#frankly I think they could all be fairly interesting as animes

[missmonsters2]

—ADRONITIS | One

Pairing: Wednesday Addams x OFC/Fem!Reader

Summary: Wednesday's quite aware she has no people skills, but that doesn't stop her from wondering why she can't know everything about one person immediately.

Warnings: None.

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Count: 1.9k

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Adronitis: noun. The frustration with how long it takes to get to know someone.

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Everyone who knows Wednesday can confidently say she's not a people person, and even Wednesday herself can tell you she's not. People are strange, annoying, emotional creatures that she's fairly certain she lacks a particular trait to handle. 

Of course, some individuals have unfortunately made it past her prickly walls. Her roommate and begrudgingly best friend, Enid, can be tolerated in longer spurts. Eugene is just another Pugsley, so she has to look after him. She supposes Xavier isn't dreadful to deal with. Now. 

Would Wednesday commit first-degree murder for them? Yes, but that's not the point. 

The point—what was the point? 

Wednesday internally huffs with annoyance. She's an articulate person, but lately, she isn't. 

Reluctantly, Wednesday's eyes trail to the side, where she sees her reason for inarticulation. 

"Ah, so this is why you're sitting in the courtyard today," Enid smiles innocently, but Wednesday can see the knowing look in her eyes and purses her lips in a scowl as her eyes return to her book. She's finally gotten her hands on Goody's spellbook, and she's been trying to finish reading it for weeks. 

But alas...she's been...distracted.

"I don't blame you," Enid sighs as she looks over to where Wednesday was just gazing. "Everyone's looking at our resident Faerie. I wish she'd sit at our table today."

Wednesday silently agrees but tells herself she didn't. But she did. It's been nearly a week since you've sat with their tiny group of weirdos. Heroes, but weirdos. 

Today, you're sitting with the fangs, and Wednesday just can't fathom why. She gets your little rotation schedule, but vampires were so overrated, and from the small conversations she's heard here and there—incredibly boring.

Who cares about their diet? Wednesday thinks they lack innovation if their only choices are humans or animals (because, quite frankly, another outcast could kick their ass).

Yet, you sit there, smiling serenely and nodding with genuine interest. You ask questions and laugh at their witless jokes, and it drives Wednesday crazy.

Wednesday doesn't understand your sense of humor. Although, no one understands Wednesday's sense of humor either. That's usually the pattern. Sometimes, it feels like you and she are two sides of the same coin. 

You're both very different at Nevermore. While you're both outcasts within the outcasts, it's not the same. Whereas Wednesday didn't understand people, and they didn't gravitate toward her, people seemed to argue for your time.

Hence, why you sat at a different lunch table every day. 

Wednesday's mind drifts as she frowns. There's little known about Faeries as they're usually recluses, and there are so few of them. Especially night faeries. 

But now, it makes her wonder. Are Faeries like sirens? Do they lure everyone in their proximity without choice? That would certainly make more sense on Wednesday, and it would explain her recent behavior. 

Wednesday frowns deeper. Principal Weems has already sternly told others that while the Faeries are extremely beautiful and charming, they have no such powers. 

So, Wednesday was at a loss. She was beginning to think this school was designed to be the bane of her existence. Unwillingly, her gaze drifted again, but this time, you turned your head simultaneously and caught her eye.

You smile soft and sincere but unobtrusively at her, and Wednesday looks away, her face impassive. 

It wasn't unusual. 

This was exactly how all her interactions with you went. Very often, no words are exchanged, but you smile and wave at her as you pass by in the hallways. You greet her warmly when you sit at their table or in class. 

"Your unhappy face is showing," Enid points out, a slight upward quirk on her lips as she bites into her sandwich.

"This is always my face," Wednesday deadpans. 

"No, it's not," Enid shakes her head confidently. If there's one thing Enid can say, she stares at Wednesday a lot, so she knows her roommate very well. "You tilt your chin down and glare through your eyebrows more than look through them. It's very protruding," Enid points directly at Wednesday's eyebrow and forehead. "See? Unhappy face."

Xavier is looking at her through his apple, using it to shield how he's holding back his laughter as he grins at her. 

Wednesday relaxes her brows, her eyes becoming less narrow before she raises her brow at Enid. "Then what face is this?" The werewolf ponders her roommate's face and then sighs like she's been chastised. 

"General distaste," Enid mutters, but then she brightens as she looks up. "Oh, Fae is coming over here!" 

"Why do you insist on calling her that when she has a name?" Wednesday asks. You never seem mad about it, and it's not like Wednesday would care if people walked around calling her witch instead of Wednesday, but it's another thing she doesn't understand.

"Hm," Enid hums. "I guess it just became a nickname when she came. I mean, I guess it's kind of weird to call someone by their creature name...should we try to come up with a new one for her?"

"Whatcha guys talking about?" You smile as you approach. You've got a grape lollipop in your mouth given to you by one of the shapeshifters. Xavier and Eugene move over so you can sit down, directly facing Wednesday. "Hi, Wednesday," you say her name so casually, staring at her until Wednesday nods in acknowledgment. 

She's tense as she grips the edge of her book tightly. Her eyes are steadfastly attached to the pages even if she's not reading them. 

"We're talking about how everyone started to call you Fae," Enid grins, her smile wide and excited, but then frowns. "I hope it doesn't bother you."

You hum for a long moment, a sound that Wednesday hangs onto. She can see you through her peripherals. You seem in deep thought, and Wednesday can't understand why it's taking you so long to decide whether it bothers you. She wants to tell you to hurry it up so she—they can have the answer.

"I supposed it started when one of the psychics saw me in person, and all he could stutter out was 'Fae' over and over," you shrug.

"Feeble-minded," Wednesday mutters, and you smirk at her, and now she's wondering what exactly that could mean. 

"It doesn't bother me," you continue on. "I mean, I guess it's fine since there are no other faeries at the school, but it might be confusing when there are. I can't exactly go around calling on a person wolfy when that could be any of the werewolves here."

They all nod, except Wednesday.

"We should try to find a new nickname for you!" Eugene exclaims, emboldened by your friendliness to him. "How about nightcrawler!"

"As enchanting as that is, I'm going to have to veto that one," you give him a wry smile. He slumps in defeat while Xavier gives in a pat on the back.

"Oh," Enid squeals excitedly, and Wednesday shirk and winces at the sound. "We could all try to find a new nickname for you until we get the right one!"

"And why should we if Fae says it doesn't bother her?" Xavier asks as he turns over and gives you what Wednesday believes he thinks is a boyish smile. 

"Spoken like a true simpleton," Wednesday cut in, still not looking up. "Will that be your new nickname?"

"Ouch," Xavier laughs, the insult falling off his back. Although, he doesn't doubt that's his contact name on Wednesday's phone. "Alright, I get it. Fine, the person who gets their nickname chosen gets Fae's number. How's that?" He looks over to you, and Wednesday snaps her head up, finally to look at you too. 

You seem pensive. Another thing Wednesday knows but doesn't understand. It's getting irritating with how many things are adding up that Wednesday wants to know now and can't. 

Nobody in the school has your number though they all see you on your phone as you stroll down the hallway. Wednesday has heard you turning people down when they ask for your number, citing how there've been too many requests, and the number of texts or calls you'd get would be too overwhelming. So, now it's been an unspoken rule between the school that no one gets your number if they cannot all have it. 

You peer over at Wednesday, and she doesn't flinch away from your gaze. She refuses to lose whatever staring game you've created.

"Okay," you acquiesce, staring at Wednesday for a moment longer before standing up. "I'll see you guys in class. I'm going to see if the shapeshifters have more grape lollipops. They're my favorite."

Grape lollipops are your favorite. Is it just the lollipop, or is it grape in general?

"Well, this should be fun," Enid bounces her seat before she looks at Eugene. "I'm going to have to say it's looking unlikely for you, bud."

"I have more ideas!" Eugene protests.

"Never accept defeat," Wednesday looks back at her book, inwardly frowning when she's still on the same page she's been trying to read for the last 20 minutes. "Would be an acceptable suggestion for me. Accept defeat in this case, Eugene."

There's more bickering at the table while Enid bumps her shoulder against Wednesday. "So? Are you going to try to come up with something and get Fae's number?" 

"No, it's a trivial matter. Why would I want it? The only time I ever use my phone is when you've dragged me into your 24/7 addiction and Xavier cries for my attention."

"I do NOT cry—"

"So, I have no need for it."

Plus, would you expect her to text you if she had your number? Would she even want to text you? Wednesday supposes it'd be an equal trade of information, so you'd have her number too. Should she expect you to text her?

Wednesday glances in her peripheral and sees you with another lollipop as you sit with the shapeshifters. You've got an apple in your hand, but you look at it blandly. 

Not a fan of apples, then?

Wednesday feels annoyance gnaw at her insides. It's not irregular for Wednesday to sometimes show interest in others. Knowing others is valuable information that can be used at a later date.

But why in the hell does it take so long to get to know someone? Why can't Wednesday just know all your deep, dark secrets first and then make her way out to the trivial things?

"What a shame," Enid sighs casually, looking straight ahead, but her eyes tilt to the side to stare at her gloomy roommate. "I think having a phone and texting is great! It's way faster to get to know someone over text since you can always be in communication. You know what else is a thing? At 2AM, people lower their guard down, and they're more likely to spill secrets."

Wednesday slams her book shut, standing up and leaving briskly.

Research is needed. Her father has few skills, but one of them is coming up with nicknames. That skill should undoubtedly pass on to her. 

Wednesday glances at you as she walks out of the courtyard. You look over at her and smile with a wave before turning back to your conversation.

Defeat is not in Wednesday's vocabulary. She will beat the constraints of time and know everything there is to know in haste. There will be victory, and it will be hers.

PART TWO

[hotwaterandmilk]

Just another one of those posts where I do a bit of a general update on a few things. This time opening with an edited scan of Maomao from Nekokurage's Kusuriya no Hitorigoto manga adaptation to get your attention. Boo!

I've been reading the Kusuriya no Hitorigoto light novels and enjoying them in the sense that I think preteen me would have liked them. I started reading the LNs earlier this year (as they're great for reading in waiting rooms and the like thanks to their short format) and I think the LNs are definitely my preferred version of the story. The anime has a nice OP theme but is fairly middling otherwise and I don't go much on the art in either mang adaptation (though Nekokurage's art has improved recently and Maomao looks less like a giant-headed baby doll in the Animate bonus cards per my scan above). Maomao is the real draw in all versions so obviously I preordered her Nendo the first moment I could — bring on May 2024!

Speaking of translated light novels you can buy right now, the first part of the Oguni no Koushaku Reijō wa Tekikoku nite Kakusei Suru light novel was just released as A Young Lady Finds Her True Calling Living with the Enemy Volume #1 by Cross Infinite World (see here). It's a solid story that doesn't overstay its welcome and Bertine's business acumen is just *chefs kiss* for those after a competent heroine.

Once the second and final part of this is out, I'd love to see Cross Infinite World pick up another short (but unrelated) PASH! Books publication, Shiitagerareta Shuusai Reijou to Ringoku no Haraguro Kenkyuusha-sama no Amayaka na Yakusou Jikkenshitsu. The web novel version was quite solid but I haven't read the printed version yet. Yeah I like science ladies, what can I say? It would be so good to keep seeing interesting titles for girls and women being picked up for English release because I tire of isekai villainess stories (which imho peaked years ago with Watashi no Oshi wa Akuyaku Reijou) and there are some great little tales out there that do things a bit differently & just need to be shown to the right audience.

I'm so excited for Metallic Rouge in early January! While it used to be that getting an original property from BONES was always exciting, it has been a while since they've created anything I've really cared about but I'm hoping this will break the drought. If a show has Izubuchi, Kawamoto, Yamada contributing then you know I've got to be there. Plus a couple of lady leads in a SF setting? Trailers with some great action and music? I'm trying not to get my hopes up too much but I'm keen to give it a shot. If it isn't for me at least I can say I've given it a chance, right?

I've been terrible at sharing the latest about this year's Silent Möbius anniversary, but I'm not a news blogger and frankly very few people care so eh y'know, whatever. BUT I figured I should say something about FAIRYTALE PARFUM releasing scents for the key members of AMP this month (though Mana has been totally forgotten, it seems). You can check out the range here, there will be a launch event on the 10th of December in Shinjuku too.

Asamiya drew new artwork for the bottles and while I'd love to get Kiddy's perfume that nods towards her bodily acceptance in its notes, importing that stuff is just too much of a pain so I've settled for a tiny acrylic stand of Kiddy instead. Sadly there's no option to buy a set of stands so I just went "whatever" and grabbed just my best girl. Anyway, if you'd like a tiny acrylic stand of an AMP girl with extra weird proportions then make sure you check out the FAIRYTALE PARFUM website.

[babacontainsmultitudes]

In Defense of the Other Teens

Hello besties :)

SO how about that last episode huh? I've certainly seen a lot of interesting takes and cool art and all that come from it!

And I'm... Here to offer my two cents.

Alright y'all, a few things before we actually get into the meat of it. First, this is a long post. Like, even by my standards this post is pretty fucking long. I hope that I'll be able to keep you entertained throughout at the very least, but maybe grab a cup of tea or coffee or the like before venturing under the cut.

Second, my stance on things will become pretty clear I think fairly early on, if you haven't already put two and two together from the title of this post. That said, there are some fairy bold claims I'm gonna make here, and the fact of the matter is some of them may very well be disproven as soon as today's Teen Talk drops. But I wanted to get this out beforehand, partially as a show of faith in a certain someone, and partially cause honestly I think it's good to practice giving oneself room to be wrong about things. That said, there are still many other points that I think remain important regardless of what we find out next episode (or in teen talk), and I hope you'll find those interesting as well.

Next, honestly, the first few chunks of this little essay really start out as more of a rant/vent than a tight analysis, and I kinda start things in a weird spot if I'm being frank with you, so maybe just try to bear with me for the first few parts, ok? They're still important for the bigger picture I'm trying to paint.

Finally, if I come off as a little extra salty and sassy in this one, I am, but I *promise* it's all in good fun. :)

Alright, so let me tell you my thoughts about Lincoln.

You know what I think? What I honestly, genuinely think? Linc is the most selfless of the teens by a long shot. Like, there's literally no competition. Enough "all he wants to do is help other people and all they ever do is betray him" with respect to Mr. TalkedGrantIntoAPanicAttackThenLeft and more appreciation and recognition for Lincoln Li SayHiToYourDadForMe Wilson, I'm begging you. I could sit here and start listing examples of Linc's selflessness to you for a good long while, but really no set of examples could better illustrate what differentiates Linc from the rest of the teens than this exchange:

**

Scary: "Chosen one…""

Jodie: "Bat’tholemew, we don't use those words." 

Scary: "Somebody they wouldn't expect."

Taylor: "It's me. It's got to be someone that they don't expect."

Scary: "Yeah." 

Taylor: "Yeah." 

Scary: "It's got to be somebody who's really earned—"

Taylor: "Somebody who’s really earned—" 

Scary: "—the respect."

Taylor: "—the right to... And all the knowledge of all the animes together…"

Scary: "Somebody with more knowledge than anybody else."

Taylor: "Someone with— who knows what to do. S… "

Scary: "Somebody who knows what to do to step up."

Taylor: "Somebody who can step up and be the chosen one."

Scary: "And be the chosen one."

Link: "Hey…"

Normal: "Guys, I think… I might be the chosen one…"

**

Yes, funnily enough, it's Linc's absence here that says a lot about him rather than his presence.

What's more, I frankly just don't think it's fair that Linc can do *so much* for the people around him but the *one time* he decides to do something that (seemingly) goes against Normal's plan, it's depicted as some ultimate act of betrayal or Linc "giving up". I feel like we significantly understate how much the other teens *have* done for the sake of Normal's plan (seriously, are we actually gonna ignore Linc stabbing his leg on a candy cane- TWICE??), and how much they've lost in doing so. If every time they fuck something up undoes everything they've sacrificed or done right, well, that's quite the negativity bias!

So why don't we talk about Linc's decision, actually. Did we just witness Lincoln finally snap? Has he given up on Normal's plan to help the doodler? Has he given up on using empathy? Did Lincoln Li Wilson choose the easy option? I would say no! No to all of those! And I think especially upon a relisten of the final moments in the last episode, Linc's train of thought when he breaks the pic is actually quite clear. And yes, this is about Linc showing empathy towards Scary, but I want to talk about the actual implications of that a bit further as well. Let's start by looking at the final bits of dialogue leading up to the breaking of anchor:

**

Linc: "Scary, what are you even doing?"

Scary: "You gotta destroy it"

Linc: "We can't- you just heard the Doodler's gonna make the world worse it's gonna kill we just gotta find something, why do you have to destroy it-"

Scary: "You don't know that!"

Linc: "I mean you don't know it's not that way we can find another way to destroy it"

Scary: "No, Willy said that it's easier to control if we destroy the anchors"

[ANTHONY EXPLAINS THE SPECIFICS OF WHAT WILLY WOULD HAVE TOLD SCARY]

Linc: "Well we're not gonna do it that way okay, come on like, the easy way is-"

Scary: "Who died and made you the leader?"

Linc: "The easy way is usually the bad way right? Sometimes the better thing is harder."

Scary: "This is easier what you're just gonna tell the pic 'Oh I love you I'm so nice to you' and it's just gonna give you all its secrets that's not how life works."

[LINK TRIES SAYING I LOVE YOU TO THE PIC AND NORM EXPLAINS THAT HE ALREADY TRIED THAT]

Linc: "Okay well like you're right it's gonna be hard but- I know it's not a person but I don't want more people to die we've already killed enough people like can you just do one thing with us and just try to find a way to make this-"

Scary: "The Doodler is gonna kill more people you're not seeing the bigger picture!"

Normal: "What no, Linc don't listen to her!"

Scary: "Listen to me!"

[AND THEN LINC SNAPS THE PIC]

**

Okay there's... A lot to unpack here. I'll start by pointing out what I think are a few key things to take note of:

- Linc is seemingly adamant on choosing the empathetic route and not letting any more people get hurt

- Linc affirms that sometimes the harder route is the better one

- Scary rejects the notion that simply saying "I love you" or otherwise being kind in words could actually do anything

- Norm says "don't listen to her"

- Linc's decision to break the pic only occurs after Scary says what she does (above point), seemingly in conflict with what he himself said only moments prior about not taking the violent route.

What I think needs to be understood about Linc is that, more than anyone in the group, Linc's decisions are calculated. Yes they often catch us off guard (seriously the amount of times Linc has done something that's made me actually gasp in shock is a bit crazy), but once the dust has settled, his decisions are always clearly consistent with who Linc is as a person and his philosophy, and accordingly, never come from a place of selfishness. The humor of it aside, when Linc says that he never misses any shot that he takes (:( Can't find the exact quote), he is entirely correct (and admittedly while I probably should gather various examples to show you what I mean, Linc swapping places with himself and Nicky really is the most perfect demonstration I could possibly ask for, as it showcases both Linc's aforementioned selflessness and how Linc's seemingly shocking decisions are never actually accidents or executed with uncertainty on his end). Try to keep these above points in mind as we move forward.

Next, let's consider the pros and cons for Linc of breaking or not breaking the pic, as seen from Linc's perspective. I suppose the general impression I've gotten thus far is that many people seem to be interpreting Linc breaking the pic as a likely (or sure) sign that he has "given up" on Normal's plan, and given in to choosing the "easier" route. This, I perhaps a bit boldly argue, raises a number of questions and ultimately implodes in on itself as an interpretation after even a brief consideration of them. At the most basic, and perhaps least interesting level, it's not like it would be that hard to search a little bit for some demonstration of love (especially with a certain pair of will-they-won't-they partners not too far away... Though I feel like the pic also could have been interesting as applied to some of the other characters around right now? Anyways...) You could say then, that maybe Linc simply doesn't care about using empathy, and has ultimately lost confidence in Norm's plan by this point, so he takes the path of absolute least resistance cause, well, whatever. But wait, didn't Linc *just* say that they weren't going to do things that way, and that he doesn't want more people to be killed? (You might say then that he thinks Scary has a point on "not seeing the bigger picture" and believes that choosing violence here will result in less deaths, but frankly I just don't think there's anything promising or compelling enough about Scary's argument here for Linc to have any real reason to believe it, all the more so given Willy’s involvement). Are we to think, then, that Linc changes his mind purely on a whim, and a whim influenced by Scary of all people no less? Frankly, I see this as a severe underestimation of Linc's strength of character, and this is where we really do need to consider the degree of calculation and confidence that goes into Linc's decision making and risk taking. What I'm saying is, Linc simply doesn't fall victim to selfish impulses that way (and within the group this is a quality unique to him!). Moreover, even if Linc might have his doubts in Norm and his plan, he still has significantly more reason to go with that than to listen to Scary. Seriously, Linc has every reason to not listen to Scary here. When it comes to what Linc cares about the most, Scary has without a doubt harmed Linc more than the Doodler ever could (The significance of Tony Pepperoni being stabbed in Linc's home in front of his dad  c a n n o t  be forgotten or understated!!!). Even if Linc didn't care at all about showing empathy to the Doodler, if he were acting purely out of selfishness he would still have more reason to do so if only because it means not giving the satisfaction to or otherwise helping Scary (and Willy).

But Scary is confused, and Scary is lonely, and from her perspective she probably does feel betrayed. We (and Linc) are given some important information regarding Scary in this episode. Firstly, we get a glimpse into how Willy has twisted things and convinced her that violence is the better option (not because it's easier per se, but because more people will apparently be saved in the long run). Second, Linc finally understands what Scary needs... Or at least what she doesn't need. Specifically, he understands that simply saying "I love you" isn't enough. He understands that Scary will never believe it no matter how many times it is said, and that to really prove to Scary that she is loved and get through to her, he needs to show her, has to prove to her that, despite everything, he is still on her side.

Linc, I dare argue more than any of the teens, has so much reason to leave Scary behind. But he understands her now, and, against Normal's wishes, listens to her. In a weird way (if I'm not dead wrong about this whole empathy thing), this kind of is Linc's "throne of the doodler" equivalent. It would be so easy to not break the pic, to not choose to (help and) empathize with Scary after all the pain she has caused him, but that's not the kind of person Linc is, and I hope the points I raised earlier make that reasonably clear.

So no, I don't think Linc chose the easy option. I think he believes himself when he says that sometimes the harder route is the better one, and followed through on this when he took his shot.

Sincerely, if you think the Doodler is just a scared teen deserving of empathy and sacrifice and making tough decisions, but Scary isn't, then I think you've missed the point. The Doodler is just acting out and needs help, but when Scary or Linc break an anchor through violence (be it violently empathetic or not), we give up on them? We hope for Normal to abandon them when they're hurting and depict it as deserved or even righteous? I can't get behind that, I'm sorry. 

Furthermore, whereas Norm would certainly be justified in feeling concerned for the Doodler's sake if Linc's actions count as an act of violence, apart from that like, if Norm chooses to interpret Linc reaching out and showing support to someone as lost and alone and in need of help as Scary as a personal attack against him, either as a betrayal of their friendship (Norm is very jealousy-prone we’ve known this from the start!) or as a direct attack against Norm's perfect little violence-free narrative that lets him be the hero regardless of who gets left behind wait does he actually just hate Hero cause of her name hm, then that is, respectfully, completely a problem with him, and not with Linc. I think if Normal actually snaps from this, then his entire philosophy of choosing empathy is based on a lie, and Norm just wants to follow the narrative that allows him to be the hero on paper, so that everybody finally loves him.

Well that's a bit harsh huh. Believe it or not, I'm genuinely not trying to throw Norm under the bus here. But... I am trying to expose his flaws and shortcomings in relation to the other teens. This is important moving forward, because in refusing to seriously acknowledge the fact that Norm, while still having plenty of good in his heart, is someone who can be quite self-centered, and ultimately cares about being well-perceived and loved first and foremost, we become blind to the ways in which Norm, like Scary, is vulnerable to future instances of manipulation. That bit on appearance vs. true compassion isn't mere interpretation, by the way, Will has stated this quite clearly in episode 27 of teen talk (and in general I'd really rather not rely on that kind of bonus content in these sorts of posts but, well, it's hard to ignore this):

**

Will: (In reference to Norm's scene in the pride layer) "I feel like I understand Normal better now, like a kind of darker side of his psyche that's different from Henry... Like Henry's very concerned with being a good person but I don't think is super concerned with whether people like him or not, whereas Normal is like a little concerned with being a good person but *mostly* concerned- it's two different ways to solve love [he explains what it implies for Henry], the other is 'if everyone else likes me, that means I can take that in as well'."

**

I need to stress that I am not trying to imply that Norm is anywhere close to being a bad person, btw. Normal, like everybody else, has his flaws, but has proven that he has plenty of good qualities as well. What I *am* trying to imply is that Norm does have a tendency to put himself at the center of things, and is from a more meta standpoint benefiting from a narrative that puts him at the center of things (more or less guaranteeing that he will be seen as a hero of sorts no matter what- evident even in how fandom largely depicts him vs the other teens), and I'm just saying that if ever he found himself in Oakvale by some chance he might really appreciate the enforced anti-violence initiative put in place by the town's noble leader who really just gets him and praises him and-

I know (almost) nobody wants to hear this, but if Normal actually had a villain arc, it would most likely consist of him falling down the same path that Barry did. Barry was a hero, on paper. And the people around him certainly saw him as such, and loved and accepted him in some sense of the word, which is what he truly wanted at the end of the day. And he got rid of all the violence!!! 

But none of that makes Barry a good person.

*sniff sniff*

Hey... Has anyone else noticed the distinct lack of stinky weebs in this post?

As much as I myself am a bit more interested in the Linc side of things right now, I do need to talk a bit (or a lot) about Taylor too. My little guy! You haven't even had a proper, serious character arc yet and people have already decided that you don't have a shot vis a vis the upcoming anchors, despite easily being the most emotionally resilient and stable of the group. You know what, I'm gonna throw in most loyal too. If you'll humor me...

Taylor may not be the most empathetic of the teens (in fact, he may very well be the least), but this doesn't mean he doesn't care, and doesn't mean he isn't kind in his own way. What's particular about Taylor's brand of loyalty compared to the other teens that I think might make it a bit easy to overlook is that it while it is very strong, it tends to be reserved only for the people he chooses to call his friends (oh, and his mom!). There's no question of Taylor's choice to disregard what Nick tells him and go back to save Linc from the FBI, it embodies some of the most fundamental parts of who Taylor is as a person. Which I guess is to say that, there are ultimately only so many people Taylor chooses to have in his circle, but those bonds are extremely important to him, and he really is ride or die about them. I think that this aspect is most obvious when looking either at Taylor's relationship with Linc or Cassandra, but also with Hermie actually! Oh, and similar to the example with the FBI, Taylor's response to the whole Tony situation is perfectly consistent with this aspect of his character as well. Tony was not part of Taylor's circle, not someone he chose to let himself get attached to (because when Taylor gets attached to someone, it is indeed a very deliberate choice), so no, he's not gonna care that much about Tony's death. But he is bothered by Scary's betrayal. He is bothered because, even if they weren't the closest, Scary was, I would argue, still part of Taylor's circle. And yes, he is bothered by Linc leaving him alone in the last episode for the same reason, except that in this case it's probably worse actually. I know I'm straying pretty far from the original topic here, but still I think it's worth exploring the interesting position this puts Taylor in going forward, especially with respect to Nick. 

("Seriously baba when did this become about Nicky literally what are you talking about right now?")

Thus far, Taylor has made it very clear that no, he is not going to allow Nick to be someone he becomes attached to. There's a risk, in loving and becoming loyal to someone as strongly as Taylor does, and Nicky has not yet proven himself to be a risk worth taking. So what happens next? Nicky is (finally) around after all, so what might the future hold for little Taylor? On the one hand, Nicky's "words of advice" might begin to get through to Taylor, which could leave him in a pretty dangerous position. Taylor takes a big risk every time he lets someone in (everyone does but Taylor more than all the others because of how fully he loves and trusts and protects, is what I'm saying- er... He's a lot like his dad that way actually!), so what if Nick convinces him that nobody is worth that risk, and that everyone you hold dear will ultimately betray you? Well, I think we'd be left with a very lonely Taylor! Conversely, what if Nicky decides to prove himself worthy of Taylor's love? What if Taylor comes around and lets him in? ahaha shit I feel like there's a bad joke to be made about Taylor keeping his dad at arms length and his dad not having any arms right now god fucking damn it what even is this post. Will Nicky be able to maintain that trust? If he abandoned Taylor again, after Taylor has allowed himself to become attached (or if something happens to Nicky cause lets face it horrible things tend to happen to Nicky), I think Taylor might finally have a hard time getting back up.

What the fuck was I talking about? Oh yeah, so I guess going back to Norm, on the one hand, I guess on the more extreme end Taylor could actually take Linc's actions very hard, in which case I actually could see him sticking with Norm as an act of self-preservation. That said, I don't personally feel that this will be the case, that Linc is still ultimately in Taylor's circle, and accordingly Taylor's loyalty towards Linc will persist, albeit perhaps with a seed of doubt sewn at the back of his mind. And I don't think in that case that it's fair to frame this as Taylor betraying Normal? As others have pointed out, Norm frankly just hasn't really earned much in the way of Taylor's friendship. Really, as far as I'm concerned, Taylor doesn't really owe Norm much of anything at all. From the very beginning Norm has made it clear that he doesn't particularly care for Taylor, and ultimately has let his own jealousy and desire for attention (especially Linc and Hermie's attention) get in the way of ever really getting to know or appreciate Taylor beyond the surface level. Would I call it betrayal for Taylor to choose to continue to support his best friend instead of the guy who told him that anime isn't real? No, and I think the double standard is pretty obvious if we consider the reverse. That is, if Taylor chose Norm over Linc, after everything he and Linc have been through, would we be framing Linc as the victim of some grand betrayal? I genuinely don't think we would, at least not to the extent that we would with Norm. I suppose I'm saying all this, because well as aforementioned I just find there's been a lot of undeserved cynicism towards Taylor, and I think a lot of it does genuinely come from Normal's privileged position within the narrative as its de facto "hero" and what is most convenient for maintaining that image (and when I say "hero", that does include "righteous villains" who "deserve(d) to snap", just so we're clear on that).

Hmmmm I kinda wanna talk about Taylor and Normal as each other's foils but this post is getting a bit long isn't it... *Sigh* Not today, no, not today.

......Okay but still I have to say that if Taylor actually does finally get his "main character moment" I actually think that would be a great opportunity for Norm to acknowledge, reconcile, and learn to cope both with his jealousy and the parts of himself that are self-centered. Conversely, if Taylor does for one reason or another stray a bit too far into the habit of keeping people at arm's length out of fear of abandonment, betrayal, or the like, I think he could learn something from Norm too (having trouble phrasing exactly what I mean here, so perhaps I'll save the full notion for another time!)

So that's... Yeah, I think that's the most important stuff. I debated on sort of elaborating on examples of Norm's major character flaws, but despite everything my intent here was first and foremost to offer a "defense of the other teens" more than anything else. Though I will say that I think there is something to be said about how Normal's self-centeredness gets in the way of his ability to actually help those around him (Grant and Taylor both being great examples in "The Staircase"), how this contrasts with Linc's willingness to actually listen to and figure out what Scary needs in this most recent episode, and accordingly what Normal could potentially learn from Linc about not just choosing the route that's easiest for you.

[eerna]

Hi! I was the one complaining about Bird Harrow. It's been bugging me enough I rewatched the first couple of episodes. From a writing perspective, they introduce the Soulfang Serpent! It's only purpose is to do a body-swap! This scene serves other purposes, so it could just be a prop, but the snake comes back later. It serves to show Viren is kinda cutthroat about his goals (theoretically condemning another person do die in place in Harrow) and Harrow is a Paladin (Boy Scout) about stuff.

It's pretty good characterization! It shows Viren really likes his plans, especially because they're His Plans (which kind of makes it weird later when he's just super down for Avaros' plans. I know it's spelled wrong but I'm not looking it up. Moving on). He's an egomaniac, and Harrow carries guilt over the events that happened, and sees his impending doom as an atonement, though is still planning to put up a fight because it's his duty. Great, good. Next Episode!

Viren's still got the snake! Argument ensues! it's the one they had last episode, to remind everyone of their dynamic.

Bird alights on shoulder! This was a deliberate choice! for a reason! You don't just set this up because it's Dramatic!

Viren appears, sans snake. So at this point, we have two options. Either the animators made a... not necessarily a continuity blunder, but a real interesting choice, OR it's missing for a reason. (I'm being heavy-handed with this but I'm annoyed at the wiki) Yadda yadda, the "Invincible" Moonshadow elves apparently narrowly succeed in their assassination attempt. Suggesting that if Harrow had actually been allowed to fight they probably would've been fine, actually.

But he doesn't Fight. He doesn't emerge from his quarters at all! Really weird for a dude unwilling to sacrifice people merely to save his own life! Gosh, something must have happened in there! But What could it be????

anyway, next episode.

awesome armor aunt is introduced.

AND THEN THIS SHOT.

Viren doesn't care about this bird. There's no reason to cage the bird. The bird does not appear to have a cage, prior to this. It's an incredibly distinctive element they spent a lot of work on that, as far as I can tell, does not appear again. And most importantly. They never show Harrow's Body. Which is kind of an odd choice, if he wasn't a bird. Since if he wasn't a bird, it would be a dramatic shot! Nevermind the Dramatic Fight he could have had with the assassin! If he was a bird, well, you'd probably not want to show the king fighting like a bird in a man's body just for the dignity of it, and also showing his corpse would muddle the VERY OBVIOUS IMAGERY YOU'VE SET UP TO THIS POINT THAT THE MAN IS GONNA GET BIRD'D! Deep Breath. At SDCC 2019 creator Justin Richmond said that Harrow was killed by the elven assassins. This enters the realm of speculation, but unless he's just outright lying (which is... boring) it would indicate to me that this idea was cut at some point after most of these shots were finished, and it would be too expensive to remake them. So... most of the connective tissue was left, kicked under the rug as best as they could, afforded little other choice. Because the alternative is that they're incredibly, fundamentally unskilled at visual storytelling, which frankly, seems wild. The show is very, deeply flawed, but they do consistently demonstrate proficiency in the shots chosen for other threads in this opening plot. So many choices are done carefully and deliberately, that to fumble this one Major thing? Seems nutty. And it's really disappointing because Ezran coming home and chatting with Dad Bird and unravelling Viren's plot is Way more compelling than anything else they actually did do in the show. Come to think of it, maybe it's when they decided to have Aravos as the/a big bad. idk. Viren's dealing with Asarov to seem mildly-to-fairly inconsistent with his characterization in these early scenes. and not in a way that demonstrates any kind of meaningful arc.

Rant over. Thanks for listening. I doubt we'll ever get a good answer to this.

This was a highly entertaining read, np! I felt the same way when I rewatched the beginning of the show dsnjkavkas. Those first few episodes are directed much better than the rest of the show, and you're right, it's so weird if they are really meaningless. There is also a shot at the end of the season showing the bird escaping the cage, and then we NEVER SEE IT AGAIN. It shows up again only in Viren's imagination in s5. SO WHAT WAS ALL THIS FOR HUH. But honestly the show LOVES to introduce concepts and then drop them, so I wouldn't even be surprised if they just did it for the vibes and making it seem like a Cool Mature Fantasy Thing where the villain keeps the dead hero's animal companion in a cage instead of any proper writing reason.

[erdariel]

Hi! This is a bit random, but I’m always really interested by your Finnish posts, and was wondering if you have any recommendations for learning more about your country?

Any stories/bits of art or music that are particularly special?

No need to answer this if it’s intrusive or anything, of course!

Hello! Let me see... This post gets quite long, so I'll put my recommendations under a readmore! To be honest, most of them are just random Finnish stuff, not necessarily specifically oriented to teach anything about Finland, but it's something.

Any other Finns can reblog and add stuff if you've got better recommendations than I have, btw!

Music-wise I suppose it depends on what kind of music you like - if you're into metal music, there's a lot of Finnish metal bands and I think some of them even sing in Finnish, but it's not a genre I personally listen to a lot. What I myself listen to is frankly a mess that doesn't make any sense, but here's a couple relatively well-known Finnish songs that I personally occasionally listen to (the method of choosing was random "whatever comes to mind first"):

Autiotalo by Dingo

Rakkaus on lumivalkoinen by Yö

As for stories - I have to admit I read shamefully little Finnish literature. One thing that comes to mind, however, is Maria Turtschaninoff's Red Abbey Chronicles fantasy series! I heard of them from a friend and read them some years back, and personally I really liked them. I don't know that they'll tell you particularly much about Finland as a country, but I like them as books. And Moomins, of course - I haven't read the books since I was a child, and I've never seen the entirety of the 90s anime adaptation because we didn't have a tv when I was a kid, but they're lovely stories, and if they don't tell you about Finland as a country as such, they're still a big part of Finnish culture.

I suppose I could also point you towards some classics of Finnish literature (Seven Brothers by Aleksis Kivi, The Unknown Soldier by Väinö Linna, that sort of thing) but I also don't read a lot of classics, and I try to keep to a rule of never recommend books I haven't read and/or don't like personally, so I can't actually recommend them as such, all I can state is that they are classics of Finnish literature that exist and are set in Finland (of the two I mentioned, Seven Brothers is set in the 19th century in rural Finland, it's fairly comedic in tone, and generally held to be the first novel actually written in Finnish, while The Unknown Soldier follows a machine gun company throughout the Continuation War; so in terms of that, expect a number of violent deaths and all of that) and I'm relatively certain there are English translations of them (though whether those are easily available anywhere, that I cannot say)

Speaking of classics, there's Kalevala. You should be able to find one or two different English translations of it in Project Gutenberg. Now, with Kalevala there's a whole can of worms regarding cultural appropriation of Karelian culture and stories that I do not understand thoroughly enough to explain it properly, but I don't think there's any argument that it shaped the Finnish culture and national identity when that was still in the process of being created in the 19th century.

As for artwork, I don't have a lot of specific ones in mind, but you could take a look at the Finnish National Gallery's website and see what stuff there speaks to you!

You can also search for specific artist's works on the website, so here's for example pictures of the works of Akseli Gallen-Kallela, Hugo Simberg, Albert Edelfelt, and Eero Järnefelt, to name a few of our famous painters (note: i haven't refined those searches beyond selecting for a given artist, which means the search result includes a lot of sketches and stuff, but if you like, you can further refine the search to only show you paintings, for example).

Personally, I quite like the bunch of Hugo Simberg's paintings that portray Death (as in death as a character, pretty much the black-robed skeleton type). The most famous of those, I think, is this one, the Garden of Death:

[notsosilentsister]

The Wrath of Demeter

So Mike White said in an interview that the opening credits provide clues about the character’s trajectories. The actor playing Ethan is associated with the image of a man offering grain to a woman, who rejects the offering. The woman rejecting the offering is obviously Ceres/Demeter, goddess of agriculture, fertility and motherhood, mother of Proserpina/Persephone, whose cult had as particularly strong showing in Sicily, the site of her most ancient sanctuary.

Some implications are fairly straightforward. Since Ceres rejects Ethan, his union with Harper won’t be blessed with offspring. They talked about kids, but it’s clearly not happening, because Ethan doesn’t seem to be very keen on procreation. He hasn’t been too honest about this with Harper so far, because when the topic comes up with Daphne and Cameron, Ethan and Harper talk as if kids were still on the table. Ceres will gladly accept modest offerings, as long as they are pure. But Ethan’s offerings aren’t pure. He’s lying, stringing Harper along, pretending to maybe want a family with her, but not really putting his heart (and dick) in it. There is another interesting angle to Ceres: She is also the protector of plebeians. Plebeians could come to her temple and seek justice when they were mistreated by patricians. The dynamic between Ethan and Cameron is very much about status - Ethan is new money, Cameron is old money, Cameron likes to lord it over Ethan, Ethan still feels like the underdog. But here to, Ceres won’t protect Ethan. Ethan can no longer appeal to her, as he’s too keen on leaving behind his plebeian roots; he wants to finally lord it over Cameron in turn, yet still keeps acting the underdog. And that’s just another thing Ethan can’t admit (when Harper suggests that they’re just here so he can finally win that dick measuring contest, he denies it). Again, Ethan is lying. His offerings aren’t pure. Grain is not the only thing thing you could offer to Ceres. She’s also strongly associated with animal sacrifice. Her sacrificial animal is the pig. Indeed, the opening credits also show a pig being killed. So the question for me is: Who is the pig that will be sacrificed to Ceres? Traditionally, people used sows for that purpose. I do think that in this case, however, it will be a boar (Frankly, I wouldn’t bet on my ability to tell a sow from a boar, but I’m going to claim the pig in the opening credit looks more like a boar, doesn’t it?). And whose thoughts wouldn’t immediately jump to Cameron? In the opening credits, Cameron is associated with a the statue of an idealized male. He represents the pinnacle of a certain, much envied form of masculinity. The opening credits close on the image of a male statue, not at all disimiliar to the one used to represent Cameron, toppled and shattered.  Ceres/Demeter is also the mother of Prosperina, abducted by Pluto/Hades. Albie’s grandpa gleefully recounts the story to Portia on their outing in the second episode. What he leaves out is the part where Ceres/Demeters in her rage about the rape of her daughter is ready to doom all life on earth, refusing to let anything grow and bringing about eternal winter, until Zeus/Iuppiter intervens and forces Pluto to work out a compromise with Ceres. The story is ultimately about the devastating potential of female, and more specifically, maternal wrath (and also suggests that Ceres doesn’t care much about collateral damage). Some of this is echoed by the local legend about the moor’s head, the stranger killed by his deceived paramour. Sure these are stories about men taking whatever they want by all means necessary, and thinking they can get away with. But in these specific stories, they very much don’t. And isn’t it interesting that in the opening credits, Daphne is represented by the image of two babies? Clearly, she is the character in this show most strongly associated with motherhood and fertility.... and she does have some reason to be unhappy with Cameron.

I think that finally getting to punch Cameron in the face might be enough for Ethan to get it out of his system. He might not be the one to kill Cameron. But at this point there are probably quite a few people who have witnessed Ethan and Cameron fighting. Which would probably make Ethan a likely suspect should Cameron be murdered. Which might be very convenient for Daphne. All this time she’s been practically pushing Harper towards an affair with her husband, taking her to the palazzo to get her out of the way, so that Cameron could compromise Ethan and undermine his relationship with Harper, speedrunning intimacy with Harper by revealing darker and darker secrets, planting and continuously re-inforcing the idea that extra-marital affairs are the best way to regain power in the relationship, and then making herself rare in a convenient moment, to give Harper and Cameron an opportunity for a little flirtation. I thought she did that in accordance with Cameron, so that they could neutralize the threat of Harper, who would probably veto Ethan’s investments in Cameron’s projects. But maybe her true aim was to manipulate Ethan into lashing out at Cameron, to have a convenient fall-guy... Cameron seems the type to be blissfully unware how much Ethan must truly loathe him and just doesn’t realize that he’s playing with fire, but Daphne is probably a lot more perceptive, and might find a way to use that to her advantage.

[docholligay]

As a Children’s Story for Children: Animals of Farthing Wood

Age I was told midge should be: 4

Quick review: What a weird fuckin little show. Did I like it? Did I not? I don’t even know. If I can find a decent copy before Jewlet is older I would probably not be averse to showing it to her though, it definitely has Watership Down with training wheels vibes.

longer review:

You know, I didn’t really follow when Jetty did part of this show for the Giftening, so all I knew about it was that it was a show about animals people had compared to Watership Down. The nominator for this SPECIFICALLY said they don’t like to do that, and that makes perfect sense to me, as it would suffer horribly by the comparison. I think having been presented this with a specific thought of “Please don’t let anyone tell you this is anything like Watership Down” was incredibly helpful, and actually let me reachy my own Watership Down-y conclusions, while I also, agreeing with the nominator, would never ever use WD to pitch this. 

At core, it’s a show about animals being forced to leave their home due to human intervention, and there’s a lot of bad things that can and do happen to them on the way, and there the similarities stop. It’s got a much less serious tone to it, as you might imagine by the fact that all the animals make a pact not to eat each other and it was, at least as far as I got, abided to. 

But they do kill a character! Which surprised me, there’s a couple near misses and the newts go “fuck this shit” but then they in fact DO shoot Pheasant’s wife, and frankly it might be the only peace she knows because Pheasant is a fucking asshole. But it’s done fairly quickly and bloodlessly--this isn’t a complaint, it’s a statement--and so that’s why I say the Watership Down with training wheels. Which I think is actually kind of perfect, because it’s done in this way, and, because, frankly, the characterization is a little thin on the ground, the death matters but it doesn’t rock you, in the same way that they could kill nearly any charatcer and I would be more or less fine with it. 

I think Badger, Fox, Adder*, and Weasel probably get the most characterization out of anyone, and even then, it’s a bit stock. It’s one of those shows that I think shows its age--I actually do think Children’s cartoons have gotten better--but because we’re sort of thrown into things without being able to understand these characters as much other than archetypes (or less) it makes some of what could feel overwhelming as far as emotional stakes have  some distance. 

Which, in general, for four year old Jewlet, I like! I like there being hard consequences, but with characters you can hold at a bit of remove. It feels like a good tiptoe into the general thrust that doesn’t deny what happens in such situations, but doesn’t get you emotionally involved first. I think as we get OLDER, that is necessary, because there’s no point in hurting or killing characters if it’s not meant to truly move us and affect the story longterm, but for a little thing, I’m willing to allow the remove, which I find to be a much more elegant solution than “Characters can never really die” or worse, “They can come back” 

The dynamics of the group are sometimes frustrating and hard to understand. Some of this is the fact that we have animals with different needs and goals, all teaming up, to cross to a wildlife reserve. When…Toad could easily have stayed when the newts did. Mole could live in a fucking backyard. Fairly certain hedgehogs live in people’s gardens, and I know foxes can handle a certain amount of city or near-city life. Owl might need to seek out more forested area, and I’ll be honest I do notknow what the requirements of a Badger are, but many of the imperiled smaller animals wouldn’t actually need to go the full distance. Now, great news! A four year old is probably not going to think about that. But it could be an interesting thing to talk about “Why do you think the larger animals don’t carry the smaller ones? Why do the mice not stay near the house with a woodpile?” etc. 

Anyway, in all, this is the only thing I’ve done for Jewlet that I walk away from not knowing how I feel about it. But even WITH that, if I could find an easy copy, I think this’d be a decent pick for four year old Jewlet, just bedcause I think the strange balance of it really works as an intro to this sort of thing. 

*Oh my God, horrifying. So this whole time, I thought the snake was the only one who got a name, and her name was Edda or Ada, I went to go look it up and it’s actually Adder ahaha usually I am not afooled by such trickery, but, you got me.

[zanathan-aisling]

seeing people who hate chainsaw man explain why they hate it fucking owns. for one thing i’m glad i’m past taking shit personally even about what i gave up and declared my Favorite Thing Everrr, but like. the biggest part is like. theres of course glaring shit to be pointed out and questioned about CSM and how it depicts certain subjects and people. its treatment of women is.... fucking *weird*, galloping between quasifeminist (from a “let female characters be real people with real faults” perspective) and just straight up “every woman is just out to get poor young men. fucking bitches. >:(” and while I do ******not******* think it ever actually falls into the latter its not something i could ever blame someone for taking away from the text or interpreting as the intent. where and when it chooses to properly full-on sexualize characters is its own can of worms, showing remarkable restaint at *points* keeping denji’s horndoggedness third person slash not sullying the audience perspective with Direct Thirsty Male Gaze Shit (USUALLY), but it also pulls a *lot* of (RELATIVELY tasteful given. some. other anime but i might’ve just blown out my perspective on what constitutes tasteful from having poisoned myself with bakemonogatari as a teenager.....) nudity with Reze, who unlike Makima has no stated age and is presented as a far more “viable” love interest for the runt than her confirmed-to-be-a-working-adult ass. leaving the possibility that she’s underage (her design isn’t really that helpful given kobeni is like 20 and absolutely tiny). If she ISNT underage then that leaves room for the interpretation that the story is positively comparing her being romantic with denji to another adult doing similar, which is fucked up, but frankly the narrative doesn’t exactly condone what she pulls it just doesn’t spoonfeed you the fact that “denji still trying to romance the woman who bit his tongue off would be bad” WHICH MAYBE WAS ASKING TOO MUCH OF THE AUDIENCE BC. HOO BOY HOWDY HOWDY HOWDY LOOK AT THOSE SHIPPERS (IMO when she goes back to run away with him its not a romantic impulse on her part. the story more than establishes fair reason for her to try to “save” him from the city life that isn’t amorously-oriented. I’d be fine with it if she actually is his age though, which isn’t out of the question actually bc she’s practically a genderbend of yoshida design-wise sfldhsgklhksdghlksgd. That’d still come with the other “well that option makes the narrative worse in X way” things described earlier though.) THEN THERES THE LESBIAN ORGY AND I THINK THAT SPEAKS FOR ITSELF??? THERES NOT MUCH TO SAY THERE. THE HYPERVIGILANT PART OF MY BRAIN WANTS TO BRING UP HOW MUCH SMALLER THE FIENDS ARE THAN QUANXI BUT AGAIN KOBENI IS LIKE THE HEIGHT OF A MOUSE. OTHER THAN THAT I GOT NOTHING TO ADD OTHER THAN “FULL FRONTAL LESBIAN ORGY IN A SHONEN BY AN AUTHOR THATS at least for now A MAN”. 

But like. That got away from me for a bit. I love the manga to *death*, again its like the best fucking comic ever made bury me with it, but theres tons that even I could point out. EVEN from a narrative standpoint, the aspect that i think is the most perfect and wonderful, has fairly large holes that could do with criticism. Theres a lotta shit wrong with that piece of work. 

My ACTUAL point, and the point that makes criticisms of it “fucking own”, is that the manga is so god damn direct in its ethos that all people REALLY need to say as to why they don’t like it is “jesus christ denji is a horny gross wierdo”. Series comes with its own lightning rod for having to explain why you don’t like it. basically everything objectionable about it can be summed up one way or another with just talking shit about the protagonist. it rules its funny as fuck he’s like a rodeo clown. 

[calamity-bean]

I enjoyed The North Water! Fairly bleak, very bloody, dark subject matter and coarse characters, but quite beautiful in its visuals and appealing to me in subject matter.

I have a longstanding fascination with 18th- and 19th-century commercial whaling — the culture surrounding it and the physical work itself, gruesome and ecologically devastating though it was. Blame the impact that reading Moby-Dick and In the Heart of The Sea had on me at a formative age. So anything with that premise is going to be a big draw for me. I frankly love a whale hunting scene in media; I admire whales and wish no harm to them in reality, but the technique of how some guys in little boats could take down an animal of that size, the unspooling line, the boats skimming across the waves as the whale swims and sounds, is so interesting to watch or read about. Tense and horrifying and fascinating.

Likewise, the line between human and beast is one I really enjoy exploring in media, and while I think The North Water sometimes belabored the point a bit too much in the dialogue, I do always enjoy the visual of a character just absofuckinglutely bathing in blood. Drax and the crew celebrating in the geyser of whale blood — or, even more stunning imo, Sumner just fucking smearing polar bear blood all over his face in a scene of nigh-religious ecstasy, transcendent, raw flesh dripping from his teeth. Love that shit! Like many on this site, I'm probably guilty of overusing the word "feral" at times, but that's feral, feral and sublime in that combined attraction-repulsion way that is the beauty of the grotesque.

The characters were fine, the performances were all very good, but to be honest I was less invested in the characters (and much less invested in any of the interpersonal drama) than I was in the setting and themes. A bit unusual for me; I tend to greatly prefer media in which I bond strongly to the characters. And if you may watch it, do be warned that it deals with violence in many forms, including sexual violence (offscreen but thoroughly discussed). But still: a solid watch with themes, settings, and premises that are pretty well up my alley and that I enjoyed getting to spend time with. Plus, LOVE the use of shanties over the credits and the occasional traditional song featured here and there diegetically.

[waheelawhisperer]

on ironwood I recall hearing in a commentary that ironwood did issue out a warrant for robyn but the other counselors invited her while offering protection from arrest ( I might be misremembering it ) oh and one of the criticisms I have for rwby is pacing it would do alot better with a full anime time we could have gotten a more extensive look at mantle among other things )

If that's the case, then it really should have made it into the show because it completely changes the context around Robyn's presence at that meeting, but in the absence of any actual source, I'm gonna go ahead and just work off of the evidence we got on the actual screen.

I definitely agree that RWBY would be better with longer runtime, yeah. I mean, this probably goes without saying, but more time to tell the story typically equals better story. RWBY is in this weird situation where it has a lot of Volumes, but each individual Volume isn't particularly long (the whole thing clocks in around 24-28 hours, last I checked. If you tried really hard, you could binge the series in a weekend), so the show can feel like it's both rushed and taking forever to get anywhere, somehow. I think RWBY's Volumes are much better when binge watched, but the pacing still feels a little odd. I will admit that watching certain Volumes weekly was a real slog.

I do think that RWBY's scope and its resources do not align particularly well. This show is very ambitious, and I love that about it. I have a huge soft spot for media that shoots for the stars, even if it doesn't make it all the way. To put it another way, I respect shows and books and games and so on that have the balls to try, and I respect writers that try to push themselves out of their comfort zones and tackle heavy topics. Do I think RWBY always does a good job of tackling those heavy topics? No, not really. I think the show kind of dropped the ball with the White Fang plotline, for example, and that seems to be a fairly common opinion. Regardless, I respect the willingness to try.

That said, RWBY just... does not have the resources (budget, runtime, etc.) to tell the big, grand story it wants to tell as well as I wish it could. There are a lot of characters and plot threads to follow, and many of them don't get fleshed out as thoroughly as I wish they would. We don't get to explore the Kingdoms as much as I'd like, either, and we get important elements of the setting being explained in the World of Remnant shorts instead of the show proper, at least partly to cover up issues in the production pipeline. I think RWBY would be a better product if whoever's in charge of production found a way to align the scope of the project and the resources available to it more effectively. Either devote more resources to the show or tighten the focus, and I'll most likely be happier with the result.

Any discussion of RWBY's production and resources needs to include the acknowledgement that the show's production history has been... troubled. Pretty much every Volume has had some kind of factor that kept the crew from creating it unhindered, sometimes because the company messed up and sometimes because of unforeseen outside circumstances. I'll go through the list:

Volume 1: The show was really just Monty's pet project that hadn't proven itself commercially viable yet. Rooster Teeth hadn't yet thrown its full support behind the IP and everyone involved was finding their stride. I view Volume 1 as more of extended pilot/proof of concept than anything else, because frankly it isn't very good, but it showed a lot of potential and had just enough cool moments to keep me interested.

Volume 2: The team is still adjusting to working with actual support/resources and getting used to telling a story that's very different from the type of content that Rooster Teeth was used to producing at that point. Still, we see significant improvement over Volume 1. There's still a lot of growing pains,

Volume 3: Monty died. The crew was devastated, we had drama with stuff like Shane Newville dropping his famous letter and Glynda's VA going on a drunken Twitter rant or something, and several episodes barely made it to production on time.

Volume 4: The team switched to new software and was still coping with the aftermath of Monty's death. Some growing pains here are understandable, and while I'm not a particular fan of Volume 4 for several reasons, I'm willing to cut it some slack.

Volume 5: IIRC the head of RT's animation department was stealing resources from other projects to push Gen:Lock and then "left the company" when he got caught, so it's kind of hard to blame the crew for this one. While that doesn't magically get rid of the flaws in Volume 5, I'm a lot more inclined to forgive them when the person who was in overall command of the project was actively screwing CRWBY over.

Volume 6: The legendary crunch. This one is entirely on the company and I'm not excusing it in the slightest, just pointing out that shit working conditions make the end product worse.

Volume 7: I'm not actually aware of any issues with Volume 7's production (maybe the crunch was still a thing? IDK), and I don't think it's a coincidence that this is one of the better Volumes.

Volume 8: Oh, boy. This one was a doozy. CRWBY got hit with the double whammy of the covid-19 pandemic and the failure of the Texas power grid. I was not personally a fan of sitting on my ass in a house with no light or heat or power and using the stove to melt snow so I could flush the fucking toilet, and I can't imagine trying to do anything productive under those conditions. I certainly didn't. I think the adverse conditions had a significant effect on the quality of Volume 8, and I blame most of my issues with the Volume on the disruption caused by the pandemic and the freeze.

I think this is the cause of the very controversial scenes where Ruby, Weiss, and Blake spend time at the Schnee mansion. Apparently, those three were supposed to go inside the whale at one point, but that got cut, and I think it got cut because CRWBY had to adapt to something nobody was really prepped for. I don't personally like the decision to have all the protagonists stay in the Schnee mansion while not fighting the fight they were insistent upon fighting at the end of Volume 7, I get why it was so controversial, but I'm willing to chalk it up to messed-up circumstances. I might elaborate on that at some point, but that should probably be a post on its own.

Anyway, I think CRWBY made the right decision by prioritizing the health and safety of their workers. I'd rather have a worse product than encourage them to force their workers into unsafe working conditions. That said, I can feel that way and still acknowledge the detriments that decision and the circumstances surrounding it had on the final product. I think the crew tried really hard to adapt the story to the sudden paradigm shift caused by covid and my dogshit state's dogshit leadership and infrastructure and didn't succeed particularly well.

On a related note, fuck you, Greg Abbott. Hope my dumbass state government collectively swan dives into a wood chipper.

So... yeah, RWBY's production history is weird and complicated, and I think the quality of the show has fluctuated wildly because of it. I'd love to see what RWBY could be with the type of budget (in terms of both money and other resources like runtime) dedicated to big blockbuster shows. I think that giving the show the resources to match its ambitions would truly take it from good to great. I know it's not as simple as "just giving them a bigger budget", but we're talking hypotheticals here. A guy can dream, can't he?

[everyothermouse]

Hi have some oc questions tgt jay answered abt these 4 cus he was having a stress moment. Questions from this

(These are just alternating in order, the characters weren’t picked for the specific questions. Also “I” in this refers to jay, this was really just for him to fucking Relax, this info isn’t that important to /lh)

If they were an animal, what would they be? What is the first thing they’d do when they learn they’re an animal?

Pastel! She would be a frog, it’s her favorite animal and she loves to bounce around and collect bugs, additionally she is easily adaptable to any situation, just like an amphibian! She is also a friend, which is perfect for her, as I’d consider her my best friend (no offense to my other friends.) She’d be elated if she woke up one day to find she was a frog, though likely stressed that she couldn’t properly continue her human life, responsibilities, and hobbies, such as taking care of her little siblings, playing the bass, and going to school. Still, she has a great life as a frog in my Forest Ward tl, so I’m sure she wouldn’t be bad at it.

How do they like their eggs? (Fried, poached, soft-boiled, etc.)

Jay~ personally I enjoy my eggs sunny side up! I assume Neighborhood Jay is much the same, though I’m sure he’d also enjoy some delicious, runny, poached eggs.

How do they see themselves in their head, and how is that image wrong? 

Pipes/ Pipes has a very  warped image of nixself. In voids head, ni is disgusting, nix’s body is twisted and bony, voids face pale dead and horrifying, voids voice all too deep and all too loud. But in reality, Pipes is meek and quiet, void is skinny yes, but not in a way that anyone in their friend group ever really notices beyond their first meeting, except of course when voi hasn’t been eating. Nix’s face is not gaunt or scary, in fact it’s nowhere near as thin as voi thinks it is, it’s fairly normal. 

If they talked in their sleep, what weird jumble of words would come out?

Sailor B) Sailor would probably mumble about some odd adventures. Something about waffles and dragons and disaster and vampire lovers. His dreams usually involve us, though they also typically involve much nonsensical fantasy. I wish my dreams weee that interesting, they really are often either stress dreams or mimics of my day to day life (though frankly, my stress dreams are also similar to my day to day life, unfortunately.)

Do they prefer arm day or leg day?

Pastel! She prefers leg day! She loves to have strong arms to carry the world, but she enjoys leg exercises a lot, and she always says that upper body strength means nothing if you don’t have lower body strength! Her legs are absolutely ripped, she could run across the whole field with me in her arms if she wanted to!

What is the longest they’ve ever slept in?

They’re  on their way to the hospital when they hit a parked car. They can’t  stop, and don’t have paper for a note. They drive away without telling anyone what happened. How do they ease their conscience?

Jay~ I don’t really feel guilt, so I would simply live with it. Frankly, I would just hope that no one saw it properly so I wouldn’t have to pay for anything. 

Favorite pizza toppings? List the top five in order, best first.

Pipes/ skeleton (as in just crust, no sauce no cheese), plain cheese, broccoli, spinach, anchovy.

Sailor B) ham, beef, pepperoni, chips, additional sauce (esp garlic and marinara)

Pastel! Cheese, pepperoni, pineapple, olive, fruit in general

Jay~ beef, egg, pepperoni, mushroom, honestly anything, I’m not picky!

If they suddenly vanished, what would their family assume they were up to?  (Shopping, pranking people, overthrowing governments, etc.)

Pipes/ probably just hiding out at one of nix’s friend’s house. They’d likely contact void or nix’s friends parents if voi was out for too long.

What’s their least favorite possession that they wish they could get rid of, but can’t / shouldn’t?

Sailor B) his hair, he’d get in massive trouble if he cut it so he doesn’t exactly get to, even if he really really wants to.

If they spray-painted a wall, what would they write / draw?

Pastel! Frog

Do they find fart noises funny? (Be honest.)

Jay~ no. But sailor does.

They wake up invisible. Do they ask for help right away, or do they stay hidden? What do they do while invisible?

Pipes/ Void would be so happy. Voi’d think nix’s greatest wishes had been answered. Voi wouldn’t ask for help, just try to carry on life as invisible, as it’d be nix’s ideal life.

What one aspect of their physical appearance do they think is hot?

Sailor B) he’s pretty dysphoric so he doesn’t look at himself much but he really likes the way he talks. He thinks he’s an expert flirter, which to be fair, he gets more bitches than me and pipes. That’s not exactly a high standard, but still. 

and that’s as far as he got, neato. I could answer more of the questions if u were wondering abt any of them, but if not I’ll just leave them in my googles docs for if jay wants them.

[misdre]

some things about beyblade character names

there are a few names that keep popping up in fandom things that aren't the canon names of the characters and i find this just kind of curious, so i thought i'd look at some. (prefacing this by saying this is just explanatory canon stuff. do use whatever headcanon names you want regardless of what misdre is saying on the internet again)

kyouju/professor/chief/kenny: starting with a simple one but he somehow has exceptionally many different names. his actual name is manabu. (poor guy is never called this by anyone but his own mom)

takao's grandfather: it's ryuunosuke, as opposed to just ryu(u) which seems to be a fanon equivalent that i see used here and there. maybe ryuunosuke feels too long so people just chop it in half to make spelling easier, i dunno.

'brooklyn masefield' and 'mathilda alster/angelloni/some other version': they don't actually have canon surnames. i also use the fanon names for convenience in fics, but they are just that. the ones used for mathilda are actually so close to each other that i have wondered if there is some kind of source for them, though, since i've also seen japanese fanart using angelloni. but none of the manga material from aoki has this name on it for what i’ve seen.

volkov/vorkov/balkov: i know a good chunk of the fandom just calls him boris per the english dub but anyway. the 'balkov' spelling i believe also comes from the dub. in the original, his name is specifically spelled with the katakana formation for rendering letter v, which japanese innately doesn't have. whether it's supposed to be 'volkov' or 'vorkov' i don't actually have any other evidence on than volkov being by far a more common russian surname and given that all the other characters have john smith-esque names, i put my money on that one personally. but japanese uses r in place of l so it’s still dubious anyways for all i know.

rai and mao’s surname: it’s chen (or cheng) as written in the manga. the ‘chou’ version i believe comes from a weird misspelling in the anime, but there’s an occasion of DJ calling them chen there as well so i think that’s just the anime staff not knowing how to spell anything in latin alphabet (i mean, gouki is spelled ‘gouache’ in s2. it’s that bad) also ‘wong’ is an english dub fanon name i think, AFAIK not many characters had dub canon surnames

sergey's surname: it's rybakov. i believe a fanon version is petrov and the reason it's been used is that aoki only fairly recently called him sergey rybakov in the manga.

garland's surname: i see him called 'siebald' a lot and i don't know if that's from the english dub, but in the original it's.... well it's something else, frankly i haven't been able to figure out which real name it's supposed to be but it's 'shettobaruto' in japanese. zetbalt? schetbalt????

olivier's surname: it's bohringer. the ‘boulanger' fanoning i guess has just come from people who don't know either french or japanese very well going 'it kinda looks like this so i’ll go with it’, but bohringer and boulanger are actually pronounced differently and aoki confirmed bohringer in a bday art for olivier. and sometimes he somehow gets called ‘polanski’ and i can’t begin to explain why olivier would be called a pole but.

also, not a character name but anyway, the chinese team name in g-revolution: byakko/the white tiger is báihǔ in mandarin, the team name is that plus a -zu at the end which probably indicates the plural -s from english. japanese makes no difference between the fu and hu syllables which is why it’s technically spelled baifuuzu. lesson of the day is that it takes a bit of knowledge to tread the wild world that’s non-japanese names and words spelled in japanese because the system goes by how the words are pronounced according to japanese phonetics (and it’s crazy yes)

that's the ones i could think of. again, this is more like, for anyone who's interested or has wondered about some. not out here to judge people.

[inuyashaha]

The first of many sad ramblings about Yashahime...

Lets call this post: They Did Rin Real Dirty...

In the original, Rin never had much screen/page time, but when she appeared, she made a big impression -- she was brave, polite, loyal, funny, sassy, fearless when it came to defending those she loved. Jinenji compared her to Kagome, feeling that she had the same kind of loving and bright soul. She also had a lot of trauma which was acknowledged and shown to still trouble her, though she tried to overcome it by talking and focusing on bright, silly chatter. She also sang to comfort herself when she was away from Sesshomaru and Jaken. Her fear over losing Sesshomaru and Jaken was an important part of her personality, and though it was not said explicitly, living with Kaede was an important step for her to cope with her trauma over losing people she loved. Small though her role may be, she was a big personality, and she was of the utmost importance to Sesshomaru's character arc.

I was not at all surprised that Rin was the mother of Sesshomaru's children. I don't think you were ever supposed to think of Rin and Sesshomaru as "romantic" in the original, but you could not deny that they had a very deep platonic love for each other. At the end, when Rin is left behind in the village to grow up, it seemed a pretty clear signal that the option for them to get together later was on the table. Separating them allowed her to grow up, sort out her trauma, and have a real choice when it came to following him again (in whatever form that might take). There was also the Assate CD, which call it non-canon, satire, or whatever, it showed us fairly explicitly the romantic possibility between the two.

I'm not going to defend the morality of Rin as Sesshomaru's wife. Other people have done it better. I had no problem whatsoever with Rin as his wife, but the way Sunrise portrayed their relationship gave a lot of ammunition to people who did not want to see Rin as the mother of the twins.

First of all, from the very beginning, the powers that be chose to play coy with who the mother was. Anyone who had seen the original and understood that Kagura, being dead and a demon, was not able to give birth to hanyou for the sequel could figure out there were not a lot of options for the mom. It was not hard to figure out, but they made the audience wait until January 2021, almost a year past the first announcement, before they confirmed. They hinted -- Narita and Noto hosting the event revealing the girls design, Rin in the tree, some subtle hints with the twins characters, but over all, they left everyone hanging, and the resolution wasn't worth it. Those of us who knew were just tired by that point. Those who did not want to believe Rin was the mother were disappointed.

I don't blame the people who wanted to see Kagura return for being disappointed. For all that I was convinced that it was Rin, I saw where the Kagura fans were having their chains yanked. For example, why give Towa red/pink eyes when Rumiko had designed her to have gold? Towa's ponytail when she was a little girl looked exactly like Kagura's ponytail. In the first episode, Towa was wearing a robe with the same motif as the infant's clothing. Interesting choice by the animators! Finally, Towa's romance with Riku, an incarnation of Kirinmaru, certainly has something of the same flavor of Kagura and Sesshomaru's relationship. Like father, like daughter?

In addition, like many of the Kagura fans, I was fairly convinced that what we were seeing on screen was some kind of illusion, that at some point, the girls were going to wake up and find out they were in some kind of elaborate training sequence. There were so many odd discrepancies, so many quite frankly cruel choices made for the characters and the narrative, I, like many others thought there must be some kind of reset in the works. Surely, they would not leave our beloved characters in such a narrative mess?

But they did, and I think Rin suffered probably worst of all. Rin had the potential to be fleshed out beautifully. Her backstory, her travels with Sesshomaru, the bond they already shared...there was so much that they could build on to show us what kind of woman she became, worthy to be the wife of the greatest of all yokai.

Instead, they locked Rin silent and weeping in a tree for 3/4 of the entire series. We never saw her truly shine except for a few, very few seconds where she stood up to Zero and Kirinmaru. She barely spoke except to call out names: Sesshomaru-sama! Jaken-sama. Towa! Setsuna. Moe got more dialogue with the girls than Rin did (more on that later).

Also, this may not be a popular opinion, but they did her SO dirty with her character design. It's not about her being short...though she is REALLY short. It's the fact that except in a few scenes, she is made to look like a child. I don't think she's a child. I don't think Sesshomaru groomed anyone. However, I do think that Rin's character design is at best, unfortunate. At worst, it's deliberately malicious to spur controversy. Given that we know the animators CAN draw her beautifully, why show her on the official pages looking like that? Why did all the marketing show her as a child? Why did they keep her in the purple robe she wore as a young girl when we were SHOWN that she was given new ones? We know they were paying attention to the fans, in part because of that ridiculously weird non-sequitur Jaken dropped about "Rin being about 18-years-old at that time..." Get out of here with that. They knew what they were doing. They were stirring the pot to get a reaction rather than, you know, just telling a good story.

Also, they took away everything about Rin that made her so wonderful. Rin was one of the liveliest, chattiest characters when on screen, but they put her in a coma for almost the entire series.

Rin wore beautiful kimonos, gifts from her lord and her eventual husband. He showed his love and affection, honoring her with rich and beautiful clothing. They showed her in her underwear for the entire series, and when she finally got dressed, it was in the old kimono she wore when she was a kid.

Rin loved to sing. Music was her thing, at least in the anime and in the funny extras that were recorded to go along with the movies. Her song for Sesshomaru was sweet and wistful. She sang funny songs with Jaken. There is even a little subplot in one of the extras (yes, I know, not canon), where she says she wants to sing for Sesshomaru because she finally has her voice back because of him. Setsuna's lullaby is supposedly from Rin. Setsuna remembers it from the womb (how fucking stupid was that...you could not have let Rin actually sing to her babies...I'm so bitter). We get mere seconds of Rin going "da-da-da" to the melody. RIN! The SINGER. Does not even get to sing to her babies the lullaby she created. Towa gets to talk about how Moe comforted her with music after she fought, and Setsuna learns music from Moe, Towa's adoptive mother. Setsuna plays the lullaby with Moe, and yes, she plays it FOR Rin, how much more moving with it have been to have Rin sing to her or with her? Instead, we get Setsuna watching 'Moe-Sensei" with stars in her eyes thinking how amazing she is. And at the very end of the series, MOE plays RIN's lullaby while thinking of the girls. Rin NEVER has a moment with both girls and the lullaby. That's just cruel, and I swear to God, it seems like it's mean on purpose.

Speaking of being mean, the worst of all is that the writers chose to take Rin, a character who watched her entire family get murdered, who died twice, who had to restart her life with Kaede, a girl who had been rendered mute by trauma, and give her even more hell.

They took away Rin's voice. Again. They took away her family, her children. Again. They gave both Rin's music and her children to Moe, a new character that I cannot imagine anyone cares about. It wasn't an illusion. Time was not turned back. They took everything from Rin again, and then showed that she is happy and smiling, trotting off after her lord while the children she birthed but will never raise go flying off in the sky on their stolen -- ahem, "borrowed-- ride. The original honored Rin's tragedy, showing her pain and methods of coping. Yashahime added to the pain and dared to show her unaffected by it.

I hated what they did to Rin. While I love the idea that Sesshomaru and Rin married and had children. I cannot get over what they did to Rin's character and story.

[titilationexpress]

StarscreamxReader-Sweet Dreams are made of Screams Ch.1

First ever lemon. Please give your input. Reposting from my Ao3.

You haven’t been able to sleep properly for weeks now. And frankly, you’re wondering if you ever will again in your lifetime.

Yet what caused you to have such a problem with something that once came to you so easily? Ok, maybe not easily. No, scratch that. It was never easy. You had to take some sleeping pills every night to even get a few hours in. Still, how did it happen?

Well, the trouble had started back not long ago. In fact, from what you could recall, it hadn’t even been a full month before your ‘problem’ started. See, you were a fairly average individual. You had your quirks, your habits, the little things that make each person an individual. One particular interest you had though was quite specific, and even more, came from a decade long before you were born.

Transformers.

Oh yes, your beginnings were humble when you first started with the franchise, and you looked with wide, awe-filled eyes. Your starting place was where you first discovered it, the one show that will remain in your heart forever. From that, you got into the characters, the story, the lore of what started as a toyline for young boys (though it was clear now that both sexes had a love for it), all of it. And from there, you went on to past and future generations from your starting point, and now, you were a certified Transformers fan! Hell, one of your favorite sites ever is TFWiki.

With this entrance into the fandom, you took to devouring everything that you could: the cartoons and animes, the books, the movies, fanfiction, fanart, fan comics, doujinshi, anything and everything that you could get your hands on, you did. And not long after, you began contributing yourself, drawing, writing, whatever you could to make your stand and have your place in the community. At first, it worked well enough, you weren’t exactly prolific, yet you were doing well enough. You managed to get a few requests for certain things to be drawn/written, believe it or not, but still, you weren’t overly big.

And then came your discovery of the Reader genre.

What is the Reader genre? Why, as far as you were concerned, only one of the greatest genres ever to be conceived! Well, to be more accurate, the form of writing wasn’t anything new, remembering the ‘Choose Your Adventure’ books. It seemed said genre now spread everywhere, you being very aware of the numerous games and dating sims that ranged from well done and engaging to outright ridiculous and stupid (but those were fun in their unique way). And since you didn’t have any knowledge or time to do that, you settled for writing them yourself. Your first piece was a simple Optimus x Reader with the standard plot and standard outcome, which was a declaration of love and a resulting kiss with the Autobot Leader. You were NOT expecting the overflow of response that it had gotten. You were quite shocked, but at the same time, overjoyed. Soon, you decided to try your luck with another one, this one being of Bumblebee, the scenario being mostly the same, albeit with a bit more cutesy fluff, as in your mind, Bumblebee was always the little guy. This one was just as successful, and you beamed, having finally found your calling.

Since then, you were getting requests left and right for more and more choices, all spanning different universes. From the animated cartoons to the comics, different universes, everything that spanned from the most well-known incarnations to the more obscure. It was through these that you managed to get even more into the Transformers multiverse as a whole and even discovered some truly overlooked gems. You opened yourself up to the people and declared that you would write whatever they requested, but you had some taboos that you wouldn’t touch. But any scenario, character, and universe, all of that was fair game.

You had originally begun working on more mundane, typical stories with expected outcomes (but sweet ones nonetheless), yet over time, the requests and your imagination began getting more creative and crazy. Soon, you were delving into several different areas that you had never touched. Elves, goblins, mermaids, vampires, forbidden love, love triangles, all of these were laid at your feet. And while it took a bit to find your rhythm, all of this having come on you so fast, you eventually got it and soon, you had a wide collection of X Reader stories, ranging from G1 to Prime and IDW’s run.

You mainly did Autobots, for you had to admit that writing for them, while they were still complex characters, came somewhat easier for you. True, each of them had their faults and quirks (both from canon and headcanons people had come up with), yet they were still the good guys, and even those with more questionable morality still came out as heroes in the end. But then one day came where you were asked to write about a Decepticon. This threw you for a loop, as, while the thought had intrigued you, you had been writing for good guys for some time, so a total shift in direction was somewhat off-putting and scary. Possibilities of it being too saccharine or sweet, or getting the characters wrong or out of character scared you a bit, yet still, you wanted to test the waters and see if you could do it. And if you could, this would open up so much more for you.

And judging from the input, you had just struck gold yet again.

Soon, not only were you flooded with requests for Autobots, but now their foes were also available, and, as you found out, people had just as much an attraction for the darkness as they did for the light. Again, the same scenarios were implemented, yet now, they had something of a darker edge to them, which allowed you to explore some subjects you couldn’t touch with the Autobots without toning it back somewhat. In a way, the Decepticons provided you with more freedom. Ironic, seeing as Megatron’s motto was “Peace through Tyranny.”

That said, you went through the list of available characters throughout the generations, and so far, those had been garnering quite a following as well, your Autobot and Decepticon stories neck and neck in popularity. Everything seemed to be going well for you.

Then that one question came.

‘Hey, where’s Starscream?’

Then another.

‘Could you write one about Starscream?’’

Then another.

‘Hey, hate to bother you, yet I think that Starscream could use some love here.’

More and more questions and requests for the particular Decepticon filled your messages, and frankly, you were at a loss on what to do. Truth be told, you and Starscream had something of a complicated history. When you had gotten into Transformers, you had heard of the character, yet at first, you never saw why he had gained such a large fanbase. True, he wasn’t a bad character, yet he wasn’t your favorite. But over time, as you wrote more and more for the Decepticons, as well as read X Reader stories from other people, you slowly began to, as one would say, gain an interest in the winged robot. And soon, you found yourself enamored by the smug jerk as well.

But this only made you reluctant to write for him.

True, when you started writing for the Decepticons, you were allowed to experiment with some more intimate and extreme situations, yet with Starscream...it was different. It was hard to explain, yet whenever you got a request to write for him, your brain seemed to seize up. Thoughts came to your head that you had tried to banish, thoughts that came every time you saw the Seeker’s name. You had no idea what was going on or why this was so difficult, yet it seemed the Silver Snake had taken to making your fingers not touch the keyboard.

You had no idea at all. Or at least, that’s what you told yourself.

And since you had gotten the slew of requests, your sleep problems began. The moment you shut your eyes, the scenario began all over again.

…

You needed no introduction to where you were or what you were seeing, it all quite familiar to you now. Around you were towering walls of a silvery mauve color, the only available light from above sparse and leaving several areas coated in darkness. This place was all too familiar, for you had seen it many times in your watching and reading of Transformers.

You were in Decepticon headquarters.

Your dreams had been filled with the base of the enemy faction of the Autobots, and at first, it had shocked you as to why you were here at all. But over time, night after night, you came here, and soon, you grew accustomed to the sight of it. You took on the form of your Transformers persona/OC or remained in your regular, human form, whatever pleased you as if you had some control over this environment. Yet as you grew more familiar (you were never sure if you’d be comfortable), you began to explore the place, finding that, to your surprise, there was no one here. No signs of any sort of life aboard the ship, and while it took a good while, you traveled everywhere you could think of, and still, nothing. No Megatron, no other Decepticons, no one but you had been aboard.

At least, that was what you believed when you first had this dream. Then, you heard it. The voice. His voice.

“Oooh, I’m the Boogie Man,”

Singing, serenading, just loud enough for you to hear, yet low enough for you to know it was far away. It always started this way.

“The terrible, horrible Boogie Man,”

Your ears/audio receptors registered the voice as it echoed throughout the ship. When the dreams had begun, you knew immediately who was singing, and then you were more surprised at how it sounded. Sure, it had its infamous high pitch, yet it wasn’t bad to listen to. Daresay, it was rather enjoyable in its own way.

“I come in the middle of the night and frighten bad little girls like you.”

The first few times you had this dream, it would almost always startle you, yet it led you to look down the other balls and corridors of the ship. The results were always the same though: no one was aboard. No one but you...and him.

“Beware, better have a care,”

The song changed each and every time you entered the dream, tonight being a track you heard on a video game you played not too long ago (Bioshock 2 you believed). Yet the songs always had the same effect on you.

“I’m going to follow you everywhere.”

Despite your trepidation, you wanted...needed to follow it.

“I crawl through the ceiling and the wall and call on bad little girls like you.”

Walking, then running, you traversed the winding path before you, taking several left and right turns, having no sense of direction but that voice. A voice that, despite its infamous sound, held power to it, a siren’s song in a way. Ironic, you thought. Still, you followed, for you had reached your limit. You knew what would happen if you didn’t find him.

“I’ll torture you and hunt you,”

And never leave.

I’ve got you where I want you,”

And never let you escape this dream.

“A victim of my dark and dirty plot.”

And he knew it too. He knew he had power over you. And you hated it.

“And at the slightest whim, I’ll tear you limb from limb,”

Or…

“In other words, I’ll put you on the spot.”

Did you?

“Oooh, I’m the Boogie Man,”

You were close. So dangerously close.

“The terrible, horrible Boogie Man.”

Just a turn around the corner.

“I come in the middle of the night and frighten…”

He paused, you stopping in your tracks at what you saw. There he was. Situated behind violet bars of energy in a cell, the Decepticon stood there with his arms folded and looking upon you with satisfied, hungry red eyes.

“...bad little girls like you.”

It was him.

Starscream.

Your favorite incarnation of Starscream, those ruby orbs boring into your own eyes/optics. You stepped back from the cell, eyes/optics wide at what was before you. Sure, if you were to go by dream logic, some part of you always knew that it was ‘him’ that awaited you at the end of this journey, but still, to actually see him, standing there so casually when it looked like he was locked up, it chilled you. As if he had absolutely nothing to worry about.

“My, my, so you finally found me,” he said, his voice perfectly matching the incarnation that stood before you. “Or rather, I found you. Whichever way it goes, it doesn’t matter,” he smirked. “For I already know the outcome.”

You blinked a few times, still trying to see if who was before you had truly been there. “St…” you began nervously. “Starscream?”

The Decepticon chuckled and stepped out of the shadows, allowing you to fully see him. “In the mesh,” he said. “And I see that introductions won’t need to be made either, will they, Y/N?” your eyes/optics went wide. “That’s right, pet, I know everything. This IS your mind after all.”

“Wh-What?” you stammered. “I don’t understand.”

Starscream’s grin only grew wider. “You will soon. You will understand EVERYTHING.”

Just what was he talking about? From the looks of it, he seemed to be enjoying your tension and trepidation, very amused. Your mind went into fan mode, recalling every fact you had known of Starscream and his various incarnations, which then led to you going on the defensive. “You…” albeit, it took you a try or two. “You’re the one that’s been doing this to me. Giving me these...these weird dreams.” the Decepticon didn’t answer, yet it was clear that he already knew that the secret was out (even if it wasn’t much of one). “You’re also the one that’s not letting me have one decent night’s sleep without being trapped here!”

“Or me serenading you?” he added in. “How do you like it? I don’t do it often, yet if I wish, I can stretch out my vocal components if I want.”

Your cheeks grew hot. Damn, this bastard was already making you too wound up, and you had only gotten a few words in! “Well...I’m here now,” you said, trying to sound confident, and, ironically enough, trying to channel Megatron’s dominating aura. “So, what do you want?”

This didn’t phase him in the slightest. Despite him being the one locked up, you were the one who felt like his prisoner. “I think you already know that dear Y/N,” he said. “But to put it simply, I’m feeling left out.”

You were confused. “Left out?” You asked. “Left out of…” you paused. Indeed, you knew well what he was talking about. “My...my reader inserts.”

Starscream nodded. “Quite an extensive library you’ve built up over time.” He told you. “Though your choices could be much better.” he scoffed. “Of course goody-good Prime would be on the list, along with the rest of the Auto-dolts.” Then he grimaced. “Yet there are those that actually want to FRAG Megatron? Ugh! No taste at all!” He then looked back at you. “You’ve written for everyone, from either faction, of every series,” he then pouted. “But none for me. Truly, Y/N, I’m hurt.”

You felt quite awkward. True, while you were known online for your stories, it was your username and persona they were seeing. They weren’t someone that was right around the corner that could walk in and see you writing these things. While you loved doing it, the thought of your family or friends discovering you wrote in this genre was a thought you dared not entertain, as you swore that you’d die from embarrassment. Thus, you were very careful whenever you did it, your room completely locked tight so you could focus without fear of someone barging in. The only times you left during your writing periods were for bathroom breaks and/or to eat/drink something. It was a big secret...and thinking about it now, it was a secret no more to the most infamous backstabber in all of Transformers. You had been found out.

“Well...so what? Are you going to keep haunting me until I do?” you asked. “You can’t do that!”

Starscream didn’t seem phased by this at all. That damned smirk of his both frustrated and made you excited, a combination that left you very unsure. “Can’t I?” he asked.

You didn’t like his tone. “What do you mean?”

“Well, let’s consider for a moment, Y/N,” he said. “You believe that I’m merely a figment of your imagination, yes? A stubborn thought that is lodged in your subconscious. Am I right?” you shifted a bit, knowing well what he was saying would lead to something else. Something that probably would flip everything on its head. “Well...who’s to say that I am?”

“I...I don’t understand.”

“Of course you don’t. But what I say might just jog your memory.” he then went on. “In your last X Reader, you spoke of multiple versions of the characters, such as Prime and...yes, even Megatron,” Starscream scoffed. “And how it would’ve been peculiar if they met. Then, one of your readers linked you to a page on the TFWiki.” Starscream then chuckled. “Quite an array of knowledge, I must say. Especially for a primitive species such as yourselves. Anyway, said page spoke of what is labeled as the Transformers Multiverse, which, if I may say, is an excuse for you all to toy with and shape us into what YOU want. But back on track, you did a small amount of research on that, then went on about your business.”

“...and what does this have to do with why you’re here?”

Starscream smirked. “Then, after some time, you went and read the entries of me from various series and incarnations. To get a better feel for what you were thinking of writing. What you wanted to write. Only, you never did.” You were about to speak again, but the seeker spoke again before you could. “There was one detail from my earliest incarnation that spoke of a ‘ghost’, an immortal spark that couldn’t be snuffed out. One that could travel through space and time.” He drew closer to the bars. “And then discovered a way to travel through dimensions. Wherein, I found out all about how so many humans have seen my reality behind a television screen.”

What was he talking about? What did any of what he said mean? It was then that it all clicked for you. Sparks were essentially the ‘soul’ of a Transformer, which Starscream’s was indestructible. You read that he made an appearance in Beast Wars, and had made cameos elsewhere. What was before you right now...mere feet away…” Are you.. “ you stammered. “Are you really…”

The Decepticon nodded. “Yes. Yes, I am, Y/N.”

You were left speechless. No. No, this...this was impossible. It...it couldn’t be him! It couldn’t be the REAL Starscream! He was a cartoon, no, a toy! A damn toy! A toy from the eighties that were made to be marketable to young boys (and the girls that were secretly into it) among several other toys that were made be marketable to young boys (and again, the girls that were secretly into it)! There was NO way he was in your mind right now! He wasn’t real! He wasn’t real! He wasn’t-

“You step out into the chilled air, wrapping your arms around yourself as you do.” the Decepticon suddenly began. “He’s there to pick you up. He’s there to pick you up. You’re both terrified and exhilarated, eager to start the night, but also to make it fly by just enough so nothing embarrassing would happen between the two of you.” your jaw dropped when you heard him say that. How did he- “Know that you recently read over your very first entry? The one that started it all?” he then ‘rolled’ his eyes. “The one that clearly displayed that you had little taste at first?”

Of course, you did! That was from your very first X Reader story! It told of Optimus Prime and you, a human, in a relationship. Odd start, you knew, especially given that Transformer x Human relations was sort of controversial, yet overall, it wasn’t a bad one. Still, the fact he knew that…” No.” you said aloud. “It can’t be.”

He smiled. “I am.”

You stepped back until you hit a wall. “S-Starscream.” you stuttered. “You’re him. You’re the...the real one.” he was quite satisfied with your reaction, you clearly flustered yet cautious at the same time. The sensation drove you mad. But then you remember, this was just a dream! You were just making up all this stuff! You were relieved by this revelation...yet at the same time, you were...curious. Just where would this go if you continued? “Well...well, what are you doing here? What do you want?”

“Exactly as I said before, I feel left out,” Starscream told you. “And considering my popularity in this universe, I’d think me being here should tell you something.”

You knew what he wanted. “You want me to write about you.” it was obvious. “I-I know. I mean, I’ve been wanting to. Really, I have. But...but I...I just…” you sighed. If you knew Starscream (and you had at least a decent enough faith you did), you knew that this could potentially earn you his anger. Yet, to your surprise, he didn’t try to order you around. Instead, he seemed like he already knew you were going to say that.

“You can’t,” he said for you. “Understand, I’m the one in YOUR mind. Thus, you could say, I know everything about you. A perk of being something that, in this universe, started out as a drawing on a piece of paper.” you were confused, this seemed to humor Starscream even more. “Oh, come now. Surely you know that concept art exists, right?”

All of this was so insane for you, yet it was then that you felt the urge to speak up and say something for yourself for once. “Well, if you’re here from the...well, YOUR universe, what are you doing here in the first place?”

��Why, this is one of the few places I win!” Starscream exclaimed. “Of course, when I first came here, I was quite perplexed about how I and many others were known as products from a company called ‘Hasbro’. But overtime, I discovered your version of the internet, and, well, as you flesh bags say, the rest is history.” he then continued, not giving you a chance to speak. “And bring that I am an idea in this universe, I can go freely as I wish, peering into minds,” his red eyes looked upon you. “Become one’s permanent muse or vice versa.”

God, you felt weird. You felt so confused and conflicted. You wanted to sink into the wall to get away, but you also wanted to know more about this. You had to know more. You needed to know more. “So…?”

“So, I’ve come to you, as you’re truly in need of some inspiration,” Starscream said. “As well as some changes in your thinking.”

“Like what? Worshiping the ground you walk on?” you ask, feeling a little bolder.

“Oh, you already do.” he said. “If you didn’t desire me, I wouldn’t be here.” he grinned at your shocked expression. “That’s right, Y/N, I know what truly holds you back from writing about me. Your fears, your anxieties, your loves and lusts.” you had no words. “You fear that you may get me wrong if you will. That I won’t be in character. Or you fear that you won’t be able to satisfy the wants of your readers, as I AM so highly anticipated. Or…” he leaned closer to the bars, the only barrier separating you two. “You fear exploring those more intimate pleasures with me. You’re intimidated and unsure. After all, writing for Autobots is easy, yet us Decepticons are more difficult. But it HAS awakened things in you that you wish to explore on either side. Things that you are dying to let out.”

You had no words, he was completely right. Damn him! The smug bastard knew he had you in the palm of his hand...and yet also probably knew that’s what made you so hot and bothered right now! “So...what? Are you here to force me to write those things with you in them?”

“Dear Y/N, I can’t technically make you do anything,” Starscream told you. “Oh yes, I can stay and torment you night after night until either I pass onto another universe or I grow bored of you, but my reason being here is for both our benefits.”

“How?”

“It’s quite simple,” he said. “We shall go through those scenarios in your head.” his ruby red optics bore into yours/your eyes. “Together.” he then reached out from in between the bars and traced a digit around your jawline. “Believe it or not, I want to help you, Y/N.” his voice was smooth and sultry, something you never expected from a voice like his. “But only you can allow me to do so.” he then stepped back from the bars. “This prison of mine is something you’ve constructed from your fears and insecurities. Allow yourself to embrace what you fear…” he then extended his hand again, yet stepped back as well, sinking into the darkness. “Only then, will you truly be free.”

You were at a standstill. You knew what he wanted, and, to your horror, you were wanting to give it to him. Deny it all you want, this was something that had been in your mind ever since you got the first request for the Seeker. You approached the bars, trying to get some sign that he was still there. Surely he hadn’t left you, had he? No, he hadn’t. He was still there, you could feel him. Watching, waiting, and perhaps, knowing what you would do before you did.

Yet would you do it? Would you bite into that forbidden fruit?

Some while after pondering this question, you looked at the cell, the energy bars vanishing. Why fight it when you could already taste the sweet tartness of said fruit in the back of your throat?

[true-blue-megamind]

FAN THEORY THURSDAY: Megamind’s Connections Beyond the Film

Before we get started, it’s time for the obligatory SPOILER WARNING!  

In case this hasn’t been made sufficiently obvious by the fact that this is a post about Megamind written in a fan theory series about Megamind and published on a blog dedicated solely to Megamind, please let me just assure that this article is, in fact, about Megamind.  

If you haven’t seen the film yet yet, I have to question why you’re reading this in the first place.  As well as your taste in animated movies.  I’m definitely questioning that.

Over the years I’ve heard several fan theories concerning connections between the film Megamind and various other forms of media.  Today, let’s delve into just a few.

The first one is so obvious it’s almost painful, but it has to be mentioned.  Megamind is a Superman spoof.  Metro Man is clearly based on the Man of Steel himself, with a hefty dose of Elvis Presley and a larger range of character flaws thrown in for good measure.  (He also seems to contain quite a lot of the Popular Jock archetype.)  The character of Megamind is more complex still, combining elements of Alice Cooper and a nineties Goth theater kid with several comic book supervillains. The best known of the last include alien genius Brainiac and mad inventor Lexx Luthor, but they aren’t the only ones.  Some of Megamind’s engineering and technological inventions call to mind Spiderman villain Doctor Octopus even more than Lexx Luthor, and he also shares some parallels with the mad inventor Dr. Sivana in the SHAZAM comics.

Megamind’s most notable of the latter is the similarity of attitudes toward society.  Both Megamind and Dr. Sivana started off trying to use their inventions for good—the first in the classroom and the second for the betterment of mankind—but both became bitter when people mocked and shunned them.  For Dr. Sivana, this led to a desire to conquer all of Earth while for Megamind, in a sort of microcosm, it led to a similar drive to take over Metro City.  Both Lexx Luthor and Dr. Sivana have, perhaps, the strongest connections to Megamind as share, deep down, a desire to help or protect mankind, and as Lexx Luthor, like Megamind, harbors a secret love for the reporter damsel in their respective stories.  (This desire to do good, especially in the face of corrupt officials, ties into another Megamind fan theory that I will likely discuss in more detail in a later post.)

The connection between Megamind and Alice Cooper, by the way, was extremely intentional.  The creators stated in an interview that, like Alice Cooper, Megamind’s dark, evil self is, in fact, a stage persona.  (Even their clothing, consisting largely of black leather and spikes, is similar.)  That fact is illustrated in the film as we can see that Megamind’s behaviors on- and off-camera tend to be vastly different.  Even as a villain, he is merely playing a role, although in the case of Megamind that role has begun to merge with his self-identity.

There are, however, hints within the world of DreamWorks that Megamind has other connections as well.  The first is fairly recent and intensely interesting. In the Rise of the Guardians, Jamie Bennett, a young boy who still steadfastly believes in the seemingly impossible, mentions “aliens in Michigan,” only to be scoffed at by his friends.  Because Metro City is located in Michigan, (as can be seen briefly when the Death Ray is fired from space,) many fans theorize that the “aliens in Michigan” are none other than Megamind, Minion, and, perhaps, Metro Man. 

This would indicate that the two stories take place in the same world, and that Megamind’s adventures, while well-known in Metro City itself, have been covered up and kept secret from the rest of the world.  (Imagine moving to a moderately-sized city only to discover that—surprise!—there’s an extraterrestrial supervillain in residence and, oh, by the way, if you live downtown homeowners’ insurance is ridiculous!)

The second inter-film connection is less clear, but has spawned some interesting fan theories as well.  The idea is that, like Rise of the Guardians, Monsters VS. Aliens also takes place in the same reality as Megamind.  It’s not too far fetched—after all, both films involve extraterrestrials and amazing inventions—but there is one specific theory that really ties the two together.  Consider this for a moment: Megamind is a blue alien with incredible intelligence who hails from a destroyed planet.  Does that sound like any other DreamWorks character you know?  If you’ve seen Monster VS. Aliens, the antagonist, Gallaxhar, probably springs to mind.

According to Fandom.com, Gallaxhar’s official backstory is that he “destroyed his home planet” for the implied reason that “he experienced bad childhood and unhappy marriage.”  The fan theory is that that Gallaxhar’s planet was, in fact, Megamind’s home world, and that the former created or harnessed the black hole which destroyed it.  This would explain why Megamind’s people—as well as Metro Man’s—didn’t have time to escape despite being space-faring.  You see, black holes take millions of years to develop, and even a rogue black hole would take about a million to shift and swallow an entire solar system, so if the event had occurred naturally, there should have been plenty of time to build an entire fleet of spacecraft and leave for Earth or another safe planet.  (The fact that Megamind’s parents set his escape pod’s navigation system for Earth indicates that they knew of its existence.)

Of course, despite their large heads and blue skin tones, there are quite a few physical differences between Megamind and Gallaxhar.  The first is humanoid while the second has four eyes and tentacles instead of legs.  Fan theories have explanations for that, too, however.  

There appear to be two schools of thought on the subject.  The first is that Gallaxhar was another breed of alien living on the planet, possibly a servile race different from Minions, and the second is that part of Gallaxhar’s “bad childhood” involved being experimented upon, thus giving him his bizarre appearance and his seeming obsession with experimenting on others.  (There is some disagreement in the Megamind fandom about exactly why Gallaxhar was subjected to such treatment, ranging from falling into the hands of an unscrupulous scientist to being part of an experimental medical program.  The latter fan theory suggests that Gallaxhar was both blind and paraplegic, and that his additional eyes and tentacle “legs” were meant to rectify that, but that those physical differences made him an outsider, thus leading to his unhappy life and ultimate hatred for his own planet.)

If that were true, many may wonder what, exactly, Megamind might do if he ever found out about Gallaxhar.  Well, good news!  Just like there’s an app for everything, there’s a fan theory for that, too!  I will warn you, however, that this one is, frankly, build upon pretty thin evidence.  However, it’s interesting enough to be worth relating.

There is a character in Monsters VS. Aliens named General Warren R. Monger who, on the surface, is exactly what he appears to be: a high-ranking military man.  However, there are a few things that fans point to as possible evidence that Monger isn’t what he seems.  

The first is so simple that, alone, it would be inconsequential.  Monger rose through the ranks uncommonly fast, so much so that it caused some comment among others.  The second is significantly odder; Monger claims to be ninety years old despite looking like he is in his late forties.  Now, of course, this may have simply been the character exaggerating or messing with the “monsters” under his care, but some fans say it’s more than that, and claim that Monger chose that age because he was unfamiliar with human lifespans.  Next there is the fact that Monger is so intelligent that, despite one of the beings in his containment facility. Doctor Cockroach, being a super-genius, Monger outwits every escape attempt the monsters can make.  Then, of course, there is the fact that, despite his brusque manner, Monger seems to actually sympathize with the inhuman people he is charged with containing, and even pushes for them to be given a chance to prove themselves.  There is the oddity that, although he is assigned to the secret military base at “Area Fifty-Something,” Monger seems to disappear a lot, often for days at a time.  Finally, there are a few key physical and technological attributes: Monger has some odd and incredibly energetic facial expression—including a nearly maniacal smile and a dark scowl—as well as a jet pack that he appears to have constructed himself and green eyes.

I’m still not certain I see the resemblance, but maybe there are some similarities?  What do you think?

If you’re familiar with Metro City’s resident blue alien, you can probably see where this is going.  Although it’s not a popular theory, I’ve heard it suggested in the Megamind fandom that Monger is, in fact, Megamind disguised using his holowatch.  (This is why the green eyes are significant; Megamind’s eye color is the only aspect of his appearance that the holowatch doesn’t change.  However, I feel compelled to note that the shade of green appears to be different.) Fans insist that it would have been easy for someone as incredibly brilliant as Megamind to hack government systems and forge documents such as birth certificates thoroughly enough to dupe even U.S. Military Intelligence. The two jet packs, some have contested, look different either because of the disguise or because the one featured in Monster VS. Aliens is an older model. I’ve even seen the fact that both Megamind and Monger begin with M being pointed to as possible evidence that the latter is no more than an invention of the former.

The argument is as follows: as Monsters VS. Aliens takes place in 2009, one year before events in Megamind, it’s possible that Megamind, still being a villain, created an alter-ego which he could use to help him search for and deal with other alien life.  (He is shown to be painfully lonely, and the Megamind comics reveal his desperate desire to find other survivors from his home planet.)  Upon figuring out who Gallaxhar was, and more importantly what he had done, Megamind wanted to be part of taking him down.  But he couldn’t be too open about it; he was, after all, still a “Bad Guy.”  This theory explains Monger’s frequent long absences—during those time Megamind was back in Metro City taking care of his regular business— as well as why Monger had a secret soft spot for the “monsters.”  Megamind, having always been treated like a monster himself, would naturally want to give them a chance, but wouldn’t dare behave in too overtly friendly a manner as it would have aroused suspicion.

As I said, support for that particular theory is, perhaps, a little thin, especially given the fact the Monsters VS. Aliens preceded Megamind, so character designs from the former are unlikely to have been influenced by the latter.  Nonetheless, I admit to appreciating the complexity and creativity of it.  It’s an undeniably fun theory. If they haven’t already, maybe someone will write a fan fiction about it one day.

Those are only a few of the theories out there connecting Megamind with other fandoms.  One could go on and on about the subject, but I won’t torture readers by doing that.  Nonetheless, it illustrates once again the immense love and original thought that Megamind fans put into developing their theories!  I dare say that few other animated movies have earned a following so dedicated and inventive…  But, then, any of us who love the film Megamind will tell you that it has more than earned the consideration!

[astriefer]

If you want to, how about prompt 36 with thomastair?? 🤍

Prompt 36 - "Don't move. it'll be okay."

Thank you for this ask!! This is so terribly late but I hope it's enough for you. This is really bad because I had inspiration and then it died and then assignments and family and I'm running late. But... just in time for holiday! So have this piece please 🙏 Didn't check it too much so sorry for type errors and such thank you

TW throwing up and illness.

When the Merry Thieves had gotten the message Thomas wouldn't join them that day, they were suspicious.

"It's not Thomas's handwriting," Matthew said thoughtfully to James and Christopher.

Christopher fixed his spectacles on his nose and took a glance at the parchment. "But who wrote it if not Thomas?"

As always, the group of Thieves (lacking Thomas) was hanging around the Herondale manor. Cordelia and Lucie had gone to train together, and Effie was busy preparing titbits and coffee for them. They waited for Thomas to approach in all his giant glory, half-predicted him to come with Christopher, but he did not arrive. After half an hour, and just as Matthew complained, "Had Thomas gotten himself kidnapped in the course of the night?" a runner came at the front door. The message he carried was what they had been looking at for the past few minutes.

James shrugged. "Alastair, I assume," his golden eyes scanned the carefully written words. "They do live together."

"It claims him to be feeling unwell," Matthew said. "Do you think it's because he finally realized what a nuisance Alastair is?"

James gave him a look. "Matthew."

"It's in good spirits!" Matthew defended, raising his hands. When James still looked at him pointedly, he lowered his hands and murmured. "To some extent."

James sighed. As long as he didn't say it in front of Thomas, Cordelia, or Alastair himself, he concluded it wasn't the worst thing. They were civil with each other's presence, which was progress. He couldn't be mad at Matthew anyhow. He placed the paper down, regarded his friend with a shrug.

"What ho," Christopher said. "Your definitions for good spirits may cross the traditional ones."   

"Well, it's not my fault the ordinary interpretations are substantially dull," Matthew retorted.

Christopher hummed and stopped paying attention, seemingly engrossed in a new idea of an invention that must have captured his mind. Matthew gave him a fond smile and then cut his gaze back to James. "So, are we going?"

"Where?" James asked as Matthew stood up. His parabatai straightened his double-breasted waistcoat, which had decorations of an exotic animal on it.

He must have looked dumbfounded because Matthew added kindly, "Oh, Jamie bach," Matthew clicked his tongue at him. "Can you truly believe Thomas is sick?"

"That's what written here," he tapped on the papyrus. Matthew clicked his tongue again. His eyes were shining dangerously. "I know that look. What ill thing your mind hallucinated this time?"

"Everything I think of is a masterpiece, mind you. And clearly," Matthew said, leaning forward in his seat, "He scribbled some poor excuse to spend time with Alastair. But he said he would come. And if he won't come to us, we will come to him. So we shall step up to their flat and demand our Thomas."

"It doesn't sound like Thomas to fake such a thing." James's eye deterred away to the clock on the wall. He had the idea if it was something else, not a possibility of Thomas favoring Alastair's company over theirs, it would die silently. 

"It sounds a bit petty," Christopher noted. His hands tapped on the floor, fingers twisting as if he desired to be in Henry's lab and write down his findings.  

"It's not," Matthew promised. "We needn't have a reason to see Thomas. Besides, don't you want to tell him about your latest experiment?"

Christopher's eyes lit up at that. He shoved his spectacles up his nose, nodding. "Yes, it would be good. I made some progress he should be filled in about."

"Great!" Matthew commented. "Let's go."

"Poor Kit," James teased as he got up. "You use science to tempt him?" 

"I have no clue what you are talking about," Matthew graced him with a brilliant smile."I merely harness the power of science for my good deeds."

~~~~

As it turned out, unwell was an underestimate.

"What are you doing here?" Alastair asked when he opened the door of the flat. James was a bit stunned to see how disheveled and bedraggled he looked, a stark contrast to his usual display. His clothes were rumpled and crumpled and he looked awfully gassed.

The three soon cut free of their astonishment, and Christopher talked first. "Hullo, Alastair. We have come to see Thomas."

Alastair blinked but otherwise remained still. "I delivered you a message. He isn't feeling well."

"We had an essential piece of enlightenment to share with him," Matthew supplied. Alastair gave him an indifferent look.

"He isn't feeling well," Alastair repeated. James started to think it was a bad idea to come - Alastair clearly wasn't fancy to usher them inside. From inside the flat, a smell of soup traveled in the air.

Matthew's green eyes faced Alastair's unabashedly. "Why, let us see him, then. There's nothing our engaging presence can't aid. Tom will be feeling much better if he sees us."

"He needs to rest, not play games with his friends-"

A broad-shouldered figure came behind him, towering over him. " 'm fine."

Matthew wasn't the only one with a twisted interpretation of rudimentary words, apparently. James was fairly sure 'fine' shouldn't mean being so pale or to have big bruises-like black shadows under your eyes; nor did he think someone feeling fine should be looking so lightheaded and sick. Thomas's moss of light brown hair was mussed and tousled. He looked, frankly, even worse than Alastair - sweaty and tapped up.

"Thomas?" James asked.

The tall man shifted his gaze to James rather slowly. Instantaneously he realized Thomas was leaning his hand against the wall for support, and not for the sake of doing it. He was unsteady. "Greetings. I was going to get ready and come by your house, James."

"You should be in bed," Alastair protested.

Thoams's stance was defensive. "I am plenty fine, thank you, I don't need any rest in bed."

A muted sigh escaped Alastair's lips. He glanced at the three of them. "May you put some reason into him? You could at least do that after turning up here."

"I am standing right here," Thomas pointed out. He sounded almost too drained-out to resist. Alastair seemed unimpressed.

Christopher hesitated. "You do look a bit green around the gills, Tom."

"You look liverish, and not in a neat way," Matthew added.

"You have no need to dot on me," Thomas insisted. Annoyance took over his features. "I have rested enough. I shall-"

He cut off abruptly, gagging. He turned over back into the apartment, a hand over his stomach, and ran inside.  With a last skeptical glance thrown toward them, Alastair charged after Thomas.

James stood in front of the front door, bewildered, till Matthew passed him and flung the door open for them to enter.

Christopher followed with no protest. "What?" Matthew asked when James shot him a dark look. "They left the door open, thus I regard it as an invitation to permit ourselves inside."

With that philosophy in mind, they passed the corridor into the parlor. Accompany to the horrible sound of vomiting - James guessed it was Thomas's part - they could catch a low, soothing murmur of calming words. Alastair.

"You were wrong," Christopher said as he turned to Matthew. His voice was not self-righteous whatsoever, just matter-of-factly and troubled. "He is feeling ill."

Matthew seemed abashed, just slightly. "I wouldn't have been aghast if told he wanted to spend time with his lover."

They settled themselves nervously on the Aegean-blue sofa.  As a few minutes passed -  slow, confused, and worried - the sound of retching had finally petered out. They heard the noise of the water goes down the toilet.

"You think we should check whether they are fine?" Christopher asked.

"He honked up all he ate for breakfast. He must need to collect himself, and we should let him - unless you think he can somehow drown himself in the seek of the toilet." Matthew pondered over the last part amusingly.

Christopher seemed satisfied with the answer, and he cut his gaze back to the corridor through Thomas and Alastair had disappeared.

When he finally came back into the parlor, he limply made his way to the sofa, bearly holding himself straight. He hung his head low, sweat pooled on his neck and forehead and glimmered on his cheeks. His face reminded James of a red balloon, shiny and oddly red.

"Are you all right?" James inquired when he finally sat. Thomas made no sudden movements as he decisively faced them. It was clear as day Thomas, by all means, was not all right.

"Yes," he said. Matthew, James, and Christopher exchanged concerned looks between them. Alastair had not returned yet. "I must have eaten something spoiled."

"Are you sure?" Matthew pressed. "You still look dreadful."

"Surely I couldn't guess it," Thomas quipped.

"We can entertain you, though," Matthew pondered, giving him a smirk. "You stay in bed, and we will keep you a worthy company."

Thomas moved in his place, uncomfortable. Christopher, on the other way, smiled at Thomas. "Mam and Aunt Charlotte said I could use the lab tomorrow morning if there will be someone with me. The enclave has an important meeting early that day, and even Henry attends."

Thomas seemed grateful for the change of topic. Mattew said, "We might go and eavesdrop in case something interesting will come up."

"I will be there first thing tomorrow," Thomas avowed, although none of them asked him to. Thomas succumbs to a brutal coughing fit, and It was at that moment Alastair approached from the corridor.

"You need to rest," Alastair chided.

Thomas commnented hastily. "You are over-worried. I am fine."

"You're behaving frivolously," he proclaimed. "You ought to relax and rest, not to run around with your friend as if you are not sick."

"I'm just tired."

Alastair gave him an incredulous stare. "Really, you," he scolded wearily. "Utter madness, what that mouth of you blurts out." The dark-haired man turned over to the kitchen. Then he turned again. Alastair's dark gaze moved to the rest of the Merry Thieves. "You could at least bring a soup or medicine," he countered.

Matthew lifted his arms mockingly as if to surrender. "I am sorry, O great lord, that I didn't know how sick Thomas was. From your message, he could also have a slight headache."

Alastair scoffed and went into the kitchen. Mattew shot a look at Christopher and James, who nodded. he returned his eyes on Thomas.

"Hark, I, for once, agree with Carstairs. An advent I thought I would ever do. But I do think you should stay in bed."

"Shan't." Thomas regarded the idea of being treated by others with disdain. he rubbed his eyes, mumbling under his breath. "I am fine," he insisted. "I can hang out with you."

Alastair came back into the room, placing himself next to the sofa Thomas was resting on. He put down a large bowl. Haze of steams rose from the Broth. "Eat this. Then you go to bed."

Thomas's glare snitched up at him. He rubbed his eyes wearily.  "I am fine," he repeated. "I am already feeling better."

The look Alastair gave him made it clear he wasn't buying it. "Bed." Alastair crossed his hands on the chance and his gaze determined. "I am not supposed to teach you how to take care of yourself. So eat the soup and go to bed.

Thomas's grumpy mood seemed to worsen. He would've thrown hands if he hadn't felt so indisposed. "I can take care of myself."

"So don't be so stubborn and do as I say."

"It doesn't sound like taking care of oneself," Thomas grumbled. He coughed again into his forearm."And you're not my mother." 

"A very fine observation. No, I'm your partner," he gave Thomas a meaningful look. "So either you eat the soup or expect to get it shoved down your throat."

"That you very better not do."

Christopher looked at Thomas with concern. "You do not look good, Tom. You should rest."

Thomas sighed inconspicuously. It was tenuous confidence he held against them. "You too, kit?"

"As he should," Alastair sneered. He was losing patience. "Stop playing around, and drink your bloody soup."

Thomas grunted, his back straightening. He seemed dizzy and ready to tell Alastair off once again, before he gaped loudly. He must have felt queasy for he scrambled to his feet, fighting his nausea to make it to the bathroom. He almost knocked into a wall.

James glanced at Alastair, who had been mumbling grumpily under his breath, for a moment just watching his swaying partner with distaste. His dark hair flew as he followed him, for the second time since James and the other Marry Thieves arrived, to the bathroom. They followed their ailing friend and the scaling man dashing after him, then looked at each other. 

Christopher looked baffled, "Why would Tom resist so much to rest in bed?"

Matthew shrugged, furrowing his brows. "I can't fathom a reason for him to be that way," He cringed as the sounds of retching reverberated from the other room."He's supposed to be the reasonable one between us lot."

"Poor Tom," James said. "Maybe because he is so terribly ill he can't get hold of reality."

In the meantime, James investigated the furnishing of the drawing-room, which was unadorned. He drifted over to a colossal bookcase at the corner of the room, full of books in English, Persian, and Spanish (and some other languages he could not tell). He traced the spines of the books and glanced at his friends. Matthew was animatedly talking with Christopher, who tried to listen, even though it was clear to James that it was only half-hearted. He mused over browsing briefly at a shabby, worn copy of Hamlet when the noises from the other room finally stopped.

After a few minutes with no noises at all coming from the corridor, James stood up. "I will check on them," he told his friend, "Maybe Thomas passed out, or he is in distress."

Matthew and Christopher were up on their feet in the bare minimum of time. "We shall come as well."

"We won't fit there, all of us," James mentioned. Thomas would've felt better if they all would come and help take care of him, he was sure, but facts were facts. "Just let me see if he needs anything from us."

The other thrives reluctantly sat back on the sofa. In quiet, stealthy steps, he headed into the candle-lit corridor. He moved past some doors - their bedrooms, he assumed, or a library, perhaps. He stopped when he reached an open door, meaning to knock first to announce his presence, but it flew his mind when he poked his hand into the bathroom. He absentmindedly noted the porcelain clawfoot tub, the decorated primrose tiles, and the wallpaper - intricate floral trace and lines in moderate colors, which he pondered over who of the two men chose. There was also a high-level cistern toilet, Thomas leaning on its ream seat. A washbasin stood nearby, and Alastair was taking a flannel and dipping it in water before he handed it to Thomas. The unpleasant smell of vomit still stung the air.

Thomas's laid with his half-lidded eyes cracked a bit more open, still regaining his breath, and took the flannel. He managed to wash his face as Alastair took care to clean any mess created. Then he knelt in front of Thomas. Thomas pulled Alastair close weakly, buried his face in Alastair's chest. James could hear he was breathing deep and long, trying to control his upset stomach. He moved very little, very carefully, trying to shield his eyes from the light that shone in the room.

"Tom," Alastair said, surprisingly gently, unlike before. Suddenly James felt he was invading their privacy. "Hold on and cease for once in your life. You need to rest."

Thomas did not move nor talked, and James had the idea he fought back another gagging.

"Hamsar-am," Alastair tried again after Thomas seemed to curb the urge to regurgitate. "Why won't you rest?"

His friend talked tentatively and out of breath, his voice dry and hoarse and quivering. "I don't want everyone to chip around me like I'm some sickly fledgling. If my parents knew, they might even make a silent brother come. Being like this - reminds me of times I was sickly and small and weak. But I am a shadow hunter. I am an adult. I am sick of people thinking I'm incapable of taking care of myself."

James studied Alastair's face. To his grand surprise, he saw his face softens. Tenderly, he pressed their forehead together. "I am more than confidant you can take care of yourself, Thomas. I just try to assist and make you more comfortable, but we go nowhere if you fight me on every single decision. Drinking soup and resting in bed is something all people do. It helps you to get better."

Thomas's eyes were unfocused. "Sorry."

James wasn't certain to what of it all Thomas was sorry for, but Alastair seemed to accept it. He sighed breathly, backing away from Thomas. "It's fine. Just let yourself rest, shall you? I still have a desire to -" he cut off when his eyes captured James, who leaned on the doorframe. "James."

James bolted straight and made sure his countenance revealed nothing as if he did not hear the conversation between the couple. "We will take out leave, see as you go and rest, Tom. We will come to check on you tomorrow."

Someone came behind him, and he found Christopher and Matthew looking into the bathroom. "We will tell Aunt Sophie and Uncle Gideon you are sick," Matthew intervened. "They can bring you some food and take care of you. Lucie will be glad to tell of the last mischiefs of The Beautiful Cordelia. Speaking of which, Lucie will tell her parents, and they will rush to make Brother Zachariah come to visit them-"

"We can also keep quiet," James offered. Thomas's words echoed in his head. He looked at Alastair. "I suppose Alastair can be enough of caretaker. But do tell us if you need anything. Alright, Tom?"

Alastair gave him an odd look, almost appreciation - but not precisely - on Thomas's behalf. The latter had only nodded his thanks and seemed relieved by James's offer.

"Recover quickly," Christopher said, his spectacles reflecting the light. Behind of them was a pair of caring eyes."There is just so much we Thieves can do without our heart."

~~~~

The Merry Thieves bid their goodbye and Alastair went to accompany them out, while Thomas made his way to their bedroom.

They had two bedrooms, one for each of them, despite they spent the nights together. He chose to go to Alastair's room, where his smell was strong and comforting. His steps were fatigue, his mind racing and hammering. The sunlight felt like a blow to his face, making his stomach perilously twist and turn. He wasn't sure he had left any contents to honk up. He was iffy and aching, couldn't find the power to shut the curtains close. Alastair's bed - wide enough for the both of them - was too compelling to resist. He grunted loudly, resting his head on the soft pillows. He felt cold. So cold.

What fought the place of the ill-feeling that settled in every bone of his body was his great dismay from being ill in the first place. Every time he got cold, his parents would worry themselves out as if he still was the sickly child from his childhood days. His friends will all dot on him, Alastair would lay him out for days, everyone will tell him he must rest to heal. And he despised it. He despised it with all his might. Like a rope tightening around his neck, like an invisible cage surrounding him. A cage made of love and care was still a cage, in his mind. Thomas did not like to be incarcerated. This creeping feeling of losing your independence frightened him, reminded him of times he was bedridden, out of necessity for his frequent ill-health.

Thomas didn't notice his eyes were shut until he tilted his head toward a noise - Alastair coming into the room. Thomas heard the door creak quietly, heralding Alastair's presence, and again as he closed it quietly. He felt rather than saw the quilt placed over him, hugging his body, giving a little warmth to the cool world he was in. Not warm enough, however.

"You're lucky you're my favorite," The well-known voice of Alastair mumbled.

They've butted heads around this the whole morning. Thomas refused to stick to bid despite Alastair's stubborn protests. Now, he felt his body turn to halves and his head throbbed as if the Angels gathered and made a party there. He hated Alastair to see him this weak, yet he hated it more to see the pain in his eyes because of his refusals. Thomas stirred in his place, every movement of his head making a new wave of headache hit him. "Stay." He reached his hand and tugged weakly at the fabric of the sleeveshirt of, not truly commending as asking.

"I will. Wait a moment." Thomas's grip went loose and with that, the half-Persian man disappeared again. He shifted, despite his throbbing head, so he could leave some place for Alastair to lay next to him. He moved slowly and painfully, fighting on every inch he could force himself to move. He hearkened Alastair marching back into their bedroom.

 He tried to leave some space for Alastair. "Don't move," Alastair's tender voice cut through the void. "It'll be okay." Then a wet cloth softly landing against his forehead. 

Cold.

He shivered. He tried to whisper "cold" but he felt no energy left in his body to protest. His eyes were heavy, his tongue even more so. "This is chiefly for your own good," Alastair comforted apologetically. "You are burning." He climbed to bed from the other side of the bed, slipping under the beddings and placing himself close to Thomas. It slipped from Thomas's mind beds had two sides.

Thomas's jumble of thoughts wandered freely anywhere and nowhere - he couldn't put enough effort into imagining, it just made the constant thumping in his head worse. A warm hand was tentatively wrapped around his chest. Alastair put effort into hugging him lightly as possible, offering the warmth Thomas was seeking. He tucked himself a bit closer to Thomas, pressed a soft kiss to his head, then sunk into the bed. The heat Alastair radiated was drugging, and the arm which rested on his chest felt more comforting than any other thing the world could offer. He tried to breathe but the feeling of bile rising in his throat made him stop.

Alastair must have noticed because he backed away from him. "I put a bucket down your side, in case you have any food to get rid of," he acknowledged.  His presence was calming and needed. Thomas wanted to apologize for being so stubborn, to tell him he appreciated him and what he did for him. When he tried, he could not force himself to speak up, his vocal cords exhausted, and he wanted nothing but to let his mind slip into nothingness. He could not. Thomas felt drowsy, the strings of sleep dragging him into a feverish slumber.

Alastair removed his arm and his weight abruptly shifted, and the cloth had been taken away from Thomas's forehead. He startled, fighting to open his eyes, and then it was back, cold and piercing, and Alastair returned his hand to hug him. He felt a soft graze against his cheek - Alastair's lips - that ignited fire where it touched, just like his arm, making it a little less freezing. They kept resting in an awful silence for a few more minutes. Thomas had no problem with silence - he even liked it. Yet, knowing Alastair was watching him, concerned, putting everything aside to take care of him, was unbearable for him. He was supposed to see his mother and sibling today. He was excited to see them. Thomas desperately wanted the stillness to evanesce.  

"Would you like me to read to you?"

Thomas couldn't quite realize how Alastair knew, but he hummed lowly in agreement. The weight beside him lifted, missed instantly before it came back with a small thump.

Alastair began to read. He desired to look at this chiseled face. When he tried to open his eyes, he found he couldn't. A blazing headache stroke him the moment he cracked them the tiniest bit. "Sorry for ruining today," Thomas sputtered. He didn't think he could force any other words to come up his throat.

"I'm here with you, my day can't be ruined. Even if you have a fever and acts like a stubborn fool." Alastair continued to read, Thomas felt himself being carried away to Lady Sleep, a cruel mistress, sometimes, and also a gentle one, if you approach her the right way. He felt himself falling into her arms, the voice of Alastair guiding him to a safe place in the realm of dreams.