#no i do not need speculation what possible head conditions make me this way I'm more aware than you'd imagine

[crown-ov-horns]

I think, I must quit feeling in the wrong about writing a thousand fanfictions at once. And, possibly uploading chapter one after chapter one before ever finishing a chapter 2. Fanfiction is a hobby. I do it for myself. I suspect, I may be more productive should I jump among the WIPs freely. Because, when I force myself to focus on a couple, I get frustrated, and frustration leads to burnout. Writing becomes a chore, while writing fanfiction should always be a pleasure.

[mdhwrites]

From your previous ask, about Hunter: "It especially is good for kid's media because while the clone can struggle with the anxiety of it, their friends never have to actually be bad or discriminatory against them because the point is loving yourself for who you are and not who you were made to be."

Personally I think a story in which the clone's friends become mad/discriminatory after the reveal CAN work, on a condition.

If the clone's original is, in fact, their friend's friend, said friends have all the reasons to be mad/shocked at the clone for essentially taking their place***. The friends would not only have to confront an 'impostor', but also deal with the loss of their 'real' friend, meanwhile also needing to reassure the clone they're still valid as their own person (if they also weren't aware obviously).

All of these conflicting emotions can create some compelling narratives imho, and there's not a 'standard' resolution that makes it all go back to normal.

(Btw it's one of those 'what if' post-story aspects that fascinate me about a certain other animated show's finale)

*** Now that I mention it, there's Vee in TOH. Whose potential is thrown in the garbage in the same episode she gets revealed, since neither Camila nor Luz delve into how messed up it is that someone just took Luz's place, and nobody was too concerned about it

It is absolutely a compelling narrative! It's actually theoretically part of the anxiety that Fallout 4 specifically tries to address with its Synths plot. Robots and automatons who are made to be as close to perfect replicas to the original that only the functions specific to them being robots reveals what they are. Otherwise, they appear to entirely be the person you once knew and even cares about you the same way.

Evil clones or even hypnosis are also one episode concepts that plenty of kid's shows might do to shake things up and mess with the character's heads as suddenly one of them isn't acting in their best interest. Just as a fun fact: I actually did a short lived possession thing where Boscha was consumed by a helpful voice in her head. They pushed her to be nicer, make good even with those who treat her poorly and to also let Luz touch her because she specifically only let Amity do that. She was found out once she consumed Boscha entirely because she doesn't say the F word and in the story she was the only one allowed to say it.

Even the death of one you care about isn't new, either in what you described or in other variants. Many a fantasy villain, especially necromancers, have promised the return of loved ones to them in one way or another, with usually the heroes saying that the version they would create or bring back wouldn't be them or that they wouldn't accept them anymore because accepting the offer is inherently a betrayal of the deceased loved one's morals. Or hell, they DO take it and become a pawn until someone else makes them see reason.

Clones, replacement, etc. like that of characters just has a lot of possibility space which is why they're such a beloved trope that's been work shopped in so many ways. Those who consume more speculative fiction than me have probably WAY more angles and the like than I'm even bringing up here.

Now just to address each: I think Anne being a clone isn't as bad for many because it was effectively a revival. It's still Anne through and through after all so while sure, it's a cloned body, it's kind of implied to still have Anne's soul which makes sense with the Guardian's desire to have her take his position. Can that still have angst in and of itself? ABSOLUTELY. Just dealing with the existential crises of having died at all, or the terror that those around you might of ever having to see that again, is absolutely a thing and its own set of anxieties that would be true without the claim of Anne being a clone.

Meanwhile, Vee doesn't technically lose her potential in Yesterday's Lie. Luz finding her convenient is a good excuse for even the most cynical as to why she doesn't get mad at Vee. I of all people don't even consider it a mark against Luz because she had worried about her mom in the past in this regard so her being relieved that her mom hadn't spent months thinking she was dead is honestly just reasonable. Camila is... More complicated. For the fact that Vee and Camila are both side characters more than anything, I think keeping their relationship was honestly for the best. There's no reason to spend an entire episode making us sympathize with Vee only for her then to be tossed to the side or no longer have a home. Honestly, her potential was likely mostly kneecapped indeed by the shortening but also like... Her having to deal with Luz just stepping back into her place would have probably just been one episode anyways and end with everyone happy and okay with it, or claiming they need time but then being immediately fine anyways, because that's just how this show deals with the vast majority of its more complex issues. Anne holds a grudge against Hop Pop about the musical box longer than anyone holds a grudge in TOH. Well, except maybe Luz against herself.

But yeah, clones, bodysnatchers, etc. like that are just really neat because they deal with some really primordial fears we have as a species which makes their potential close to unlimited so long as you're willing to actually do something with them.

======+++++======

I have a public Discord for any and all who want to join!

I also have an Amazon page for all of my original works in various forms of character focused romances from cute, teenage romance to erotica series of my past. I have an Ao3 for my fanfiction projects as well if that catches your fancy instead. If you want to hang out with me, I stream from time to time and love to chat with chat.

A Twitter you can follow too

And a Kofi if you like what I do and want to help out with the fact that disability doesn’t pay much.

[perpetual-fool]

-

(Sorry for rambling so much lately, I've been very not-good.)

I got a cheap hand plane for working wood. It's pretty terrible, and probably not actually for wood. I had some ideas about how I could improve it, and possible new designs in general. And most importantly I thought of a clever way to set the depth and tilt of the blade, the plane itself having no mechanisms to do so. And uh, I did so by laying the plane on a piece of glass, letting the blade slide forward until the glass stopped it. Except that leaves the blade exactly in line with the body. So I added a piece of paper, and set the blade to protrude exactly the width of one piece of paper. And that was way too much. hopes dashed. was kind of excited about it too. Then my improvements, tuning up the thing, doesn't work either. I don't have the room. The mouth, the little slot the blade protrudes through, at the angle the blade sits at I can't even fit a popsicle stick through it. Any work on that would have to be done with a milling machine. I don't have a meaningful amount of access to use a file or something until the angle is around 45°. And hey, that's probably why old wooden planes are built like that. New designs, my thoughts were to have one where the blade sits flush with the 'heel', and the depth of cut is adjusted by raising the 'toe', like an electric planer. In the interim, I could lap the toe a little shorter (higher?) than the heel. And the other thought was to make the blade the sole of the plane itself, so you get an actually low angle of ~25° rather than the usual "low angle" 12°-20° bed angle plus 25°+ sharpening angle which often ends up close to 45° anyway. But I don't think either of those things would be cost-effective. The problem is getting everything perfectly lined up. Like, blade-on-the-bottom would have to be perfectly parallel. I'd essentially need a modular design where every individual component could itself be adjusted. The traditional 'blade through a block' design is cheap and forgiving, and it'd be a whole lot easier to shape one exactly how I want it rather than try to make it adjustable.

So maybe I'm just stupid for thinking I can do better. That brings me to the other thing I wanted to ramble about.

I can't answer to others anymore. I keep getting trapped being 'sorry'. Like the above, I'm a stupid piece of shit for thinking I might be able to do something good, and I'm a stupid piece of shit for not understanding everything the moment I saw it. And if I try to reason with the voice in my head it just twists things around constantly, as it has learned from others. As I was saying before (I think), I have a hard time even having a position, because other people constantly shift the context of whatever it is we're discussing. And I pretty much always have some speculation as to what's happening, but it's never going to be confirmed. And even if Cat suddenly becomes reasonable, she doesn't have time for me. So, I have to find a solution in spite of it all. stop playing whatever game this is. A bit of a challenge, as I don't know what the game is or why I'm playing. I am constantly trying to figure out what's going on, so I guess that's part of it. That's my 'win' condition? and other people are antagonistic to that, for some reason? anyway. To understand generally, I'd have to start with observation, then hypothesize etc. And that (inversely) correlates, the worst responses I've gotten were when asking "What makes you think that that's true?" and "What have you actually observed?" So I should tell people to fuck off if they won't share their premises? Which brings me to 'why', which is that I want to connect, and my way is clearly getting further away from the connection I want. Intellectually I know it's a dead end, the final step is destroying whatever I am and accepting everything they tell me uncritically and unconditionally. especially if it's not logically valid. They tell me what to think, I think it, they tell me what to feel, I feel that. Except then I am not there to connect, and it just doesn't work, blah blah. I guess I still believe this is the path to connection.

How do I believe something else? Going by other subjects, results? Say, when I was wrong about what makes eggs stick to a frying pan. I had my reasons, and when it didn't work I assumed I must just be doing it wrong. The assumptions continued until I formed a new hypothesis, and I didn't change my mind until it worked. So, my inclination is to make another hypothesis about people, but that doesn't work. It has to be about connection instead? What about it? Gosh, what am I even thinking currently? That everything done makes sense in some perspective, and all I have to do is figure out what that perspective is? (Thanks for that, Discordianism.) Alternatively: a thing/idea is only able to be understood if the premises/context and argument/reasoning are known. Results, I'll need something I've done myself. understood myself. That's difficult, as uh, I've never really finished anything.

Okay, did a thing. The plane I was talking about, I did the interim thing. It worked exactly as I expected: setup is easy and it makes a perfectly flat surface. But also that's not necessarily a good thing? I learned some things. Not worth getting into. But in short, I think hand planes are less 'flat-makers' and more 'very well controlled chisels'. Aside, it's another instance of the way other people frame the issue seems completely off-base.

So, what about it? I observed some things, formed a model of how they work, made a guess based off that model, and verified that model by successfully implementing something based on my guess. (As opposed to someone telling me the 'correct' way to do the thing, which I just believe, and then I struggle and fail to find observations and rationale which correlate.) How would that relate to communication? On my end, I would (and I think I already do?) share: the conclusion, the observation itself, the reasoning, and to what extent I am certain of the conclusion. (In parentheses to mark where this example stops, 'cause it's kind of long and beside the point. But yeah, I'd go over all this if sharing. Like: I believe intonation of guitar is greatly improved by having a gradient of tension on the strings, because typical guitars sound slightly out of tune to me enough to give me a nails-on-a-chalkboard feeling, but multi-scale guitars sound acceptable, the slightly longer scale length on the lower strings would mean proportionally more tension on the lower strings, so I think tension is directly correlating factor, really I think it's due to flexibility and how much sharper a string goes when it's pressed down, and I'm pretty sure but I haven't successfully tested it yet.) But for others? Well, the mechanism can't be any different. I'll have to ask for what they've observed, the rationale about it, and what makes them think their idea is actually true. And if they won't answer then I know they're either lying or have no understanding of what they're saying. But most importantly, what they mean when they say things? Like, "why are you being such a scrumbus?" Yeah, still need the rationale and the observation. What pattern does the word/phrase refer to? what is a concrete instance of the pattern? and I will rephrase to confirm.

And if they won't share that? Then they're lying. They can't just not know what they themselves mean. They're blatantly lying or there's not a person in their head. And as a practical issue, I can't ask questions to a video or article, and in most situations the human in question would never be willing to clarify. What do I do, passively? The mechanisms are the same; premise/argument/conclusion or observation/hypothesis/testing. So if the pieces aren't all there, don't assume they must exist? Like, if expert man on the internet says 80/20 bronze guitar strings have scooped mids*, unless I have my own reasons to think so, just disregard it? Or if it's say, a doctor. The human I'm talking to might be insane or absent, but I'd either have to just trust that the system they are slave to is going to do me more good than harm, or find a new doctor. And most practically, a whole lot of the time people are telling others how they should feel. So like, (guitar strings again) I'm watching this one dude saying "X strings sound 'darker' and Y strings sound 'brighter'". Which is subjective, and also completely opposite of what it sounds like to me. So, subjective assertions should be ignored entirely all the time? Yeah, if it is just as assertion. And I suppose I shouldn't need to say that gaslighting should be disregarded.

Lastly, practical application: what do I do about feeling sorry? There's a couple way to reason at it, but my imaginary accuser will never be satisfied. I guess that would mean not 'plugging in' to understand anymore. As opposed to, analyzing? Starting with premises/observations? I don't think it could be anything else. It's annoying. It feels a bit like whenever I try to make something. I want to just grab the material, the one tool I need, and just make the thing real quick. But actually, I need a handful of tools for measuring and shaping and finishing, and I need a way to hold the piece securely while I work on it, and I have to clean up afterwards from the dust of what have you. So, making one little thing means going through the whole tedious process. It's tiring and disheartening. but necessary.

Does it work?

Say, I have this bad memory related to a Stratocaster. I said something stupid, in some sense I was trying to connect and failed helplessly. Analyzing, I was forbidden from thinking and feeling at the time. And no one ever gave me any feedback about anything; I was compliant enough that no one would yell at me. So I didn't know what I was doing, didn't know why I was doing it, and did so thoughtlessly. Because I was mocked, bullied, belittled, or berated for voicing any independent thought or showing even a hint of a possible expression. Because they put me in a double bind with no way out. And it was wrong of them to do that to me. And it was wrong of them to not be straight with me. I ought to be allowed to at least mention pretty much anything if no one's given me a reason not to, and it's wrong for others to gaslight me if I do.

That works.

I uh, don't feel better. I guess it's safer? to think I'm just doing something wrong. or to be so depressed I can't think about it. The essence of torture world is that no one runs on any kind of logic and almost all of them will try to hurt me if they think they can get away with it. I am stressed and afraid.

- *(Aside, I do have such reasons. I had noted before my guitar had very weak mids. But I recently changed the strings, and the mids are plenty strong now. The new strings are phosphor-bronze and have a red tint to them, and I don't know what the old strings are exactly but they're a dull brass-yellow. Incidentally, '80/20 bronze' is apparently 80% copper and 20% zinc, which is "low brass" according to Wikipedia. So yeah, that's probably what was happening.)

[jimmygibbsjrrr]

I have a lot of thoughts about the Slaters

namely, I've been wonderin why the Fairfield Survivors got thrown off the boat in Death Toll

in this panel of The Sacrifice comic, Francis confirms the fates of three of the rescue vehicles:

Image ID:

A panel from The Sacrifice: Part 1. Francis is sat in the rescue vehicle from Blood Harvest, speaking to Louis. His dialogue is as follows:

"Louis, I hate to be the one to break this to ya, but we been heading to the safe zone four times now. Helicopter: crashed. Plane: crashed. Boat: kicked us out and left us to die."

/end ID

the chopper from No Mercy was confirmed crashed in Crash Course, and as for the plane from Dead Air, it was pretty easy to guess (and would have been confirmed in the cut campaign Dam It).

but the part about the boat? that's the Slaters' boat from Death Toll. this is the first time we learn this information.

so...why? what happened?

(more under the cut, ended up writing wayyyy more than I expected over these past few days and don't wanna clog people's dashes lol)

so. let's take a quick dive into the last chapter of Death Toll, to see what we can discern about the Slaters from their dialogue.

the rescue vehicle in Death Toll is a civilian boat, Saint Lidia II, owned by John and Amanda Slater, a married couple. Amanda is never heard in-game, but John's reactions to her can be heard over the radio.

the Slaters are explicitly looking for "anyone out there with firearms". John later adds that "once you get on this boat? Your job is keeping our asses alive". it appears that their motivation for saving the Survivors is selfish from the get-go.

this is undoubtedly true in Amanda's case, however, some of John's lines betray a more selfless attitude. he will berate Amanda for not "think[ing] about the little guy". he will ask, "So what, then? We leave 'em to die? I can't do that, Amanda." whilst Amanda is thinking purely of their own survival, John still feels compassionate towards his fellow survivors. despite this, he says that "I don't want our first act of kindness to be our last", acknowledging the conflict between his compassion and his self-preservation.

so. these are the Survivor's saviours in Death Toll. a conflicted married couple looking for bodyguards, offering to take the Survivors upriver to a military safe zone in exchange for protection.

as for why they get thrown off the boat...well, the easiest explanation would be Amanda.

but, stay with me here, because I think it's a little more complicated than that.

this boat? fulla tension. there's the obvious tension between the Slaters, who we've established seem to fight and disagree regularly. then there's the inevitable tension between them and the Survivors. I reckon Louis, with his generally positive and friendly attitude, wouldn't have much of a problem with them, might even attempt some friendly conversation or something. however, he's about the only one.

the comic fully establishes Bill as caring about nobody except the Fairfield Survivors - the most obvious evidence of this being the words he lives and dies by, "we look after our own". he isn't particularly interested in other people, unless they can help the group out. and he'd likely recognise the unstable and conditional nature of their rescue. while I'm sure he'd try and keep the peace, in any reasonable disagreement or fight Bill's likely to take his friends' side, and if anyone's getting thrown off the boat Bill is going with them. this goes for the whole group, to be honest; I don't think they'd want to split up at this point.

Francis hates boats, hates water, and can't swim, so (and I'm getting a little speculate-y here) would probably be in an even sourer mood than usual on the journey. being as abrasive as he is, plus this additional stress, it's fully possible he could piss off the Slaters enough to get himself (or all of them) thrown off the boat.

as for Zoey? well, I don't imagine a married couple who constantly argues is gonna sit well with her, considering her backstory. similarly to Francis, the situation they're in would make her far more stressed, making it more likely for her to lash out.

Amanda didn't want to save the Survivors in the first place, so while I think that John wouldn't throw them off the boat without reason, I reckon she could persuade him to throw them off if they 'caused trouble' - and they would get into an argument with her far easier than they would with John.

in short: yeah, I can see them getting thrown off the boat by the Slaters after some huge fight or disagreement. I think that's a reasonable interpretation of canon, and definitely an interesting concept.

...however, I do wonder if this tension would really be enough to destabilise their mutual need, after everything they went through to come together.

which is why I'm going to bring up The Last Stand!

I gotta quickly address something before this segment: yeah, I'm totally aware this campaign isn't canon. this evidence works with the fact that it exists in an 'alternate timeline'. also, I am missing a few citations for this section - if anyone can provide them I'd really appreciate it, but just a disclaimer that I currently can't prove some of the things the wiki claims members of the Last Stand Community Update Team have said. here and here are the wiki pages where I got this information. in short - the above explanation is simpler and more canon compliant, the conclusion I draw at the end of this post is backed by shakier evidence but I believe is more interesting, and you can make of all that what you will.

allegedly, members of the Last Stand Community Update Team confirmed a strongly-suspected fan theory about The Last Stand: that it branches off from Death Toll in some way, in a non-canon alternative timeline. as well as this, they allegedly confirmed that in this alternative timeline, the Survivors still end up in Newburg for Dead Air. even without the confirmation, this remains a solid fan theory, due to the constant references to Riverside and re-use of many of Death Toll's assets.

who rescues the Survivors in The Last Stand? John Slater. no Amanda - just John. despite her lack of voice actress, if she was still present John would give some indication of this at some point. it can be speculated that whatever happened to her contributed to the lack of rescue at the boathouse that forced the Survivors to take an alternative route. either way, he ends up at the lighthouse when the Survivors call for rescue, alone, and picks them up.

and then later...throws them off the boat. into Newburg.

what reason would John have to do that? without Amanda, surely he wouldn't have that push, as he wanted to rescue the Survivors for multiple reasons in the first place. without his constant arguments with Amanda, Zoey wouldn't be nearly as stressed. and between the three of them I'm sure the other Fairfield Survivors would stop Francis from pissing John off enough to get them thrown off the boat. in short, less Amanda = less tension, and no reason for the Survivors getting chucked off the boat.

...right?

I'd like to remind you that a symptom of the Infection is paranoia.

what if, in both The Last Stand and Death Toll, John and Amanda are infected by the Survivors on the way to the military safe zone? after all, the virus is confirmed to occasionally be airborne, and I doubt two civilians have completely effective, sustained protection against that. likely the only reason they hadn't already been Infected is because they got out on the water early on in the pandemic, and hadn't come into contact with anyone else since. it's unlikely that one of them is immune, and even more unlikely that they're both immune (especially considering those with XX chromosomes may be genetically less likely to be carriers). wouldn't Francis have mentioned it if their rescuers turned or were obviously Infected? yes, but it's possible that the airborne strain works slower as well, meaning that the Survivors are thrown off of the boat after the symptoms kick in but before the Slaters fully turn. even Church Guy had at least an hour from being Infected to turning, and he was bitten. Newburg isn't too far from where the Survivors are rescued in Death Toll anyway (the burning city in the background of the finale is Newburg), so the Survivors clearly didn't last long on the boat anyway. as a result, the Survivors wouldn't realise it was the Infection intensifying the Slaters' paranoia - they'd just think the Slaters were being dicks. Francis also explicitly mentions that they were "left to die", implying negativity or even hostility from the Slaters as the Survivors were being thrown off.

so yeah. that's why I think they got thrown off of the boat in Death Toll - a combination of the intense tension between the two parties, and the Slaters falling victim to Infection-induced paranoia. but an explanation minus the Infection is equally as plausible. it all depends on what you find most interesting, I suppose, and both feel like they fit pretty well into the world.

lord this is a long chunk o text. I know most fandoms prefer art and fanfic over this sorta thing, so please let me know in replies or something if you're interested in more stuff like this. also if any of this makes sense because I like to ramble.

oh and if you'd like to use any of my interpretations in fanworks like art or fic, I'd love to see it :)

[selkiewife]

I'm not worried about Theon's part in the books because the TV show really did Theon dirty but I do worry about other characters like Dany who were also done dirty but in a completely different way. I do agree that people do tend to underestimate the Ironborn characters, well except Euron, it seems no one underestimates him and his importance. Theories might come true or they might not but I find Theon the most interesting Greyjoy to speculate about because there's just so much to his 1/3

Thanks so much for your question! And sorry it took me so long to respond! That is really interesting what you say about the flying line. I had never really considered that before. I had just assumed that he had survived because of the snow beneath. Theon describes it in his TWOW POV:

"I saved her." The outer wall of Winterfell was eighty feet high, but beneath the spot where he had jumped the snows had piled up to a depth of more than forty. A cold white pillow. The girl had taken the worst of it. Jeyne, her name is Jeyne, but she will never tell them. Theon had landed on top of her, and broken some of her ribs. "I saved the girl," he said. "We flew."

So at first it sounds ridiculous that he could survive this kind of fall- eighty feet high and in his (and Jeyne’s) malnourished and weakened condition. It’s miraculous that they survived. But then you read the explanation that the snows had piled to more than 40 feet, so they must have only fallen 40 feet or so... still... It would have to be very powdery snow. Of course, Jeyne did break her ribs. So there is enough realism that makes it more believable. But you are right that it could also indicate that something supernatural is occurring. And I do find it very interesting parallel with Bran’s fall and Bloodraven’s promise that he Bran will never walk again, but he will fly. It also echoes Bran’s green dreams where the Three Eyed Crow is telling him he needs to learn to fly. And then there is the parallel with Euron mentioning that he use to have dreams that he could fly. I love that these three are linked together in that way because I do feel like there will be something significant with Theon and Bran perhaps fighting Euron??? 

The only sound was a faint soft sobbing. Jeyne, he thought. It is her, sobbing in her bridal bed. Who else could it be? Gods do not weep. Or do they?

You are right that it could be Jeyne and he is really able to hear her from all the way in the Godswood- and there would have to be something supernatural going on in order to make that happen. But, then it could also be Bran sobbing through the tree, a theory I am partial to-  or maybe Theon is even hearing himself sobbing and not connecting the sobbing as coming from himself- another theory I’ve heard before. The whole thing is very interesting and I kind of love how vague it is- it could be magic and it could also have a nonmagical explanation- like the flying and like Theon’s earlier green dream.

But yes, I do agree that the Greyjoys- along with the Targaryens and Starks all seem to be very connected to the supernatural. It’s funny you bring up Sansa as an exception to that though because even though she’s been cut off from her magic- she actually is connected to magic since she is a warg and skin changer just like her siblings. (Although, I don’t think that is made apparent in the text- I think GRRM said it in an interview that all the Stark children were wargs) But I find that so interesting- that Sansa was cut off from the source of practicing her skin changing abilities before she even knew she had them through Lady’s death. Because what does that mean for her? Clearly the ability is still there, hidden inside her. This well of latent magic. How does hidden magic manifest itself is a question I like to wonder about when it comes to characters such as Sansa. I feel like Theon may have something going on like this as well. And even if it never truly manifests it’s just so fascinating to think about. 

And obviously, Theon’s story is intensely compelling on its own without the possibility of the magical elements. I do like the magical elements though, just because they seem to be connecting him more strongly with Bran and Euron- and where the overall story seems to be heading- and anything that keeps Theon around longer I am here for!

[bbq-hawks-wings]

Chapter 267 Review

So, there's a lot to get into this chapter that has absolutely nothing to do with Hawks but still has me

But we'll get to that, so let's go over the main plot, new/confirmed insights into Hawks' character/background, and finally insights into Dabi.

Main Plot

Key Observations:

Shiguraki's (not the PLF's) assets have been mobilized - Nomu, Gigantomachia, etc.

I point out Gigantomachia in particular because of the focus on his radio meaning that whoever gave him and the Nomu orders to mobilize:

Is Shigaraki himself

Is All-For-One

Or is someone with equivalent authority given by one of them.

I believe it's Shigaraki himself, but we'll find out soon.

Endeavor and Tokoyami swoop in the save the day for Hawks and Mirko.

I'm getting Tokoyami ice cream after this. Heck, might even take him to Disneyland he's earned it!!! We got confirmation that he and Hawks had started hanging out one-on-one during his internships (presumably after convincing Hawks to actually take him seriously) and do have a solid connection. This makes me very happy. Hawks does have someone he can genuinely call his friend - and in this time Tokoyami is possibly one of the best people he could have by his side, though not because of his prowess or whatever. I believe there's a strong thread in the overall plot of the next generation saving their predecessors, and Tokoyami specifically coming to Hawks' aid continues to confirm that. I have more speculations but will keep them to myself unless others specifically want to hear them.

Twice likely is dead. I have opinions circling this, but none of it will do much good until I see this conflict finished or have more, very specific information.

We'll get to this when we get to Dabi, but I can't help but wonder if Dabi hadn't ambushed Hawks if Jin would still be alive. On his own, Hawks didn't need to kill Jin to keep him at bay; but the moment Dabi entered the picture Hawks had a choice to make and locked it in. Toga has also had a fake-out death to miraculously come back, but I think it's safe to assume the worst for Jin. I really wish it didn't happen, but tactically I understand why it did.

Insights into Hawks

I would both die and kill for baby Keigo without hesitation.

Just look at him!

Protecc at all costs!!! Oh, he's so precious! But this brings me to my next point.

Hawks has been trained to be a hero who wins when the focus should have been on a hero who saves.

This one I don't necessarily blame Hawks himself for. Over and over and over and over again Hawks has shown to be a person who not only tries to save as great a majority as possible, but to stack the odds as high as he can in his favor to include as many as possible. He seeks to minimize suffering though he knows he can't save everyone. His focus is people in need first and going head to head with villains second. Which brings me to point #2.

His views on a future where heroes can breathe.

This is not rooted in a desire to not work, and I'd dare say not even to escape the Commission. He wants a place where people feel at peace. Tying in with the anime, it added details/sentiments that weren't mentioned or specified in the manga such as calling out Stain by name. We know he's been watching public opinion and sentiments surrounding heroes for a long time, and it doesn't seem like he swings to the extreme of abolishing heroes completely; but he does seem to agree the people need a symbol of peace - a paragon - to aspire to and emulate. He also seems to believe that this symbol should be able to inspire others given his even-clearer indication in the latest anime episode that Endeavor was his personal inspiration and now this flashback in the manga.

This seems to be directly in opposition to Dabi and what we now know about him.

Insights into Dabi

Let's start with his views of Stain - assuming he's a Todoroki (are you kidding me, Horikoshi?! A blacked out speech bubble?!?!?!?) - it would make a lot of sense how he would latch onto this figure who sought out personally punishing "fake heroes" with death. Endeavor has put through his family through enough suffering that most people who heard about it would consider death a merciful punishment. The lasting effects left over from the decades of abuse have left deep scars on each and every last member of the family. It also makes sense why he personally would not count All Might as a hero where Stain did because the abuse he suffered was an indirect result of All Might's prominence.

Considering how hard Endeavor pushed Dabi I would not be surprised if the inability to cry is not only a literal, physical scar of abuse; but potentially symbolic of another intangible inability to properly express, process, and relieve negative emotion:

Antisocial Personality Disorder.

This is a SERIOUS claim to make, so please understand I don't make it lightly; and I genuinely hope to be wrong because it doesn't bode well for anyone in Dabi's immediate social circle - especially the most vulnerable members of the League of Villains.

I need to be very clear, APD is not an "all or nothing" condition, and those who suffer from it can feel empathy and remorse to varying degrees depending on the individual. It's possible he may have had some kind of personal connection with members of the League, but his specific word choice is troubling. Compound this with the fact that he exhibits most of the major symptoms, has a history that puts him significantly at risk, and his current living/social condition aggravates his condition and complicates his ability to get treatment; and it makes at least a compelling argument. I can't be the first person to theorize this about Dabi, but this was the final piece of evidence that secured it as likely to be canon in my own mind.

I say this not to paint him as pure evil - in fact, he's still very much a victim of his father's abuse who desperately needs help - but to say that it makes it significantly harder to save him or rehabilitate him. I also want to bring up that it may make Twice's demise even more tragic and frame it in a new light that makes things worse.

If Dabi truly does not care about Jin as a person, there's a solid chance he did not climb those stairs to protect Jin but to get revenge on Keigo. Dabi could have been argued to be clever and managing his resources by opening fire on Hawks and Jin with the assumption Hawks would save him; but if he does have APD it's more likely he was acting impulsively and without regard to Jin's safety - that Jin remaining unburnt was a happy afterthought.

This is my biggest takeaway from this chapter and is both troubling and tragic if it's true. Those emotionally vulnerable members of the League like Spinner and Toga (who just watched her best friend die in her arms) are at risk of being manipulated up to and including giving up their lives just like Jin in the sake of Dabi single-mindedly getting his own revenge. I've said the League is fractured at its roots, but this is a much worse way of it falling apart of that's indeed the way we're going.

Jin likely would still be okay if Dabi had not stepped in. Hawks would have been able to restrain him and keep him from using his quirk without needing to resort to deadly force. Once Dabi entered the picture he not only put Hawks in a more desperate situation to actually need deadly force but emboldened Jin to keep fighting - and like a self-fulling prophecy neither side gave up until one of them died. At least for me now, there's a sense of empty loss and helplessness in it.

Nobody gets a gold star. Nobody deserves a pat on the back. This is the vicious wheel turning and hurting over and over again until it eventually crumbles under its own weight. We see seeds of hope in the reinforcements coming to aid in hours of need (like heroes should), but we're going to have to wait until next week to see the fallout.

I'm still open to talking about the chapter in asks if anyone is up for it, but I think this is probably the best I have to offer in a single post minus the fact that Keigo likely knows that Touya Todoroki did exist and is presumed dead. He can put the pieces together and it will be bitter when Endeavor eventually rejoins the main fray.

[fortunatelylori]

I thought a Jonsa marriage would be for Jons protection more than anything. Bringing the Tyrion reason into it takes away from that. I can't see Sansa suggesting a marriage to Jon because of Tyrion. And I sure can't see Jon suggesting a marriage to him after all she's been through. Idk I kind of see that the sole purpose of a Jonsa wedding is for his protection. Something that Sansa really wants to do for him. I go back and forth but atm I'm seeing that 703 scene added with Brans scene

as reminders of her marriages and how she didn’t want them. Both shams. By itself I would lean more towards Sansa/Tyrion wedding talk foreshadowing but together it makes it more about Sansa. Also there’s just too much going on with WW rn to worry about political alliances. That’s what Jon is suppose to be doing with his sham relationship. I can’t see Jon, show Tyrion or Sansa and with the whole North behind her even entertaining the idea. Dany would just look crazy if she suggested it?

Hey, nonnie!

At the risk of repeating myself, my speculation post on season 8 and how that will play out in terms of Jonsa is just that: speculation. It’s based on information we’ve gotten and theories that are circulating at the moment and it’s my best attempt at trying to bring that all together into a cohesive narrative. At the end of the day, it’s no more than just one woman’s opinion. We don’t have enough solid information about season 8 for me to debate and support that speculation against all other possible scenarios so I’m not even going to attempt it. 

What I will do is try and give you some reasoning for it. 

You say: 

I thought a Jonsa marriage would be for Jons protection more than anything.

I did mention in my post that Jon’s parentage reveal would play into the secret Jonsa wedding I speculated on. I just included more reasons for it than that. The way I see a Jonsa secret wedding playing out is that there are a few circumstances that lead to this choice instead of it being a calculated move taken calmly and reasonably by Sansa and then her convincing Jon to go through with it. The Tyrion marriage in my scenario serves as an inciting incidents which forces Jon and Sansa to act at that particular time rather than later. It’s essentially a time constraint. That doesn’t exclude the fact that by marrying him and making him a Stark, Sansa is protecting Jon from D*ny. 

I also placed the Jonsa reveal, kiss/admission of feelings and the play on the love triangle prior to the secret wedding because by adding some personal, emotional stakes to the whole thing, it makes the secret wedding more plausible. Namely it makes it different from Sansa’s other weddings as well as explain why they would take the risk of going through with a marriage in secret.

 Because a secret wedding is not entirely a rational decision and also not necessarily a safe one on Jon and Sansa’s part. By going behind D*ny’s back and marrying in secret, Jon and Sansa are essentially antagonizing her while she’s still in the North where they need her to stay put for the WW fight. 

I was also playing off of the Lyanna/Rhaegar parallel where we have a similar secret wedding that came about for several reasons: Lyanna and Rhaegar falling in love (in show canon at least), Rhaegar wanting his third dragon head/prince that was promised as well as Lyanna wanting to get out of her marriage to Robert. 

In the scenario that you are talking about where Jon and Sansa marry because Sansa wants to protect him, you don’t need a secret wedding at all. You can have a scenario where Sansa marries him to protect him as well as bring together all of the factions they have at their disposal in order to fight back against D*ny. I don’t see any reason for a secret wedding in that scenario at all. As a matter of fact, it would make much more sense for it to be public so everyone is aware that Jon and Sansa have essentially joined their claims in marriage and that Jon is now a Stark, not a Tragareyen which would go a long way in minimizing Westerosi rejection of Jon. 

Again, different strokes for different folks and all that. 

As for this:

Also there’s just too much going on with WW rn to worry about political alliances. That’s what Jon is suppose to be doing with his sham relationship. I can’t see Jon, show Tyrion or Sansa and with the whole North behind her even entertaining the idea. Dany would just look crazy if she suggested it?

I have to say I disagree. Jon’s reasons for bringing D*ny to the North are indeed solely based on his need of men and dragons to fight the NK and his armies. But that’s not D*ny or her camp’s sole reason for being there. D*ny only came North after all of her conditions were met, namely: Jon bending the knee and a truce with Cersei. 

Well, we already know that Cersei doesn’t have any plans to honor that truce. Jaime is already on his way North so she’ll find out pretty quickly that Cersei has called on the GC and she will not be sending her tropes to aid in the WW effort. 

In addition to that, D*ny believed that if Jon bent the knee, his people would follow through with what their king had agreed upon. That’s not likely to happen. 

So D*ny is going to, very quickly, find herself in a position where she doesn’t have a truce with Cersei which means that the more she stays in the North, the more ground she’s losing in the South. In addition to that, her new alliance with her Warden of the North will prove useless because the Northern Lords will reject both her and Jon, and coalesce behind Sansa. No matter how much Sansa tries to keep them in line at Jon’s insistence, there’s bound to be conflict there which will trouble her. 

So yes, they’re all there to fight the WW but I think at several points that conversation will be deviated towards what D*ny’s worries and desires are, which are not in line with what the North wants. 

And if D*ny and her camp realize that the true power of the North is in the Lady of Winterfell’s hands and not her Warden, then her focus will inevitably shift to making sure Sansa is under control and that’s where a marriage proposal with Tyrion would come into play. 

I very seriously doubt the WW attack will find the people of Winterfell united and on the same page. I think they’ll barely be prepared for the battle because their personal interests and squabbles will stop them from focusing on the dead army threat as much as they should be, much to Jon and Bran’s, I suspect, frustration. 

Thanks for the ask! 

[bluboothalassophile]

Hi I'm a new reader! I love your JayRae fics!!!! I admit I was skeptical at first but when I started reading your fics but I fell in love with this ship!!! So I'm wondering what is the reason you shipped JayRae and how did you had the idea on shipping them? since they don't have any interaction in comics and in animations

Hello,

I’m glad you’re enjoying the stories, and I hope you continue to join us on the JayRae ship as it is a lot of fun! 

As to shipping them, they have one canon interaction ever; other than the speculation of Jason Todd being Red Red X (and even then, only one significant interaction). 

When Jason, in the comics as Red Hood, broke into the Titan’s Tower to beat the ever living shit out of Tim and his teammate he didn’t raise a hand to Raven, instead he gave her a sleeping aid to keep her mind asleep and he wished her good dreams, saying Raven had always warned him of his anger and had tried to help him. The insinuation alone implicates that perhaps Raven and Jason had had a friendly, if impersonal, relationship before his death. It also insinuates that Raven might have been trying to help Jason, as Robin to get over his anger, or learn not to be lead by it. Also, in the comics, this is not off the 80��s ones, but rather when Raven’s on Tim’s Titan’s team, it makes them roughly the same age, younger or older is unclear, but as Raven’s always de-aged, I get the sense that she is roughly between Jason and Tim in terms of age. So in these aspects, it is a unique idea that perhaps Raven and Jason had formed a slight bond, like she has with the other Robins.

Then there’s the RaeX angle, where Raven asks is Red X needs a lift when he lands on the yellow school bus strapped to a rocket; there’s more expression in that scene between those two than the other characters. Raven’s face and exasperation and Red X’s bafflement are just priceless.

My shipping of Jason and Raven; while they would look nice together, actually has very little to do with their looks. I like Jason and Raven together because of their base personalities. I believe I stated in an earlier post that this was a main reason, but there’s also the reason of a lot of what they’ve lived through.

Jason and Raven appear to have similar bases in certain aspects. And in many others they are a complete contrast to one another. Which is a good part of the fun.

On one hand you have Jason, who is a wild card personality. He’s very passionate, very intelligent, lethal, and he’s a very strong personality type. He’s known for being run by his emotions, however he’s also shown to be brutally cold logic wise, he’s always in command of his situations, but rarely in control of himself.and is capable of making truly hard calls. Jason is intensely loyal, and he’s temperamental and shown to let his temper rule him, however he is not completely unjust in his ruthless capabilities. Jason’s ability to be ruthless though is what makes him a great wild card, because of how far he would and could go for everyone he loves and cares about is known and it’s impressively terrifying.

On the other hand you have Raven, who is a stable personality. She is very cold, apathetic, highly intelligent, lethal, and she’s also a contrasting strong personality type. She’s ruled by logic, showing a level head even in the head of a crisis, she’s a quiet person, who keeps much to herself, she’s always in control of herself, and not exceptionally emotional. However, her emotions run deep, unwavering, true and unyielding; they are a drive of many of her abilities, her emotions; like for Jason, are a fuel of inner strength and power. Her intense loyalty, and unwavering kindness is what keeps her from embracing her darker nature and helps her keep her humanity. Rather than letting herself be utterly ruthless; though she’s been shown to be on occasion.

Together, their contrast is similar to fire and water. I think Jason would brink out the best of Raven, bring her out of her comfort zones, and make her live a little. He would embrace her demon heritage as another part of her and he could and would let her be herself without pushing her to be different from who she truly is. In contrast, I think Raven would be able to dampen some of Jason’s rage, she’d be able to embrace who he is, and what he is capable of without much judgement known she could be like him. She’s bring out the best in him, in many ways, and I think Jason would bring the best out in Raven in many ways. But I also think their ability to bring out the best in each other can also be the greatest ability of confronting the worst the other has to offer.

The contrasting personalities, and the contrasting behaviors would make them as a team almost unbeatable. The contrast of them as a team leaders is something I think would benefit Jason’s Outlaws; Jason’s ability to lead on the fly, forming plans on the go and Raven’s ability for keeping level in a fight and a level head in the thick of chaos is a good contrast. The complementary personalities would lead to little conflict because the two would be in tune with each other, as empathetic souls they are.

Then there’s the contrast in their abilities.

Raven is a DC true powerhouse character, who is rightfully over powered but never over played. She’s the only daughter of Trigon, she’s the most powerful empath in DC continuity, and her possibly power ability, with her heritage, makes her something to be revered and feared. Jason is one of the most lethal characters in DC, shown evading Lady Shiva’s punches, besting Deathstroke, beating his brothers and Batman, while also being trained by the All-Caste, the League of Assassins, Batman, and in some continuities, Deathstroke. So, I think that there is nothing either party could do which would unsettle or unnerve their counter party. 

Also, Raven and Jason are extremely empathetic souls, with great compassion and great empathy for survivors and victims, they love without conditions when they love, and when they rage it is with every ruthless part of their being. Though morally and ethically they contrast it is rather like Jason’s and Cass’s contrast in morals and ethics. I think that while they would be a grand contrast this way, their ability to level each other out would have them frequently working well together. No, I do not believe their partnership would be without conflict, and without pain of different opinions, but I also don’t think this would lead to them berating, belittling, and hurting each other. I do not think they would be degrading and tearing each other down, but rather confront their conflicts, and probably strive to solutions and compromises; though it wouldn’t be easy for they are two unyielding personalities.

And then there is the matter of Jason and Raven are my two favorite characters in DC, with their complexities, personalities, and they are the two characters I relate to best. They are also frequently given the shaft in terms of writers who: deage them, write them OOC, or just fucking destroy them to drive them away from their families, friends or teammates. So I decided that I want to write them together, not as a ship always, but as friends for sure, and maybe stop isolating my two favorite characters.

I don’t ship Jason and Raven as a just romantic pair, I love the idea of them being friends, and the bond that would bring about, and yes, I love the romance angle; I do, but after writing a lot of romances and living a bit more in my life than being a teenager I find that relationships are in general a lot more complex than presented. Jason and Raven, I believe would have not only a great romance when and if they got to that point in their relationship, but they would also have a truly great friendship which could be forged in Hell, and tested to be unbreakable and unwavering, the romance would be just as intense and calming as the friendship if you ask me.

Overall, I think they would be good for each other. Rather like a raven and a wolf being friends. Something unique, and unfathomable, but also something familiar and comfortable.