Eyre who voiced Lucia Wright from MAG 130: Meat. As Alice and Sam leave a padlock rattles on a trapdoor before a key twists and the lock pops open. The trapdoor opens and [Error] emerges. Very very little to really say here. Imprisonment below the Institute probably isn't a good sign, and they're the likely immortal overarching villain of either this season, or the show in general. But combined with strange PoV on those events, what was likely a mystical prison, and it being under the Institute that was burned down for a reason it's not good news. Unless it was burned down to free them, then who knows.

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

Incident/CAT#R#DPHW Master Sheet (I added the Magnus Institute's child psych eval. sheet to it)

Somewhat notably here CAT1RB2275 is also very close to the trailer's case number of CATIRB2275.

DPHW Theory: 2275 is actually a pretty interesting number. For clarity this refers to only the initial recording that Celia heard, not anything related to Mr. Bonzo beyond that. 2 in Death is pretty reasonable as the statement brings the subject of murders up but doesn't dwell on them much. 2 in Pain falls under the same explanation. The 7 in Helplessness tracks well too because not only was the format of the interview a bit of a gotcha, but the content dealt heavily with imprisonment. Both in context to the show's premise and the legacy's impact upon his life. It was also eerie and weird and mascot-centric which is good Weird fodder.

The reason this is all so interesting is because it's possible this is an entirely mundane incident that still happens to line up well with the DPHW of Mascot (Kids). What occurred in the interview didn't seem supernatural, what was described in it also seemed mundane. It's only really the last couple of lines that hint towards something supernatural occurring but notably none of that happens in this recording itself, the details of it discussed, nor are any of the people on the recording first hand witnesses to those events and retelling them. But despite all of that the mundane occurrences of the interview still heavily reflect the supernatural ratings of the section (subsection).

CAT# Theory: CAT1. [Insert your favourite screaming reaction GIF here.] I've got no clue what to make of CAT#'s at this stage. This one wasn't particularly elucidating. Gonna be a long few weeks.

There are a couple of theories floating about that I'll briefly mention because someone will do it if I don't. The Subject/Agent/Catalyst theory presumes a lot of stuff about the OIAR I don't think holds up, and assumes they're happy to throw away information which I don't think they are. See here for more. The Person/Place/Object theory overlooks that Dolls (Watching) is CAT2, and not a place, and that Agglomeration (Miscellany) is about a collection of objects despite it taking place at Hilltop. A location only important to us listeners. If you do like those theories by all means keep liking them. I'm just not convinced by them and it seems prudent to mention that I have seen them.

R# Theory: B is right in line with what I outlined last week. Bonzo-themed murders are not overtly supernatural but they are something that definitely happened. The Klaus doc also have a few incidents with the note "Mr. B", including the only known S rank. With Gwen's reaction being so strong I think it's a good indicator that S rank's follow the pattern.

Header talk: Mascot (kids) -/- murder is just another header that seems pretty weird. The section (subsection) bit is all pretty normal but that crosslink again shows that crosslinks have very little structure to them. I'm starting to wonder if they're actually relevant at all, or pre-assigned like other elements are. They're starting to seem more and more like vibes than anything.

[hawkogurl]

Tell me good things about Harry so that I'll like him more.

I don't really like him for some reason, but to write good Norman & Harry one-shots/stories, I need to actually like Harry (and loving Norman but not liking his son is ridiculous). I thought you'd be a good person to ask since you're writing a fic about him and seem to like him a lot.

I mean you don't have to answer this if you don't want to, but I assume, like me, you'd love to rant about your favorite character.

Have a good day!

So I’m gonna warn you in advance, I have severe insomnia and I haven’t slept in more than a day so I’m not firing on all cylinders. This is also why this is taking so damn long to write. Also none of this is necessarily directed at you specifically if I mention something. It’s probably a general observation.

While I do think it’s valid to dislike him for a lot of reasons—I think it’s valid to dislike him on the grounds of what an absolute piece of work James Franco is alone—there are some things I will posit for my son boy. It’s worth noting that one, he is seventeen years old in the first movie, he is a baby, and he dies at either 20 or 21. Additionally, most of the more overt shitty things he does are things he’s shown to have developed as a direct result of Norman, namely his treatment of MJ being an explicit result of Norman being a misogynist. And on the topic of reasons I think he’s liked, I know for a lot of people his reaction to MJ commenting on Norman, while not pretty, is just so, so real to a lot of victims of similar abuse.

While at the end of the day I do sort of think that trying to quantify morality sort of misses the point of the Raimi trilogy’s core cast. Whether or not they’re good people is less important than the fact that they are human, with human flaws and human problems who are all for the most part trying to do their best, or in cases where they actually are acting maliciously like Eddie and, not to slander your blorbo, Norman, acting maliciously for very human reasons. I think Harry is a great example of this.

And I do think Harry is a better person than he’s generally given credit for. He maintains his 616 trait of not having it in him to kill, even having a line in the novels where MJ mentions he couldn’t kill a frog in science class. He keeps a lot of the 616 core of his character when it comes to fragility and gendered tropes, having a complex relationship between traditionally female and male tropes as used in those movies. He is subversive as a male character. But that’s getting off topic, even if I could go off about that for hours. He’s more respectful of MJ’s romantic decisions than most secondary male leads in fiction, maintaining a platonic relationship with her long after they’ve broken up. Norman is a weapons manufacturer, yet Harry’s job in OSCORP has him working on accessible green energy with Otto. He’s far more loyal to Peter than people want to give him credit for, resisting his hallucinations and the revenge he’s obsessed over for two years at that point for no other reason than the fact he loves Peter. And it’s important to me that you know the original ending of the third movie didn’t have him going to help Peter after being told how Norman died but instead after seeing a shattered photo of himself, Peter and MJ. That boy cares so damn much. While poorly executed, the amnesia arc in the third movie is very important in my opinion because of what it’s meant to demonstrate. Harry isn’t a malicious or malevolent person at his core, he’s just deeply traumatized and struggling.

And I know well that all that is buried six feet deep beneath his mountains of issues, but that’s half the reason I like him. I think it’s easy to admire Peter, and he’s well written and deserves it, but I don’t think it’s any coincidence that there’s such a decent amount of affection for Harry on tumblr specifically. He’s the character with the subversive gendered tropes, the canon schizophrenic, the one I think a lot of people connect with out of this feeling he was treated unfairly. And I think it’s reassuring to see something that reminds you that no matter how much has happened, no matter how many mistakes you’ve made, it isn’t too late. You can always choose to be better.

There’s also a fantastic video essay about Harry and the stages of identity development somewhere on YouTube that I think is absolutely fantastic because that also is a massive part of his character. Along with his genuine psychological issues, his development of identity has been stunted. He’s soft spoken and tries to make himself as unobtrusive as possible in the first movie, basically molding who he is to try and please the people around him. He swings in the opposite direction in the second movie, where he’s perfectly capable of interacting like a normal human person at Peter’s birthday party, he almost deliberately paints himself as obnoxious as possible around Otto. I’ve written full posts about that before, so I’ll keep it short as the idea that he twists who he is to make himself feel safe. And feeling safe isn’t necessarily what’s actually safe for him, but often just what’s he’s used to. There’s a sense of completion to him simply deciding to go and help Peter. He’s choosing who he wants to be for himself and nothing else, choosing whose love actually matters to him.

I’m happy to talk about the guy in messages or asks upon request. Also have like 293 posts this length or longer about the dude tagged under harryposting he is so important to me. I should probably make a specific analysis tag.

[infinity-or-oblivion]

so my loa batkids au has gained a little traction and i’ve hit a bit of a wall when it comes to writing new stuff so here’s an infodump to hopefully kill my writers block xoxoxo

first of all, jason. my forever number one blorbo. there’s a bit of a role reversal here because compared to all the rest of them, jason arguably had it the easiest. like we’re not going to compare traumas but an argument could be made. i honestly don’t remember if i mentioned it at all in the actual series yet, but the story i have for jason is that his childhood with willis and catherine was about the same as canon/commonly accepted fanon, meaning he was homeless around nine years old. however, instead of living on the streets for years, it was only a few months tops before meeting bruce.

and bruce! this is very fun to me, but basically i was thinking that if he didn’t raise dick, then why couldn’t this version of bruce be younger? so bruce becomes batman in his early twenties, which is also around the time that he visits the league of assassins for training and damian is conceived. (for a little more about that, here) and bruce is roughly 25 when he finds a tiny 9-10 year old jason trying to steal his tires. just imagine that it’s so fucking adorable and heartbreaking ANYWAYS bruce, despite being overall a disaster, doesn’t let a malnourished 10 year old out to fight crime right away, so there’s a couple years between when jason first meets bruce and when he becomes a child soldier yayyyy!!!! but legit, it makes a lot of difference to jason, because you know how canon!jason has some self-esteem issues (for lack of a better term) around bruce not really loving him/seeing him as a son because bruce started training him as robin (and as dick’s replacement) immediately after adopting him- you know that whole thing? yeah well here, despite jason actually offering to help bruce as a vigilante, this bruce is like hell nah you’re literally ten years old and the size of a six year old no way, and those few years in between really stick in jason’s mind as solid proof that bruce really does love him, not for what use he can provide, but simply as a son. also being the only child definitely helps with that

(that little detail of jason and bruce’s relationship is slightly inspired by minimum height requirement, which is absolute batfam gold btw)

okay so. slight pet peeve of mine is in aus where dick isn’t the first robin, the legacy is still called robin for whatever reason (lookin at you reverse robins aus) because!!!!! how dare you erase mary and john grayson’s importance!!!!! (look there’s more nuance to it than that i know but. to put it simply it feels like flying graysons erasure to me) so in this au, jason can’t possibly be called robin. the real robin has been missing for roughly seven years at this point

and listen. i tried to be creative and come up with something cool and original for jason’s vigilante name i really did, but apparently i used all of my naming talent on nighthawk (fucking love that name for dick it’s so fantastic) so we just have bluejay. womp womp

also! on my list of things to expand on: main timeline stephanie!!! i’ve had an absolute blast making myself cry while writing every heart sings a song, incomplete and those who wish to sing always find a song, but spoiler steph will always be my babygirl. and duke!!!! i have not written barely anything for duke in this universe but believe me i have some Thoughts. perhaps even Ideas. basically a lot of steph&duke and steph&babs and steph&duke&babs because i love my little underrated trio

also just more babs in general, because like. i’ve had so many tiny little snippets of cass and babs and their sweet little relationship just sitting in my notes for literal years now that i really just need to organize and expand into their own fic. and yet. i have not done that. but rest assured cass&babs are very very important to me

such is the curse of female fanfic writers: always destined to fixate more on the male poor little meow meows than the female bad bitches. seriously what the fuck is up with that guys i don’t get it why does this happen

[shield-and-saber]

i was wanting to do a series for sol like the ones i'm doing for phase 2 blorbos. it was originally just gonna be 1 post for him but he's such a complex character and has so many facets that i think he needs several posts to do him justice

i.e., how he sees himself (a jedi who killed/made a mistake & must atone), how he hopes others will see him/what he wants to be (a good dad master and wise jedi), sol eps 1-4, sol eps 4-8, jecki's sol, osha's sol, mae's sol, vernestra's sol, the sol that the jedi order will always remember (a killer & traitor)

[waitineedaname]

coming to the horrible conclusion that sqh is my blorbo of the hour so i humbly submit him for the character thing

that is NOT a horrible conclusion, he is a delight

Sexuality Headcanon: GAY. the reason he was so terrible at writing women is because he does not understand them. forced to write heterosexual smut just to pay the bills, pour one out for this poor guy

Gender Headcanon: I like transmasc Airplane! whether original Shang Qinghua was also trans is something I go back and forth on lol I do think it's kind of funny if Airplane was trans and then transmigrated into a cis guy and is like pros: this is so much cheaper than paying for hormones and surgery. cons: everything else.

A ship I have with said character: I mean, moshang. obviously moshang. the Airplane extras live rent free in my brain and I would GLADLY read a whole novel's worth of their bullshit. I also really like cumplane, I think they're funny. what if we were the only people in the world who know what the modern world is like and we were indirectly responsible for each other's deaths. and we were both boys.

A BROTP I have with said character: also cumplane slkdjflksdjf I just think their dynamic is so funny no matter whether it's platonic or romantic or what. they're horrible besties <3 no other peak lord understands why they suddenly became best friends, but weirder things have happened

A NOTP I have with said character: tbh I haven't really found any ships for him that ick me out? I'm kinda meh about most other ships for him aside from moshang and cumplane, but I'm not actively against any I've seen.

A random headcanon: he's probably killed more people than Binghe, whether directly or indirectly. he's a strong enough cultivator to be a peak lord and has also been a spy for the demons for like twenty years! he's definitely gotten a lot of people killed, not even counting the immortal alliance conference incident!

General Opinion over said character: LOVE THIS DUDE. he was part of the reason I even started svsss. I had seen art of some weird pathetic little guy who seemed to be the author transmigrated into his own story, and I was like "okay i need to know what the fuck his deal is" and I was not disappointed. amazing little man. I am putting him in a hamster ball and punting him

[emergency-plan]

Hey! I’ve been gone a while. I started college and have been a bit busy, but wanting reasons to procrastinate studying for finals is a great motivator to be creative and write.

Dp x dc au, very Tim Drake-centric, mostly me projecting my stress onto blorbos.

The bats had found blueprints for a strange machine that seemed to be powered by Lazarus water while investigating a secret government agency. They began constructing a prototype in the bat cave to test if it really could do what it said in the details. The technology is beyond what they could understand, so they were forced to built it as the instructions said, and as mostly expected, nothing happens when they tried to turn it on. They’re all busy with their duties, so they plan to disassemble it later.

One night, Tim is working on the bat computer, trying to solve a case before patrol, when he feel a familiar knot tighten in his chest. The stress of vigilantism, being a CEO, dealing with his family (especially Damian), and investigating has been building up and wants to be let out now. Not wanting to be seen or caught on camera, and not able to go back into the manor since he already had on some of his Red Robin gear, he found a place out of sight of the cameras and where he’d have a bit before anyone found him: the faulty portal.

He’s stepping in and his breath is catching in his throat. Tears pick at his eyes, so he reaches to peel off his domino mask. In the split second he can’t see, his foot catches on some loose wires and he trips, accidentally hitting an internal button when flailing for balance. He knows he’s in trouble as the portal starts to rumble and glow. His foots so tangled he can’t get out before the he disappears behind the newly torn, unstable vortex.

A few moments later, a stuttering, clawed hand reaches out and grasps the edge of the portal.

Tim Drake pulls himself from the the device, tearing wires out to get his foot out of the portal, making it destabilize and warp shut behind him, and he is not the same.

His hair is now glowing white, sparking with electricity and instability; his Red Robin uniform is inverted, shifted, and warped to be virtually unrecognizable from the original. Lazarus water leaked from his mouth as he silently sobbed in agony and a green miasma seeped through his glowing green mask instead of tears.

His chest hurt like there were shards of something broken stuck behind his ribs, but it didn’t seem to hurt nearly as much as the fact that his heart wasn’t beating. He was gasping for breath and expelling green-tinged clouds and toxic liquid, but there was no relief tied to it, nor need as if he was lacking oxygen.

He knew he was dead, he just didn’t know how he was still there.

He immediately froze when he heard the elevator door to the cave open and familiar boots step out.

How was he going to explain this to Bruce? He knew Bruce cared for him, and the entire reason Tim became a Robin was because one of the Robins died and Batman was going to get himself killed out of anger and grief.

Reflexively, he pushed his overwhelming worry and stress down, and it had an odd effect. Glowing lines sputtered across his body, taking all the ghostly weirdness and leaving behind a very confused but ultimately relieved Tim. He was just happy he could feel a heartbeat and could breathe for a moment.

Pushing the event to the farthest part of his mind, he lied to Bruce, claiming he was checking the machine and escaped just before it turned on and destabilized again, did his patrol, and finished some late night paperwork before it all came uncontrollably flooding back and he found himself a distressed ghost once again.

—————

Basically the premise of this au is Tim that gains an unfortunate addition to a stress disorder he likely already had, making him turn into a ghost whenever he loses his composure with no control of it other than his emotions. He is highly unstable since he is a ghost formed in a moment of high stress, he was created with impure ectoplasm, and from an imperfect machine. Seriously, they don’t know how to purify Lazarus pit water, so they did the equivalent of running it through a brita filter before using it. Danny at least got the pure stuff, not the yucky nasty sludge.

I have more ideas for this au, but I have a final at 8am tomorrow, so I need to get studying.

[kikker-oma]

It’s 2:10 am as I’m typing this but here is the result of a late night writing session

v

He could only cover his ears, fingers digging into the cartilage as his mind screamed in protest. The eyes in front of him were deep and lively, a trait he lacked. His chest boiled, his throat tightening yet letting go at the same time. Kill me, he prayed, which he vowed to never do again. He would never pray again. Her disgrace broke him, shattered his soul, burned his mind and held his heart captive. The heart that rotted away in her cell, kill me now. 

But you’re alive she whispered back, her voice the thorns of roses, a biting cold, yet forged from the fire at the same time, you’re alive, and will continue to live until your purpose has been filled. Their was no bargaining. No way to be free. He was stuck. 

“You’re okay,” The teen reached out as he extended a hand towards him, “You’re okay.” His other hand’s grip slowly tightened around the younger boy’s smooth palm as he looked into his eyes. 

Hatred and anger only swelled further beneath the surface, chunks of skin and earwax collecting under his fingers. He hated those eyes. “No!” His hands trembled, tears splashing and soaking in the dirt below the three, “It’s never okay-they all say it is,” the salty water made its way to his lips, “but it never is? We’re all lied to? Can’t you see? We’re pawns in this world, sacrificed for nothing!” His face flushed with intensity, “I am not a pawn!” His eyes flickered back to his palm, its wound scabbed over. A little bridge to connect the broken sides of the skin, “We were never meant to fight. I was never meant to fight.” 

The boy slowly squirmed his grip out of the other’s hands, “But it’s destiny!” He called out, his voice rising to an insistent pitch.

He couldn’t tell if he was laughing or crying anymore, the loud heartbeat of his blurring the lines of emotion, “There’s no such thing.” He smiled, gazing up at the clouded sky, “You hear that? I can’t be manipulated by you anymore! But I’m still a slave, a plaything to your world!” The knees buckled as he crumpled to the ground, caving in on himself, “I can never be free.” 

and I still haven’t found names for the three. they were originally based off of LU/LOZ characters but atp in writing I’ve merged and broke and created a whole new personalities for them and I need to stop calling them 1 2 and 3 in my storyboarding (writing storyboard is a thing right? Or is it called something else) they’re also the same dude just one from like far past , past ,and present so it can’t be that hard to pick-it’s just that none of the ones I’ve seen suit the personality

-blareandhee2:00amshenanagins

👀👀👀

BLARRREEE oh gosh this was so VISCERAL

Dang girl

Ooohh your poor blorbos

Thing 1,2, and 3 are having a BAD TIME

[anosrepasi]

10 Character/10 Fandoms/10 Tags

Tagged by the wonderful @aeide :)

Nil (Horizon Dawn Zero/Forbidden West) - My current obsession I'm rotating around in my mind. What's not to love he's charming in the sense that his most common AU occupation is "Serial Killer." Will he kill you? Depends! Only if you suck, and he promises to never stab you in the back, he wants to look you in the eye if he tries to kill you. But actually, I find him utterly fascinating and in the context of HZD he's just. so nuanced it destroys me. This man has decades of c-ptsd and asks the question of what happens when someone drenched in violence is suddenly expected to stop fighting- the answer is, it takes a lot! I adore him.

Kassandra (AC:Odyssey) - Look the more I think about Kassandra and like the canon quests in that game the more I'm like. They did you wrong, girl. They did you so dirty. SHE JUST WANTS TO GO HOME. IT TAKES DECADES. HER STORY IS A FUSION OF THE ODYSSEY AND THE ILIAD. YOU CAN APPLY THEMES FROM BOTHA ND IT DRIVES ME INSANE. And. And then they say, all thsi you worked so hard for? Well. We have other things we need from you. I am going to chew through my arm.

Mizu (Blue Eye Samurai) - Look. I could link thousand upon thousands words of meta about Mizu and her/they're relationship to gender and existence as a mixed race individual in isolationist Japan. And it still wouldn't capture it all. And past that it's hot person brutally murdering people in absolutely fantastically animated fight scenes.

Vincent Valentine (Final Fantasy VII) - Look. He's my original blorbo. I saw 10 minutes of screen time of him in Advent Children and have been insane ever since. I bought and played through Dirge of Cerberus for him. Something about him apparently just imprinted on me as a child, I've been a lost cause ever since.

Xaden Riorson (Fourth Wing/Iron Flame) - These books are still relatively new so I'll hold my tongue since a lot of what I am obsessed with re: him is spoilers but oh my god. oh. my. god. buddy.

Axel (Kingdom Hearts) - Also an original blorbo from childhood, imprinted on him like a baby duck. His death in KH2 made me bawl. His entire storyline makes me sob, he's the reason why every single aspect of Roxas' story was a gut punch cause like. The best way to make people care about characters is give them someone who loves them then make it sad.

Charles Milton Porter (Bioshock 2: Minerva's Den) - Look. This dude's DLC made me cry. big cry. I still kinda get choked up when i think about it for a while. it's about the grief.

Kena: Bridge of Spirits - I can't choose a characters from this, so I just advise everyone to play this game. It's so good. You're going to be emotionally devastated. It's also about grief. Every character in this game is so so good and you will feel things.

Joe Miller (The Expanse) - He was not the first but he was my defining love of shitty noir space detectives. I loved him from when he was introduced to when he left the series and my love was rewarded so much. Holden and Amos were the runner up characters for this fandom.

Death (The Book Thief) - I read the book thief for the first time in 7th grade I think? Every day of my life since them on my commute to work or when on break I look at the sky and think about how Death would describe the taste of the colors. This book irrecoverably changed me from the day I read it and firmly cemented this Death as the death i hope is there at the end of everything, i love this version of it so much. This death is like. look. go read the book if you haven't had the opportunity.

Tagging for anyone who wants to do it: @ongreenergrasses @lobstermatriarch @airmidcelt @tirsynni @aevallare @duesternis @salsedine @avelera @thehoundkeeper @green-nbean