#((THIS GOT SO LONG I APOLOGIZE ANON

[demaparbat-hp]

the audacity you literally have to make a GENOCIDE SURVIVOR (whose entire culture was decimated by the fire nation) proudly work for the imperial fire nation army in some fuckass au? zutara shippers are never beating the colonial apologism allegations.

Woah, okay, I wasn't expecting this. I'm a firm believer that people should, first and foremost, treat each other on the basis of respect, so I'll do my best to explain this to you, clearly, and with the benefit of the doubt in mind, okay? I'm a nice person like that.

First of all, I'm working under the assumption that you haven't read these posts, and thus don't have all the information I've shared about the AU. I've been as clear about this subject as I can be, especially in my replies but, for the sake of fairness, I'll say it once again again:

I do not condone nor find it moraly correct to justify a victim of war joining the side of the ones responsible for her people's genocide.

I try to view this AU, and war in general, through a mature, realistic lense. Turning Katara into a victim with glorified Stockholm Syndrome isn't really my style. It's honestly insulting and deeply disturbing for me, as a creator, a woman of color born in a country that has a very, very long history of colonialism, and an empathetic human being, that anyone would believe me capable of thinking like that.

That being said, I know I really shouldn't, but would you like me to give you a step by step response?

(...) proudly work for the imperial fire nation army (...)

Okay, like I said before, I'm going to assume you saw only the artwork, didn't read either the tags or the two separate, in depth posts about the characterization and plot in this AU I made literally twenty four hours ago, and drew your own conclusions instead.

First of all: Katara doesn't proudly work for the Fire Nation army. That's her cover, as it is Zuko's. She joined Zuko and his crew, all traitors to the throne and good, honourable people, under the pretense of hunting the Avatar. Truly, they're destroying the Fire Nation military from within. And are, most definitely, not proud soldiers of the Fire Lord.

Katara hates the Fire Nation. But if joining a Fire Nation crew is what she needs to do to end the war, she will do it.

And, honestly, these are not excuses. But context is important, and it's not healthy to draw conclusions from the title instead of actually reading the book, if you know what I mean. It could get you in trouble some day.

And, please, I'm begging you—this has been talked about a lot, and I don't really like drama all that much, so I won't even rise to the accusations of condoning a non consented, colonialist and abuse apologist relationship.

That's just rude.

[fala-alfredo-pasta]

Heey! :D

What do you think about Hinazumi? Koizumi × Hinata? I would be very happy if you draw them one day 💞

When I got this ask it was close to the release date of Tears of the Kingdom and I had to decide to either write something or do a doodle but I’ve always wanted to draw a lovey dovey couples selfie sort of thing and like HOW COULD I PASS UP THAT CHANCE WITH THE PERFECT PAIR TO DO SO!

It’s not much but they say a picture is worth a thousand words right?

[taydaq]

tell me ALL your nsfw roman headcanons i need to know pretty please

Oh man, HERE WE GO... (and most of these are with Dean/Mox in mind),

-"Big Dog"/Shield Roman cries during sex from feeling overwhelmed and over stimulated. *Roman got extra emotional during his last time with Dean before he left the company and even Dean almost stayed because of that. 😭 -Roman LOVES Dean's mouth, especially when he's spilling absolute filth and saying everything he wants to do to Roman in that rough and raspy voice.

And HIS HANDS... I like the idea that Roman gets off from a hand job or being fingered. And prefers when Dean keeps the hand wraps ON. LOL. -Roman likes his hair being pulled and yanked. -"Tribal Chief" Roman wants to be pampered and have every single need met. I'm not the biggest Roman/Sami shipper, but I feel like in this case... Sami would do anything to please his TC when he was in The Bloodline. 💦 -TC Roman will top from the bottom and make sure he's being pleased. Although, when he's with Mox, he'll talk big, but immediately turns into mush and let Mox have his way. -TC Roman also knows what Mox is capable of and wants to be destroyed by him and put in his place. 🥵 I just thought of Roman licking his own blood and then kissing Mox to mix with his (totally not sanitary, but hot) after a sweaty and messy sparring session. Which turns Mox RIGHT ON and leads to sloppy/rough sex. 💦 -Roman likes to dress up in his suits and tease Dean when they're out in public at an event. It excites him to know that suit will soon be ripped off of him. (TC Roman also knows Mox is watching during televised talk shows, etc. and purposely gives signs. He may even flirt with the interviewer because it will make Mox jealous and that he'll be railed afterwards). 🥴🥴

-As much as "Big Dog" Roman likes being man handled, he really enjoys passionate love making. He craves the feelings, the emotions, the LOVE. He's a softie and melts when Dean takes gentle care of him. *Roman needed all the love when he was constantly booed and hated, Dean made sure he'd forget all that during their nights together. 💘💘

-He likes to be called "baby, babydoll, or doll". But he gets flustered when his looks are talked about. He turns totally red when called 'beautiful' or 'gorgeous'. And Dean does that A LOT.

-He likes neck kisses and bites.

-He's loud during sex. (which Dean enjoys, he wants the world to know what he's doing to that man, haha).

-TC Roman DEFINITELY has a praise kink. That man needs to be worshipped.

*I'm gonna tag @imabillyami and @harmshake in case they need some... inspiration. 😘

[jazzy-art-time]

where would Dysnomia fit in jarble

CHANTING VIOLENTLY !!!

JARBLE GARGLE TIME!!! (That’s what a friend told me to call it when I talk about JarbleAU things. It sounds gross and I hate them for it (love you BabyGirl) )

BUT!!!

Dysnomia IS in JarbleAU, he is one of Goddess’ main guys in the Hend Family!!

He just… doesn’t have a design yet because I just haven’t done it lmaO. He’s a leafeon in JarbleAU though!! Since the reason that Dysnomia is a Sylveon in canon, are not present in Jarble.

They aren’t related by blood but Dysnomia is one of the few who actually got his last name changed to Hend like Goddess. He also acts as a donor for Goddess kids when she has issues getting it done for when she wanted children.

(there is no romantic or sexual things between them in JarbleAU, he was just a donor because she was having issues)

Although he does not see himself as the kids father (neither does Goddess) he still cares about them and gets Fun Uncle Rights™️

He’s a bit lazy in the sense of… he doesn’t really want to do a lot of the technical or “”political”” aspects of what the Hend Family does. Despite basically being Goddess’ successor (if anything were to happen to her). He likes working on the main and rather large family ranch and tending to that general large segment of land.

He’s a cowboy…,,, big ol gruff cowboy man. Arthur Morgan but leafeon /joking /silly

He’s lazy in that aspect of his job, he half asses a lot of it or has others do it for him. He Primarily has Ryan (from ask-Scrafty, he’s in jarble as well!) or Solo do a lot of that stuff on his behalf. He just doesn’t find much interest in that aspect of things. Goddess still forces him to do stuff, to the point that he at least understands/knows what he’s doing.

On the ranch however! He is a extremely hard worker. Like he goes hard and puts his all into working there or doing other aspects like that!

He hates going into the inner city or attending more diplomatic events. It means he has to clean up and get his hair combed properly and has to wear something other than his dirty ass jeans and shirt that’s torn to shreds. DONT GET ME WRONG he does like. Shower n stuff!! Trust me the man DOES touch soap, he just doesn’t like having to make a spectacle of himself or “pretty himself up” just to impress others.

He also just HATES being around the Mayor and the Farefell family. He finds the Mayor annoying as shit and then just the family issues between the Farefell family, but that’s a given. It’s Hend VS Farefell that’s the whole thang!! He finds Wem particularly disgusting and abhorrent (he’s correct) and doesn’t want to be around him or anyone Wem associates with by default.

HOWEVER… in Jarble. Dysnomia and Eden end up in a bit of a situationship. They hate each other at first but then Eden in this AU is well.. how he is. They end up messing around with one another without anyone knowing (minus those closest to them/those who figure it out over time). They don’t really see each other in any sort of romantic sense, Dysnomia tries to once or twice to appear more civil but it always just ends the same way.

There’s more to that aspect/how it ends up but I’ll avoid rambling about that for now lmaO

BUT YEAH!!! There is more to him, he’s one of the major “POV” characters for Jarble. I just haven’t had a chance to design him properly yet! I’ve tried a few times but generally ended up disliking how it turned out, so it hasn’t been done yet.

I don’t talk about him much BECAUSE he doesn’t have a set design yet. It’s easier for me to talk about OCs once they have a design, that way I can make silly comics or at least slap their face onto something

There are several characters I need to design for it but just.. havent yet lmao

But YEAH big ranch cowboy leafeon man!! He’s less dramatic and moody than he is in canon.. Jarble Dysnomia has no reason to walk around brooding or put on a fake intimidating face or be full of various hate fueled anxieties. He’s a man on a ranch and he likes rodeos and being outside, what more could a leafeon dream of /silly

[xariarte]

do you have any thoughts for what you'd want the toronto wnba team to be named?

Apologies for taking more than a month to answer this, especially since the Toronto WNBA talks have long disappeared into the ether. I really thought I'd get to it sooner but then time slipped away from me and... 😭😭

Better late than never.

I've seen a lot of names for the team, but I really like Toronto Smoke or Toronto Frost, maybe with a grey/silver theme with shades of light blue or purple (or with the smoke one, maybe red/orange/yellow shades as an accent with the grey).

I'm totally against the Toronto Huskies idea. I know there's history there, but originally Toronto Huskies was a men's team, and I would like the women's team to start fresh, to have their own brand.

I don't think the Huskies thing will be real though - as much as I've seen people wanting it - because the president of Toronto's WNBA franchise is Teresa Resch. If you don't know her, she used to work for the Toronto Raptors while being one of Masai's most trusted confidants. In fact, when she left the Raptors organization, it was a huge deal that day, especially since the reason why was still mysterious. But anyway, I really don't think that she will name the women's team Toronto Huskies, which is great.

So yeah. Toronto Smoke or Toronto Frost. Those are my current faves, but honestly anything that isn't Huskies related, I will probably be okay with, as long as it's not problematic.

[cottoncandyopinions]

It's wild how on one side of my dash I see people talking about the real issues of transmasc erasure, "you're taking our lesbians away" terf rhetoric, and the ways that trans men are expected to accept ostracisation within leftist spaces without ever advocating for themselves...

Meanwhile on the other side, I see lots of "The MRA's are back, anyone that speaks about transmasc issues are transmisogynists, if you didn't immediately decide transandrophobia is an invalid concept then you're a bigot" type hysteria and it all just pisses me off.

Like trans men will spend their entire life til now perceived as women, expected to be quiet, expected to obey and be a resource to others without taking up too much space or having needs themselves. And upon realizing they're trans, finding their community, and thinking maybe this is a place they can find some modicum of comfort, the community says "no."

We don't want your voice or your struggles, because it doesn't fall in line with the rhetoric. It's not a part of the theory.

SJ theory generalizes, that's the nature of it. It's used to describe society as a whole, and how systemic oppressions operate. Broad academic theory isn't meant to for you to apply it precisely the same way to the individual.

That's what being intersectional is supposed to be about! You're not supposed to say "well systemically men are oppressors, so this man I just met is actively looking to oppress me" when you meet a homeless black man in a wheel chair.

I'm just so tired of the dynamic where in leftist spaces we can't share our stories and pain because they have to align with our ideas of who's the oppressor or not.

To this day, I feel terrified to open up about the fact that an older woman sexually assaulted me as a teen, because I'm so afraid someone will say I'm just targeting lesbians, or that my story promotes predatory stereotypes and shouldn't be shared. I can't talk about shit like that because I know that outside my closest friends, others in leftists spaces don't want to hear about that.

This is all over the place but I'm just so frustrated. Seeing people that have been boiling over, keeping their mouth shut, playing nice even when it's unfair to them, daring to open their mouths to speak all the while trying to be careful, only to still get attacked and made into bigots.

It's like there's no amount of bowing and saying your troubles are meaningless and insisting other people have it worse that will let you be "allowed" to talk about what hurts you.

We're supposed to be past one-upmanship and oppression olympics, it's not about who's had it worse it's about what we can fucking do about it TOGETHER.

And that means being able to drop your academic theory and shit to engage with the people in your community as fucking human beings. That means being able to seriously consider the validity of criticism instead of knee-jerk rejecting it.

Also please stop accusing literally anyone talking about intra-community bullying of talking over people being killed or shit like that, you know damn well that people are capable of caring about multiple issues

[stranded-in-the-gobi-desert]

hello....... xiyao hunger games au........ pls say more

are they both tributes

hello anon u have opened a can of worms i have been thinking abt this au for over a year. my xiyao hunger games au.... theyre technically both tributes, just not in the same games..?

they meet each other as victors, a few days after meng yao wins his games, as he waits for his victor interview with ceaser flickerman.

lan xichen had won the games previous to this, dominating both the in-game and out-of-game play, his early life career training from belonging to district 1 combined with his 'prince charming' aura makes him a favourite for the capitoltes, who clamour to sponsor him, and a BEAST in the games.

meng yao, who was not of a fan of the games as so much he saw it as an egregious feat of capitol power, and a fascinating lesson in propaganda, watched this with both awe and an analytical eye.

he would not volunteer for the games (he's neither stupid nor suicidal), but if the opportunity came to either rise up from the poor life he's living in district 11, or give his mother one less mouth to feed, he'd grab the chance with both hands.

they won in contrasting ways, due to their very different backgrounds and personalities

lan xichen won with honour (as much as children killing other children can be considered honourable). mainting his single alliance with his district mate until the end, winning with a final sword duel that had the capitolites swooning in their seats. he's the image of perfection, a low kill count leaves little blood to mar his image.

meng yao won with deception, almost all his kills coming from either literal or figurative backstabbing. as one of the underdogs, and malnourished 15 years old from district 11, he wouldnt win in a straight fight with most tributes, let alone the careers. despite this, he left a bloody trail behind him to become victor, with 2 direct and 4 infirect kills under his belt. (he's still a capitol darling, as most victors are, but in a more - we like you right now but we can and will turn on you if you make a slight mistake)

meng yao did not expect to win once reaped and is struggling to deal with being alive when he thought he'd be dead, so is having a minor breakdown waiting to be interviewed.

lan xichen decides to visit the new victor and give them some advice on how to deal with the victory tour and [gestures vageuly to capitol] that, and kindly interrupts the start of said breakdown. this somehow leads into mimicking the iconic hand-caressing-intense-eye-contact-meeting scene from cql (i love the scenet too much not to include it).

ANYWAYS this is getting too long now, but just know that meng yao had a MASSIVE crush on lan xichen as he watched him win his games, and if it weren't for his mini breakdown whilst waiting to be interviewed he would totally be internally fangirling, and that lan xichen is completealy enamoured with meng yao after meeting him once.

they become a favourite capitol pairing (not couple just yet), constrasting heights and images creating a perfect pair (this is self indulgeant).

hopefully this makes some sense to u anon, and u enjoyed the rambling

[nobleriver]

Based on a post I saw in the River Song tag I've come to the conclusion that, not for the first time, the world really is designed around restraining a woman's sexuality. But more importantly, it comes down to the whole world is pretty much designed around reigning women in. Abortion laws, grown women banning books because they see any little thing as "porn". Women being taught that it's their responsibility not to get raped. Men can sleep around cause they are guys etc. I love a good period piece or any time era where the couple is not looking outside their relationship for their sexual needs. Some of my favorite stories in fact. I also don't see a problem with River being just as in love with The Doctor without any of the relationships that have been brought to light in the show being condemned as source of tragic heartbreak to make sure we know that as a woman she can't possibly have enjoyed herself unless she was enjoying her sexuality inside and exclusively from her marriage.

Yeah I think I enjoy your insights that's why I keep writing to you.

Aw, thank you! I enjoy answering your questions. In this case, I agree with what that person wrote.

Do you remember the minisodes - First Night/Last Night - that showed the Doctor and River’s honeymoon? In those scenes, River confesses she believes the Doctor brought someone else on their honeymoon, not knowing the other women were actually future versions of her. That means for decades, since the beginning of their marriage, River has been convinced she was just one of many on her own wedding night, that the Doctor was with someone else. So no wonder she develops this open-ended approach to marriage, her heart was broken on her wedding night. It’s played off for laughs, but you see the real pain in THORS.

Fidelity, or the lack thereof, is an issue of character and psychology, not sexuality. I know plenty of people who love to have sex who would never step outside of their marriage or engage in sexual activity with anyone besides the one that they chose to commit themselves to for the rest of their life. Oh, I’m certain she was gratified physically, but it’s revealed in the same episode she was not satisfied emotionally. So I believe that person is correct to attribute her extra marital relations to her psychological state at the time. Especially because in the seven years we knew River, we had not seen or heard of her having other partners on the side. Her loyalty, love, and devotion to the Doctor has been one of the defining forces behind her character motivations since her introduction.

So if that’s her character, if being with the Doctor is her greatest desire (6.01), if loyalty is her core trait, then why is she suddenly being disloyal to the doctor behind his back in THORS? The doctor was surprised to find out Hydroflax was the husband in question: “That’s your husband? Not anyone else?” Ramone just added insult to injury. Though delivered in comedic form, the Doctor’s jealousy was front and center, and then, he becomes hurt. Where is the devotion? Where is the River he thought he knew? The one that would sacrifice time itself to save him? All of these extra marital relations are coming out of left field, blindsiding the audience, leaving the question: who is the real River?

But then, in the climatic scene, Moffat reveals River is in a state of pain. To believe your husband does not love you back is painful. That cannot be ignored. Though I wish Moffat had left it as a headcanon, I begrudgingly accept, for most of their marriage, River believed they were married in name only, that the Doctor did not love her back. Now it makes sense why this character who has been designated for years as one of the most loyal characters in the Doctor’s life is suddenly found in a position of disloyalty. That is a painful psychological state to subsist in for decades. One can’t put all that trauma in a bubble and think it has no influence on her sleeping with all these other people.

One also has to take into account River’s history. Like her mother, River has survived a lot of trauma. She suffered child abuse. She was trafficked as a child soldier. She dealt with a lot of neglect, torture, and abandonment. When it comes to people who have that kind of trauma, you can’t just casually love them; you have to be intentional with your acts and words of affection, so they can trust the love is real. You have to drill through all those years and layers of trauma and abuse. I love you. I love you. I love you. The Doctor didn’t drill all the way down, so he was inadvertently causing her further pain. She was falling deeply in love with him while believing he felt nothing for her because he wasn’t expressing his love in a way she could understand or trust.

But once the Doctor realizes what’s going on, he proceeds to shatter that misconception until nothing’s left: “Hello Sweetie.” “Not one living thing is worth you.” “There is a Song.” “24 years.” The fact she was able to be with the doctor for 24 years, that she was able to leave all those other relationships behind and it just be him and her, and River be at her most satisfied? That tells me all I need to know, that those relationships were symptoms of an unchecked broken heart in a woman who didn’t believe she was in a marriage that was real.

[posletsvet]

You know, I read a theory that even makes sense that Kenjaku has an agreement with Geto and that Geto is conscious and knows what's going on, but I think Geto doesn't want to wake up because he has no motivation on earth, he lost his daughters and his Friend, I think he knows what's happening but he doesn't want to go back. What do you think of this theory? sorry for the text

Hi there, anon!!

Kenjaku having to enter a Binding Vow with a previous host (even if they manifest as no more than a lingering apparition in a form of muscle memory and whatnot) when changing bodies is quite an interesting suggestion! It somewhat ties neatly into the 'body vs. soul' discourse we've seen established in the manga. The two are repeatedly rendered inseperable within the story, two sides of the same coin, so whereas Kenjaku's Cursed Technique encompasses the physical body, something else may be needed to bind the soul. This would imply that Kenjaku's immortality is not entirely a product of their innate abilities, but a result of innovation and inventive application of those. How much experimentation did it require for them to figure out optimal conditions for that vow? That seems to be very much in Kenjaku's 'mess-around-and-find-out' fashion, if you ask me. And though I myself gravitate towards a different interpretation -- one that views this 'soul-binding' process as an organic, built-in effect of Kenjaku's CT -- since we don't know the exact mechanics of it, this theory has a right to exist!

Moving on to your next point, I strongly agree with your assessment that Geto has no motivation/desire to carry on with his life. Perhaps 'meaning' in this case would be a quite fitting word, too, because if he was to ever come back to life his resumed existence would lack, at least in his own view, that very thing -- meaning. Justifying past actions and past mistakes retroactively, trying to assign some greater meaning to what was rather an impulsive, emotionally driven reaction of someone who was struggling mentally for a long time with no one batting an eye, compartmentalizing complex reality into imaginary categories -- doing all that Geto essentially ran himself into a corner, a mental dead-end. In an attempt to validate himself and perhaps shut out the overwhelming sense of guilt that would otherwise eat him alive, Geto made delusional, twisted reasoning the core truth of his existence, a basis for his purpose.

What I find particularly interesting is that Geto, being himself the victim of the jujutsu society's dysfunctional system, clearly recognised its shortcomings, but attributed those to a factor only partially at fault. The telltale sign of that, as I see it, would be his confession that he never held any spite against those in Jujutsu High. This renders Geto's antagonism towards non-sorcerers misplaced. The system was put in place for a reason, it's true, but those in favour of whom that system was established should not be held accountable for its injustices. Instead of trying to improve the order, Geto opted for eliminating the reason it exists in the first place.

Where that leaves him is caught up in a struggle to achieve the impossible, breach that accursed gap between the ideal and reality. Even if Geto's goal wasn't impossible for anyone but one person alive, Gojo Satoru, his decade-long endeavour to wipe all non-sorcerers out of existence would still be in vain, meaningless. Because that simply would bear no fruit in regard to fixing the corrupt mentality that rules over the sorcerers' world.

And if it all was for nothing, just fumbling desperately for some solution, for some relief of the burden thrust upon his fellow sorcerers, futile in the end? What if what he put his life on the line for was never going to solve anything, what if he was not reaching anything with it? What if he was wrong all along? It is straight-up terrifying, to drown and erase yourself fully in pursuit of your goal and understand that all you've done, you've done in vain, misguided, wrong. And Geto couldn't undo what he'd done. He could not afford to look back, to slow down, to revaluate and reset, try to set things right. Acknowledging his fault would've been like staring into the sun. So he didn't. He kept pushing forward until he simply no more could. That's why, in my view, Geto's plan regarding the Night Parade of a Hundred Demons reads as low-key passively suicidal. He chose a meaningful way to end his life -- one that would entrust his legacy to his family, make his goals, his ideal, known to both sides. In that regard, his death is no different from Gojo's: he dies so that his dream could live on. Little did he know that this too, in fact, would be meaningless.

[thimbell]

excuse me may i please have your thoughts on the hamato lineage i am very curious :0

(thank you for asking anon i love you i am pouring a shot of jinro for you and your ancestors tonight💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖)

Oh yeah I’m like super normal about the rottmnt Hamato lineage— like the parallels you can draw between the cultural generational trauma found in American East Asian households and the Hamato Family’s story, especially in rottmnt get’s me a little 👁👁 ya’know? But also, I think the building and/or reforging a relationship between generations is also so important universally because importance of family is a pretty valued idea across all cultures and demographics. Or I could just specifically focus on the actual tragedy of what being a Hamato meant, and in some ways still is??? Or April’s (because she IS A HAMATO) and the turtles importance in reconnection the generations????

I think about the fear the ancestors had: was it worth being so strict with the younger generations? will the newer generations be tough enough to survive? did they do enough? can they protect their family?

I think about the younger generation’s fears: how can they fill such big shoes? will they be able to find a way to permanently stop the shredder this time? will they have to give up everything like their parents and thos before them? can they protect their family?

I think about the grief the older hamatos feel at not being able to destroy the shredder threat for the younger generation despite trying so hard.

I think about the grief the younger generation feels for the older generation for missing out on a more comfortable and loving life where they weren’t responsible for the fate of the world.

I think about the pride and love the hamatos must feel for eachother generation to generation. The thankfulness for teaching and giving the newer generation the ability to finally defeat their greatest threat (and then some), and the pride the past generations felt when the newer generation could do what they could not. And this is all despite resentment, abandonment, fear, anger, apathy that popped here and there.

But yeah, it’s not like it’s that big a deal or something I think obsessively over for hours at a time.

[antilocaprine]

For the kiss prompt: frenrey, 19? 🥺

(Kiss Prompt List)

This might be the shortest length of time between getting the ask and posting the prompt fill so far. Go team.

19. ...for luck.

Most of the patrons had cleared out of the casino, but Gordon still checked under the tables as he sauntered through the card room. Alarms were ringing on the floor below where Dr. Coomer and Bubby had the cutter set up, drilling through the main safe door. He’d left Tommy glaring at a slot machine, and Benrey was clearing the next room over.

Gordon shook his head. He still didn’t know where Benrey had come from, but Darnold was able to hook him into their radio channel nearly instantly, so he must have had the right earpieces and shit ahead of time. They’d been careful in the lead-up, but technically, Benrey was around back when they were making vague plans to rob banks if they ever got out of Black Mesa alive. Maybe he’d been talking to someone else in the Science Team. Tommy had been looking around a lot before the heist - Gordon thought he was just being cautious, but maybe he’d been looking for Benrey.

And speak of the devil…

“Yo, you wanna play?”

Gordon glanced over. Benrey was idly spinning a roulette wheel.

“Sure,” Gordon said indulgently. They had time. He waved a blue-gloved hand at Benrey. “Red.”

“Huh?”

“Red?” Gordon raised his eyebrows. “I’m betting it’ll land on red?”

“What will?”

“Jesus,” Gordon growled. “Do you even know how to play that?”

Benrey looked down at the wheel. “This? Yeah, sure, you just…” He jerked his hand and the wheel spun wildly, colored bands flashing until it slowed to a stop.

“Nice,” Benrey said.

“That was - nothing happened. You just spun the wheel, there’s nothing there.”

“Yeah? And I had fun, soooo what’s your problem?”

Gordon threw up his hands, even though one was holding an AMCAR. “Fuck it, fine, whatever. You do you, man.”

Benrey muttered something too quiet for Gordon to hear, then his head snapped up and he raised the flamethrower. Gordon whipped around and fired a shot off at the dark-suited casino security guard before Benrey could reach him with the flames.

“Nice.”

“Thanks,” Gordon chuckled, ears ringing a bit as he propped the stock of the gun against his hip. “Just trying to keep you from committing fratricide or whatever.”

“Huh?”

“They’re security guards, you’re a security guard…”

Benrey nodded. “Cannibalism,” he said.

Gordon snorted. “What? Are you eating them?”

“No? Gross.”

“Then it’s not cannibalism, that’s only if you eat them. Although,” he tilted his head. “Would it even be cannibalism? They’re human, and you’re…uh…”

“Not,” Benrey said helpfully.

“Yeah, exactly.”

“So it’s cool to eat them?”

“Yeah,” Gordon said, then his brain caught up with the conversation and he blanched. “Wait - no! No, don’t eat people, that’s fucking weird, don’t do it.”

“Uh…okay.” Benrey gave him a shifty look, and Gordon decided he should drop this topic before he learned something he didn’t want to know.

“Hey, look, craps!” he said overly brightly, hoping Benrey would take the distraction. “I’ve played this!”

Benrey followed him over to the craps table, eyeing the lines and numbers on the green fabric. Gordon scrabbled through the scattered chips left by panicked patrons until he came up with the red dice. He shoved the rest of the chips out of the way and raised his fist, rattling the dice inside.

He had only ever played craps on dates, so it was some kind of muscle memory that had him holding his fist out toward Benrey, who regarded it with bemusement.

“For luck,” Gordon said, just as he realized Benrey had no fucking idea what he was supposed to do. He opened his mouth to tell him to blow on Gordon’s fist, but then froze. Benrey had leaned forward and placed a smacking kiss to the back of his curled fingers, his lips warm and scratching slightly against the nitrile gloves. Gordon’s breath caught and he stared blankly at Benrey, who straightened up and gave him a level stare.

“Well?”

“Uh - I, uh - yeah, okay,” Gordon stuttered, feeling heat crawl across his cheeks and up his neck. He fixed his eyes on the table and tossed the dice, which bounced across the green and came to rest with matching numbers up. Gordon’s stomach sank, even though nothing was actually at stake.

“Oh, whoa, nice job,” Benrey said. 

“What - why is that a nice job? It’s snake eyes.”

Benrey shrugged. “One is…number one, so two ones is like…the best, right? First place.”

Gordon stared at him for a moment, then decided that explaining the rules wasn’t worth it. “Sure, man,” he sighed.

“We’re number one,” Benrey said blandly, and Gordon snorted.

“We sure fucking are, buddy. C’mon, let’s go see if they’ve got the safe open yet.”

Gordon didn’t even think about it before reaching out and snagging Benrey’s free hand to drag him out of the room. Fucking muscle memory. He was never going back to a casino after this. 

Benrey didn’t seem to mind, at least. He clasped his palm to Gordon’s, tangled their fingers together, and trotted to keep up with Gordon’s longer stride. “What kinda game was that, again?”

“That was craps,” Gordon replied, and didn’t notice Benrey’s quiet snort. They’d just rounded the last row of slot machines, where Tommy was standing ankle-deep in a pile of quarters. “Holy shit, dude, you’re making bank!”

“Yeah, it’s actually really easy, Mr. Freeman,” Tommy said brightly. “You just have to turn, um, match the pictures.”

Gordon looked more closely at the slot machine and realized that the glass front had been smashed and the rollers manually turned to display three lemons. One of the rollers twitched spasmodically, like mechanical death throes.

“Good, uh - good job, Tommy,” he said.

Tommy bent down to grab a double fistful of quarters and stuff them into his pockets. “Where have you guys been?”

“We were crapping,” Benrey said immediately.

“PLAYING - we were playing craps,” Gordon said loudly. Tommy straightened up and raised his eyebrows, his eyes flickering down to their still-joined hands, which made Gordon remember he was holding Benrey’s hand. He yanked out of Benrey’s grip and readjusted his gun self-consciously.

Tommy, wisely, didn’t comment. “Were you, um, did you win?”

“We’re number one,” Benrey replied, and Gordon chuckled a little hysterically.

“Yep, yeah, we - we’re number one. Twice, even.”

“That’s right,” Benrey grinned.

Then something exploded downstairs and Dr. Coomer bellowed gleefully. A new alarm started screaming, and there was no more time for playing games. They took off down the closest staircase, Tommy’s pants jingling with every step and Benrey sending jets of flame over the banisters at shouting guards. And Gordon shoved all thoughts of holding Benrey’s hand and feeling his lips on Gordon’s fingers deep into a box in the back of his mind to deal with later.

They had a heist to complete.

[peppermint-moss]

Who/what is your biggest inspo for poetry or art?

aagh i dont think i'll ever have one biggest inspo for poetry n art i just have a lot of lads which i like specific things about + those likes are still always ongoing and changing lol (which btw ty for askin bout poetry cause i LOVE it n i never get asked abt poetry hehe)

I have a big ol google doc where i have lines of fav poetry i write down when i come across them (usually when im just scrollin the internets) and atm I've been noticing that a lot of lines i keep enjoying are all by Mary Oliver even tho i've yet to read her collection of poetry!!! so that's on my to-do list C: other poets who's names keep poppin up in that google doc are ocean vuong, richard siken, chen chen and uhh flatsound? they do more music but they've done some spoken word stuff and their songs just feel close enough to the realm of poetry to me u know

Art stuff... lol which medium?? /lh I really like thomas jordan's photography (the COLOURS my DUDE) mmm shelia berger's kinetic sculptures and KICKASS "Bird Show" encaustic paintings (i watched the rlly short like 5 min documentary on her and i was enraptured) Spencer finch has got a lot of cool conceptual art stuff like i think CIE 529 418 (CANDLELIGHT) is rlly cool!! Holly warb and @/vchienart both got some lovely lovely illustrations/paintings with soft beautiful colours... @/emilienunez has some really pretty and elegant yet v cute ceramics!! and @/soonthemoon some really like cute warm n cozy ones... Oof there's so many digital artists i love ;-; and i keep finding new cool lads aghh @catnippackets has such a good grasp on like form n shape if that makes sense?? like drawin people in these rlly fluid poses in like silky lineart aaa i found @milkdudz 's art recently and i LOVE their art style and their cats are just. perfect balance of spiky and soft n very very Cat which is so good @everydaylouie u gotta know louie right ?? how can someone make such lovely 2d and 3d art and music and also know how to code n make lil games. that is too much power for one soul to possess nifty-senpai's art n animations and designs ofc!! are incredible!! and i REALLY love their concepts for what the wc clan territories look like (this moonpool are you kidding me???? gorgeous) @thunderc1an's lineless art style my beloved...... yall clammorin about my lineless art style u GOTTA check out theirs so good (also the everchanging never the same designs for wc characters is so good so freeing so interesting to look at!!) SmallButera's animations omg... literally speechless (also have u seen their series baman piderman?? its so precious it might be on indefinite hiatus im not too sure but its still my favourite thing) chadisms, Riley Ellis, Asha Phaedra and Cherrydusk also got some BANGIN animation skills and o my god this post got so long n theres still so many ppl ive gots to stop and do homework LOL

[hoxooster]

For the lovely person--who wishes to remain anonymous--that asked me to do this by saying, “Because obvious is obvious.”

I hope that I managed to capture what you pictured in your head!

[that-foul-legacy-lover]

Hi!! I'm still too shy to actually interact with u off anon but IM THE PERSON GENERAL WAS TALKING ABOUT WHO REALLY REALLY LIKED UR ABYSS PRINCE CHILDE AU!!! my god i can never get it out of my head and AYRJRU!?@,@@? I CANNOT PUT IT INTO WORDS!! I'm just dying and vibrating at a frequency that cab break glass

-💜 anon! (Unless this is already taken)

*JUMPS UP AND DOWN* HI HI HI HELLO NEW FRIEND I AM SO HAPPY TO MEET YOU!!!!!!!!! thank you so much for your kind words and i hope my future works keep bringing a smile to your face!!!!! hehe i actually did a bit of planning for the next chapter of Blessed Heir tonight and i think it'll be very fun i really hope you enjoy it >:)

[emilianadarling]

This is me giving you motivation for only as strong as the warrior next to you because I just re read it AGAIN and it’s my favorite fic in the fandom and AHHHH

Also, I was wondering if you’re planning on adding more to the series once it’s done?

Hope you’re having a good night :)

This was one of the most amazing asks I've ever received and it's taken me since it was sent on Feb 25 (and finishing the fic itself!) to be able to respond to it. 🙏👀🥰💘

THE MOTIVATION YOU SENT WAS SO DESPERATELY NEEDED!!!! THANK YOU!!!!!! So amazingly flattered at 'favorite fic in the fandom', hnngh!! That means the world and I'm so glad you've enjoyed!!

And with respect to your second question... yes!! (I thought of this ask when I wrote the author's note for Chapter 10. <3) only as strong as the warrior next to you was never intended to be the last installment in "the ignorant and the weak" series; I'd always contemplated having at least 1-2 additional installments, assuming I actually made it that far.

After Caro (GRACIOUSLY AND THANKFULLY) offered to beta read, the story got better and the chances of actually finishing it got stronger. When we did a full collab together in the form of bright centers of the universe, in orbit in a fit of utter fury after fandom wank bullshit and we realized how much FUN it was to write together that way, and made the decision that future installments would be co-created.

Our intention, barring any unexpected developments, is to take a break, write a few one-shots from different perspectives, then try to tackle Din POV part 3. We also want to take some time to focus on our own and different projects, including (on my end) original work and maybe a few non-ignorant and the weak Star Wars fic while we're at it. 👀🙏

The addition of new canon in form of Season 3 will, I think, be the unpredictable factor -- new canon always poses the risk that some element will be introduced or some fandom wank occurs that impacts the fannish desire to create in ways that aren't anticipated. (No spoilers for Season 3 of Mandalorian, please!!!!) As always, real life impacts will be a factor also. But that's what we're shooting for, and I'm really excited to get started (including finally being able to watch ANDOR 😍🙏 for the first time!!!!) once we've had a chance to rest up and decompress a bit.

All of which is to say: thank you so much, yes we are!, and I hope YOU have a wonderful day also. 💖✨

[scarletspider2the2ndpower]

So that resurrection scene kind of brings up something for the general Kaine vs Ben and Peter debate- it looks like the Jackal did enhance his powers/mutate them beyond what Peter could do? I know there's the argument over whether Kaine is meant to look exactly like Peter/have the exact same powers but this seems to support the idea that he was deliberately designed differently from Ben. And the Other would have resurrected him perfectly; so these secondary mutations he's initially resurrected with are implied to be part of his natural powerset? I've been trying to figure this out for years and no one can agree lmao

Oooooh, thank you so much for sending in an ask, because this is a topic I could talk about endlessly. :D

Disclaimer: the continuity surrounding Kaine and the Clone Saga as a whole is uniquely snarled even beyond typical comic book whackiness, so while I will do my best to back up my reasoning using comic book evidences, I am, at the end of the day, just a person on the internet and you should take everything I say with a grain of salt hahaha Oh, and another disclaimer is that I’ll mainly be drawing from the material I have read for this read-through so far. It has been a couple years since I last read Scarlet Spider vol. 2 or any of the more recent works Kaine has been in, so I may go back and add to this post in the future if I stumble upon any more interesting and relevant material. 👀

The shortest and most direct answer to your first question of if the Jackal specifically made Kaine differently from Ben with the aim of the former being “stronger” than Peter is from the “Echoes” story in Web of Spider-Man (Vol. 2/2009), #1 by J. M. DeMatteis.

Further supporting evidence in this vein can be found in the story I believe you’re referencing in your ask, “What I Did for Love,” Spider-Island: Deadly Foes (Vol. 1/2011), #1.

All of these can be editorially explained by the staff scrambling to answer the question of “wait, if we’re going to bring Kaine back in the year of our Lord 2009, how on earth are we going to explain how he, out of all the Parker clones (including Ben at this point), didn’t degenerate when degenerating was one of Kaine’s defining characteristics???” That’s where I believe the narrative of “the Jackal designed Kaine to be stronger” is most definitively explicated; however, I have further “evidences,” musings, and discussion of how The Other changes spider people beneath the cut if any one would like to read more. :D

There are other, even earlier indicators, however, that Kaine was built to be stronger than Peter. The first examples that come to mind are Kaine’s precognitive flashes and the infamous Mark of Kaine. The latter is a more easily defendable claim as, while Peter has demonstrated that in moments of extreme rage like in Amazing Spider-Man (Vol. 1/1963), #598 and #637 he is not above sticking to someone’s face, those instances seem to be more like examples of extreme adhesion as opposed to the unique burning/acidic quality of Kaine’s “Mark.”

Peter in Amazing Spider-Man (Vol. 1/1963), #598 vs. Kaine in Amazing Spider-Man (Vol. 1/1963), #631 and #636, respectively.

Now, Kaine’s precognitive flashes actually being Peter’s spider-sense amped up to 11 is a bit harder to defend, as that requires near-apocryphal material as evidence. Specifically, Marvel editor and writer Glenn Greenberg described Kaine’s pre-cog flashes as such in part nine of The Life of Reilly, a joint project with Andrew Goletz and various other Marvel insider interview subjects on the complicated editorial history surrounding The Clone Saga. Greenberg goes on to state in that same part that “it was well established in the stories that Kaine was physically stronger than Peter, and he was clearly much taller and more massive” (qualities we will get back too), but that all of Kaine’s abilities directly paralleling Peter was never actually explicitly stated in the text, much to all of the writers’ chagrin.

So, in light of that statement, I would like to throw my hat into the ring on the “is Kaine stronger/bigger than Peter” debate (what could possibly go wrong hahaha).

As early as when Kaine first revealed himself to be a Parker clone, he was described by multiple sources, including Kaine himself, the aforementioned Jackal, Ben, and Peter, as being stronger.

Spider-Man (Vol. 1/1990), #60 by Howard Mackie.

Spider-Man (Vol. 1/1990), #66 by Howard Mackie.

Amazing Spider-Man (Vol. 1/1963), #634 by Joe Kelly.

Now, whether Kaine is actually stronger or just more willing to cut loose and use his strength to its full lethal capabilities is an argument I am definitely willing to entertain, as there is no doubt that Peter is strong, but willfully holds himself back (I don’t think I’ll ever forget that time Peter held up the entire Daily Bugle building on his back in Spider-Man (Vol. 1/1990), #98 or the time he beat Firelord, a herald of Galactus, in Amazing Spider-Man (Vol. 1/1963), #270, and he is a self-proclaimed juggler of cars according to Peter Parker: Spectacular Spider-Man (Vol. 1/2017), #6). (…and then there’s that whole debacle with the “““superior””” Spider-Man and the Scorpion’s jaw).

As for if Kaine is physically larger, I stand by Greenberg’s statement that Kaine was consistently drawn as larger than Peter throughout the 1990’s and most of the 2000’s, with even the Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe: Spider-Man (2005) listing Kaine as being 6’4” while Peter has reliably been 5’10” for ages (or as listed in the Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe: A-Z (2009) if you want a specific source hahaha).

In fact, from what I have gathered, Kaine wasn’t portrayed as being physically similar in size to Peter until Slott’s Spider-Island event in 2011 (which,,,I feel like critics might be able to make a snide comment from that about how much Slott cares about the Spider-Man franchise, but that is WAY too far afield hahaha).

Amazing Spider-Man (Vol. 1/1963), #672.

Okay, so after all that, I also wanted to discuss what you brought up about the Other and resurrecting Kaine with his innate skill set. The facetious answer would be “yes, kind of???”, but considering Peter’s own experience with being connected to the Other, the powers Kaine developed post-resurrecting are not all actually as unique as, say, his precognitive flashes or his Mark.

Interestingly enough, a lot of the powers we associate with post-encountering-the-Other Kaine were actually explored with Peter in the early and mid-2000’s, with each power being unlocked after investigating Peter’s connection to the Spider-totem concept or other inherent spider-related matters.

Namely, Ezekial Sims first hints that by tapping into the totem Peter could communicate with spiders in Amazing Spider-Man (Vol. 2/1999), #32 by J. Michael Straczynski.

That concept is further expounded upon and made to be a reality in Spectacular Spider-Man (Vol. 2/2003), #20 by Paul Jenkins, when the Spider-Queen enhanced existing spider-like qualities and DNA in Peter (in a rather horrific arc that solidified my hatred for the Spider-Queen but that’s just me hahaha)

During that same arc, Peter also got organic webbing.

Finally, Peter did briefly have a pair of Kaine’s infamous wrist bone blades (pictured here from Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man (Vol. 1/2005), #3 by J. Michael Straczynski), but, being the kind of guy who typically tries to avoid disemboweling people (Morlun here is an exception since he broke MJ’s arm), Peter just didn’t use them all too often.

So anyway, tl;dr, what happens with Kaine post-resurrection could definitely be described as “enhancing powers that were already there if perhaps inert,” but there is a compelling argument (if you take all comics from all eras as equally valid/canon), that those powers are buried within Peter’s DNA/totemic connection(???) as well and were thus passed onto his enhanced clone.