#and it is... already 39 panels...............

[intotheelliwoods]

-> -> Guess whos AU is turning a year old on February 17th!

The time when the update will be posted is not specified since it will all be dependent on my work schedule, however I will try and let you all know when it is being posted in advance if I end up posting it very late in the day!

(I am in MST)

[pastabaguette]

s33k the highb100d pgs 36-39

this thing has almost 40 pages already, wow!

anyway, sorry if my dialogue’s not up to par. i haven’t done this before, and i’m not the most confident in my ability to do these things.

same with pacing. i don’t mean the time in-between updates, but the pacing of the panels and actions themselves. sorry if it sucks.

[cheesechilifreye]

Assumptions about Josh Levy: (literally no proof at all over these besides a few panels.)

1. Internalized homophobia

Alright, it might just be coincidence and I’m grabbing at straws. But two panels come to mind: him thinking of super boy and the vampire comment towards Pete. There’s a big ol’ IF he likes guys or not. Might just be a huge coincidence he’s the one most centered around gay comments. Not too sure or confident.

2. Youngest member of TEC

Josh is 17 during the zombie crawl and his mom is 57. Adding the pregnancy plus his age, she got pregnant at 39.

We all know that the gang are seniors during the beginning of the comic with the mention of prom and ‘this fan, this monster’ they’ve graduated already. Seniors are usually in the range of 17-18. Josh could HYPOTHETICALLY be the youngest, a summer baby if you will, since the zombie crawl happens over the summer.

I’m just grasping at whatever I can, for all we know he could be the oldest.

This also implies that everyone else’s parents had to have gotten pregnant at the same age with their kids. 38 or 39.

So Josh could only be the youngest by a year or a few months.

3. Josh has an eating disorder

I think it’s binge eating to be honest. I saw another post talking about how he only eats because of his obsession, which I agree wholeheartedly.

But he goes through four fast food places to eat to get something in return. Even if it hurts him and doesn’t give him anything. I also believe he eats out of anxiety. Nervous and insecure about his weight, so he eats whatever can simmer him down.

4. He’s insecure about his hair

Taking a HUGE leap with this one.

There’s a few panels, but I like the ones where his curls are out. Sue me.

But Josh often keeps his hair pulled back in front of others. (Even his family) I think it might be another insecurity of his. Given he’s the only one with curly hair in the gang. Like he already gets picked on for his weight, what’s another thing to add to the list.

We only ever see his curls when he’s by himself or stressed out. (Ex: the marathon issue where his hairs frizzy.)

Final note:

All of these are assumptions and not canon or facts. Just based off my observations from the comics.

[stellas-and-tonitruses]

these last 3 chapters more than ever have left me wondering about the timeline of spy x family and in particular,

donovan's age.

i'm not going to go too deep into the full timeline because i simply don't think we have enough info to make a real robust timeline, BUT i do think we can very feasibly approximate donovan's age with our current info.

I also won’t be using any precise years like 1964 or whatever bc at this moment in time I find that to be kind of useless, bc the only years we have happen very early in the story in background details and for a lot of those ones, I noticed endo had a tendency to just carelessly put whatever so long as it looked fine from afar, which includes news that were happening around the time of that chapter's release. SO unless he decides to explicitly highlight actual years, I’m not gonna be like “this happened in 1964 and that happened in 1953” and anything of the sort.

now, i shall partake in my least favorite activity.

✨math.✨

so uh buckle up my fellas and feel free to correct me anywhere where i might be wrong bc i am more than aware that math is NOT my strong suit!

SPOILERS FOR CHAPTERS 97, 98 AND 99!

gonna start with the facts!

according to the spy x family EYES ONLY fanbook, henry henderson is 66 years old at the time of the current events of spy x family! in the past three chapters we have learned that there is a 3 year age gap between him and martha, so that would make her 63 years old currently.

as of the events of chapter 99, he is 22 years old (and martha is 19), assuming there wasn't any years-long time gap that was not mentioned within the chapter! which, it doesn’t seem like there were any MASSIVE time gaps, so I’ll be using those ages for calculating.

so, what all this means is that we are (roughly) 44 years into the past at the moment! previous info about the war of loid and yor's childhoods puts it at around 20 years old, so from where we are in the backstory, we still have roughly 20 more years before Luwen is attacked — clearly, because this first war has already ended with donovan still in school.

while we don't have loid's age, we do have yor's, who is 27 years old — meaning she was born around the time of henry being 39 years old, aka clearly neither loid nor yor have been born yet as of the events of chapter 99. too into the past for now!

now, how am i gonna get donovan's age out of all this?

simple! henry's his teacher and has a talk with him after his jail time.

like I mentioned previously, I shall be sticking to 22 for henry’s age here. it may not be fully correct, it may be a year or two off because we aren’t given concrete details on exactly how long he was in jail, so just take it with a grain of salt! it's only going to remain as a rough estimate until we get a definitive answer on donovan's age.

so! henry has a talk with donovan, but the conversation itself, while very important for the plot and especially for our understanding of donovan’s character, is irrelevant for this conversation. no, what's crucial here is what henry is holding. endo even highlights it by focusing an entire larger panel on it!

it's a history textbook for year 7 students!

it being a history textbook is very poignant for the conversation they're having, but the reason this is important to me is because it's very clearly a year 7 textbook.

now, i don't know how much of eden academy's curriculum is based on the uk! but because pretty much all of the architecture of it is based on eton college and endo has literally just returned from a london trip where he showed us he visited a kindergarten, so i think that's grounds enough for me to assume eden academy's year 7 is generally populated by children between 11 and 12 years old. luckily for me, that seems to be the general age for germany's secondary school year 7 too, so even if it's not the british one, it's still close enough!

with all that being said, if donovan is, say, 12 in that moment and henry is 22, that means there is a 10 year difference between the two of them, which, drum roll please, means donovan desmond is 56 years old when our story's events take place! assuming the war of loid's and yor's childhoods took place exactly 20 years ago (when yor was 7 and henry was 46), this would make him around 36 years old when he became ostania's prime minister! it would also mean he had damian at 50 years old, and if demetrius is 12 right now, that would mean he was born when donovan was 44 years old (and his birth would’ve been in the last years of the war).

so, rough events timeline based on all that, focusing on ages!

66 years ago: Henry Henderson is born.

63 years ago: Martha Marriott is born.

~56 years ago: Donovan Desmond is born.

49 years ago: Martha (14) transfers to Eden and meets Henry (17)

47 years ago: Henry (19) graduates Eden.

44 years ago: Henry (22) joins Eden as a teacher, in the same year becomes Donovan Desmond’s (~12) history teacher. Martha (19) graduates Eden and joins the Women’s Defense Auxiliary.

~44 years ago: Martha (~19) is presumed dead. Henry (~22) faces jail time. The war ends, and he marries.

27 years ago: Yor is born. At that time, Henry is 39, Martha is 36, and Donovan is 29.

~27 years ago. [REDACTED] is also born. Same as above, just approximate this time!

~20 years ago: Second war begins. Yor and [REDACTED] are ~7, Henry is ~46, Martha is ~43, Donovan is ~36. Yuri is born.

~12 years ago: Demetrius is born. Donovan is ~44, Yor and [REDACTED] are ~15, Henry is ~54, Martha is ~51, Yuri is ~8.

~10 years ago: Second war ends. Demetrius is ~2, Donovan is ~46, Yor and [REDACTED] are ~17, Henry is ~56, Martha is ~53, Yuri is ~10.

6 years ago: Damian is born (and most other kids in his and Anya’s grade). Demetrius is ~6, Donovan is ~50, Henry is 60, Martha is 57, Yor is 21, Twilight is ~21, Yuri is 14.

5-4 years ago: Anya is born. Damian (etc.) are 1-2, Demetrius is 7-8, Donovan is ~51-52, Henry is 61-62, Martha is 58-59, Yor is 22-23, Twilight is ~22-23, Yuri is 15-16.

1 year ago: Yuri (19) becomes part of the SSS. Anya is 3-4, Damian (etc.) is 5, Demetrius is 10-11, Donovan is ~55, Henry is 65, Martha is 62, Yor is 26, Twilight is ~26.

I HOPE THAT HELPS PUT THINGS INTO PERSPECTIVE?? melinda is not included bc we have nothing to go off of for her age outside of purely subjective things like her appearance.

super glad endo included the year 7 thing JAKLSDFKLSD

anyway thank you for reading!!! :DD

[yandere-sins]

Yan-Poll #39

#MerMay 2025 Special Part 1

"Would it be okay... if I read them? Here?"

If you were honest with yourself, something felt incredibly off about the Professor not giving you much time to decide. At the same time, you really didn't want to risk missing out on this great opportunity that was being given to you here, and it made you nervous.

Clearing his throat, the Professor sat down again, placing his hand on top of the documents. He inhaled deeply as he stared at the black words written all over them, then his gaze shot up to you, and a shudder ran down your spine as his eyes seemed to drill into you.

"Do you like the ocean?" he asked you, and you must have looked quite taken aback by the question since he continued talking before you could reply.

"I love the ocean. I spent all my life researching, helping, and learning about the ocean and its inhabitants. I did nothing else. Now that I'm old, all I really know is that I love it. If I had another lifetime to spend, I wouldn't do anything else than I already do. And because it's so precious to me, I want to protect it more than anything else, you understand that, right?"

"Yes..." you mumbled. Like anyone else in this field, you thought greatly about the ocean and its lively and still dormant secrets. Yes, you liked it a lot because as mysterious as it was, it was as precious to you as it probably was to the Professor. But on the other hand, without years of experience and practice, you couldn't truly relate to his devotion. You couldn't completely relate without the years of co-existing with it like the Professor had.

"But this is quite a big decision about my future. I am sure you can understand me, too, when I just want to make sure I am deciding right for me."

"Of course!" he finally relented, holding his hands up pacifyingly, and you reached for the documents he had given free.

"Let me walk you to a more comfortable area for your reviewing," he suggested, getting up with an old-man-groan before smiling at you and leading the way. You quickly gathered your things before going after him, feeling very relieved that things had finally taken a turn forward.

The Professor kept talking about the facility on the way to your new destination, and you listened closely to his explanations, this place still a runner-up as your future workplace. One could never tell if everything was as wonderful as the owner would describe it, but it was a special place indeed, even you knew that.

Other researchers and guards greeted you two along the way as you were led further and further into the facility. The walls began to solidify, and fewer and fewer windows and glass panels lined up, a rather industrial look surrounding you. You didn't mind it too much. Of course, the decor was more for the entryway and higher offices—still, you were surprised when the Professor led you to a door sealed with a code, the door slowly opening with heavy, mechanical sounds.

Odd, you thought. Weren't you supposed to go somewhere to review the papers still in your hand? Was a passcode really necessary?

"I want to show you something," the Professor revealed as he waited patiently for the door to open. "I think it's important for you to see before making your decision."

Without hesitation, the Professor walked inside the room, his shoes clinking against the metal grate on the ground. With a mix of awe and discomfort, you stared into the enormous laboratory, a gigantic water tank beneath the grates that served as a walkway. By the time you made a hesitant step forward, the door hissing at your back as it was about to close, urging you inside, the Professor was already on the other side of the room, having crossed the pool underneath without much care.

"This!" he announced, raising his arms celebratory. "Will be yours!"

Turning to face away from you, he flicked on some switches on the wall, lights turning on, and the water began to ripple, creating small waves. Then, he abruptly turned around, walking back to you with a bright smile on his lips.

"You will work, study, learn, and teach here. It will all be yours and comes with your own little helper."

You watched the Professor as he lowered his hand, pointing towards the pool. As if on commando, a shadow formed inside the water, slowly growing larger—gigantic even. You gasped, taking a few steps back when suddenly, a long tentacle pierced through the surface, touching down on the metal grate and winding itself towards the Professor.

"Don't be scared," he said softly, but although you thought he spoke with you, he might as well have said it to the creature. You should have expected something like an octopus to be here at the facility, but this creature was humongous compared to the ones you had learned about. Its tentacle moved forward, lifting to reach for the Professor's outstretched hand until it could finally touch his glove, slowly curling up in his palm.

You watched with bated breath, almost expecting the creature to try and drag the Professor into the water, but it just rested its tentacle there, calm and content. "Amazing," you whispered, knowing just how clever octopi were, but seeing a giant, tamed, or trained one was spectacular.

"This one's yours," the Professor announced, pleased. He patted the tentacle gently before holding it out to you. Nervously, you looked up to him, unsure if you could trust him or, even more so, the cephalopod. Yet, how could you miss this chance?

Holding out your free hand, the Professor lightly flopped the tentacle in his palm, which immediately began moving and migrating right onto yours. It was heavy, yet almost cautious not to weigh you down, the suction cups gently but curiously moving over your skin. It wrapped the tentacle around your wrist once, making you a little more nervous, before settling in your palm, swishing back and forth, exploring and tasting you as these creatures did. It was a strange feeling, but before you knew it, you couldn't help but chuckle at the oddness of it all.

"He seems to really like you," the Professor spoke up, tearing you out of your thoughts and back to reality. "He's a prized possession of this facility, and we are working to ensure he'll live long and happily here."

The tentacle was still playing with your hand, sometimes exploring a little higher up your arms, its tip even doing a little wiggle for you in the air.

"We are in dire need of a caretaker for him. Consider this in your decision. There's a table over there; feel free to use it. I'll be back in an hour to hear your decision."

You looked up at where the Professor was pointing, seeing a workspace on the other side. Distracted, you almost missed the Professor pinching the tentacle, but he chided it gently with a, "And you be good to our new candidate," and the tentacle immediately loosened its hold and slipped off.

The Professor looked back up at you, giving you a heartfelt "I look forward to your decision" before leaving you alone. Even the shadow below seemed to have disappeared while you weren't looking, and although you wished to know more, you took a deep breath and focused. Sitting down at the table, you placed the papers before you, going through everything in the contract, sentence by sentence.

Never noticing in all the time spent in the enclosure that two curious eyes were watching you.

(Reasoning and discussions welcome! ♥)

[sgiandubh]

No lies last forever, part 2: the (over)due confirmation

With the Happy Sad Confused Tenth Anniversary Live Special being made available online, I think all doubts have now been lifted about the entire Intergalactic Bullshit this fandom has been deliberately fed for years and years in a row, by a cheap, sad troll and his accomplice. Both imbeciles' determination being only matched by the cast's complete indifference to fandom drama and, as I already wrote (https://www.tumblr.com/sgiandubh/764711074507390976/no-lies-last-forever?source=share), ***'s incompetent, tone-deaf PR.

You can watch the entire recording here, by the way:

The part where S specifically addresses his (non-existent) 'friendship' with William Shatner has been explicitly planted by the end of Jack Quaid's dedicated segment. That it has been discussed and planned prior to the show is obvious. And this time, Josh Horowitz wasn't even subtle - he announced the topic way before it 'spontaneously' popped into the conversation (39:42):

Transcription follows:

Josh Horowitz (JH): 'So, what's the dream for further voiceover roles, do you want a Pixar movie, do you want Outlander -the cartoon, what do you want?'

[laughter throughout the panelists]

S: 'Oh, I'm a Star Trek fan, actually' [women in the audience boo and shout - I wonder why, seriously], 'I am a Star Trek fan, I grew up watching Next Gen, so maybe Below Decks is... come on, guys.. '

[Note: yeah, he's such a fan, he has no idea the correct name of the cartoon spin-off, in which Jack Quaid has a voiceover role, is Star Trek: Lower Decks]

JH: 'We'll get him out in a second' [note: Jack Quaid], we'll talk some Star Trek, amazing...'

See? Not even subtle, if you ask me. I think this is something S wanted out for a good while now. It doesn't erase or even ease the pain and the trauma brought to so many people in this fandom by a pair of idiotic bullies, but I think it was very brave of him and, at any rate, it's better later than never.

And so, I waited. And waited. And waited. And then, here it went (01: 02: 54):

JH (consulting notes):' Um, we also should mention Star Trek: Lower Decks, we talked Star Trek a little bit earlier...'

Jack Quaid (JQ):'And, by, the way, this is the last season of Lower Decks, but we would have loved to have you! What the fuck, I didn't know you watched the show! [inaudible, if someone caught it properly, something like 'that was so close', I'd love to know more and especially who said it - thank you] Unbelievable!'

S: ' That is so cool, man!'

JQ: 'Oh, thank you, dude! Oh, yeah, hey, let's get rendered (?), let's do this, we keep going, let's get him on, let's do it!'

JH: 'Isn't...isn't William Shatner a big Outlander fan? I feel like he is...'

S (very uneasy): 'Ah... erm... yeah... (scratches back of his head)...I hung out with him once, we went to his stables and I watched him like riding a horse and stuff.... And, I don't know, it was really weird, cause sometimes I wonder if I am speaking to him via messages and stuff, or if it's actually his assistant [JQ: 'oooh!'], I don't know...'

JQ: 'Does his assistant look a lot like him?'

S (chuckles): 'Kind of...Yeah, you can't tell them apart. Yeah, no, but I believe he was a fan, until he saw me ride'.

Despite the jocular tone, I think everything is pretty much clear, here. Definitely a prepared conversation, despite Horowitz's efforts to make it sound playful and spontaneous. Something he even took prior notes about and made sure to include in the panel - nothing more serious than that, in fact. As for the sad cretin mentioned there, what would be left to say... S sent the guy to Coventry in barely two phrases and actually poked fun at his appearance and demeanor ('you can't tell them apart'). So long for the fictional 'friendship' and 'communication' between S and The Assistant, so long for the braggadocio that horrible little man exhibited all the way, pretending he actually had a personal relationship with S (well, as we all see, he actually doesn't: he doesn't even have a name, in S's book, as acquaintances, let alone friends, do). His only claim to fame was what, in reality? Answering some X DMs sent by S to his employer? Hello? How about his threats, then? How about his repeated calumny of people he didn't even know, calling them 'crazies', 'in need of medical attention', etc?

And please, don't come after me with that sorry excuse that 'it's S's humor'. There was nothing humorous about it and I have proven it already.

I will leave you draw your own conclusions about the non existent friendship with Shatner, something that has probably been 'encouraged' ex nihilo by *** and taken to dramatic cheapness and conflict with and within this fandom by The Assistant himself, mainly, and his friend, the OG Troll. I do not remember hearing/seeing Shatner himself saying all those horrible things (please correct me if I am wrong), so until I am proven the contrary, it's only logical to have many thoughts and questions about these people's strange, very strange obsession with OL and its two main co-stars.

Not to mention the most idiotic threat I have ever read in this fandom. Something I fell upon by absolute chance this morning. I mean, I couldn't even believe people actually bought such primitive, kindergarten bullshit:

[July 29th, 2017]

' Do you still want OL to continue or not, people?'

Empty, illogical threats: why would *** cancel its actual cash cow show, just because two co-stars had something SO obvious, that people realized there was more than the official narrative to it? And what about the crazy story about Albrecht & co. investigating and allegedly menacing fans with going to court? Has this cretin ever realized the potential media scandal would have far outweighed the inanity of such a claim? That it could very well have a serious impact on ***'s company profile and future projects, even?

I really, really think both of these Unsavory Clowns should find another playground and another obsession to cling on (wasn't the first, would not be the last). Elsewhere. In a galaxy far, far away.

PS: Thank you, regular attendee who bravely spilled the tea and thank you, old shipper who came forward and confirmed. And many heartfelt thanks to all of you shippers, old and new, who also bravely stepped forward with their personal take on everything these two have done to this place.

Dare we hope this is the beginning of the end? What is sure, is that no lies last forever. Or as we say in Romanian: minciuna are picioare scurte și adevărul o ajunge/'a lie's got short legs and truth will always catch up with it'.

[Later edit]: edited to add a new, improved clip that actually does include the entire conversation.

[covid-safer-hotties]

Alarm bells ring in Japan as experts warn of fast-spreading new Covid variant KP. 3 - Published July 19, 2024

Paywalled at the South China Morning Post: Unpaywalled by Covidsafehotties.

The country reported a 39 per cent week-on-week surge in infections from July 1 to 7, with Okinawa the hardest hit

Japan is grappling with a new and highly contagious coronavirus variant that is fuelling the country’s 11th wave of Covid-19 infections, health experts warn. The KP. 3 variant is spreading rapidly, even among those who are vaccinated or have recovered from previous infections, according to Kazuhiro Tateda, president of the Japan Association of Infectious Diseases.

“It is, unfortunately, the nature of the virus to become more resilient and resistant each time it changes into a different form,” Tateda told This Week in Asia. “People lose their immunity quite quickly after being vaccinated, so they have little or no resistance.”

Tateda, who sits on Japan’s advisory panel formed at the start of the pandemic, said the coming weeks will be critical as authorities monitor the variant’s spread and impact.

While hospitals have reported a sharp uptick in Covid-19 admissions, Tateda said he is “relieved that not many of these cases are severe”. Typical symptoms of the KP. 3 variant include high fever, sore throat, loss of smell and taste, headaches, and fatigue.

According to the health ministry, medical facilities across Japan logged a 1.39-fold – or 39 per cent – increase in infections from July 1 to 7, compared to the previous week.

Okinawa prefecture has been the hardest hit by the new strain of the virus, with hospitals reporting an average of nearly 30 infections per days. The KP. 3 variant has accounted for more than 90 per cent of Covid-19 cases nationwide, the Fuji News Network reported, leading to renewed concerns about bed shortages at medical facilities.

Since Japan’s first detected Covid-19 case in early 2020 involving a man who returned from the Chinese city of Wuhan, East Asian nation has recorded a total of 34 million infections and around 75,000 related deaths. The country’s Covid-19 caseload peaked on August 5, 2022, when more than 253,000 people were receiving treatment.

Japan’s uptick in cases coincides with similar increases being observed globally. In the US, the Centres for Disease Control and Prevention reported a 23.5 per cent week-over-week rise in the number of people visiting hospitals with Covid-19 symptoms during the week ending July 6.

High-profile US.figures such as President Joe Biden and Doug Emhoff, husband of Vice-President Kamala Harris, have recently tested positive and gone into isolation. Meanwhile, several riders in the ongoing Tour de France cycling race have also returned positive test results.

Experts say it is too early to determine the full impact of the new variant on Japanese businesses or cross-border activities like travel. Precautionary measures are already in place at the country’s air and seaports to monitor the health of incoming arrivals. However, the global spike in cases may deter some Japanese from venturing abroad this summer.

A recent survey by Nippon Life insurance found that just 3.2 per cent of Japanese plan to travel abroad in the coming months, which is likely to depress annual travel figures once again. In 2023, Japan saw 9.62 million outbound travellers, a recovery after three years of extremely low pandemic-era numbers, but still far below the 20.01 million outbound travellers recorded in 2019.

Despite the latest surge, infectious disease expert Tateda insists there is no need for panic in Japan. However, he emphasised the importance of following precautions implemented during the pandemic’s peak, such as mask-wearing in public, handwashing, and social distancing.

Tateda also stressed that anyone testing positive should immediately isolate themselves.

[sen-ya]

part 5/7

is it silly that this is my favorite in this series? i really enjoyed writing kaya and I wanna do it again at some point :')

[op comic masterpost]

[pg1] panel 2: Kaya: Oh! Dr. Law! I didn't expect to find you in our library.

panel 3: Law: K-Kaya-ya!

panel 4: Law: Uh. Ahem. Excuse me. I hope you don't mind me borrowing your books.

panel 5: Kaya: Oh of course not! I'm just shocked to hear we have books you don't! What are you studying?

panel 6: Law: UHHHHH

[pg2] panel 10: Kaya: Oh! Is someone on your crew pregnant? Ikkaku??

panel 11: Law (thinking): She doesn't know Ikkaku is trans. Does she not know that I am?? I just assumed Nose-ya would have mentioned it. But that makes sense. If Straw Hat didn't already know Nose-ya was trans it's not like I would have told him.

panel 12: Kaya: ...?

panel 13: Law (thinking): Fuck, I've been quiet too long. I can't throw Ikkaku under to bus. Just say something.

panel 14: Law: No. Kaya: Oh. Then why...? Law (thinking): Wait, shit

[pg3] panel 15: Law: My, uh...brother...'s...wife. Yeah, we're taking him back to Zou soon...because his wife is pregnant...and I...want...to help...?

panel 16: Kaya: Oh, how sweet! Congrats "Uncle Law" hehe. If you have any questions I could help with let me know!! I specialized in traumatic injury, but I did deliver a few babies in Syrup Village! On smaller islands like that you wear a lot of hats.

panel 17: Law: And you've...been pregnant. Kaya: Well, yeah, but I wasn't my own doctor! Could you imagine if I had tried to deliver the twins myself? Even a doctor needs a doctor, you know that.

panel 18: Law: ...right.

panel 19: Law: ...what...what was it like?

panel 20: Kaya: Oh, my pregnant patients were actually pretty fun! I suppose it makes sense that as a pirate ship doctor you wouldn't have had to know obstetrics. But it was always so lovely to hand a parent their--

[pg4] panel 21: Kaya: ...newborn...baby...?

panel 23: Kaya: ...I'm sorry, Dr. Law. If there's context I need you'll have to give it to me. I'm not good at guessing.

panel 24: Law: What do you mean, I just gave you context. Kaya: With all due respect, you're full crying. It's a new sight for me!

panel 25: Kaya: You can tell me what's going on! I'm told I'm a very good listener

panel 26: Law: ...You Straw Hats sure are a pain Kaya: Sorry, hehe

panel 28: Law: ...I...ahem...so number one, if you didn't know...I'm...I'm trans.

panel 29: Law: But not like your husband. He got the works from Ivankov-ya...I never felt the need to seek that out.

[pg5] panel 30: Kaya: ...I see

panel 31: Kaya: How far along are you? Law: ..12 weeks, give or take. Kaya: Well, I've provided obstetric care of all kinds. So whatever questions you're researching here...why don't you ask me instead of being your own doctor?

panel 32: Law: ...Same question. What was it like?

panel 33: Kaya: Being pregnant was a horror show!

panel 34: Law: A glowing review. Kaya: Oh, sorry! I can lie if you'd prefer!

panel 35: Kaya: I was just so sick my first trimester! Law (speaking over her): KAYA-YA I THOUGHT I WAS DYING FOR TWO WEEKS WHEN WILL IT STOP I CAN ONLY EAT RICE.

panel 36: Kaya: It's different for everyone. By the end it wasn't quite so bad for me, though. And I love my kids so much. They were such cute newborns!! So I was alright being uncomfortable for awhile. Because that's what we wanted, you know?

panel 37: Kaya (off screen): What do you and Luffy want, Dr. Law?

[pg6] panel 38: Law: ...We haven't decided yet. We're giving it to the end of the week. I'm trying to think about it rationally. But I just keep getting emotional any time I talk about it. It's strange.

panel 39: Kaya: An emotional decision and a bad decision aren't inherently synonymous, you know.

panel 40: Law: ...your bedside manner is impeccable, Dr. Kaya-ya. Kaya: Well, thank you! Next time let's meet in the infirmary, mine or yours.

panel 41: Kaya: I'll be your doctor through this, okay?

panel 42: Law: ...Okay...Thank you. Kaya: Of course!

[winxanity-ii]

CONTINUATION OF CH.40

I ran out of space, so here's all the fanart i got recently ❤️❤️😩😩😩😩

from Rizzlord (@v4mpn11on tumblr)

AHHHHH this piece still has me floored every time I look at it 😭✨ the details??? The shading??? Her EYES??? You captured something so powerful and grounded in her expression—I can see the weariness and strength all at once. And don't even get me started on the hair and those intricate floral clasps on her shoulders?? Like HELLO??? You really snapped with the texture there 😩

I legit saved this straight to my computer the moment I got it. Thank you sm again! She looks like she walked straight out of a manga panel and I'm obsessed 😭❤️

from gab137507

AHHHH-----the symbolism is so perfect 😭😭😭 The way you drew MC's expression—so hollow and calm, almost resigned—it's haunting in the best way. I love how each hand has a story to tell without even needing words. I already went a lil coo-coo in your commnt section of how much i loved/thought each one represented so i'm not gonna bore everyone with it here (may repaste in the comments) but yeah, I just—ugh, it''s so stimulating seeing the strings of all these interactions MC has to navigate drawn to life like this. You nailed the entire pressure of her role in a single, quiet image. Thank you so much again❤️‍🔥

from Acheron

ACHERON???? Be serious. Be so serious. This is actual cinema. The way the light frames him—no, devours him—like a halo and a wildfire all at once??? The motion, the tilt of his head, the drama in that silhouette... it's unhinged in the most divine, tragic way. I'm staring at this like it's an actual animated movie still 😭🔥This is Apollo's tantrum. This is grief-split-open-and-turned-solar. You nailed the energy of Ch.39 without showing anything explicitly, and that's what makes it hit even harder. Like how am I supposed to emotionally recover from this?? 😭❤️‍🔥 Thank you endlessly for this masterpiece.

from DragonWhiskers12

DO NOT EVER APOLOGIZE FOR HOW YOU EXECUTE YOUR ART—like ever. It's the intent, the design, the final result that hits—and this??? This hit me like a meteor from Olympus. I'm OBSESSED with your interpretation of Apollo 😭 the eerie elegance, the chaotic divinity, the multiple eyes??? That's godhood. That's prophecy. That's ✨trauma✨. I'm so in love with this vision I'm be using in another fic i have coming up😭😭🙏🏾 thank you for sharing this with me, truly.

PLEASE. Don't even apologize for the camera quality or anything about this—do you know how golden this page is??? The way I had to squint and then suddenly BURST OUT LAUGHING??? The "No more sun until I get my wife back" Apollo design coming back with extra eyeballs and those reaction doodles of the Olympians??? ICONIC 😭 Like no because the vibe of this whole thing?? Raw sketch energy, chaotic divine commentary, a masterpiece journal page of doom... I'm saving this to my personal shrine of chaos. It feels like something I'd find tucked in the library of Delphi on a scroll titled "Signs That the Sun God is Spiraling" 😭💀

from iconic-idiot-con

OH MY GODDDD I GASPED—THE WAY YOU CAPTURED HERMES' SMUG LITTLE CHARM??? The wink?? The pose?? The delivery??? 😭😭 This entire scene looks like it was yanked straight out of a visual novel and I would pay real currency to read it. Also the way you illustrated MC with such softness in that panel?? Ugh. You get her. You get them. And I am currently sobbing over the fact that this exists in my lil arts folder 🥹💌🪽 Thank you SO much.

STOP—YOU'RE TELLING ME I GET A WHOLE CHARACTER LINEUP??? A WHOLE CAST SHEET??? This is like opening the bonus content at the end of a deluxe edition graphic novel and just sinking into the lore. First off—Hermes??? ICONIC. The exact chaotic-neutral energy. His smirk?? Unmatched. Apollo is serving radiant golden retriever in the best possible way, and I love how you made him look just slightly off-kilter, like there's something behind that smile (which is so him). Also HELEN?? She's giving effortlessly smug and I know she knows it. Odysseus' sadness is in his shoulders. That's storytelling. His "sad, wet, pathetic puppet man" energy literally LEAPS off the page. Penelope looks tired but gorgeous, which is exactly what I envisioned. Telemachus looks like he just got done internally monologuing about duty and also how pretty the MC is. I'm obsessed. And finally, MC?? Soft, grounded, radiant. Just there. And still effortlessly magnetic. I'm sobbing. Truly—thank you for this. It's beyond perfect. Your brain has 100% divine blessing status now.

SHUT UP—Hermes Bird with the lil satchel and cloak?! I'm LOSING it. And MC?? The blank expression? The visible cuts and wraps? That side-eye like she just survived divine nonsense and still has errands to run? Peak characterization. She looks like she's just recovered from a gods-given concussion and is about to commit arson in retaliation. I don't care if it's "unfinished," it's got more energy and story in it than most completed pieces. Post the rest whenever you want—I'm eating this up sketchy or not and WILL be giving the same enthusiasm once done cuz YESSS!

[autotopic]

1938 Mercedes-Benz W154

In September 1936, the AIACR (Association Internationale des Automobile Clubs Reconnus), the governing body of motor racing, set the new Grand Prix regulations effective from 1938. Key stipulations included a maximum engine displacement of three liters for supercharged engines and 4.5 liters for naturally aspirated engines, with a minimum car weight ranging from 400 to 850 kilograms, depending on engine size.

By the end of the 1937 season, Mercedes-Benz engineers were already hard at work developing the new W154, exploring various ideas, including a naturally aspirated engine with a W24 configuration, a rear-mounted engine, direct fuel injection, and fully streamlined bodies. Ultimately, due to heat management considerations, they opted for an in-house developed 60-degree V12 engine designed by Albert Heess. This engine mirrored the displacement characteristics of the 1924 supercharged two-liter M 2 L 8 engine, with each of its 12 cylinders displacing 250 cc. Using glycol as a coolant allowed temperatures to reach up to 125°C. The engine featured four overhead camshafts operating 48 valves via forked rocker arms, with three cylinders combined under welded coolant jackets, and non-removable heads. It had a high-capacity lubrication system, circulating 100 liters of oil per minute, and initially utilized two single-stage superchargers, later replaced by a more efficient two-stage supercharger in 1939.

The first prototype engine ran on the test bench in January 1938, and by February 7, it had achieved a nearly trouble-free test run, producing 427 hp (314 kW) at 8,000 rpm. During the first half of the season, drivers such as Caracciola, Lang, von Brauchitsch, and Seaman had access to 430 hp (316 kW), which later increased to over 468 hp (344 kW). At the Reims circuit, Hermann Lang's W154 was equipped with the most powerful version, delivering 474 hp (349 kW) and reaching 283 km/h (176 mph) on the straights. Notably, the W154 was the first Mercedes-Benz racing car to feature a five-speed gearbox.

Max Wagner, tasked with designing the suspension, had an easier job than his counterparts working on the engine. He retained much of the advanced chassis architecture from the previous year's W125 but enhanced the torsional rigidity of the frame by 30 percent. The V12 engine was mounted low and at an angle, with the carburetor air intakes extending through the expanded radiator grille.

The driver sat to the right of the propeller shaft, and the W154's sleek body sat close to the ground, lower than the tops of its tires. This design gave the car a dynamic appearance and a low center of gravity. Both Manfred von Brauchitsch and Richard Seaman, whose technical insights were highly valued by Chief Engineer Rudolf Uhlenhaut, praised the car's excellent handling.

The W154 became the most successful Silver Arrow of its era. Rudolf Caracciola secured the 1938 European Championship title (as the World Championship did not yet exist), and the W154 won three of the four Grand Prix races that counted towards the championship.

To ensure proper weight distribution, a saddle tank was installed above the driver's legs. In 1939, the addition of a two-stage supercharger boosted the V12 engine, now named the M163, to 483 hp (355 kW) at 7,800 rpm. Despite the AIACR's efforts to curb the speed of Grand Prix cars, the new three-liter formula cars matched the lap times of the 1937 750-kg formula cars, demonstrating that their attempt was largely unsuccessful. Over the winter of 1938-39, the W154 saw several refinements, including a higher cowl line around the cockpit for improved driver safety and a small, streamlined instrument panel mounted to the saddle tank. As per Uhlenhaut’s philosophy, only essential information was displayed, centered around a large tachometer flanked by water and oil temperature gauges, ensuring the driver wasn't overwhelmed by unnecessary data.

[atwhughesversion]

Canucksblr’s “most Canuckian experience” bracket — Round 2, Poll 3

welcome back! the winner of our previous poll was “historic comeback against Dallas (just to be eliminated the next day),” and it will move onto the semi-final!

today’s poll, with context below as always, includes two options that are quite honestly very tied together — good luck:

the context:

march 22, 2025, the canucks visited the rangers. it was these teams’ first time meeting since miller had been traded, and with both teams in a battle for their playoff lives, all eyes were on petey and miller’s “reunion.” the good news? the canucks brought their best effort, genuinely. they played like their playoff chances depended on it — they outshot the rangers 39-12, petey won 100% (all 2) of his faceoffs against his arch rival, and the canucks pushed to tie the game multiple times, showcasing their perseverance. the bad news? they lost 5-3, petey and höglander both got injured and ended up being sent home from the road trip (höggy missed a couple weeks, and petey ended up missing the rest of the season. mind you, this was after filip chytil — our second line centre at that point — was already out for the season with a concussion), and jt miller scored an empty net goal to seal the canucks’ fate. because of course he did.

riftgate. oh, riftgate. this is the nickname given to the supposed “rift” between jt miller and elias pettersson that wreaked havoc on the canucks this season. their rocky relationship wasn’t a secret prior to this year, but at the beginning of this season something seemingly happened to cause it to blow up (petey’s words, not mine). we don’t know the details and that’s fine, but ultimately it led to miller getting traded. and prior to that trade, when i say the canucks were the main characters of the league, i mean it. you couldn’t go to any podcast or NHL panel without someone bringing it up. the vancouver market alone had enough riftgate coverage to last a lifetime, but then you had elliotte friedman joining in on the gossip every other day. HNIC? riftgate. 32 thoughts? riftgate. former NHL executive does an interview anywhere? riftgate. biz, from spittin’ chiclets, is the one who started the whole thing. hell, bo horvat did an interview about it. as in, former canucks captain but current new york islander bo horvat. having in-house drama is one thing but when it is the national discussion point of the entire league for months? that’s just the canucks for you, i suppose.

[sineala]

More canon about Tony Stark's secret identity

So I looked this up because @kiyaar asked me it the other day and I knew vaguely where the answer was and that it was in comics I hadn't read, so I read them and I'm presenting my book report to the rest of you, for reference.

The question is: Tony comes out publicly as Iron Man in mid-v3. He also does this a couple years later during Civil War. How did the public stop believing in him as Iron Man in the intervening time?

The basic facts about 616's Tony's secret identity as we all generally know them in fandom:

Tony becomes Iron Man (ToS #39) and promptly decides to keep this a secret. His friends and occasionally enemies find this out, a few people at a time, over the years. There's a span of time shortly after Armor Wars (IM v1 #225-232) in which he fakes his death, but only as Iron Man -- he pretends that the original Iron Man has died and that the guy in the suit now is not the original. This means that he is lying to his friends' faces about being Iron Man, but for the most part he's not fooling anyone at all and all his friends are pretty damn sure Iron Man is still him. There are multiple panels of Steve being like "Tony, I know that's you." (After that, Tony fakes his own death as Tony, eventually coming back publicly in IM v1 #292.)

There are some more secret identity shenanigans in the late 90s (by which I mean the Cap/IM 1998 Annual) -- mindwipes are involved -- but the first big public move is in IM v3 #55. He gives up his secret identity because he wants to go save a puppy. You all know this. Probably.

He also gives up his secret identity a couple years later, in Civil War: Front Line #1, because he's supporting Registration and he wants to put his money where his mouth is.

So the question is, what the hell happened in the middle? He's pretty clearly publicly Iron Man for the latter half of v3 -- did people just forget that? How in the world did they buy that he wasn't Iron Man?

The answer is that this is a Disassembled thing. Specifically, it's in the Iron Man tie-ins to Avengers Disassembled, which I had never read because the only thing I knew about them was that this was the arc that Rumiko died in, and I didn't want to be sad. But it turns out this is also where Tony gets people to stop believing that he is Iron Man. This is Iron Man v3 #85-89.

So Disassembled kicks off in Avengers #500 with the mansion exploding and Scott Lang dying. Tony, who is at this time Secretary of Defense, is addressing the UN when he suddenly feels like he's drunk and starts insulting and threatening the UN representative from Latveria. This, along with many other terrible things, is Wanda's fault; she does this to him with magic. He doesn't know that, though, and the public, of course, thinks he's drinking again. Several of his friends (not Steve) actually think he's drinking again.

The IM tie-ins start with IM v3 #85 after the UN thing has happened, and it turns out that Tony's life is even worse. At this point, he's already facing a lot of public disapproval about the UN thing. Someone steals a suit of his armor and, in #86, murders the Stark Enterprises board of directors. Given that everyone knows that Tony is Iron Man, that Tony has just been drunk and belligerent at the UN, and that the board's shares in SE revert to Tony, everyone now thinks he is guilty of murdering the entire board. There are crowds of angry people with signs, at his house, protesting… him, I guess. The UN/SecDef thing, and the murder thing, I guess.

Tony, at this point, has now shut himself up in his house and is trying to figure out what the fuck is wrong with him. He doesn't actually know who has his armor and is attempting to frame him for this, or why they're doing it, but this isn't his main concern at this point. His main concern is the incident at the UN, because at this point he has no idea that Wanda is responsible for doing this to him, so he keeps doing things like scanning himself because he thinks something must have gone wrong with his brain.

This is when Ru shows up at Tony's house, in IM v3 #87. Ru and Tony have been off-and-on, and are currently off, and Ru would like to get back together with him. So she goes in, looking for Tony, and is immediately shot by the guy who has stolen the Iron Man armor, who is also there in Tony's house now. Tony walks in just in time for Ru to die in his arms; she very possibly dies believing that Tony was the one who shot her, since as far as she knows, it was Iron Man.

Then we get one of the key parts enabling Tony's new identity shenanigans. The guy in his armor is still in his house, and in #88, the guy starts fighting Tony. What happens is that he pushes Tony through a window into the swimming pool below. Since Tony's house is surrounded by a mob of angry protesters, he's pretty newsworthy right now, and a news helicopter is passing overhead at the exact moment in time. So now the entire world has footage of Tony fighting a man in an Iron Man suit, who therefore cannot possibly be Tony.

So because of this, Tony is basically exonerated for the murder of the SE board, because obviously it was this evil guy who stole the suit who did all the murders, which is in fact true. So this also plants the idea in everyone's mind -- and certainly in Tony's mind -- that Tony and Iron Man could, theoretically, be separate people. They obviously don't have to be, but it's clearly possible that someone else might become Iron Man.

At the end of #89, Tony gives a big speech to the media. He says he's apologized to Latveria and he's resigning his post as Secretary of Defense. He also says that he's resigning as Iron Man. He says he's just going to be Tony Stark, but "there will always be an Iron Man."

So the story is that Tony was Iron Man. He used to be Iron Man. He admits that. That's a thing people know about him -- no one's been mindwiped of that information or anything this time. But he also swears he's not Iron Man now; he swears that Iron Man is someone else. So if anyone sees Iron Man from here on out, that won't be him. That'll be someone else.

I mean, yeah, he is completely lying when he says that, as we know.

This is a lot like the thing he tried to pull on the superhero community after Armor Wars, but apparently the public believes him this time, unlike how his friends did not. By the time we get to Avengers Finale, which is the last issue of Disassembled, all his fellow heroes clearly know he's still Iron Man -- he's hanging around in the armor without a mask, around the Avengers -- but, as he tells them, he clearly thinks the public is buying this.

And they apparently are buying this, to the point that it's news to everyone when he says he's Iron Man again in CW Front Line #1.

So, yeah, that's how this goes.

Unrelatedly, from #87, here's a panel for your collection of panels about how Tony is really kind of queer.

If Ru thought Tony wasn't ever going to date a man, that would have been a great time for her to say something in reply. I'm just saying.

[felixcloud6288]

Dungeon Meshi Chapter 62

It's the boy and he's making us a delicious meal story.

Throughout this chapter, we're given Mithrun's backstory as a Dungeon Lord. However, the story we're told is actually Kabru's retelling because when Mithrun said he'd tell Kabru everything, he meant he'd tell Kabru EVERYTHING.

The chapter alternates between Mithrun's time as a dungeon lord and his and Kabru's journey through the dungeon. Each time we go back to Mithrun as a dungeon lord, it's actually Kabru putting the story together in a comprehensible way.

Kabru's adoptive mother is in the group. Her name is Milsiril. There weren't any good shots of her uncovered arms this chapter so I can't say whether any of those scars were from before this incident.

I take it that elves are generally prone to using unnecessarily complex methods to achieve certain end goals. Mithrun told Kabru that he'll need a sleep spell or a potion to be put to sleep, and he said being bundled up cozy and given a foot massage would never work, right before falling asleep.

It's exactly the same vibe as the mandrake harvesting thing only with fewer dead dogs.

All of this happened before the shapeshifter encounter? The shpaeshifter Kabru and Mithrun encountered probably was the same one then.

Kabru and Mithrun are both serious characters and whenever the story focuses on them, it tries to take things seriously. But with this one single panel, it's clear this is going to be an exception.

There's a light inconsistency with timing. Kabru said it will take a week until they're rescued but the day ends saying "Four days left until rescue." I just can't tell if there's an error with what Kabru said or if that message is not supposed to be tied to the end of this specific day.

The next page opens with "Day three after the fall" and Laios's group had fought the ice golem that day. So if it's already been two days since Kabru and Mithrun fell, then that would mean chapters 39-42 were all in a single day and there was a roughly two day period of Laios's team either finding the way to floor 6 or travelling through the floor before encountering the shapeshifter.

On Kabru's end, the only known moment of time passing was when Kabru fell asleep for five hours last chapter. Meanwhile, team Laios would have had to take some time to make Marcille and Senshi's snow shoes.

I'm going to guess that it takes roughly two days travel to get to the cave system in the sixth floor. Kabru and Mithrun encountered the shapeshifter near the start of the path to the caves while Laios's team encountered it near the end of the path.

Mithrun is probably wearing Shuro's jacket. It at least matches the color of the jacket we saw Shuro wearing in chapter 32.

The inciting incident to Mithrun becoming a dungeon lord was seeing his brother with the girl he liked through a magic mirror. But then we cut to Kabru thinking about how that's a good plot hook.

I think he either super dumbed down what was in the mirror, or may have straight up lied about what really set Mithrun off. Like, his brother living this happy life with Mithrun's beloved is part of it, but that note where Mithrun joined the Canaries in his brother's place tells me that the mirror is actually showing him how wonderful his brother's life is and how this could have been Mithrun's life instead.

Makes sense that the barometz fruit doesn't have the same organ structure as a real sheep. It's just trying to mimic the sheep to attract predators. The bones are probably just stems to help keep the shape.

Kabru and Mithrun stole the hippogriff's eggs and accidentally turned it into a griffin. Maybe it attacked Laios's party because it thought they were the egg thieves.

Maybe Mithrun's poor directional skill is because he got so used to the layout of his own dungeon that he's forgotten how Euclidean geometry works. It might make sense to assume that a stairway up is actually the way down and to go forward, you need to go back.

Several of these characters were named in the start of the chapter. The two row are Nils and Sita. The middle one in the bottom row is Coyote. I can't tell who the other two are, but I want to say the one on the lower right is Yugin.

Sita is a guard while the rest are criminals.

Mithrun's "beloved" was definitely an illusion of some kind. The goat's power only extends to the dungeon so it couldn't have brought her into it.

She may have been a lamia from the start since we can see a snake body in the corner of the very next panel.

Her color pattern indicates she's a king snake lamia. I talked about them in chapter 10. She's harmless, or at least as harmless as a lamia can be.

The scene where the goat ate Mithrun's desires is unsettling. The goat holds him down and violates his body. And it gouged out Mithrun's eye in the process.

And when the goat was done with Mithrun, it left nothing behind of his wish. He's left lying in front of the magic mirror he destroyed.

This comes right after the Winged Lion showed Laios his ideal world where people and monsters live together in harmony. The magic mirror was probably placed to tempt anyone who explored the dungeon and Mithrun took the bait. And the vision Laios saw in chapter 60 is just the Winged Lion baiting him into becoming a dungeon lord so it can eventually eat him too. And it will probably eat all of Laios's companions first just like the goat ate Mithrun's.

So now we have to deal with the dramatic irony that Laios's party is relying on an even greater threat to stop Thistle.

The elf with Milsiril was also named in the opening part. Her name is Helki.

Did Kabru make a tart?

So the reason ancient magic is forbidden is because it opens the path for demons from another dimension to come in. Demons feed on human desires and grow stronger as they feed. Demons are trapped in dungeons to prevent them from reaching the surface and they lure people into the dungeons. People with particularly strong desires are made dungeon lords to cultivate those desires to be even stronger.

And the Utaya incident was the result of a demon getting strong enough to break out of its dungeon.

The last two-page spread was what the lion promised, and this one is what would actually happen.

The demon in the image has a few characteristics matching the Winged Lion such as a mane, wings, and similar horns to some statues of it.

The first two-page spread was the world the lion promised Laios and the second is what would really happen as it destroys the Golden Kingdom. I can't tell if the person it's about to eat is anyone specific but it would be appropriate if it were Laios.

Even if knowing the truth wouldn't stop people from trying to use ancient magic, being forward about the danger and reason would at least stop some of them and let them understand why anyone trying to use ancient magic should be stopped or deterred. Like, Marcille is studying ancient magic BECAUSE she doesn't know why it's outlawed with no reason given.

The diagram used when explaining the quality of desires is literally an upside-down diagram of Maslow's hierachy of needs.

Kabru has realized he made a grave mistake entrusting Laios to the dungeon.

So Kabru and Mithrun were the ones who made that campfire from chapter 50.

The changelings have decided that Mithrun is super buff by elf standards.

If Pattadol is the Marcille of the Canaries, then Lycion must be the Senshi.

Remember how there was a panel in chapter 50 of Shuro freaking out because Laios threw the bell? Way more stuff was happening at the time. Shuro's face and Cithis telling him to shut up still happened though. Mithrun also hit his head when it happened.

As it turns out, the Canaries have been in the lower levels of the dungeons for several days when the Winged Lion warned Laios about them. Since Mithrun knows where to find secret passages, he probably figured out a secret way to the next level after Laios had opened that giant door and they camped out on the next floor when Laios's team was riding the trolley down.

Kabru and Mithrun were always just ahead of Laios this chapter so I expect them to meet up just before they all reach the bottom of the dungeon.

back

[wheelchairbatgirl]

Every wheelchair in the 2002 event Bruce Wayne, Murderer, reviewed by me.

There are 13 issues in Bruce Wayne: Fugitive, many of which include pictures of wheelchairs.

The event starts out with a one-shot, and then Detective Comics #766, which had no wheelchair.

So here we start with Batgirl #23. Jumping right in with Barbara grabbing the entire tire instead of using her push rim. We don’t have enough wheelchair to rate and yet our rule of “no push rim = -1 point” has already come into effect.

I’ll talk about it later, but this series of Batgirl often goes to very odd camera angles to avoid drawing Babs’ wheelchair.

Nightwing #65. We only have three rules here on Wheelchair Batgirl, which is that we deduct one point from any time that someone is using the tire instead of the push rim, without a good reason. The other rule is that we deduct a point every time Barbara Gordon’s wheelchair specifically has push handles on the back. I know I’ve never talked about that rule before, because I just made it up right now, but it’s a rule.

I get that Barb appears to like her wheelchair backs up super high. That’s her right, so I won’t complain about it anymore, even though it’d drive me insane. But all we can see here is high-back with push handles. So we’re at -2 points and we haven’t even had anything worth rating.

Quick note for people who don’t have to worry about wheelchair parts in their daily life: push rims are the extra bars on the wheels of the chairs. You push your wheels with the push rims so tha tyou’re not grabbing a dirty tire all the time. Push handles are the handles on the back of a wheelchair to make it easier for someone to push you and to steer. A good Barbara Gordon wheelchair should have yes to push rims and no to push handles, because she doesn’t like to be pushed around. This is a canon fact and not my sole opinion.

Batman: Gotham Knights #65.

Finally, we get a chair that clearly has no push handles. Good job. It does seem like she’s grabbing the tire instead one of the panels, but I’m not going to count that because it could be just for simplicity of drawing.

This wheelchair gets 9/10 based on what we can see.

Birds of Prey #39

Finally, a clear few wheelchair shots. We have push rims. We have camber. It looks relatively consistent from panel-to-panel. It’s not a hospital looking wheelchair. It sort of looks like what I’d expect a good Barbara Wheelchair from this time to look like.

I do have a quick question about the mechanism under this chair. Not sure how that works or what it does. Looks cool, thought.

8/10 because good dog why are there push handles on this chair, you all know better than to do that.

Robin #98 actually had no wheelchairs.

Robin #99 has, uh. This lovely little cartoon of a wheelchair, which I find very endearing. No push handles. Full points.

Also it’s got Babs telling my favorite joke of “I brought my own chair,” so I had to screencap that. I think a lot of authors are afraid to have wheelchair users make jokes or even make reference to the fact that they use a wheelchair. Most wheelchair users that I’ve met don’t mind telling jokes or referencing it. Me making a joke and me being a joke are different things.

The next wheelchairs we get are in Nightwing #66, and boy do we get wheelchairs. I love this wheelchair. It looks like a good custom chair for an active user. It’s consistent. It makes sense. It’s got a good camber and a good front angle and no push handles. She grabs her push rims instead of her tires. This is my favorite depiction of her chair in my reading thus far. Side guards and no arm rests.

These get 10/10, best wheelchair so far.

We also have the one non-Barbara wheelchair, which is for someone I can’t remember. Clearly a high level of injury because of the Sip n Puff (which is a tool to let someone with no arm movement operate a device of some kind). It’s clear that the artist understood that wheelchairs aren’t universal, and need to be customized for the user.

And we close down the event with Birds of Prey #40.

The push handles. They’re back. Well, handle, because apparently she’s got a single stroller handle. I will say that i love the picture of her leaning her arm on the push handle. I did that a lot back when I had push handles. It’s a comfy position. Pretty okay wheelchair, too. 7/10.*——

So our score so far is 42/50, or 8.4/10. We truncate, to 8/10 for Bruce Wayne: Murderer?

Final summary on the event: The fact that everyone’s superhero costume is clearly defined and looks consistent from every angle even across multiple authors can’t be ignored. The fact that no one decided to say, “Hi, this is what her wheelchair looks like from every angle,” is probably because it was/is policy to keep the heroes consistent and the rest of the world up to the artist, but I think it really would have helped everyone who hasn’t had time to research how wheelchairs are selected for a user.

I bought some physical Birds of Prey comics at a junk shop near my work, and they date to about 2008, and just by looking inside of them I can tell that our wheelchair quality is going to go down in the future. So here’s me being optimistic and nice.

[welldonebeca]

You Came Back to Me (1)

Summary: On the anniversary of 20 years of their first date, Rhaenyra and Daemon remember it in a very nice way. (Set in August 2024) Warnings: Modern AU. Fluff. Smut. Married Daemyra.

Enjoy Modern Targaryens? Check my 'Keeping Up With the Targaryens' series.

Daemon’s mind was already on next year’s celebration.

Rhaenyra had just turned 39, so next year they needed to have something significant. They had to invite the whole family, get some side entertainment for the kids... of course, Daemon’s gift to her would have to be the biggest so far.

August was a very important month for them. They’d had their legal marriage just days before Rhaenyra’s birthday, and today was the anniversary of their first real date together. Of course, they didn’t celebrate all of these events individually. Their real marriage, in front of the gods, was in July, and their date was a sweet memory. They were much too busy to do something about it when they’d just celebrated Rhaenyra’s birthday.

“Daddy!” Joff called. “Can we listen to Bluey music?”

Daemon looked at the kids through the rearview mirror.

“Of course.” he confirmed.

‘Bluey music’ was their term for classical music. If there was anything Daemon was grateful for in that dog show, it was how it actually taught his kids to enjoy classical music. It was unexpected, but it was nice. He started 'The Planets' from the car playlist – they had just paused it on 'Mercury'. It was a pleasant surprise to realise his young sons had introduced him to Gustav Holst.

Daemon hoped a little bit that of them was musically inclined, but so far no one had asked for anything, and they just liked listening to the pieces.

He chuckled when Joff and Eggy tried to mimic different instruments with their voices, as adorably off-key as kids tended to be. They had already dropped Viserys at preschool first, the building much closer to their home than the boys’ elementary school. They were all run by the same board, but somehow everything was apart.

Something something phases, something something stage…

At least it worked well. The kids were quite independent and curious and eager to learn more.

Of course, all of this also meant that they were officially in a house with no children from nine in the morning to two in the afternoon for the first time since… well, since forever!

Daemon had married Rhaenyra when Joff was a few months old, and by the time he was off to preschool, they had Eggy; and by the time Eggy was off to preschool, they had Viserys! A silent day at their house existed exactly once – when their older kids were in Westeros, and they were making Aegon.

But here he was, dropping off the last two kids before going home to work in a house with no children. The sound of his phone ringing made him frown a bit.

Rhaenyra?

He pressed the button on the panel screen.

“Hello,” he greeted her.

“Are we in the car?” his wife asked sweetly.

That made him smile a little bit.

“We are,” he confirmed. “Is this an extended goodbye to the little dragons?”

“Mama!” the boys echoed.

“Hello, my little dragons,” Rhaenyra greeted them happily. “Just calling to say I hope you have the best day at school today! Listen to your teachers and play nicely with your friends, and remember that Mama loves you very much.”

“We will, Mama!” Joff and Eggy chorused.

“I might pick you up later today,” she told them. “And we can play games in the car, what do you think?”

The boys agreed very loudly and very excitedly.

Daemon parked up.

“Alright, we’re in school grounds,” he announced. “Say bye to mama.”

“Bye, mama!”

“Goodbye, my sweet boys,” she answered back. “I love you!”

“We love you!”

Daemon got them out of the car quickly, and the teacher’s assistant was already by the door, waiting for them.

“Goodbye, goodbye, have a nice day,” he gave them their backpacks. “I love you, don’t break any bones.”

They walked off, and he watched them go before getting into the car, and he’d just closed the door when he heard his wife’s voice again.

“I suppose we are alone now?” she asked, the warmth maternal tone of her voice gone now.

Daemon raised his eyebrows.

“As alone as we can be in a moving car,” he lowered the volume. “Is anything wrong?”

Had anything happened in the family that the kids couldn’t know?

“Well...” his wife dragged the word. “I…”

He waited, raising his eyebrows as he drove off.

“You?”

“I was just seeing some pictures,” his wife spoke, a little bit dismissive. “Old pictures.”

Daemon frowned. Pictures?

“Our wedding pictures?” he asked.

They had just celebrated their 9th anniversary. That was a bit of time ago, though he wouldn’t really think of them as ‘old pictures’.

“No,” she dragged the word. “A bit… older.”

His frown deepened. Was she breathless?

“From when?” he asked, looking out to the street before making a turn.

His wife let out a little sight and his whole body became alerted.

He knew that little sound of hers.

But… that couldn’t be.

“When we went to the club...” she sighed so lazily, and her voice slightly. “My love.”

A moan. A delicious moan over his phone.

“Rhaenyra,” he tightened his hands on the steering wheel. “What are you doing?”

She let out a mixture of a moan and laugh that travelled down straight into his cock, already hardening up from hearing her.

“You asked me the same thing, uncle,” she moaned, and he bit down his lip, looking around the road.

He was fucking far from home, what did she think she was doing?

Daemon pressed his foot down on the speed pedal, dodging a couple of cars.

“What are you doing, Rhaenyra?” she moaned. “And you remember what I said? I need you, uncle.”

He stiffened completely.

Fuck, how could he ever forge that fucking day?

It was what had put in his mind the idea of taking her out, that call.

“I need you,” she pleaded on the other side of the line, like she'd done before. “Uncle, please?”

It was the biggest temptation of his life, not crossing that stupid corridor and locking himself in his room to give in to the endless desire he had for her, not break the vow he’d made to himself about not tainting her with his wickedness.

But she was his wife now, and she could be just as wicked as Daemon was.

“You better not be doing what I think you’re doing, my queen,” he tried to keep his focus.

He had to get home soon, but also safely.

“Please, uncle?” she moaned, and he could hear something buzzing by her side.

Her vibrator.

“Are you coming home?” she moaned more. “Are you close?”

“I’m trying,” he exhaled, squirming, feeling his pants fully tight now.

“Don’t speed,” she giggled.

“You are not making that easy,” he chastised her.

His wife held her breath for a moment and moaned a long, slow sound, and he sped up the car at a yellow light.

“Rhaenyra,” he clenched his teeth, ready to rip out the fucking steering wheel. “You better not be fucking my pussy."

She moaned more, and he saw red. That teasing brat.

“What are you doing?” he growled, turning the last curve to their neighbourhood.

“Touching myself,” she panted. “I need you so much, uncle, I can’t wait, please?”

“Where?”

She laughed a little again, and that only made him even more furious.

“My...” she stuttered. “Your pussy.”

Daemon exhaled.

“Good little princess,” he drove down their street. “You’re right, it is mine. So why, I wonder, are you playing with my favourite toy?”

He didn’t need to stop before crossing their gates, security had already opened them for him.

“Because I need you,” she whined.

Daemon bit down a groan.

“I’m parking the fucking car,” he warned her. “And if I get into our room and I find those fingers inside you, you’re gonna suffer the consequences.”

She outrightly laughed.

“Welcome home,” his dear wife wished him.

And she hung up.

Keep reading it on AO3.

[nightwings-robin]

On how Jason became Robin pre-Crisis versus post-Crisis and how the Robin mantle should be Dick's to pass on, not Bruce's.

I want to talk about how I actually prefer the pre-Crisis on Infinite Earths canon of how Jason became Robin. Don't misunderstand me, I do think him steeling the wheels off the Batmobile is 100% a better backstory for him than circus acrobat like in pre-Crisis canon. I just personally prefer the way he receives the Robin mantle in pre-Crisis.

For one thing, in pre-Crisis, Dick is the one to allow Jason to be Robin. Not Bruce. I think that's an important distinction. In the post-Crisis continuity, Bruce fires Dick and gives Jason the Robin name and costume and only many issues later does Dick give his blessing. While in pre-Crisis, Jason puts on the Robin costume without either of their permission and Bruce chews him out for stealing someone else's identity, then Jason wears a non-Robin costume and tries to think of his own hero name, only for Dick to give his blessing for Jason to be Robin.

This got very long so the rest is under the cut.

Let's take a look:

The first vigilante costume that Jason actually wears isn't even a proper Robin costume though it is still implied to have belonged to Dick. This is in Detective Comics (1937) #526.

He doesn't immediately go for the traditional Robin costume because well, Dick is very much still Robin when this happens. Dick hasn't quit yet. And in this continuity, Dick chooses to not be Robin anymore as opposed to Bruce firing him like in post-Crisis. Then when Jason does actually put on the OG Robin costume in Batman (1940) #366, Bruce is angry with him.

Bruce is upset with Jason for being Robin this first time explicitly because he doesn't have Dick's permission. Bruce is saying that being Robin is an identity that has to be earned and given consent by who the identity originally belonged to. He doesn't outright say that Jason needs Dick's permission to be Robin but it is implied (at least that's how I interpret it).

Jason then goes back to wearing the first costume and not really going by a code-name until Dick shows up.

These panels from Batman (1940) #368 show that Jason had tried to be a hero without being Robin. He had a different costume and was brainstorming different names. He does this because he doesn't want to "steal" Dick's identity as Robin. Jason had already used the Robin costume and name without thinking about how that would make Dick and Bruce feel. He didn't intentionally want to cause harm but Bruce was still upset with him for putting on Dick's costume without permission specifically from Dick. So it's important that now in these panels, Dick willingly gives Jason the Robin costume and lets him use the Robin name.

Jason had even asked Dick earlier to be Robin in The New Teen Titans (1980) #37, which Dick initially refused.

The Robin mantle wasn't something that Dick wanted to give up lightly and I think it's very telling that Jason asks Dick instead of asking Bruce.

But Dick doesn't stay Robin for much longer. Just two issues later in The New Teen Titans (1980) #39, Dick decided he no longer wants it. I think it's important that he makes that decision for himself. The role of Robin isn't forcefully taken from him by Bruce.

Dick wants to grow up and be his own person, outside of the shadow of Bruce and Batman. He loves the Robin mantle and is proud of what he did as Robin but he recognizes that it is something that he has now outgrown. What's so important to me here is that Dick willingly chooses to not be Robin anymore. He has agency in what he wants his identity to be, and later has agency over who gets to take on the Robin identity after him.

It's a bit later during the Judas Contract that he chooses to become Nightwing.

Even a few years later (in real time) in The New Teen Titans (1984) #47 it is still recognized that Dick willingly stopped being Robin and allowed Jason to take the mantle.

Compare all of this to post-Crisis on Infinite Earths. That's when Jason's backstory changes to the one of him stealing tires off the Batmobile, and as stated earlier, I do think this is a much better and more interesting backstory for Jason than the copy-and-paste of Dick's backstory of being a circus acrobat. However, what I don't like is how post-Crisis changes how Dick quit being Robin and became Nightwing. Because he didn't quit being Robin. Bruce fired him.

Bruce fired Dick in Batman(1940) #408 because it's a dangerous line of work and Dick disobeyed orders. I can understand Bruce firing Dick for not following orders but the part about it being too dangerous doesn't hold up when he almost immediately lets Jason be Robin, who is younger and far less experienced than Dick. It just doesn't make sense.

The very next issue in Batman (1940) #409 is when Bruce asks Jason to be Robin. It just feels hypocritical and even illogical of Bruce to fire Dick as Robin because of the dangers it brings, just to make Jason be Robin a few weeks later.

Then in Batman (1940) #410, Bruce gives Jason the Robin costume:

Only later in Batman (1940) #416 does Dick give Jason another, identical Robin costume:

Something about this chain of events just doesn't sit right with me. Bruce fires Dick from being Robin when Robin was Dick's own identity that in some continuities came from a nickname that Mary Grayson used for Dick, then Bruce hired a younger less experienced kid as the new Robin without consulting Dick, only for Dick to eventually give his consent at a later time.

I just feel like Dick giving Jason a Robin costume doesn't hold much weight when Jason is already wearing a Robin costume, you know?

I think it's far more logical and respectful when Dick willing stops being Robin of his own free will and then chooses to let Jason be Robin afterwards. Bruce has little to no say in the decision. Because Robin isn't Bruce's legacy. It's Dick's.

While I do generally like those fanon memes of Dick coming home only to find this random kid in his old Robin costume and being like "Bruce who the fuck is this?" and Bruce being like "Oh that's Jason, he's Robin now," they just won't ever compare to pre-Crisis canon when Dick actually gave his blessing for Jason to be Robin before Bruce did.