#long rant no one probably cares about

[dentos-wife]

Let’s talk about Grima and how the characterization has changed a bit since Awakening, where let’s be honest there’s not much character there. But I feel like the little amount we got only of the Grimas portrays the original character now. I’ve been watching people fight over this back and forth in various places so I did a comparison and brought in some friends who don’t know Fire Emblem for their thoughts.

TLDR version: MGrima is the only one who captures the world ending hateful fell dragon vibe while FGrima has been feminized and softened because she’s the girl version and I hate it when media does this

With their base versions it was more like the Corrins or the Byleths general same message but a squint or you miss it difference

Male:

“I am the wings of despair. I am the breath of ruin. I am the fell dragon, Grima. Pay me the respect I am due, and I promise you a painless death”

Female:

“I am the wings of despair. I am the breath of ruin. I am the fell dragon, Grima. Pay me the respect I am due, and I will consider granting you a quick death when the time comes.“

Super similar, the boy however comes off as more threatening, no when the time comes or considering it. This is where the tiny differences started

Castle lines

Male:

“Ha. You fight for world peace? Stay your tongue. Such pretty little words sicken me.”

“My mind becomes muddy when I try to recall certain things... A side effect of traveling through space and time? Curse this frail body.”

“You fight for the happiness of all the people in this world? Hahaha, tell me... Did you come up with that little motto all by yourself? Go on, you can tell me what your heart truly desires.”

“You show promise, despite being human. If you continue to appease me, I may let you serve me.”

“Rite after rite, and still my memories refuse to return. This is beyond infuriating.. Maybe I'll go start a war to cheer myself up.”

Female:

“Wriggle like a worm trying to escape my boot, or die squished like a worthless maggot. Either way, you are little more than an insect.”

“Ugh... My splitting head... I remember nothing of my time in that other world... Nothing at all.”

“How about you stop pretending to be so selfless and tell me what you really wish for? Maybe I can grant it...”

“You show promise, despite being human. Of course, that's like being the smartest worm in the dirt. But still... I see enough in you that I could entertain the idea of keeping you by my side.”

“Memories or no, I will lay waste to the world all the same. You think me so fickle I'd change my mind?”

Still very similar but the male has slightly more personality by laughing and making little remarks here and there that the female doesn’t, still subtle though not a big deal it’s in what you prefer like most with an avatar preference and it’s still the same base character, however the female for whatever reason does come off as softer

Let’s do their confessions

Male

“You are a curious one... You willingly come to chat with me? The fell dragon? Alone? You know full well how I detest humans. They have no qualms asking for divine assistance when it meets their fickle needs... But how quick they are to shun their benefactors once they get what they desire. They become arrogant and make the same mistakes repeatedly, incapable of learning the folly of their ways. They claim their actions are for the good of others, but that's merely a show of self-indulgence. Humans are selfish. And the ugliness of mankind has turned me repulsive. It's the world that wants me to be evil. And yet you claim to need me here? Enough of your lies, worm. How dare you look at me with such a gaze. Do not dare pity me!”

Female

“Come to butter me up some more? How very irksome. I've nothing to chat about with a human. Humans spout their ideals, but it's nothing but lip service. Let's all join together and hold hands, you'll say. We can overcome our differences despite being different species, despite our differing core ideologies. The truth is what you see daily in this place. Day after day, night after night, all you have is never-ending war. One person's satisfaction means another must suffer. That is the truth of all worlds. But my power of destruction is the one true equalizer. If you think there's someone out there capable of leading the world with such high-minded ideas of love and bonds... I'd love to meet them. Hmph. After all that, you still talk your big talk? Very well. I'll watch over you... Right until your bitter end.“

It’s still extremely slight but the differences become more clear here, They’re the same lines but the male is more angry and the female more bitter. However it’s the same character. Granted if it were up to me the girl would just have the boys lines since Awakening they are the same but I get it, no one wants a copy. This was a good way to do the similar but different vibe of them though it still does have the female can’t be as angry stereotype bleeding through. It’s not perfect I’d make her angrier but it could be a lot worse. And then it gets worse…

Let’s talk about the Halloween alts because that’s when everything completely goes haywire. The outfits for one

Okay so yes this is a silly festival and both are fanservice it’s a fanservice game I get that but which one comes off as a more imposing force? The male’s ears look real his claws look sharp he actually looks like a threat goofy outfit or not. The female on the other hand has costume ears and booty shorts. She looks like a parody of the boys outfit.

She got an outfit like this because she’s a girl. But sadly it doesn’t stop there. The *lines* even sound like a parody

Male:

“If I had my way, this absurd festival would not exist...since there would be nothing but ruin in my wake.”

"Trick or treat?" Pah. Try "the utter destruction of the world, or treat." And I do not have a sweet tooth.

“Giving thanks for the harvest? Hmph. Of course you worms would waste time on something so meaningless. Resources exist to be consumed. It's as simple as that.”

“Before you play a trick on me, think hard of the consequences. Surely even a worm like you can imagine it”.

“You think I'm enjoying all this? Perhaps in your complacency you've forgotten the danger you're in.”

Female:

“I hoped to find the power I seek at this harvest festival... But it seems that was a mistake.”

“Festivals are nothing more than a brief reprieve from despair. The vain struggle of a worm...”

“Submit or suffer!...Must I say "trick or treat"? How dull.”

“If you intend to play a trick on me, it will be your last. Such foolishness is absolutely intolerable.”

“Costumes are a fool's amusement. Who was it who said it would be enjoyable, again? I'll kill them first.”

But hey I liked MGrima since his debut, loved his personality so I could be coming into this with a bias. So! I asked some friends who knew nothing about FE hey what vibe do these characters give off and is it the same vibe? Here’s their lines have fun. Here’s the result of that conversation

“I know this is not a general way to tell quality but . . . Male Grima dialogues are not only richer but also way longer in both cases lol and honestly? They could very well be saying the same here, the dialogue should stay the same or almost the same here they're supposed to treat the same topic with SMALL variations, since they're supposed to be the same person you know? But each convo seems to be about something completely different. He comes out to me as emo (in the most positive way), while she's supposed to be Btchy Daughter of Actual Evil Boss. He's somewhat menacing, and the way he talks makes him look (from my POV) like a depressing person to be around, a party pooper. YET I guess his words are too strong for a girl's mouth so that's why she gotta be cute about this instead. She can't be too deep or serious, that's not interesting in a girl”

Agree? Disagree?

The confessions are honestly the best example of this problem because one is uh not as deep let’s say

Male:

“It seems you possess a grave misunderstanding of the harvest festival, [Summoner]. You may celebrate nature's bounty, but remember that there are winners and losers in every exchange. For you to gain something, someone else must lose it. What brings joy to you casts bitter sorrow upon another. Those without the will or power to resist can only be crushed underfoot. Such is the nature of the harvest. Now you see the world through the Fell Dragon's eyes. Thus, I ask you: Are you the hunter or the hunted? Consider well your path. For my part, I will continue to reap the harvest's bounty through ruin and despair!”

Female:

“Enjoy your short lives while you can, worms. Before long, utter darkness will smother you... Although... These sweets are quite palatable. Subtle sweetness with a delicate mouthfeel, I— Yah! How long have you been there, [Summoner]?! What did you hear?! No, nothing! There was nothing TO hear. Yes. I wish to harvest ruin and despair. Sweets harbor no interest for me. But next time the harvest festival comes around, I expect an invitation. Promise me, lest I am forced to destroy this world. You understand...”

From another friend who also knows nothing about FE

“The male one sounds like he's speaking from experience, like he's witnessed or taken part in many wars or other kinds of conflicts, and has crushed people who believed they were more powerful than him with his own hands The female one's personality is closer to a tsundere“

Look at how you can actually get Grima’s personality from his lines and not so much the girl. Now imagine flipping them. The male is the tsundere candy lover and the girl is the ancient old dragon, does that make you realize how weird it is?

MCorrin and FCorrin have matching halloween alts in comparison and even have the same lines with slight differences, they’re like twins

Which is what you’d expect with the literal same character just in a different body. Alas...

Which now brings us to the next alt of all, based off this cipher card

Boobs! And sexualization to the max, the hehe I’m evil pose? the daintiness it’s so...

Her lines too, she whispers “devote yourself to me entirely” seductively, I bet they will not do that with the male, if they do I’ll eat my words and gladly

So I showed my friend this one’s lines and says hey thoughts?

“the dominatrix fetish is too blatant, but like not in a cool way you know, the classical of a girl that is introduced as this ruthless being of doom but gets nerfed mid-story when she falls in love with the unremarkable plain male prota of this proto harem, and she like . . . Has Been Secretly Soft And Needy All This Time and literally drops everything she's after to become An Ideal Wife for the male prota, picks up feminine interests and hobbies in hopes to be more appealing to him that's the vibes I get from this female Grima or whatever she's supposed to be“

She’s very curious what the matching males lines are going to be

But this brings me to my point why is Grima so different depending on if he has a male or female vessel? It really shouldn’t be this way, in Awakening Grima’s lines were exactly the same no matter if it was MRobin or FRobin because Grima is a murderous humanity hating dragon but since Halloween...man you do not get that vibe from the girl anymore. You do from the boy. I know why it’s like this sex sells yada yada yada. I also know the boy gets some of it like the damage art but that’s damage art, almost everyone has it, FGrima here goes above and beyond that to softening her lines and doing an evil queen vibe and that’s a crime dammit!

Like yeah I know the base does this to both and it’s fine when it’s the fanbase but when CANON does it to only one of them, it’s flat out sexism

MGrima alt based off this cipher card when? If hers was based off the cipher card I doubt he’s sharing her outfit but if he does I demand the same girly pose; it’s equality

And then once they’re matched up again stop with the Grimas and never bring them out again, we didn’t need this many Grimas go back to Robin. I like Grima I’ll take his alts (no longer the girl unless they stop the uh fetishing tbh I’m a little uncomfortable with this recent one...) but this is a crime for both Robin now. FRobin being an GHB unit has no resplendent and no version in the main pool. She unlike MRobin did get a seasonal to herself earlier this year though. In comparison MRobin has a resplendent but if you don’t count the duo and some don’t because Chrom is the lead, hasn’t gotten an alt to himself since 2017. And since we got FGrima sounds like he has to wait longer for that since MGrima would drop first.

Unless we get an MRobin to go with this FGrima but that opens up even *more* sexualization issues; FRobin is only popular when evil and sexy so that’s the alt she gets while the male gets to be himself? Eeeh that’s really gross. So in that regard I hope we get one more MGrima and they’re shoved in the closet for good, allowing the real Robin’s to shine. Halloween was a neat idea the werewolf represented the Robin to Grima connection in a cool way considering werewolf lore and it was a good alt choice well...for the one who actually looked like a werewolf...

I know this is a problem of female sexualization and FE is not the only franchise where this is a problem but man GRIMA?!

And okay you could argue well M and F Robin are probably the most difference in personality avatars we have and you’re right but that makes it even stranger. FRobin is ever so slightly meaner and harsher than MRobin who is a little kinder. So then why would having Grima take over make MRobin the meaner and harsher one shouldn’t it stay on FRobin?

I only like the characterization on MGrima at this point, Girlma (as I call her) now feels like a completely different character, a toned down female parody of the other and it’s a damn shame even the creature that wiped out all of humanity and sent the world into despair got the “girls need to be sexy or cute” treatment.

Anyway that’s just me, FGrima fans you guys are cool if you like her that’s wonderful don’t take this as an attack or anything I just wanted to write out my thoughts that have been bothering me since the Halloween alts which should have been the final Grima alts but...you know money

[formereldestdaughter]

ok wait i need to hear more of your thoughts on peeta owning a bakery....

This is one of those rare times where I’m pretty sure this anon isn’t someone I know personally bc I’ve subjected anyone who will listen to my rant about the Peeta Bakery Headcanon. Anyway, you’re gonna regret asking this anon bc there are fucking Layers here.

I know this is probably a controversial take based on the number of fics where I’ve seen it, but I simply do not think that Peeta would open a commercial bakery after Mockingjay!! Like on a metatextual level, I don’t think it really fits with the point of the ending of the series. It actually sort of fascinates me that it’s just such a common headcanon because the ending of Mockingjay is exceedingly vague. I think that vagueness invites us, as readers, to imagine a better world post-revolution. A world where Katniss would feel confident that her children would be safe from injustice, where she’d feel confident that her children would never know want the way she did as a child. A just world. A kinder world. Can a capitalist society ever be just? Is a capitalist society where a disabled teenager has no other means to subsist himself (or feels like there’s no other way he can be a contributing member of his community) really the post-revolution world we dream of? Is that really the best we can imagine?

(This got so insanely long I’m adding a read more lmao)

I get that showing a better world is not always the point of post-mockingjay headcanons/fics. Like there are plenty of really great post-mockingjay fics I’ve seen where, yeah, part of the fic is that society like ISN’T all that different or all that much better. I’ve seen that really well done! Hell, I’ve written them myself! It’s easy to imagine how a lot of aspects of society would not get an overhaul, a lot of the same structural inequalities would continue to exist. One headcanon that really stuck with me (I can’t remember which fic it was from) was that Peeta sells basically mail order baked goods to people on the Capitol, sending them iced cakes and pastries by train, because there are still people who were “fans” of theirs during the Games. And idk this doesn’t actually have much to do with my point lol but I liked it because it’s kind of fucked up and like! Yeah! It makes sense! If he needed money that would be a good way to make it! War often makes people rich, often for horrible reasons, and often it’s people who already have capital in the first place.

Anyway, more about the hypothetical bakery because alright. I bring up the fact that “yeah society not being all that different post-revolution and still being an unjust capitalist hellscape” could be a reason why Peeta re-opens a bakery because that’s actually never the types of fics where I see the bakery headcanon. Fics where Peeta opens a bakery are usually trying to make the exact opposite point. Like. Things are getting better, now he can open a bakery! Look at how much better the world is now, plus he’s got a bakery! Peeta is healing, that’s why he can open a bakery now! And I am so, so sorry to inform everyone who’s never had the grave misfortune of owning a family business, but there is truly nothing further from the truth lmao. Like just putting aside the immense amount of emotional baggage that Peeta has about his family, running a small business is an insane amount of work in any context and being a baker especially is physically grueling and involves early hours (and long hours) that aren’t really the best fit with the multiple ways that Peeta is disabled now. (I could go into this more because I have a lot of thoughts. But I will spare you.). I also think it’s seen throughout the books that Peeta is someone who needs time to pursue creative outlets to process his feelings and someone who values leisure and values quality time with his loved ones. And having grown up in his family’s bakery, I think he’d understand the reality that running a bakery wouldn’t leave much space of those pursuits and wouldn’t leave much space for him to have the things that keep him healthy and stable. I think he’d know that the way he is now— after two Games and the war and unspeakable torture at the hands of a dictator—isn’t compatible with the lifestyle necessary for running a commercial bakery.

And tbh with that in mind, I don’t think he’d push himself to re-open a business (one that would be a constant reminder of his dead family and his complicated relationships with them that got no closure) that would require him to sacrifice his physical and emotional well-being. Like I think he might look into the possibility, I think he might even start trying to open a bakery out of a sense of obligation/duty, maybe harboring some idea that this is who he was supposed to be, who he would've been without the Games, or that it’s this last piece of his family that can live on, or that it’s this last connection to his family so he can’t let it die too. But ultimately, I think any attempt to open a bakery wouldn’t get very far. Maybe he'd start wading into the logistical nightmare that is small business ownership and realize it's not for him (because it's probably also true that as much as him and his brothers were involved in the business, there's almost certainly parts they weren't involved with and didn't see, i.e., filing taxes). Or maybe looking into opening a bakery— how triggering it is, the stress of it— causes a downward spiral. Maybe he hates how much he's worrying everyone by unraveling. Maybe having a breakdown from the stress of just trying to open a bakery makes him realize, yeah, maybe in another life he would have ran his family’s bakery but the way he is now just doesn’t work with running a bakery, not without great sacrifices he's not willing to make. I just can’t see a bakery coming to fruition.

I know a lot of fics include Peeta deciding to reopen a bakery as a big step in his healing or include him rebuilding a bakery as part of his healing process but honestly, I think the opposite would be more true: I think Peeta either trying/failing to open a bakery or ultimately deciding not to open a bakery would be hugely healing for him. I think it would be a huge part of him accepting the way he is now as a person, his new limitations but also his strengths. I think it would be a huge part of him accepting the way his life his now and accepting that he likes his life the way it is, that he’s satisfied with his life without needing to own a bakery. I think it would be an important part of him coming to terms with the loss of his family. I think he knows he can never have things back as they were and I don’t think he would try to recreate them, especially because his family’s legacy isn’t a business. I think he’s emotionally intelligent enough and self reflective enough to realize that what mattered to him about the bakery— taking care of others by feeding them, being integrated into his community and being actively involved in it, brightening people’s days with delightful things whether that’s beautiful cakes or hearty food or delicious treats— and the things he learned from his family through the bakery, are things that he can carry on in other meaningful ways.

(Do you regret sending this ask yet, anon? Because if not, you will soon. I’m not done yet. There’s more.)

I wasn’t really sure where to put this next part in what is rapidly becoming an essay because it sort of combines the points about like “what do we imagine a post-mockingjay society to look like” with the practical difficulties of starting this bakery but here’s another thing: do people really think that the Mellarks owned the land the bakery was on?? Like, sure, the merchants are the petit bourgeois of Twelve but I still don’t imagine they really own anything. In a society where houses are assigned to people upon marriage, where property ownership and capital are so closely interconnected with citizenship (as shown by the Plinths who, by having immense capital, are able to leave their District and become citizens of the Capitol) do people really think the Mellarks would be allowed to own the land their bakery is on?? I always imagined it sort of like a tenant farming situation: the Capitol gives them the raw materials for the bakery and in return the bakery give them some absurdly high portion of their profits, or the Capitol sells them a year’s supply of raw materials at a premium on credit and at the end of the year the Mellarks have to use the money they made with those materials to pay it back, except it’s never enough to turn a profit so they always have to buy next year’s materials on credit and the cycle continues.

We (understandably) get a really skewed view of the merchant class through Katniss’s perspective so I can see why people come to the conclusion that his family owned the property and, as the last surviving member, he would’ve inherited it. I’ve seen the inheritance thing in fics a lot or a hand wavey “well Twelve was decimated to no one owns anything anymore so it can be his” or even like an almost sort of reparations type situation where he’s entitled to the land as a surviving refugee of Twelve. But I don’t know. I guess I don’t think it fits with everything else we know about Panem that the Mellarks would’ve owned that land and I think the question of whether the government would’ve let him take ownership of the land post-revolution brings up a lot of issues about the structure of society post-Mockingjay that I find more interesting to explore in other ways, especially when, from an emotional perspective, 1) I find the idea of Peeta not opening a bakery more compelling and 2) I don’t think it really fits his character arc by the end of Mockingjay to reopen a bakery, as I went on about at length above lol.

On the flip side: literally who cares!! Do whatever you want!! Headcanon whatever you want!! I get why people go for the bakery!! It’s fun, it’s wholesome, it’s a built in bakery AU that isn’t even an AU. It doesn’t matter if it’s practical or realistic!! It doesn’t need to be practical or realistic!! It’s fanfic of a dystopian YA series!! My unfortunate affliction is that I grew up in a family that owned a restaurant and that I have multiple degrees in the social sciences so I can’t see the bakery without being like “What about the overheard? What about the start up costs? Who’s spending long nights balancing the books? Is Peeta covering shifts when an employee calls in sick? Is Peeta the sole person working there until the bakery is open long enough (often a year or more) to start turning a profit? How does that sleep schedule work with his nightmares? How does that work with Katniss’s nightmares? What happens when he has an episode and suddenly needs to take the day off before he has any employees? Does the bakery just remain closed for the day? Can the profit margins withstand regular unexpected closures? Can the supplies withstand regular unexpected closures?” And if the answer is “Elliott none of those things matter he’s not doing the bakery because he needs the money but because he wants to”, then my question is why does he want to? Does he not get the same sort of satisfaction out of feeding his loved ones? Doesn’t Peeta seem like someone who would rather give away baked goods than sell them?? Doesn’t Peeta seem like someone who would prefer to make cakes for people’s special occasions upon and then when they insist on paying him for it, he only lets them “pay for the ingredients” which actually cost significantly more than he says they did??

So yeah my point is that it’s a matter of personal taste! It doesn’t fit the way I see the series but that doesn’t mean it’s like wrong, I’m not an authority on Peeta lmao.

It’s also a matter of personal taste in the sense that I find the themes that most resonate with me at the end of Mockingjay (and the end of Peeta’s arc specifically) more interesting to explore in other ways. Grief, living with loss, relearning yourself, finding hope, figuring out your place in a dramatically different world when you don’t even know who you are anymore, healing, building a new life after such complete and total destruction of your old life— those are all things I find compelling about the end of Mockingjay but for me the bakery isn’t the most compelling way to explore them.

Not to say I find the concept of the bakery totally uninteresting. I have this fic about Johanna that I’ll probably never finish where the point sort of is that, yeah, her life really isn’t all that much better after the war. It’s been years at this point and she’s still miserable and she doesn’t know how to be a person but by the end she’s trying to figure it out. And towards the end, Peeta tells her that he’s spent years sort of passively, half-heartedly trying to figure out how to inherit the land his family’s bakery was on, only to find out it was never theirs in the first place. They’d been renting it the whole time and he’d never even known as a kid. So he sort of passively, half-heartedly went on another wild goose chase to find the owner and now, finally, after years of writing to various government agencies and being sent in circles and things being barely functional, he’s managed to track down the owner. Now it’s owned by the daughter of the man who owned it when he was a kid because the original owner (who was likely up to some sketchy war crime shit) died during the war and she inherited it (the irony…). He got in contact with her and asked how much it would take for her to sell it and she told him she’s not interested in selling but in light of the situation, in light of the fact that he’d have to build a new building in order to operate a bakery, that she’d cut him a deal— she’d only require 50% of the bakery’s profits as rent instead of the 80% his family used to pay. And of course Johanna is outraged, that’s not right, the owner shouldn’t be allowed to do that, they should do something about it, they should fight back. And Peeta is like. Not interested. He was actually sort of relieved that opening wasn’t very feasible. Getting the answer was a lightbulb moment where he saw that over the years of trying to look into this, he’s built a life that he likes— one where he’s stable, where his loved ones are stable, where he’s cared for and can care for others— and he doesn’t really want to change it drastically by opening a bakery anyway. He just needed an answer, one way or another, before he could get some closure and move on. (And the point of the conversation is Johanna is having her own lightbulb moment that it’s okay to move on, it’s okay to change, it’s not a betrayal of the people and things she’s lost but that’s not my point here!!).

But anyway. That’s obviously not about running the bakery— it’s about the choice to not run one.

Anyway!! Anyway… are you satisfied anon? Is this what you wanted?

Lastly, here is my most important qualm with the bakery headcanon: must Peeta be gainfully employed? Is it not enough for him to be Katniss’s boytoy? Can’t he just paint and garden and bake and hang out with his girlfriend all day? Is that really too much to ask?

[swampthingking]

the thought of cracking the spine of a book makes kevin nauseous. he like opens it just enough to see the words and holds the book at such uncomfortable angles to read— anything to keep the book pristine and intact. he does not let people borrow his books because he is a control freak (as a term of endearment) and does not trust them to take care of them the way he does.

and andrew is the complete opposite, cracking the spine as soon as he opens it. he annotates in pen. he dog ears the pages because who the fuck has time to find a bookmark. he throws books out of anger. he throws them at aaron for fun. he lets them get smashed and torn in his bag. he always keeps them, he just prefers them to look like they’ve been read.

[zeroducks-2]

Let’s talk Helena Wayne bc like it’s criminal that we barely get anything about her and that they completely changed her origin and family (the bertinelli mafia family) to add her into the main comic book line.

im torn bc I love both versions of her :(

But I wanted Dick to share some older siblings trauma with her and for Damian to have that “blood” sibling bc I think that would have completely rocked early Damian’s shit. All his life, he was told to be the true heir of Bruce Wayne, but it turns out he has an OLDER SISTER BRUCE HID FROM TALIA AND RA. Idk I just think that would have crushed his lil murder ego and made for some interesting sibling moments and an interesting dynamic.

Lastly, can we talk about how the Batfam fandom completely stole all of Helena (Bertinelli)’s character traits and gave them to Jason??? Im sorry but when in the material source has Jason ever been super devout and catholic? Helena is the religious one, why am I reading about Jason’s apparent Catholicism in fics and HC dumps? Also Jason (besides his Robin days) has never been this savour and protector of the woman and children of Gotham, that’s very very veryyyyyy clearly a trait from Helena and strongly ties into her backstory as a child who suffered coming from a rich bloodline of syndicate crime. And don’t think this is me bashing on Jason, bc it’s not!! I love Jason Todd - but for who he is. Not for this weird fandom version of him who is either still suffering from the craze the lazarus pit puts you through, or this Joan of Arc of Gotham character either.

I'm gonna be honest with you, this character confuses me a bit. I know that Bruce and Selina got married and had a daughter in their Earth-Two incarnations, and this daughter is Helena Wayne, who's Dick best buddy and a vigilante in her own right called Huntress.

Then I know Helena Bertinelli, daughter of a mafia lord who was introduced in the late 80s in the preboot comic continuity, and was a quite murdery vigilante called Huntress who Bruce didn't accept because she "reminded him of Barbara" (you gotta love DC's excuses for sexism and ableism lol it's not like Barbara was dead just paralyzed. Also it did not look like Bruce gave a shit about it at the end of TKJ that Joker had crippled her - "she reminds him or Barbara". LMAO Bruce).

Then post reboot the title Huntress was given back to Helena Wayne, however Helena Bertinelli is ALSO there and she's ALSO called Huntress? She appears in the Grayson run where Dick is an agent of Spyral, and she seems to be Italian-American but I don't think her origin is the same as in preboot? Also I have no idea about Helena Wayne's continuity post reboot - when she was conceived, who raised her, how did she become a vigilante, neither I have any idea where to find this info.

I agree that if she had been raised by Bruce it could have made for an interesting dynamic amongst the bats and birds. It did in Earth 2 even if only Dick is just there - they're not siblings but they also aren't not siblings? The dynamic is murky and I love murky. Pretty sure it would have changed everything for Damian as well, especially the fact that she would have most likely been the first object of Damian's need to prove himself worthy, instead of Tim.

That being said, not much of what you mentioned is fanon about Jason.

Jason had an arc in which he's a priest. Pretty normal that fans HC him as devout or anyway catholic.

Father Todd in Flashpoint: The World of Flashpoint Vol. 1 - this is an AU in which Jason was never taken in by Bruce and was never Robin.

As for the whole "protector of women and children" thing, you probably know that Jason was born in extreme poverty, his father was in and out of prison and his mother died of overdose. He is very much a child who suffered because of a broken system, and given how harshly he reacts when women and children are the recipient of violence "in his Robin days", is it really that strange that fans assume he carried these traits in adulthood?

We see him being sweet and protective to kids many times, or anyway losing his mcfucking shit when children are being harmed (like in Brothers in Blood). Imo that of Jason caring about vulnerable people is barely a headcanon, and I don't see how this would make him the Joan of Arc of Gotham either - if I'm being honest ALL vigilantes should care about minorities and vulnerable people, it's the other way around that is weird as fuck (like that arc in which Dick almost dies to prevent this guy from shutting down Bludhaven's casinos, like what the hell was Tim Seeley thinking exactly).

That being said, I understand your frustration if the character you like doesn't have recognition. Trust me I do! There's a lot of them for me too, especially female and/or non white characters who had maybe 1 run ages ago and then got forgotten by DC, and I would REALLY LIKE to see them more, and to see them acknowledged more by the fans (from the top of my mind, Jenni Ognats or Patricia Trayce).

But this isn't fandom's fault. As I mentioned before, Helena Bertinelli as a fleshed out character was a thing between 20 and 30 years ago, and most of tumblr's userbase was either very young or not born yet. DC forgot about her, stripped Huntress from her to give it to Helena Wayne, then brought her back but as an agent of Spyral and it really doesn't look like they care. Fans can't be held accountable for the fact that she's simply not there. They didn't "steal" Helena's traits to give them to Jason; this implies a willful and malicious intent from people who saw this character and decided her features fit another character better, and it's obviously not what happened - people barely know Helena Bertinelli exists if at all.

Also - I said this about Jason already and I will repeat it a million times: Jason wasn't picked at random from the sea of DC characters to be people's blorbo, he resonates with fans for a reason. Under the Red Hood is a deeply emotional and relatable arc for many people because it's the story of how a child was failed by every single person who was supposed to protect and guide him, and then was failed again as an adult victim who demanded to be seen and heard and acknowledged, and instead was silenced again. It's heartbreaking to see how many people see this and say "this is me, this is what happened to me", but it is what it is, and most of all there is no taking this away from Jason's fans. DC tried to villainize him, to make him look and sound like a madman, to make him unhinged and deranged and they had Tim suggest that "maybe it's the Lazarus Pit that drove him mad", but it didn't work and fans still love him and still consider him a symbol of how "bad victims" are treated worse than their abusers, and keep being retraumatized by a society that prefers turning a blind eye to violence than deal with the issue at its root.

And lastly, bitching won't get you anywhere. I am the living proof that the right way to make people interested in something is to be passionate about that something. You want more folks to pay attention to Helena Bertinelli, then since DC won't do anything with her, the most effective thing you can do is post about her - write essays, draw her, write fics with her, create webweavings and moodboards, commission this stuff if you don't have the skills. Complaining that she should be the recipient of fandom love won't make anyone more interested in her.

[tulipsnflowers]

Hey everyone go read seasons of change by @zscyber if you like long fics. Seriously.

I realize this is not for the last chapter but if I drew anything for that it would be me punching the lights out of Xanders so let's not

I already ranted about it in a different post but by God is the fic great! I can't wait for TDAD. Mostly because of James but there's going to be so much angst in general.

[mithomite]

had the most braindead repetitive conversation/argument with my parents. buzz cuts are too masculine but if you dye a design on it it become effeminate which is bad because then you look weak and if youre weak then society falls apart (all societies ever that have fallen apart for any reason are actually because of feminine men) and we start sacrificing babies. and also all mental illness is invented because only 4 people had anxiety in the 90s and covid was made up so that we would all become gay and trans and then the government can control us better and be joe biden's little sex slaves. and also i need to keep my hair long because my father finds it attractive. what

[feralsneeze]

Not sneeze just mental health rambling in the tags

[renniferno]

like listen i'm not saying the current system is perfect, it fucking sucks and i know it you know it it was set up by shitty people in shitty times and contains all this shitty leftover bs.

but destroying the system is not the answerrrr yes it sucks that if we want to fix anything or make it better we have to work within the shitty rule set!!! put on your big kid pants. voting is like taking out the garbage. if you don't do it because it stinks, it gets worse.

[k1ttygam3r]

Being a Gen 5 fan and seeing countless people being so negative about it feels exactly like this image

[triglycercule]

i want to headcanon the mtt having absolutely terrible hygiene and struggling to keep themselves clean (this MAY... just QUITE POSSIBLY.... only in the SLIGHTEST bit be projection) but i think it would be too gross and man EVEN I dont wanna think about that

also killer canonically smells good and i actually really LIKE that idea so oh shit there goes that idea out the window. horror and dust youre my only hope please let me make you smell bad for reasons you won't understand

[s0undsinmyhead]

I think it’s kinda funny I see so many people angry about Percy going to college and saying to give Percy a break and let him rest. I’m pretty sure that’s what Percy wants and that’s exactly why he’s going to college. A college specifically designed for students like him. He wants a normal life and to spend time with Annabeth like a normal couple rather than saving the world over and over.

I think people focus on him hating school and are ignoring that compared to saving the world every few months college will be a breeze. His school for troubled youths or whatever, I am sure was awful and treated him badly. That is not the experience he’s going to have at New Rome. First, the school is made for demigods with adhd and dyslexia in mind. And that has to help tremendously! Second, he has Annabeth and he’ll be able to make a stronger support group than he was ever capable of doing at his old schools. Third, he wants to be there. Fourth, it’s college. College is fun. Not for everyone, but I am going to guess for Percy it will be. You get to pick what classes you want to take. The topics you’re interested in and want to learn. You go to class a few hours a day and then you’re free. College can definitely be a nice relaxing fun time. Will it be like that for Annabeth? No, because that’s not what she wants out of college. But if that’s what Percy wants he should be able to get that.

My issue with the whole storyline, other than the fact it’s obviously bullshit he needs recommendations from the gods, and the fact that he’ll apparently never age, is he has to move to California. Percy loves New York so much I hate to see him live it. When you think Percy you think New York and I think Percy would like that connection. He is so proud of his city and loves it so much. He also loves Camp Half-Blood. My hope is that he gets his education at New Rome. Sees how it’s all done and brings that all back to Camp Half-Blood. The Greek demigods should be allowed to go to a demigod school and have a safe demigod city to live in that matches more of their lifestyle.

[batfossil-fr]

I am taking The Step and being a very brave boy and I am going to start setting up my non fr art account. for REAL this time. no “I say I will do this and oops I don’t” it’s For Real and if it’s not up soon you have permission to kick me. I wrote some introduction post the other day that turned into a million page long essay so i’ve gotta like... actually draw shit, instead of just wall of text worldbuilding infodump lmao. I thought, hey let’s give a little primer into my world. and then I immediately went into a rant about geological history i didn’t even GET to the main species until like 2/3 of the way down lmfao

but I have spent too long letting that account haunt the back of my brain. its posting time!!! (I am utterly terrified to post things you have no idea.) but that’s how it goes. soon. maybe this week once i get some exams out of the way. it WILL happen

[transgendercastiel]

I wish I just knew when/if I did something wrong

[mrspockify]

Actually worked on the next chapter of Coming Down for the first time in a solid month 😅

[reachexceedinggrasp]

~The Dread Pirate Davey Crandall~

[mejomonster]

When u put on your daring app you are demisexual demiromantic and only interested in friends or a potential long term relationship...and nothing but poly already partnered people message you