#since they're the people embodying the characters and getting in their heads

[navree]

I know you’ve shared your thoughts on Aegon II before but if there’s anything you haven’t or still want to talk about, I’d love to hear it <3 

I just came around to enjoying his character but like others, what he did to Dyana and the child fighting ring makes me apprehensive and I have to check myself and make sure I’m not woobifying him. 

Like, what would you like to see from him during his reign and his relationships with his family now that he’s king. I hope they don’t hammer us with more wild awfulness, (and hopefully he doesn’t lash out at Alicent or Helaena who are going to witness a horrific act of cruelty), to show us how unworthy he is. We won’t know until we know but child fighting rings, really? Most of what I like about Aegon (fan meta aside) seem to be TGC’s own acting choices, apparently the “do you love me line” was improv, so there’s only so much he can do. Thanks!

I know that some people are really dooming about the upcoming seasons and the Greens but I will say, it's not just Team Green who's been part of the backlash to some of the more stupid stuff in Aegon's character, it's been general audiences AND TGC himself. Combining that with the fact that they know there's an audience for the Greens (they only gave Ewan eleven piddly minutes of screentime and he turned that into making him the fandom darling, they know there's a capacity for it, along with as many people appreciating Alicent as they did), I'd imagine that they're not gonna turn those people away with more cartoonish antics, especially the stupid fighting pits. Those especially I think were just there to kinda establish that Mysaria is a champion of the poor, due to her background as a slave (and also I don't remember if they ever specified what Aegon's involvement was in that tomfoolery was because I'll freely admit to skipping over that portion whenever I rewatch the ep).

It's important not to woobify Aegon because, as much as I say that those scenes seem to exist only for the sake of existing and not to really say anything about Aegon other than cartoonish nonsense, they did happen. And there's information to be gleaned from them, especially the Dyana scene, both for Aegon (he's a drunkard and a bit of a lech, as well as clearly inebriated when he attempts to consummate his marriage) and certainly for Alicent, to show why the smallfolk like her and what kind of woman and ruling queen she is and how her own experiences have shaped her and her interactions with other women. But I can choose to focus on the myriad other aspects of his character, and the insights his actor provides into him, and acknowledge that those scenes were poor writing choices I disagree with even if I still think they happened.

I'm unsure as to what I'd want to see from his reign, because his reign is well chronicled in F&B and is incredibly short, and his reign is largely filled with his wartime decisions. I'd like to see his relationship with his council, and with the smallfolk, especially after the coronation and the mythologizing that's gonna come from what happened with him and Alicent and Meleys on the dais, along with the fact that his mother and wife are well known for being adored by the smallfolk. I'd just like to see some of why people would be willing to go along with his reign, especially when compared to the book where they were far more unenthusiastic than they were in the show. I assume he'd have a better relationship with his family than we saw in season 1, especially with Alicent after she proved her love for him in such a big way, but I'd also like to see some good moments with Helaena and especially with his kids, not just to show why he'd be willing to spare Aegon the Younger and Gaemon Pale-hair with his apparent softness for children, but also to an add an extra gut punch in how good everything was going before it goes to shit. And I don't think he'll likely lash out at Alicent or Helaena for anything, since a) Blood and Cheese is gonna happen pretty soon in season 2 and b) there'd be no reason to. Aegon's gonna be nearly as destroyed as Helaena from what happened (and I don't think even he would start castigating his brokenminded wife for how she handled an atrocious situation while in fear for her life, and certainly not his mother who was attacked and then bound and gagged in order to prevent her from interfering at all), and even the source material specifies that he wasn't being cruel to Helaena, he just wasn't capable of providing comfort to her, both because she was just so mentally debilitated by what happened and also because of his own grief. I think if he lashes out at anyone, it'll be Aemond. Speaking of Aemond...

One thing I absolutely want to see is more of Aemond and Aegon. I've talked about them a bit as we've seen in season 1 in the aforementioned Aegon posts, but let's talk about season 2 and what I want. First things first, I want them to expand on the fact that, in the book, Aegon was the only one who wasn't upset with Aemond after Storm's End. I want to see him don his big brother hat and try, in his clumsy way, to attempt to comfort him, to point out that it's not so bad that he killed Luke, and hey he got the Baratheons over to their side so that's good. I want him to take Aemond at his word that it was an accident, to throw him that feast as an Aegon-style attempt to make him feel better. Because I want their relationship to be at its highest point we've seen in the narrative before it comes crashing down. Blood and Cheese is gonna be seen, in universe, as Aemond's fault, and I want that to really fuck with Aegon for a while. I definitely want the family to stand together in the immediate aftermath of it, like from the moment it happens until whatever funeral they hold with Jahaerys, and I'd really like to see Aemond try to be a comfort to his siblings (as I've written in fic, he should tell Aegon, he should be the one to do it) while dealing with his guilt in the process. But as Aegon, as F&B says, drinks and rages and drinks, I want him to start turning over in his mind the fact that it was Aemond's killing of Luke that prompted this horrible thing to happen to his wife, to his children, and I want him to blame Aemond, to his face. To call him kinslayer, to say that he holds him responsible, and I especially want one of those scenes where person A (Aegon) beats person B (Aemond) into the ground while person B refuses to fight back because they think they deserve it. Mayhaps a bit hokey (even tho this show did the stupid White Hart which is peak hokey) but if that beatdown ends with Aegon weeping like a child about the whole thing because he's really just grieving and needs an outlet, that'd be great too.

And crucially, I want Aegon's involvement at Rook's Rest to be a surprise. The source material is oddly explicit in the fact that, if it was only Meleys vs Vhagar, she'd have a chance, but it was adding in Sunfyre that ended up being her doom. So I want it to be primarily Aemond and Criston's plan, and Aemond's prepared to essentially have a kamikaze attack, taking Meleys and Rhaenys down even if it kills him, and maybe it gets close, and then suddenly, in swoops Aegon on Sunfyre. Unexpected but he's there, and he's saving Aemond from Rhaenys and Sunfyre is incurring grievous wounds in the process, before the final plunge happens that kills Rhaenys and injures Aegon. And then, after the attempts at highs after Storm's End and the deep lows of the Blood and Cheese aftermath and the slow attempt to build back up to something normal, when Aegon swoops in to save his little brother and finds himself incapacitated, that's when he names Aemond his Prince Regent. And that's when Aemond takes it, as seriously as he can, and why he refuses to call himself king in the meantime, because Aegon trusted him with this, after everything, and he won't let his family down ever again. @ HBO I don't have a minimum salary requirement if you're hiring, just saying.

The Aemond and Aegon stuff is my main wishcast for season 2, and I've written a Blood and Cheese fic that's my ideal interpretation for how the immediate aftermath can go (still want that beatdown tho, just later in the aftermath), and I'm hoping for everything else I'm proven either right or semi-right. Haven't touched on everything I could talk about with Aegon; there's some sex stuff I've alluded to in previous posts that I almost included here but this is already long and it's an incredibly niche reading of the character, but if y'all wanna hear it lemme know.

[utilitycaster]

I think something really worth mentioning is that Dorian has pretty much been on the run since parting with Bells Hells in Jrusar - the Crown Keepers had to stay off the roads in their travels to avoid detection. For all that Bells Hells have had a time of it, they have had a few moments of respite, Team Wildemount especially, that Dorian simply hasn't had. And worse, most of the worst attacks have come from within and/or been deceptive ones - obviously Opal being over taken by Lolth, but also Fearne being lured away, Laudna in Zadash, Dominox, and Laudna again. And, of course, his brother, the entire purpose of his departure, has died.

I think the kindest thing Bells Hells can do for him is just make space for those feelings, hopefully address the Delilah situation with the current ritual, and let him figure things out. It might be that he still wants to kill the gods. It might be that he's more worried about specifically saving Opal. It might be that a chance to grieve Cyrus or even to breathe for a moment will change his mind, but it's entirely possible it won't. He was extremely quiet this episode; I'm not even sure he's ready to meet those feelings head-on quite yet.

More generally it's a bit like the god debates earlier in that there are characters I disagree with; but I'm saying this with a lot of knowledge that is not available to them. I don't think Ashton has ever had a worldview I would consider healthy, rational, or realistic, but I also think their cynicism comes from a very real place given their history. I think going on the Liliana assassination mission would have been an extremely fun option, but I get why Imogen wouldn't choose to do that. I (outside the text) don't agree with Dorian on an abstract philosophical level, but he's the character in the story actually being affected by events that happened to him. There's little more joyless than just jumping on to whichever characters embody your own personal positions and deciding they're right; feels a little like Brennan's note on propaganda, honestly, except a la carte cherrypicked rather than homemade. There might be some fun conflict but honestly, I think Dorian's also pretty disgusted with Ludinus in a way not unlike how Ashton feels, so it really may be they spend the remainder of the campaign with the attitude of "I'd gladly kill a god were the opportunity to present itself, but the Exandrian Accord seems to have room for people who feel this way but hate Ludinus more." An ideological argument, but not a practical one.

[eevee-genshin-blog]

How'd This Happen?! Pt.2

Holy- I wasn't expecting everyone to like this; But thanks for the support! Please enjoy this part two of the story!

You stared at the now knocked out Razor. You maybe shouldn't have used a mix of Geo and Electro to knock him out... Now you felt bad, Razor wasn't one of your mains, but you did max out friendship with him. Wait a damn minute... What if this is like that one idea you read on Tumbler?! Where the higher Friendship the character had a better chance of recognizing you! That would give you at least one or two safe people per Nation!!

You're getting off track.. You shake your head and walk over to Razor, and sniff him, you couldn't rely on your human form since, one you didn't have clothes, and two you didn't want to mess up anything; After all... You liked being free and chaotic.

You huff and headbutted Razor, as hard as you could do. It didn't wake him up, but it left a bruise on him. You nudged him, to no avail.

Now how were you gonna fix this... Razor most likely had someone with him, and if they find Razor they'll find you; A black cat with a moon marking on your head, braided fur, blue, silver, and gold paint on you, and a Hilichurl mask on your side...

(The mask wouldn't work on your face, you couldn't see through it, and it was still too big even after the Hilichurls made it so small.)

Yea, this could risk you, but. What's gonna happen? You were starting to get bored now... So a chase would be fun... But you rather not, what if they realized you were the real deal? You didn't want to stay still. But you were starting to dislike the False on the throne.

Actually, you kinda wanted to punch her in the face now... But you'll let them rule for longer. You needed to wake up Razor or move him somewhere. Maybe Cyro would wake him up...

You take a deep breath and gently nuzzle Razor's neck, the boy in question still doesn't wake up. Now, you felt pretty bad about that... Maybe you shouldn't use two elements to knock someone out- A noise behind you, sounding like a person made you panic.

Without thinking, you swirl around and bite someone's leg, Electro bursts once you make contact and the person hits the ground... You let go and freeze... You knocked out Bennett...

Damn it..

You felt bad now... You dragged them into the forest mainly because you didn't want anyone to see them passed out, nor did you like the idea of leaving the to the Hilichurls... So, they were tied to a tree(with a lot of vines), but they're awake, and not every happy... Bennett's eyes fell onto you, "Erm.. H- hey there... Can you help us?"

Holy shit!! He talked to a cat?

You snorted, turning and walking off. "Hey!" "S- Stupid Weird Smelling Cat!"

After a few minutes, you found where you wanted to go.. But you hoped this wouldn't be a game of Dog and Cat... You found a clearing which hopefully was- HOLY SHIT HE'S A TITAN!!

You stared at the huge Blizzard God- Wait, can you still call Andrius a Blizzard god?

You tilt your head and look at him as he speaks, "What's a tiny cat doing here, where you could be hurt?" He had a teasing tone to it... You were confused, but shapeshifted into a wolf to properly speak to him.

"Sup?" You basically greet him, like he wasn't the literal Wolf of the North, the man who embodied wolves. He seemed amused with your antics.

"Soo... Why aren't you shocked?" You asked him, both confused and happy to speak to someone.

Andrius hums, "As a creature of Teyvat, I am connected to the land... I can realize when the Creator stands before me." You tried processing that but gave up. "So... Can you just help me with something real quick...? I can't turn into my human form right now and I need a bit of help..." You ask, somewhat nervously.

Thirty minutes later, you had brought the giant wolf to where Bennett and Razor are. Both looked horrified at the fact that you a tiny cat, summoned one of the Four Winds... You loved it.

Andrius helped you with getting the vines off of the two explorers. Though while they were shocked, you took the chance to leave after thanking Andrius.

You had no regrets... But now you wanted to meet the other Four Winds...

[antianakin]

I found this on Tumblr and wanted to get your thoughts on it. So, that quote was from The Acolyte that the head witch lady says to Sol, and I knew that some would reference Anakin and Order 66 because of that line. But, I wasn't expecting them to mention that scene with Qui-Gonn.

Also, I don't know why some would compare Qui-Gonn to Sol cause Sol was overly emotional. He was impulsive, insistant on Osha to be his padawan, and wasn't composed. Qui-Gonn was more put together, and he spoke with reason even when he was denied by the council. I just can't wrap my head around this. The jedi aren't supposed to be emotionless. They just can't let their emotions mess with their judgment, right? So, why make Sol like this?

I have no idea what the "choice" thing is about lol, I'm not sure I want to know given everything I already know about this show.

I feel like I've made my thoughts about Acolyte fairly clear at this point. It's not shocking that there's a direct reference to Order 66 that condemns the Jedi and blames them for their own genocide. Headland has made herself EXTREMELY clear in basically every interview I've seen of hers where she discusses the Jedi and her ultimate thesis about them in this story. This is why I boycotted it and will never try to watch it even after it ends. Nothing in this show is meant for fans like me because I am not going to find it compelling or interesting or enjoyable to watch. I'm willing to bet every single person who loves Acolyte and thinks it's incredible probably hated the Obi-Wan Kenobi show (a show that was intentionally trying to feel like the Prequels and refuses to place the blame on the Jedi instead of Anakin himself), so whatever. I got mine.

As for Sol and Qui-Gon, they're not basing him on CANON Qui-Gon, they're basing him on FANON Qui-Gon. They obviously think that it's canon Qui-Gon, but it's not. Sol is based on Filoni's Qui-Gon, the Enlightened One, the man who was the embodiment of What a Jedi Should Be specifically because he "defied the Council" and was labeled a "maverick" as a result. People have taken the fact that Qui-Gon questions the Council somewhat regularly and decided this means that Qui-Gon like... understood what being a Jedi meant BETTER than the rest of the Council and that the Council's version of being a Jedi involves suppressing/repressing your emotions, so therefore Qui-Gon doesn't do that.

Some of this is also based on the fact that Qui-Gon believes Anakin was the Chosen One and the Council seems a little skeptical about that, but Qui-Gon is obviously right about this and so the assumption is that Qui-Gon is more connected to the Force or more clued in to its will than the rest of the Council.

This takes the whole "the point of the Prequels is that the Jedi were corrupt" interpretation and the conflict seen between Qui-Gon and the Council and makes some assumptions about Qui-Gon's character as a result. If the Jedi Council represents everything WRONG with the Jedi in this era, and the Council is in opposition to Qui-Gon, then naturally Qui-Gon must be everything RIGHT with the Jedi.

So when you take all of this together, despite the fact that Qui-Gon in TPM is actually pretty reserved himself, it leads to this interpretation of Qui-Gon as someone who just trusts his emotions above everything else and feels them more than any other Jedi does, which leads us to Sol, who is more visibly emotional. Since I haven't watched the show, I can't speak very well to how he's intended to come across, whether those emotions are meant to make us believe he's more enlightened than anybody else or not. I do know that the actor himself has said he explicitly based his character on Qui-Gon, so take from that what you will I guess.

Headland's views on the Jedi would impact her views on the Council as well, and a LOT of Jedi critical fans tend to laud Qui-Gon as some kind of enlightened messiah, so it doesn't shock me that she views Qui-Gon this way herself and made a character in her show that sort-of emulates her interpretation of Qui-Gon. Qui-Gon is VERY important for fans who interpret the Prequels as being about the Jedi's failure, so since Headland is writing a story about the beginning of the Jedi's downfall, it makes sense that she'd include a character based on someone she interprets as the last remnant of "what the Jedi should've been."

[moonselune]

Hello! I know your requests are closed at the moment so please put this at the back of your que for next time if possible! I fell in love with the way you write for halsin and had to ask for a request with him and a short, anxious, red dragonborn tav (dragonborn with a tail plz). I just don't see enough of these anywhere with dragonborns and I think it'd be cute to see with Halsin since dragonborn aren't common. Perhaps tav is also worried that he won't want to date them because they're well. . . a dragonborn and most people don't have great reactions to the species. I think Halsin would be captivated with how light catches their scales, or the crown of horns on their head; perhaps even their eyes that resemble a flaming fire.

Idk I'm sorry if this is a lot or boring 😅 I just need more characters x dragonborn tav's, they don't get enough love.

─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: .☽ . :☆ﾟ. ───

Halsin x Dragonborn!reader | Please ignore the tail

─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: .☽ . :☆ﾟ. ───

The sun was setting over the horizon, casting a warm, golden glow across the camp. You sat on a log near the fire, your ruby scales shimmering in the fading light. The camp was quiet, with the others off preparing for the evening meal or tending to their own tasks. Halsin approached you with his usual calm and serene demeanor.

You had always felt a certain anxiety around others due to your appearance. As a red Dragonborn, your fiery eyes, crown of horns, and imposing scales often elicited fear or discomfort from those around you. Your tail, a prominent and expressive part of your body, often betrayed your emotions, wagging when you were excited or anxious. Tonight, you felt particularly self-conscious, worried that even Halsin, with his deep connection to nature and acceptance of all creatures, might see you as too different.

"Mind if I join you?" Halsin's deep voice broke through your thoughts, and you looked up to see him smiling down at you.

"Of course not," you replied, trying to sound more confident than you felt. "Please, sit."

Halsin settled down beside you, his presence comforting and reassuring. For a moment, you sat in silence, watching the fire dance and flicker. The druid seemed content to simply be in your company, a quality you admired about him.

"You know," Halsin began, his voice thoughtful, "I've always found Dragonborn to be fascinating. Your kind embodies the power and majesty of dragons, yet you possess a kindness and depth that is uniquely your own."

Your tail, despite your best efforts to keep it still, began to wag slightly. Embarrassment flushed through you, and you turned your gaze to the fire to avoid meeting Halsin's eyes.

"I've… never felt that way," you admitted quietly. "Most people seem to see me as intimidating or strange. It's hard not to feel self-conscious."

Halsin reached out and gently placed a hand on your arm, his touch warm and comforting. "I see something entirely different," he said softly. "The way the light catches your scales, it's like watching the sun reflect off a river. And your eyes… they remind me of the embers of a fire, filled with warmth and life."

His words were so sincere, so full of genuine admiration, that you couldn't help but look at him. The intensity of his gaze made your heart race, and your tail wagged more vigorously, betraying your emotions once again.

"I didn't think someone like you would see me that way," you said, your voice barely above a whisper.

Halsin's smile widened, and he chuckled softly. "Why wouldn't I? You are a remarkable being, full of strength and beauty. And that tail of yours," he added with a playful glint in his eye, "is quite endearing."

You felt your face grow hot with embarrassment, but there was also a bubbling happiness inside you that you couldn't contain. "I… I didn't mean for it to wag so much," you mumbled, feeling flustered.

Halsin's laughter was warm and rich, and he gently cupped your cheek with his hand. "Don't be embarrassed. It's a part of who you are, and I find it charming."

For a moment, the world seemed to fade away, leaving just the two of you by the fire. Halsin's touch was gentle, his eyes filled with a tenderness that made your heart swell. You felt a deep sense of acceptance and belonging, something you had always longed for.

"Thank you, Halsin," you said, your voice filled with gratitude. "You don't know how much that means to me."

He leaned in, his forehead gently touching yours, a gesture of closeness and affection. "You are more than you know," he murmured. "And I am honored to be here with you."

As the fire crackled and the night enveloped the camp, you sat together, feeling a newfound connection and understanding. Halsin's words and presence had dispelled your fears, leaving you with a sense of peace and joy you had never thought possible. And as your tail continued to wag, you couldn't help but smile, knowing that you were cherished just as you were.

─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: .☽ . :☆ﾟ. ───

Hope you enjoyed it - Seluney xox

[the-starlight-project]

So I got a list of theories, I am sorry if this is too long to answer, but I had to share my thoughts with you guys.

Shamdow is probably the least aware of everything going on. He seems genuinely confused and concerned about Sonic/Nicky, even when Sonic/Nicky is "new."

Shillver (thanks to whoever came up with this name) knows the most. After all, why would you randomly be on a rooftop standing in the rain and hiding behind a door you got smacked with? Surprised there was no audible sound of a man swearing upon being smacked by a METAL DOOR.

Both of Tails actors are siblings. It was common for some characters to be played by siblings due to similarities with them at young ages. Though based on the photo and the fact these follow the games, these two most likely acted in the Sonic Generations season of this show.

Knuckle's actor is probably the one who constantly needs to keep people on track, and he is probably the one who has the angry writing on that board. I also feel like he is the one who actually takes care of Cheese since chaos are associated with the Master Emerald. It would make sense for Knuckle's actor to still have a slight connection to it, even if he doesn't in real life.

Cassy is for sure Rouge. Shadow and Rouge were both introduced in the same game, so it would make sense for both to be introduced the same season. I am going to guess she is also Shamdow's roommate, mainly because it seems like the two would live together before they get into acting.

Cream's actor is probably the least seen, but most liked of the cast. She definitely seems like she embodies Cream herself, whether she is acting or not.

Blaze's actor might know part of what is going on, but not fully. Blaze and Silver do have a somewhat close relation in the game they appeared in, and afterwards it was more of Deja Vu due to weird Sonic Game timeline stuff, so Blaze's actor may know something because of Shillver.

Amy's actor has a scar on her cheeks. I have a feeling she accidentally got it on set, since her character does weird a hammer, and I am sure some balance issues may happen time to time, resulting in a few falls.

Eggman's actor is probably the sweetest man alive, or the most evil man you'll ever meet. Either way, he appeared in the first few pages and is for sure going to be seen later.

Sonic/Nicky isn't "new" as the studio suggests, they just use the "new" story to make everyone believe he was replaced. I am going to guess that if Sonic/Nicky has been there the entire time since the shows creation, the studio had some really clever ways to hide stuff. Especially if Sonic/Nicky is still a teenager after 30+ years.

Lastly, if Sonic Generations is a season, then who was the Classic Sonic actor? Does Sonic/Nicky have any siblings and doesn't know/realize it, or is it just some random blue hedgehog actor that the studio randomly found and knew would make for a believeable younger Sonic?

I gotta say, we're both so sad you're anonymous right now - this was an awesome string of theories and we wanted to give you props!

I can't answer all of them in depth, as you probably guessed, but I'll go ahead and confirm what I can right now!

Shamdow is definitely the least aware, and Shillver (as of right now) is the most aware of the characters that have been introduced.

I can't even make a snarky comment on this or anything, you just hit ALL of the Tails portion of this theory on the head. They are indeed siblings, and both did participate in the Generations season!

Knuckles' actor was definitely the one writing on the board, but I can't tell you anything else about him for now... except for the fact that he doesn't take care of Cheese LMAO

Cassy is definitely Rouge. They aren't roommates, but they were technically new friends when they were introduced. They met during the casting for SA2.

Cream is seen the least for a reason.

Blaze's actor doesn't really know what's going on, but I'd say they're suspicious. Also, they're not too close with Shillver, but they're friends enough.

All of the section about Amy's actor is correct! She did get that little scar on set, during the filming of Sonic CD! I'm sure you can guess where.

Eggman's actor(s) is definitely ... a man. He's nice! He's nice.

The studio definitely has some really clever (and morally dubious) ways of hiding things. There have been several occasions where more extreme measures were needed, though.

Classic Sonic definitely has an actor! He's his own entity, has his own life (and is connected to Amy's actor in his own ways). They aren't siblings or anything (though that's not to say that Sonic doesn't have any).

[halflucidramblings]

I am so not normal about Mario and Luigi as characters. I think everyone should strive to be like them, because they really are great role models imho.

Mario is a protective, helpful, courageous go getter who smiles and yahoos at anything thrown at him. He never thinks twice about jumping into action if it means he can be of help to someone. He's willing to help, no matter how big or small the task. Not only that, he's humble in the way that he doesn't let his fame get to his head.

Luigi is the more compassionate and emotional one of the two. And in the way that he gets the job done in spite of his fears, you could argue that he's braver than his brother. And though he lives in Mario's shadow, he has all the love, admiration, and respect in the world for his brother and doesn't hold it against him.

Please allow me to go feral real quick...

I love these freaking plumbers so damn much, I am not okay. I would give anything for a chance to meet them in real life. They should exist in real life. It's not fair that they don't. I've wanted to be held by them since I first picked up Mario Kart DS at the age of seven. They were always with me as I grew older. And as I grew, I've come to appreciate them more and more.

You could learn so many lessons from their journeys, whether it be in a mainline game, an rpg adventure, or the movie. They teach us to be kind and helpful. They show us that it's okay to be scared, and that you can overcome those fears that hold you down. They show that the insurmountable odds are more manageable with someone by your side.

It's really incredible how so much life was breathed into these characters who started off as nothing but blank slates. These characters who were never meant to be anything have come to embody kindness, bravery, determination, compassion, and so much more. Is it any wonder why they're as beloved as they are?

They're so simple. Really, you could argue that they just embody generic heroic characteristics. But they're larger than life. They've become an inspiration to generations, and I wish that more people would recognize their worth as role models. More people should be like Mario and Luigi.

[infriga]

Some random Egghead meta about Vegapunk because he was on my brain today for some reason and I just wanna get it out of my head:

Honestly Vegapunk fascinates me as a character. I feel his existence as an individual gets overshadowed a lot by his existence as an important part of the overarching series/arc plot, but there's actually a lot of interesting things to think about regarding him as a person too.

One aspect that I probably think about the most is the mole plot regarding his satellites. Oda deliberately had him make several supposedly "negative" satellites, one being straight up Vegapunk's EVIL persona, and yet the one who truly turns out to be the traitor isn't Lilith, it's York. And sure, on the surface it's easy to say that it wouldn't be Lilith because that would be too obvious, but if Oda was just going to go for the surprise factor with this twist he would have had it be one of the more "positive" Satellites like Shakka (good) or Pythagoras (wisdom). In fact they were popular choices for theory crafters when the fandom was trying to predict who it would be. But he didn't go with that because the twist was based more on Vegapunk's actual character and actually makes a LOT of sense when we learn more about who he is as a person.

York is usually called Vegapunk's "greed" persona, but she's meant to represent more of a mix of greed, desire, avarice, hunger, appetite, even passion, etc, hence why her name is written in kanji as 欲 (yoku) which can mean all those things. With that understanding it's more understandable why her initial depiction comes across more like sloth and/or gluttony, after all her "job" is just to eat, sleep, and poop for Vegapunk, which may seem like a strange job for the "greedy" persona, but does fit the "appetite" or "hunger" aspect of the term yoku.

Obviously this comes with the benefit of hindsight but I actually kind of wish translators had translated her role to something more like desire or appetite instead of greed in most instances, since part of what makes the reveal a twist is that she really is more of an embodiment of "greed" as it's typically viewed despite appearing at first to be a less dangerous form of the concept. We're lead to believe that she's not as ambitious as she really is.

Ultimately I think the thing she represents is desire itself as a whole, unchecked by things like logic or wisdom or conscience. And knowing what we know now about Vegapunk's backstory, it makes sense why she would be the one to turn traitor, because Vegapunk's greatest weakness has always been his unchecked desire. I know some people might interpret it as being his naivety, but naivety on its own isn't a flaw or a weakness, someone can be naive and still make productive choices if they're smart and diligent and let their conscious and logic temper their first impulses. Naivety isn't always automatically a complete lack of wisdom or intelligence, it's a lack of experience, and that CAN be compensated for. Vegapunk didn't realize the extent of the government's cruelty, or the dangerous potential of his knowledge and technology in the wrong hands at the start because he hadn't yet experienced it first hand and he didn't try to compensate for that potential risk. If he'd tempered his desire for progress, for knowledge, for advancement, and exercised his intelligence and conscience, he likely would have realized the potential risks from the start and likely wouldn't have relied entirely on giving the government the benefit of the doubt because he would have prioritized being responsible with his abilities. He might have at the very least done more to gain leverage and have proper oversight over how his inventions would be used. This is something he eventually learned, as seen with stuff like his secret broadcast, but it came from hindsight after the damage was done, rather than from foresight.

A lack of foresight can be an issue, but what really drove Vegapunk's actions was, again, his desires overriding his common sense. The government was his meal ticket to the things he wanted, and he reasoned it away by saying that the means would justify the ends, up until he had to witness what those horrible horrible means really were with his own eyes.

Vegapunk's satellites don't only represent things like good, evil, wisdom, violence, intelligence, and desire, they specifically represent those aspects of HIM, and for all his flaws Vegapunk is clearly not an evil man. So it makes sense that Lilith would not actually be all that evil. And he is not a particularly violent man, which is why Atlas is not actually particularly violent at least in terms of the One Piece universe. Heck, Nami is arguably more violent than her. But Vegapunk IS very greedy. Not in the classic "wants to be rich and powerful" sense, except in terms of how riches and power would help him reach his true goals. He's covetous, he has an appetite, he is driven by desire. It is as much a strength as it is a weakness, it's why he has made so much amazing technology, and why he looked into stuff like the void century despite the risks, but it's also why he chose the government as his benefactors over the revolutionary army, it's why he built so many dangerous things without thinking of the consequences of who might weild them or how they might be used to harm instead of help. He always needed more. He needed more money so he could fund more projects, he needed more projects so he could make more discoveries, he needed more discoveries so he could gain more knowledge, and so on and so on. This is of course represented quite aptly by his ever expanding brain, not unlike the common imagery of an ever expanding stomach that represents gluttony. He may have meant well with how he wanted to use the knowledge and discoveries and technology, but, well, you know what they say about good intentions.

As he grew older, eventually his experience overcame his naivety, his wisdom and good conscience overcame his desire, and he finally stopped seeking more above all else and started trying to mitigate the damages and make up for the consequences of his actions. But York? York doesn't have that wisdom or conscience, she's just the desire, unchecked. And Vegapunk's remaining naivety ended up aimed at himself, when he didn't recognize the danger of that aspect of himself.

So with this full picture in mind, it makes total sense why York was the turncoat, not someone like Lilith or Atlas, because Lilith is only as evil as Vegapunk is, and Atlas is only as violent as Vegapunk is, and unfortunately, York is just as hungry for more as Vegapunk is.

[batsarebetterthanpeople]

Honestly tho the formula for OFMD antagonists is creating many little villains (little villains being villains who are their and are antagonistic forces but are not the bbeg like sauron in LotR) who are representative of and exacerbate internal conflicts within leading characters and then when that leading character resolves that internal conflict the little villain dies like a bitch. So the smallest villains stick around for one episode like the French people who represent Ed's feeling that he's not good enough for fine things, and die like bitches when Stede tells Ed that he's worth it, and Jack who represents the toxically masculine pirate culture Ed was forced to rise to the top of and Ed's unspoken past and exists to exacerbate the communication issues between Ed and Stede, and he dies like a bitch when Ed chooses to go back and save Stede from the navy instead of sticking with what's familiar.

Now the bigger (but still little) villains in season 1 were Izzy and the Badmintons (who I'm counting as one because they serve the same function). To borrow a phrase from an old Philosophy tube video, both Izzy Hands and the Badmintons are Mr. Not Good Enough. For those of you unfamiliar Mr. Not Good Enough is what it says on the tin. It's the little voice inside your head telling you that you're an insane unpleasant shell of a man or a weak soft handed fat coward. Izzy has a hold over Ed that doesn't seem to make sense when you consider how little Ed seems to care about him. Nigel haunts Stede despite the fact that Stede admits he doesn't feel bad about killing him. That's because their meta textual functions are to embody the characters insecurities.

There's dozens of things that communicate this to us. Izzy and the Badmintons virtually disappear from Stede and Ed's life when they're together, Izzy barely interacts with Ed in episode 5 and only interacts with him when Stede's life is at active risk in episode 6 and 9 leaving the revenge completely for episodes 7 and 8. And when Ed has been abandoned and is looking for a reason why he asks Izzy to bring him tea. When Ed is depressed Izzy shows up to make a death threat and tell Ed that no one will ever like him if he's not preforming Blackbeard. The Badmintons just spring up whenever Stede is having doubts about being a real pirate or whether running away with Ed is the right thing to do but when Stede is delusionally confident like in the republic of pirates they're absent. After Nigel dies he literally becomes Stede's mean internal monologue and the elder who gives Stede talk therapy literally says that Nigel is Mr Not Good Enough.

At the end of the season Chauncey Badminton dies like a bitch after convincing Stede to return home. And when Stede returns home he overcomes is insecurities about being an absent father and a terrible husband, he comes out as gay to Mary and embraces that part of himself which the Badmintons had bullied him for in school. His behavior and the response to it from the other characters tell him and the audience that he doesn't belong in rich people world anymore he belongs in pirate world. He overcomes every insecurity that Mr Not Good Enough had been spitting at him since we the audience met him and probably a lot longer. At the end Stede hopefully and with delusional confidence rows off directionless into the sea relying on his now light heart to lead him to the love of his life

Ed, conversely, loses to Mr Not Good Enough. He succumbs to all his doubts he lets Izzy have his way. He puts the mask of his old life back on and numbly goes through the motions thinking he can never be anything else. The reason Izzy is the only villain left standing at the end of the season is because Ed's conflict has not been resolved.

Based on this my prediction for season 2 is that we'll get new villains based on new internal conflicts. Izzy will continue functioning in his role as Mr Not Good Enough. Stede could either get a new Mr. Not Good Enough based on new insecurities. Or he could spend the whole season mad with delusional confidence, which would be a vibe. There will almost certainly be new little villains. And all of these little villains will die like bitches. When Ed and Stede get together and Ed overcomes his imposter syndrome, his fear of being a monster who's unworthy of love, and his fears about being as good as it gets, Izzy will die like a bitch.

This isn't to say that there isn't a navy man who Stede went to highschool with hunting Stede because he killed his brother. It's not to say that Ed doesn't have a mean little gremlin for a first mate who sold him out to the British. The great thing about fiction is that characters can fill narrative niches and metaphorical niches at the same time. So discussing Izzy's or Badminton's relationships to other characters or their internal lives is absolutely on the table while this meta is also true. I think that my prediction for Izzy's fate and the fate of any other Mr Not Good Enough that gets introduced for Stede or even Jim or Oluwande potentially, I'm not writing that off, the inevitable end of their character arc when their protag solves their internal conflict, doesn't detract from them as a character able to interact with the world that they live in it just places them in the narrative with a role to play in the story.

This meta needs a bit of a bibliography here's the philosophy tube video I got Mr Not Good Enough from. It's from before Abigail transitioned and contains her dead name but she has said she's comfortable with people referencing her old stuff and this is a little fandom meta she's never gonna see so I don't feel bad about linking it

[piosplayhouse]

honestly wrt the queer poll sometimes i do feel like the reason scum villain gets the "dirty trashfire" treatment is because binghe is so agressively bisexual and that's disgusting to the ~our pure sexless yaoi hualian~ crowds who want their ships to be one The Man Gender and one The Uke Gender and for nobody to need enemas

Hmmm interesting ideas 🤔 even though biphobia is pretty bad in fandom still though I don't really think that plays a super huge role considering I don't think that many people actually know Binghe is canonically bisexual weirdly enough (obviously if you headcanon him otherwise it's fine but I do personally think it says something that Shen Qingqiu, famous for such hits as "he must be asexual since he hasn't married any women at age 20" does directly say he's bisexual).

I'm thinking the purity culture plays a big role though, even if people don't think about it that way. As in, I don't think everyone saying it's a dirty trash fire is saying it because they hate gay sex (though that is a substantial crowd of opinion) but because instead because it's a comedic commentary on sex, over sexualization in media, and objectively poor-quality literature/erotica. Because it jokes so much about objectification and fetishization through narrators who somewhat embody those traits, people that think that has no place in media in general automatically discount it as a bad representation, and because it's a comedy, people don't feel the need to look under the hood and read deeply for the actual meta commentary. I also mentioned this briefly before, but in terms of when SV gets friendly fire from other danmei fandoms, I think the comedy sometimes goes over a lot of western readers' heads even if they're somewhat familiar with how translated Chinese text reads. Like they can forgive somewhat awkward phrasing in the face of the grand, sweeping narratives of mdzs and tgcf and whatnot, but in the more character-focused sv, it becomes more difficult to parse and more likely to come off as "bad" because translated text can come off as weird sounding to native speakers just by nature! This isn't really anyone's fault, but since sv is much more clear and frank with its language and literary devices (though still pretty sophisticated imo, just not to the point of being a great epic or whatnot), this becomes more inexcusable to people.

[eraofkalki]

Well what a wonderful thing to wake up to so. . .

Alright. This man. This silly sorcerer that has resonated with me since the start of the game and that obsession nearly doubled down when Nightbringer came out.

He's one of the more multifaceted among the characters. Cunning and wise yet sly and playful, always putting on a smile or that near-sarcastic frown when things don't go as he pleases. Look not saying that the others aren't as interesting—we'd have plenty of room to argue—though I believe that Solomon reigns supreme as being one of the most interesting characters to write for.

How come?

Well. . . a lot could happen.

You may be given a hypothetical scenario: think specific like running away in a getaway car after spending all your money at a casino, or browsing the atlas hidden in the depths of the library as your first date. When you picture those, you may think of let's say Mammon or Satan, or whoever you think would absolutely fit the vibe.

Here's the thing: while you may let any character have their moment with these given prompts, there's no deny that- "hey. wtf. these can apply to Solomon."

It's just.

Wow.

He's not necessarily a one-size-fits-all character, but his personality and dialogue alone quickly layouts millions of possibilities for whatever his character has going for. And that is not yet mentioning his serious moments. Or so his mysterious past as people continue on to speculate about it.

He's so tragedy coded that it's not even funny. Silly man with a dark bloody past?

Which brings to another point- while of course he is a silly ass sorcerer trickster to an extent: when he's serious, he's absolutely fucking serious. <- this person is partly tired when anyone excuses a character's carelessness and naivety due to their trickster persona. And this is not one time as well- Solomon is half to fully serious in his words. While he says it in playful banter, it's the full truth.

And this isn't even adding the fact that man is a fucking simp. Knees on the grown, head hung low, kissing the ground you grace your presence with type of devotion. The embodiment of a starstruck lover, from less likely friends to unlikely partners. At first I was skeptical when people gush over how "domestic" Solomon acts in OM:NB but- man. I got hooked into the bandwagon and now another white-haired guy has me by the neck and heel.

This is mostly how I base my take on his character when writing anything with him: given the information just as dialogue and lore tidbits. It absolutely doesn't help that Moni over here reminds me of my first lo—

That's all for now, hehe!! I have a lot more to say about this guy buuut, that's for a later time :))

i think the multifaceted nature is exactly the most interesting part about him. i sometimes think that there could be any situation in the game and the devs could make solomon react in multiple ways, and i could still be like "oh yeah that makes sense for him to say that/do that" for all of them (not like every single possible situation but you get what i mean i hope). because. he's like that.

his sincerity is one of the traits i admire the most about him. yes, he tends to wave off more personal questions but i don't think that he's any less sincere or honest about the things he does express just because he's reluctant to divulge too much about himself (the mystery makes him hotter hello)

also is it just me or i have these random moments of realising that this guy's like. insane. and he's toning it down by alot. you could write a list of insane shit he's done and stare in awe at how insane the shit he's done is but like. he acts like this guy. this silly little guy who happens to be crazy powerful but then u realise that he's CRAZY powerful and he could be so much more...harmful and sinister if he wants to be. i know this applies to the others too but like, it's just more interesting for him (AND simeon, they're just two Guys who i think are Actually OP) than for others because it's already like known?? for others?? ig? like, it's sort of ingrained in us but when it's him you just have these lil moments of wait woah yeah

idk what im saying im half asleep

and all that + how he's fully, desperately, madly whipped for mc. he'll give them the universe if they ask for a star but this mf will stay on the sidelines because "oh i don't want to interr-" shut up you soggy waffle ive been waiting with your ring for the past 4 hours and my hands hurt

anyways

everyone live laugh and solomon

[ragnarozzys]

tumblr user ragnarozzy you have to answer me seriously. what are the classpects of the gang from always sunny in philadelphia, in your opinion

oh boy. WE'VE BEEN DISCUSSING THIS AS WELL so ok. you can get my thoughts on classpects and as a bonus, also the blood colors i think each of the gang would be if they were trolls.

charlie (bronze): bard of space mac (jade): maid of heart dennis (indigo): prince of mind dee (indigo): knight of doom frank (purple): heir of rage

charlie is the lowblood of the gang and that's why the rest of them would feel like he's automatically assigned to "charlie work". he's a bronze so he can commune and handle animals like rats, cats, and birds. bards are known to be the WILD CARD in a session which charlie firmly is!! he can make or break a session like the way he handles the bar. he keeps the space around him small (being difficult to get out of philly or shrinking the space of his apartment into a studio by blocking off rooms) and while generally laidback, he has shown a routine and a resistance to change. bonus, he’s also creatively inclined (various songs, the musical, sewing, etc).

mac is a jade since a lot of their character arcs can revolve around repression (which mac has Plenty of). purple was also considered for his religious fanaticism but mac wouldn't be that high on the hemospectrum imo. mac is pretty solidly a heart player to me. he is obsessed with his own identity and sense of self. as a maid, he lets others dictate that for him whether its his dad, dennis, the gang, etc. is he the religious guy, the big guy, the gay guy, the ireland episodes also touch a lot on this. he feels every emotion strongly. very heart player.

dennis and dee had a privileged upbringing and think themselves better than others bc of it, considering themselves part of the noble elite (despite having little to no real influence). they're indigo for sure and as twins, should be the same caste.

dennis immediately is a prince of mind to me. he ghosts heart because his decisions to manipulate people and mess with their heads is powered by his own emotional motivations and self (largely for his ego). he insists on standing out, strongly believes that his sense of logic and reason is above all others, and is not afraid to cut down other people in calculating ways to believe he's right.

dee is kind of a hard one to pin down but we settled around on knight of doom. knights tend to be insecure with themselves and hide it with confidence and an obsessive effort to make themself more useful. dee is not a stranger to doom and negativity and moreso, has weaponized it for her benefit, even introducing doom to others like cricket or the guy who called her his "rock bottom".

frank, as the one with the most power and pull in the group using his business status and money while also being insanely unpredictable, is a purpleblood. dude is all rage aspect to me, he embodies anger and fear. he's stubborn, skeptical, quick tempered, easily paranoid at the drop of a hat and manipulates others with his own fearmongering and falsities.

I HOPE THIS WAS A SERIOUS ENOUGH ANSWER this is something that i've been pondering about with my friends since like 2022

[425599167]

Since Rings of Power introduced Tom Bombadil in a way that gave me mixed feelings, I want to talk about him. For movie-only people, Tom is a character in The Lord of the Rings who gets ignored in adaptations because he doesn't really move the plot along, a decision I accept, but he's important thematically.

When the four hobbits begin their journey, they need to avoid the ringwraiths by passing through a dangerous old forest. They're lost, the environment is stifling and the trees are trying to trap and kill them. They're in serious trouble, but when all hope seems gone, along comes Tom Bombadil to help! He's a fun-loving guy living out in the woods, having fun, singing songs, loving life. He's also as old as the world, completely immortal, too powerful to be threatened by anything in this spooky forest, and oh yeah he's totally immune to the influence of the Ring. He has many names given by many peoples, and all of them in some way translate as "eldest". Tom Bombadil is just what he's called now, it's not his real name, depending on what a real name even means to the first being in the world. He's a merry fellow. Bright blue his jacket is, and his boots are yellow.

People complain about Tom not fitting with the rest of the world or story, but that's deliberate. Tom lives with his wife Goldberry, who is also supernatural but not the same type of being as whatever her husband is, and they are up to some fey shit. The hobbits are happy for the help, but Tom confuses them as much as he confuses readers because who is he? What is he? What the fuck is going on? When Frodo asks Goldberry "Who is Tom Bombadil?" she answers "He is."

Once the hobbits are in the house of Tom Bombadil (which just happens to have four spare beds and four spare seats at the table) they tell him the story of why they're traveling, and he asks to see the Ring. Even at this early stage, the Ring is trying to control Frodo, yet Frodo pulls it out and hands it over easily. When Tom puts the Ring on, nothing happens, then he does a sleight-of-hand trick with the Ring and gives it back to Frodo without any trouble. Not only is Tom unaffected, he can see Frodo when the latter wears the Ring and becomes invisible to everyone else. The reason Frodo could give the Ring to Tom might be because, since Tom cares nothing for it, letting Tom hold it doesn't count as giving it up.

Despite his reputation for obliviousness, there are hints of Tom knowing more than he lets on. Tom mentions being alive "before the Dark Lord came from outside", pays close attention when the ringwraiths are mentioned, and will dispose of local wights if they cause trouble, so he is aware of the evil forces at work even if he isn't actively fighting them. When Frodo puts on the Ring and tries to sneak away, Tom tells him to take the Ring off as his "hand's more fair without it", a comment I find very interesting. He dislikes the Ring, even if only because he considers it a gaudy accessory. Fitting his passive behavior, he didn't go out looking for the hobbits, but he says he expected them to come and waited for them, so he has some kind of interest in their journey.

Tom is the subject of many theories as to his nature, but I don't understand the confusion. To me, Tom is obviously an embodiment of the land. He's as old as the world because he is the world. The Ring can't affect him any more than it affected the river Isildur lost it in. To destroy Tom, Sauron would first need to conquer all other lands, to already rule over the world before snuffing out its personification. Tom is the world without any influence of Sauron: lively, happy, full of song, but a little eerie while possessing powers which are hard to define. That's why he's encountered so close to the Shire, and why the hobbits stay in his household before meeting Aragorn and heading towards Rivendell. Tom is the spirit of what they are trying to save, it makes sense for him to stand at the journey's threshold.

Tom is capable of these feats because he lacks any desire to control. Gandalf opposes Sauron, but that desire would make him susceptible to the Ring's influence, just like all the other characters opposing Sauron. They want to do good, but Sauron can twist any desire into a need to dominate. This is also why Tom can't help carry the Ring; if he began to care about it, he would no longer be immune. Tom's defining characteristic is minding his own damn business to a supernatural degree, something I'm not sure if Rings of Power understands. Tom is not a guy who makes or fits into plans.

I do like his song in RoP, though.

[thewiz9062]

[Smiling Critters]

It's yaoi day (aug 1) and the people have spoken

Fic under the cut <3 (can be considered platonic)

"I usually encourage your pacing because it means you're thinking for once, but it's a bit annoying at the moment."

-

Kickin' looks at bubba with pure exhaustion. "Shut up, you're not helping anyway!" Earlier, he and Bubba had invited dogday out for a day in town, just the 3 of them. But of course, Dogday never goes anywhere without Catnap nowadays. Ever since school ended and summer began, Dogday brought the tired boy with him to each of the critter meetings. Honestly, he can't believe he forgot.

So now here Kickin' and Bubba are, remaking plans. Don't get him wrong, he definitely thinks that catnap can come along, he has nothing against him. He just.....knows next to nothing about him. And kickin' knows that he wouldn't go out to places HE wouldn't like so why would he make catnap? These are his first frienda that aren't Bubba in a while, he can't really afford to mess this up. Currently, they're making off things that might be ill-suited and due to Bubba, things that are-

"I tried to help, but you keep shooting down my ideas! Rocket skates are an AMAZING idea."

-questionably safe and/or illegal.

Kickin' throws himself on the nearest bean bag and groans. "We're getting nowhere..."

"You've never panicked like this before about a simple outing and....speaking of which, dogday and catnap should be heading out since it's almost time already," Bubba nonchalantly points out.

"WHAT."

"Yup! And you know what? We," Bubba points between the two of them and drags kickin' downstairs and out the door "Are gonna wing it."

-

Truth be told, kickin' thinks catnap is cool.

Yeah, sue him, but catnap seems to be the embodiment of the persona he's made for himself. He gives off this broody vibe, never talks (Bubba theorized that it might be condition, but he has no confirmation so , and just blends into the background.

Blending into the background is the best part. It keeps the bullies away.

So as Bubba spots a mini convention and Kickin' shares his reluctant distaste of such a place, Bubba places a bag of money ("Your idea of an outing is probably shopping or spending a lot of some sort") into his hands and drags dogday to the convention, leaving Kickin' and Catnap to do their own thing.

Which leaves Kickin' awkwardly avoiding eye contact between him and Catnap.

'Wow I'm unprepared.'

-

Despite the way the chicken across from him attempts to hide it, Catnap can see that he was interested in the convention, considering his eyes wander to it every now and then. He doesn't know why he would lie to Bubba, because from what Dogday has told him about them, they seem close enough to know each other's interests.

Either way, he doesn't have any other things he wants to do today, so he grabs kickin's arm and points to the convention.

"You wanna go in there?" Kickin' questions. "I mean it's probably pretty boring in there, Bubba likes that kind of stuff." Kickin' has the face of a liar on. It doesn't matter, because as kickin' finishes speaking, Catnap is already walking towards it. Kickin' catches up to him after complaining, and the two enter.

"So, uh, can you...talk? Sorry if that's rude, but I'm kinda curious." Kickin' attempts an ice breaker.

He wants to, but he can't. He can talk to dogday in a private space after their bonding, but not in public, so Catnap just shakes his head.

"Oh, got it."

As they walk further in, they see brightly colored stalls and people in costume. Catnap doesn't know any of the characters displayed, but looking at Kickin's look of awe and adoration, it seems he does. He nudges him, and points at a stall themed after a man with a red and black suit with katanas on his back, hoping to get his question across.

"Him? That's Deadpool, he's a mercenary, pretty funny and cocky but he gets the job done." Kickin' moves his gaze to the other character that the stall Is themed after. "And that's wolverine, the leader of a group called the X-Men. Both of them are way less popular than other heroes, well, more like a anti-hero for Deadpool, but they're cool. They're getting a movie together soon, should probably watch it." Catnap absorbed every word of his explanation, and at the end of it, kickin' casually pauses, then jolts as he realizes how much he just explained for someone who doesn't like this kind of thing.

Kickin' starts sputtering a rushed explanation and Catnap notices he looks mildly scared. He doesn't know why he hides the fact he likes these things, but he doesn't like the implications. Catnap gives him a smile and pats his shoulder, then looks at the merch available on the stall. He picks up two pins, and gives one to kickin'.

"You...wanna get these? I- okay." Catnap watches as Kickin' goes up to the merchant (In... A Deadpool costume, he notes, proud of himself for paying attention) and purchases the pins.

Catnap makes a miserable attempt at placing the pin on his sweater, until Kickin' notices and offers to help. After Kickin' correctly places the pin on his sweater, Catnap gives him a thumbs up, and Kickin's face brightens.

Catnap points to another stall that catches his eye, and they both head over, Kickin' explaining every character and reference for Catnap.

In catnap's opinion, whoever made the boy scared to share his interests must have been visually impaired, as he thinks he looks much more natural in this environment. He's always noticed the 'cool guy' persona he keeps up with the other critters, so it's nice to see him enjoying himself. He found himself enjoying learning about these things that he's missed out on, even as going as far as purchasing a book or two to read at 'home.'

Eventually, the two boys are not only out of money and overed in merch, they're also late, as Kickin' gets a notification from Bubba asking about his whereabouts. They quickly rush out, and are met with surprise from Dogday and Bubba, as they assumed they went somewhere else. Sadly, Kickin' and Bubba are nearly late for dinner and have to go home fast, quickly saying their goodbyes.

As he and Dogday walk towards their respective residences, he reminiscences about the day, anticipating the next time they go out like this.

-

(Extra)

Bubba: I thought you were done with comics~ Someone change your mind?

Kickin: *flustered* You're dead to me.

[End]

-

GASSSSHSHSHSHHS MY BELOVEDS

It's not really romancy and can be considered platonic if ya don't like the ship but hhahwjehss

[ultranerdygirl]

idk if we should give specific fandoms in Ask game: unpopular opinion edition but hmm 🤍 for sanders sides and ❤ for gravity falls?

🤍: Which character is not as morally bad as everyone else seems to think?

Sanders Sides: I wanna say Virgil bc I've been seeing a lot of hate for him recently and I will NOT stand for people slandering my favorite boy. He's literally the embodiment of anxiety, cut him some slack. But also...Patton, I think?? People have given him a lot of guff for everything that went down during SVS: Redux and don't seem to realize that morality in itself is multi-faceted and flexible a lot of the time. He was confused and hurting. And going back to Virgil-- obviously he's gonna be pissed at Patton for being friendly with Janus. The Light Sides were so hard on Virge at the beginning of the series because he was "bad" and "evil", and now... well now, I can understand why Virgil is upset. He's probably hurt because it took a LOT less time for the Light Sides (specifically Patton) to "accept" Janus as a part of Thomas and Janus didn't have to undergo as much emotional growth to be accepted. And we don't know Virge's whole history with the Dark Sides. There could've been a time in C!Thomas' life where Janus could've been lying to Virgil a lot and causing his anxiety to go haywire (gaslighting comes to mind-- and I say this as someone who loves Janus-- he could've made Virgil feel worse by trying to deny his existence at all. "Of course Thomas isn't anxious. It's all in his head.")

...holy fuck, I had a lot of Sanders Sides thoughts. It's been a hot minute since I've thought super hard about that series. XD

❤: Which character do you think is the most egregiously mischaracterized by the fandom?

Gravity Falls: Honestly, both Mabel and Dipper. And a majority of their decisions/reactions to stuff can be explained by the fact that they are twelve years old, going through puberty, and siblings don't always get along. They're gonna argue, they're gonna hurt each other's feelings. It happens. They are also SUPER traumatized by the end of the series and that also contributes to their paranoia and some of their inherent selfishness. My feelings on this aren't as complex as the Sanders Sides ones, tbh.

Thank you for asking!! :D

[nautilusopus]

Breeds of Kill Six Billion Demons fans

Roleplayer: Largely harmless, just here to have fun, have been following the comic since day one. Mildly irritating to wade through when you look through the comics for actual discussion about the story, since a lot of their posts are shaped by headcanon by necessity. Usually chill.

Lore Bro: Similar brand of annoying to the roleplayers in that they assume their headcanons to be canon and act accordingly, but infinitely less fun to read because they don't even have the courtesy of pretending to be a dragon first and will not back the fuck off when proven wrong. Will get very, very angry when their headcanons turn out to be wrong. Are here primarily for the lore in fact. Become even more upset when it becomes clear Abbadon isn't and consider it a failure of writing.

Twitter Brainrot: Are looking to this comic to deliver Good Representation and Moral Truths. Very angry that Steven Universe advocates genocide and war crimes. Continually shocked when a trans character makes a bad, selfish decision, or a pee-oh-cee slices someone in half with a very big sword and intestines fly everywhere and they choke to death on their own blood. Wants you very badly to know that this behaviour is NOT okay or healthy in real life! <3

Comment Poets: Try to say deep one-liners in a similar voice to the Song of Maybe. At best state the obvious. At worst, directly embody that Dril tweet about there beign zero difference between good and bad things. Whoa....... maybe the bad guys had a point........ makes you think............ Can't knock them too hard though because they're some of the only people in the comments actually directly trying to directly engage with the comic and its subject matter! Good for you guys, keep up the good work, maybe work on the delivery.

Immigrated Warhammer 40k Fan: Just here for the swords and gunmechs. Might be a bit lost but haven't figured out this is a Wendy's yet. "i don't like how you demonised these god emperor cops >:( liberal agenda much??? why are there so many gays in here for no reason? good job ruining your comic you soycuck"

Horny On Main: Home of sexual. Know a good pair of tits when they see them, regardless of whether they're attached to a buff despot with sad dad energy or a desiccated mummy. Invaluable members of the community, braver than any marine. Thank you for your service. #AllisonsAreolaTruth

The Rhyming Wax Head: The only cool roleplayer. Only broke character the one time and it was fully justified