#it'd be interesting if the two of them ever made that connection

[unclewaynemunson]

Made a post about Eddie's mother and now this is happening apparently | now also on ao3 as a multi chapter fic

Two years after Eddie discovered the identity of his mother, Nancy Wheeler arrives at Hawkins High. She's still tiny – comparable to Eddie when he was fourteen and had yet to hit his growth spurt – and she's practically glued to this tall ginger girl with thick glasses at all times.

Eddie can't help but look at her whenever they cross paths, and it doesn't take long before he has to draw the disillusioned conclusion that the two of them couldn't possibly be more different from each other. She's nothing like Eddie, with his perpetually loud and boisterous presence, but rather the kind of girl who's always quietly giggling with her friend in a corner of the cafeteria or in the library doing homework. She's very pretty and Eddie strongly suspects she could easily be hanging out with the popular crowd, if she wanted to – he sees how certain guys look at her. But she doesn't seem too interested in any of that, rather sticking with her nerdy friend and dedicating her time to the kind of extracurriculars that ambitious girls are supposed to do.

'Eddie! Hey, Eddie! Munson!'

Jeff has to snap his fingers in front of Eddie's face before he finally gets his attention.

'What?' Eddie startles.

'I've been talking to you for like, the past ten minutes. What the hell can be more important to you than the plot of The death of Captain Marvel?'

Eddie has to muster all his self-restraint to not look over Jeff's shoulder across the cafeteria to where Nancy Wheeler and her friend are sitting two tables over. But alas, he is not exactly known for his vast amounts of self-restraint.

Jeff follows his gaze and gasps.

'Nancy Wheeler?' he hisses emphatically under his breath, leaning closer towards Eddie. 'Dude, are you kidding me?'

'Jeff,' Eddie says, flatly, to stop him.

But Jeff marches on. 'The jocks won't stop talking about her, man! Don't you dare become like that, you –'

'Ew,' is all Eddie has to say to that. 'Dude, you are so wrong, it's not even funny.'

Jeff risks another glance over his shoulder.

'Her friend is cute,' he says.

'Wasn't looking at her friend either,' Eddie answers, accompanying his words with an eye-roll.

A smile crosses over Jeff's face. 'Good,' he establishes.

Luckily, if there's anything Eddie is good at, it's to take an opportunity when he sees one: he latches onto this fascinating piece of information and spends the rest of their lunch break teasing Jeff relentlessly about his little crush on a certain freckled freshman.

He's pretty sure that Jeff is way too shy to ever ask any girl out – and even though Eddie might be pretty damn stupid, he's not exactly stupid enough to meddle in this one. That'd be a recipe for a disaster of boundless extent.

He can't help but wonder what it'd be like, though. He knows it's an utterly useless daydream in multiple aspects, the most important one being the way he sees Barbara Holland looking at Nancy. It easily betrays to him that the chances are very slim that Jeff would be her type in any way. But he still can't stop imagining what his life could be like if Jeff and Barbara were dating. He imagines the four of them hanging out together. He imagines getting to know Nancy, really getting to know her. He imagines the two of them seeking out each other's company whenever their two best friends would be doing stupid date stuff. They'd become fast friends, even though they'd seem like an unlikely pair; they'd simply have this instant familiarity around each other, connect like they were always meant to be bound to each other in some kind of way, despite all their differences. He'd come to her house all the time, get to know her - his - family, learn all about her secrets, her hopes and dreams... She'd joke about Eddie having become like an older brother to her and he'd get just as close to Mike and baby Holly... Maybe he'd even grow closer to Karen. She'd take him under her wing, make him homemade cookies like she's done for all her other kids, and give him a look, every now and then, that told him that she knew who he was, and that she was sorry...

He knows it's not good for him to lose himself in those kind of daydreams. He's always been a big daydreamer, but this one is becoming an obsession that borders on being unhealthy. More often than not, he'll zone out in class losing himself in scenarios where he's somehow a part of the family in the big house in Maple Street. Not only does it feel ungrateful towards Uncle Wayne and is it ruining his already questionable grades, it's also a special kind of torture for himself, to be dedicating so much of his time inserting himself into a family that will never actually be his.

'You're Eddie Munson, aren't you?'

He almost drops his lunchbox one day when he's at his locker and Nancy suddenly appears out of nowhere behind him.

'Jesus, you scared me, can you not sneak up on me like that?!' he blurts out to conceal how his heart is suddenly beating in his throat. Fuck, he never really wanted to talk to her, that was never part of the plan. He didn't even know she knew who he was in the first place!

Looking into her eyes is the most difficult thing of all. No matter how different the two of them are, those eyes are proof of what they have in common: almost too big for their faces and so expressive that every emotion they have is easily betrayed in their gazes. Looking at her, really looking at her, shows him the phantom life that could've never been his anyway more clearly than anything else.

He sees himself, two years old, holding a newborn in his arms. He sees the two of them giggling and playing with a baby through the bars of a playpen four years later. He sees them on a playground, swinging side by side and getting mud on their hands in a sandbox. He sees the two of them grow older: him making her laugh by making up silly stories about her barbies, her practicing with make-up on his face, him sharing his newfound love for good music with her; the two of them dramatically complaining about their parents together, him teaching her to play guitar, her on his bed talking about boys; all taking place in that big house that Eddie will never even set foot in, because he belongs there just as much as the raccoons that sometimes plague their trashcans.

'Are you stalking me?'

Eddie blinks. The way she looks at him knocks the breath right out of his lungs: her chin is tilted upwards and there's something almost defiant in the way her eyebrows are curved. Suddenly, she seems to have much more in common with Eddie than he thought, this freshman girl with neatly braided hair challenging the local trailer trash drug dealer without an ounce of timidity.

'Uhhhh,' he dumbly says.

'Do you want something from me?'

'N-no,' he stutters.

'Then stop staring at me all the time, creep,' she says sharply.

Before he can say anything else, she turns her back to him and walks away.

He knows pretty damn well he shouldn't stare, but he finds himself glued to the floor, unable to look anywhere else while Nancy's tiny frame disappears among the crowds of students filling the school halls.

This one hurts more than anything else; even more than that time just after he found out, when he was soaking wet and staring into the Wheelers' warmly lit kitchen from behind the bushes in their garden.

She has no clue who he is; no clue how closely their lives are intertwined. She didn't see in his eyes what he saw in hers. Of course she didn't. How could she? He's just Eddie Munson, the school freak, after all. Completely and utterly incomparable to little miss perfect Nancy Wheeler. He's the weirdo whose creepy gaze she had intercepted one too many times in the cafeteria, making her so uncomfortable that she felt the need to stand up for herself and say something about it.

God, he needs to let this go.

Update: pt3 is now here

[mochatune]

I really love your characterization, I feel like you're really true to the source material whenever possible ❤ you're good at making cute moments without sugarcoating the unpleasant parts of characters!

I'm curious.. how would Peter/YB react to the reader confronting him about not actually loving them? Reader having been very accepting of him and having a sort of revelation when his Perfect Boyfriend facade slips. (I mean he'd absolutely just cut his losses and go full murder mode but I think it'd be interesting if he actually had any level of introspection.)

If the goal was to flatter me then it worked, like shit, what a beautiful compliment 😂❤️ I got you rn. There is a lot of ways to interpret this hc so I’m hoping what is written is what you were asking for.

——

- Peter had a lot of red flags you’d had looked past. He was perfect and went above the bar when it came to past men who had entered your life. He remembered your birthday, the anniversaries, even those cheesy days like national hug day and he spared no expense into making it special for you even when there was nothing to celebrate.

- this was honestly a big part in why you were so accommodating when he was less than savory to be around, you yourself are surprised with how much of a pushover you were in the past. Guess it shows just how low the bar is for you.

- things eventually just started connecting as you got to know him. The possessiveness being a big part, it felt like ever since getting to know him your social life sort of…. changed. It suddenly felt like there was less time for the other people you cared about, even your family wasn’t spared when it came to him. Everyone was a challenge for him.

- neither of you really ever really established a relationship, you always thought you two were just really close friends I mean … sure there were some moments where it felt like something more but it wasn’t something you were barely even beginning to consider after past relationships left you feeling drained. You were okay with this sort of situationship for the the time being you just hadn’t noticed how much he had really wanted.

- He was always the guy there for you to talk shit with when you were frustrated or the shoulder to cry on, he was practically your best friend ever since Lucy had passed. You still blamed yourself for everything despite no consecutive reports on the case for months now but hey atleast you had someone to help you grieve and move past the tragedy that had happened at that diner. He was always there for you, he said it himself and had done more then enough to prove it through his actions towards you.

- one day he just changed. It’s like the guy you’ve been building trust with for almost half a year now just turned around and showed you a side he’d been forcing himself to hide from you.

- suddenly seeing those eyes that made you feel like prey, it was weird and quite frankly you didn’t like it. You didn’t like how he was treating you like a piece of meat, like any other guy would. It felt like you were beginning to see him for who he was.

- all a guy had done was catcall you, it wasn’t anything. You ignored it and kept it pushing like you always do but he just couldn’t let it go.

- he didn’t do anything, not while you were watching anyways but you saw that change in demeanor. He’s done it before though it was always a flash of an emotion you could not name, it always intimidated you but never for long as he was back to his same old lovable self.

- he sort of just dumps everything on you, everything he’d been keeping in all those nights working up the nerve at the mere thought of embracing you as more than just a friend. All those times you had cried to him but not because of him, it infuriated him that the relationship he’d been making up in his head since practically forever with you was nothing more than a mere delusion he’d created to cope with never actually being with you. That was going to change. Tonight.

- he knew, he just knew you wanted to be with him as much as he did with you so when you told him you were put off by his behavior and that you did not feel for him even a fraction of what he felt for you, hearing that “you wanted some time away from him” threw him through a loop. Not a pretty one either.

- those eyes again, the ones he has flashed at the man earlier. The ones that had you feeling helpless. A wolf in sheep’s clothing.

- it was like a gust of wind when he grabbed you with all his might, a meaty vein pulsing trough his forearm and the eyes of a killer gaping into your soul. A screaming fit paired with it, words along the lines of “why can’t you just accept that you love me” the words of a delusional freak that you know in your bones you should have never even given a single benefit of the doubt. That all this time that gut feeling in back of your mind was true all along.

- you’re in so much distress that it’s all a blur. The over-exertion of your muscles trying to fight back against the agonizing grip of a grown man paired with the ringing in your head from the screams, the wet on your face from the spittle of the man screaming intensely in your face. There’s a thud and suddenly everything is just black.

- you find yourself with a pounding headache and foggy vision bound against a soft surface, most likely a mattress. You try to move but you find your wrist cold from a handcuff keeping you fastened against the bed post. Everything from last night comes back and you’re reliving everything, a panic attack hits you before you calm down again having hope that there may be a way out of this.

- your captor, the person you thought you’d see comes walking in with a slight hop in his step. Almost as if last night never even happened, he has a tray of food. You aren’t sure what it is but you know you want no part in it immediately readying your voice to try and talk your way out of this predicament.

- there’s a stool by the bed your bound to, he sits on it and puts the tray on the bedside table right by your head.

- he tells you good morning in a sickly sweet voice you wish you’d never hear, almost as sickening as the deep purple bruise left on your arm after the mere grip put on you last night.

- you don’t offer a kind response back (who would let’s be honest) but it doesn’t seem like he minds. That flips a switch when the next words fly out of your mouth, almost as if you didn’t even think about who you were talking to before you spoke.

- nasty words continuously come out of your mouth begging him to let you go all the while barking like a chihuahua as if you were trying to hit a nerve. Who could take anyone seriously while they were tied down though?

- he laughs it off, this is why he loves you so much. You have a quality that can’t be copied, your spirit is so pure to him. He can’t help but communicate how much he loves you with a breathy voice and an ethereal stare.

- you’re next words were your biggest mistake, the ones that sealed your fate. You just couldn’t say you loved him back.

- his reaction, it’s not as bad as last night but still terrifying nevertheless. He understands it’s a process in a relationship but to spout such nonsense is enough to rile him up all over again.

- he’s more than offended at being told that he doesn’t really love you and only like the idea of you, you’re more than that to him. You’re essence, the mere presence of you is enough to blow him away. He huffs it away with a smirk, you don’t mean that.

- you’re too weak to fight the cloth clogging your airways, the all to familiar blackness coming back into the corner of your eyes slowly drowning your vision in it as your brain goes numb.

- begging to leave it just won’t work, he knows you really love him and that you want to stay here. You just need time and he’s more than willing to take care of anyone else who seems to think they knows what’s best for you and him.

- just like he did with Lucy.

- overall the guy is fucking delusional, say goodbye to the possibility of him having even a single moment of clarity when it comes to you.

[wickworks]

Crescent Loom & genetic algorithms

I recently got an email about Crescent Loom asking about opening it up with an API or something to fine-tune the parameter space of its bodies & neurons, and I put enough thought into writing a response I thought it'd be worth sharing here too:

The idea of incorporating a genetic algo came up enough during development that I actually made this graphic to respond with:

In short, as a biologist, I've found myself more interested in making a game about intelligent design than evolution (lol). My thoughts have evolved somewhat since the initial "scope" issue — my party line for years has been that I'm making this thing in order to let people get their hands into the guts of biological nervous systems, not to let them press a button and have the computer give them a funny animal. Crescent Loom as a game already struggles with being too close to being a fishbowl screensaver maker (you make your little guy… and then what?) and trying to automate more of the creation process only worsens that problem. I also think that "evolution" games that use genetic algorithms as their primary mechanic are honeypots that trap developers working in this field but never produce compelling gameplay because of a fundamentally cursed problem that the most interesting thing the program is doing is not directly visible to the playe. "It's getting better at doing stuff? I guess?" — it's a fun mechanic to program, not play. And weirdly people almost always only think of doing it for biology-themed games, not ones like Kerbal that are doing the same damn thing but the idea of evolution isn't as close at hand (though there's been some cool demos done for driving games). But I hear where the idea is coming from that searching the parameter space is not a fun process, and the story that "centaurs" of humans running things with a computer taking care of the details outperforming either working alone is an alluring one. Getting an open API with CL handling the UI of weaving a nervous system and allowing it to be modified or plugged into whatever you want would open up a lotta possibilities — genetic algos, sure, but also stuff like CL-made networks driving robots or something. And if you had emailed me like two months ago, that's where my email would have ended, but I recently connected with someone who's done basically that: check out FEAGI and Neurorobotics. Mohammad's been working on a very much more implementation-agnostic neural-net-genetic-algorithm series of projects. Definitely less "pick up and play" than CL, but it's about as close to that open API idea that I think we're ever going to see. He's doing it better than I could ever do with CL, so it's kind of nice to be able to say that that dream's taken care of so I can focus on education & accessibility rather than making it a general-purpose tool.

[a-gay-bloodmage]

I'm curious...

Fellow Dragon Age fans, did you ever come up with a nickname for Varric to call your Inquisitor / Custom Hawke? Seeing as the man seems to be incapable of calling most of his friends their actual names, I figure that he'd give the Inquisitor one, even if he doesn't in-game!

I'd love to see people reblogging and tagging / replying with their PCs' nicknames... and maybe why or how they got them! My own Inquisitors' nicknames are under the cut! It'd be a very long post, otherwise...

Mallory Trevelyan: Girly, a very literal nickname. Before coming out as a cross-dresser, there wasn't a moment where Mallory (or Mallie) wasn't in a full face of makeup. He was always worrying about getting his hair messed up or complaining about having to wear things like pants or unflattering, manly armor. Even when Varric learned that Mallory was actually a man, the nickname stuck around. It still applied, after all! Mallory doesn't mind the nickname, but he does find it hopelessly unoriginal.

Kiora Trevelyan: Pep, a clear joke of a nickname. Kiora, a somniari, struggles with narcolepsy caused by her strong connection to the Fade. Both Kiora and Varric think that calling the girl who nods off after half an hour of sitting down in a loud tavern very funny.

Aelon Lavellan: Twitch, an unfortunately literal nickname. Aelon hates it, and Varric can't help but be amused the way that Lavellan's nose and ears twitch every time Varric calls him by the nickname. Lavellan is a very anxious, slightly paranoid person, and he certainly fits the nickname.

Ashavise Lavellan: Cuddles, an affectionately ironic nickname. Ashavise is one of the least cuddly people he knows, clearly not very interested touching anyone in the world of the living for the majority of her time in the Inquisition. Even if it's a joke about her, Ashavise does think that the durgen'len's stupid nickname for her is kind of funny. Not that she'd tell him, of course.

Ademamar Cadash: Big Guy, an obviously ironic nickname. Ade is about an inch taller than Varric, but the two of them are obviously the shortest men in the Inquisition. Ade's constant flirting with the Iron Bull only makes Varric think the nickname is all the funnier. Ade likes it, and cites it to Bull when he's trying to convince the quinari to sleep with him.

Harta Cadash: Madame, a literal and relatively respectful nickname. While she and Varric are friends, he tends to be a little careful around a woman still very deeply tied to the Carta. Especially since she admitted, very cheerfully, to having met Varric before the Inquisition, her family having wanted to check up on one of the Merchant guild men involved with the mess in Kirkwall. Harta loves the nickname.

Ozol Adaar: Willow, an affectionately literal nickname. It took him a while to come up with something that wasn't too obvious. He finally settled on Willow, even if a tree joke was a bit basic. The combined factors of Ozol's towering height, strength, and his long silver dreadlocks made Willow a perfect nickname. Ozol thinks it's very nice. Far better than most of things he's called by bas.

Semiha Silva-Adaar: Bouncy, a soft and literal nickname. Semiha's personality is very go-getter and cheerful, and she tends to fidget by bouncing a little on her heels. Her twin puffs of silvery afro hair only add to the perpetual motion. She thinks it's a great nickname, and smiles every time Varric calls her it.

[mangosaurus]

Hi! Love your jwcc fanarts! (Hope u don't think my question is to annoying lmao 😭❤️)

I wanna ask u what do u think about that theory abt Ben gf being a catfish? Maybe one of that people that have been hunting them idk. Some posts claim it's actually Brooklyn trying to keep herself updated about the whole situation?? TO MUCH THEORIES

Also if the gf is actually real I'm curious about your opinion. Like I saw a post saying that Ben could be Bi, Pan, etc, but really, I am bisexual myself and there is no bi subtext on that boy... and it's not like they suddenly are gonna officialize he is bi/pan, or give him this type of subtext at this point of the franchise. Is not cool when people call "bi/pan" a media trying to avoid dealing with a character queerness. It's just painful that people think this is a real way of portrait of a bi/pan experience. It's not!!

AW thank you so much! i know i haven't posted much art lately but it still makes me really happy to hear that people enjoy it. and your question isn't annoying at all, don't worry about it :) i love receiving and answering asks, it doesn't matter what they're about

the more time that passes the more plausible the catfish GF theory sounds to me. if i had to guess, ben probably met his girlfriend online, possibly through dark jurassic (which a lot of the fandom seems to be in consensus about). as for it being brooklynn ... not too sure about that one! i've mostly treated it as a crack theory up until now, if just because of how absurd it sounds on paper, but i wouldn't put it past brooklynn to pull something like that. keeping in touch with ben is probably one of her only links back to her friends, besides her contact with ronnie (who is only partially connected to darius at this point, since he quit the DPW). i'd recommend giving these two posts by kitabearuwu a read if you're interested in exploring that theory further.

now if the girlfriend is real: i obviously can't speak for you or other bi/pan/otherwise mspec people, but i've come to not care all that much, if i'm being honest. it was definitely a shock to hear, as was the intended effect, since darius, sammy, and yasmina all initially reacted with surprise. but my question is what harm does ben having a girlfriend in chaos theory pose? like, does it play into any negative stereotypes? does it communicate a dangerous message about queer people? i've seen some people argue that it perpetuates the notion that mlm relationships are "icky" and shouldn't be portrayed in media, but i have to disagree, respectfully.

i think it's also really important to remember that subtext is ... ultimately kind of subjective, and is totally independent of the creator's intentions. that's the whole point of subtext—it exists below (hence the prefix sub-) the underbelly of the text. you have to be looking for it to see it, basically. and for a long time, the fandom (or at least the queer part of the fandom) subtextually read ben as gay! a lot of that had to do with his rather intimate interactions with the other boys, juxtaposed against the way he rejected yasmina when he thought she had a crush on him ("i like you, but i don't like like you ... i'm just now starting to find myself"). but ... i don't know, if we want to start citing text, you could also argue that ben's whole thing about not putting him in a box circa jwcc s5 could be a point towards him being generally unlabeled, which leaves room for him being mspec.

if i had to make some definitive statement on the matter, i guess it'd be that this fandom gets really bogged down by the specific labels of these characters, when it's really not all that necessary. this is still a gay show made by gay people featuring unapologetically gay characters in explicitly gay relationships, of which has been some of the best gay rep i've ever seen in media. and having that kind of representation on TV matters more to me than knowing what ben specifically identifies as, even if it doesn't align with my headcanon. it doesn't have to! but i also don't know for sure if it doesn't align with my headcanon, because we haven't gotten the full story yet. ben's girlfriend is most likely gonna be of some importance, given that he mentioned her twice without going into much detail about her. that leaves a lot of room in future seasons to expand upon who she is and her role in both the greater narrative and ben's life specifically, including his identity. i just think it's best we reserve judgement at this point, basically

[el-moscorrofio-y-el-mercachifle]

Just saw Luis Mesa's tweet saying that in fact, Daniel fell/would feel in love with Betty BEFORE her transformation and I'm spiraling because it makes sense the Betty/Daniel parallels in the first chapters, he going mad with Patricia because she blocked Betty's computer, he literally says that he's after Armando's head, not Betty's; also asking her why she looks so scared when she sees him with a reflective look. Also when he heard about Betty's boyfriend, he goes full mad to humiliate session on her look BUT he actually saw her look literally minutes ago and didn't said nothing.

I think it would be kinda interesting but in telenovelas, the guión is decided by the audience so it was only Betty/Armando without a triangle (Nicolas doesn't count ajsksks) until Michel.

What do you think YSBLF would go if they went with Daniel/Betty/Armando?

HIIII

Omgggg someone pls send me a screenshot or something!! I need tl see this!!! I'm usually not a big fan of what the actors say, but this one I kinda believe it lmao

I thought for a very long while when watching for the firdt time that Daniel was eventually going to go after Betty! I thiught he would fall for her or at least want "something" with her... not actual love, perhaps, but you know, SOMETHING... but no!

I hadn't noticed some of the details you're mentioning! I did see the parallels at the beginning, and how Betty pretty much falls perfectly in lone with what Daniel looks for in a woman. I also noticed that he seemed to genuinely find humour in his talks to Betty but didn't like her winning the arguments. I also noticed he was surprised with how scared she was of him! But that thing about his reaction to hearing Betty has a bf?? Uf, I hadn't noticed or made the connection!!! I will definitely pay more attention to Daniel this rewatch!

Uff what a hard question!! It'd be very difficult to know how it'd go, and things can change so much depending on when Daniel were to be interested in Betty. I think that if the initial idea was to make Daniel actually eventually fall in love, it was a short lived idea, because Daniel never even shows a bjt of kindness like Armando does. I mean, Daniel is a pretty twisted man and a bit sadistic. I imagine that if they had actually wanted to make Daniel a love rival, Daniel's personality and wickedness would have been softened.

I've been writing a fanfic about this (not a D/B, but he still pursues her), and in my vision, I think he'd need to see her physical potential for beauty. Pretty much like Armando, Daniel also feels attraction for Betty but is repelled by her looks. Armando was forced to bream this barriers during the Sinister Plan, but I think Daniel would only break them if he saw Betty improving her appearence. He seemed to me a more superficial man compared to Armando, and I don't think Daniel would ever even consider going public.

I definitely think that Armando would be losing his head over the idea of TWO men going after Betty tho (Nicolás and Daniel) lmaooo also Mario would have a hell of a time laughing about it. Marcela would be FURIOUS about it. Patricia would feel humiliated thinking that Daniel could have had her and instead chose BETTY. And Betty herself would be HORRIFIED, because she hates his guts lmaooo straight up the only way she would ever tolarate him was with blackmails (cough cough like about the Panamá illegal businesses or something cough cough)

It's still a very interesting take! I definitely see where it comes from but I also think this idea was too quickly forgotten. I wouldn't even know where the AU could start for Daniel to be a proper love rival!

Thank you for the lovely question!! Sorry if I couldn't elaborate much🥲

[zippidi-dooda]

So I finally got around to finishing Loki and I'm gonna talk about it

This isn't anything too deep or a big analysis on the show, just my thoughts immediately after binging season two.

Spoilers I guess if you haven't finished it

First off, loved it

Wasn't sure what to expect when it was announced but I was digging. For snippets of it, checking auditions, updates and posts about it, the date it'd come out, generally keeping an eye out for it since it was announced.

And then I watched the first season and I was intrigued. The concept of Loki essentially getting a second chance, but being his former self and having to see how his life plays out, the results and consequences of his actions? Brilliant, because Loki is pretty complex as a character, doesn't really seem to want to face himself. Then he is faced with himself, literally and figuratively, and we know we're gonna see a change in him just like Ragnarok Loki, if not more. I didn't think I'd be a fan of Slyvie though since she was -before this came out- theorized to be his love interest and I know that romance doesn't usually go so well for Loki -myth Loki anyway- or those involved with him, but I was pleasantly surprised. I liked their banter, she challenged him when he so clearly needed it, and was basically a mirror of himself. And because she is him -a variation of him, another Loki- I like how she also symbolizes the idea him learning to love himself, coming to terms with his faults, accepting how he is and gaining the chance to become better. And it wasn't just her he grew close to, learned to love, he started to notice and pay attention to others in the TVA, like Mobius, other Lokis. He can see people as more than beneath him. He changed for the better all while maintaining all of the mischievous qualities he is known for.

And then comes season 2

(Which I did slack on watching till today but don't worry about it)

This is where we see the extent of how much the people around Loki have changed him, how much they mean to him. He wants to make a difference and is actively trying to make one, not just for him but the world. He and Sylvie are closer than ever, just about to reach the end of their quest, one madman away from getting what they want. But as he hears the guy who is in control of it all give them choices, he hesitates. He begins to think. And we all know he's a smart guy so it's like "what's wrong here?" He tries to reason with Sylvie about their options, he doesn't want the bitter end they aimed for. They share that long awaited kiss. And then he's stabbed in the back. By the one he truly cares for and essentially himself, alluding to how he is the key factor to holding himself back, and he is presented with that reputation of himself who can't be trusted. He'll have to choose to accept that will always be a roadblock for him or continue to fight against it. And at this point I kept thinking back to the myth Loki, thinking of how he acted and the whole world built in that mythology, yggdrasil, the nine worlds, the "stunts" he pulled -and throughout the rest of this season there was jokes pointing back to the myths so I was wondering how this would connect overall. But anyway, he kept on trying to fix things, going back and forth, trying over and over again, trying to gain the "good ending." He showcased his cunning, methodical thinking, persistence and patience. Care. When confronted with "why" is he doing this, he hesitates. I expected him to say he wanted to be the hero, to finally get the chance to be more than he was expected to be. But he doesn't. He admits it's cause he doesn't want to be alone. He finally met people he cared for and was scared to lose them. I was taken aback, but happy to see this type of development in him. It was sweet. He wants to be around them. Saying it out loud though made him doubt if what he was doing was right for everyone. It was what he wanted, but was it what they wanted? He learns it is a good choice and then tries for literal centuries to fix everything. He fixes things. It was a good choice. But not the solution. And he struggles to make the life changing choice. Cause how can one put an end to the one they love. Get rid of the most difficult part of themselves? He wants to find a way out that won't have him lose any of the people he loves. And he finds it. He is the answer, the varient, the one who caused this mess in the first place. If he sacrifices himself, he can give everyone the freedom of choice. As he's walking to his doom, timelines dying before him, I start thinking "they kinda look like roots. And they're different worlds too. Kinda like that tree in Norse myths" And they were, they freaking were!! Loki takes them all, marching up to his final resting place. He sits on the golden throne. And the timelines bloom to life in a burt of vivid green, branching out like they were mean to be. A wide shot appears. And the image left behind is a tree teeming with life. Yggdrasil. It is a happier take on how Loki lives trapped under the tree of life in a loop of pain. In the myths he has Sigyn by his side to try and prevent acid from burning him. But here, he is alone, only able to remember the friends he left behind, to hope they happily lived out the lives they desired, a burden just as difficult to bear. A beautiful, beautiful ending.

Much better than his ending in Infinity War anyhow.

Him essentially becoming a time God was a nice shocker too.

And as much as I loved it, I hope this is the last we see of Loki because things were nicely wrapped up in the end and I don't want to see anything horrible happen to the character.

Though I don't know much about Comic Loki so maybe there will be more, who knows.

Overall, I liked how this show was handled, loose ends were tied, seemingly insignificant characters became important, things from episodes ago were remembered and used, the characters themselves were delightfully written and cared about and portrayed, and the visuals were nice.

I liked how they incorporated so much brown into it, don't know if that was symbolic for anything but it isn't used as often in films as much as it was in this.

And in my gut I knew this was gonna end with Loki being stuck in Yggdrasil for some reason. But somehow I missed the biggest hint, the one that Sylvie threw at us, she literally said "it's rotting" referring to the TVA, timelines, etc. And what else rots but trees?

Anyways, on a less serious note, I love Loki. Tom Hiddleston is great. Loki had them Ouran High School Host Club legs. Loved how fluffy his hair looked and the dramatic flips he always does with it, his little laugh, sarcastic quips, impish grin, melodic voice, the wise little book nerd shining though in the end, and him acting all calm yet just about to snap like a father with patience wearing thin for his learning son when giving Victor instructions was magnificent to see. Wearing my only Loki merch as we speak. My love for him has been reignited.

Also, why is it so funny that Sylvie was offered something usually desirable like power, the chance to be God, and she's like "nah I'm okay" and chooses to work at McDonald's instead?

This show was crazy, gave Doctor Who vibes, love it

[yellowhollyhock]

Nightwatcher and Ghost of the Jungle would've been such a cool team-up though. Nightwatcher, in the city that never sleeps--describes his shift, literally like "I'll be in this place at this time come get me if you've got the guts." The whole point is to be so intimidating people afraid to try crime so that there's less for just one turtle to do (that's what he and Don were arguing about, I have normal feelings about this). Then, the Ghost of the Jungle-- vague, whimsical even, says I am Part of Nature and I will always Find those who need me. Giving 'no one sees my face and lives' vibes. Intimidation through mystery instead of sheer straightforward power.

They would have worked so well together. I kinda wish Raph hadn't hung the helmet up at the end of the movie. I mean, I get it. It was an identity that was always going to be connected to Leo's absence, and he thought his brother was gonna die because of him so that would be pretty traumatic. But just. Think of the shenanigans. And how well they would understand each other.

And also how different Nightwatcher and Ghost are to Cowabunga Carl and Just Donnie, Your Friendly IT Tech Support (not your enemy) (long suffering sigh).

Mikey parallels Raph in how he's using visibility as stealth. He's disguised as a giant turtle so no one will suspect he is actually a giant turtle. Pretty mich the exact same strategy but opposite; instead of trying to be intimidating, he's made himself friend-shaped. And that! Doesn't work at all! :D (do you think it was Donnie's idea. do you think Mikey was waiting to be asked about what he'd do if he was human. do you think the two of them talked late into the morning about what direction their lives could possibly take now that they aren't a team of ninjas, with Leo being gone and Splinter pausing patrol. do you think they hoped getting jobs focused on helping others would earn them some degree of acceptance, even if it'd be fragile and conditional. do you think Raph spat at their feet for trying to make themselves feel human, accused them of being ashamed of what they are, and maybe he wasn't totally wrong)

Leo and Donnie have interesting parallels too. I'm here to help, but you come to me and you can't see my face. These are the conditions, now I'm a tool in your hands, use me till I'm blunt. or something. Themes of selflessness but for Leo it's detachment from all he knows and loves, while Donnie is planted at home so that everyone else can branch out.

Mikey and Donnie both hate what they're doing. Or at least they're exhausted from doing too much of it. But. They help each other. Donnie set up Mikey's van so it would be as easy as possible for him to have some independence while still being button clicks away from help if he ever needs it. You know with the hours Don's pulling that Mikey is the one reminding him to eat, sleep, etc. Even though they're exhausted they fall asleep on the couch watching movies together instead of going to their beds.

Meanwhile Raph and Leo are the same and they're finding their callings. They're growing into their own identities as individual Ninjas. They were the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles; now they're their own brand of Cryptids. Really growing into themselves. It's beautiful and probably exactly what Splinter intended Leo's training period to be for. But. They're both alone. And that self-isolation is now linked with that growing up journey, for both of them. I'm sure this will not have any repercussions (yes it will). They can easily slip back into working as a team, the horror of almost losing Leo surely fixed all underlying issues (no it didn't).

Anyways what if Leo talked Raph into taking the mantle back up. What if the two of them start a habit of sneaking out since they can't seem to get back in on the bond Mikey and Donnie formed while they were both absent. What if this also causes more problems even as it smooths over some. And plus also too what if it's super cool because Nightwatcher and Ghost y'all

[everydayyoulovemeless]

Fo4 Companions Favorite Settlements To Stay At

➼ Word Count » 0.7k ➼ Warnings » Slight spoilers in MacCready's

MacCready really likes the Finch Farm. It has always been a place of comfort for him. There's something about the family that lives there that almost reminds MacCready of the family he and his son are never likely to get. He hopes that one day when his son makes it to the Commonwealth that they could hang around the place for a little while longer, maybe even live there with them permanently.

Nick's always been fond of the Starlight Drive-In. Human Nick spent a lot of time in these types of theatres, so he's always felt weirdly connected to them. Nick also likes to stand behind the counter and serve drinks while all the other settlers gather around on the stools. It's just a naturally nostalgic place for him.

Cait has never been particularly excited to visit the settlements, they're all too open and the settlers are wayyy too in her face for her to have fun. That's why Hangman's Ally is the only one she ever agrees to go to. Not many settlers like living there, and it's almost invisible to the rest of the world.

Danse's favorite settlement to be at will always be the Boston Airport. There's nowhere he'd rather be than near his fellow soldiers—they're like his family.

Preston loves all the settlements you work on, but The Castle always wins. In his opinion, there's nothing better than the space, people, and artillery that the Castle holds. It's a natural place for any Minuteman to want to be in. He especially loves the history of it all. Looking back at old pre-war artifacts that have been scattered across the castle makes him feel so intrigued.

Codsworth loves sanctuary for sentimental reasons, but greygarden is a place he really feels at home. It's just him and all the other Mr. Handys, cleaning and gardening, his favorite things to do <3 (and sometimes they have really good gossip)

Piper spent a good while trying to solve the mystery in Jamaica Plain, and in doing so, set up her own little shack to call a temporary home. She made pretty good friends with the settlers who currently resided there and likes to visit every now and then to see the home she lived in for a week serve a different purpose.

Curie's very interested in all the ghost stories that surround the Croup Manor. She can't help but get excited at the thought of spending the night there or starting a little campfire just outside the place and going back and forth telling each other myths and legends.

Strong likes a lot of the settlements, but Sunshine Tidings Co-Op always makes him satisfied due to all the raider camps that are scattered nearby. Even Nuka-World's close. He can eat as many people as he wants down there, what more could he ask for?

Hancock loves supporting his fellow ghouls, so the Slog is a personal favorite of his. He always tries to help the group down there out as often as he can, especially security-wise. He wants to see this group prosper. It's refreshing to see others working toward the same goals as him.

Deacon, against Desdemona's wishes, turned the Taffington Boathouse into a frat house of sorts. He's always trying to recruit people but he's only managed to convince Tinker Tom to get on board. He's also the only one who knows what a frat house actually is so everyone just ignores him.

X6-88 hates them all. They're all too grimy for him to ever willingly be near. Although, if he had to pick, it'd be Covenant, only after he's killed everyone else in it. He'd much rather it be just the two of you in that semi-secure township. 

Dogmeat likes all of them, although Sanctuary and the Red Rocket Station are his favorites. Both settlements always hold such friendly people and tons of junk for him to play with!

Naturally, Old Longfellow prefers his cabin. He has the most detailed mental map of his little island—knows where all the traps are set and everything. Besides all his weapons and alcohol being stored there, why wouldn't it be his favorite?

Gage doesn't have much of an opinion on any of them, although, he thinks Hangman's Ally has the best cover. It doesn't matter to him though, everywhere's home if you can take it from the original residents.

[sleepingdeath-light]

finding out his soulmate is depressed hcs ; loki

requested by ; anonymous (19/05/22)

fandom(s) ; marvel cinematic universe / mcu

fandom masterlist(s) ; here

character(s) ; loki laufeyson

outline ; “request: i'm desperate for a soulmate au. it doesn't make if it's between loki or wanda because i love them both but i'd love your take on the soulmate au. it'd be cool if the reader had depression, cause same. thank you!”

note ; this is going off of the au where there is a ‘red string’ connecting people and is based on the avenger!loki concept

additional note ; the references to the reader’s depression are extremely brief but present

warning(s) ; canon typical references to violence and angst

loki spent the vast majority of his life thinking that he was damned — the only person in asgard to be without a soulmate

wishing, praying, reading up on anything and everything he could just to scrape together some tiny crumb of hope that one day his string would manifest

that he wasn’t truly alone

a thousand years passed him by

then two

then three

by his fourth he’d started to lose hope and as he started to fast approach his fifth he’d given up all together

the black sheep of his family; unworthy even in the eyes of the universe

it was like some sort of sick joke

but he never told a soul, lying through his teeth as naturally as he breathed and telling tall tales of his golden string and how he was waiting for the right moment to pursue his soulmate

but they didn’t exist

and it hurt more than he’d ever let show

until one day, a quarter century shy of his five thousandth year, he awoke to find a golden string wound tightly around his ring finger — precisely where one might put a wedding band

he shook of the drowsiness and bleariness of sleep in seconds, inspecting the deceptively fragile twine with rapt interest

flicking, tugging, strumming and winding it tighter and tighter — spooling it between his fingers curiously as it continued onwards into the distance without effort or strain

always having the same amount of tautness to it no matter how hard or how far he pulled

gold spun as thin as spider silk yet, as present to the world as a light breeze yet as heavy and palpable as traditional battle regalia as he brushed his fingertip along its surface

tangibly intangible, paradoxically present and yet not so, visible and invisible

exactly as the old stories had told — and there, in the distance somewhere, was his fated other half on the unseeable other end of the string

loki wanted nothing more than to meet you, but he knew well enough that the string’s late appearance meant that he still had a long while to wait — so, instead, he busied himself with his usual routine

messing with his brother, studying with his mother and proving his worth as an heir to asgard to his father

… and i’m sure that we don’t need to explain what happened in the interim so let’s skip forwards until after the 2012 incident…

the last thing he wanted was to spend his sentence waiting on a bunch of mortals — confined to a small space filled with creatures that despised him and that were far below him in every way

and he did very little to hide his disdain for the situation — which was mirrored by his ‘landlord’, stark, who also made it very well known that he didn’t want ‘reindeer games’ living in his tower

loki, in return, went to let out another sarcastic remark about the man’s ignorance before he caught sight of the very thing he’d been ignoring for the better part of a year and the words died on his throat

leaving him completely speechless for the first time since anyone had seen him after his attempt to take his own life back in asgard

after millennia of feeling so terribly alone he could see the other end of his string and it was attached to… well… you

a mortal who looked terribly detached from their surroundings, just carrying out some standard busywork in the background of his custody announcement like it was nothing at all

if he hadn’t have been forced to wear those damned cuffs he’d have peered into your mind by now — but it didn’t take a psychic to see something in you that he had been trying to conceal in himself for a while

loki didn’t speak to you that day, nor did he get the chance for a good few months as your responsibilities kept you separated to different areas of the tower

he, as a (very unwilling) member of the avengers initiative, was forced to keep to the top few floors for training, briefing and other such things

and you, who he found to be a standard member of stark industries, tended to stay on the lower floors of the tower unless you were called upon by your boss

it was frustrating, to say the very least, but the separation gave loki the time to consider his next steps — and his situation as a whole

consider the fact that he’s destined to be with a mortal of all beings — consider the differences in experience, strength and life span

consider the fact that you likely fear or potentially even hate him for his actions against your home world — that you’d probably scorn or mock him because of his actions (and he’d deserve it, he lamented)

consider the fact that he saw part of himself in your eyes and that a mortal of all things might just be the one to understand him

consider how to approach you in the first place

in the end he just about manages to catch you as you’re walking out of a meeting with stark and some higher level agents of s.h.i.e.l.d — coughing and gesturing to the string between the two of you

for a moment you just stare at him, blinking and looking between his neutral expression and the golden string — before cracking something of an awkward smile and introducing yourself (which he returns with a kiss on the back of your hand)

and you’re too busy to stay for long, and he knows this, so he sends you on your way with the promise to meet again soon

but he also says something that sticks with you as you hurry off to your next meeting — for the rest of the day, in fact

‘i understand,’

a simple, unassuming phrase spoken so quietly and genuinely that you might have thought you’d dreamt it had it not been for the earnest look on his face when he spoke

(though even that disappeared a fraction of a second later)

the end of your brief exchange that left you questioning everything you were told about him

his tendency to isolate himself according to thor (and, later, observations from the other avengers)

his habit of lashing out when pressed on certain topics

his lack of appetite for the entirety of the time you (and most other humans) had known him

his apathy towards his own well-being and, well, what he’d done before ending up on earth which had been mentioned in whispers around the office

maybe you had more in common with your soulmate than you realised — but that could be discussed at your next meeting

[lacrimosathedark]

Hellaverse Aces Headcanons

We have THREE whole confirmed asexuals in the Hellaverse and one more kind of implied, so as an ace-spec person myself, I thought it'd be fun to do headcanons on where they stand.

Mammon

100% asexual, sex averse but not repulsed. Or rather, he isn't super bothered being exposed to it (especially if it's making him money) but he DOES NOT want to be involved. Like, he has those two Fizzie Bots to give off the appearance that he has bitches, but he has no bitches and I don't think he wants them.

Probably aromantic. He doesn't seem to understand love and certainly doesn't care for it. His first love is money and nothing will come between him and that bag. Also, man dresses like an aro flag on the daily.

The other three are much longer so under the cut we go!

Octavia Goetia

Mildly sex-repulsed asexual. She might be demi, but it's hard to say without her having many peers in the show thus far. But on the whole, she gives off totally ace vibes. I don't think she was just embarrassed by her dad's public flirting, but genuinely uncomfy with the subject matter. Blitzø's openness on the subject might be part of why she dislikes him so much.

It's hard to stay with her limited screen time, but I also think she's greyromantic. She doesn't seem to understand love. That is probably partly from how she was raised; her parents are far from a good model for a loving relationship. But she also just has disinterested vibes to me. It feels like she doesn't even really think about it.

She's made a connection with Loona, and it feels so solidly sisterly. I mean, it would be a little bit weird if it skewed romantic with the potential for being future step-siblings, but weirder things happen in HB. Via just seems to have a quick solid sisterly bond with her and it's adorable.

She puts a lot of value in platonic relationships. She is so deeply heartbroken by her parents divorce even if they hate each other because they're both good to her (or at least I presume Stella is usually good to Via or else she'd probably be less upset or upset about different things in the divorce). Her biggest fear is that Stolas will leave her behind.

We know Stolas loves her more than anything (heehee) and is just a bit too self-centered and wrapped in his own head to be as attentive to her as they'd like. And as upset as she gets with him, Via always forgives Stolas for being stupid. He means the world to her and vice versa.

If she were to ever get married, it would literally be her best friend and she would say that no one should expect an heir from her. I feel like she would be happiest with a queerplatonic partner who would cuddle her and maybe kiss her cheek and forehead, but nothing "more" than that so to speak.

Alastor

Honestly will admit that my perspective here may be tainted by my adoration of Radioapple.

Demi or greysexual, but basically 99% asexual. By which I mean it's more literally a one in a million chance that he'd find any interest in someone. His attraction is very particular. Like, never being attracted to anyone until meeting The One. (For clarity, I don't believe in fate and finding someone he's miraculously attracted to doesn't "fix" him so let's shut that shit down. You can be attracted to literally one person and if you feel no attraction for anyone else, that's still ace. It doesn't disqualify you from asexuality.)

Sex averse in general, and generally repulsed at the idea of self-involvement. Outside of That One Person, sex disgusts him, and even then it's still hit or miss whether he's into it or not. He's alright enough with it that he can casually walk the streets of Pentagram City unbothered, but he otherwise wouldn't willingly expose himself to it ex. being very notably absent on Show and Tell day.

It involves far too much physical contact for his liking, and being friends with someone like Mimzy in life, he likely has seen much of the darker side of it. I wouldn't be surprised if so-called predators were his prey in life.

Some people think of him as repulsed by the body fluid stuff (I certainly am) but I don't think that's a factor for him. Man eats demons whole. He gets everything that is inside them. Including their digestive systems. I don't think other body fluids are gonna be an issue lol

He knows sexual attraction could be used to manipulate someone, but he is disgusted by the concept, maybe because he saw that happen too much when he was alive, or he considers it pathetic, debasing yourself for someone else. Man also covers up from the neck down, he could have an issue being bare around someone else.

Homo-greyromantic. I can't imagine this man romantically attracted to a woman, if only because I feel like if he were, he would be married to Rosie by now because they seem like a perfect fit. If they were alive, they would be the type to be married for tax benefits (or the benefit of not having to testify against each other in court HA).

LOOK AT THEM. He's so comfy and genuinely happy with her it's so cute! He do a little squeak aaaaaa If Alastor understood the concept of asexuality he and Rosie would be qpps and you can never convince me otherwise. It is a hill I would die on.

And him only being attracted to men would make a lot of sense why he'd never found someone, because he has a general disdain for men that is actually pretty common in people attracted to men, women especially. Men are trash is his baseline, why would he give them a chance, especially in Hell where they're almost guaranteed to be awful? No thanks. Not worth it. He has better things to do. Like murder!

Plus, he's so fucking fruity sometimes lol

I mean, come on.

(also, sidenote, bitch GET YOUR SHOES OFF THE BED)

It also would make Radiostatic/silence more tragic imo. Like, maybe Alastor felt some kind of romantic about him, but Vox wanted something sexual too and Alastor just wasn't interested. Vox is a pretty sexual guy. If "dating" a pimp running a porn studio isn't enough, this is.

I'm so Velvette in this scene lol stfu Vox calm down

But if Vox wanted sex and Alastor flat-out rejected it, Vox might not have understood the complexities of Alastor's attraction and assumed he was lacking something, that Alastor didn't actually like him, and took it personally and lashed out.

We know Vox is obsessed with Alastor, and there's certainly mutual disdain, but isn't it more tragic if Alastor felt betrayed too? He lost a friend, or maybe something more intimate, all because said friend wanted to fuck him. That's so relatable tbh.

Striker

Yes I'm including him.

I'm gonna guess he's actually autosexual and otherwise sex-repulsed. Every time sex is brought up, he's visibly uncomfortable and even angry. That could be for any number of reasons, but I'm going with this lol. The only reason I'm not "sure" he's sex-repulsed ace is that fucking statue of his.

I mean, Stolas does comment about him wanting to suck his own dick sooooooo

But he does also use Blitzø's attraction against him, so not repulsed enough to not use others' attraction against them as a means to an end.

He doesn't give off aro vibes to me, but he could be maybe? To me he just feels like whatever drives him comes first. Whatever happened that made him hate royalty with such a passion supersedes anything else he might feel, and who needs attachments if he's just gonna lose them again?

Aces are shockingly well-fed in the Hellaverse huh? Especially considering our general absence anywhere else, and the crumbs we get are hugely stereotyped and wrong. Like, look at that, only one of them is heartless and none of them are passionless robots! And their sexuality isn't their defining personality trait, just some more color! Wow!

Mainstream media take fuckin notes.

[kitkatopinions]

Does Whitley have potential or is he an extra Schnee?

I think Whitley had and has a lot of potential, actually!

One of the most interesting things about Weiss is her connection to her family, which I think deserves more focus and exploring, and Whitley is obviously a big part of that. I find it fascinating how the environment Weiss and Whitley were raised in made them react in completely different ways - Whitley with putting up a mask of casual indifference (airing on cheeriness) and leaning into what was expected of him while clearly showing in volume eight that it isn't just how he naturally is, and Weiss with anger and mimicking Winter and desperately trying to get away from it. I think exploring both Weiss and Whitley as abuse victims would really speak to the fact that reactions to abuse takes all sorts of forms and are no less sympathetic.

Exploring Weiss's dynamic with Winter and Whitley more, I think, would help to expand on Weiss's character and give her a stronger arc (since she hasn't seemed to have a personal arc in volumes and even in V7 seemed to not get the attention she deserved.) Going into V10 (if we get a V10) the Schnees are going to be all of a sudden pretty much penniless, with no home, in a kingdom that should by all rights be very hesitant to accept them. If Weiss isn't concerned with helping specifically Whitley (not because he's more important to Weiss or to the narrative than Winter but because he's an auraless untrained teenage civilian) than it'd seem like a bit of a blow against her character tbh. And it could lead to some great conflicts not only surrounding Weiss and Whitley making an effort to understand each other better and get to know each other more after years of icing each other out, but might also create conflicts with the rest of Weiss's team who might perceive Weiss focusing more on her family than on important issues.

On top of that, Whitley could serve very effectively as a demonstration that not everyone needs to be a Hunter or fighter or have a semblance in order to be helpful and good. In V8, Whitley proofed to be smart, kind, and brave. He could be the sort of person to be doing things on computers while talking to Team RWBY and co over comms in their ears. Whitley could be incredibly useful in that way, and it would be so much fun to see the team acclimatizing to a new person more or less being brought in, into a new role they're not used to having around. It'd be a nice change, also something that RWBY could use.

And on top of on top of that is the fact that Oscar and Ruby both having this new friend that's more their age and is super different from both of them but could get along with both of them (and could be shipped with either of them) is a good thing too that could be good and worth exploring. And also on top of both of those things, the classic 'villains use a loved one to threaten their enemies' thing can't be easily done in this show where everybody is basically a superhero, but auraless teenage civilian Whitley provides an excellent opportunity for that.

Basically, Whitley has tons of potential as a character going forward from here, and I do hope that he stays involved and even gets more involved (so long as there's also plenty of proper focus given to the mains obviously.) Do I think that any of this potential will actually be realized? No. I think Whitley will pretty much just be treated like an extra Schnee, and the most we'll see of him if we ever get more RWBY is like two very bit parts of scenes where Willow has like a hand on his shoulder or something and that's it. The show can't have make the mains reach a quarter of their full potential, so there's very little hope for my baby boy Whitley. But I think he could be a great, amazing, involved character.

[rockanroller]

it just two episodes so I’m not really too harsh. Animation looks really good, but man no wonder this took 4-5 years they had 4 animation studios working on it plus bentos joint company princess bento that’s operates Australia. So you got bento+SH+toon city and princess bento yeah their budget got fucked

the writing drag this show and it’s so confusing. there’s 6 fucking minutes of exposition dump and lore in the first episode. This is not welcoming to newcomers, especially adult animation you never exposition the shit out the audience with a bedtime story unless you’re target demographic are kids. Character spend so much sitting on couches and talking about nothing. Adam and Valentino are the absolute worse characters but I think Valentino is more egregious since he was hyped so much and he was the biggest letdown and he’s voice is awful I’m sorry to VA.

So what is Charlie’s goal again? Is to fix overpopulation by redeeming demons and sending them to heaven? Give demons a second chance? Or make her mom proud, and empower demons through song? All of the above? Why send demons to heaven when her mom was all about rising above heaven? She is kinda annoying, I hate how stupidly naive and childish she is but I guess that her flaw and her development will be that she has to grow up, but I don’t want to do the writers job where you’re given nothing and have to fill in the blanks.

So Angel moved out but he still works for Valentino, but the show is making it seem like he quit and is hiding out in the hotel but is gonna return to Valentino soon? Why is so easy for Angel to leave and ignore Valentino? Oh wait I forgot it’s because Valentino is a fucking idiot, literally just Stella 2.0. I just hate everything that come out of Angels mouth I forgot how annoying being sexual doesn’t mean witty or confident and just because he’s a porn star doesn’t mean he has to always sexual harass men, and it’s not even the good flirty, it’s bad flirty, but I know they’re gonna go hard on his musical scenes.

I miss pilot Vaggie she still supported Charlie but was also very cautious and a bit controlling but it made her more interesting and flawed and set up dynamics her instead of just being supportive gf aka Millie 2.0. Husk was barely in the episodes, nifty and that cat thing are just there to be cute.

Vox and Vel are really entertaining but they put up with Valentino when be’s the dumbest and least incompetent out the trio and Vox hates being around him. He’s duet with alastor is really fun and kinda wish he had a show on these two than Charlie.

The music is alright not something I’d listen to on Spotify but it’s alright. Overall it was ok, there’s just no charm to it

yeah i agree with most of these points.

animation- shifts a lot between good and bad for me and i think that's mostly due to the over-designed characters, there have been problems keeping them on-model ever since the pilot, but like you say about it being hot-potatoed between 4-5 studios juggling it, it'd be no surprise the budget got fucked, and to me the studio juggling also checks out with how varied the animation is.

writing- agree, i only ever saw the hazbin pilot and occasionally learned tidbits of lore from the critical community and i was still sitting there clueless, i can only imagine what it's like for newcomers who don't even know a *little* of the lore/history.

Charlie's goal- "Why send demons to heaven when her mom was all about rising above heaven" is such a great point. Charlie's goals and motives were so confusing to me bc i didn't really see a connection. i guess you could say this is Charlie's way of continuing her mom's goal of "protecting our people" even tho Lilith seemed to be against Heaven while Charlie is trying to work with Heaven--but as i said previously Charlie also doesn't really seem to "like" her people, as we see her repeatedly show disgust or awkwardly try to laugh off her discomfort and only shows an endearing adoration when they're showing specific change/potential. It seems like she's just extremely naively optimistic, but bc of her aversion it comes off kinda disingenuous or fake nice? she legit seems to act more like a disillusioned church-goer who thinks they're helping you than a kind princess of hell who loves her subjects despite their "depravity" ig? and like you said maybe that'll be part of her character arc, but it def feels weird so far.

Angel & Valentino- yeah the entire dynamic with them is just weird. they're supposed to be a pimp and his prostitute, but why is Val texting/voicemailing Angel like a mopey ex? Val is allegedly supposed to be this big abusive threat but he's just kind of there, and Vox just calms him down really easily? and showing the affect his verbal abuse has on Angel felt so sudden/forced in (yeah those of us "familiar" w/their dynamic know it's there--this is considering the media as a new watcher, that's stuff you're supposed to write into a show for new audiences.) i'm back-and-forth on Angel's hypersexuality/sexual harassments of other male characters bc it's true some victims can act as he does, and it makes him more believable as an asshole in hell moreso than the others, but i also don't trust Viv to handle the complicated subject of abuse with grace / respect knowing her history, and i'm already worried after she had him say his body was "made for exploiting"

Pilot Vaggie- again with the disclaimer i barely remember the pilot; in the first 2 eps Vaggie was weird. idk how to feel about it. i know you said she seemed like 100% supportive Millie 2.0--but to me i couldn't get a full grip on their dynamic. it felt like it kind of swayed back and forth between full support and skeptical support but it all went by so fast i can't make a clear distinction, so you may be right.

The VVVs- agreed that Vox and Vel were entertaining. Val was just kinda there and seemed like neither Vox or Vel wanted anything to do with him, what do they get out of Val being there? does he bring them money or power or anything?? Vox and Vel are stronger characters on their own w/o Val having to be there imo.

Music- i honestly have like...no real opinion of the music. it didn't "wow" me, but it didn't necessarily make me cringe either. it just kinda was there and was fine. i honestly might've like...unintentionally mentally checked-out for some of them. i think Vox & Al's was *probably* the best--and i say that loosely bc, again, everything went by so fast--but it also had me kind of tilting my head like why does Al even care about dishing out "the tea" about this guy?

i *guess* making your big debut "i'm back" speech after being gone for 7 years right when someone is shit-talking you is a good power move, but it just felt oddly petty or "beneath" someone like Alastor to me--i think it would've made more sense if there was a bit in the song where Alastor took some callers on the radio who asked him what he thought about Vox and *then* he makes some casual remark about how little he means to him. idk, just my impression.

ty for sharing your two cents!

[moongothic]

You know people often talk about how Crocodile is a "mafia boss who has tons of connections to other criminals in the underworld for running all his criminal businesses" and like

Does he???

Because like??? Yes, he did run ONE secret criminal organization, and he did need at least ONE connection to acquire the Dance Powder for causing the drought in Alabasta, but like

Crocodile's whole deal is that he doesn't trust anyone and thus he doesn't interact with anyone. Like his funny little criminal organization was functionally ran by Robin since she was the one doing All The Interacting and the Actual Working, Crocodile was just giving out orders for Robin to pass on (though yes people did know the Mysterious Mr 0 was The Real Boss of BW, not All Sunday). So to me it sounds so unlikely if he actually had like tons of personal connections, because surely he wouldn't actually trust anyone for doing any criminal business with them, right??

Not to mention, being an underground crime boss with a massive network is like. Doflamingo's thing. Like that is literally Doflamingo's whole deal, he was the one running a ton of criminal activies across the globe ranging from slavery and drugs to the SMILE production. So it'd just be weird if Crocodile was also meant to be a crime lord of similar caliber when at best he'd be a Budget Mingo. Like Doflamingo already occupies that role in the story, would we have needed two former Shichibukai to be crime lords?? (Yes you could argue Crocodile could've become Doflamingo 2 had he gotten away with his plans (and thus Doflamingo could've been like, a way for Oda to show what the Strawhats helped stop from happening to Alabasta), but again, his goal is and has always been to gain military power, so?? Why bother with dealing with other criminals??)

Like I just genuinely don't remember the idea that Crocodile has connections ever being brought up in canon? Like, I could be just forgetting something, but the closest thing I can remember was Chapter 1058 mentioning Cross Guild was "getting funding from shady organizations", but keep in mind, this is probably more due to Buggy's own fame than Crocodile's new involvement. Like Buggy's Delivery was already doing mercenary work all over the place, so while the mercenary work changed into marine hunting with different branding, it doesn't mean whatever connections Buggy already had made suddenly vanished, just that they now have more

And the one last thing is that like. In Punk Hazard we see Ceasar Clown show off his new weapon of mass destruction, Land of Death, to a ton of crime lords all over the world. Amongst the people there's plenty of randos we can't recognize, but then there were also Pekoms and Tamago, as well as Kid, just tuning in to the show. Considdering Crocodile is supposed to be interested in weapons of mass destruction (unless he lost interest in them), if he had any criminal connections then surely he would've also been amongst the people watching Ceasar's presentation, right? And if he was, surely Oda would've shown him to us, right?? But no, he's not there

So like???

Is there something I'm forgetting, some canon lore drop that does actually confirm Crocodile has tons of criminal connections???

Or is this just. Fanon that people don't realize is fanon?? Somekind of a fandom mandela effect??

[fishyfishyfishtimes]

I hope this ask doesn't seem odd, or is out of your personal interests in biology, but; Your recent comments about Dolphin intelligence and anthropomorphizing animal intelligence (which I am unfortunately prone to) have really got me thinking about sapient/sophont alien species in specevo/specbio. If you don't mind giving your two cents, what do you think is the best way to portray alien intelligence without it seeming too 'human' or demonizing a species for being say, parasites (brood or otherwise), or practicing copulatory cannibalism? I'm not sure how prevalent these are in oceanic organisms, but I thought it'd be worth asking. Again, sorry if this isn't in the purview of your blog.

You're in luck, I love specevo and specbio! I don't reblog very much of it but trust me, I follow like five specbio alien creators right now. I dabble a little bit in creating it myself, but to answer your questions...

As humans, which are a result of millions of years of evolution, we are biased in some ways when it comes to other lifeforms. For example, parasitism often makes us uncomfortable because in nature parasites will take our resources and harm us, it's natural to feel uncomfortable even if the parasite has no choice! It can be hard to make things like that not seem icky, but you can definitely avoid demonising them. I think when it comes to making sophont aliens that partake in parasitism or copulatory cannibalism, you have to portray them in a neutral way (no "these horrible body-snatching aliens!!") and really focus on the fact that they really have no other choice, because this is how they've evolved and this is what's natural for them. It can be woven closely into their culture, maybe cannibalising one's mate is like a ceremony with a celebration of old life sacrificing itself to make way for new life! They aren't heartless, heavens no, this is just how their species evolved and this is what they do.

The same goes for parasitism! If you're going to do brood parasitism, hammer it down that this species just isn't built for raising its own young in any way and would perish if it didn't partake in brood parasitism. If you have ecto- or endoparasites, you can also do a little "twist" like the Symbiote species in C. M. Kösemen's All Tomorrows. They're a sapient human descendant really made up of two species, the small parasitic sapient species which controls the larger species, doing all the thinking so the larger species can simply focus its resources on everything else. While what they exhibit would be mutualism, the small species started out as a parasite, and I don't think I've ever seen people expressing that they feel the Symbiote is "gnarly" in any way.

As for your first question regarding portraying alien intelligence in a way that doesn't seem very "human"... well, that can be quite hard! Making a sapient species be more intelligent than us can be hard to write, since, you know, we're kind of the most intelligent things around we know. It's hard to write something you aren't. In the case of a species with a different evolution path to us (as in a sapient alien that didn't evolve from social savannah-travelling persistence hunter-gatherer omnivores), I would personally focus on writing a species with different senses to us, either heightened or dulled out compared to us. This can already help out with making the species seem less human! And then there's something that I don't often see but would love to see more of due to how "alien" it feels, colonial and hivemind aliens! And I just don't mean aliens with "queens" that control the rest, though I think those are a cool concept too. Tumblr user charseraph executes these really well, I think! They have at least three species of aliens which are "hiveminds" in a way: Trumpets, which are entire ecosystems whose individual living producers and consumers contribute to their intelligence as a whole, Wards, which are networks of connected bodies with millions of intelligences, and Towers, which consist of one main hub controlling several bodies. And how about sapient colonial aliens? Something like a siphonophore, an alien consisting of multiple individuals, either all sapient or forming a sapient unit, would be extremely cool! But I understand that this may not be what you're going for with your aliens.

I hope this helps! ^^

[skitariiposting]

So I made a little split decision purchase the other day.

These are the Deathrippers from Warmachine. These were the last in stock on Amazon, and looking at most hobby shop sites I frequent, the last in stock I can find.

These little guys stole my heart the second I learned about them, and so as soon as I heard that they were no longer in print and were slowly being phased out, I immediately placed the Amazon order.

This is the first time I've ever acquired some Warmachine minis, so here's my little review of them!

These endangered bone doggos are great design wise, and I'm real sad that they aren't sticking around. I love the meshing of skulls and mechanical components in a subtle way. They aren't death guard's big biological nightmares, but they also aren't just regular ol' robots. I love the design choice to make them two-legged walker things instead of just another ol' four-legged dog thing, very creative! The porting on the necks is interesting, I'm unsure if the implications are that bones are magical and are causing it to overheat? Or maybe the machine runs hot and they want to keep the bones from getting melty? I dunno, but it's certainly neat looking!

4.5/5 on design!

Sadly, while the design is great, the mini quality leaves a little to be desired. First, the minis came in a little baggy instead of on sprues, which I have mixed feelings about.

On one hand, it's certainly convenient not to have to de-sprue the mini bits. On the other hand, these had some awful connection scars.

This was after I had scraped at them with a hobby knife for a bit, too. I'm likely going to have to pick up something to sand them down a bit. While I'm certainly calling the kettle here, I must say that these weren't taken off the sprues very well at all.

On top of that, the leg pins were slightly larger than the leg holes, which meant I had to do a mix of attempting to shove them in, scraping down the sides with my hobby knife and then rinse and repeat until they cooperated.

The instructions didn't help too much either. Figuring out how the top of the skull was supposed to fit onto the bottom took me a bit of pondering. The instructions just kinda had lines pointing to where they go.

Turns out you're supposed to attach the skull under a little overhang on the bottom jaw. The top piece has a rounded bit that fits in with a divot on the bottom piece, which... isn't what the instructions say to do.

Overall, I didn't have very much fun assembling these. Usually, (when I'm dealing with plastic, not resin minis) mini assembly is challenging, but at least a little fun. These were just a hassle.

Assembly and mini quality: 2/5

Despite that, I'm still planning on basing these and giving them the display quality treatment. In the off chance these end up becoming a collectors item or something (unlikely), it'd be nice to have some high-quality painted versions to show off/potentially sell.

Heck, since they're going out of print, I might look into making some molds of them to recast or see if I can get a really high-quality scan of them to 3D print myself! It'd be nice to not have these little goofballs fade into obscurity, I think they're my favorite thing to come out of Warmachine, if not the best thing to come out of Warmachine.