#i don't think it is but I'll tag it just in case

[twst-hottest-takes]

Tweel Anatomy Discussion!

Part 2.

(Finally getting around to this! Link to part 1 here: https://www.tumblr.com/twst-hottest-takes/759029788153446400/tweel-anatomy-discussion?source=share )

And first off a big "Thank You" to everyone who encouraged me to write the first part and who seemed to have enjoyed it. I'm happy my pseudo-scientific ramblings about fantasy anatomy make you happy!

As always: The following post will be almost purely conjecture based off of a combination of reality and fiction. None of what I say should be taken as law, but rather a fun series of hypotheticals, as that is what the game gives us to work with.

Before getting to the promised screed on "throat teeth" I'll be addressing a couple of subjects people asked about in the comments of the first post! I'll be paraphrasing, but if the people who asked wish to be credited directly, let me know and I will tag you!

First: What does Floyd mean when he threatens to "squeeze" people?

As the comment pointed out, eels (moray or not) don't seem to constrict their prey. The word "constrict" is often associated with how many species of snakes trap and suffocate their prey before swallowing it whole. In this manner, morays do not constrict anything to speak of, BUT THEY DO TIE THEMSELVES INTO KNOTS!

Commonly this behavior is used when an eel has a piece of prey that is too big to swallow all at once, so they tie themselves into a knot to get a better "grip" on their prey and tear it into more manageable pieces! A knot can also be a defensive measure to hide or protect an eel's head from potential enemies. (Looking up "Moray Eel knots" should give you a much better idea of this behavior.) In the case of Floyd Leech, I think that the term "squeeze" is meant to reference Flotsam and Jetsam's behavior in The Little Mermaid. They "squeeze" Flounder and Sebastain to prevent them from stopping Ariel from making her deal with Ursula, and also wrap around Ariel's arms to restrain her later in the movie when the deal is up. These are pretty cartoonish behaviors that wouldn't be seen in real eels as they appear in the movie which seems to treat them a lot like "sea snakes" in this way. I think Floyd's "squeeze" is meant to be a serious threat when considering what eels do to things they tie up in their knots, but it does seem to evoke a mental image of a python rather than an eel.

Secondly, the user questions how Floyd would manage to build up his arm muscles so much.

Simply speaking, Floyd's bare arms are only a matter of fanservice. He's not really "buff."

The muscles are just very well-toned. While Floyd's "mercurial moods" don't allow him to commit to things like workout routines, he's still more active than not. Doing things like basketball, dancing, or parkour with any kind of regularity will give his arms that toned look, at least as far as his human form goes. In regards to his merman form, Floyd probably did similar things that shaped his muscles this way, but didn't build them up much past average.

Thirdly, another user asked me to touch on the boys' habitat as them being residents of the apparently cold and dark Coral Sea doesn't line up with the natural habitats of moray eels in real life that live in tropical waters.

Unfortunately, I don't have any particularly fun insights into this topic because I think that's just something added to better suit the part of the game based off of The Little Mermaid. Azul and the twins are meant to be intimidating and a little mysterious, so they come from a deep, dark, cold part of the ocean that holds scary and mysterious things. Bearing in mind that merfolk are fantasy creatures, I don't find the contradiction of where you would find eels versus where the twins are from to be especially bad in terms of world building. It may not be entirely thought through, but they are taking inspiration from the Disney movie, and keeping true to it's inspiration probably came first.

(Honestly, the thing that gets me is how they said they couldn't go home because the sea froze over. As if the mirror couldn't transport them directly into the ocean underneath all the ice! I swear the writing in this game sometimes.)

And now, the moment you've all been waiting for: LET'S TALK ABOUT PHARYNGEAL JAWS!

Quick explanation: Pharyngeal jaws are a second set of teeth in the back of a fish's throat. They are notable on moray eels, but they aren't the only fish that have them. The function of the throat teeth is for them to jut forward and grab onto whatever food the fish has bitten into and then retract and drag the food down the esophagus far enough for peristalsis to take over and continue the swallowing normally. (Yes, I used the first picture that showed up on the web search. It's from Wikipedia)

Do I think the Leech Twins have pharyngeal jaws?

The short answer is unfortunately: "NO."

The long answer involves more of our favorite subject: Discussing how realistic anatomy and fantasy physiology can coexist. (Spoiler alert: The long answer is still unfortunately: "NO.")

Logically and anatomically speaking it makes no sense for Floyd and Jade to have them. First and foremost, even if they did somehow have them in their merforms (which is far more plausible) they wouldn't have them in their every day human forms. The shortcoming of human anatomy is that we have a windpipe, and a second set of teeth back in our throats would suffocate us any time they would need to be used. Instead, we, like most of the animal kingdom, have tongues that push food back to be swallowed and have no need for extra jaws to crawl up and pull food down. Likewise, the twins clearly have tongues, and although they keep their primary teeth in tact between their two forms, have no need for a secondary set. Furthermore, I would posit that pharyngeal jaws in their human forms would be just plain dangerous as in the case of accidentally crushing your own windpipe. They breathe air, therefore they don't have gills, therefore they have lungs and a trachea for gas exchange, and therefore no room for throat teeth.

If the twins were to have pharyngeal jaws, it would make the most sense for them to have them exclusively in their aquatic forms. Because they breathe through gills around their ribs (see part 1) there would be much more room for a second set of teeth and the accompanying anatomical equipment. However, again, I am forced by my own logic to concede that they would still be unnecessary. Between all of the visual proof and the fact that the twins speak the common language fluently enough to have no communication issues with the land dwellers, we know for a fact that they have tongues--much like in their human forms--and that would negate the need or use for pharyngeal jaws. Moreover the humanoid head and neck structure on them in both forms would make the use of pharyngeal jaws pointless, if not explicitly dangerous (having a curved esophagus, as opposed to a straight line as in fish).

In conclusion; as much as this is a disappointment to admit, it would seem that the twins do in fact only require and as a result have a single set of teeth.

However, I will end this particular essay off with one sliver of hope.

It is implied in the text of the game that the twins were hatched from eggs. If their formation from egg to "adult" merman is anything similar to a fish's then it is possible that they once had a second set of jaws. Perhaps in an earlier stage of their development their bodies and mouths were positioned differently and they hadn't quite grown tongues yet, so a pair of extra jaws would have been particularly handy. As they became fully developed these jaws would have been lost, reabsorbed, or simply become vestigial remains as a result of no longer being of use. So while it's not logical to imagine that the twins currently have pharyngeal jaws, there's nothing that says we can't imagine that they did at some point.

(A small consolation to those of us who really would have liked that addition to their characters because we just think it would have been really really cool. Logic be darned, I still love to see fanart that depicts the two of them having throat teeth.)

Thank you for reading! I hope you enjoyed a bit more of my obsessive ramblings regarding fantasy anatomy!

This one took a while to put together because I wanted to make sure I had a visual representation of what I was talking about regarding the placement and effect of pharyngeal jaws in a humanoid form. . .so you guys get to see a very rough drawing of what I was talking about (along with a sample of my awful handwriting). I hope that was helpful and not too difficult to understand. I have been very tired lately and ended up putting a few ask responses on hold because I REALLY wanted to get this part out. A good number of people have apparently been looking forward to this, and I felt bad for making everyone wait for so long.

Will there be a third part?

Well as of right now I don't have one planned. But if some fun conversations start regarding what I've said here, there may end up being enough stuff to include in a third post. I didn't have much to say regarding things like warm or cold-bloodedness, or coloration and bioluminescence. However, if people want to talk about those kinds of things I will gladly delve more into them as long as there are people to talk to about it. But for now, that'll be all for this subject!

Now we can get back to the inbox!

(Once again going to sleep thinking about how awesome these mer-eel designs are and how I love all the sparkles!)

[theprenderelliepalace]

Tag, you owe me

☆• Five x reader •☆

Season 4 AU -The Umbrella Academy

A/n I'm pretending season 4 happened a lot less season 4ish- so imagine this:

Summary: After The Umbrella Academy stopped The Cleanse and saved the world, life was just as crazy as it had been before. It's Grace's 8th birthday and a lot has happened in two years for Five and the other Hargreeves, you being one of those things. Tensions are high at what should be a simple birthday party, so Five asks you to help him out. But when have you ever listened to Five?

Warnings: Fake dating, cannon typical Hargreaves chaos, fluff, no Five x Lila nonsense (but maybe a bit of drama...), no use of y/n, readers not a marigold baby (but could be), gramatical errors I'm sure, swearing etc.

•☆•

You met Five Hargreeves 2 years ago when you were a paper pusher for the CIA's cold case unit. He was rude, obnoxious in every sense of the word and irritatingly good at his job. Naturally you couldn't resist getting a coffee with him.

You only got strung along from there. Your first case that he dragged you into almost cost you your job and your life, but it also got you bumped up to your own undercover unit, where you spent your days bickering with the worst partner you could've dreamt of.

Two years later and you couldn't have hated him less, but you're trying to be civil.

"Hey Fiver, where'd you put those case files I asked you to sign off? - Mmph!!" Your words are muffled by a calloused hand covering your mouth. You squirm for freedom, your training kicking in. You look up briefly at your captor and physically deflate at the sight of him. You are tempted to scream and get him in trouble, but the look on his face makes you think twice.

"Not a word, or I swear-" You elbow him in the gut, not hard enough to hurt him, just hard enough to get a word in edgewise. His hand falls away in surprise.

You gasp for breath. "The hell are you doing you crazy mother-" His hand clamps over your mouth again. With his free hand, he points out into the lobby. You clock a Hispanic man with scraggly hair at reception. He seems to be talking to Sally at the front desk.

Based on your 2 years of experience with Five. You assume this is either a terrorist, or a family member. Judging by his overreaction, you guess family.

The man sighed at whatever Sally said to him and turns, walking down the hall towards the exit. Five frees you from his iron grip. You stumble away from him, turning on your heel with outrage written all over your face. "You need help."

He smirks, although he appears distracted. "Tell me something I don't know honey." You give him the finger.

"Fuck you. The hell was that about?" You snarl at him.

"Family business. Birthday party. Ugly, ugly stuff. Wouldn't want you to get involved. You might just mess up your nails." He mocks. Shuddering at the thought of his family.

"First of all, my nails are always fantastic. Secondly, don't bullshit me." Five quirks a brow at you. "You've been doing this song and dance with your mysterious 'family' since I first met you. You're just a coward in my book Fiver." You watch his jaw clench, taking satisfaction in striking a nerve.

"Oh. Okay, I see how it is partner. You want my crybaby, backstory? Well come 'n get it sister." He glares at you, waiting for you to accept the challenge. You scoff. This is ridiculous, you're well into your 20s, this whole thing is just juvenile.

"Can't we be more mature than this?" You plead, though sarcasm drips off your tongue with a lazy ease.

"One of us can't." He retorts. You roll your eyes. You've learned that when he gets like this, it's best to bow out for a few hours and wait for everything to return to normal.

"Okay. Okay. I'll get lost. But I warn you Fiver, this whole thing will only bite you in the ass one day." You shrug, making for the break room. He grabs your wrist.

"I hate that stupid nickname."

"I know you do. Honey." You taunt him. It's dangerous, but oh how it thrills you. He pulls you closer, your lips are dangerously close, but achingly far.

"You owe me, you know..." You watch the gears turn in his head as that look you know so well falls over his face. "An eye for an eye. What'dya say?" The smug smirk on his face is enough to make you want to smack him.

"How'd you figure that you fuckin' cowboy?" Your stomach swirls with hot, unadulterated hatred, and something else...

"Remember the Fortheim case?" He gambles, knowing he's already won.

"Okay! Okay... Enough said..." He leans back, satisfied.

"Atta girl." You slap him.

•☆•

And that little backstory, was how you ended up drinking apple juice at an 8 year-olds birthday party at a Lazer Tag joint downtown.

"Happy?" You ask Five, who's had you glued to his arm for the last 2 hours.

"Not a day in my life." He sighs. You shake your head, itching to snap back when you hear someone call his name.

"Five! Long time no see man." A gangly looking hipster saunters towards the two of you. You smile at him, you're not sure what it is, but you like him already. "Oooh, who's your little lady friend?"

"Girlfriend." You say.

"Date." He states. You and Five exchange glances.

Five clears his throat. "This is my brother, Klaus." Your partner straightens his tie, as though trying to blend into the wall and out of this conversation. Klaus hums in amusement, his eyes crinkling with silent mirth. The hippie extends a graceless arm towards Five, enveloping him in an iron side-hug.

"You'll forgive my brother. He's never been the social butterfly of our family." Klaus smiles, it's a stupid smile, but it makes your heart warm to the brotherly love evident in his gesture.

"I noticed." You smile at Five, who shrinks even further into the wall, if possible.

"So, Miss Five's Secret Girlfriend. Where did he find you?" Klaus inquires, almost as though he's speaking about the weather.

You laugh. "Oh some back alley somewhere. Nothing fancy."

"Klaus let me go." Five warns. Straining against his brothers grip. For a guy so skinny, he has incredible grip strength to hold onto his whirlwind of a brother.

Klaus ignores this demand. "Oh yes. Makes sense. Not that you look the alley-type sweetheart, I just know my brother." He winks at you.

You smirk in return. Thoroughly enjoying Fives suffering. "I guess you do."

Abruptly, Klaus releases Five, sending him hurtling backwards. You can barely stifle your giggles now. "Well, it's been a pleasure missy. You're too good for him by the way." Klaus struts off towards the food table, eyeing the chocolate éclairs hungrily.

"I agree." You say to Five, who's look of pure rage could topple buildings.

"I hate him." He scowls.

"Oh hush. He's great." You grab your fake boyfriend by the arm, tugging him towards a cluster of people talking behind a drink cooler, suddenly feeling all the more chatty.

"Five? I didn't think you'd come." Says a strikingly tall man with spiked blond hair. He glances at you and then at your hand clenched around Fives. The look of confusion on his face is priceless. "I- who? What -" Internally cackling at your newfound revelation, you make to reply.

"Hi, I'm Five's partner." Not entirely dishonest. You stick your hand towards him, he shakes it dumbly, lost for words.

"Five? A girlfriend? What, are we on a Prankshow?" Says the woman at his side. She eyes you suspiciously. "Sloane." She affirms. You nod with practiced ease.

Five looks about ready to kill. You decide to ease off some. "My other brother, Luther." Your partner growls. Luther smiles now, almost like he's somehow in on a very bad joke. He begins to say something, but you cut him off.

"It was nice to meet you both. Excuse me for a moment." You smile sweetly, heading for the bathrooms. You catch Fives deathstare. "Fiver." You wink. You cackle as you listen to the onslaught of questions and abuses from his family. Serves him right, dragging you all the way out here, explaining nothing and still managing to be the most cantankerous jerk you've ever met.

You duck behind a corner, taking a corridor that leads into one of the Lazer Tag rooms. You decide to wait until they cut the cake before you make your showstopping final appearance. You're feeling on top of the world until you feel a familiar hand clasp your wrist.

"When I said come to my nieces birthday party as a distraction, that was not what I meant."

You turn to face Five. "What, did you want us to make-out or something? Would that have been distracting enough?" You scoff, pulling your hand out of his. "You're such a prick Hargreaves, you know that? Dragging me out here as bait! What the hell am I even doing here? You've got a good enough relationship with your brothers. Why bother?"

He looks at down at his polished brogues, the lilac light from the strobing LEDs above making him look older, haggard even. "It's complicated."

"By all means, uncomplicate it."

"I- I had this thing with my brother's wife..."

"Jesus Five!"

He glares at you reproachfully. "Not like that dammit! He just thought... it was a godawful time in my life okay?" He sighs, like the weight of the confession was boring into his chest.

"Look, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to pry like that, but we're partners Five. We don't trick each other for petty stuff." You smile. "If you wanted to ask me out that bad, you shouldda just asked." You tease.

He smiles wryly. "That obvious huh?"

What? "What?" You gulp, dumbfounded.

He laughs at you, this achingly amazing laugh that catches you, making your laugh echo his in a sweet bubble of silliness.

"I've got to have a word with my brother, but," He smiles nervously at you. That's a first. "Do you wanna get outta here?"

"Depends on what I have an itch for." You smile coyly.

"Coffee?"

"Coffee."

He winks at you. "You got it partner." Suddenly your face becomes hot, you look away, enjoying the new meaning in the word. You glance up again, ready for a comeback only to find Five absent. It was strange, you could've swarn he couldn't have gone anywhere without you hearing him go. It was such a tight space, with hartily creaking floors.

In your stupor, you made your way back to the main party area. Finding Five, engrossed in conversation with the Hispanic man from earlier. You make your way over to them.

"Don't sweat it man. We're cool, Lila's cool."

"Says who?" You hear a woman's English accent from behind a brightly coloured piñata. The Hispanic man rolls his eyes.

"Don't listen to her. We're all good now Five. I get it, it was seven years."

Five tenses. "Nothing happened Diego." Diego laughs.

"I forget what a prude you are sometimes man. Chill. But I get it, you're trynna impress your new chica, right?" Diego glances at you slyly. You squirm slightly. Five turns, spots you and huffs.

"Okay. Goodbye. I've had enough of this family for one afternoon. Come on you." He waves at you over his shoulder.

"What? What girl- oh!" Lila, apparently, peers around the piñata and laughs, the complete hysterical kind. "Never in my life..." She pats Five on the shoulder, uttering something you can't hear.

By now, there are 7 people surrounding you, all smirking like idiots. You find it endearing.

You decide to take matters into your own hands. You take Fives hand, drag him away from his family and towards the door, but not before planting your palms tenderly on either side of his face and pressing your lips to his. He gasps into your kiss but his hands find your waist eventually, pulling you into him.

His siblings jeer and catcall, but you get the sense he doesn't care anymore. You giggle into the kiss as you watch him give them the finger. He pulls away from you, stranding out to the parking lot.

You gaze fondly at the people in the lobby and give them the bow they deserve. "Thank you and goodnight!" You smile at the laughter that echoes after you as the doors close behind you.

You race to catch up to Five, who's already waiting to open the passenger door for you. "I like your family Fiver."

He smiles, "They like you honey."

•☆•

[dotterelly]

A bit of a ramble around my current state of mind. Nothing negative, but I know not everyone wants to read a long post of my thought processes so I'm gonna stick it under a read more.

I've been here before. Admittedly this time I kind of speed ran the experience because I joined the fandom so late, but still. I've been here before where a fandom experienced a series of tough times followed by fundamental change, and it caused a lot of people to move on.

I am not convinced this is the end for the qsmp. There are still ways for them to continue. But for a lot of original fans, this may be the point where they drop out and move on. So things will change, a lot. And change is scary and upsetting.

For all those who are struggling with the current state of things, particularly those for whom qsmp has been a hyperfixation, it's going to be ok! I'm not going to tell you not to grieve for what has been lost, or for what might have been. I just want you to remember at the same time that it is going to be ok in the end. You will live and you will grow, and all the things you've experienced in this fandom will help nurture the things you go on to do next. You will find that you do not have to let go of everything, and there will still be things coming in the future that ignite the same fire in you as this did. So hold onto the things you have gained, and let yourself be sad for the things you have lost, and through all that keep moving forwards.

Personally, I will probably continue to track what's going on with qsmp, but what originally brought me here was my intention to start following Philza, and that intention has not changed. I was looking for a good comfort streamer to help ground me during the more difficult mental health moments and for something I could have on as background noise while I wrote, and Philza's hardcore streams are perfect for that. The qsmp was just a bonus for me. But I will still try to keep in touch with people here. I love the big multicultural community, and the people I've talked to directly are great, and I truly hope we can be friends going forwards. And so long as there continues to be art and fanfic I will probably still indulge in it and reblog it.

Much love to all of you! <3

[benjaminthecoathanger]

okay, because i saw a poll earlier and i thought the choices weren't clear enough and also the answers i saw to it annoyed me and also i'm curious:

NOTES:

I am including having watched gameplay of a game and not having played it as having watched the source material

In this context if you are writing fic/making art and you are not being commissioned to do so. This is purely for funsies

You getting into something because you saw a post/gifset/video about it and then watched the source material does not count. That's just how you get into new things.

Goncharov does not count because it's not real. I'll break kayfabe here I don't care.

[forgetful-storyteller]

@circlesuponcircles I couldn't figure out how to submit a post/ask with a video and I couldn't rb with one so 👍

[banditblvd]

Uhhlittle bitty ethubs warmup I did a minute ago

An offering to the ethubsers

[rotisseries]

who wants to hear my absolutely stunning ideas for atla soap opera aus

[mildmayfoxe]

went a little crazy throwing textures on there but it's kinda fun right. i'm done for now but i'll come back to it later and decide if it needs all this stuff and probably color correct. and for all i know put more overlays on

[lost-in-fandoms]

Obsessed with tarzan!Max and his preference for wearing Daniel's shirts. Now I'm wondering how Daniel feels about this? 👀 and when he gets them back, are they a little stretched out from Max's broader shoulders? Smell more like his earthy musk and sweat than soap?

Hi friend <3

I think daniel is very smug about clearly being max's favorite and he's quickly grown very fond of him so he likes that max seems to prefer his shirts. I think he gives up a couple for the cause so that max gets to keep them.

maybe max has some nesting habits? has a few places where he likes to sleep and to make them cozier he likes to make little nest-beds with grass and leaves and maybe birds feathers? and he adds the tshirts to them too. but daniel can't exactly give all his shirts away, so he asks for most of them back and at first max is very confused because daniel gave it to him? that's his now? and they have to explain to him the concept of borrowing and sharing lol

the tshirts are a bit stretched out, not much because max is bigger, because daniel likes his tshirts oversized anyway, but because max fiddles with them a lot, tugging them and tying them when they get in the way, and maybe getting stuck in them a few times when trying to get them off.

and daniel won't admit it, probably not even to himself at first, but he likes to see max in his clothes. at first he tells himself it's because he just prefers max to be clothed (liar, he liked to ogle at his strong body) but then he has to admit he prefers when he's in his clothes. because it makes max feel a little closer, not like someone who could just disappear in the jungle at a moment notice and never come back, and because it feels like max is a little more his, not as free and wild. someone he could keep. even if i don't think daniel is at a "i like max" stage quite yet.

and yes, the clothes are to be washed when max gives them back, because even if none of them is that careful with not getting dirty since they're in the middle of the jungle, max seems to make them three times dirtier by climbing trees and laying on the ground and jumping into rivers and hanging out with all sorts of animals. but daniel doesn't mind. and if the clothes still smell a bit like max even after being washed (they just have a limited amount of soap and river water it's not like they can do miracles) he's not going to complain about it.

maybe one time he has no clean tshirts left, between max stealing and/or wearing them and the fact that they don't do the washing too often, and instead of being a normal person and asking one of the other guys for one he decides to wear one max had already worn and isn't (surprisingly) too dirty. he finds himself bringing the collar up to his nose to smell it way too often lol (i know what you are...)

this also made me think about max cuddling up to daniel to sleep. he has a weird sleep schedule, is up a lot during the night and take a few naps during the day, and he likes to check on his usual spots, but he almost always come back when the night is almost heading into dawn and curls up around daniel, pressing his face against daniel's neck.

the first time he did it, daniel startled so hard he hit max and max had ran away like a kicked puppy. daniel had to work pretty hard to convince him to come back and that they weren't fighting and yes max was allowed in the tent, no daniel wasn't marking his territory. but now daniel expects it and lets max be his big spoon <3

wait wait hold on, i was pressing post and had another thought!

obviously max doesn't have a name right? because why would he. so daniel gets to give him one and goes for something ridiculously excessive like maximus emilian the first of his name, or something like that. max for short <3

[front-facing-pokemon]

[lifeofdc]

You guys know how I used to be a mainly Batfam blog? Yeah somehow I ended up with a favorite Rogue this time through my DC phase thanks to my Gotham rewatch

[welcometogrouchland]

Batman #149 by chip zdarsky is mostly unremarkable, but I'm really fascinated by how it makes a great case for 'good' endings not saving 'bad' stories*. Because there's a lot of interesting concepts in this issue (bruce having to deal with his rapidly aging and decaying clone making him think about his own life, re-establishing a 'nest' so to speak for his family after pushing them away, etc) but bc of the OOC slog that came before it, almost every moment w/ the batfamily comes off as unearned and disingenuous imo.

Like, everything with Damian is the perfect example in this. Because in isolation it's...fine. admittedly it's a missed opportunity to not go deeper into how Damian would feel about a clone of his dad who tried to kill considering Damian's relationships with clones of himself (the heretic rejects and respawn) or with former enemies who wanted him dead but who were manipulated and/or brainwashed (like suren and maya).

Zdarsky doesn't go into any of this but you could maybe excuse it as the issue not being about Damian. However, coupled with the previous bizarre characterizations of Damian in 147 and 148, it ends up not being fine- instead it starts to feel...icky how Damian (who, despite often being drawn and written as white, will never have his connection to the non-white al ghuls forgotten and will always be effected by racism even when not portrayed as a poc) is constantly written as overly violent, uncaring and narrow minded in this run. Coupled w/ trying to recanonize the morrison origin for Damian it's like. OH this is badly written and laden with subtle bigotry, sick**

That's me going into detail on it with Damian but it's applicable to other things in this issue- the way Cass, Steph and Duke have all been ignored or turned into jobbers makes their inclusion in the 'family' here feel hollow instead of satisfying. Bruce proclaiming that Zur was still a part of him and he needs to accept responsibility for his actions (when it means taking in clone son) wrings hollow when just last issue zdarsky was bending over backwards to separate Bruce and Zur bc otherwise the Jason thing would get really awkward. Ends are achieved through means that feel hollow or strange. I'm at my destination but damn why'd the bus have to do all that???

I only really have opinions on this latest arc of zdarskys Batman bc it's the one I've read the closest (bc I'm a hater, masochist and avid follower of even the bad damian storylines) but it's not saying great things.

Bc zdarsky can do one thing good in this book, and it's write Bruce and Tim. And yet this entire story, whether of his own volition or editorial mandate, includes other characters who aren't Bruce and Tim, the fabric starts to unravel in very telling ways.

(p.s, I think pennyworth manor is an interesting idea but I feel like in execution it's just gonna be 'bruce living in a house haunted by the memory of the people he couldn't save' but with a different dead guy this time. Illusion of change and whatnot)

*whether or not the ending is good is up to you ofc, as is your opinion on the proceeding arc! I saw some ppl complain that the ending was too "WFA" for them, which I get even if I dont think it'll literally be the same premise. If anything it's probably a lead into the new tec run. Likewise many ppl who aren't in the weeds of Damian and Jason characterization liked the previous arc! But I have my opinions and rest my case before the bench

**disclaimer, I'm white and portrayals of bigotry in comics are complicated and subjective, but I am basing my point here off what other poc comic fans on socmed have been saying about 149. Also the "sick" is sarcasm incase that wasn't obvious

[shimexi]

simpler times

animals avoiding malleus while they adore silver... ok aurora and maleficient parallels but have you considered malleus' fireflies settling on silver -> symbolizing malleus' fondness & sense of protectiveness towards him // creatures gathering around malleus when silver is here bc they know silver trusts him = the animals can trust him too daytime: silver's practice sword (which you can barely see) + a flower crown malleus made while silver was training -> nighttime with malleus' book

[bright-omens]

Autistic Aziraphale headcanons because we're all sad and I need something to distract myself

You read the title lol. Just my general headcanons about Aziraphale's autism because he's very autistic and Crowley is his ADHD partner (Crowley is also an autism magnet but I'll get into that some other time lmao)

Obviously he likes most human food, but I headcanon that he genuinely can't handle fast food because of how greasy it is. Like, he doesn't mind greasy food (like bacon, steak, fried chicken, foods like that) but fast food is just a whole other kind of greasy and he can't stand it

He loves the texture of his clothes. Those are absolutely comforting to him when he gets too stressed and/or overstimulated (they also just make him very happy in general)

Crepes and sushi are his main safe foods (I will die on this hill)

When he's overstimulated he does become very touch averse depending on the situation

For example: In a large, loud, and crowded area, he wants absolutely no touch other than maybe a pinkie link with Crowley

However, when he touches something with a Bad Texture, he immediately goes to hug or touch Crowley in some way to get rid of the feeling

It's basically canon that he's the Doesn't Know When To Stop Talking Autistic

And while everyone around him (*cough* Heaven *cough*) finds it annoying and absolutely hates it, Crowley loves it and could listen to him ramble on about the stupidest things for hours. Obviously he'll tease him for it though

His special interest is either books or humans in general. I can't decide which one I like more and both are very plausible

He has so many things that he's gathered throughout the centuries for stimming purposes

He also will lightly flap his wings while he's reading, but no one can see that (In a human AU the equivilant of that would be either wiggling his nose or ears while he reads)

He gets so hyperfocused on reading and will stay up for weeks just reading and reading. The other shopkeepers get worried and try to get him to sleep but they won't take "I don't need sleep. I've been drinking coffee all day," as an excuse, and Aziraphale can't exactly explain to them that he's an immortal being that doesn't require sleep

That being said, he does enjoy wrapping himself in layers and layers of blankets

When he found out about weighted blankets he went wild

He has a lot of trouble understanding and remembering human expressions, which is why he talks more like someone from the 1920s (plus, that era's expressions just give him happy feels)

That's all for now. Btw feel free to request anything or even give me headcanons of your own! I love hearing about people's headcanons! The main things I write for is Good Omens and the movie Bright Young Things, so yeah :)

[louisbleedingout]

i really feel for louis and claudia so far in season 2 because the ONLY private space they had away from lestat in season 1 was their brains. claudia had her journals, but she really had to be careful with what she was writing after lestat told her that he read her journals.

sure there are ways to "build up mental walls" like armand keeps mentioning, but your mind should be a sacred place. needing to keep mental walls up 24/7 in case someone can dig around in there is horrifying to me as an abuse survivor, it would literally be my worst nightmare. we saw the impacts of how easily it lead to claudia being abused in season 1, but something about the realization of any vampire being able to dig around in another vampire's brain didn't hit me until this season. also not just one person digging around, but the ENTIRE 10+ member coven trying to find a crack in your mind to slip in?? horrifying!! even picturing that for a few days or weeks would be enough to give me life long trauma, let alone how long louis and claudia are going to be doing it for. there's so much autonomy that you need to regain in order to present yourself and make yourself come off as "normal" after surviving abuse. not having any private space (or space where you can sort out what version of yourself you're trying to be) REALLY would start to make anyone fall apart long term, but i can see why it's taken such a toll on louis. even louis' ONLY creative output and hobby (photography, especially focusing on his love for portrait photography) means he always needs to indirectly involve other people

[horsemeatluvr23]

i saw a post that was like "bdubs sees etho as a frightened horse" and i went omg that is so right. and also. what if joel also sees etho as an equine. but not a horse- a donkey. he sees etho as the donkey to his shrek. idk lmk ur thoughts if u want. u definitely have more experience when it comes to them. philosophical conversation 🌠

your mind is absolutely freaking huge and enormous i'm losing my shit.... joel as shrek and etho as donkey.......

it's especially funny because etho is typically too shy to be characterised as someone who is deeply bothersome and loud like donkey but when he's around joel... i think joel just brings out the worst in him and he becomes an annoying younger sibling following him around pestering him riling him up. if anyone else were shrek in this situation then etho would not be donkey,, but something about joel just causes etho to become extra unhinged. i love this for them