#so i am.. going to try to do him justice. more manipulative & chaotic. but still sweet ofc i just love him a lot

[smallestapplin]

Could I ask for Lian, Sabi and Rei playing tag with their big sib MC? Everyone is just laughing hysterically trying to dodge each other until Rei tags Lian and surprise surprise he’s a literal track star and can somehow out run everyone and makes a beeline for MC and they’re simultaneously laughing/screaming out of fear trying to dodge smol cowboy menace😂😂 I just love chaotic sibling moments like these

Hopefully I can do this some justice!

-

-

You had finally gotten some time off surveying and wanted to spend it with your little siblings.

Each clan leader allowed their youngest wardens to join you in this adventure, seeing as how it’s been a while since they have had anytime with you or the others.

You all got together in the wooded area beside Lord Kleavor’s seat.

Everything started off as a nice little picnic like get together. You were telling them crazy stories about you latest excursion and they were telling you about what they did.

Rei trying to calm a frantic professor over some silly pokedex entry.

Lian about how Lord Kleavor picked him up by the back of his shirt and didn’t let him go.

Sabi didn’t have much going on aside from scaring all of the pearl settlement by coming in riding on top a mamoswine.

But at some point Sabi got broad and true to her nature she made it everyone’s problem.

Her green eyes trail over lazily to the boy closest to her, and just as lazily tapped Rei’s leg.

“Tag you’re it.” And she was up and gone the moment she finished her sentence.

“What!”

Rei looks around in shock but you and Lian had already jumped up and ran.

“No fair!” The poor teen cries before trying to run after you.

Being out in the wilderness gave you so many tips, tricks, and speed, outrunning Rei long enough for him to get tired. His attention quickly turns to the younger wardens.

Who scream and take off running.

You try to help keep them out of Rei’s grasp but it was futile.

With a loud “TAG!” Rei runs away from Lian.

Everyone turns to the young cowboy who stood there, you three waited with baited breaths, ready to run at a moments notices.

Lian’s brown eyes lock with yours.

“Oh no.” Was all you said softly.

Before Lian bolts towards.

You scream and squeal running away, your joyful scream only getting louder when you noticed how fast he is gaining on you.

“Evasive maneuvers!” Sabi yells.

“Show him why you’re the hero!” Rei and Sabi cheer.

You dodge Lian’s first attempt at tagging you, taking sharp turns and weaving through the trees.

But the warden isn’t giving up without a fight.

“Lian come on! That all you got?” Your laugh is cut off by your screech.

You barely dodged in time.

“If ya’d just stay still this’ll be a lot easier!”

“Try again buckraoo!”

The two of you run back and forth through the trees. You’re more surprised at just how fast Lian is.

It goes quiet for a moment, but you don’t stop moving, just slowly down a little or reserve energy.

Looking around you sprint when you see his hat, but skid to a stop when it hits the ground.

“GOTCHA!”

You scream and you and Lian hit the ground. Looking down to see he tackled you.

“I AM THE KING OF TAG!” He stands over you, arms in the air, completely out of breath but victorious.

“That was a smart move!” You lay back on the ground. That took a lot out of you.

“WOOOOHOOOOO!!! Go Lian!” The other two cheer, Sabi shaking her mits like little pompoms and Rei mimicking her.

“You sure you ain’t the galaxy team’s best survey member Lian? You got the speed and brains for it.” You wheeze out.

You give a breathless chuckle when a look of joy and pride comes over his face “maybe I should be!”

“Can we keep playing?”

You look to Sabi “yeah, just, lemme catch my breath.”

Rei snorts “come on sib! You’re suppose to be the oh so great hero.”

“I have fought deities that could manipulate time and space itself to teleport to my location, but nothing is more terrifying than a little ankle biter that’s determined.”

“Hey!” The cowboy pouts.

You hope there are more days like this.

[ignitification]

Dissecting What-thefuck-Ever is Happening in Jujutsu Kaisen

Am I crazy? Am I going mad? Is this manga making me delusional? All of this are valid hypothesis. However, onto the content, because I'm confused and trying to give shape to whatever my mind is thinking.

The last couple of chapters really put my English comprehension skills to test: not because I don't get it, but all the different details and the shades which Gege uses to describe and entwine things is so subtle that sometimes I am afraid that the translation does not give it justice. And kudos anyways to those who put this into words, because this is one big mess on 'insert weird jujutsu thing'.

This New Arc (The Culling) is probably one of the most difficult, in terms of events and storyline, arcs in the story. Fair enough, Shibuya was pretty complicated, as events were happening at the same time - but in the end, Shibuya lasted about five hours and that was it. The Culling has origins which go back in centuries, and only that makes it interesting, dangerous and maddening to think about.

One thing which I want to mention before anything else, because I know that I will forget otherwise, is the sentence which Tengen repeats twice in Chapter 145.

Per his saying, he cannot read the Human Heart, once in reference to Yuki, and the other in reference to Kenjaku. The weird thing is that this makes it clear that despite everything and the implications, Kenjaku - is still human at the end. He is physical, material and therefore he is not invincible. I am not sure if this was the intent behind this words (to let them know how Kenjaku is as human as them, and therefore it it possible to stop him) - but I still it has some sort of relevance. Also, this makes me question, whether Kenjaku's technique is limited to the brain and its knowledge, and what generally his technique is.

Tengen tells the Six Adventurers that Kenjaku is at least as old as Sukuna, and the two have been involved somehow. His objective is so force human evolution. And in order to do, he wants to boost up Japanese individuals (likely because of the amount of immense cursed energy present) - and to merge Tengen, who is now more cursed spirit than human, with humankind.

This is because the next stage of sorcery (and humanity, intrinsically), for Kenjaku, lies in optimising cursed energy. But in order to do so, the potential which human retain needs to be exploited fully. Therefore, people have to be aware that there is still potential to be discovered (next stage of human evolution).

The objective of the Culling Game therefore splits into two currents: cull the potential vessels to fuse with Tengen and spread cursed energy like wildfire (with the end goal being a new golden era, Heian Era) by applying the natural law of the survival of the fittest (searching for the one who could completely fuse with Tengen) and making Japan the cull of all cursed energy - which would potentially attract other cursed energy, from other countries (even if as we know it is extremely lower compared to Japan) and as Yuki potentially already guessed in Chapter 136 to make Japan a monopoly on cursed energy.

Another things which gets mentioned, but at the same time I am not entirely sure has anything to do with the things I am thinking of (and specifically Sukuna's fingers and the remains of the clan ancestors - if this is even a thing), however boundaries and restrictions (f.e. Heavenly Restriction that both Toji and Maki have) are a very big thing in Jujutsu Society and Sorcery. A blatant example is the pact that Sukuna made with Yuuji (and that neither can break). However, according to Tengen the bond of fate between The Six Eyes, Tengen and the Star Plasma Vessel has been broken thanks to Toji Fushiguro, who killed Riko Amanai 12 years ago. (Also, the choice of words that Toji escaped cursed energy is very interesting, and worthy of further looking into). This allowed for Kenjaku to carry out his plan to weaken and further let Tengen evolve into an almost cursed spirit, which he could manipulate through Getou's technique (which explains why he seized his body) to finally let the ritual of breaking into the body and finally merging begin (the culling game). To allow this however, Kenjaku had to make different restrictions, one of which is not not be the Game Master of the Culling. But in this case, two questions come up: who is the Game Master and what are the other restrictions? Can this be used as an advantage by Yuuta, Yuuji, Megumi and Maki to beat Kenjaku, free Gojo and stop the Evolution?

And this also prompts the question of, if Kenjaku would merge with Tengen in Getou's body, what would the consequence be? Also, does this merging occur after the end of the Culling? What if Kenjaku finds another body to take advantage of and this way, the vows he made when it Getou's body are not worth anymore? Would that play in his favour? Could it even be possible?

However, in order to do so, and since Tengen's barrier optimises cursed energy, and at the same time protects itself, Kenjaku is striving to eliminate Tengen's barrier. In the end, if the cursed energy is dispersed, yes it would mean chaos, but as well it would mean endless possibilities to evolve. Furthermore, if Is stretch this into unknown territory, what the picture could be is: since for Kenjaku the only ones able to successfully merge with Tengen and have a use out of it are Japanese people (for reasons stated before), and from the things we know of Kenjaku (old as they come, acquainted with Sukuna and Uraume, mad scientist who tampered with the Womb Paintings - creating Choso among the others, and most likely having tampered with the Itadoris') it would create the picture of a mad scientist in full gear striving for innovation, evolution, creating by destruction.

It gets cleared with the content on these next two panels:

Kenjaku wants a chaotic world, one that even he cannot control, in which Cursed Energy is a limitless source and has no possibility to be put down. The question that comes naturally with it is definitely why, because I am afraid that merely 'evolution' is a downplay of the real intentions of someone who experimented so much and has survived different centuries, under different names - all of which (known for now) are of 'evil' jujutsu sorcerers (both Kamo Noritoshi and Getou Suguru), who did not conform with the will of jujutsu society.

Does Kenjaku want the whole to end, to go berserk - because if there are no barriers and one individual goes mad, everyone does? The creation of 'Trascendent Being' which are more than jujutsu sorcerers? To see what's over the threshold of jujutsu sorcery? To have the world as the scene for a new Shibuya but with the possibility to influence and kill more people? Territorial expansion extendable over a certain barrier?

Anyway, I am not sure what the point is, just that Gege's plot is absolutely amazing and I can't wait to know more.

[peppersonironi]

DUKE THOMAS ISN’T THE SANE ONE! A guide by Pepper

So, I have seen so many people writing Duke incorrectly, and I wanted to do something about it. In fanon, he is described as the sane bat, who would rather stay home and safe, and absolutely never join in shenanigans. Now, I know there are a lot of things wrong with canon, but Duke is one of the better parts! He is an interesting character who is actually just as chaotic as the rest of the gotham vigilantes. And so it it is quite unfair to his character to say he is the 'Arnold from the Magic Schoolbus' of the group. He's really not.

So I decided to make a list of ten instances in the comics where he disobeys Bruce, acts reckless, or is just a bat! (also for a Batfam Group Chat I’m a part of, someone asked for these) I hope this helps people understand his character better, and maybe even inspire them to write more about him? Seriously, Tag me if you do. I'm starved for good Duke content!

Feel free to add more in the comments, these are just what I could think of off the top of my head! (Hence the kinda weird order, sry)

1. He's a vigilante

Okay, so this is a bit obvious, but I still think it needs saying. You think that a guy who dresses in bright yellow and patrols the most crime-ridden city in the world during the day is 100% sane?

2. We Are Robin

Also obvious, but still. This guy joins a group of untrained teenage robins who just want to make a difference. And they do! It's still pretty reckless, though. 

3. He tried to take on the Riddler

In case you didn't know, in the beginning of New 52 (Zero year, specifically) the Riddler essentially held Gotham Hostage. He had some spiel about someone giving him a riddle he couldn't solve, and letting the city go. You know who decided he would be that person? Duke Thomas! He trained in brain-teasers, and puzzles, tirelessly worked. He became quite the adept riddler (not the villain). The kick? He was a child! (Look at the above panels, isn't he cute?) Duke was young, yet determined. And if that's not a bat quality, I don't know what is.

4. He escaped the cops by jumping off a bridge.

Oh no! Duke is in a police car! Oh no! He's on a bridge! What's he going to do?! Why, jump out and off the bridge while proclaiming "I am Robin" of course! Seriously, look at that panel and try to argue that he is the responsible goody-two-shoes of the family.

5. He talked down an enraged Damian

Basically, Damian was manipulated into joining the court of owls. Duke, who refused to believe that Robin genuinely joined them, fought him and talked him down. Now, this is Damian we're talking about. Sure, the kid is absolutely adorable and can be incredibly caring (Fight me on this, I dare you. Also, frick you DC), but when he's on a rampage, there is little that can stop him. So of course Duke decides to take care of it!

6. He actively tries to have a relationship with Damian.

Okay, so this one is a little weak, but I wanted an excuse to share those panels. Aren't those two great?! But seriously, Duke ignores that this tiny child could kill him in more ways than he could count, and even invites him to a movie! He also isn't afraid to tease the kid, unlike other members of the family. Knowing Damian can honestly be hard sometimes.

7. Comes back to the city when Bruce told him to get out.

During the I Am Bane arc of Tom King's Batman (I'm shuddering. So sorry for invoking his name!) Bruce tells the batboys to get out of Gotham and STAY out. the others are like 'we're not gonna listen, right?' and Duke is all 'you can't ignore BATMAN!' and walks off saying he's gonna listen to Bruce. This seems like pretty damning evidence, right? He's actually sane? The others got attacked by Bane and hung, but Duke didn't. Well, then you look at the next panel! (it takes place later in the volume) There he is, disobeying Bruce, and hanging out in Gotham. Not just that, he's out in costume! No, Duke couldn't just hunker down in an apartment, he had to go out and take down crooks, and warn Jim Gordon. I think that's pretty self-explanatory

8. Goes out while Injured

Those two panels are back-to-back in The Cursed Wheel (originally printed in All-Star Batman, later put into Batman and the Signal). As you can see, Bruce tells Duke to get rest. Duke was just attacked by Zsasz, and suffered multiple injuries. He wakes up, and the thing that would make the most sense would be for him to go to sleep, right? Well, he instead gets suited up and goes out to work on a case. Pretty much every bat has done this at some point. Not quite the smartest move, right? A touch reckless, wouldn’t you say?

9. That whole thing with Green Lantern

(sry for the weird sizing, I don’t have the comic to take screenshots) 

So there are two parts to this. First of, you have Green Lantern flying into the batcave, looking around, and there’s no Batman present. So what does Duke Do? Well, he certainly doesn’t stay back and contact Bruce! Nope, instead he attacks a member of the Justice League, a member of the Green Lantern Corp. Later on, you know what he says? He thought he would be fine because his suit is bright yellow. That’s it. A bit crazy, right?

Secondly, he gets roped into exploring the cave with Hal (I thinks it’s Hal, been a bit since I read this though). The Lantern has some thing going on about stuff in the cave, but that’s not important. What’s important is that Duke went along with it. He was curious enough to ignore what Bruce would say (Call him, yet anything remotely green out of the cave), and joins in! He does’t say “this is a bad idea” or “we shouldn’t be doing this” nope!

9. When he ran off with Cass to test his powers

Oh no, Duke got shadow powers! What’s he gonna go? Why, go off and have fun experiment of course! Duke and Cass head out to test and work on Duke’s newly presented abilities, and specifically don’t tell Bruce! This is information he would like to know, of course. It’s important to know if your newest protege gets more powers. But no, they go out of their way to sneakily test the extent of his powers. They get caught, of course, and then get chewed out (They get caught in costume, but the next panel they’re in civvies. I find that outrageously funny!). And here’s the kicker: they don’t really apologize! Sure, Duke gives a half-heart apology, but he doesn’t really mean it. Not even under the full extent of the Batglare™.

10. Rescuing Bruce with practically no training

I’ll skip all the plotty stuff, so just know that Bruce was out alone and in some deep doo-doo. Duke was back at the cave, working stuff out with Alfred. He realizes that what Bruce is doing is a trap. Now, just so you know, this is back when Duke was JUST taken in by Bruce. He doesn’t even have a codename yet! Barely any training. So you know what he does? He heads out anyway, and rescues Bruce. Now, check out that music he’s playing. Later on, it’s revealed to be Duke’s fave band. You know the name of that band? “Batman’s @^$&@” I’m not even joking. (I’m not sure what bleeped out, though later on it’s referred to as “Batman’s #$%” So I assume it’s ass?). So on top of being reckless, he plays a heavy metal band with a name that’s … special to say the least. He has guts, you gotta admit (Oh, and he seemed so gleeful when he told Bruce the name of the band!).

And there you have it! This list is far from complete, but I think it’s a good start. Feel free to reblog with your own, or any questions/comments! I absolutely love to talk about Duke, so don’’t be afraid to message me! Also, correct me if I wrote anything incorrect here. It’s been a while since I’ve read some of these, so I may have gotten some stuff wrong.

[robinrequiems]

hey any1 want some superman jon and batman Damian hcs? too bad cause you’re getting them

• damian realized why no one wanted to be batman when he turned 18 and Bruce decided to give him batman when he was 22.

• jon realized why jon didn’t want to be superman when he also turned 18

• oh and right, by gave, I mean bruce sorta can’t be batman anymore. medical reasons…

• damian sorta uh. persuaded clark into giving jon superman.

Damian: look. I don’t wanna be worlds finest with you, old man.

Clark: im- im not old—

Damian: listen here, jon and i? we are gonna surpass you and my dad. so give it to jon and let me prove it.

Clark: this doesn’t seem like a good idea— you aren’t ready— neither is jon

Damian: wait- wait, you don’t believe in your son and i??? wow. WOOOW. okay. i see.

Clark: that’s not it!-

Damian: sure. sure. don’t worry. I see now.

Clark: wait I do!

Damian: no, no you don’t.. it’s— it’s okay, I get it, it’s me, huh?

Clark: no!

Damian: I get it

Clark: please i do! I’ll - oh my rao, you’re playing me

Damian: i am. i cant do this without jon though. please, Clark.

Clark: *sigh, how did he get manipulated by a kid he used to babysit* okay.

• okay so now jon may be a little overwhelmed because one day he’s flamebird, the next, he’s becoming superman? huH. it’s extremely uh. worrying. and really just? wow.

• does Damian feel bad? oh yeah. he does. so bad. but he really can’t do it alone. they always dreamed of being their parents. or being better than them. but they grew up and realized that they really didn’t want to be their parents.

• but here they were, getting fitted for their suits and adding their own details to it.

jon: hey, you look hot

damian: please. shut up.

• they could do this. they could do this. shoot they can’t do this.

• damians own anxiety was going 50 mph. look, okay? remember before heretic when Bruce thought that Damian would become a satanic batman and basically rain hell all over gotham? yeah. that’s what is going on in damians mind.

• he doesn’t want to be that. ( “you won’t be like that, cmon, d, we’re gonna be better.” ) and how Damian wants to believe jon so bad..

• he doesn’t want to become obsessed with Batman like his father did, he still wants to have a life. he doesn’t want to isolate himself away and adopt kids as a coping mechanism. that’s why he needs jon to be superman. jon helps him, he helps him not go off into his own little world and stay there. he believes that with Jon, he’ll be okay. he has to be. maybe he uses jon as his own coping mechanism, but that isn’t the point.

• together, they will outshine their parents. the supersons can do this. they are the next generation, and it’s not like they are alone. they have so many other people to help them. they’ll be okay.

• they have been preparing for this their whole life, but they both feel like they got it too soon. they thought they had more time. Damian does feel guilty when he hears jon talking about how stressed he is about superman and not living up to whatever the hell he has to live up to, but Damian does fear what would. or could. have happened if he didn’t have jon with him. becoming batman took a lot out of him, more than he would like to admit. he just got constant flashbacks to heretic and that whole fiasco he thought he put behind him a loong time ago.

Jon: are you sure you’re okay?

Damian: yes idiot, quit worrying.

Jon: I’ll always worry about, d.

• jon somehow becomes MORE sappier when he becomes superman.

• okay, also, funny story. ( Clark and Bruce don’t find it funny AT ALL ) superman and batman? yeah they sorta kissed after an almost alien invasion. in their suits. uh. in front of an alien who they were arresting for the green lanterns. most people believe that when people say it, it’s a lie, kidding. no they don’t. there were pictures.

bruce: you want to explain this?

damian: not really, no.

• the public knows there’s a new Batman and Superman since yk. Jon’s face is public and was seen as superboy flamebird and now superman, and batman was slightly smaller and had some different moves

• but here’s their main line up: batman ( dami wamie, obvi ), superman ( jonnyboy kent ), nobody ( maya:)) ), green lantern ( tai pham, my baby boy ), lace ( wallace west 2, he goes by lace instead of flash because i said so. ), and shazam ( billy b ).

• fun fact, they have a den mother even though they are all in their 20s. poor dinah.. yeah black canary is their den mother. ( stole it from from yj )

• dinah makes sure they get their injuries checked out, train regularly, and you know. don’t blow up a building.

• again.

• ( when damian and jon were younger, in their teen years, they stupidly accidentally blowed up a building. in their defense, the building was owned by the penguin. and there were no civilians in the area. but they also got a lot of men sent after them.. oops. )

• they are very chaotic. they are the definition of dumbass energy sometimes.

• damian tries to keep the pda down whenever he’s batman, BUT JON DOESNT KNOW HOW TO DO THAT

• hence the amount of photos of jon hugging Damian or kissing him

• damian has never once initiated one in suits

• ( that one time jon almost died does not count )

Damian: thought you were gonna be batman.

Tim: nah, i don’t wanna be bruce. i saw what it did to dick. I would’ve became just like him.

Damian: am i like him??

Tim: god no, bruce would never kiss superman or date him or spray paint the new justice league logo— nice logo, by the way— onto villains bases

Damian: is that a good or bad thing?

Tim; good, that means you probably won’t be a total emotional stunted person using crime fighting as an outlet for unresolved childhood trauma.

Damian: you do realize why i became Robin right

Tim: .. not the point im trying to make. I mean now, brat.

• sometimes you can see some of the heroes dropping by to surprise kids, they heard that their old mentors used to go to children’s hospitals to visit sick kids, so they did that too. on a rare day where there isn’t any crime, which is really rare, they go to a school and talk if it’s a weekday, or they drop by an orphanage to hang out with kids.

• they have gotten into a lot of trouble though. they’re still learning how to work as a team. jon and damian are used to being solo and working with each other, Tai had tagged along a few times when they were younger and knows how they work, along with maya, but billy and Wallace do not.

• they often all get into arguments.

• damian lacks a filter and will criticize everyone if they mess up. and he often goes off alone or is too blunt.

• it takes a long time before they all realize that Damian is just: Damian, he doesnt mean to be mean. ( surprisingly )

• billy is used to being the big kid stuck at the kids table, it’s funny that he’s actually the second oldest when he used to be the youngest. ( lace is like.. 27? shazam is 25.. nobody 24. & the supersons 22. pulled all those ages outta my ass. you’re welcome. )

• dinah is also their therapist. poor dinah.

• like really giving pity to dinah. but dinah loves those kids, she has known some since they were kids. she used to take damian out for ice cream and train with him, and also babysit him. ( AUNT DINAH IS MY FAVORITE GOODBYE ). and she did the same with Jon.

• dinah actually does help a lot of them get over their trauma, not completely, but most have finally spoken about it. they began talking after they all got hit with fear gas.

• that was a bad night.

• they had almost disbanded before when they thought lace had died by the hands of captain cold. they had been arguing all day, and if they didn’t, they might’ve saved him:

• but turns out he wasn’t dead.

• but the argument was still there, and it was strong. it took a while for them to actually work together without dinah forcing them.

• then soon came another new member after maya left to go do some undercover mission for the justice league regarding some alien tech being distributed some place. it was a sad goodbye, but she would be back and she would have a place here.

• welcoming: yara flor. yara was a bit headstrong and wild. damian has screamed at her a lot and almost got into a fist fight with her before being dragged off by his boyfriend 💋

• but she settled in fine. minus the fact damian really wanted to shove a batarang up— anyways. she just had to learn teamwork and shit, she was used to being a solo and she was somewhat new. so they helped her out and she became a solid member of the team.

• sometimes damian and jon just go and sit on a rooftop like they did as kids togeyher. just alone with each other. thinking about how their life changed so quickly.

Damian: i thought we’d ruin our fathers’ legacies and plummet to the ground.

Jon: *he coughed* ..what?

Damian: yeah. i didn’t think we’d get this far, but here we are.

Jon: of course we got this far, and we’re gonna get further.

Damian: i know.

• oh yeah. so. superman. fucking proposed after they defeated darkseid. ( the battle was long, so many people were left injured and on the brick of death, Damian and jon had been separated when it all started. Damian had stayed on earth at first before going to apokolips. Damn he hadn’t seen it since he got resurrected.

Darkseid: oh. I remember you.

Damian: mhm?

Darkseid: ah yes, the little boy who was resurrected here.. the chaos share, your father used it on you.

Damian: i know. i remember what happened. I was there afterall.

Darkseid: I wonder if you are as smart as the original batman.

Damian: i am.

• damian was buying time. he was waiting for reinforcements, namely the people who had powers and could take him down. damian wasn’t stupid. he realized darkseid liked to talk. his friends were fighting off the female furys or whatever they were called. he just had to wait and entertain.

Darkseid: quite the ego there.

Damian: i saved the justice league when i was 13, i deserve to have an ego.

Darkseid: oh, you are by far more talkative than the original.

Damian: thanks.

Darkseid: not a compliment, you fool.

• yeah so. darkseid tried to kill damian, with a beam thing. Damian was about to flip away like the baddie he is, but. jon. went out and yk. took the hit. dumbass.

Damian: you have such a big hero complex.

Jon: wow I just saved you and that’s what you say?????

Damian: yes.

• anyways, after they defeat darkseid, jon pops out a ring from his pocket and asks damian to marry him on apokolips.

Damian: you seriously couldn’t wait til we got on earth?

Jon: dames you almost died. what if- what if something happens, I’ve been putting this off for so long. cmon please?

Damian: you’re seriously asking me to marry you here where, I’m pretty sure, a lot of shit happened to our parents here.

Jon: no time like the present.

Damian: fair. okay.

Jon: just okay???

Damian: im sorry, do you want me to cry or something?

Jon: ughh, you can be so extra and petty sometimes.

Damian: i am not being petty.

Jon: just because I ask you to marry me here you wanna be like “okay” and that’s it

Damian: you’re so dramatic. I’ll marry you. I wanna marry you. Better?

Jon: yeah:)

[katytheinspiredworkaholic]

WIP Wednesday Thursday

Title: Extraordinary

Pairings: HotchReid (side pairings Morcia, WillxJJ, others in flirtation)

Summary: League of Extraordinary Gentleman/Vampire AU;

Within the FBI there is a specialized team full of an elite selection of people. Unique individuals with very particular skill sets. And their job is to take the unusual cases: the ones that need to not only be solved, but are undetermined if the unsub is human, or something else entirely.

In a world filled with Vampires, non-human creatures, and subspecies unknown, there is only enough information to have them vaguely regulated. Rules that are so easily, and violently broken, all while hidden in plain sight among the unsuspecting public. Unrivaled for eons.

That’s where the BAU comes in.

Official Posting Date: Now posted on tumblr and Ao3, Click Here

Links: (Masterpost) (Snippet 01) (Snippet 02) (Snippet 03) (Snippet 04)

(TW/CW: This is pretty tame, Emily is just a little intense and eager because Spencer is... well, Spencer, and when she realizes all he can do? Oh she is chomping at the bit. Some trance-like things and witchy stuff and Hotch being territorial without being able to admit it.)

(the story so far/what you need to know for this clip at least: this takes place in chapter 02, what you will all see on Saturday evening, and this version is insanely unpolished (I’m about to go through and fix it up and give it a good make-over) but basically this is the first time Spencer is meeting Emily Prentiss and it makes... an impression. Also, Emily has been at the BAU for about 0.2 seconds and Hotch is already done with her. The sibling energy I love to see. It’s also hella long, as an apology for missing last week and being a day late. All you’ve missed is Spencer about ran into Emily turning a corner and she saved him from spilling his case files and coffee all over the floor. Now they are talking)

–

.

“I apologize, I thought you were an intern or still in the academy.”

“It’s alright, everyone does,” Spencer says without taking offense. He wouldn’t have gotten where he was or lasted very long if he did; however, if he had a nickel for every time someone had been surprised by his age, he’d be as rich as Father Rossi. His full hands actually aids him as he mentions, “I don’t usually shake hands with people, so don’t think me rude. I’m Dr. Spencer Reid.” He offers her a smile in exchange, and it is mirrored on her face just as her surprise kicks up another notch. 

“Doctor, my my I am in for a trip on this team, aren’t I?” she laughs, and it’s a melodic thing that stretches over an expanse of time and history. Ballrooms in Russia and palors of France, Elizabethan and the roaring 20’s and everything in between all rolled into one. He’s not sure how he sees it, an impossible thing, but he can read it like a book and that must have something to do with what she is. “Emily Prentiss, it is a remarkable pleasure to meet you Dr. Reid. Now, I have to ask--” her tone is so charming and playful and probing he barely notices the nuance, “And I’m sure it’s taboo around here, but I have to know -- your regeneration process. Tell me what it is or what you do. You look so young.”

“I am young,” he states simply, finally stunned by a question he’s not usually asked. 

“Yes, yes, we all can’t be a thousand years old like your fearless Vampire leader,” she waves off and Spencer’s eyes widen because… he hadn’t known Hotch was that old. Sure he’d said he’d been alive for the better part of a millennia, but he always said it like a hyperbole. A turn of phrase that’s off by a couple centuries. But --

 A thousand years old. 

That would put him… 

God, that would put him alive, as a human, just before the start of The Crusades. 

“Oh, did he keep that to himself? Oops, my bad. Pretend you don’t know. Anyway -- so are you a Shifter? Or use a particular spell? Oh, or is it a curse? I’m fascinated by curses, I don’t use them often myself but the rigidity of terms using a power so chaotic is just such a fun juxtaposition that I--”

“No, no, I’m… normal, human,” Spencer interrupts her, still the smallest bit shell-shocked, but now connects a few dots himself as she speaks. Realizes very suddenly that Ms. Prentiss appears ageless because she is ageless. She’s also a Witch. One of the broadest terms for subspecies categories, which really doesn’t do it justice. A Witch could be a number of things. Someone who uses magic and science and the very Earth itself paired with the spiritual planes to do impossible things. Witches are beings so powerful they should be uncategorizable. Something Spencer is fascinated by as well. He’s never met anyone like Emily. “I look young because I am young. I’m 27, I’ve only been with the BAU for the past three years. I’m a little excited to not be the newbie on the team any more,” he tries to joke, but Emily’s gaze has gone distant and sharp all at once.

“You’re only 27? And you’re a doctor?” She asks in clarification, Spencer nodding along each time. “You’ve been a doctor, since becoming an FBI agent?” 

“Um, well -- I’m not a medical doctor. I do have three doctorates, though; in mathematics, chemistry, and engineering,” he finds himself shrinking a bit under her intensely interested gaze. “What?”

“Chemistry?” she asks, vaguely more distant.

“That was my first doctorate,” he murmurs back, not sure what has her looking so contemplative. 

“You’ve achieved all of this: three doctorates, FBI agent, BAU -- in 27 years?” she questions, a grave yet wondrous sound.

“Technically I did all of that in 15 years. I graduated high school when I was 12,” he manages to do more than mumble, and Emily’s wide-eyed stare has him spewing forth information like it requires an explanation. “I have an eidetic memory, and I can read 20,000 words a minute, and my IQ is 187 so by human standards yes -- I’m a genius, and borderline on the advanced brain developments scale. But I’m still human. Nothing paranormal or extraordinary.”

The pause that follows is palpable.

“Oh,” she says in an exhale, “Oh, you young soul. You have no idea, do you? What you are capable of...” She tilts her head as she steps closer and Spencer is very suddenly aware that he’s not sure she’s blinked since they started speaking about his qualifications. What he can do, how he got to where he is. No one usually shows this much interest, he makes them uncomfortable for reasons he doesn’t always understand. 

Emily doesn’t look uncomfortable, she looks… hungry. 

“You are so very, very extraordinary. Exceptional, really. Look at all of what you’ve accomplished with just 15 years of life.” That astonished sound again, like she can’t believe her luck--

And then she’s in his space, gaze boring into his, and Spencer can see galaxies in the depth of her eyes. His breath stolen from him and feet rooted to the floor. So he doesn’t step away as she leans just the smallest bit closer, words resonating with echoes across ages.

“Imagine what you could do with a thousand.” 

“Prentiss,” the deep voice of Hotch’s monotone (edged in something vaguely aggressive, and more than a little aggravated)  breaks through their moment. The trance fading like a fog from Spencer’s eyes. “No recruiting. It’s in your contract.”

“You have such a gift, it’s a shame to waste it,” Emily whispers in a rush as Hotch approaches them from down the hall. More earnest than intimidating, now.

“Prentiss!” 

“Think about it,” she winks, and then turns to give Hotch a smile that’s all teeth so sharp she resembles a shark. “Oh, what a sour face. What’s wrong? Were you planning on asking him first? You snooze, you lose.” 

“Conference room,” he instructs, pointing the way Spencer had just come. “Team meeting in 20 minutes. Try not to summon anything between here and there.” She sticks her tongue out at him childishly as she leaves, and sends a quirk of a smile Spencer’s direction that shifts her whole expression into something comically entertained. He’s never seen Hotch interact with someone like this, like they were… familiar, even exasperatingly so. The closest in comparison is probably Father Rossi. But this is less like old friends and more like sibling rivalry. 

The space Emily had just vacated is suddenly filled with Hotch, an overwhelmingly welcomed presence and it eases the tension out of Spencer’s spine and shoulders that he hadn’t even realized was there. 

“Are you okay?” he asks, low and quiet. They’re the only ones in the hallway, but secrecy is a hard habit to break.

Spencer nods, still gaining his bearings once more. “I think so. That didn’t feel like hypnotism. I don’t know what that was.” 

“Prentiss doesn’t manipulate minds or the wills of other people,” Hotch tells him, which is soothing if not for the foreboding question of what just occurred. “She doesn’t need to. She can do a lot of things: change her face, her voice, make illusions and talk circles around anyone -- even you.” Spencer looks up to him at that, aware that his level of intelligence is the only thing that keeps him safe from JJ or Hotch’s influence. His mind can’t be bent, or tricked.

“Then what was she doing? I felt compelled but… not against my will. What was that?” he asks, also quiet but much more high in pitch as his confusion turns his voice to a winded sound.

Hotch’s thin, stern frown does nothing to alleviate the apprehension caught up in his chest like a bad cold. 

.

“Possibility,” he states, grim and not liking that Spencer had fallen prey to such a short moment with Emily Prentiss and her promise of what her craft could do for him. Hotch is well aware that Spencer’s gift of soaking up every speck on information he’s given like a sponge isn’t something to let wither and die like so many before him. There’s so much he could do with an infinite life, such as his and Emily’s, but the curse of living forever alone is not something to be taken lightly. And not to be decided by someone who still has so much more life to live unaided by other forces.

However, Emily was right about one thing. Hotch can’t deny that he’s thought about it. More than considered it as a definite possibility. 

An offer, all his own.

–

Tagged list so far: @physics-magic​, @thaddeusly, @ssa-noa, @ssa-sarahsunshine, @tobias-hankel, @reidology, @mintphoenix

[alirhi]

Loki ranting

Okay. I had this thought in my head of like just compiling links of all the Loki shit I've posted/reblogged so far so that when I get into a conversation about the show and how it fucking disgusted me, I can just be like "here. here's this masterlist post, go read all this shit. This is my entire argument, and not only mine, but a lot of stuff posted by people far more intelligent and level-headed and eloquent than I am, whom I happen to agree with." Because the alternative is constantly getting fired up all over again, and that is exhausting.

BUT! I'm stupid and don't know how tumblr works. Apparently I can't just be like "give me all the Loki-tagged shit I've got" I can only search all the Loki-tagged shit on all of tumblr. And I'm not scrolling back through all of my posts. I talk too fucking much for that shit 😂

So, I'll try to remember all of my grievances with how the MCU has treated Loki, and all of the excellent posts made by other, equally upset fans, and put it all together here under this nice, neat little cut for everyone else's sanity and scrolling convenience...

For people who actually read my shit fairly regularly - bless you, you crazy, patient people. I love you! - this is going to be a lot of repetition of shit you've already read. Probably at least twice. I'm passionate and I have a terrible memory lol. Sorry.

Anyway, first, for those who don't know me and haven't been following my explosions of rage for the past couple of months, some quick background: I do not read comic books, so Loki's Marvel comic canon means nothing to me. I know almost nothing about it. The reason I'm so in love with the character in the MCU is because I am an eclectic witch and the deity I've actively loved and worshiped the longest in my life (literally for as long as I can remember) is Loki. So when he was mentioned in The Mask, I squeed. When they named Matt Damon's character after him in Dogma, I cheered.

When Thor came out in 2011, I just about died from happiness. I was hungry for any representation of this underappreciated god, no matter what it was. I didn't even bitch about how underpowered he was, because at least he was there. But I'm getting slightly ahead of myself.

I can hear anyone reading this going "Why Loki? Isn't he, like, evil? Like basically the Norse version of The Devil?" Because I heard all this shit irl all the fucking time. And no. So let me give you a quick rundown of who Loki actually is.

Loki is a Trickster God. He's often referred to as the God of Mischief. He is not and never was evil, simply chaotic and hedonistic. Loki Laufeyjarson was the son of Laufey (that's mama; they changed her to a man for some reason in the movie) and Fárbauti. Right from the start, from his name, we get a sign of how Loki goes against traditional norms of the time, because in Norse culture, families were patrilineal, and surnames were "son/daughter of father" (which would have made him Loki Fárbautitason), not the mother. But Loki's surname is matrilineal. Feminist icon woo! lol

Though he's a Jotunn, Loki is counted among the Gods (Aesir) in Norse tradition. Depending on his mood, he is alternately helpful or disruptive to the other Gods. I'm not gonna sit and teach a whole text class on him lol but I'll use my favorite example of Misunderstood Loki - the conception of Sleipnir!

So, get this shit. This is also part of why I DO NOT follow Odin and never fucking will (a very small part, but still part of the reason). So, the other Norse Gods are petty motherfuckers, and they wanted some shit built but didn't want to pay the dude doing the building. So they were like "okay, if you can get it done in X amount of time, we'll pay you, but if you can't manage it NO MATTER WHAT, this whole thing is free." And they made sure he had NO help, nothing but him, his materials, and his Very Good Horsey. And this guy and his horse were fucking BAMFs. So it was looking like he was definitely gonna get it done in time, and Odin was like "nah, fuck that shit. I'm cheap." and so he sent Loki to distract the work horse. Loki transformed into a mare and lured the horse away, got fucked, got pregnant, gave birth to the 8-legged (for some reason) horse Sleipnir. Odin rides Loki's son into battle. Um. Kay.

So Loki helped Odin be a petty mf, and Odin got himself a new pet out of the deal.

Oh, also, because he's smart af and a shapeshifter and a master magician and genderfluid, Loki "fails" to fit the super fucking toxic and narrow Norse/Aesir view of "a real man". He prefers intelligence and manipulation to solve problems rather than violence, he's not afraid to behave like a clown if it gets shit done, and that grosses the Aesir out, so they constantly ridicule him for being "less than a man".

Loki is the God of the outcast and the misunderstood. The marginalized people from all walks of life. He is the God of the LGBT community. In modern terms, he's pansexual, polyamorous (married to Sigyn and they are deeply in love, but boy gets around and I've never seen any indication that Sigyn gives a shit) and genderfluid.

Okay. Focus, Ali. This is part of why I usually post multiple rants instead of one big long one XD The longer I ramble, the more I get sidetracked and forget the original point.

So. Loki's awesome, and being a Trickster, is powerful as all fucking hell. There's not much he can't do.

And now we come to Thor (the movie, not the deity). Loki's there! 24-year-old Ali is spazzing! All is right with the world!

Oh lord, they've actually done him justice?! Amazing! He's complex and nuanced and emotional, just like the real Loki! I loved this movie. Loved. It. The climactic thing with trying to blow up Jotunheim never really made much sense to me until someone made an excellent point the other day about Loki being raised in a racist society that was racist against his own race, he just didn't know it yet, poor child. Baby Thor was never corrected when he pledged to commit mass genocide, so Baby Loki probably absorbed the lesson then that Jotunns=evil and killing them all will win his father's love. Anyway, 2011 Loki was a beautiful, heartbreaking portrayal of the God I've loved all my life and spent 24 years longing to see depicted on the big screen.

Then The Avengers happened. And I saw another Loki very close to Norse mythology - mainly, how he's treated. In the beginning of the movie, he's sick, exhausted, and in pain. He can hardly stand, he stumbles and needs help when he walks. He was very obviously tortured, and the sickly blue light of the scepter's control is in his eyes. That gets less and less pronounced as the movie goes on, showing Loki working his way free of it, but in the beginning, he's a mess. Because he was tortured and used by Thanos. Marvel directly confirmed this, and that he was under the scepter's/Mind Stone's control. Loki's actions are not his own in The Avengers. He's under both threat and Thanos' direct control. The movie actually shows The Other directly threatening him to keep him on task, because this is not Loki's plan. It is not what he wants. He's being used and villainized... Just like in real life. It hurt to see this done to him, but the accuracy was too beautiful to ignore.

Thor: The Dark World comes out. I've heard people complain that this movie is the weak link in the Thor trilogy. I disagree. I think that's Ragnarok, for a bunch of reasons, but we'll get there. (And for the record, I loved Ragnarok, too. It was a funny movie. Infinity War and the Disney+ series are the only portrayals of Loki in the MCU that I truly fucking hated.) Anyway, good, fun movie. Had its faults, as all movies do, but it still followed Loki's real-life arc in a way. How? By having Loki dragged back to Asgard in chains and imprisoned underground. Again, not super happy that this happened to my love, and having to see it on screen was painful, but at least in the MCU he's not chained to a rock with venom dripping on his face for eternity, so there's that. (poor Sigyn. how tired do her arms get, holding up that bowl? best wife ever, amirite?)

In TDW, we're shown Loki's love for Frigga, who favored him and taught him magic as a child. We see his bravado; his attempts to mask his true feelings, especially grief. We see him slowly coming back to himself after the events of The Avengers, and slowly mending his relationship with his brother. He accepts that Odin will likely never love him, but Thor just might, because they were close when they were young. "I didn't do it for him." No, no my sweet, you did it for your brother, and a little out of guilt for what happened to your mother.

At the end, Loki fakes his death and escapes, taking the throne, and I have mixed feelings about this. Not the writer's choices here; I love that completely! A natural progression in Loki's story. But my joy is tainted by how closely they're following the Eddas now. Because Loki's escape from his prison heralds the beginning of Ragnarok. And Loki will die in Ragnarok. I don't want to see that play out in front of my face. I won't be able to handle the grief (spoiler alert! IW broke me. I almost walked out of the theater. Loki's death was legitimately fucking traumatic for me. I don't even care how pathetic that is. That grief was real, it was intense, and I still shake and cry when I think about it.)

Marvel announces that Thor 3 will be called Ragnarok. The internet treats this as a shocking revelation. I roll my eyes and mumble "duh" to myself and move on XD

Then they say Ragnarok will be a buddy comedy. I throw up a little in my mouth and no longer want to live on this planet. If they're going to make something called Ragnarok, could they at least treat it with even a fraction of the respect they've shown these characters thusfar? Jfc. I mean, I'll see it anyway, because I'm a whore for Tom Hiddleston lol. But come on, people!

I hated that they made Hel the long-lost older sister and Fenrir her fucking pet/attack dog. Those are my favorites of Loki's children! Hel is such an incredible badass that the early Christians named their dimension of eternal torture after her! They were terrified of her, to the point of naming the place that terrified them most after her. That's awesome! And Fenrir's just the best. I love wolves. Those two details, and Odin's retcon of "we're not Gods! ...lol, except your sister. she's totally a Goddess. and def gonna kill literally everything, so... good luck! byyyeeeee" pissed me off royally.

The rest was great. I genuinely liked this movie. Still do. And they finally used The Immigrant Song! That was pretty cool. If they'd thrown in Bring the Hammer Down and Thunderstruck, I might've called this movie perfect. XD

I wasn't totally in love with their portrayal of Loki in Ragnarok. Yes, the falling for 30 minutes line was funny, as was "I have to get off this planet" and "YES! That's how it feels!" And "Get Help" was funny as hell. But also, like... There is no way Loki would have been the dumb one in that first encounter with Hela. Also, he can teleport and project copies of himself and shit, so... He would not have been that desperate to go straight back to Asgard and bring her right along with them. Loki's not stupid. But whatever. Movie's gotta movie.

What I did love was seeing the slow mending of his relationship with Thor continuing, and the badass fighting on the bridge. I also loved that, like Real Loki, Movie Loki helped when help was needed, was quick and clever, and while he was carrying out the main plan, he was also planning ahead and grabbing the Tesseract. Yes, that drew Thanos right to them, but that's a whole other thing. Loki never would have left that thing on Asgard to be destroyed or lost.

And now Infinity War. Hooooly fucking shit. You know what? No. I'm not going into this. He was killed, years of character growth were erased forever, my heart fucking shattered. The end.

Endgame. IW hurt me so bad I didn't see Endgame until this year. I actually watched Civil War first (for context: I had actively avoided all Cap movies until this year because I fucking hate Steve Rogers. I find him insufferable. Did not realize what I was denying myself until I watched CW and finally saw the charms of Bucky. When he appeared in IW, I was so lost. XD I was like "...who dis? Murder Jesus?" also I just... didn't care. I was numb by then from crying through most of the movie over Loki)

So, anyway. Endgame. Loki picks up the Tesseract in alternate 2012, escapes, fans go "yay! he didn't actually die!" I go "yes he fucking did. Five years of his life, gone. Five years of growth and change, erased. Loki is dead. This will not be the same."

I was more right than I could have predicted. Now we come to the point of this rant. Sorry it took so long, but you were warned lol.

The Loki series makes me so angry I actually get sick to my stomach. It was fucking TRASH. When I praised Marvel for following Norse mythology so faithfully earlier? Yeah. I DID NOT MEAN TREAT HIM THE WAY THE OTHER GODS DID. I did not mean paint him as a pitiful clown, a joke, a caricature of who he truly was, with his pain and suffering played for LAUGHS.

This is supposed to be 2012 Loki, newly freed from Thanos' control. The Loki we saw in the beginning of TDW - snarky, exhausted, nihilistic. The Loki who rolled his eyes and said "get on with it" expecting to be killed.

The bumbling clown flipping on a dime from posturing to calling himself weak is not 2012 Loki. That is not ANY Loki. That is Tom Hiddleston in a black wig doing what he's told by a shitty writer who had no fucking idea what he was doing and was salty about his (bad) original script (for something totally fucking unrelated) getting killed.

In Episode 1, Loki is mocked, imprisoned, stripped against his will, tormented, belittled, and given a flippant summary of all the trauma Actual MCU Loki suffered that this one skipped out on, with no context, no acknowledgement of the trauma he's already lived quite fucking recently, and with the narrative twisted to not only erase all the abuse he's suffered, but to make it all his fault. And this is supposed to make him want to help these people?

And worse, IT FUCKING WORKS. WHAT?! I CAN'T- FUCKING WHAT?! Remember when I said LOKI IS NOT FUCKING STUPID?! So why is he STUPID?

Episode 2, he's a child. Mentally, this Loki is a fucking child. Now we've erased all the growth and development of his entire adult life. He's dopey, impatient, impulsive, desperate for a pat on the back and actually shows it. Yes, abused and neglected children crave the positive attention we never received, and we often grow up to be a bit emotionally stunted. But not all of us, and not Loki. Not as we've seen him EVER in the rest of the MCU. Playful and a bit callous at times? Absolutely! But not a big dumb fucking puppy.

Episode 3, a ray of hope, despite Sylvie! (I hate Sylvie) Loki casually admits he's pan/bi; labels never come up, but he admits to being with both men and women! He sings! Not really relevant to whether I approve of his portrayal or not lol but Tom has a beautiful voice, Norwegian ("Asgardian" lol) is a gorgeous, entrancing language, and I could watch that one bit on loop for eternity and never get bored. And then, finally, we see a glimpse - a glimpse - of Loki's power! He stops a falling building and pushes it right back up! Are we finally getting to see what he can really do? Will the next episode bring us Loki in all his glory?

Nope. 4 and 5 we see him mocked and pushed around and utterly irrelevant. Again. We see tiny reflections of what he could maybe theoretically do in other random Loki variants, but the "main" (lawl. main. it was the Sylvie and Mobius show. Loki was never the main anything.) Loki? Nothing. He wears his heart on his sleeve for no reason, bonds with the man who imprisoned, taunted, and gaslit him, is killed, and continues to be a moron and a joke. Always the clown. Always the dumb one. The one with the bad ideas. The inferior Loki.

Don't even get me started on that finale. I can't. This already took so much out of me. Fuck Marvel. Fuck this fucking show. I just... I'm done.

[imo-chan-imagines]

『 Haikyuu!! Week 2020 | Day 3 』

· Sept. 27th → Irresistible Force ·

Characters: Karasuno team

Prompts: A. favourite team + B. crossover/AU

Tags/warnings: Haikyuu!! (anime), PG, fluff, crack, a teensy bit of angst (because who doesn't love a sad superhero backstory), headcanons, AU, superheroes, HaikyuuWeek2020

A/N: Again, I love all the teams and didn't want to pick, but life is cruel, so here I am. This is headcanons about my fav team (Karasuno) in an AU (superheroes). I was thinking of a Hero Association, kind of like in 'The Boys'? But less corrupt... Maybe more like in 'One Punch'? I think you get me.

All of my Haikyuu Week 2020 posts will be SFW, but I have NFSW content on my blog if that butters your biscuit. Feel free to check it out! Thanks for reading! Please enjoy ♡ Imo~

Karasuno / Superhero Association AU

×

☆ Sawamura Daichi ☆

Powers: nigh invulnerability, super strength, enhanced healing

If he's not the ordinary cop that somehow befriends the heroes I was tempted then he's definitely the leader of the superhero group

Kind of like Superman in the old-school Justice League, just not as OP lol

Looks damn good is spandex those thighs *sweats*

Cape!! so ✨majestic���

Probably wears dark-ish, neutral colours with a dash of blue

A bit serious. Not the kind of hero to go around making quips all the time, but will make light of his own suffering like Captain America

Takes younger heroes under his wing like the true Dadchi he is

Strong moral compass. Unbreakable

Won't hesitate to lay down his life for others

Who am I kidding. He's basically Captain America with a cape

Poster-boy for the Hero Association

×

☆ Sugawara Koushi ☆

Powers: telekinesis

A soft, pearly aesthetic with his suit, hair and skin. Lots of white and silver

A favourite among the ladies he's just too pretty, damm it T T

Very plucky and adorable

People in the vicinity will literally faint when he goes all serious to concentrate and use his powers

Has a duo move with Daichi where he literally throws him like a missle YEET

Has the most followers on Twitter and TikTok and his fans can be pretty nuts

Has a perfume line named after him and models for the adverts

Will smile like an angel right before bringing a building down on top of you fuck, I find this one really funny

×

☆ Azumane Asahi ☆

Powers: regeneration, enhanced stength

Kind of like Wolverine or Deapool but, like, much, much softer on the inside uwu

Wears green and black

Messed up big time back in the day and dropped off the grid out of guilt some people died :(

Was convinced to come back when his old teammates finally found him again because they needed his help in a crisis

Literally shed tears of relief when heroes and citizens alike welcomed him back instead of hating him mah heart *sniffs*

Can withstand seemingly anything and fully heal within a matter of days

Doesn't know the full extent of his powers himself. How exactly do one test it? 🤔

Still has to psych himself up for a fight, though big softy, really

×

☆ Shimizu Kiyoko ☆

Powers: electrokinesis, flight

Powers like Storm from X-Men, and kicks ass like Wonder Woman

Refuses to wear a revealing suit, but looks bomb af anyway

Kiyoko = absolute queen

One of the most powerful heroes, but doesn't throw her weight around unless she's kicking bady-guy booty

Stella gynamast, and has mastered several martial arts

Can literally throw a guy three times her size, all without any strength powers Tanaka: 👁👄👁

Somehow has perfect hair all the time secret superpower??

Is active on the political stage as a human rights activist, headlining women's rights yes, yes yes

Will strike you with lightning for sexual harassment

Comes up with really good mission plans

Is a soothing balm for Tanaka when he loses it

Black and gold aesthetic✨

Asymmetrical cape! super fashionable

Poster-girl for the Hero Association

☆ Tanaka Ryuunosuke ☆

Powers: fire generation and manipulation

Tanaka brings the heat literally

A bit of a chaotic-good, but what's new there?

Can get out of control if he loses his focus, so his friends have to keep him grounded Kiyoko is a literal angel when that happens

Kiyoko: Sun's getting real low...

Bonus points if you get the reference

Is terrified of hurting innocents if he gets out of control

It rarely happens, but if he loses his self confidence, his powers don't seem to work

Shouts cringy lines at the villains before roasting their asses lmfao

Wears a black and orange flame-retardant suit, and actually looks pretty fine in it 😌👌

Literally head over heels for Kiyoko just imagine it. Biggest hype man

×

☆ Nishinoya Yuu ☆

Powers: animal metamorphosis, enhanced speed

Think Beast Boy from 'Teen Titans', but less green he's more likely to be yellow or orange, lmao

Handy in lots of different situations. Very versatile

Incredibly cheeky and joins in with Tanaka's cheesy jokes and one-liners

Absolute maniac, but the people love him, especially schoolkids lmao

Has his own energy drink flavour, and he's STOKED about it

Yellow and black suit, kind of like his hair

Has a surprisingly large following of fans

Laps up the attention, but it doesn't really go to his head

Quiet and serious when he's on a mission/fighting

☆ Hinata Shouyou ☆

Powers: self replication, super speed, levitation

His powers took a while to properly manifest, which left him feeling isolated as a teen

Was pretty lost until Ukai helped train him

Got into a fight with Kageyama in an alleyway when he first met him MET HIM IN THE STREET, LMAO

Argues with Kageyama a lot at headquarters, but they work together like a dream when taking down bad guys

Has a heart of literal gold precious baby

Is contantly amazed when he helps significantly

Was inspired to become a hero by his idol, the Little Giant and it's his dream to inspire someone else 😭😭

Uses his replication ability to confuse the bad guys ULTIMATE DECOY

Levitates around the room when he's excited like Aang from ATLA, hahaha

Wears an orange, white and yellow suit with little wings on his heels cuuuute

×

☆ Kageyama Tobio ☆

Powers: water/ice generation and manipulation, breathing underwater, superhuman reflexes

I was tempted to give him fire/ice powers like Todoroki, but I didn't want to detract from Tanaka

Has problems focusing his powers, and can be quite turbulent in the heat of battle

Finds it hard to work well with others initially, but really makes an effort

Has hurt people close to him by accident before and never wants to do it again it would tear him apart

Becomes a power duo with Hinata when Ukai helps train them, even though they don't seem to get on well at first

Broody boi on the surface, but a cinnamon roll deep down

Wears a dark blue and deep purple suit that has fins to assist in underwater escapades which are his forte

Freezes Hinata's feet to the floor when he pisses him off or anybody's feet, tbh

Can dodge almost anything because of his reflexes don't ever try to punch him. You'll look stupid

Is surprised by the number of people in his fan club especially the number of women asking to marry him??

×

☆ Tsukishima Kei ☆

Powers: telepathy, superhuman intellect, mind control on weak-willed individuals

Prefers to outwit his enemies rather than getting into a brawl

But his self-designed gadgets and tech help him out if he has to a bit like Tony Stark, wink wonk

Sometimes makes you question if he's really a hero or not Tsukki, please

Doesn't take orders well

Baits villains by insulting them and getting the better of them with his words it's hilarious

Comes up with good plans, but improvises well with whatever he's got

Probably wears suits over his spandex most of the time fancy shmancy

Is prepared to die to protect Yamaguchi waahhh

×

☆ Yamaguchi Tadashi ☆

Powers: invisibility, force fields, teleportation

Susan Storm with added teleportation, lol

Often finds it hard to value his powers because they're not as visually strong and impressive as other people's

Rather than squaring up to a battle, he often has to 'hide' from it by literally going invisible

But he gradually becomes aware of how vital his powers can be, and learns to control them and make them as advantageous as possible

Is a highly important and valued member of the team

Soft bean that gets nervous and throws up before a fight

But he's hella determined and won't back down

Honestly, just wants to protect Tsukki and make him proud PROTECT HIM

×

☆ Yachi Hitoka ☆

Powers: size manipulation

She can shrink and enlarge herself and objects she touches at will, including other people

Sometimes shrinks really small to avoid social situations she doesn't want to be in samez, honey

The clumsiest and least experienced on the team

But she tries her best, gradually getting to grips with her powers

Sometimes uses her powers by accident, like when she's nervous

Once touched a watermelon slice on the refreshment table and accidentally blew it up to the size of a car Hinata, Kageyama and Noya fully dug in with their faces 😭😭

Nearly passed out when Daichi, the literal god of the Hero Association, told her she had great potential

Don't worry, Yams teleported and caught her

☆ Ukai Keishin ☆

Powers: laser vision, metal mimicry

The has-been hero who lost his enthusiasm for hero-ing and retired some years ago

Was really cool back in his hayday. Big hot-shot with a fan club

Has been working as a convenience store attendant to pay the bills and is bored out of his mind but refuses to admit it

Was convinced to get back in the game when he found Hinata and Kageyama fighting, both struggling with their abilities. He broke up the fight and agreed to coach them

Doesn't do much of the flashy hero stuff anymore, but will occasionally get stuck in when he's needed must protecc his children

Is only, like, ten years older than the other heroes, but they treat him like some fossilised sensei out of Natuto, or some shit

Tbf, he has the back problems of one 😭😭

×

☆ Takeda Ittetsu ☆

Powers: power absorption

Transferred from being a hero to hero management after having having issues with the effects of his powers he has a conscience :(

He felt guilty and responsible for permanently taking the powers of others, even if they were criminals

It was like removing a piece of their souls it kind of broke him

These days, he makes sure nobody knows about his powers, so it can't be used against him

He helps in any other way possible

He would only use his powers again in dire circumstances he knows he'll eventually have to

Is generally chipper and good natured, though

If he was ever captured by a villain, they'd probably send him back because he talks too much omg, hahaha

Helps gather info for the team and direct them on missions and in fights

Gives bomb inspirational speeches ✊

© imo-chan-imagines 2020

[natskys-w]

Tarny part 2 (during the missing time/judes exil.)

I’m assuming that things got worser and worser whilst jude was in exile. The parties and revels Locke held and that Taryn had to host grew larger and larger and more chaotic as time went on, and Locke continued to push and push Taryn boundaries more and more and maybe at first she excused it, since the “fae don't love the way we do.” as Locke always so keen to remind her and love in her eyes comes hand in hand with pain.

I think a part of her felt that if she suffered enough, she would grow more beautiful in Lockes eyes, like the princesses in her stories. Where the prince "finds her beautiful. Beautiful, not despite her suffering, but because of it.” (tls, Pg 70).

Another example of her equating love to pain, is when she meets/talks about Heather and she doesn't understand how

“Vivi could possibly love a mortal girl. She didn’t know anything. She had no magic. She didn’t even seem like she’d done much suffering.”(tls pg 302) I think that the reason their meeting shook her up a little was that it put in to question her views and understanding of love.

She's convinced that if she tries hard enough, suffers hard enough and works hard enough. She can orchestrate her own happily ever after. Which probably entails being married with a nice house and a husband who kissed her when he came home, and a family of her own.... but that’s not Locke for him that would be a boring ending.

Like he mentioned in the lost sisters for him pain, sadness, suffering, anguish are all simply just spices (which are needed for a good story). Which is probably (again l am just assuming) that there marriage was a tug of war. Both of then trying to course correcting there story and trying to mould it to go down the root or path they desire.

Locke pushing her to get a reaction whether its with more extravagant parties, parading new lovers, belittling her to there guests, inviting people she hates or that mock her for being the daughter of a traitor, pushing her take part in things she hates, emotionally manipulating her or just leaving her alone for weeks on end to be with other lovers and to test her love.

I think he gets a rush out of her losing her composure since he says “There it is. That temper you try to hide. You know what fascinates me about you? You’re a hungry person sitting in front of a banquet, refusing to eat.” (tls, Pg 368)

I think maybe at first Taryn was coping with what he was throwing at her but it got harder as time went on, since even before things got real she says.

“Jealousy wasn’t a spice to me then. It was the whole meal and I was gagging it down.”

And that’s not even mentioning his scheming and the darker things he was hiding. That even we as the fans were surprised about, he gave the Ghost as basically a dowry present to Madoc, who by the looks of it had no problem also treating him like a pet and keeping him in his cell until he was needed.

(Imagine what it would have been like, when the ghost came by as Madocs and Lockes messenger boy/errand boy/play thing.)

I think she grew numb along the way, started losing hope and realised that this is it. This is what its always going to be. There no happy ending and probably went from eating fairy fruit as a dare/proof she can fit in, to consuming it as a kind of daily drug, to go into auto pilot mode/escape, to still be the perfect wife and to focus on other things like the house and the garden.

I think the moments she was alone, with only the staff and her enemies and Locke never came home. She finally understand what her mother went through. How she grew to hate the place that she once loved, as it became more like a beautiful cage then a home. A cage she was soon going to be sharing with a baby, who she will have no means to protect, not fully anyway and how all this time she misjudged her and didn’t want to be anything like her. Yet out of all three of her sisters she ended up like her the most.

I think the baby was what changed her and made her snap out of her daze. Realising that it’s not just her anymore, she might be able to settle for Lockes version of love but the baby doesn't deserve to, he/she didn't chose this.

Which led to her confronting Locke, maybe after coming back from being with mistress or partying all night. She probably tried to put her foot down and said things had to change and just let everything she had pushed down out. I think she tried to reason with him but he wasn’t having it and probably tried to convince her to give the baby away (Changling). Swap it with a human family and have the human baby go where all the other human children taken away go. I can imagine him coming up with a bullshit excuse like “this is for us, if you love me you will give it away. A baby is only going to get in our way and we’re not ready for it, years from now it will come back to us. If you love me prove it. its me or the baby.”

Then when flattery didn't work, he tried to tear her down with words and maybe even tried to man handle her or maybe hit her. (Okey so this part may be a bit of a stretch but)

A part of me questions if maybe it wasen't just anger at what he said that made her snap... maybe just maybe he tried pushing the boundaries and she snapped/her training kicked in.

"You got the same instruction in swordplay she did; you must remember some of it. I was never very good. I kept apologizing when I hit anyone,” I reminded her." (Tls)

(Tqon) (ldk for me it gave me the vibe, that there was alot more Taryn left out of the story. That maybe she wasen't ready to talk about yet).

Since she never come off as violent (manipulative..yes at time... but violent not so much). Since she turned out more like Oriana then Madoc and even admitted she looked down on Jude for resorting to violence.

I think if Jude had killed him it wouldn't have been the same. (I think even if it was for her own good she might have resented her.) Since she'd probably wonder if she could have changed him, made it work. Also l don't think Jude or Cardan would have killed him since he's Nicasia and Cardans friend and Jude and Cardan where feeling forgiving in tqon. *l shudder at the thought of him being alive at the end* If he had lived Locke and Tarny would have probably still been in the same vicious cycle and my new favourite baby ship (txg)💓, woulden't have even had a chance to even touch the water.

........moving on.........

For me l now see the lost sister as an apology letter/story that Taryn is going to give to Jude after the queen of nothing. It's her way of apologising in the best way she nows how, through story. I think its something she's written and rewritten and has added to as time/events unfold. 🤔

I think the reason why some fans had trouble forgiving Taryn is because of how its kind of left to interpretation/open ended, our experiences shape how we see it. Reflecting on the book l think that maybe the reason why we never got to see it properly or talk about in the book was partly because of time, the book had alot to cover in only 300pgs and who knows maybe the reason why was that Holly realised that since its a delicate story/senstive topic, it needs its own book to fully do it justice. If it is how l think it is, its an arc that you either have to see for yourself or have some experience in.

If you read this far, l'm surprised, l really tried to keep it short but there was alot on my mind. Thats why it ended up being split into two posts. 😂

All l can say now is

[forsakenflora]

THE POSITIVE & NEGATIVE; mun & muse - meme.

TAGGED BY: @dolcetters / ( thank you bb !!! ily !!! )

TAGGING (don’t feel obligated to do it!): whispers anyone who sees this !!

FILL OUT & REPOST ♥ this meme definitely favors canons more, but i hope oc’s still can make it somehow work with their own lore, and lil’ fandom of friends & mutuals. multi-muses pick the muse you are the most invested in atm.

—————————————————-

MY MUSE IS:  CANON / OC / AU / CANON-DIVERGENT / FANDOMLESS

Is your character popular in the fandom?  YES / NO

Is your character considered hot™ in the fandom?  YES  / NO / IDK  ( people have said she’s pretty? i mean she is, so ) 

Is your character considered strong in the fandom? YES / NO / IDK  ( by a good majority, if we go by 03 standards ) 

Are they underrated? YES / NO

Were they relevant for the main story?  YES / NO / MAYBE  ( again, by 03 standards; kind plot-device-y ) 

Were they relevant for the main character?  YES / NO / THEY’RE THE PROTAG ( i mean .... AGAIN, 03 .... ) 

Are they widely known in their world?  YES / NO / MAYBE

How’s their reputation?  GOOD / BAD / NEUTRAL

HOW STRICTLY DO YOU FOLLOW CANON? not that strictly. she loses the pregnancy through a trauma-related miscarriage. back when i rped her years ago, i did not write in the fact that she had a child. i think i didn’t want to ... really write the parts with dante / the gate / etc. i could still in a separate AU where it’s strictly canon, but for just my writing sake, i decided no. she goes through having her rapist’s child, and that can be heavy for some. the assault alone is traumatic enough. but it’s real. so her story, at least in 03, does deserve to be told with sensitivity. 

SELL YOUR MUSE! AKA TRY TO LIST EVERYTHING, WHICH MAKES YOUR MUSE INTERESTING IN YOUR OPINION TO MAKE THEM SPICY FOR YOUR MUTUALS. do you like flowers? yes? good. do you like pretty, sweet girls? yes? ok great. please, allow me to introduce you to a person who combines all three !! rose thomas, a wholesome girl who, while living in a terribly hot city, will make you forget all about the heat with her charming smile and adorable laugh !! with her heart of gold, she will help out anyone and stand up for those that cannot !! while a little hot-tempered, rose truly has firm beliefs, but doesn’t mean she won’t learn from her mistakes and grow, flourish, like that of the flower she is named after !! so come visit liore and meet the city’s own pink-haired angel !! 

NOW THE OPPOSITE, LIST EVERYTHING WHY YOUR MUSE COULD NOT BE SO INTERESTING (EVEN IF YOU MAY NOT AGREE, WHAT DOES THE FANDOM PERHAPS THINK?).   .... well, first off, in 03, people disliked rose for the fact that she was seen as a threat to the pairing EdWin. which, ofc if you read the manga, doesn’t happen so. and idk if people couldn’t really relate to rose back then, much less in BH where she barely shows up (as story-line goes) and she isn’t as fleshed out as prior. umm. i think from what i’ve seen (even if it is canon) people didn’t particularly like that they “white-washed” her, even though technically she was meant to be originally light-skinned (she’s a desert child yet she’s white .... she’d burn but ok) and i think just how she came off originally really made people dislike her vs 03. and maybe her storyline in 03 wasn’t as interesting and maybe a little dark, given that she’s a WOC who is raped by a soldier(s) and had the child, then was used by scar, and then used again by dante, so maybe they figured she’s a weak person who gets manipulated a lot? (writing this is making me mad but from again, what i’ve read LMAO) and just the plot device with the child / gate opening. 

WHAT INSPIRED YOU TO RP YOUR MUSE? honestly? cause she was pretty LMAO. but mainly bc she (in 03) was a brown girl, like me. even though you don’t know her race, i saw myself in her, and she was so sweet and wholesome. she lost her first love and was desperate to do whatever it takes to get him back and i think she was lost, uncertain, and i really felt that. as time goes on and you find out that she changes her tune and grows and uses ed’s words to help herself back up again from being in a war-zone, it’s inspiring. she didn’t just stick to her ideals, she really changed. and then she is assault. and you just feel furious for her bc she didn’t deserve that, after having just felt empowered to do the right thing. i think initially it was out of vanity, but as i continued on with her, she just grew to be apart of me. she was one of my longest played characters, so i do have a sentimental attachment to her. 

WHAT KEEPS YOUR INSPIRATION GOING? umm. it’s hard more so now bc she’s no longer my main muse. so finding her voice now, a decade-plus later, can pose as a challenge. but i guess other than having writing partners who love her just as much as i do, i think just thinking about what would ( 21+) rose grow up into? what sorts of complex thoughts would she have? music helps me mostly if nothing else tbh. 

SOME MORE PERSONAL QUESTIONS FOR THE MUN.

give your mutuals some insight about the way you are in some matters, which could lead them to get more comfortable with you or perhaps not.

Do you think you give your character justice?  YES / NO ( MAYBE IDK )

Do you frequently write headcanons? YES / NO

Do you sometimes write drabbles?  YES  / NO

Do you think a lot about your Muse during the day?  YES / NO

Are you confident in your portrayal?   YES / NO ( MAYBE ) 

Are you confident in your writing?  YES / NO 

Are you a sensitive person? YES  / NO 

DO YOU ACCEPT CRITICISM WELL ABOUT YOUR PORTRAYAL?   tbh i think i’d feel a little hurt only bc i do feel attachment, but i’d have to be open to criticism if i want to get better at developing her. at the end of the day, she’s not my character. 

DO YOU LIKE QUESTIONS, WHICH HELP YOU EXPLORE YOUR CHARACTER? of course !! i’m rarely on, but if i get them i’d love them. 

IF SOMEONE DISAGREES TO A HEADCANON OF YOURS, DO YOU WANT TO KNOW WHY?   i’d be willing to know why, and see their pov, and we’d have to agree to disagree if it’s something that i personally feel in my heart of hearts that you’re allowed to have that .... but since this is my headcanon, then .... let it be? 

IF SOMEONE DISAGREES WITH YOUR PORTRAYAL, HOW WOULD YOU TAKE IT? i’d be like okay, then you write her? like. be a duplicate and write her. no one’s stopping you. write your own headcanons, do whatever you want. i think at this point it’s like, you’re right to your own opinions but then you’re kinda just being a dick about it. like. do i go to every other rose (or hinata on my main blog) and be like nooo you suck?? no, that’s rude. do i agree? not always, but hey if it makes you happy then fuck it be happy ?? LMAO but really, it’s fine, it’s for fun and i’ll try not to take it personally. 

IF SOMEONE REALLY HATES YOUR CHARACTER, HOW DO YOU TAKE IT?   i’ll laugh. grow up?

ARE YOU OKAY WITH PEOPLE POINTING OUT YOUR GRAMMATICAL ERRORS?  please ..... please tell me. i may have gone to uni but english is ..... tricky. even certain punctuations like this ( ; ) thing still consumes my nightmares when it comes to writing. if we thread and you see the error, please fix it for me and don’t let me see it or notice it. save me from shame. 

DO YOU THINK YOU ARE EASY GOING AS A MUN?   i want to say yes, but others may think otherwise bc i’m not them therefore i don’t know what you think of me. i may come off a type of way that may rub you the wrong way without my intention, and that’s just me being honest. if i’m not on this blog and on my main one, i’m sure by now you’ve gotten a decent sense of who i am ooc. i do try to be kind, but i know i can be absent at times only cause i’m overwhelmed and i use writing as an escape ... and then i get comfortable with whoever i write with, which i don’t want others to feel like i won’t give you a chance. maybe our writing styles will click, maybe not? but outside of rp i really am supportive (overly, disgustingly big-sister like supportive) and just quiet and chill, so please feel free to come to me if you ever need to !!! life just gets chaotic sometimes and i apologize for that !! but i’m super harmless, i’m awkward, but i am open and i welcome you all !! ;_; 

[petitprincess1]

My Heroic AU (Warning: Long Post)

So, I don’t know why, but I have this dying need to explain my Heroic AU, especially since I got newer followers. I just want explain more about this to even those that have read my fics, but are more curious about it.

Central/Main Idea: Mine are more on the chaotic good side of things than lawful because I find it more fun and they kind of explore the whole “if villains can kill and destroy and people just accept it, why can’t a hero do the same, especially when justified and with a corrupt justice system?” Basically, whenever a hero does anything like kill or destroy, no matter the reason, they are automatically seen as corrupt or they have a dying need to be stopped, even more so than villains. My Heroic characters basically exist to prove such a thought wrong…even if they aren’t the most mentally balanced people.

Also, the images I’m using were created by @themcnobody when they did a commission for me and I posted it up, so I don’t think this counts as reposting, but I’ll remove them if they don’t want me using them.

The Crew:

Clemencia/Felicity Clement Age: 19-20 Height: 5 foot 3 Job: Assassin/Hitman for Hire Background: Clem was born powerless in a family full of superheroes both on her father’s and mother’s side. Around the time when she was born, White Hat made her family move to a more crime filled neighborhood to lower the crime rate. Unfortunately, due to them being stuck in a bad neighborhood and not having powers, Clem was stuck sheltered for over 19 years. 

However, that changed when she left out on her birthday without her family knowing…and she instantly got followed and almost attacked from a drunkard. Luckily and unluckily, Clem was “saved” by Demencia, who was following the drunkard because they were in debt with the BHO. Dem was going to attack Clem for fun, but she instantly got out of her murderous mood when the girl just expressed her gratitude and she just left her. 

When she came back, in the middle of her party and in front of her entire family, she expressed having a newfound inspiration with her life and finally knowing what she wants to do. And says loudly and proudly, “I want to be an assassin like Demencia!” Everyone was quiet. No one clapped. No one cheered. The only person even seemingly intrigued was a man wearing a top white hat in the back. Personality: She is an endless ball of energy, mostly due to her having so much fun with her unicorn powers and she will always try to use them whenever she can (even if it’s just simply changing her pupils to look like hearts or stars or even question marks). She loves basically being the spoiled little princess of the group, but she also knows when to get serious. And when she is serious, she can be pretty deadly, even though she hides it all with a huge smile on her face and with her excited demeanor all while summoning a battle axe. 

Clem also is a huge dork that loves to make multiple references from games to movies to music, it doesn’t matter. It’s just something that she loves to do. She’s the second most mentally dysfunctional person in the group, often constantly doubting or questioning her decisions She also is obsessed with loving Demencia as much as she is obsessed with killing her or capturing her. All because of that night of Dem saving her and she wants to show her extreme appreciation by being either her greatest enemy or amazing lover. She’s fine with either one. Just as long as she can be with her love.

She loves Slug like a brother and will often play as a lab rat for him by testing his poisons. It doesn’t do any harm, since her horn also has a bit of eldritch magic in it. And other than Demencia, White Hat is another person she’ll die for. She adores him and believes she owes everything to him.

Also, her horn is real and it constantly fries at her brain, while also simultaneously keeping her alive. It be like that sometimes.

~~~

Slug Unglück Kaiser Age: 31 Height: 6 foot 2 (with boots on) 6 foot (with boots off) Job: Medic/Scientist Background:  Basically, his mom and dad are a villain and a hero couple, one of the very few that actually are harmonious together. They actually were (and still are) rivals to each other, but they just think of their “little” fights are just a little game to them. Anyway, they have Slug and his father instantly wants his wife to stop all heroic duties, warning her that now she that she has something precious to her that villains will immediately seek out that target or use him as her weakness. Of course, her being a hero, she ignores him and says she’ll be fine and continues fighting crime. This continues perfectly for a good 5 years, until she ended up going to a mission where they had Slug captured and were using him as leverage. They basically wanted her to give up her life of crime, tossing her a gun, or else her son would die. Not wanting to waste too much time and having already made the decision. She pulled the trigger…killing herself in front of Slug.

The father didn’t blame Slug for her death at the time, but he does immediately try to get him to a life of a crime, despite the fact that he was born normal. His father does this in any way he can whether it be making him see gruesome murders or manipulating Slug or lying to him at every turn, it doesn’t matter to the father. Slug’s grandparents, on his father’s side, hate that their son is doing that to him, so they instead subjugate him to more loving things, this includes making candy and baking. And Slug loves it! So much so that he starts doing it at home more and more, which makes the dad nervous, the last thing that he wants is for Slug to make take himself out of wanting to be a villain. So, the lies, deception, and manipulation increase to full on verbal and mental abuse over the course of 5 or 6 more years. Luckily, Slug always had his baking and candy making to calm him down. 

During one night, while his grandparents were over, his father gets into a very heated argument with his parents while Slug is trying to tune it all out by making his own sugar syrup. The arguing gets louder and louder to the point where Slug felt like he needed to say something, to at least get his viewpoint on things. This gets his dad pissed off to the point where he, blindly in a rage, grabs the pot that Slug was making the syrup and threw it at his face (simple syrup, which is just sugar and a bit of water, can be from 200-240°F), which luckily only hit the left side of his face from reacting quickly. His grandmother immediately tries to calm the burning, while his grandfather keeps his father away from Slug. His father ends up escaping Hat Island and is at large.

Unfortunately, for Slug, while they did get him to a hospital, the syrup gave him four degrees burns, which means you’re to the point where you have brown, leathery skin and you need skin grafting, a part of his lip was burnt so badly that it revealed some of his teeth, and that his left eye was damaged, not blind, but he can barely see out of it. Which is why he needs goggles. Personality: He’s kind of a direct opposite for Flug, like how Flug looks soft but he’s actually intimidating, Slug looks intimidating but is a complete softie. He is pretty blunt person and will always take the more logical route than the emotional, so he tends to seem very cold and analytic, but then will pretty much stuttering out apologies once he’s realized his mistake. He also self-taught himself poisons and engineering to start his own candy van with his friends. 

He also tends to carry candy around as a habit and just something to chew on when he’s thinking or nervous. Plus, he also manufactured his candies to be weapons, just so that no one can get suspicious of him when reaching into his jacket.

 He’s 100% loyal to White Hat and is pretty much ready to kill or harm anyone who dares speak against. He’s even ready to fight against Black Hat if need be, even though he knows it’s a losing fight.

Clemencia is like a little sister to him and he’ll always have her back, but he does tend to make her powers short-circuit on purpose if she does anything too insane.

~~~

White Hat Age: Old…but 300 years younger than Black Hat Height: 6 foot 6 (with hat on) 6 foot 4 (with hat off) Job: Owner of White Hat Incorporated/Consultant Background: …He won’t let me tell you. Personality: How does one describe him? White Hat is the worst out of everyone. Depending on who you are, he can be sweet and nice one second, but then snapping and downright terrifying the next. He likes to refer to people, at least mostly when he’s alone, as his puppets because he can easily trick people that he’s an all-around. I mean, who’s gonna question the man that’s the number one hero and was documented doing so many heroic deeds? No one, which makes this perfect cover up. And no one is safe from him, if you’re a hero or a villain or just an employee and you defy him, trick him, backstab him in anyway, you are probably not gonna live for much longer (in other words, you’re gonna get a visit from Clem) or if he sees value in you, then he has no problem in re-teaching you the rules here in White Hat Inc. 

Other than that, White also loves to be around humans, however. They oddly fascinate him with how interesting they are, especially with how they can easily make their lives harder by making one wrong decision or how they can ruin their day with one intrusive thought. And yet, a lot of them still find reason for continuing to live. Extraordinary. Plus, he also adores the food made on Earth and will sometimes take that over souls or flesh any day.

Also, he’s in a poly relationship with Clem and Slug because their his two most favorite puppets…and he does care for them. Fun fact: I was/am scared of White Hat because I don’t trust people who smile or are happy all the time. I just don’t. No one smiles that much and no one is that carefree. I don’t like them and that’s why I made him a master manipulator. 

~~~

Also, there isn’t a 606, but there is a Hatbot, who basically is pretty much like 505, except he often does harm others. He just believes that he’s playing with them, since he has the mindset of a child.

And that’s pretty much it. Let me know if you want to know more and this is a lot longer than I thought it would be.

[starwarsforcestuff]

In light of the progressing number of quarantines, school closures/online classes, I’ve decided to post Chapter 1 of my fanfic here! It is a work in progress but I hope you enjoy it!

I’m only going to post part of it here and attach a link to Chapter 1 so you all don’t have to keep scrolling forever. Without further ado, I present To Ashes: A Star Wars Story 

I am one with the force, the force is with me. I am one with the force, the force is with me. I am one with the force, the force is with me. I keep repeating it over and over in my head trying to make sense of the chaos going on outside. Master Silvard told me to wait in my chambers in the Padawan area, but I was getting worried now. There was blaster fire coming from right outside the temple. To the best of my knowledge, Master Kenobi went to go confront Grievous elsewhere. So why was there a battle happening right outside the Temple? Why did Master Silvard want me to wait for him? Why didn’t he want me to come with him? So many questions, such uncertainty. I decided I would be a good Padawan and wait for him to return or contact me on the comm. I wanted to be a good Jedi. I wanted to be a Master as good as Master Silvard or Master Yoda or even Master Kenobi one day, but as the Force wills it, patience was never my strong suit. The council must have known this and that is why I train with Master Silvard. He always had a reputation for discipline, patience, and kindness. The council wants me to acquire these traits, I would reason with myself. 

“The Council has a reason,” he would always remind me in his modulated voice. “We have to trust the Council and let the Force guide our actions. The Force is everywhere and connects us to everything, and we adhere to its bidding. The Force has been around before anyone can remember, and will continue to be around even after we are gone. We do not manipulate the Force, we work with it, let it flow through us. For over a thousand generations, the Jedi Knights were the guardians of peace and justice in the Old Republic, using the Force to guide them. What is the Jedi Code, my Padawan?”

Every time he asked I would stand up straight and recite the ancient words, “There is no emotion-there is peace. There is no ignorance-there is knowledge. There is no passion-there is serenity. There is no chaos-there is harmony. There is no death-there is the force.”

“Exactly. Balance in all things. Peace is not the absence of emotion, but rather the control of your emotions. Knowledge, whether you know as much as Master Yoda, or less than a youngling is still knowledge. We remain must remain serein even in the direst of circumstances. Too much happiness or anger tips the balance so we must remain calm to think and keep our feelings under control. Fear leads to anger, anger leads to hate, hate leads to suffering, the path to the dark side. A hive looks chaotic at a distance, but after examining it we see all the creatures have a purpose. They have a job to do for the betterness of the hive and thus everything is harmonic. And as I said earlier, the Force has been around before anyone can remember, and will continue to be around even after we are gone. When our time is up we simply-”

“Become one with the force.”

“Exactly my Padawan. This is why the mantra ‘I am one with the Force, the Force is with me’ is a reminder that there is more than ourselves. It is a reminder of what we serve and its power.”

Well, the force was silent right now. It could tell me why I had not heard from my master yet, but that would be all too easy. With that thought, I got off my meditation mat and picked up the hilt of my lightsaber to walk to my cot where the comlink was located. I reached for it so that I would be ready if Master Silvard needed my help and attached it to the belt wrapped around me. Master Silvard expected me to be ready and I could only assume that this time would be no different. Pacing the length of the room feeling restless and beginning to worry for my Master. I sat on the sleeping cot, stood up and walked back to the meditation mat to sit down again. Still feeling antsy I placed my lightsaber in front of me and proceed to take it apart. The silver hilt was warm from the time I had spent holding it in the past few minutes. 

Master Silvard was persistent that I know my basics, to know my lightsaber by feel. From the vertical notches on the hilt to the teardrop-shaped pommel. The distance from the activation switch to the emitter. The exact shape of my kyber crystal. I knew everything about this saber. Every edge, every point. It is blue now, but when I first constructed it as a Padawan, the crystal was transparent. Like the younglings before me, I traveled to Illum to complete The Gathering. After completing the trials the force led me to the crystal. Clearer than the purest diamond, pulsing with energy, I held it in my hand baffled and transfixed at the crystal I was going to use in my lightsaber. I allowed myself to breathe to the rhythm of the energy around the crystal, turning it over and over feeling every point and edge until something in my very soul clicked with the crystal and it turned blue. The whole ordeal was instantaneous, but at that moment, it felt like it lasted hours.

Not being able to stand to wait anymore, I decided to comm, my Master. I put my lightsaber back together and walked to the cot where I had placed my comlink.

“Master, what is going on? Are you all alright? Can I do anything to help?”

“Deco Kin! Listen to me, this is of the utmost importance. You must not contact me again for your safety. You need to hide and get as far away from the temple as you can. They’re-” The communication broke off with the sound of static and then silence, leaving me confused. He had never seemed so worried about me. He had more than once told me that I was quite capable. Did he think that I could not handle myself right now? He must have a reason. But most worrisome was how the conversation ended. Would my Master be ok? What were they doing, and who were they? I’m sure he would be. He had been in dangerous situations many times before, I know this because I was with him for many of them. I have seen him come out of battles without a single scratch. This time should not be any different. Regardless, I would do what my Master said. I had to get away from the temple.

 I took my brown robe and put it on, holstered my lightsaber, and put my hood up. I always hated my robes. They were always too long and make me look shorter than I already am, but at this time I am happy that my lack of height might be to my advantage. Bobbing and weaving always came to me, and the evasive maneuvers were that much easier when I first learned to spar. 

I turned around for one last second glance, to make sure I was not going to forget anything. I did not see anything I could be missing and turned to leave out the door but stopped short and turned back around. If Master Silvad was acting this way it was because this situation is dangerous, this might be the last time I see this room. I took the whole room in. It was not large and had no decorations on the walls or ledges. A sleeping cot with a thin blanket and sheets and a bar hanging up where I hung my robes in a closet. There was a small area for meditation, and a desk to complete my homework stacked high with datapads from the library. The walls were such a light blue that it had taken a while to realize that there was any color in the room at all. It was not much to look at. The hum of electricity flowed through as well as the soft cool breeze of air coming through the vents. I closed my eyes and took a deep breath. The faint sweet smell of blue milk, my favorite drink, was still lingering. The sheets smelled clean like my soap. It was not extravagant, and as a Jedi, it was not supposed to be, but it was still mine, it was still home. I breathed in one last time, closed my eyes to burn the image into my memory, and turned around to walk out the door. 

The door hissed as it opened which was not unusual, but a good reminder that I would have to be silent. Any door hissing could be heard from not too far away and lead them to me. Sticking to the side hallways instead of the main walkway would be best if I wanted to avoid people or potential fights. I kept my head down as I began to walk to not attract any attention to myself. I saw a few other Padawans standing outside their rooms trying to figure out what was happening. Some had only become Padawans, a very small few were almost ready for the trials, but everyone I could see had the same look of confusion on their face. I kept walking, my boots echoing around the hallway as I made my way out of the Padawan quarters. Some of the Padawans were talking to each other about what was happening. 

“I’ve not heard anything from my Master. I sense that this is not a drill either. Could the separatists have regrouped and attacked the capital?” I kept walking. I passed my friend Acher Kahn who was looking as confused as I felt and as confused as everyone else. I recalled the countless hours Acher and I had stayed up together studying and joking, other than Master Silvard, Acher was the closest person to me. However, there was no time to stop and talk if my Master wanted me out of the Temple. I had to find him and help. If none of the other Padawans here had heard anything from their Masters then there was more trouble than I had thought. I sped my pace up not looking back. I am only thinking about how my Master, all of our Masters are in danger, and none of us knew why. 

https://archiveofourown.org/works/23123173/chapters/55329091

Thank You for reading! Please click the link above to visit the full chapter!

[tessatechaitea]

Wonder Twins #7

I didn't realize the Wonder Twins were Gen X.

Oh yeah! Zan had just saved the world by stopping a plot that was going to save the world.

I just realized I hadn't scanned the cover yet and as I did, I noticed the Wonder Twins fist/star emblem marks a striking resemblance to a goat.se riff. Zan and Jayna get taken off of monitor duty at the Hall of Justice now that they've stopped the League of Annoyance. You'd think that doing a good job would get you a promotion but those of use who have always done spectacularly good jobs know better. While everybody else works down to the lowest common denominator (because who wants to do more work than the next guy?! A fool, that's who!), good workers just put on blinders and do the job they were hired for until the time they're being paid for is up. Sure, that sounds like I'm describing a sucker who's been completely manipulated by the man! But I'm also describing a person who fulfills their end of whatever bargain they've agreed to! So when I say Zan and Jayna wind up giving tours at the Hall of Justice because they were too good at catching criminals, you'll understand why I went into the previous digression. Maybe? I don't know. Have you seen what state the U.S. is in?! Why are you picking apart my writing style?! Mark Russell takes a few pages to shit all over hockey fans and now I hate Mark Russell with a burning passion. Even though I'd hardly call myself a hockey fan. I mean, I loved NHL '93 (unless it was '92 (or maybe '94?)) and I loved going to San Jose Sharks games when I was still living in the Bay Area (plus my friend worked equipment for the Sharks and would get us free tickets). But it's not like I follow it much anymore. I just like the feeling of being angry at somebody for writing a satirical critique of sports fans rioting because they're so happy that their team won. Although why would I be angry when I've never done that nor think Russell's wrong in his pointed and humorous critique?! Oh, who cares why! Being angry is just more fun! Oh shit! I finally understand people's attraction to Fox News! I just watched a YouTube clip of somebody's Jeremy Roenick highlights from NHL '94 set to the song "More Than a Feeling" and it was pretty awesome. Also, that was definitely the one we played nonstop back in 1993 and 94 and maybe even into 95. Roenick unstoppable down with the puck while Sharks players lay splayed out on their back all across the ice. To stop the riot, Superman calls in Repulso! He's a guy whose super power is super stink and he's kept in a locked room with a bare table and a microwave and nobody wants to be his friend because he smells like a garbage dumb that vomited on top of the diarrhea it shit out while standing on its head so the stanky muck ran down his body absorbing all of his body odor and then somebody cut up a durian and tossed it in the mix.

Superman is a dick. Get this guy some friends with no sense of smell. Or at the very least, an Xbox Gold account.

After the hockey riots, some "the end of the world" riots take place because Zan and Jayna screw up something or other. Basically what that means is that Repulso gets to be let out of his airtight containment unit again! He's a pretty optimistic guy for being sealed away by Superman (which is just Superman's way! Is somebody a problem? No problem! Put them in the Phantom Zone!). He's so happy and not bitter about his living arrangements that I feel like Zan and Jayna had better figure out a way to give him a better life before this issue ends. Because if Mark Russell fails this character he created before this issue is over and I have to face reality after snot crying about a fictional person, I'm going to be pretty upset when I continue to buy Mark Russell comic books because what other choice do I have? Am I going to stop reading DC's best written comic books because Mark Russell betrayed poor Repulso? Of course not! What am I? A person with integrity?! Repulso winds up getting his ass beat by rioters as Repulso's handlers flee the chaotic "end of the world" downtown riot scene. Luckily the Wonder Twins are headed downtown to save his life and maybe become his friend or something? Please? After Zan and Jayna save Repulso, Jayna goes to Superman to tell him everything sucks. He gives her a big speech about how being a hero is lonely work because you don't always get to fuck the hot chick at your secret identity's workplace and also fuck an Amazon warrior while also getting to fuck anybody at all whose initials are "L.L." and also have a best friend who is the coolest guy in the world with a butler who makes the best pancakes. Sometimes you're a fat jerk who smells who even Superman won't fucking give the time of day because Superman has this speech about how being a hero is lonely and that's a good thing so you should embrace your loneliness because who wants to put up with your super stink, fatty?

Jayna is a way better hero than Superman. At least in this comic book that's all about her and not Superman so of course she's going to outshine him!

Oh yeah, the ant in the above picture is Jayna. It can't smell. Wonder Twins #7 Rating: A+. I should probably be less cynical when reading Mark Russell comic books because he's as earnest and serious as he can be while also providing lots of jokes. He takes writing seriously because what else is there? If your message isn't going to matter, why bother? (is his philosophy. I think. It's not my philosophy! I don't think? Maybe it is! I just write things that matter in a much different way than Mark Russell writes things that matter.) I should probably read Superman's speech and be inspired by the idea that you don't do good because you want adulation; you do good because it's the right thing to do, even if the entire world thinks you're an asshole for doing it. Even if all of the other superheroes think you're a stinky fuck and only keep you around to use as a tool to oppress and manipulate the masses without having to use logic and reason on them (because, let's face it, the people doing terrible things don't understand logic and reason. Or they're do but they're just selfish and greedy so nothing is going to reach them anyway (which maybe is part of Superman's message?)), you're still a hero at the end of the day. You can still be proud of your stinky self. And even if the life is lonely, you should remain positive and upbeat because Superman really doesn't want to be reminded that you exist every time you complain about the lack of reasonable living conditions. Being a hero is a state of mind, says the guy who also looks great and is invulnerable and has the best wife and a cool son and doesn't have to fear death! So inspiring!

[itsgalaxy29]

Archenemies Review

Archenemies, the second installment in Marissa Meyer’s Renegades trilogy was outstanding. Meyer has completely outdone herself with this book. It expanded beautifully on the politics of the world but kept the story interesting and all-consuming the entire time.

--The relationship between Nova and Adrian developed so much in this story. To becoming closer than ever all while being the most separated they have ever been is heart wrenching.

--The philosophy and morals of both Adrian and Nova was so intriguing. This novel dives deep into why each of them believe or don’t believe in the Renegades, and why each character reacts in certain ways to specific events.

--Politics are always interesting to me, but the Renegades’ ability to create a government where the people are completely dependent of it, all while securing the love and admiration of the people never ceases to amaze me. They continue to be an entity that is publicly adored, even if they are enacting policies that completely inhibits the rights of some people.

--Although Archenemies was less action packed than Renegades doesn’t make it any less enjoyable. I loved every second of this book and am highly anticipating the finale. Definitely a 5/5 star read.

Spoilers Below

First of all, this book was hilarious. The characters work so well together and have the best banter. But the dialogue wasn’t even the funniest part to me, but rather it was the internal thoughts of either Nova or Adrian when they thought about the other’s vigilante side.

‘“Well,” she muttered, “at least I won’t have to worry about [the sentinel] anymore,”’ (21).

You thought Nova.

“His dads would all it denial. His team would call it his typical uncanny optilism. But Adrian couldn’t help it. The truth was, he did not believe that Nightmare was dead,” (40).

This is the funniest thing to me. Adrian’s character has always been one of determination and stubbornness, but this is just taking it to a new level. Little does he know he’s in love with his archenemy.

Political Perspectives/ Motivations  

The characters in this novel develop into something so much more complex. Their beliefs and reasons for those beliefs become amazingly clear.

Nova is someone who is driven by her failures. She separates herself from Adrian because she can’t allow herself to fail her family again. She assumes that the death of her family is not only the fault of herself, but the failure of the Renegades. The Renegades not coming to save her family spurs Nova’s belief of how bad the dependency on the Renegades is. In her eyes, the people should be responsible for themselves. Their dependency on the Renegades has made it possible for a situation with Agent-N to occur. Sure some will question the morality of Agent-N, but most, because of their undying support for the Renegades, will accept it as righteous; and that is a dangerous path for people to continue on.

What I loved about Nova throughout this book is that despite needing to keep her identify a secret, she always questions the Renegades about the potential corruption in their decisions.

‘“And once they-- she paused--”once we have total power, what’s to keep us from become villains ourselves?”’ (85).

The renegades have to be destroyed in order for society to restore itself. Nova would rather have no prodigies at all so the people would be forced to take care of themselves and create a new beginning.

“Sometimes, things did have to be destroyed before something better could be built,” (270).

This can be seen coming into play when Nova recognizing the she didn’t hesitate when killing Ingrid (64). Ingrid was destructive and chaotic. Although she was an anarchist, Nova killed her without hesitation. It was a necessary death to further the Anarchists’ rise to power. Nova has always hesitated when trying to kill before; with her parents’ murderer and Captain Chromium himself. This development only proves her devotion to her family and the Ace’s vision. Some things need to be destroyed to be built anew.

Adrian on the other hand, is the opposite. He believes the Renegades are a force of good, and that the people need them. Although he does think about how Nova is probably right-- the people do depend too much on the Renegades-- Adrian still believes that the Renegades are necessary. There needs to be someone or something to help guide and protect the people. In his perspective, that is exactly what the Renegades are doing. While he does question this with the debate over Agent-N, overall Adrian wants the Renegades to continue and is convinced that Agent-N will protect the people.

But with the Renegades comes rules. The reason why Adrian takes on the persona of the Sentinel in the first place is so he could go outside the law to do what he believes is right. The law restricts him in a way he feels hinders his ability to achieve justice. But Adrian is also impatient and wants recognition. He greatest fears are not having power and being forgotten. The phase that Frostbite yells at him sticks in his head for a reason.

“Just like no one will miss you,” (295).

Adrian wants to help, so he will do whatever is necessary to achieve this goal, even go against the renegade codes. The Sentinel is just a way for him to do that. However, Adrian’s motives might be pure now, but they could easily turn to the dark, like I suspect they will in his pursuit of Nightmare in the final installment.

The Relationship

The development of Adrian and Nova’s relationship killed he. Nova was deliberately using Adrian so she could help Ace and preserve his vision. Everytime the two of them had a scene together, Nova was always thinking about how to manipulate him into liking her. This was so frustrating to me but in such a good way. Despite Nova trying her hardest to keep her feelings separate, Nova can’t help but fall in love you Adrian. She is disappointed when she tries to kiss him and his rejected (159). She falls asleep in his arms (318). Adrian drew a star that became hers and hers only (310). Nova obviously loves this boy, but I’m glad that she doesn’t give up her moral and goals for the sake of him. She says goodbye to him, thinking that her charade will be over, and fully ready to let it go in order to achieve what she wants.

And Adrian’s perspective is all the more entertaining. Of course he still has no idea of her real motives, but he trusts her so much that he wants to tell her about the Sentinel (199). Page 246 is literally just Adrian listing all of the things he likes about Nova. And of course she already knows about the Vitality Charm. But Nova makes him fall asleep while kissing, and he stills suspects nothing. Adrian trusts Nova, possibly more than anyone else. I cannot even begin to imagine the betrayal he will feel once he finds out.

Anticipation of Reveal

The development of Nova and Adrian’s relationship will make the reveal all the more powerful.

There are so many things that have built up the anticipation, especially the little hints.

--Nova or course have seen the sketchbook of the Sentinels tattoos, as well as the Rebel Z comics.

--Danna obviously knows, it’s just the matter of her escaping the confines of the jar she’s trapped in.  

--Max might know. “She couldn’t tell if there was recognition there, but she knew there was a question,” (455). -- this was when Nightmare forced Frostbite over to Max so he had a chance of survival.  

--At the gala, Nova once again uses the word “neophyte,” (387) which is the word the Sentinel questioned Nightmare using when they first met in the Renegades. Adrian recognizing the word, this time used by Nova, and is reminded by Nightmare herself.

--And of course Max getting hurt

Max

I love how Max is the key to everything. He is why Agent-N exists and why Adrian wants to destroy Nightmare.

When the Vitality Charm is introduced, I was convinced it wouldn’t work. I was preparing myself for something to go wrong any second. But thankfully nothing did and Max finally has the opportunity to actually be with his family. Page 227 ripped my heart out in two, especially now knowing the ending.

Honestly Max being on his deathbed wasn’t that surprising to me overall. The vitality charm was a huge win and Max is such a loved character that something bad had to happen to him. But Nova helped him and I do believe he will survive this injury.

But it is this injury that spurs Adrian’s true desire to end Nightmare

Adrian believes that it was Nightmare that tried to kill Max. This is what will turn the Sentinel into a means to an end.

“He would not give up the Sentinel until [Nightmare] was destroyed,” (463).

This hate of Nightmare will only deepen in the finale. But of course, Adrian goes to Nova, searching for help.

‘“I’m going to destroy her… Nova… will you help me?”” (471).

This line killed me. The chaos that is going to erupt doing the next book is going to be monumental. Adrian finally truly hates Nightmare and finally truly loves Nova.

Nova in turn tells Adrian she will help him destroy Nightmare “as she stared into the empty eyes  of Ace Anarchy’s helmet, glinting at her from the shadows,” (471).

She has finally helped her family, and has not failed. She only wants to help maintain Ace’s vision for the world, but in order to do that, she has and will have to betray the one she loves; always being slightly in the shadows, always having the Anarchist's vision on her mind.

Renegades/Anarchists

For the final book, the dynamics between the Anarchists and Renegades are finally going to come to light.

Ace is dying. The Anarchists might very well lose their leader in an anti-climatic middle of the book death. Nova and the rest of the anarchists will be crushed, but that might just led them into their rise to power once again. Nova will carry on Ace’s vision, but to what extent? She has already questioned some of her uncle’s beliefs and now has a strong connection to the Renegades’ point of view.

Either way, I do think the anarchists will rise, and Renegades will face tragedy and destruction.

“The crack continued past her, burrowing through the red R in the center of the lobby,  driving the foundation apart,” (432).

The Renegades’ are going to be divided and maybe even fall apart completely.

[uas-art]

Title: Aren't You...? Rating: T Summary: For every advantage not having a secret identity had, there was always a disadvantage he had to deal with as well. Ships: Jyle mentioned past Kydi Other: Superhero AU

Read on ao3

~~~~

The train car was mostly empty, which left Jimmy somewhat disappointed. Sitting around on the train to people watch gave him some of his best bits.

Where would the name 'Jimmy Valmer' be in the comedian circles if he didn't have his Bible Throw Down story?

Of course, the story itself had some embellishment to it, but it wasn't fully made-up. Jimmy was witness to two old women getting up in each other's faces, and one of them did raise her Bible to smack the other, but the fight didn't escalate as far as Jimmy's routine claimed.

Fastpass stepped in before that could happen.

He shouldn't be too surprised at the emptiness of the train, really. It was late, and this train didn't run between any major factories or nightclubs.

The only other passengers were a person sleeping in the corner, a bottle in a paper bag between her shoes, and another person sitting in the middle of the car, staring down at his phone.

Jimmy slipped into a seat and took off his crutches. He set them beside him before leaning back and shutting his eyes.

Maybe this was a blessing, more so than the Bible Throw Down, even. Some quiet time would do him good.

It seemed that lately, the city was more chaotic than normal: crime was on the rise, villains with superpowers kept popping up, not to mention the recent bout of fights and arguing amongst the city's heroes.

Just a week ago, Mosquito and ToolShed got into a spat over something or another and fucked up a local park. The media was still having a field day with that story.

All the heroes have been staying on their best behavior since then in an attempt to keep their reputations on the up and up. Jimmy included. That was the main reason he wasn't running home. The last thing he needed was the tabloids getting wind that he had gotten another speeding ticket or that he'd broken traffic laws again.

"Um, hey, excuse me?"

Jimmy opened his eyes. The person who was sitting in the middle of the train now stood in front of him.

"Yeah?" Jimmy shifted so he was sitting up straight.

"Are you..." The person paused a moment, and Jimmy reflexively tensed for what was coming.

'Are you the Fastpass?’

For every advantage not having a secret identity had, there was always a disadvantage he had to deal with as well. This particular disadvantage was his least favorite.

Everyone knew him as 'Fastpass', the speedy fighter for justice first and foremost, not 'Jimmy Valmer,' stand up comedian, or 'Jimmy Valmer,' newspaper reporter. Jimmy was proud of the good he'd done as Fastpass, but the fact it erased all his other accomplishments annoyed him to no end.

There wasn't much he could do to prevent it though, so instead he prepared for the onslaught of usual questions.

"You're Jimmy Valmer, right?"

Jimmy blinked. His brain froze a moment before the word sunk in.

"Y-yes. That's me!" Jimmy brightened. He held out his hand with a grin. "And you?"

The person grinned back before taking his hand and shaking. "Kyle. It's so cool to meet you."

"Likewise," Jimmy replied, "I love meeting fans!" He paused a moment, before picking up his crutches from the seat beside him and moved them so they were between his knees.

"Wanna take a seat and ch-chat?" He patted the seat beside him.

Kyle looked apprehensive until Jimmy flashed an encouraging smile, then he slipped into the seat.

"So, what brings you out on this glorious night? The am-amb-ambiance of the train or the company?" Jimmy waved his hand to the train drunk in the corner.

Kyle covered his smile. "I'm heading home from a friend's house, actually. He just moved out from his ex-girlfriend's, and he's still getting over it."

"Ah," Jimmy nodded, "A br-broken heart can change a good man in so many ways."

Kyle snorted. "He'll get over it. He's just pissed a friend told his ex something he'd said in confidence about her." He shook his head.

Jimmy rested his chin on his crutches. In his mind's eye, he replayed the argument between Mosquito and ToolShed. Apparently, the argument started after Mosquito mentioned some less than savory information about Shed to Call Girl.

It was almost funny how something so ordinary could cause so much damage among super powered men.

"I hope he and his friends, girl or o-otherwise, can work everything out." Jimmy offered.

"Yeah," Kyle sighed, a forlorn look crossing his face.

"Something the matter, buddy?" Jimmy asked.

Kyle jumped. "Oh! No, no, I just--it's nothing. Personal stuff. A stranger like you wouldn't want to hear about it."

Jimmy turned his head to the side. "Strangers? We know each other's names, that makes us p-prac-pra--pretty much family." His eyes twinkled. "You can expect me over for Christmas dinner with how close we are now!"

Kyle chuckled and shook his head. "I'm Jewish, actually."

"Oh, Hanukkah then," Jimmy corrected. "I'll show up all eight nights and bring a cheese p-platter. Besides," he elbowed him, "if something is bothering you, talking tends to help, if you want."

Kyle chewed his lip a moment. "This isn't going to be used in any of your shows if I tell you?"

Jimmy crossed his heart. "I would never. Scout's honor."

Taking a breath, Kyle slumped forward a bit. He ran his hand through his thick, red curls.

"My own girlfriend broke up with me recently as well." He admitted.

Jimmy frowned before reaching over and setting a comforting hand on his should. "I'm s-sorry. That must be difficult."

Kyle shrugged a little. "The reason I know who you are as a comedian is that I took Heidi to one of your shows for her birthday. She really likes your anecdotes." He smiled softly at the memory for a moment. "I'd only knew you as a superhero until then, but you're really funny."

"Out of the spandex and in, Jimmy Valmer loves to make people smile." Jimmy dropped his hand to his lap. "So, if you don't mind telling me, w-wh-what happened between you two?"

Kyle's smile fell. He looked down at his hands. "An old...'friend' of ours convinced her of some things about me that aren't true." When he said 'friend', he clenched his jaw for a heartbeat. "So, she left me, and I'm one hundred percent sure that jackass only told her what he told her because he's still in love with her."

"She and you're ex-friend were a thing?" Jimmy asked.

He nodded sharply. "Unfortunately." His hands clenched into fists. "It's not fair. I'm a thousand times better for her than him. He's just a manipulative asshole!"

For just a fraction of a second, Jimmy swore he saw Kyle's eyes flash with a red glow. There was something familiar about it, but he couldn't place it.

Jimmy pushed the thought aside before he spoke. "I wish I could give you some advice here, but I th-think anything I have to say, you've probably already heard before."

Kyle let his shoulders slump forward. "You mean that sometimes people fall back into bad patterns? Or that bad people can hide how terrible they are?"

"Well, I was going to say you should try not to beat yourself up about it," Jimmy told him. "If this asshole is as bad as you say, then he wants you to feel t-terrible. If you instead stay strong and keep going on in your life, then you win."

Kyle blinked a few times as he mulled over Jimmy's words. "Yeah." He said slowly. "Yeah, that makes sense."

Jimmy flashed a smile. "And when everything c-cr-crashes and burns for him, Heidi will see you're still going strong and want to come back to someone who can actually be there for her."

Kyle's eyes sparkled. All the sorrow that plagued his posture seemed to lift, and he raised himself up straight. His lips turned upwards.

"Yeah, you're right. Heidi will see Cartman's an asshole sooner or later. Even if she doesn't want to date me anymore, at least I can be there for her to help, right? I'm still her friend, regardless."

"Hell yeah!" Jimmy pumped his fist up in solidarity.

The two shared wide grins before the train jerked to a stop. Kyle raised his head to look out the window to the station.

"Oh, it's my stop." He sounded a little disappointed. "I have to get home."

"Before you go!" Jimmy patted his pockets before pulling out a small notebook and pen. He flipped to a clean page then scribbled down a note before ripping it out.

Kyle took the note from his outstretched hand.

"What's this?"

"A ticket. If you ever need a smile, bring that to any of my shows," Jimmy explained. "Don't worry about security not letting you in. They know I do this all the time."

Kyle looked at the note then up at Jimmy. He nodded before folding it up and slipping it into his pocket.

"Thank you." Kyle waved as he headed out the door. "I'll be sure to drop by sometime soon."

"I l-look forward to seeing you!" Jimmy called, though the doors had already shut. He leaned back.

He wondered if Kyle would make up with his ex and start dating her again. If not, Jimmy thought he wouldn't mind trying to take Kyle out for a date himself. Someone like that didn't deserve to spend nights alone.

Especially when they didn't pigeonhole Jimmy as just a superhero but as a living, breathing, hilarious person.

A smile formed on his lips. He'd forgotten how nice it felt to be recognized for his personal talents, and not just his speed.

If Kyle showed up at his show, Jimmy vowed, he'd make sure he got a front row seat.

~~~~

AN: I headcanon in the superhero AU that at the very least Jimmy is Iron Man-ing it up and is totally out with his super and civilian IDs.

[aquaburst3]

And because I’m bored and to organise my own headcanons for my Reverse Voltron fic…especially for the villains, these are what I imagine the mirrored versions of the Paladins and Lotor’s team to be like. (As a side note, I might do another post like this for some of the side characters like Shay, Merla, Cossack, Hazar, Romelle, Avok etc in this fic if anyone wants me to do it)

If you don’t want to be spoiled to my Reverse Voltron fic, don’t read this!

(Keep in mind, the Paladins and Team Sincline are reversed so the former is more morally grey like canon Team Sincline…if that makes sense.)

The Villains

Alfor: He was once a just, kind man, being exactly like his canon counterpart. Once he was in severely injured during battle with one of the monsters from the rift and was on Death’s Door Step, Haggar decided to test out a new substance on him that she was starting to do experiments on–Quintessence. Despite knowing he would object to being a lab rat and already was wary of the stuff, she did it anyways to save his life and collect some data on the substance that she could never properly test out before. Once he woke up, and also thanks to a serve blow to his prefrontal cortex in that same battle, Alfor begins to change, becoming more brash, quick-tempered, violent towards his enemies (not his family, especially Allura), callous, and arrogant, who thinks he’s automatically morally righteous.  As he takes more and more Quintessence and the death of his wife (she died from natural causes), these negative traits only amplify and he becomes corrupt and misguided. His goal is to spread justice and peace throughout the universe, transforming it into an utopia, but at any cost, including blowing up Diabazaal to close to the rift while everyone was on it, turning people into non-cogs along with much more. He also thinks in order to complete his goals, he needs to get the lions back along with his old bond with Red which he thinks he’s still ought to after everything. The closet comparison I can come up with is Dartz from YGO and Kuvira from Korra.

The Canon Paladins

Them as a group: As a group, like the canon paladins, they are very tight and  like a family. They are all working for Allura at the Castle of Lions, which in this AU basically the entry level fighters of the Altean Empire and are fresh out of training except for Shiro, for some reason or another. They are bound by one goal–to spread peace throughout the empire. Over the course of the story, the characters’ eyes open to what is truly happening and while they still believe in peace, they disagree with how Alfor is going about it, deciding to side with the rebels cause of stopping Alfor. Also, they are all Altean in this version and resemble their canon selves if they grew up in different circumstances (or I hope the latter is the case).

Shiro: Since he was born Altean in this AU, he wasn’t tossed into the arena to live out the alien version of the movie Gladiator or kidnapped by aliens. Instead, he’s a young promising commander in the military, however due to one of his first missions gone wrong, which also resulted in Matt and Sam Holt going missing, he is under close watch by Alfor, being forced to bow his head down, keep his trap shut and play nice out of fear of become a non-cog along with being haunted by said mistake. He’s also the first one to have his eyes completely open to what Alfor is really doing and rebel against the empire, telling these thoughts to Keith first. Also, thanks to his military background, he had his arm amputated after said mission failure, being replaced by his robotic arm from the canon, along with getting his scar as well. Personality wise, he’s like his canon self on the surface, however, the best way to describe him is he’s like if Shiro had Kuron’s personality with some slight hints of when Haggar made herself look like Shiro during s1. He’s a knight in black armour.  He has a sense of honour and loyalty, caring about his teammates, especially for Keith and Pidge, but can get hostile, calculating, prideful and arrogant. He can also do a fantastic evil laugh...even if that’s something he’d hardly ever do. (As a side note, am I the only one that loves Shiro’s evil laugh during his first fight with Haggar?)

Keith: He’s pure chaotic neutral vs canon!Keith’s chaotic good. He was orphaned as a baby, being given to Kolivan, who is a part of the Mamora (basically this AU’s version of Pollox from DOTU/Go Lion) royal family, because of Keith’s mother’s last wish. Despite Kolivan’s efforts to control and discipline Keith to be a proper prince throughout most of his life and because he didn’t have a Shiro to ground him most of his life, he’s an uncontrollable ball of angst and fury, who makes very brash decisions for his plans, even at his own expense. He also enrolled in an Altean academy as another one of Kolivan’s schemes to discipline him, but he ended up being an amazing pilot and excelling at it, befriending Shiro and then his placed under his commanding squad after graduation. He is also half Galra and is unsure of what his other half is, but gets a good hunch when he sees Lotor’s group.  Over the course of the story, thanks to the influence of his teammates and especially Shiro along with the eventual realisation of what he’s actually doing, he slowly begins to resemble canon!Keith more and more.  

Pidge: She’s like pre-redemption Peridot from SU.  She uses technology, especially her robots, which she uses to send out to fight people, and computer hacking, as weapons. She’s more sarcastic then she is now, and more then likely taunt the hell out of Lotor and the Generals.  On a different note, since she grew up on Altea, she has longer hair along with working with Shiro to find her brother and father again.

Lance: The best way to describe him is that he’s like DOTU Lotor with a stronger/ well developed personality (without being as creepy towards women) and FMAB Greed.  He starts off as a brat, being vain, both egotistical and insecure and selfish, but does have a strange sense of honour to him and cares tremendously about his bio family and his friends. Like Sincline, he can be charismatic and is a flirt, even flirting with Lotor’s canon generals and Allura, much to their dismay. However, like FMAB Greed, he does transform over the course of the series to become less selfish and egotistical along with stopping flirting with Team Sincline. He is still an amazing sharp shooter.

Hunk: He’s a larger guy, so you don’t think much of him, until he outright destroys you. Like his canon self, he’s a mechanical genius as well, being able to tinker with machines to do his bidding. Outside of these traits, he’s like his canon self, but a bit more confident at the start. Also, Hunk and Shay are dating, thanks to Lance and Pidge, who was roped into his scheme, who hatched a plan to make them admit that they have feelings for the other.  (As a side note, since Alfor doesn’t destroy planets for Quintessence like Zarkon does in the canon, so the Balmerians and Alteans have a mutual relationship, working along side each other more.)

Allura: She’s akin to VLD!Lotor in some ways or like a more intense version of Mai from YGO. Like canon Allura, she is a very just person with a kindness and warmth to her, but still has her haughtiness and her black and white thinking along with being spoiled. She believes in her father’s goal to spread peace, without being truly aware of the lengths her father is going to, and prove herself to her father that she is a strong warrior and leader. She thinks she’s doing right by all of this, but really isn’t. She’s a strong leader, but also someone who’s gone mad with the idea of everything being perfect. Thanks to her just awaking up out of cyrosleep and her father going great lengths to keep Allura sheltered, she’s also extremely naive to what lengths her father truly is going to reach his goals, thinking he is just being diplomatic like in the past instead of…all the shit he’s doing in the present. Also like canon Allura, as she sees more and more what is truly happening around her and what monster her father transformed into, she turns against her father and tries to take him down.

Coran: He’s like his canon self. However, out of fear and loyalty to his life-long friend along with many attempts to curb some of Alfor’s plans, he bows his head down and stays quiet to what he’s doing.

Team Sincline

As a team: The girls are very much like their canon selves, with some key differences due to their different upbringings and are less sadistic. The dynamic between Lotor and the girls is very similar to the show, but has a shaky start since Lotor doesn’t know any of them outside of Acxa and visa versa, but do bond with time as they try to get to know each other more and learn how to work together. They are more willing to do a lot more morally questionable/dubious methods to try to meet their goals then the paladins in the canon like tricking them with a distress signal and snagging the Black Lion from the Castle of Lions.  So they’re more moral grey, but lean towards the good side of it instead of the darker side like their canon selves. Unlike the canon, they are human outside of Lotor and Acxa, who is half Galra or Altean (still hoping around about that one).

Lotor: He’s much like his canon counterpart, being a cunning, intelligent plotter and a strategic smooth talker, but is less manipulative and ruthless in his calculations (so no flinging random grunts at anomalies to see what happens or sending people he finds annoying to The Planet of Sandworms from Dune). He has more slip-ups compared to his canon counterpart due to both not having as many resources as his canon counterpart (since Lotor doesn’t exactly have an army or robots at his disposal) and just not being as experienced.  Zeth, Nasrin and Azora (especially the latter of the three) think he’s very stuck up and snotty at first before they see his more casual side. Lotor keeps at a distance at first because of circumstance before he loosens up around them.  Unlike Allura, he’s trying to do anything in his power to avoid being like his father, who he didn’t get along with when he was alive, due to Zarkon still be a classiest, ridged man in this AU, and wants to break free of his father’s shadow, proving to himself that he can be a strong man in his own right. Also, once he woke up from forced cyrosleep few years prior, he’s a highly wanted fugitive of the Altean Empire with a bounty on his head, trying to hop around the empire in order to avoid Alfor’s gaze…kinda like what happens in S4 of the canon, but before the start of the story.

Acxa/Asha: She is pretty much exactly like her canon self, but more inexperienced and can be more brash in her decisions due to not having her temper be as controlled throughout her life. Due to her father dying a couple years ago, she bounced around the foster system, struggling a lot in the wake of his death.  She’s also curious about her alien half of her heritage and learn more about her mother. She tries to be the big sister/ “Team Mom” of the group, despite being the same age as them, trying to keep her teammates in line and helping them out when they are in trouble, even to the point of neglecting her own issues at times.

Narti/Nasrin: She’s like a mixture between Toph along with canon Pidge and Hunk. Nasrin is the biggest question mark to the rest of the group, due to her keeping her distance from them before she begins to grow close to them. Thanks to being blind and mute, she was sheltered by her parents, who treated her like a fragile doll that can shatter at any moment and she grew to resent their treatment of her. Despite being blind and mute, a curiosity grew in her to learn more about the world around her and rebelled against her parents. After pestering her parents for a long time to enrol at the Garrisons out of life long interest, they let her go and they fix her eyesight as part of enrolment.  While she’s there, she becomes suspicious of the school and finds out about what happened on the Kuriboros Mission, seeking out to find out more and more about it until she stumbles across alien signals. Personality wise, she is stubborn, curious, confrontational, sarcastic,  and steadfast. She is also eager to prove herself and gets defensive when others doubt her.  Once she does warm up to her fellow paladins, she does see them as family and is always there for them. She’s also Muslim as well.

Zethrid/Zeth: She’s a mixture between canon Keith and Hunk or like DOTU Hunk with a more well developed personality. She’s always like, “Let’s go! We need to fix things and save people.” more then anything else. She does love a good fight, but more on the sparing side for the fun of it to test how strong she’s gotten. She’s also the most straight-forward thinker of the group outside of Azora, which helps things out a lot. Like Hunk, she cares about her friends and tries to support them. She has a dry wit to her as well. Due to her military parents, she tries to live up to their expectations, but sometimes feels like she fails to do so along with feeling like she’s living their shadow.

Ezor/Azora: She is like a mixture between canon!Lance and Ty Lee with some hints of Charlotte from Princess and the Frog. She’s a genuinely optimistic, energetic and cheerful person, instead of using a Costumer Service persona as a mask against her enemies like in the show. She cares tremendously for her friends and wants the best for them, willing to take a bullet for them if they are in danger.  Like Ty Lee, she came from a very wealthy household, having a wealthy Guatemalan business man  as a father and a Japanese mother. Because of this, she can be vain and selfish along with being repulsed by things and situations she dubs “gross”, but she slowly out grows this and trudges her way through it (for example, she would be grossed out by food that looks unappetising or moving through a smelly air vent, but tries to get through the situation). Due to growing up with many siblings and being the middle child, she sometimes acts eccentrically in order to stand out at times. She has a dry sarcastic wit to her at times as well. Fighting wise, she is very acrobatic like in the canon from years of marshal arts and cheer-leading. (As a side note, since her and Narti are human in this and humans don’t seem to have special powers in the Voltron universe, they don’t have their mind reading and cloaking abilities.)

Honerva: She’s the “Coran” of the group, but her personality resembles the more serious and intelligent nature of Go Lion/DOTU! Coran…if he was more 3d of a character (no really, I still swear he was just there to spout out exposition and complain about how Allura shouldn’t be getting into trouble and pilot Blue along to protect Allura a little bit). After  waking up and hearing about the death of her husband, she wants to do anything to make Alfor pay for what he did. She is haunted by her past choice of injecting Alfor with Quintessence, since she feels personally responsible for what he became afterwards. Personality wise, she’s like her canon self at the very start of the flashback before Quintessence began to corrupt her. Honevera’s less cruel and manipulative… not having her darker powers thanks to not beefing up on Quintessence for millennia. She’s still pretty ambitious about her work, getting easily caught up in it, having Helicopter Mom tendencies that pissed Lotor off when he was younger… and in the present. She can get rather controlling of aspects of Lotor’s life, slowly learning that Lotor is 18, went through a lot and capable of making his own decisions.  Despite this, Lotor loves her to death and they get along a lot vastly better than him and Zarkon, but they still have a rocky relationship.

[violetsystems]

#personal

If you haven’t really noticed already I’m a creature of habit and schedule.  Which is probably why I’m back here writing this morning.  Mostly because I feel like I have some constructive things to talk and open up about.  Emotions aside they can be too easily manipulated sometimes.  Everything I put out there gets manipulated in some way or another.  It’s whether or not you feel you are respected or not.  And lashing out at one thing can suffocate the atmosphere in other realms.  That’s a long difficult talk that I’ve had over and over again on here for years.  How I have to keep an open channel but it gets jammed frequently.  It’s been a lot more quiet lately.  There have been some changes in my life in the last couple of weeks on vacation.  More money for one but less at the same time.  I live inside of a monthly spreadsheet for personal finances so none of it really matters.  I have goals.  I spend a lot less but I budget everything out I need.  I think with the stability I’ve carved out for myself I worry less about the future in that regard.  I have a job.  It sucks sometimes.  This city can be a beast but it’s far less confrontational than New York.  My dad often says that the same problems you find in a job you will find anywhere.  He also kind of gave me the advice to stay the course and keep doing what I am doing.  I’m already prepared for the bullshit here.  I already know where I want to be.  Neither of my parents know specifically what my plans or dreams are.  They know I travel to New York now instead of overseas.  But the specifics are frustratingly hazy.  They never pry too deeply.  Which is why i love them both.  I took my mom out for lunch yesterday in Chinatown.  She took the train and I met her at the stop.  We ate roujiamo at the usual spot.  I told her if I ever travelled alone again internationally it would be to China.  She replied that I could also visit Hong Kong and say hello to my cousin.  I told her I’d rather stay away from the drama even though it’s still China all the same.  I would probably hit up Shanghai and Macau.  The only two places I’ve been in China alone for any period of time.  I spent a day in Macau once.  I ate Indian food at this restaurant alone just before hopping the ferry back to Hong Kong.  The owner sent the server over to invite me to join her and her son at the table.  It’s a moment of kindness that sticks with me to this day.  I was in a tank top covered with tattoos.  Knowing where you are valued for just being you and knowing where you fit in is a sanctuary in and of itself.  Lately I feel like I finally do have a reason to stay in Chicago.  Even if it’s just to paint the walls of my apartment which hasn’t been touched for over a decade.  Kind of like my personal life.  

For the record I’ve spent my time alone getting my shit together.  Chicago is cheaper in the long run.  You wouldn’t know it from the taxes.  I was in line at the dispensary and this guy behind me was remarking how shitty the experience was for him.  I couldn’t tell if he was an op or an undercover.  That’s why I always stay measured and positive in my responses to people i don’t know in public.  I said Chicago as a city made 3.2 million in sales the first day.  Colorado as a state in 2014 made 1 million in taxable revenue.  There aren’t very many places to purchase right now.  So if you believe in taxation with representation I think the future looks bright.  The medical dispensary does not sell flower right now to reserve for its medical patients.  I believe that’s fair.  I also believe it’s not a good idea to abuse the medical system when recreational is getting its feet on the ground.  I also know big Marijuana exists and lives in a mansion outside of the city.  Illinois has been fairly good about being mindful of the social justice aspect of the transition.  But things are still a bit messy and deceptively capitalist.  I bought a small jar of candies to try.  You could only buy one.  It doesn’t really change much in my situation.  It does give me options.  It doesn’t mean you shouldn’t act responsibly.  The ambiguity is still there.  It’s in running distance.  It’s in a weird industrial medical district about a mile from my house.  I run past the FBI building to get there.  I flicked the sign off yesterday without a second thought.  They should already know where I live by now.  I’ve been on the same schedule for years.  And frankly I’m through taking shit from anyone from here on forward.  I’m sure there’s no hard feelings.  Just hard candy.  Life in Chicago for me has been harder than normal.  I stop complaining and started living it.  I don’t go out and yet everyone knows who I am.  I should rephrase it that I don’t go out to clubs.  I don’t drink anymore.  New Year’s was pretty quiet.  Most of my friends spent them with their significant others.  I spent New Year’s day throwing out trash.  People keep saying my space feels larger than it did.  I bought another larger litter box for my cat.  She hops out of it now like a princess.  If someone were to show up at my door without notice it wouldn’t be a big deal.  If the love of my life simply teleported into my living room I’d be ready for them.  But really finding stability in a chaotic world is hard for anyone.  There’s people that find stability boring and they probably don’t read anything of what I write.  I walk outside of this apartment and it’s a little like Pulp Fiction on overload sometimes.  I’m a little less overwhelmed by all of it but it is exhausting.  Which is why I spend more time on my home and making it more livable.  It feels a lot more like New York these days.  Which I’ll be back to near my birthday.  I haven’t celebrated it really for years.  I got a call from an alderman wishing me well in New York last year during fashion week.  Truth be told I hardly ever leave our political ward.  Just like I don’t spend my time where it’s not appreciated.  

A ward is a local authority area, typically used for electoral purposes.  You can probably apply the same thinking to brand loyalty.  But being more mindful of how and where you spend your time and money can yield interesting results.  I do think people worry less about me these days.  The idea of being too risky can make a lot of people uneasy.  It can also attracts some real shit shows.  Just like our president tried to push brand America, there’s something to be said of brands New York and Chicago.  I might even stretch it to include Los Angeles and Oakland.  But the truth is Chicago has become far more diverse than I had ever expected it to become.  For all the talk of murder and guns, our homicide rate is down for the third year in a row.  I live in Pilsen which is a predominantly hispanic neighborhood.  Chinatown is right next to us.  So is the medical district.  I walk all over the place on foot.  I never really feels unsafe.  Sometimes I feel bothered.  On my block people mind their own business.  But you have to be approachable.  And you have to adapt.  Then there’s the trick of knowing when to walk away.  If it sounds maddening and frustrating it is.  But I don’t really show it.  People keep talking about finesse and how somehow I need more of it.  And then people keep stealing my style and ideas and pretending I don’t exist.  Everyone except a small pocket of resistance that likes to wear pink gear around me.  It’s like I operate in my own little area of authority.  I always call it an aura of accountability.  I’ve made some sacrifices in my life to be a good person and get passed over.  But these days I feel like people understand the logic of why.  That being said people are still intimidated by me.  I wonder sometimes if that’s my own fault.  I do have a lot of bullshit to navigate.  People never seem to leave me alone.  Often I imagine I’m just some character in a movie when I leave the house.  Not like the lead role.  I blend into the background.  I have my role and my lines.  I don’t veer too much away from the NPC dialog tree.  I stick to the main quest line and grind my reputation with hidden factions.  I also play a lot of World of Warcraft on the side.  I can’t say that life totally sucks although I really wish I could share it with someone.  I kind of already do.  Why would I still be writing if I didn’t?  I don’t know what any of it means.  I’m completely in the dark about everything.  Everything except my finances and mental peace.  Staying in between the lines and not crossing them is tricky.  Especially when people step on your toes every chance you get.  I spent a lot of time making a space for myself where the only toes getting stepped on are my own.  Mostly by my cat.  She adds a lot to the space.  I feel less angsty and a little less bored.  Today I felt inspired enough to write about it.  Probably won’t check in for a couple of weeks.  Just going to lock myself up in this ward and play it safe.  There’s enough politics here to keep me busy without worrying about the rest of the world’s sovereignty and secret wars.  <3 Tim