#crossover fodder

[skjam]

Pulp Fanfic Crossover Fodder: Dr. Goldfoot

Note: This is primarily based on Dr. Goldfoot and the Bikini Machine (1965).

Little is known of the background of Dr. Goldfoot. This includes not knowing his full name, if that even is his birth name, and where if anywhere he got his doctorate. He claimed descent from a pirate, a member of the Inquisition, and Attila the Hun's mentor in violence.

As of 1965, he appeared to be physically in his fifties, and had resided for some years in San Francisco operating a private cemetery and funeral home as a front for his other activities. It was in this year that he invented his best-known device, the Bikini Machine. The Bikini Machine created humanoid female-shaped robots with fairly complex programming, allowing them a limited ability to pass as human women. Each came with a gold-fabric bikini; it's not clear if they had actual female anatomy underneath that cloth.

Dr. Goldfoot supplemented the basic programming by downloading data from computer tapes directly to their memory banks. This was used primarily for giving them the ability to speak knowledgably about their targets' areas of interest.

The plan was to have these "girlbots" marry wealthy men, strip them of their assets, and transfer the wealth to Dr. Goldfoot. His goals beyond that are unclear.

Due to poor instructions by Dr. Goldfoot's henchman Igor. girlbot #12 "Diane" mistook Secret Intelligence Command (SIC) agent Craig Gamble for her target, millionaire Todd Armstrong. Craig, a nitwit only employed by SIC because his uncle Donald J. Pevney was the San Francisco office chief, only understood that the bizarre-acting woman he'd instantly fallen in love with had suddenly abandoned him (when Dr. Goldfoot corrected her commands) but this was enough to put him on the case.

Diane "met cute" with Todd and quickly persuaded him to marry her. At no time was the marriage consummated, but it's not clear if this was due to incapacity on #12's part or a part of a strategy to string Todd along until she possessed all his assets. Eventually, Craig and Todd teamed up to "rescue" Diane from Dr. Goldfoot, despite the fact she'd already been reprogrammed to forget she ever met them.

After a number of hijinks and a chase through San Francisco, Dr. Goldfoot and Igor were seemingly killed by naval bombardment. In reality, they survived, and the two men and Diane replaced the flight crew on a passenger jet to France.

By 1966, Dr. Goldfoot had become separated from Igor and Diane (the latter of whom may have married the German man she was flirting with on the plane) and was operating out of Italy. (Dr. Goldfoot and the Girl Bombs) He'd accepted Chinese funding to rebuild his Bikini Machine. This new version created "girlbombs" that could impersonate specific people and explode on command.

This time, the plan was to disrupt NATO war games by assassinating the various generals involved. The plan was thwarted by another SIC agent, Bill Dexter, and two Italian doormen named Franco and Ciccio. Dr. Goldfoot then attempted to detonate a nuclear bomb in Moscow to start World War Three, but this also failed and he was believed killed in the explosion. In fact, he survived, but no further activity of his has been recorded.

By the 1990s, Dr. Goldfoot's girlbot technology had been acquired by Virtucorp, the front organization for Dr. Evil, and somewhat improved. (See Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery.)

Girlbots are very sturdy, able to take a collision with a small automobile without being moved or taking noticeable damage. They can be pierced by small arms fire, but unless vital areas are specifically targeted, this does not impair their function in any way. They're also far stronger than they appear. (Fortunately, most of Dr. Goldfoot's girlbots were not programmed to use violence.) They have radio receivers which allow them to receive commands directly from a console Dr. Goldfoot also invented.

The first batch of girlbots, including #12, were mostly able to impersonate human women, but came off as eccentric. They relied on their good looks and aggressive courting tactics to distract targets from realizing there was anything odd.

In addition to the Bikini Machine, Dr. Goldfoot's technology included: opera glasses that sprouted poison spikes (never used on camera), laser lipstick, the ability to remotely control motorcars, and either remote viewing or multiple miniature cameras placed throughout San Francisco. The latter two were incorporated into the same console he used to communicate with the girlbots. He had some way of reviving the (recently?) dead, but the only person he is known to have used it on was Igor.

Dr, Goldfoot bore a strong resemblance to the actor Vincent Price. He always wore gold-fabric slippers, and it was implied at one point that his actual feet were also golden in color. He was fey in his mannerisms, although he did seem to appreciate the aesthetics of his Bikini Machine creations. He put little value on human life, and was fully willing for his girlbots to eliminate competition the hard way.

The mad scientist's grasp of geopolitics may have been a little shaky. He sent a girlbot with the appearance of a black woman to marry a person who would have been a white man in South Africa at the height of apartheid.

Crossover potential: A rather silly mad scientist who specializes in creating femi-form robots can have many uses, as long as the story is okay with that kind of humor. Assuming nothing else happens to him, Dr. Goldfoot would die of old age in the early 1990s.

Notably, Dr. Goldfoot's headquarters was not destroyed in the movie, so the U.S. government was presumably able to access his technology and study it. ("Top men.") Also, several girlbots were already out on assignment at the time of his defeat, and are presumably loose ends.

SIC is one of the many splinter intelligence agencies the fictional U.S. government sponsored during this time period to increase plausible deniability. The budget was apparently tiny, with the San Francisco office being headquarters in a two-room office, Craig and his uncle being the only two operatives, and Craig not having access to any spy gadgets or even a gun. (His salary was also miniscule--he considered a cheese sandwich at the cafeteria a suitable date meal.)

The fictional agency your main characters belong to may have absorbed SIC and its records if the story is set post-1966.

Have fun!

@krinsbez

[wolfeyedwitch]

(hey! @pigeonwhumps here, starting off the Bailey and Phoenix crossover!)

Phoenix looks up as Zera walks into the medical bay. They don't even really need to be in here anymore, it's just that– well, Bailey.

"Hey Phoenix. We've heard back from your team. Abbie's free to come and pick you up tomorrow morning, if that's okay? I know it's a bit sudden."

Their heart skips a beat. Well, they've missed enough of work, they suppose, although they could've gone back on their own ages ago if Zera's team had let them. But, oh, fuck, Abbie's going to find out about them getting medical treatment, isn't she?

They could ask the team to lie but no, no. They deserve it. Whatever punishment they get for the medical treatment and being idle for so long when people need them, they deserve it. They should be more self-reliant, they shouldn't let people give them medical treatment, they don't need to rest, they don't need rescuing, they're immortal. Immortal and pathetic.

Zera's starting to frown now. Oh, no, that's not good. What've they done wrong now? They tug their sleeves down over their hands nervously.

"Yes, sir."

With Bloody Outstretched Hands Masterlist

Immortal Cannon Fodder Masterlist

This is set after Phoenix's crucifixion; they're recovering and staying with Zera's team for that period. For WBOH, this is after part 6; the team has just learned who Bailey is.

Also, just pretend that Phoenix called Bailey Poppet, and Zera called Phoenix Firebird. Phoenix doesn't know Bailey's name yet, and they're using their codenames in front of the villain they've taken in.

---

Zera is about 0.3 seconds away from screaming. They swear, if someone calls them "sir" one more time—

"Yes, sir," Phoenix says.

—they will sigh internally and put it in their mental "motivation to punch things" box.

Why is Phoenix being so damn... respectful? No, that isn't the right word. Deferential? That isn't quite it, either. They're acting like Zera is somehow... more important than them. Someone they have to placate, almost. Given that Phoenix has been a hero longer than Zera had, it makes no sense.

"Okay," Zera says aloud, tucking the confusing mess away to ponder later. "Well, you're due for your next dose of pain medication."

And for some reason, that sends Phoenix into a spiral. They claim that they don't need it, that Zera shouldn't waste the medication on them, that they're sorry for being an inconvenience. The whole thing feels like sandpaper on Zera's nerves, scraping them raw.

Eventually, through a judicious use of puppy-dog eyes, Zera convinces Phoenix to accept the medication. Then it's time to administer them to Poppet, or Bailey as they now know the villain's name is, as well.

Bailey wakes from their uneasy sleep when Zera gets close, drawing on their powers enough to make Zera's hair stand on end.

"Woah, it's okay, take it easy," Zera says, trying to de-escalate the situation.

Bailey stays poised to attack, one hand outstretched and powers at the ready, for a moment longer. Then their eyes focus on Zera, recognition finally dawning.

"Foxfire," they say, lowering their hand. The electric tension of their powers leaves the air. "I'm sorry, I thought— it doesn't matter what I thought, I messed up, I'm sorry."

Zera waves off the apology and offers Bailey the medication. Bailey, inexplicably, has...

Almost the exact same reaction that Phoenix did. Right down to claiming that Zera shouldn't 'waste' the medication on them.

"It isn't a waste," Zera says, trying to figure out why these two were having such a reaction. "Please, let me help you."

Bailey swallows and nods. Zera gives them the medication and leaves the medbay. They need to talk to... well. Everyone.

What the actual entire fuck is going on? This behavior is weird and unsettling enough coming from Poppet, or Bailey as they now know the villain's name is. But coming from Phoenix? Their fellow hero, who's been at this job even longer than Zera themself???

Something is very, very wrong here.

And Zera is going to find out what it is.

---

Let me know if you'd prefer not to be tagged for this crossover!

Taglist:

@heathenville @nonbinary-disaster @kim-poce @whump-world 

@dolls-circus @pickleking8 @ghostfacepepper @cupcakes-and-pain @badluck990 

@mylifeisonthebookshelf @pumpkin-spice-whump @deluxewhump @extemporary-whump @whumpwillow 

@multiple-characters1-acct @sunflower1000 @fleur-alise @equestrianwritingsstuff @scp-1296 

@livingforthewhump @thingsthatgo-whump-inthenight @suspicious-whumping-egg @kaiwewi @lelly-belly 

@neuro-whump @newbornwhumperfly @whumpthisway @whumpcreations @wicked-whump 

@heart4brains @myhusbandsasemni @how-to-be-a-hero @kixngiggles @kurochan 

@whumpsday @extrabitterbrain @pattonvirglsanders @neverthelass @we-write-as-one 

@elrysdoesstuff @whumperflies-and-roses @ha-ha-one @whatwhumpcomments @ramadiiiisme 

@towerlesskey @emmanemanemm @pigeonwhumps @whumpycries

[pigeonwhumps]

Previous | Masterlist

"Hey you two," Zera says, smiling softly at Phoenix and Bailey. They're still holding hands. "I'm glad to see Airmid is helping you both feel better."

They glance at Maeve, who shrugs and raises her eyebrows, mouth set in a thin line. She's probably noticed the strange behavior too; they'll have to include her in the conversation about how to move forward with all this.

"Mind if I take a seat?" they ask the patients. When both nod, Zera pulls over a stool and perches on it.

"So our fearless leader—" they gesture vaguely at Elijah, who's doing his best to look unobtrusive in the back of the room— "has declared that I need more practice doing interviews and debriefs. Which means that I get a pop quiz in the form of talking with you, Poppet."

They wrinkle their nose in a playful grimace, inviting Bailey and Phoenix to laugh at Zera's misfortune.

"First thing though: are you okay staying here for this?" Zera asks. "You and Firebird seem to be keeping each other company quite well, and I'm glad about that. You both deserve the comfort. But if you'd be more comfortable talking solo, we can go elsewhere. Your choice."

At Zera's mention of an interview Poppet stiffens, looking scared but resigned. Phoenix squeezes their hand again. Zera's being friendly and anyway, it's unlikely to be too bad for Poppet. Zera doesn't seem to want to hurt people.

"Yes, I'll– I'll stay."

Zera nods. Phoenix is stunned. Poppet would rather them here? *Them*? They trust them enough for it? Why would someone actually *want* them around?

They'll just have to live up to that then. But... they really don't deserve Poppet's comfort. Zera's wrong about that.

[kinardsevan]

i suddenly want to either read or write (probably both) a marvey/bucktommy fic. i don't even know how we get there. just that the bb boys are in LA now, married, finally running Specter Ross.

And then like... idk. Maybe a version of the lawsuit but AU because bucktommy is already canon, and somehow they all become besties. And Buck gets to see the idea of what he and Tommy could be in a couple of years, successful at their jobs and still thriving together.

I don't even have a plot. I just need this meeting to happen.

[atwas-creations]

(a little angst that some people might hate but oh well i'm making this post anyway)

The time: 150 years after Aurora passed away at a ripe old age

The place: Crisis City (but not destroyed, it's a living, thriving city similar to Station Square)

Shadow stands on a hilltop overlooking the city. It's just after sunset. An aurora borealis is beginning to appear in the sky. Shadow looks out over the city, knowing that some of his descendants are down there. By now, he's outlived the only woman he ever loved, and a few generations of his own descendants. He's become a legend among his own great-great-great-grandchildren. Even those who have met him don't know who he is, and some don't even believe the stories about him were real. He doesn't care. His legacy never mattered to him, only the lives of those he loved. He watches over them as a proud guardian, and he would not hesitate to step in if even his own descendants dared to raise a finger against the good people of Earth.

Shadow looks up at the aurora and sighs, closing his eyes. "Maria, and Light. I don't know if I believe that either of you can hear me. But I've kept my word, and will continue to keep it, for however long I remain in this life. It... grieves me..." He clenches a fist. "...to see how even my own children's children's children treat each other. No one recognizes me anymore. No one remembers either of you, remembers the goodness and love you gave to this world."

He opens his eyes and watches the lights dancing in the sky. "But I do. You were right, both of you. You have lived on in me. And I can see now, the good and evil that exists in the hearts of all men, and Mobians. It was always ever our choice, to hold onto anger and fear and vengeance, or to release it. No one is born good, or evil. I wasn't, Maria and Light weren't, and neither were my children. We made choices, and lived with the consequences of them, for better or worse.

"Knowing this, I can forgive my own children for the wrongs they've done. Just as I've forgiven all who have ever wronged me, or Maria, or Aurora, or my children."

He looks at his clenched fist, and slowly opens it. "It was always our own choices, to live in darkness, or in light. Darkness is always vanquished in the end, but the light never fades." Somewhat ironically, he says this as the aurora borealis begins to fade overhead. But the light doesn't disappear entirely, because now the brilliant stars become visible once more. "Even if the stars die, we see their light for many years to come."

Far off, in the distance, he sees a cyan glow, the glow of a strangely familiar hedgehog that Shadow has taken a particular interest in. One of his own descendants. Unless Shadow is seriously mistaken- which is highly unlikely- this one is a time traveler that Shadow has met many times before. And while the glow isn't the same color as Aurora's, it reminds Shadow of her.

"The light shines even though the star is gone."

[danidoesathing]

(I like to think that Giopara did know Viktor was sick in some way-the two of them had been working together long enough for him to recognize Viktor's tells-but he didn't catch on to how bad it was. He just saw Viktor trying to hide his coughing fits and (not unreasonably) thought it was something like a very persistent strain of bronchitis. He didn't even consider the possibility of a terminal illness because why would he? Viktor's symptoms had other explanations, and his partner always went out of his way to hide and downplay any sicknesses he got. (Even the blood could be explained by nosebleeds.) And after the Exile, Giopara was way too bitter and hurt to read through his former partner's notes.

(When the truth comes out, he feels awful. Because he knew Viktor had something, but he'd never pried or looked into it: he'd just brushed it off as Viktor's normal refusal to admit he was sick. If he'd tried to look into it, if he'd been more persistent, would Viktor have told him? Could he have helped? Or would forcing answers out of his partner only have made things worse? Giopara's haunted by thoughts of what could have been.)

oh yeah yeah yeah like. viktor was never in great health and tends to get sick often so he wouldn't think much of it. the only time he'd really get concerned would be any day he'd be out of the lab (the day he collapses and is in the hospital, but after that he still wouldn't take any time off lets be real). even if giopara did ask or push about it he likely wouldn't get an answer (depending on when it happened to, if it were after the fiasco with blitzcrank, even asking about it would've spiraled into a fight) (and honestly i could easily see a situation where giopara would like to help vik whenever he got sick, but even if viktor allowed him to it would affect their dynamic and would require them to be. vulnerable. gross). while arcane vik might've allowed himself to be slightly more open about himself with jayce, lol viktor would fight tooth and nail to keep himself from being seen as weak, especially by jayce. he never would've willingly let jayce know he was sick regardless of the circumstances (the exile only proved it to be the right decision in his mind). the idea of viktor being terminally sick doesn't even cross his mind

of course he doesnt find out for years and years after they become enemies and once he does it sends him into a spiral. hes gonna be going over everything in his head and wondering when it even started and why didnt he tell anyone (him) what was going on and how did he not notice his friend lab partner was dying. woe! eternal guilt be upon ye

[aingeal98]

Sometimes I think about rwby dc crossovers and then I remember that they actually exist like the batfam have fought Grimm. I'm not writing crack crossover fics there's comics out there to back me up.

[dr-george-ordell]

(Circa, 1943)

[jet-teeth]

Merry Scrimbo everyone! Have a 40k-ish flavored Krampus, hehehe

Bonus lore thoughts/ideas:

Visual similarities to Vashtorr are intentional - I thought it would be a fun idea to have some 40k "Krampus" type of demon that goes around harvesting unruly spirits and daemonic entities for the Soul Forges: fodder for daemon engines, or fusing them to parts of the forges/tools/machinery if they are too "minor" to be part of a fused weapons system.

These "harvester" demons could come in various shapes and sizes too, this particular one was just a fun crossover moment I had to get on paper! It might be fun to just have a handful of these guys, but have them all be very different-looking/differently specialized based on the kinds of daemons & warp entities they are hunting down

[dark-elf-writes]

!!!!!! Mdzs/svsss crossover where Shen Yuan transmigrated into Wen Yuan during the time he was hiding and got the fever so by the time he wakes up he realizes he is an orphan with a new adopted father (very injured and deep in mourning) in a Xianxia world and decides to make the best out of it. SY!Shizui is mostly the same though he has a fondness for fans that Nie Huaisang (who is kind of his uncle through his other uncle’s sworn brotherhood to Nie Huaisang’s older brother. Tracing all the family ties in class was agony when all Sy!Shizui wants to be doing is looking for cool ghosts and monsters.) is all too willing to supply

Then one day a weird guy who is apparently another one of his uncles (through the same uncle’s other sworn brotherhood this time) bursts into a meeting SY!Shizui didn’t want to be having with some typical low level canon fodder and causes such a scene that he immediately clocks him as both smarter than he seems and a protagonist and decides to subtly help out and see where things go.

(He is not, actually, SY!Shizui’s uncle, but he is his dead kind of father in disguise… and future step father if his current adopted father has any say in the matter)

[pixelatedraindrops]

“Don’t worry, my pokepal. We’re here for you.”

Something I made based on BrightStar’s birthday present fanfiction to me. It’s a RainCode Pokemon AU crossover story. I felt pretty down last night and I needed a distraction. So I drew this. Originally it was going to be a small uncolored doodle I’d attach as a thread to the fic, but I just kept going… xD

Description below read (its long lol)

I kinda drew out one of the scenes, however I added my own element to it. I know that the scene takes place in the normal setting of rain code, except everyone is a Pokemon. But the story itself gave me huge Pokemon Mystery Dungeon vibes so I made the setting similar to the PMD Explorers games. With the straw nested beds, the grass flooring, and the sliced berries.

Tbh, the explorers games are the elements of PMD I’m most used to and prefer. I like the idea of Pokemon living like feral creatures with small living circumstances, like cavemen. Not fully functional furnishings and machines. I feel it gives a cozier domestic aspect and it separates a Pokemon society away from us humans. They have more modern settings in the newer games, but I like the way it was done in explorers the most. So I hope you don’t mind that!

It was rather nostalgic to draw a PMD themed art again after so long. It was a game I loved drawing fanart of in the past and I even had teams with the hero and partner based off my friends. Good times…

Reading this fic got me to thinking how much I would have loved to see a whump or illness scene from the game. Having the hero, partner or even important side character fall ill to have a nursing scene with their whole team tending to them. (The closest we got was the Manaphy post game quest before releasing it to grow up in the sea)

So I did just that. I used the fodder from Bright’s story to create this little piece where Team NDA help their newest member through a status ailment, known as a BRNing fever. (Plus yay an excuse to draw yuma sick as an eevee :D)

Everyone has a role to play in his recovery.

The patient, Kokovee is lying in the infirmary nest bed feeling exhausted, sick and miserable where he is tended to by the rest of his team. Yakgrowth makes sure he stays warm by using his many vines to force wrap a blanket around him, also to monitor his temperature, and to try to feed him. (I can see him doing all sorts of tasks with all his vines, Grass types are grade A caretakers :3) Liepara uses their sharp claws to slice the berries that are brought as medicine to be easier for him to consume. Oran berries for his energy, Rawst berries to settle the heat, and Persim berries to prevent any confusion (delirium) that might be caused by the illness. Desuhichu walks up to him and connects his cheek to his to loan him some energy his way. (though this only works on other Pikachu, it does not harm the sick shiny Eevee) Celibuki uses her psychic powers to pre-soak the towels in the stone bowl for cooling him off later, Duskullgami can’t do much but she makes sure her partner is at least comfortable, and Vivisol merely stands guard. He doesn’t do too much but he forewarned the team of the disaster beforehand so they got everything ready. He did help in his own way... XD

I was actually inspired partially by @asaka-lucy-dr-rc’s birthday work for me where everyone helps tend to sick Yuma in their own way. I wanted to do something similar, except they’re Pokemon now... xD

Desuhiko and Yuma's forms were designed by me, as Eevee and Pikachu are the only Pokémon I have confidence in drawing. It's why everyone else is kinda offscreen (that and to focus on kokobolt since Bright wrote this story as an extra service to her XD)

Ya'll cannot force me to draw anyone else completely so they are just there, feet and heads cut off LOL at Vivia's big-ass claws (shinigami was interesting to try though)

The other designs belong to @snivyartjpeg as part of their own PMD AU. Seems Bright used them for this story, so I had to draw them too. (sorry biggie I know sick whump isn't your thing, but I had to credit you... X'D)

But yeah it was fun to draw this out! (kinda needed a stress reliever)

I hope you all enjoy! ^-^

Thanks again for the cute story Bright!💜

Alt Version where Yuma’s body is free:

[skjam]

Pulp Crossover Fodder: Serbian Cat People

I'm only using the 1942 movie Cat People here, not the remake, since the continuity isn't fully compatible.

According to Serbian folklore, the "cat people" originated from a village conquered and controlled by the evil Mamelukes in the Ninth Century. Many of the villagers turned to Satanism and black magic under the influence of their foreign overlords. The village was freed from the Mamelukes by King John of Serbia (Jovan Vladimir) after he ascended the throne in 1000 A.D. While most of the Satanists were purged, some remained in hiding and their descendants were cursed with the ability/requirement of transforming into large cats.

Since there is no record of the Mamelukes ever controlling territory in Serbia, this may be a severely distorted retelling of events, or even an outright fabrication. In the movie, our only source of information is Irena Dubrovna, who was orphaned at an early age before her mother could confirm or deny any details, who learned what she knows about the Cat People from her adoptive family.

While the Cat People were never numerous for reasons that will become obvious, they survived into modern times, and some of them moved out of Serbia in the early 20th Century. It's known that two of them resided in New York City in the 1930s, Irena and an unnamed woman who called her "sister."

The Cat People are so called because under the influence of intense emotion, they turn into large, panther-like cats. While in feline form, the Cat Person becomes murderous. Unfortunately, the passion felt during sex is one of the best-known triggers, meaning that a female Cat Person is at high risk of killing her partner, as apparently happened to Irena's father. But fear and intense jealousy can also trigger the transformation. (It's possible that male offspring of Cat People don't actually transform and are just carriers, explaining their long-term survival.)

It's not known how much of the human intellect is present in a transformed Cat Person. Irena was apparently able to manipulate light switches and doorknobs while transformed, despite the lack of opposable thumbs.

Unlike other therianthropes, Serbian Cat People do not gain any supernatural protections during their transformations, being vulnerable to any attack that would harm a normal large cat.

In human form, Cat People are physically indistinguishable from normal humans, though the "sister" did her makeup and hair in a fashion that was distinctly "feline." Birds are instinctively afraid of Cat People in human form and will attempt to escape their presence.

It may be difficult to gain information on Cat People. As mentioned, the Serbian folklore is of dubious provenance, and having only recently emerged in other countries, most scholars will not have even heard of them. Officially, the events surrounding Irena Dubrovna were explained as her operating under a severe delusion, dismissing all circumstantial evidence to the contrary.

Irena died childless, and a report of her ghost appearing in Tarrytown, New York cannot be confirmed.

For crossover purposes, a protagonist may be asked to look into the existence of the "sister" or possible other Cat People by someone who doubts the official account. They might be instructed to eliminate this "monster" or recruit her.

If a Cat Person needs to be more powerful to fit the story, it's possible that one raised by a parent Cat Person will also have been trained in black magic.

@krinsbez

[wolfeyedwitch]

(continued from here)

Phoenix watches Maeve and Elijah warily. They don't look angry.

"Coming," says Zera, standing up. "Firebird, Poppet, I'll be back soon."

"Yes, sir," says Phoenix. Elijah and Zera both smile before disappearing.

Maeve crosses over to Poppet.

"So, I hear you're not feeling too good. What's wrong?"

Poppet shakes their head. "Nothing. I'm fine. I– I don't need anything."

Phoenix isn't sure if that's true, but it's up to Poppet, so they don't say anything. Maeve eventually manages to persuade them to take anti-nausea medication, so something must've been wrong.

"What about you, Firebird? Do you need anything?"

"No, sir."

It's different for them than Poppet. They're immortal, so they're not allowed medical treatment. Poppet isn't. And they definitely need it more anyway.

Everyone needs it more.

And besides, they've only just had (completely unnecessary) pain medication. They don't need anything else.

"Are you sure? You're not just refusing it because you think you don't deserve it again? Because it's well within your rights to refuse medical treatment but we do need to do our jobs."

Phoenix nods. They don't deserve it, it's true, but also they're pretty certain they couldn't have anything so soon after the last dose anyway, even if the pain was bad enough. Which it isn't.

Ouch.

It's the opposite of her job to give Phoenix medical treatment anyway.

Maeve looks sceptical but sighs. "If you're sure then."

"Yes, sir."

As soon as they're out of earshot of Phoenix and Bailey, Zera turns to Elijah and stops bothering to hide how freaked they are.

"You know how we thought we might have a problem? Well, not only do we definitely have a problem, it's at least twice as big as we were worried it was."

Zera resists the urge to run their hand through their hair. "Both of these two? Seriously not okay. Poppet caught me from faceplanting earlier, using their powers, and panicked because they thought I would hurt them for that. And it wasn't me that figured that out. It was Phoenix. Didn't even take them a second of thought to catch on to Bailey's reasoning. Plus, both of them are acting like medical care is a luxury they have to earn, not a right that they have."

[weaselandfriends]

Chainsaw Man (Anime)

When I posted about my Neon Genesis Evangelion reviews earlier, I mentioned my goal to think more deeply about the things I watch. Evangelion invites viewers to think about it. Its plot is tangled and complex; it draws on religious iconography that gestures toward deeper symbolism; and its tone is weighty, self-serious, and ponderous. None of this is to say that Evangelion actually has deeper meaning (it becomes increasingly clear, for instance, how much of its kabbalah references are purely aesthetic table dressing), but it certainly wants you to ask yourself what it means.

Chainsaw Man, by contrast, is aggressively irreverent. Its main character Denji is a superhuman doofus; he and arch-doofette Power bingus brother about in a Beavis & Butthead routine that undercuts any pretensions toward seriousness the supporting cast might scrounge. Rather than oblique references to Judaic mysticism, Chainsaw Man draws its iconography from popular films; the OP directly remakes shots from such classics as Big Lebowski, Pulp Fiction, Attack of the Killer Tomatoes, and The Grudge vs. The Ring. Even the title "Chainsaw Man" is bluntly brainless, and the anime ends with a climactic battle between Chainsaw Man and Katana Man, except Katana Man's katanas look more like machetes, fulfilling the Sadako vs. Kayako horror crossover promise of the OP via Leatherface vs. Jason Voorhees.

It's a show that is very easy to watch, go "Yeah that was fun," and have nothing more substantial to say. In many ways, the show invites that reading.

It does have a few things going on under the hood, though. The first is how despite its irreverent tone it often cleaves tightly to plot beats I've seen in other shounen shows. Kobeni is a useless crybaby, but in a fight turns into an unstoppable badass; I saw this in Demon Slayer. A bunch of fodder characters are introduced, developed, and then summarily executed to give the impression "anyone can die" (the core cast has all survived); I saw this in Attack on Titan. The main character is too weak, so he gets trained by an eccentric mentor who kicks his ass until he gets stronger; I saw this too many times to list. Denji's Beavisness is itself only an intensification of the Monkey D. Luffy template for shounen protagonist, a well-meaning dipshit who takes ridiculous joy in simple creature comforts like stuffing his face with food. In a way, by overtly asking the viewer not to think about things too deeply, Chainsaw Man is defending itself from the realization that little of what it is doing is particularly unique. That it is, at its core, a series of recreated shots stitched together from pop cultural sources.

It works, though. I thoroughly enjoyed all of those regurgitated elements I mentioned before, even the fake-anyone-can-die shtick that annoyed me to no end when Attack on Titan did it. The brain-off style encourages the viewer to engage with the story at the level of an earnest and excitable child, the kind of person who would think someone called "Chainsaw Man" is super cool and not lame at all. It's fascinating, because there's an element to the story's willingness to undercut itself that is reminiscent of the Joss Whedon-style snarkery that has rendered the MCU unwatchable. Someone giving their serious backstory only for Denji to go "HNNNGGH? That's dumb!" is pretty similar to Loki's big villain monologue being interrupted by the Hulk. How much of Chainsaw Man's effectiveness is simply because it's hitting the exact right note at this moment in time, the way Avengers did in 2012 (when I finish my rewatch of Sword Art Online I'll have a lot to say about the year 2012), attuned to the exact right frequency of irony, before years go by and that frequency becomes passe, out-of-tune? It feels inexplicable now, but people really thought "Puny god" was an amazing joke back in the day. Now it's hollow and lifeless. Is Chainsaw Man doomed to the same fate, after a decade of imitators bite it to pieces? (And there are imitators; I'm currently watching last season's big anime, Dandadan, which takes a lot of tonal cues from CSM.)

I can't see the future, but Chainsaw Man has a bit of narrative bite of its own to sustain itself. There's a thematic throughline about the sacrifices people make to attain their goals. Denji is introduced as literally selling off parts of his body for money in pursuit of pathetically unambitious goals like "eating bread with jam"; later, most members of Public Safety are shown to have made contracts with devils in which they also literally give up body parts in exchange for the goal-fulfilling power. Like Denji from that first episode, though, the members of Public Safety are in a form of slavery they have no hope of escaping. Their sacrifices are noble gestures, but ultimately useless. In one scene, Aki uses a cursed sword that steals his lifespan to kill Katana Man, only for Katana Man, being functionally immortal, to stand up seconds later. Likewise, Himeno gives the Ghost Devil all of her body to save Aki, killing herself; the Ghost Devil is immediately devoured by the Snake Devil moments later, failing to do what Himeno wanted. (It's then revealed that all Himeno had to do to save Aki was pull the string on Denji's body.)

It is that sense of futile nobility that Chainsaw Man skewers most stringently, both in its text and its tone. Aki and even the devils taunt Denji for his lack of ambition, framing themselves as superior because they pursue something loftier than him. Yet Denji, of course, always prevails; even against Aki, he responds to the taunt by kicking him in the balls. Aki claims that only people with strong ambitions can survive in Public Safety, but the story proves him wrong at every turn. It's Denji and Power, in their brainless contentedness with basic pleasures in life, who survive battle after battle unscathed. They are both immortal (or "near immortal," as Power is described), as though they are simply too stupid to die. Even among the human characters, the only one who crawls out of the show unscathed is Kobeni, who seems to have no ambitions of her own beyond survival; she was forced into Public Safety by her family to pay her brother's college tuition.

At first glance, this makes the message of Chainsaw Man seem clear: "Ask for too much, and you'll simply be destroyed." This message perfectly matches the story's irreverence. If you wanted a deep and thoughtful story, too bad, you're getting a guy with a chainsaw for a head cutting up zombies. It's bread with jam, and the story wants to make sure you enjoy it.

But there's more at play here. Denji is unstoppable, sure. He lives while his colleagues die or get maimed. At the same time, he's trapped in the same web as the rest of them, Makima's web, and his simple ambitions only make him trivial for her to manipulate. At the end of the day, Makima is the only one who is getting what she wants, who controls everything. I once had a dream about Makima that accurately spoiled her role in the story, so even though I've only seen the anime I have an inkling of what's to come. I only wonder, narratively, how it'll play into the ideas about ambition introduced in this opening arc.

Then, there's the scene where Kishibe first starts training Denji and Power. In an endless graveyard of all the Public Safety employees who have died, he asks them what their ambitions are, why they fight. They give characteristically low-minded answers, and Kishibe chokes with emotion. "You're perfect," he says. "I love you." He hugs them, then snaps their necks as the first part of his training regimen.

Weeks later, speaking to Makima, Kishibe explains. He thought he could look at Denji and Power as toys. Meaningless, silly, able to be sacrificed. Not like the hundreds, thousands of dead Public Safety employees he's buried, who had real dreams with emotional weight. Only, after weeks of training, he's finding that even they can't truly be seen as toys, that something about them is growing on him.

I read this scene as a metaphor for Chainsaw Man's irreverence as a whole, for the purpose of ironic detachment in art. In the MCU, characters give undermining quips to avoid emotionally interfacing with the art. It's the ethos of "comic relief" in general. Relief; as though seriousness is too much to handle without some silly joke to take the weight off. Denji and Power are toys (there's something toyetic in the idea of Chainsaw Man himself), comic relief, an excuse to not become emotionally invested, Beavis & Butthead who go "HNNNGGH? That's dumb!" whenever things get serious.

But, in Chainsaw Man at least, the seriousness is still there, under the surface. There is a field of graves, there are people sacrificing themselves for no reason, there is a whole ecosystem of serious men and women in salaryman suits and ties being thrown into the meat grinder. (It's interesting that the characters who survive unharmed -- Denji, Power, even Kobeni when she goes badass mode -- forgo the black blazer of the Public Safety uniform and wear only the white shirt that gives them a younger, more student-like look, as though it is a metaphorical childhood that protects them, whereas the more formal black-suited members are consigned to an adult oblivion. I wonder if Makima's dogshit fit means anything in this dichotomy.) The irreverence is not a full reprieve. It doesn't make the emotional elements go away, and as the show goes on, more and more time is spent in the perspectives of characters like Aki, until Denji starts to feel like an alien element in his own story, the piece that doesn't fit correctly into the established emotional framework.

Additionally, Denji starts to notice sociopathic traits in himself, like when he ponders Himeno's death and finds it made no impact on him at all. This element only appeared near the very end of the show, so I don't know how it develops across the rest of the story, but on its own it suggests the downside of ironic detachment, an inability to feel emotion even when emotion is warranted. That was David Foster Wallace's bugbear with postmodernism; that it was too insincere, too distant, capable only of metatextual flippancy, and that there was a need for a "New Sincerity," a post-irony, a post-postmodernism. Chainsaw Man is, like so many works that are popular today, post-postmodern. What fascinates me about it is how it manages that not by abandoning irony and irreverence, but by embracing it even more totally. Or is that a necessary component of post-postmodernism, distinguishing it from simple pre-modernism? You can't simply forget the genre savviness that makes you see a story as a series of tropes rather than an emotional whole. The challenge in the post-postmodern landscape thus becomes to make a story work emotionally in spite of, or perhaps because of, that detachment.

I'd also be remiss if I didn't at least mention the animation. The show looks amazing. Anime has finally gotten adept at using 3D by blending it with 2D, the way the best live action films blend practical effects with CGI. Even beyond that, there's an excessiveness and indulgence to the show; every single episode has a fully unique ED, some of which are among the best EDs I've ever seen. What studio did this?

...Oh. I guess it was natural to make a show about adults sacrificing their bodies in pursuit of impossible goals when 300+ animators made that exact same sacrifice for the benefit of MAPPAkima.

[buckevantommy]

tommy jumping into the spnverse to talk with amara and then she fixes what chuck broke -

then we get amara giving tommy some advice to fix things between him and evan 🥲🫶

(and when they do fix things buck makes her some pierogi as a thankyou 🥟)

..had a dream where Tommy was friends with Amara (spn) and it's the friendship i didn't know i needed 😅😅

[i-bring-crack]

Spoilers btw*

Something something Transmigration Crossover AU something something Luo Binghe (Bingge) becomes consumed with the idea of looking through all parallel worlds and dimensions for a Shizun that can love him and take care of him but each world's Shizun either rejects him or is already with some other self that he deems far worse than himself. It gets to the point where he is so far gone that the "Forces Above" have to step in or else he might lead many worlds to the brink of destruction. He has become too overpowered, too insane that the only way to stop this madness is to regress his soul and nurture that it with care so that it doesnt go back to its past state. And in order to make this plan work, the "Forces Above" send out the professionals among professionals (really not but they are the only hope for binghe now) to deal with this son of a virus!

Su Luxia, N1 Transmigrator from the Female Lead System; Song Qingshi, Protector of the World Tree; Abyss, up and coming star transmigrator from the World's Conciousness' Survivor Program; And System Y, new Master System. These four.... people (questionable) will have to find a way to restore Binghe's santity while not creating a complete deviancy from the main plot!

Su Luxia, transmigrated as wife #2653 : Seriously?! I'm good at canon divergence, not canon compliant!

System Y, transmigrated as another canon fodder villain: Why do I get to deal with another murder freak protagonist obsessed with someone older than them?! Well at least this one doesn't read minds.

Song Qingshi, transmigrated as the unnamed 12th peak lord: Can we still bring our husbands here? I miss Wuhuan already ):

Abyss, transmigrated as Ming Fan, pointing to Binghe: If I have to deal with this crybaby more than two seconds without seeing Prince, I will kill everyone in this room and then--