#so i would have to heavily rework it if i wanted to run it. which sucks because im REALLY enjoying the waterdeep dragon heist

[andromedasummer]

having a bit of a shit day. going to read dnd books abt it.

[howlingdemon13]

Betelgeuse I was hugely inspired by a bunch of artists and fic writers in the fandom, as well as a few monster artists who specialize in combining different creatures into beasts that actually look cohesive. I’m not sure how well I was able to execute the vision here, but I’m really proud of it regardless! DiamondZ, nonbinary-arsonist, stinkyhorsebitch, and arbuzyansky were the main catalysts for this, so definitely take a peek at their work or give them a follow. I was initially going to submit this guy for a staff art show, but I don't want to rush the rest of it, so I'm just going to post what I have finished here. Design notes are under the cut.

In earlier drafts, I was looking into more serpentine-looking designs since Beetlejuice turns into a snake in the film. Some of the concepts I was leaning towards looked like either a lindworm or centipede, but I think mammalian fits Musicaljuice since he’s “softer” in a lot of aspects compared to his film counterpart. I may look into playing with a more snake/bug-like design in the future. Beetlejuice’s overall look is heavily inspired by Chalicotherium goldfussi, which were huge Miocene ungulates that are distantly related to things like rhinos and tapirs. Given that Beetlejuice is super old, I felt like an extinct animal was a proper fit. On a more personal level, I really like the way these guys look and it was easier to rework their body plan into something that looks carnivorous. That, and I wasn’t really vibing with other mammalian body plans, especially because I wanted something that was close in shape to a human without being apelike. Huge herbivores also have larger stomachs, which I feel is a better analogue to Beetlejuice’s body type. You’ll have to pry that man’s curves from my cold, dead hands. All his forms are chubby and soft, and I’ll fight you over it in the Denny’s parking lot. I also added some hyaenid traits, especially for the head shape and teeth. Hyenas are very social animals (like Beej, except no one can see him), and striped hyenas and aardwolves specifically have these tall crests of fur that run down their backs and back legs that they can raise and lower to communicate. I’d argue it’s fitting since Beetlejuice’s hair sticks up at odd angles and communicates his mood (intentional or not). And hyenas laugh. Granted they giggle when they’re stressed, but it still fits. I modeled his stripes off of both species as well. His hind paws, ears, and tail are all based off of those of opossums. Beej is very “trash animal”-coded, and I felt like the opossum traits would fit better with the Chalicotherium body than something like a raccoon or skunk. I felt a little bad about not giving him a ton of bug traits, so I tried to add mandibles, but they just weren’t looking right in earlier design drafts. I gave him a bunch of small eyes to compensate, but making him look buggy wasn’t the only reason for the extra eyes. We know from early drafts of the musical script that Beetlejuice’s last name is Shoggoth. These creatures are mentioned by Lovecraft in Fungi from Yuggoth and At the Mountains of Madness, but I’m not sure if this implies that Beej is a shoggoth, or if it more so refers to him being able to manifest multiple limbs/shapeshift/warp reality like one. In that same vein, the mouth in his chest is mostly to look scary and is just another fun little Lovecraftian trait that I felt was needed. Same to the tendrils, but that’s also a common fandom trait that is pretty much canon (to me) at this point. I might rb this with headcanons later on.

[meowthefluffy]

An update on my unfinished au’s!

I have over the last few months fallen deeply out of love with the Sanders Sides series and as a result I have not updated any of my projects in some time. At the current point I am at I am only planning to do the final two installments in the cupid au (because I pretty much lost my affection for the ts series right before the big finale of the project!!) and the lust Roman au (as it is my longest running work to date and I want to comple the project as a show of dedication to my younger self) although it will most likely be on a much quicker time scale than I was intending originally! (Instead of the 11 more parts I was hoping to produce it will probably be closer to 5 and I will most likely skip a few parts of the story that weren’t as important)

I feel a lot of affection for the work I have created but not a lot for the actual series so I’m trying to find a way to rework the stories I’ve created for the au’s to become independent creations that I will enjoy continuing to make! (Aside from the Lust au which I feel is mostly a story I don’t feel the need to come back to/rework since it relies so heavily on the source material) Most of my au’s function as stories mostly separate from canon material except for the characters archetypes present in each, so I’ll be working on retooling/reskinning said work to be more original and workable as long term projects! (Since u guys were really invest in my plots which had almost nothing to do with the canon characterization)

I’m currently working on retooling the Zombie au (Which I used as heavy inspiration for my oc Sophia I sometimes post about and her girlfriend) the Cupid au (I’m putting together more creative designs for the characters so that I can hopefully redo the comic- since I’m super in love with the concept) The sleeping beauty au (since it functions entirely the same as a stand alone story- and I could use the designs of my princess characters from that comic I made a long time ago for Valentine’s Day ) and the Super hero au! (Which I never properly defined and thus have a lot of incomplete ideas for, and my only struggle is coming up with better super hero names for them)

The only one of my main au’s I probably won’t rework is the Evil king au- just because I’m not sure how I could retool it to not just be a story about abuse(I feel more comfortable creating a story where everything is horrible and bad and the people involved are just bad for eachother when it’s an au- because there is other work of those characters where they aren’t that way to balance it out- but if it were my own new characters I feel as though it wouldn’t be nearly as fun to read or write)

This is a series of decisions I’ve been trying to wait on for a long time because I have been hoping something sanders Sides related would come out soon that would re spark my interest but nothing so far has happened- and with the way the story is going I don’t think it’s something that is going to happen. I still love all the work I have created for this fandom and I am so proud of all the collaborative projects I have been able to create with you all! I will happily re-read your asks and comments on my comics and I am still really proud of the community I’ve been able to create!

I’m sad to let this part of my life go (it’s taken up a solid 4th of my lifetime) and I understand that a lot of you all won’t follow me to my new projects- because I understand you guys didn’t come here for random oc projects- or original comics. And Altho it breaks my heart to see some of you move on and leave my notifications I am happy I the time with you all that I did!

Thank you all for everything- and I’ll see you soon 💖

[angelthefirst1]

01x01 ♾️ 10x10

YEARS...

TOWL

First off, I loved episode one, and I hope you all enjoyed it too.

I very much believe the title is linked to Beth - The one who lives.

I mentioned in previous posts that we would be heading back to repeat season 1 of the walking dead. We got many callbacks in episode 1 of TOWL. Such as Rick stepping into Merle's role of being handcuffed because he is "difficult."

Like Merle, Rick has to chop his own hand off to escape.

The callbacks are quite detailed. If you remember back, Merle was horrible to T-dog, refusing to take any direction from him because of his skin colour. He almost kills T-dog and wants to become the leader of the group, which leads to Rick handcuffing him.

Whereas to contrast, Rick wants to escape the CRM to get back to Michonne, whom he loves.

Rick also doesn't desire power in the CRM at all and even says so to Okafor.

Rick, in season one, is also looking for Lori his wife.

Merle and Daryl (the brothers) are separated.

It's a beautiful rework of that time around the rooftop scene in Atlanta...

The exciting thing about all this is that Andrea was first introduced just prior to Merle (Daryl's brother) being handcuffed on that rooftop.

They are reversing and reworking season one and season 5 scenes combined (I'll get to the season 5 patterns soon), so Beth (a reworked Andrea) is close...

We even saw Rick's own version of a Brulent (burner) walker that leads to cauterization...

I talk about the cauterization theme at length here from DD1.

The cauterization theme is related to walking away from God, which is interesting with Rick specifically because Rick is "walking away" from or running away from the CRM.

The CRM logo is a representation of God.

The Borromean rings have been used in different contexts to indicate strength in unity. In particular, some have used the design to symbolize the Trinity.

The end is the beginning theme ♾️

This theme reveals a major clue to the story and what they are drawing from, and that is the Revelation or revealing of Jesus Christ.

Beth's revealing is symbolic of this...

The book of Revelation is known as a book about the end of all things but also the beginning of something new.

To remind you, not that you need it, this is a show about the end of the world, and the writers are heavily incorporating biblical end time events into the show.

Jesus describes one of his characteristics in the book of Revelation, he says:

‭‭Revelation 22:13

I am the Alpha and the Omega, the First and the Last, the Beginning and the End.

The beginning and the end theme, will eventually reveal Beth. 01x01 ♾️ 10x10 get well soon.

The symbolism around her character is used to link her symbolically to Christ, I've mentioned this many times before. As a reminder, some aspects of this are:

She dies wearing a cross.

She dies sacrificially (goes all in) to save Noah.

The bible says Noah walked with God, so God saved him from the biblical flood. In the cauterization post i linked above, i go into how 510 events when it rained and they hide in the barn (Ark) was a rework of the biblical flood.

Beth was also the only character given the symbolism of an "empty" or missing body/grave.

She was innocent and considered "good" as Daryl was trying to indicate at the "oh" moment (and yes, he was also saying he loves her 😉)

Jesus was also called good by his disciples. The real definition actually means morally perfect, so while back in Alone the writers were using the "good people theme" to indicate someone that hasn't become out-rightly evil in these evil times, with Beth, it was just one more way of linking her symbolically to Jesus as morally perfect.

Seeing what Rick has experienced with the CRM is a shadow of Beth.

Now let's talk about how season 5 Grady has been reworked.

While we are back in season 1, they are also showing us Rick's version of being at Grady.

Dawn is Thorne, and yes, we're rhyming names now it's becoming that obvious.

Rick (Beth) and Thorne (Dawn) play a game of Poker, and Rick goes all in... Thorne folds.

Thorne tells Rick she's great at poker, but she loses.

Dawn also liked to play poker... Poker is about holding the right cards, having the upper hand, and even bluffing your way to a win.

Remember the hostage trade at Grady? They focused a large amount of time on the numbers of cops to trade with Dawn.

Daryl says to Rick, "3s better than 2" talking about the 3 cops they have to trade back for Beth and Carol. 3 cops gives them the winning hand...

Now, in poker, that's a true statement. All you need to win is a better hand than your opponent.

Well...in fact Dawn and Beth were playing poker in that hallway at Grady.

Beth made the choice to go all in like Rick did. Dawn dies (folds)

It's a big risk to go all in, but the pay-off can be huge. Dawn got nothing in the end.

While Beth is the one who lives and survives a bullet to the forehead. This is actually confirmed in this episode twice, so read on.

A shadow of this is shown with Rick...

In the very next scene after the poker game where Thorne (Dawn) folds, we see Rick hold the bullet right to his forehead. It's not a coincidence...

In that defining moment, you'll make the right choice...

Beth made the right choice.

Beth won and it was lights out for Dawn before she even got to play... just like Thorne said...

Confirming the poker theme and bullet graze theme.

This combination is actually reinforced as it's mentioned in sequence twice in this episode.

Rick and Thorne both sign up to the CRM, and Okafor asks them to work secretly for him. Afterwards, Thorne talks with Rick, and Rick asks her if she gave Okafor the scar on his forehead (a shadow of Beth's scar)

It's then she admits to shooting Okafor in the head, but the bullet just grazed him, she missed. Rick then asks if she will shoot him, too...

Then, she stops and seemingly very randomly brings up the topic of playing poker. But it's not random at all.

It's a reworked reverse shadow of what happened at Grady.

Bullet graze to the head, missed didn't make the kill but it did leave a scar, poker and lights out for Thorne/Dawn. All while Rick (Beth) asks if she will shoot him too.

And all while Rick (Beth) is trapped in the CRM (Grady) away from the love of his life.

Thorne also gives us more hints that she is a new version of Dawn back at Grady. She thinks the system of the CRM is working fine and it doesn't need to change.

Rick disagrees as no one is free to leave.

Beth kept telling Dawn that she wasn't staying any longer than they made her. She wasn't free to leave either, and Dawn told her she shouldn't see it as a sentence. That out there, she would be dead.

This whole rework also gives us insight into Beth's mindset. Just as Rick was trying to escape to get to someone he loves, so was Beth trying to get back to Daryl.

The A's and B's - a repeat of Grady only taking in the ones who they thought were weak. In Beth's case, they got it wrong, she thought for herself, which classified her a an A.

They thought she was a B but she was an A

The man i was with, is he here?

They thought Daryl was an A and same with Noah's Dad so they left them out in the world to die.

Okafor, Thorne and Rick are a reworked version of Beth, Dawn and Noah.

The repeats in this story should give hope that Beth survived that bullet and just like the end of this episode with Rick and Michonne, the story will eventually lead to two people who love each other reuniting. One of whom thought the other died but could never find the body...

[blacktobackmesa]

💘

💘Is there any posted fic you want to rework/re-edit/re-write?

Not completely, but there are details I've thought about going back and changing. I try not to heavily revise stuff I've already posted, because then I'll never have a work I'm satisfied with enough to consider finished. If there's something I did in a fic that is misleading, confusing, or even harmful, I'll fix it. If I made a mistake that just looks stupid, I'll make a minor edit to acknowledge it. Anything else I'm dissatisfied with I'll leave it.

Examples-

Run For Your Life: In one of the chapters, I had characters try to avoid directly mentioning the unskippable military ambush, instead discussing the chapter of Half Life it occurs in. I got the chapter totally wrong, though, so readers who actually know the game would be confused. That's something I had to fix.

Good Fun With Good Buddies and Gordon: Darnold complains about going down a rank in Splatoon after losing a round of Turf War. Turf War battles have never been part of Ranked Mode in the Splatoon series. I got a helpful comment pointing this out and felt very silly. Despite it being an easy fix, I decided to leave it in the story and mention it in the closing Author's Note. Keep humble.

Square and Sphere: Gordon is referred to as having a "fiery temper", which... that's not really true, and it's not a central part of the way I write him. He's reactive, but kind of in a performative way-- honestly, he has a lot of patience for the science team. But that was a creative choice I made when I wrote it, and I don't feel like correcting it just because I changed my mind. I'm a little pretentious! The art has dried on that canvas, it's already in a frame, I won't try and touch it up unless I have to.

[monstah-fukkah]

ok ok so i'll start with my 2 faves bc im a biased piece of shit

six the hedgehog aka project protégé !!

so six was created by dr. eggman as a means of creating the perfect protégé to aide him on his mission to destroy the blue pest and his stupid furry pals. by taking sonic and shadow's dna and he using his grandfathers notes for project shadow as a jumping off point he started working on project protégé in secret. but creating and maintaining a stable lifeform was a lot more difficult than he accounted for. so as a result the sixth attempt the dr. was tweaking around with was a huge improvement over his other failed experiments but it wasn't enough to support life unaided unless powered by other means. he started working on blueprints for a modified chaos drive to power the sixth iteration of his project. even the little abomination didn't make it at least it would provide useful notes on how to improve his perfect protégé.

six would never make it out of the tube he was suspended in because eggman's secret base was discovered and destroyed preemptively by G.U.N. six was sealed and locked away under the base. unaccessable by any and all personal except for the dr. himself. after that eggman decided to put project protégé on the back burner for a while as to not arouse suspicion. his current little experiment couldn't even survive out of the tube without a powerful chaos source anyway so he deemed the sixth experiment a failure and left the base and the little creature inside to rot.

so i'm not super sure how many years six is left to sit undiscovered but it's a lengthy amount of time. the main cast are like in their mid 20s early 30s. my au canon is a mix of games and comics so its a big fuck truck of different shit i stitched together. but anyway it's a while and he's eventually unearthed by dr. starline and used a jumping off point for his own creation. eggman and starline have already had their falling out and the surge and kit stuff is the past. scrooge mcfuck is not dead. he's just older and wants cold calculated revenge. starline knows the code bc he jacked eggman's files and also worked for him for a bit so ??? yeah that's my excuse.

starline ends up moving into the underground bunker and gets to work on his own plans. he figures he's going to rework six and get him up and running so that he can be repurposed for his own plans. his own plan being the cool idea to make a pact with the remaining Black Arms to create a creature that would help repopulate the dying race in exchange for total eradication of those that have wronged him. eclipse donates his dna which starline fuses with his old sample of surge's dna. he decides to nickname the experiment "void". really edgy bc he wants to create a place that is void of all his enemies lmao.

void and six are worked on together by starline to become a duo that rely heavily on one another. much like his past experiments but he won't let himself be so easily duped again. six and void are so deeply ingrained with each that they share a hivemind with one another. six is programmed to protect void at all costs. it's unnatural and overwhelms his entire being so the only thing echoing through his skull is "protect protect protect". void is programmed to have her thoughts be shared with six and nothing is separate between the two of them. any of her wants and needs is to be shared was fulfilled by six. if he somehow fails to fulfill her requests she can bend and mold his mind into that of a subservient zombie.

rq segway to powers and shit !!

six is completely physically unstable without the chaos drive embedded in his stomach. if it's removed or broken the chaos energy powering his body would wither away and he's just keel over and die. he's imbued with crazy chaos energy and needs inhibitor rings to properly control his powers. without them his powers go haywire and are much harder to control properly. and also yeah it's a given but he can run fast bc of his chaos energy. he can chaos controlling and create chaos spears. his forte is creating barriers out of chaos energy to protect people tho !! he can also heal pretty quickly (and can even heal others as well up to a point !).

void takes after her black arms dna when it comes to her powers and such. she's basically got all the staples. raw strength is her greatest attribute. stay away from her when she's throwing a temper tantrum or talking with her hands. she can connect with others of the hivemind outside of six but her greatest connection is with him. she can also control lesser Black Arms creatures to do her bidding. not really a power but she can basically eat anything lmao !! she loves eating trash and other gnarly shit. ate a whole ass truck tire once. also has regenerative powers !!

k segway over !!

starline completes his project about a year or so after he's entered the bunker. six and void are released from their tubes and take their 1st breathes together. six is super small and stunted as a result of eggman's crude mismatch dna stitching. he's about the size of a toddler and behaves as such. he's a black slate for starline to finally mold create to his liking. void is just a lil baby when starline releases her from her stasis. he's not a fan of slobbering infants but it's a part of his plan to bond the two deeper than their planted connection to one another. rhe goes through the motions and introduces big brother six to his baby sister void. shits quiet for a while. starline is teaching his experiments basic shit with a heavy dose of brain washing. the restoration ends up getting a tip off and raids the place when they catch starline on the way out one day carrying two small bundles in his arms. six and void are seized by the restoration (after a huge struggle) and placed in a holding room for further questioning and observation.

they try and get some answers out of six but it's no use. they're unaware that he's mostly mute but he's also too riled up and upset to be of any help. he bites and snaps his teeth at anyone who gets too close. his chaos barrier actives as well to keep people at an even further distance. different members try and talk to calm his down but really only make it worse. they stay at a stalemate for a while until void starts wailing her tiny head off and six's mind is screaming "hunger eat feed satisfy". he starts looking around frantically and starts to panic a bit. the only thing he knows to do is give the baby to an adult to feed but that heavily conflicts with his protect instincts. he starts to silently sob like the toddler he is. and the barrier breaks down as his emotions take over. two members slowly approach the duo and usher the kids to the med-bay to get looked over.

in the med-bay a nurse looks over the 2 and deem them perfectly healthy. they want to do some quick tests on the two to get a better idea of what they're dealing with. when six is settled enough they manage to draw blood and run a few simple tests. the kids are placed nursery with other children (that have been displaced by eggaman's attacks). the blood results come back and it's discovered that six shares dna with sonic and shadow. they debate on how to best handle the situation before deciding to reach out to tails so that he can retest the blood sample to make sure their were no mistakes. void's dna comes back unconclusive except for the fact that she shares partial dna with six (seeing as how they both have black arms blood). either the way the two are related.

tails is shocked and utterly confused but agrees to retest the blood samples again. he waits until he gets the results back himself to confirm once again that six is in fact sonic and shadow's child. he detects huge traces of black arms dna from void's dna which is deeply concerning. it's super awkward and uncomfortable breaking the news to the two. sonic thinks it's a weird joke and shadow is visibly umcomfortable with the news. tails confirms its not a joke and goes on to explain what the restoration know and who was involved. starline refuses to talk but clearly is a freak take on project shadow or some shit. sonic is super hesitant to meet the kids but shadow is weirdly invested. he talks sonic into at least meeting the little abominations and to see where things go from there. it takes a few days before they meet the kids and it's not a great 1st impression on either party.

six raises his quills and hisses at sonic and shadow right off the bat. void is just a stupid baby but she's living for the drama already. she's got a stupid huge smile on her face. after two hours or so sonic wants to call it quits and discuss with shadow what to do with the two horrible mistakes to gaias green earth. shadow is silent but persistent and gains a little olive branch when void reaches out for him. six watches the display and immediately calms down when his mind is flooded with pure sweet serotonin. shadow carefully takes the baby from six's week grip and turns to sonic with a look that says "we are not leaving them here" before addressing the restoration member that's in charge of displaces children to inform them that they will decide what to do with the children.

sonic and shadow agree on a week by week trial basis to see how they feel about the change and what would ultimately be best for the kids.

spoiler alert they kept them

[cadmusfly]

You know what I’m on a six hour bus trip, I’m going to talk about Shipshape mechanics and my thoughts. I mean I could do some writing about my novel but I’m not actually sure what happens in this chapter so

This started out as just wanting to run Beat to Quarters on tumblr, but running the game as RAW (Rules As Written)… wouldn’t really work, and would be a lot of work. So I wanted to strip down the rules, and then I realised the card mechanic would be too much work for not much gain, and then I started questioning the skill layouts, and then before long I ended up with a mutant hybrid of PBTA and Beat to Quarters

But having not run Beat to Quarters before, I’ve ended up neglecting a lot of what is inherent to BtQ in running the game and in designing the game! So let’s look at some things and a lot of this post is just me brainstorming on the spot. But also there’s a bit of unexplained assumptions and word vomit so it might not be completely intelligible

Measures. I like the idea of Measures, they’re basically attributes like STR/CON/DEX/WIS/CHA/INT in the Big D and the D, but I think they’re probably used more for… defensive/reactionary challenges, like “you have just been injured how well do you hold on”, like something has happened to you, and the way I’ve set up Shipshape does not facilitate that at all. And they’re weirdly adjacent but divorced from the various health pools.

That’s another thing - Reputations as individually being injured and also being able to be applied to things. I’ve been forgetting to apply Reputations in some cases where they’d be applicable, and I don’t explain them very well. I like the idea of them though, but I kinda want to treat them more like Bondifications from a certain god game series I enjoy.

I’m also dropping the ball on Injuries, and it’s because of the way I’ve been adjudicating roll results. In PBTA terms, a failure (6-) is “The GM makes a move appropriate to the fiction” which can but doesn’t have to be mechanical consequences, partial success (7-9) can be “you succeed at a cost” or “the GM offers you a hard choice or ugly bargain” which I’ve been interpreting as “a choice between not succeeding but no consequences, or success with consequences”.

And then I was a bit too nice with Exceptional Success (10+) but I don’t regret that so much because the rat buff amuses me too much.

So I’ve felt like I’ve needed to keep applying Injuries on Failures and Partial Success, which works but is a bit clunky with the Beat to Quarters injury system. I’ve felt like injuries are sometimes overly punishing and sometimes not punishing enough.

The story I’ve set up also relies heavily on Courtesy and neglects Diplomacy, which I can see a longer Beat to Quarters game that actually goes over characters’ interactions with bureaucratic systems and stays in ports.

So! With all this in mind:

we basically want to rework Measures so that they are reflective of the character’s capabilities (physically, discipline/command, socially) yet are mechanically useful in the asynchronous format of Shipshape,

we want to rework Reputations so that they are easier to apply and still reflective of relationships and what players want to highlight to the GM they’re interested in

we want to rework Health systems so that they reflect the punishing and fragile reality of the Age of Sail world, yet a player rolling multiple failures doesn’t immediately die (physically or socially)

But also we want to aim for comprehensibility and ease of understanding/use

I don’t have immediate answers here, but some different possibilities:

Get rid of Measures, have a “Guts” skill that covers perseverance, constitution, endurance, etc

Replace Measures (and Skills to an extent) with Fate Accelerated style Approaches: Careful, Clever, Flashy, Forceful, Quick, Sneaky, surprise we’re playing FATE now its time for Aspects and dices with pluses and minuses

Measures are now health pools, with the number being your full health. An injury knocks 1 or 2 depending on severity from the Measure, depleting your Measure brings your character to Weakened but refills the numbers with a -1 or -2 to rolls relating to that measure, depleting that takes you to Dead

With the above, when you deplete Charm or Influence, you decide which Reputation is Weakened?

Fuck it, get rid of reputations and measures, but each Skill above 0 needs to be linked to an important NPC or institution from your character’s life, when the reputation is injured so is the skill (this brings us into interesting but weird territory - injuring your relationship with the ship’s crew would impact your Seamanship or Maritime, if you’ve connected your Awareness to your sweetheart at home then you’re distracted because you broke their heart)

Oh, that last one… would make things really weird in a stylised, unrealistic but interesting way, and really, really tighten the idea of social status and relationships. Would it be too stylised and abstract for an Age of Sail game, or would it be an interesting way to explore the genre?

Like there’s the thematic connection between ship and captain, crew and ship, so explicitly associating skills and NPC relationships could be an exploration of that.

Anyway I’ll think more about this, but if anyone has any suggestions or thoughts hit me up, tabletop design is something I really like thinking about!

[terraliensvent]

I’m sorry put the op was right about them being human beings with thoughts and feelings. Did it come off to strong? Yes. But the fact you have to put the glaring issue of they can’t take criticism as your stance isn’t even a viable way of proving your point as there have been clear efforts to change things in the community as of recently. Now that Temul is in charge of the group!

Not saying the fair of amount of criticism isn’t justified. In fact there is always room for improvement and it should be heavily encouraged.

But shouldn’t mods be people you trust? Not total strangers? but active community members who become good acquaintances with staff? No seriously. I’ve been spectating the server since July of last year and half of those people didn’t even know each-other til they met on the server. Some of them aren’t even friends til being asked to join. And so what if they’re friends? That means they’re a trustworthy candidate that can be vouched for.

It’s actually insane how people will just assume the worst out of a situation without any definitive answers but purely based on their pre-decided judgement of others. Which is a huge issue right now especially with cancel culture.

I can’t even begin to explain how entitled half the people in closed species communities are because half of the problems stem from the people themselves. Now this is a vent blog and it’s meant for voices to be heard. That much is obvious. All you need to know is change doesn’t happen within a week. It takes months so don’t assume the worst in situations or you’re gonna stay bitter in these communities when you eventually quit.

Stay safe and touch grass 👍

post related

i feel like youre neglecting to acknowledge the full range of points i made in my last response.

yes, theres change happening within the past 2 months, but theres also things to have gripes about. im glad things are seeming to move toward getting better, but at the same time that shouldnt deflect from the fact there are still things to be worked on

i understand theres the big rework happening right now with stuff, but for transparency’s sake im not going to give points for things that arent completed. you can say youre working on things, but until i can physically see them and be able to make a judgement on the effectiveness of implemented changes, im not going to comment on them because i dont want to have to retroactively edit my perspective.

also, “mods are making changes” and “mods cant take criticism” arent mutually exclusive. the changes being made currently are a result of the work getting too hard for them with design approvals because they were SO nitpicky and people actually started to complain on a large scale. but as seen in the suggestion forums, not a lot of suggestions seem to be really introspected on. ive seen so many solid ideas that work for other large species just be totally tossed out because “its too much work for mods” but yet when more mods are hired, they dont seem to be doing really any work.

which brings me to my next point, i said in the last post i would have been more forgiving about all the mods being in the same clique if it werent for the fact that the new mods never seem to be doing anything besides promoting commissions. quality of life improvements are constantly denied because the workload is “just so difficult” but then you never actually see evidence of extra hands being used to make big change. again, if you keep adding people do the mod team it should not be taking weeks to get a MYO design approved.

im gonna barely entertain the last bit of your ask simply because it comes off as intensely patronizing to me. are we really talking about cancel culture when the issue at hand is “terra staff are bad at taking criticism?” it comes off as very much “holier than thou” mentality when you call others entitled for daring to say they dont like the way things are run. change takes months, yeah, but thats when you actually DECIDE to change and not shrug it off because “work hard :(“ dont put yourself on a pedestal just because youre more dismissive of things than others

[smokeybrandreviews]

Henshin-a-Go Go

I finally had the opportunity to take a second look at Dragon Ball Super: Superhero. I remember giving this thing it’s flowers but found myself a bit underwhelmed by the animation. That’s not to say it wasn’t good, sh*t was easily the best CG anime I've seen, ever, but coming of Broly, it was kind of disappointing. I’m an old school anime fan going back to the late Eighties. I grew up with all of those Golden Age OVAs and sh*t. Production values were everything back then. I understood that the shows which aired on networks wouldn’t have that level of quality but, occasionally, a Onepunch Man or Evangelion snuck into the lineup, reworking what it meant to be top tier. Dragon Ball has never been that. Sure, it was gorgeous and distinct but I'd be lying if i said it was appealing to the eye. Yoriyama’a style wasn’t all that “pretty’ per se so seeing it motion was kind of wonky. I didn’t care because when i needed to be spectacular, it truly was. This sentiment kind of carried over to the Superhero movie.

I mentioned earlier that the CG animation is the best I've seen in anime and i wasn’t lying. This sh*t is gorgeous and the way the camera moves? I understand why Toei is investing so heavily into this sh*t. I hear One Piece has a lot of this type of work in it nowadays as well. Credit given where it’s due, i still feel cheated. In my eyes, anime is supposed to be pen-and-ink, be it lead or digital. You put that work in and develop those shots. The fluidity of classic animation cannot be topped, which is why Dragon Ball Super: Broly works so well. That thing is a f*cking masterpiece, man. It’s a true testament to what can be done when a cat is focused on his art. More than that, the style chosen to showcase in that film was wonderful. After years upon years of seeing Tadayoshi Yamamuro’s character designs, Naohiro Shintani was given a shot and they popped of he screen. Better anatomy, more realistic proportions, and a eye to modern technique, Broly was everything i wanted a modern take on Dragon Ball Z to be. Broly is everything but Superhero has a way to go.

I’ve been a fan of the Dragon Ball franchise for years. I own the entire series, the first run, on tape from way back when. It was Yamamuro’s designs that first caught my eye with that beam clash between Vegeta and Goku during the Saiyan saga. When people think DBZ, they think Yamamuro. I’d be lying if i said that style didn’t hold a special place in my heart but those looks are over thirty years old. That little peek at what Shintani gave us would be perfect but i imagine, in terms of budgets, carrying that level of quality over one hundred episodes would be madness on the Toei’s wallet. No, if anything, it’s the CG going forward and, while I'm saddened that OG animation is slowly be lost to time, Chikashi Kubota’s designs for Superhero are as dope as Shintani’s work for Broly. I can’t be mad at that. hey skew a little Toyotarou but that’s okay. I think the Superhero animation is a solid place to start. It’s literally the worst that type of work will ever look and it looks pretty good.

[smokeybrand]

Henshin-a-Go Go

I finally had the opportunity to take a second look at Dragon Ball Super: Superhero. I remember giving this thing it’s flowers but found myself a bit underwhelmed by the animation. That’s not to say it wasn’t good, sh*t was easily the best CG anime I've seen, ever, but coming of Broly, it was kind of disappointing. I’m an old school anime fan going back to the late Eighties. I grew up with all of those Golden Age OVAs and sh*t. Production values were everything back then. I understood that the shows which aired on networks wouldn’t have that level of quality but, occasionally, a Onepunch Man or Evangelion snuck into the lineup, reworking what it meant to be top tier. Dragon Ball has never been that. Sure, it was gorgeous and distinct but I'd be lying if i said it was appealing to the eye. Yoriyama’a style wasn’t all that “pretty’ per se so seeing it motion was kind of wonky. I didn’t care because when i needed to be spectacular, it truly was. This sentiment kind of carried over to the Superhero movie.

I mentioned earlier that the CG animation is the best I've seen in anime and i wasn’t lying. This sh*t is gorgeous and the way the camera moves? I understand why Toei is investing so heavily into this sh*t. I hear One Piece has a lot of this type of work in it nowadays as well. Credit given where it’s due, i still feel cheated. In my eyes, anime is supposed to be pen-and-ink, be it lead or digital. You put that work in and develop those shots. The fluidity of classic animation cannot be topped, which is why Dragon Ball Super: Broly works so well. That thing is a f*cking masterpiece, man. It’s a true testament to what can be done when a cat is focused on his art. More than that, the style chosen to showcase in that film was wonderful. After years upon years of seeing Tadayoshi Yamamuro’s character designs, Naohiro Shintani was given a shot and they popped of he screen. Better anatomy, more realistic proportions, and a eye to modern technique, Broly was everything i wanted a modern take on Dragon Ball Z to be. Broly is everything but Superhero has a way to go.

I’ve been a fan of the Dragon Ball franchise for years. I own the entire series, the first run, on tape from way back when. It was Yamamuro’s designs that first caught my eye with that beam clash between Vegeta and Goku during the Saiyan saga. When people think DBZ, they think Yamamuro. I’d be lying if i said that style didn’t hold a special place in my heart but those looks are over thirty years old. That little peek at what Shintani gave us would be perfect but i imagine, in terms of budgets, carrying that level of quality over one hundred episodes would be madness on the Toei’s wallet. No, if anything, it’s the CG going forward and, while I'm saddened that OG animation is slowly be lost to time, Chikashi Kubota’s designs for Superhero are as dope as Shintani’s work for Broly. I can’t be mad at that. hey skew a little Toyotarou but that’s okay. I think the Superhero animation is a solid place to start. It’s literally the worst that type of work will ever look and it looks pretty good.

[batmanisagatewaydrug]

okay so I don't normally fuck with playing d&d from a module or actually reading the WotC books but. BUT. I want to be able to DM eventually in my second d&d group where we alternate DMs and I think the most realistic way to DM three groups would be base one of them off some preexisting material, albeit probably heavily tweaked. so I'm checking out the new Strixhaven book, because wizard university is a super fun premise!

I just finished reading the chapter outlining the plot of sophomore year and I have Thots:

the five colleges are interesting and I like that a member of any class could very feasibly belong to any of them. I wish the color schemes of each college were a little more clearly outlined but oh well, it's not hard to piece together from the illustrations

there sure are a bunch of professor and student NPCs provided, which is very helpful for populating a large school and even more so if you like making weirdo NPCs and know you'll be inventing loads more.

having said that I'm a little confused about why so many NPCs who are supposed to be first years like the players are apparently already fully integrated into the school clubs and extracurriculars, to the point that they're hanging out advertising the clubs at wizard orientation? make it make sense!

also: it feels like despite emphasizing that you could meet anyone of literally any race at Strixhaven, NPC professors and students seem to be heavily weighted in favor of humans and owlin. I'd definitely be making some changes there.

the mechanics for studying and prepping for tests are interesting! I'm not 100% sure I really Get them, but I'd be happy to learn by playing them out with my party

mechanics for relationships are also shrimpteresting. I wouldn't incorporate the inspiration bonus from having a Beloved (aww) into a regular campaign for sure, but it seems neat to play out in a more short-form module-based campaign. having said that, I could stand to see a little more sauce on the negative flipside where you can have rivals? rivalries mostly come with minor inconveniences related to your rival's extracurriculars or campus job, and I really feel like we could get more spice in that.

the maps are very thorough and really neat! the designs for each specialized college's campus are so cool to look at, especially Prismari.

the adventures for the first year are pretty fun, and I can definitely see them working as events that happen with a few years between each one to let the full year pass by. that doubly works if you're sprinkling in personal interactions, extracurricular developments, and delving into studying as well as a few other classes that the characters are taking.

the biggest nitpick I have is that based on the amount of damage players can take doing the doll retrieval fetch quest, I really think they should be able to level up to third level before doing that.

but the extracurriculars are cool and I think could make for some great roleplaying, and ditto with the campus jobs. the jobs also represent a really good opportunity to integrate financial issues into the stories of PCs who are interested, as well as adding some interesting complexity to some NPCs as well.

sophomore year doesn't feel nearly as strong, especially since so much of the plot resolves around hoping that the party will want to take part in the magic sport du jour. if they don't want to it could get real awkward real fast, since you either have to bend over backwards to make them do it or just... improvise real fast on the fly. I'm fine with the latter, obviously, but I can see that being potentially sticky for a lot of DMs. if I run this, I'll probably do a LOT of reworking on the "Hunt for Mage Chapter" tower.

I'm heading into junior year/"The Magister's Masquerade" now, will report back

[janghoefett]

THE CUSTOMER (Boba Fett x F!Reader)

This is another overhaul and rework of one of my fics previously posted on AO3. It’s beefier now ✨

Rating: Explicit (18+) Pairing: F/M Word Count: 1.5k Warnings: Virgin reader(!!!) being scared of Boba Fett (?), reader is a bartender, mild smut, Boba Fett is soft, Boba attacking a customer who doesn’t pay you.

Summary: Boba Fett takes a liking to the reader, and you can mark her down as scared and horny.

Tagging: @fettsvette @amidalaholdo @escapedthesarlacc @thundersheild​ @onabouteverything​ @fiend-friend​ @angryares​

The most feared bounty hunter in the galaxy had taken interest in you. And you were terrified.

You would pour Boba Fett’s drinks nightly, bartending at a cantina in some backwater town in some backwater place. The bounty hunter would pick a seat for the evening and attend to his seedy visitors, whoever they may be. You wouldn’t notice when he would come in; usually he’d appear lounging in a booth at some point in the evening, giving you a faceless nod as a greeting.

The helmet was a terrifying concept, shrouded in mystery and rumors that sent a chill up your spine, and when you’d feel the visor of that helmet watching you for just a moment longer than it should you felt yourself becoming his prey — of which kind, you did not know.

“Care to have a drink with me, princess?” 

Everyone had cleared out and the voice makes your breath stop, but you turn around to find Boba Fett standing there with his helmet tucked under his arm. His face ruggedly handsome with dark features and he was older than you, significantly. You could see the wear of war on his skin.

You accepted his invitation, but your heart pounded no less.

Boba had one hell of a reputation and he sensed your hesitation around him. As you spent the evening together, however, you came to realize he was the epitome of loneliness; was there any bigger giveaway than asking your bartender for company?

“Why do you do your job?” he asked at one point that night.

“Because…” you start, swirling around your drink as you think about the answer, “I don’t know, it pays well and it’s something easy for me.”

“As is mine,” he replies with a smirk. “A job is a job.”

You began to understand him after that night.

———————————————————

Boba kept coming back night after night and it scared the hell out of you.

You found yourself dreaming about him, waking up only to find a familiar wetness between your legs. Yet despite your desire, you’d deflect his advances — you couldn’t help it. His reputation was off-putting and you never wanted to be on the receiving end of his wrath.

You saw his his anger once. When a customer had stiffed you on the bill one night, Boba was on him, slamming his head down hard on the bar. “Pay the young lady what you owe,” he demanded. The man’s hands fumbled for his pocket like a scared fool and he tipped you triple.

The possibility that Boba was only friendly so that you would sleep with him made you anxious. You knew he had been with several women and your inexperience made you shy away from him. Perhaps it was embarrassment, as fucked up as it was. Or perhaps you didn’t want to be just another quick fuck for him.

Of course Boba wanted a night with you; he was almost obsessed. A beautiful girl had given him a glimpse into a world that was not his own. You didn’t bow down to him and you didn’t fling yourself into his lap whispering what your rates were like the women he often found himself in bed with.

All the same, he never insisted and you established what felt like a friendship. Boba would lean on the bar as you worked, listening to you tell stories about the various characters of the cantina. He would come back with the strangest remarks, using that dry sense of humor that made you grin from ear to ear.

You’d drink a bit, flirt a bit. But night after night, you’d dismiss yourself early — and Boba agreed that you should.

——————————————————

“I’m leaving tomorrow,” Boba announces gruffly one night after everyone had cleared out.

You exhale sharply, setting down the towel you were using to wipe the counter. The news carries more weight than it should; you don’t know what you were waiting for, or what you thought would have happened. “I’ll miss seeing you around,” is all you muster up the courage to say.

Boba approaches you slowly — you can feel your breath catch in your throat — and he covers your hand with his larger one.

You stand just inches from each other and cautiously, you rest a hand on his chest plate. Boba’s arm pulls your waist in and, before you can think, Boba catches your lips in his. You moan slightly, a pathetic little noise, as he presses you against his armor, working his strong lips against yours.

“Boba…” you breathe, breaking off as a familiar ache forms between your legs.

You stumble into a booth, sitting on his lap as your hands explore each other. When Boba's lips come to your neck, however, you grow skittish. You can feel his cock pressed against your center and it’s big; dank ferrik, of course it is, he was ready you to bend you over this table right now.

Despite how much you wanted him, despite how much you actually lead yourself to this moment, there is genuine fear in your heart. “Boba,” you say again, steadying his face in your hands. His skin is hot and flushed. “I… I can’t do this. I’m sorry.”

Boba searches your face, breathing heavily. “Have you been with a man before, mesh’la?” he asks.

You feel the embarrassed heat rush into your face and stand up, reaching for your bag to leave. You hated the question. But after all, Boba wasn’t one to be indirect. And he was right.

“You must think something’s wrong with me,” you say quietly, unable to look him in the eye.

“No,” he says sternly. “No, I can see there’s nothing wrong with you, girl. Come here.”

After taking a deep breath you walk back to Boba tentatively. He props you up on a barstool, standing between your legs.

The bounty hunter takes your hand and places it under his shirt and armor, over his beating heart. It’s a strong, steady rhythm. His large hand keeps yours still against his warm bare chest.

“Do you feel that?” he asks.

“Yes…”

“I’m a man made of flesh and bone. That is nothing to fear, mesh’la.”

Boba’s brown eyes are honest and patient. Your hand comes up to his cheek, pulling his lips back into a tentative kiss.

“Take me back to your ship?” you ask softly.

———————————————————————

Boba snapped his hips into yours just right. He marveled at the way you hung on to him so tightly, as if you would drown otherwise. The bounty hunter understood the trust you placed in him — and he wasn’t going to make you regret it.

Your kisses were the sweetest the bounty hunter had ever felt. You would turn your head to plant a trail down his jaw and his neck, and it only made Boba hold you closer, fuck you deeper. Boba wasn’t rough exactly; he was red-blooded while remaining mindful of your limits… and you loved it. “Shh, mesh'la, that’s it,” he’d whisper as you mewled and cried beneath him at the stretch of his cock, both of you slowing down to gentler motions. “Good girl, there you go.”

Boba knew exactly how to get you off, and it turned him on being the one to guide you. To Boba you were an angel, too soft for the filth of the galaxy and too innocent for him to mark. He was older; a hardened warrior with more blood on his hands than you would ever know. But with every thrust you take, and with every time you cry his name, the bounty hunter’s sins feel washed away as your pleasure becomes his own.

You are left a heaving mess, lying on Boba’s chest as he runs his fingers lightly over the skin of your back. “Did that feel good, little one?” he mumbles, pressing a kiss to your temple. “D’you feel okay?”

“Yes,” you respond, catching his lips with your own. “Thank you.”

It was perfect.

The first rays of the morning sun peak over the horizon. You had stayed in bed speaking softly, running your hands lazily over each other’s bodies as you asked him about the far-off places he’s gone and the bounties he’s caught. So much time had been spent keeping Boba away, and now that you saw him as a man — a man who made you feel safe — you didn’t want to let him go.

You kiss each other drowsily on the boarding ramp, whispering sincere, lighthearted goodbyes before you turn to leave.

“Mesh’la,” he calls, pulling you back in close to him with an arm around your waist.

“What?” you giggle softly.

Boba searches your face for a moment and the giddy grin fades from your lips. Saying goodbye to a man you barely knew shouldn’t be hard, yet here you were, looking into his eyes as if you’ve known him forever.

Boba’s arms wrap tightly around your waist in silence as you kiss one last time, slowly, neither of you daring to let go. “Bye, Boba,” you whisper against his lips, stroking his cheek.

He watches until you’re no longer in his sight.

[leidensygdom]

Hoi, I am running a campaign with drows and now I'm a little worried I'm stepping on some toes, and wanted to ask your opinion? On surface, they have the whole evil matriarch thing going on, but there is plenty of good drows, (one of them being a PC and several NPCs) - and the end-goal for that mini-arc is for drows to dismantle their old system that's based on the crueler traditions, and improve their society and culture as a whole. Is this a bad idea? I've always loved drows aesthetics wise, but I'm also white as the Scandinavian snow I was born from, so understandably I'm a little blind to the implications of my choices - second hand opinion would help a lot. Sorry for the wall of text, hope you have a great day, keep being awesome!

Hey, hello! This is gonna be a long post~

So, I think a lot of people started running drow by-the-book, and over time, shifted towards other possible options. You're already doing much better than what the canon content does say, though, since you're including several drow with a better alignment, and there's a margin for change. I think revolution/rebellion plots are a good way to work with this: The fact people can organize to try to destroy a tyrannical government means that not every member of the race is somehow aligned to evil.

You can run drow societies that are evil. I have one like that, although heavily reworked to be way more coherent and less sexist. I talked about it in somewhere, search for "Mith-Sharorr" in my blog! And well, there have been human cultures that have veered towards being pretty... terrible, not gonna lie. Fascism has been a thing, stuff like the Roman empire have done HORRID acts, and yet, there's still (at core) a lot of people within these cultures that aren't just cackling villains all the time. I think, looking at these can be interesting. A lot of people get entangled in the system, fed propaganda, and end up being part of it, but in the end they're trying to live their lives, take care of their family and friends, and go through the day. A lot of these societies also have marginalized groups, people who are against the whole thing, or just cannot really do much: Think of lower classes, slaves, etc.

One thing that CAN help humanize even an evil Lolth-praising society is thinking about the lower classes. RA Salvatore just NEVER mentions them in the books: Either you're a noble or a slave. Same for most of the canon content. But societies have lower classes, which often have little say over the politics at the top, and are just trying to go by. I've usually run that as either people who keep silence to avoid repression, or people who are trying to organize to change things for the better. Having a more humanized portrayal of these people can help things a lot: Maybe they've been fed propaganda that outsiders are always evil, but it means they're constantly thrown at war with people for no reason, and they're starting to get weary of it. Or maybe merchants that travel to other cities have had contact with other cultures, and have noticed things work very differently, and they return with rumours of "maybe the rest of the world isn't our enemy." All these things can help humanize drow quite a lot!

Dictatorships (and drow are pretty dictatorial in nature, even if theocracy-flavored) do have a lot of dissidence. I'll put as an example fascist Spain, which ranged from 1939 to 1975 (or 1978ish). Fascism won the war here. People in power were often appointed by the regime and were the ones perpetuating most of the oppression. They had all the political power, the church became extremely powerful and prosecuted anyone that was out of the norm, they ran schools, hospitals, etc. And of course, they taught that the regime was correct. That didn't mean everyone agreed. There have been cases of people organizing stuff in the shadows ever since. People who got prosecuted for it. People who did their best to fight against the regime. People that managed to get rid of fascist higher-ups through organization. People who ran away from Spain into other countries, and from exile, tried to help people here. (Exiles can be a really cool concept! And it's not explored enough). During these almost 40 years, Spain was surely doing horrible things, but the people suffering from it were often the lower classes and minorities. But these people weren't evil or guilty for living under that regime.

I think these examples can help a lot shaping a drow society! How DID it become like that? Was it a recent change? Is it been so deeply tyrannical for generations? Drow are extremely long lived- What do people who are now old remember from back their childhood? Were the nobles in power back then? Do they still long for change? There's a lot to be asked~

Finally, I think it's important to point out that one of the best ways to avoid falling into the "drow are always evil" is having these cultures be just one of many within the race. Humans in the real world are extremely varied, and while there's been some cultures that could be labelled as evil, a lot of them are diverse and hard to categorize in one way or another. Even if there were nazis in Germany, it didn't make humankind evil as a whole. I think the trope becomes extremely harmful when you tie race to culture. Cultures and races are never tied: If you raise a drow outside of a tyrannical society, they won't have tyranny written in their genes. Which means that there should be many drow cities that just haven't got into praising evil goddesses and racism, and at the same time, other races probably know that (like all other races), drow aren't universally evil. Maybe some drow just established underground and work with dwarves on the regular. Maybe there's a nomadic bunch of drow that help travellers traverse the underdark and trade with others. A deeply evil society is usually the exception, not the norm.

(tl;dr: Check real societies to make drow a bit more realistic. Think of how those that are not directly benefitting from the system deal with the entire thing. Introduce dissidence. Make sure that drow have different cultures, since evil is not determined by genetics. And good luck!)

(Also, sorry for the long post- I'm a bit passionate about the topic. And sorry for spelling mistakes, English isn't my first language!)

[popculturebuffet]

Watchmen Reviewed Issue by Issue Part 1: “At Midnight, All The Agents” (Patreon Review for WeirdKev27)

Hello all you happy people! I’m Jake, I review comics and animation, and as you can tell I have a new project.. and this one’s a bit nervewracking. Watchmen is one of THE Comic Books. When people think about the medium, this is one of the things that comes to mind. It’s so integral to comics, how they evolved for better and for worse, and so iconic that the idea of tackling it it’s a lot, especially since SO MANY people have analyized it before me. So many people have poured through this iconic work. What could I add?

And i’ve realized the answer is “i don’t know, but it can’t hurt to try”. I’ve read no analysis’ on the comic, no think pieces, i’m going into this purely with my own opinon and it if overlaps, it overlaps. If I miss something, I miss it and with this much detail and craft I likely will. I’m going to give this series my best analysis, make silly jokes all the while and see how it all turns out. 

So with that an introduction for that one person in the back who hasn’t at least heard of Watchmen: Watchmen is a 1986 DC Comics Maxisereis from legendary bitter hermit and actual wizard Alan Moore and the should be also legendary but isn’t often David Gibbons. 

Watchmen came about as Alan Moore’s star had risen to it’s absolute top: he’d made his name reinventing second tier Captain Marvel (Aka Shazam) knockoff Marvelman (Redubbed miracleman in the states because marvel didn’t own him.. yet), via a horrifying deeply introspective run that heavily deconsturcted comics. This lead to DC giving him a shot, giving him their low selling and low rent book Swamp Thing in hopes he could work the same magic. He did and having read about half that run, it’s a true work of art that still holds up. 

 So with a bonafied rep for taking characters and making them bonafied stars and with DC having just bought Charlton comics, which had a massive line of superheroes to play with, Moore was the obvious choice to reinvent them and teaming up with Gibbons (Who as he realted in a story ironically found his career thanks to a poster Moore Made for a small sci fi novel company that lead to Gibbons getting an ad job for them and then getting scounted as a comics).

The problem was while the story they turned in was great it was also unusable for it’s intended purpose. This story would leave a few of these characters dead and those left wouldn’t really work in a wider universe. The editors wisely didn’t just throw things out entirely though: they knew what they had and simply had Moore and Gibbons rework it into an original tale. So they tweaked a few things and truly got into the meat of it , creating an alternate history so they could comment on just how terrifying Regan Era America was without pissing off people who loved the right wing bastard right away. The results speak for themselves: Watchmen is all time iconic. 

That said before we can get into this first issue and see why there’s one last thing to address I don’t want to leave for later.  Moore and Gibbons got screwed over terribly with this series. And I don’t mean in terms of things like promotion or what not: the book was heavily promoted as far as I can tell and while a sleeper hit caught on enough to truly change comics, for better and for worse. But when Moore you know wanted to OWN something he’d clearly created... DC Refused. It’s not a new story, creators being mad they don’t own their creations but here i’ts especailly galling given DC has pumped out a movie (Which we’ll get to at the end of this yearlong look at the story), two sequels (which I might get to at some point but probably not RIGHT after this. We’ll see), and tons of merch.  How DC screwed him out of this is incredibly obnoxious and one of their worse acts and I feel you really CAN’T takl about the series without this. It helped lead to Image which while that started.. messily to say the least, it’s bloomed into tons of indies that allow the creators to take their work if the contracts up and creators to get WAY more rightful residuals. So while things overall have changed.. it’s still shitty how Moore’s treated. I may not always agree with the old curmudgeon.. but I do get why he REALLY cannot stand DC. Same with Gibbons who has done more work with them again but isn’t exactly fond of them either. 

But enough elephants in the room, enough prep, the clock has hit midnight, a window has been broken, a man is dead... and the agents are all stirring under the cut. Content Warning: Gonna be a lot of these over this series but content warnings for talk of Rape and Suicide. Discretion is advised. 

We open with a great shot, which pans directly in from the cover, as do they all. The covers are all fantastic by the way, I just choose to go with the titles for each story as it’s a bit more distinct and helps my reviews stand out. 

Our first page is beautiful, with Gibbons art truly being striking, using an iconic 9 panel layout that many comics would ape after this, just enough for the action but enough to fit everything in. It’s gorgeous work. 

What’s less gorgeous is the dialouge coming from Rorschach's war journal. Rorshach is a costumed vigilante in this setting.. and is to me THE prototype for the 90′s style anti-hero. He kills, he’s heavily flawed, he’s deranged, and he constantly calls out other heroes for not doing enough. Rorschach is one of the primary inspirations for 90′s love of assholes who kill and monologue constantly, along with The Dark Knight Returns of course. 

The thing is though... the edgelords who kept making characters like this.. entirely missed the POINT of Rorschach. All they saw is that he looks cool (Which fair play, Gibbons design for him is iconic for a reason and one of the best superhero designs period), and does some really cool things. But from page one.. Rorschach is a terrible person who rambles about how bad society is, judges other and is about as far right as you can get. 

These are the thoughts of a man who needs serious psychatric help. He even does get a therapist later.. i’ts just a shame it’s a guy hoping to write a book and who Rorschach slowly destroys instead of anyone actually capable. 

This came as a shock because I hadn’t re-read watchmen in decades, so young me likely didn’t focus on just how far right this guy is. And i’m not against the character for being on the right. There’s been plenty of good rightwing characters and there are a handful of real life right wingers who AREN’T horrible monsters who rail against masks and vaccines while the world burns around them. I’m against him because his views are extreme, he looks down on other people as a judgmental asshole. Again one of his first, and most iconic lines is “All the whores and the policticans will lookup and shout “Save Us!” and i’ll whisper back... “No”.”. While he drives the plot and IS trying to solve a genine crime that dosen’t make him a good person. Putting on Spandex dosne’t make you a hero, it’s what you do in it, what you do as a person that counts, which is a big part of this story: just because you WANT to make a better world dosen’t mean your capable of it or that the world will LET you improve it. It’s one of those works that takes superheroes and slaps them in the face with reality, but does so in a way that dosen’t condem most of THEM (There are some really bad ones like Rorshach and Comedian) but shows society wouldn’t let that kind of idealisim and heroisim change it for the better. 

Point is Rorschach is not a good person, nor someone to idolize. Cosplay as yes, his costume again is straight fire, but he as a person sucks. 

Okay so moving on. We pan up, yes Dave Gibbons pulled off a freaking camera pan in a comic my god this art is amazing, to two detectives investigating the murder of Edward Blake, a goverment agent and costumed hero known as the Comedian, as they posulate HOW he could’ve died and we see it in flashback, though minus who actually did it. This is a murder mystery after all. I might spoil that mystery when the time is right, just as a heads up, but it is a well crafted one. It also gives us some needed exposition on the World of Watchmen.  In 1977, 8 years before this story, the Keene Act was passed which banned all costumed heroes, with only two staying active as sanctoined goverment agents.  If this sounds familiar both the Incredibles and Civil War (both the godawful comic and awesome movie adaptation) took this idea and ran with it. 

Thus only three heroes were left active: Blake, Doctor Manhattan who we’ll meet.. and Rorschach who didn’t quit when the act was passed, the one likeable thing he’s done all comic. So Shacky breaks into the crime scene and finds Comedian’s costume and it.. certainly is a choice

Like i’m all for BDSM, truly, and I get it was intetinonally supposed to be like this.. but why? Ed isn’t into BDSM, that i’m aware of the comic may correct me on this, and as a black ops mask it’s no less conspcious. He didn’t even change the res tof the outfit. He just changed from a domino mask to something out of Dennis Renold’s Tool Chest. And that’s not even getting into the fact that, as we’ll learn, Blake is a bastard so there’s a LOT of disturbing implications from him choosing to wear a fetish mask. And also the implicatoin that Moore and Gibbons do not know how BDSM works. But given this was the 80′s and the internet didn’t exist yet, they at least have more excuse than 80% of media. 

So we next cut to my faviorite of our main cast, Dan, aka Nite Owl II, whose having his weekly chat with Hollis Mason, the first Nite Owl. Like Rorshach was based off the Question, a crime solver with a near identical outfit just no face instead of bloch face, Nite Owl is based off my boy Ted Kord, the endearingly dorky second blue beetle. Though I feel Ted being an endearing dork with weight issues is ironically BASED on Dan whose BASED on him. It makes my head spin just thinking about it. Dan and Hollis relationship is really sweet too, with Hollis gladly regalling his replacement with how he ran into an old foe at the supermarket. Turns out hes a great guy, they have a lot in common. Gonna get brunch saturday. So the two head off. 

Dan heads home to his apartment and finds Rorshach eating a can of beans Dan had in a suprisingly iconic shot. The two used to be team up buddies, kind of like spider-man and daredevil if daredevil went off his meds. He throws Dan the iconic button from the opening, seriously that shot of the smiley with blood my god, and says i’ts “human bean juice” before having a laugh”

Anyways Dan takes Inky Boy down to his old HQ to talk things over, and Inky shuts down Dan’s attempts to right this off as a burglary or political killing: Blake was too good for a common burglar to get him, even at his current age and made far too many enmies. Shack Attack suggests Hollis because he has no tact, since Hollis wrote some things about Blake in his book.. things we’ll get to.  We’ll also actually get to see some of the book but more on that later. 

We do get a REALLY good scene with the two though where for once, Shake Shack makes a good point. 

Dan is geninely rattled by this. This also sets up the format for the rest of this issue: Rickity Shack visiting people to invetigate them for the murder case.  It’s a clever way to get everyone on the board and feed us small bits about them, things that will be filled in later as the story goes on. 

So Your Gonna Hear Him Roar(Schah) decides to go to a dive bar and randomly intergoate people. The bartender is udnerstandably afraid of him as Inky has MURDERED people before.. and his response to some guy wh dosen’t know him laughing.. is to break the guys fucking fingers to get info no one has any clue of. Great detective work top notch.

So after that scene that.. sure did happen.. we get our next interview, Ozymandis, the world smartest man who retired before the writing was on the wall and became a mega mogul and liseecned himself to all shit, which Rorshach takes issue with because of course he does. Which I also find hilarious given how most conservatives love selling out, aint that right bottle of alex jones supliments that flies into my window to haunt me every night before I go to sleep? Veidt is shown in a positive light though, showing that he retired for his own reasons, is seemingly conflicted over it like everyone else, and points out blake was “pratically a nazi”. We also get another humanizing moment from Shack Diesel as he admits he didn’t suspect Veidt yet but as a likely next target if this is a superhero killing spree, he wanted him to be ready. 

So we get out final interview and it’s a two fer as I”m Regretting this Running Gag And Probably WOn’t Do It Again Next Month breaks in to talk to two more heroes: Dr. Manhattan, the cold detached only other superhero and his girlfriend Laurie, the former silk spectre II, picking up after her mom. Also just so we can get this out of the way yes, Dr. Manhattan is extra super duper naked and yes we do see his penis on OCCASION, though Gibbons takes pains not to show it too often. He has a big blue penis that probably glows too. 

The conversatoin between the two is so far ahead of it’s time I see it in the corner of my eye as I type. Laurie isn’t remotely sad about Blake’s death as Blake attempted to rape her mother and actually did choke her. And Inky’s response to this.. is to call them allegations and call an ATTEMPTED RAPE a “Moral lapse”. This causes Dr. Manhattan to casually teleport Rorshach away because he upset his girlfriend. It’s a nice subtle display of just HOW powerful and detached this guy is: with just a THOUGHT Rorshach is outside and unlike everyone else he never intergoated manhattan or laid into him like everyone else. We’ll get more on smurf dick later. Laurie is still a bit rattled and feeling cooped up decides to call up Dan for a friendly reunion dinner. 

So after another page of deranged man ranting, and a nice show that Nixon is still in office, another nod for things to come, we catch said dinner as it’s ending, with the two old friends reuniting with tons of chemistry, a nice contrast to how detached Laurie’s relationship with her blue beau feels. IT’s just small storytelling things like that that tell you you have a great one. The two reminsice over an old villian who was into being beat up.. who naturally met rorshach and thus his death as they didn’t have a safe word. We also get more of Laurie’s character: While Dan clearly misses the life.. Laurie seems not to because her mom shoved her into it.... yet part of her clearly does miss it. It’s more complicated than being forced into a roll she never wanted and as the two muse on the comedians death.. things will only complicated further

Under The Hood:

Yeah for those not familiar with Watchmen, every issue has a suplementary written bit. As a teen I stupidly sped through these as I was and still am an impatient bastard. That was a huge mistake as a LOT of the work’s worldbuilding and a lot of good stuff are in these, a mistake I thankfully won’t be making again. Oddly adding prose bits to comics never truly caught on, and only might NOW thanks to the Krakoa era of x-men which has added little info page bits that really splash things up or get otu exposition well

So for this issue it’s chapters of Hollis’ Book, Under the Hood. The first is simply to settle people into the book, relating a story about how the boss at the garage his dad used to work at used to really love tacky sexual novelty gags... which lead to a truly tragic moment when the guy gets a call his wife left him for his head mechanic and emptied their accounts and has been cheating on hi mfor two years. He comes out to announce this.. while wearing fake boobs which leads to resounding laughter as no one knows how to react.. and possibly to the poor man’s suicide that night. The reason for this grim tale is that Hollis wanted to open with what he considered the saddest thing he could think of. And that he felt more rediculous dressing up as an owl.

The second is more plot based, going into Hollis’ grandpa an absuvie racist old asshole who his dad hated, but who was sweet to Hollis. and while Hollis acknowledged the guy was a bastard he gave him an ingrained sense of justice which lead to Hollis joining the police.. but it didn’t feel like enough. Cue the dawn of superhero comics with Superman, and Hollis sneaking copies from kids while on the beat (to avoid being demoted for reading a childrens magazine. yes the stigma against superhero comics existed even in the 30′s.). He fantasied a bit about a simplier world as a costumed hero but wrote it off as just fantasies.. till he read a paper article about the first costumed hero, hooded justice, a man in a black hood with a noose around his neck... nad decided to be the second. 

So overall an excellent first issue. I don’t be doing my usual final thoughts as watchmen, while released issue by issue really is one massive story, so I feel judging each instalment may not work. I could change my mind as this project is going to span a year, one issue a month. Still it was an incredibly strong start in both stories and I look forward to next month. I don’t remember when everything happens, so I look forward to revisiting it and if this issue is any indication it’s every bit as good as it’s rep. See you real soon.

If you loved this review, follow for more, reblog it to help get the word out and if you want to help me make more reviews like this consider joining my patreon.  This retrospective is entirely thanks to one of my Patrons, Kev, and you too can have me look at whatever comic you want issue by issue if you sign up. 5 buck patrons get a review of a single comic issue or tv episode or special a month, so ther’es no better time to sign up! You can also talk to me personally on my discord server and twitter, links to all bellow. Good day to you. 

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[callivich]

I love the idea of time travel and I just couldn’t get this idea out of my head, so here’s a little time travel story! Reworked this so it’s slightly different and longer! Planning on a part two soon.....

———

Ian had been standing in the kitchen of his and Mickey’s new apartment. He had been about to make some coffee and take it to his husband who was still sleeping. Everything had been normal and fine - he’d been idly thinking about what they were going to do that day. It was Saturday and Mickey had, the night before, demanded not to be woken early, but other than that, they had no plans. Maybe a dip in the pool? It was sunny, but not too warm, which was good because the slightly cool weather meant less people in the pool.

And, just as he was imagining swimming lazily in an empty pool with his husband, it seemed like he blinked and the whole world had shifted sharply. He felt dizzy and his vision swam, his body felt weak and he collapsed against a nearby wall, trying to catch his breath. It was like no feeling he’d ever experienced.

Blinking furiously, he noticed something alarming - he was not leaning against his kitchen wall, he was somewhere else. Somewhere he never thought he’d ever go again. Somewhere it was impossible to go again, but he recognised it immediately. The Milkovich house. He glanced around at his surroundings, struggling to understand how he could be standing outside Mickey’s old bedroom. What the fuck?? Was he dreaming? Or, worse, hallucinating? If he was dreaming or hallucinating, it was the most realistic thing he had ever experienced, there was nothing dreamlike about it. Everything looked exactly the same as he remembered - the signs on Mickey’s door, the dirt covered carpet, the dimly lit hallway - it even smelled the same - that stale mixture of smoke, beer and sweat.

It was too much - this situation he found himself in, it couldn’t be real, and yet, apparently it was. He felt a sharp burst of panic, his chest felt tight, and he reflexively clenched his hands, trying to calm himself. It was then he realised he was holding something. It was heavy and solid in his hand, and as he stared at it, it took him a few seconds to understand what he was seeing - it was a tire iron. And then everything began to click into place - he noted his worn, hand-me-down clothes and when he reached up to feel his hair with his free hand, his fingers found bangs. An overwhelming feeling of familiarity washed over him, he remembered these clothes, he remembered holding the tire iron and he remembered why he was holding the tire iron. Most importantly, he remembered this day. It was the day that everything changed between him and Mickey - the stolen gun, the fight, the sex - and he was in his teenage body. Shit.

Ian didn’t know what to do. This was impossible. There was simply no way it was possible. And yet, here he stood, years in the past. His mind began to race with possibilities - should he leave? and go where? back to the Gallagher house? or should he stay here and wait to see what happens? would anything happen? would he blink and be back in his kitchen? or was he stuck here in the past forever? He wanted to go home, to his apartment with Mickey, he wanted his husband. Mickey. A thought occurred to him - maybe Mickey, his Mickey, was here too? Not that would automatically fix everything, but at least Ian wouldn’t be alone. He stared at the door, he needed to know either way - either Mickey was also, somehow, here in the past, and they could figure this out together, or he was about to run into angry, teenage Mickey, who perhaps didn’t hate Ian as much as Ian had assumed at the time, but was definitely not his friend.

He paused outside the door, and as he took a deep breath, his hand tightened on the tire iron - unsure if he should just leave it on the floor. He definitely wasn’t going to hit Mickey with it, but if it was teenage Mickey in there, then Ian hoped the sight of the tire iron would stop Mickey from hitting him. Ian pushed open the door, and softly shut it behind him with a click. There was Mickey, laid out on the bed, face down, asleep, just as Ian remembered. It was bizarre seeing this again, at the time he had no idea how this day would change his life, but here it was - the moment that their lives began to become entwined.

This wasn’t the time to reminisce though. Ian gently, much more gently than he had done so originally, poked Mickey in the back with the end of the tire iron. Perhaps too gently, because Mickey didn’t move. This was promising - teenage Mickey was a light sleeper, but in the safety of their apartment, adult Mickey had began to sleep heavily, and Ian hoped that the fact Mickey didn’t move immediately meant that this was his husband.

“Mickey. Wake up.” Ian moved closer to the bed, and tapped him on the back with his free hand.

That did it, there was an annoyed groan, and Mickey turned his head, so Ian could now see his dirt-smudged face, but didn’t open his eyes, only muttering a tired, “No.” This was different to what had happened before, but Ian still wasn’t sure if this was his Mickey or teenage Mickey.

“Wake up.” Ian tried again, this time giving his shoulder a shake.

“Fucks sake, Ian, it’s the weekend....I wanna sleep in.” Mickey mumbled, sleepily. Still, he didn’t open his eyes, just reached out a hand, and when he didn’t feel anything but an empty space, he continued, “Come back to bed.”

It seemed like Mickey thought Ian should be in bed with him, and relief flooded through Ian. This was his Mickey! Now he just needed to actually wake the fuck up.

Feeling more confident, he sat down on the bed next to Mickey, dropped the tire iron on the floor, and ran a hand down his back. “Mick. Open your eyes. But don’t freak out.”

“What am I gonna freak -” And then he was speechless. His eyes were finally open and he looked at Ian in shock. “What the fuck?”

“I know.”

Mickey’s eyes darted around the room, back to Ian, down at himself, and then settled on Ian. He reached a hand out to touch Ian’s face softly, running his fingers over the freckles. “Fuck. What’s going on? How...”

“I don’t know?! I was in the kitchen, I was going to make coffee, and then suddenly I was here and shit, I thought I was dreaming, or hallucinating, but this is all so real. So it must be real?” The words tumbled out and Ian was so glad that he wasn’t going to have to deal with this alone.

“I don’t....the last thing I remember was going to bed with you.” Mickey sat up, and swung his legs around to sit close to Ian. “This is fucked up. It’s fucking impossible.” He ran a hand down his face, before turning to stare at Ian again in disbelief. And Ian couldn’t help but do the same back - he still couldn’t believe his eyes.

“What are we going to do?” Ian broke the silence, they couldn’t sit here staring at each other all day.

“Shit. I don’t fucking know.” Mickey frowned for a moment, as if considering something and then pinched Ian on the arm.

“Ow! What was that for?”

“In case it’s a dream.”

“You’re supposed to pinch yourself.” Ian grumbled, as he pinched Mickey on the arm. “There. Feel real?”

“Hardly felt that, but yeah.” He looked around his room. “So, I guess we’re in the past. That means -”

Mickey didn’t have time to finish his sentence because the door opened and a ghost entered. Or rather, not a ghost, someone who was very much alive. Terry. Mickey instantly tensed up, his hands balling into fists. Terry made his way into the bathroom, slamming the door behind him. Ian didn’t think, he just pulled Mickey close, hugging him tight.

“Fuck. Shit.” Mickey let out a shuddering breath. “Ian, we can’t.” He moved away reluctantly. Ian felt his heart clench but nodded, shifting away to the end of the bed. Of course they couldn’t hug, not here, not now. Fuck. Ian wanted to punch the wall. Mickey pinched the bridge of his nose, “I can’t fucking be here, man.” He jumped up and threw on some more clothes and some shoes.

Terry stumbled back out of the bathroom, and Mickey froze, his eyes wide, still unbelieving of what he was seeing. He kept staring at the door after Terry left. It was surreal seeing Terry alive, walking around like normal. And if Ian thought it was surreal, he couldn’t imagine what Mickey was thinking. Or rather, he probably could guess. His mind drifted to thoughts of Monica - she was alive here, what would it be like to see her again? Would he felt strange? Horrified? Upset? And Frank....shit, Frank had only just died, but right now, he was alive.

He pushed the thoughts away, they needed to leave. This was all too confusing. Mickey had only just finally come to terms with Terry’s death and this....this fucked up situation was only going to cause him pain. And Ian was still going through some pretty strange and surprisingly upsetting emotions about Frank’s death, it was all still so raw. Neither of them needed to be confronted by their dead fathers (did anyone ever?), especially not so close to said fathers deaths. The room felt too small, too hot, Ian knew they needed to leave. It was impossible to think here.

“Let’s get out of here.” Ian tugged on Mickey’s hand, squeezing it gently, before dropping it.

“Where?” Mickey questioned, shrugging on a coat.

“One of the abandoned buildings? At least then we know we’ll be alone. And we can try and figure out what we’re going to do.”

Mickey gave a whispered “yeah” and flung open his bedroom door, hurrying towards the front of the house, causing Ian to jog behind him to catch up. He was about to reach him when Mandy appeared. Ian’s stomach did a pleasant flip when he saw her - he’d missed her so much and here she was, looking exactly the same as he remembered. He fought the urge to hug her tightly.

“Ian? Are you ok?” Her eyes searched his face curiously, like she could tell something was wrong. But that was stupid, Ian thought, even if she could, she would never guess it was that Ian and Mickey had somehow time travelled from the present back to the future.

“Uh...yeah. I just...” He couldn’t help it - he glanced at Mickey who had paused by the front door, looking over his shoulder at Ian. “I gotta go home.”

“Ok. But-”

“Everything’s fine, Mandy. I’ll see ya.” He could hear the tremble in his voice and he could tell from the slight frown on her face that she was concerned. She looked back and forth between Ian and Mickey, her eyes narrowing and noticing Mickey’s hand on the door. “Where are you going, shithead?”

“Out.” And with that, Mickey practically flung himself through the doorway and made his way onto the sidewalk. Ian waved a hand in Mandy’s direction, wishing he could explain to her but knowing he couldn’t, and headed out, shutting the door behind him. He felt guilty brushing her off, but Mickey was his priority.

“Mick.” He called out as he caught up. He bumped his shoulder against Mickey’s and they began to make their way to one of the more isolated abandoned buildings, both knowing which one they should go to. They walked in silence, both of them struggling to make sense of where, and when, they found themselves. So, it was no surprise that neither of them noticed the figure that followed them.

——

Ian watched Mickey as he climbed the old, battered stairs in front of him, he could see the heavy tension in his shoulders. It was familiar but not something he had seen in awhile. Mickey was relaxed and happy, most of the time, they were finally settling into the West Side and things were good - safe and stable - and their days were filled with kisses and laughter, they just were enjoying being together. But, now, they had been thrown backwards to a time when things were dangerous and unstable and complicated.

There was a splintered door, which Mickey kicked open with his foot. He sighed heavily and Ian grasped his hand, leading him towards one of the walls. They sunk down onto the floor, backs against the cold brick. Ian moved to cuddle Mickey close, but it was awkward. He was used to being able to hold Mickey easily, but here, now, as they were a similar height, it was different. He had never had the luxury of being able to hug or be close to Mickey like this back then, so he wasn’t used to trying to hold him like this. Eventually, with some fumbling, they managed to find a good angle. Mickey slumped down a bit, and Ian put his arm around Mickey’s shoulders, they were pressed close, and Mickey threw one leg over Ian’s, and rested his head close to Ian’s neck.

“This isn’t fucking fair.” Mickey whispered. “What the fuck is this shit and why is it happening to us?”

“I’m scared.” Ian replied, using his free hand to grab one of Mickey’s. “What if we’re stuck here?”

“Your meds.” Mickey squeezed Ian’s hand. “What are we going to do about your meds?”

“I don’t....” Ian faltered. He hadn’t even considered that. What was he going to do? He hadn’t been diagnosed back then, now, so what did that mean in terms of his illness? The fear that had been bubbling under the surface suddenly began to overflow. What the fuck was he going to do? “I don’t know. Shit. Mick. I don’t-”

“We’ll figure it out.” Mickey put his free hand on top of his and Ian’s clasped ones. Ian wanted to believe Mickey but he didn’t feel convinced, and as confident as Mickey sounded, Ian could hear the worry.

“Ok. Yeah. We’ll figure it out. But, what are we going to do, like right now? We can’t stay here tonight.”

“I can’t go back there. I can’t see-”

“I know. I know. We’ll stay at my house.” Ian cut him off before he could say his father’s name. It felt strange saying that - my house - because it wasn’t, not anymore. His house, his home, was the apartment he shared with Mickey.

“And how the fuck do we explain that? And what about Frank? You gonna be able to deal with seeing him again?”

“Don’t care.” He heard Mickey snort. “I don’t care Mick, you’re my fucking husband, and I love you and we need to-”

“Holy fucking shit! What the hell is this?” A shocked voice cut through the air, startling both of them.

Ian and Mickey jerked their heads up at the same time to see Mandy standing in the doorway, a look of complete and utter disbelief on her face. They had been so wrapped up in their problem, that they hadn’t noticed her following them or heard her making her way up the steps of the building. They slowly disentangled from each other in a way that Ian noted would not have happened in their teenage years. Mickey would have shoved Ian off back then, but now, he was so used to not hiding or feeling afraid that he didn’t. As much as Ian would like to focus on the growth Mickey was showing, he knew he couldn’t. Because right now, the stakes were too high.

Ian’s heart pounded, he knew they needed to say something. He could trust Mandy. He had done so before. But fuck, there was so much more he knew in hindsight. So many more terrible, violent things that he knew he could not let any of them go through again.

Which is why he blurted out the first thing he thought of, “It’s cold. We were cold, so we were just warming up.”

Ian didn’t need to look at Mickey to know he was probably rolling his eyes.

“Cold?” Mandy folded her arms and leaned against the wall. “Thank fuck I’m not a cop Ian because you would not last-”

“What the fuck are you doing here? You follow us?” Mickey interrupted. “Go away.”

“No. Not until you tell me what’s going on.” Mandy pushed off the wall and walked to towards them. “Ian, what’s going on? I thought you and Kash-”

“Fuck him.”

“Shut up, Mickey. I’m talking to Ian.”

“Mandy, please. This isn’t what it.....can you just forget you came here? Please? And please don’t say anything. To anyone.” Ian pleaded. He needed her to go. He loved her, and he loved seeing her again, but fuck, this was not the time. He couldn’t think with her here. All he kept thinking of was when Terry found him and Mickey - that horrible morning that always made his stomach churn when he thought about it. He didn’t think Mandy would tell. But in that moment it felt like it was too much - someone else knowing - he just couldn’t handle it right now. He just wanted to be with Mickey. “I’m begging you, Mandy. Please.”

Mandy bit her lip, in the same way Ian had seen Mickey do a thousand times. She looked back and forth between them, uneasy and suspicious, Ian realised he had tears in his eyes and he could see the exact moment Mandy noticed. “Fine. But you owe me an explanation Ian. And so do you Mickey.”

“Yes.” Ian breathed in relief. And he watched her turn on her heel and leave. They stood in silence until they were sure she was gone.

“So, what now?” Mickey pulled Ian close, his arms winding around his waist.

“Maybe if we fall asleep, we’ll wake up back home?” Ian hoped more than anything that would be true.

“Thought you were awake when you came here. Back? Now? Whatever.”

“I was but....who the fuck knows right? It’s worth a try.”

“Yeah. Maybe. But we can’t sleep here.”

[sedge-yells-at-comics]

Reprinted below, in case the link implodes.

Flash #27 Reveals Why Reverse Flash Is a Truly Unique Villain                

The finale of "Running Scared" provides a gut-wrenching Rebirth update to one of DC's most complicated villains: Eobard Thawne, the Reverse Flash.

By Meg Downey Published Jul 27, 2017               

If you’re a fan of the Flash, you’re probably pretty familiar with the concept of the Reverse Flash, a man named Eobard Thawne who, like Barry, has super speed and wears a flashy costume. Of course, the “Reverse” might sound like he’s the literal opposite of the Flash -- maybe someone who slows things down instead of speeding himself up? Or maybe someone who runs backwards?

There are a lot of obvious and incorrect guesses pretty readily available for casual or newer fans to throw darts at. The reality of the Reverse Flash is, however, pretty complicated. Mostly because his “reverse” status is actually ideological at its core. Flash media, be it print, animated or live action, has traditionally made this apparent by painting Eobard as someone who is essentially pure evil -- a sort of manic, time traveling serial killer who is motivated solely by his endless need to destroy Barry Allen from the ground up.

At that point, the problem then becomes finding a way to make Thawne’s homicidal drive, well… unique in the scope of the DC Universe, a place that just so happens to be populated by enough over-the-top villains to populate a decent sized Midwestern town. Why is Reverse Flash someone that’s specific to The Flash? What differentiates him from any of DC’s other iconic arch rivals, like Lex Luthor or The Joker?

Well, The Flash #27 has the answer, and it's probably not the one you expected.

Running Scared

The rebirth of the “classic” Eobard Thawne (as opposed to his New 52 revamp) began in the Flash/Batman crossover mini-event “The Button” back in April, a four-part storyline which connected the original Thawne to the events of last year’s DC Universe: Rebirth one-shot.

Since, then, Thawne’s taken up residence as a perpetual thorn in Barry’s side in the hero's own ongoing series, stepping directly into the spotlight for the three-part “Running Scared” arc which served to highlight Thawne’s Rebirth status quo. For the most part, it’s a story that fans will be pretty familiar with, borrowing heavily from elements of stories like The Flash: Rebirth and Flashpoint. Thawne’s from the future, he time traveled to kill Barry’s parents, he’s connected to a negative form of the Speed-Force, and so on -- But that’s where things start to get their Rebirth-specific legs.

It’s not that creators Josh Williamson, Howard Porter and Paul Pelletier are trying to reinvent the proverbial wheel with “Running Scared” -- just unlock a different side of it by shining a light on one of the most unique aspect of Eobard and Barry’s relationship.

Reverse Flash doesn’t hate Flash the way Lex Luthor hates Superman, or Bane hates Batman. It’s actually (appropriately) quite the opposite. It’s the reverse. Eobard Thawne loves Barry Allen, obsessively and vengefully, which is where his endless, destructive need to ruin Barry’s life comes into play.

“Running Scared” highlights the fact that a young Eobard grew up alone (though Williamson was quick to confirm that that particular story element came out of an earlier Geoff Johns Flash issue) with only his idealized and imaginary version of Barry -- a character from his history books -- to keep him company. Barry was, for all intents and purposes, Thawne’s only friend, confidant, and emotional anchor, despite the fact that the two of them wouldn’t actually meet for years and years.

It was plenty of time for a very troubled and very lonely Thawne to fall in love with a version of The Scarlet Speedster that existed only in his imagination...and, well, it’s pretty obvious how that particular emotional endeavor actually went down. Actually meeting Barry and subsequently being forced to deal with the fact that he was just a guy and not the cartoon character Thawne had built in his head for years, proved to be too hard a stress test for Thawne’s fragile psyche.

Fatal Attraction

Meeting and being disappointed by a personal hero is a rough experience for just about anyone, but rather than allowing himself to move on -- or even allowing himself to simply decide to hate Barry instead, Thawne’s obsession only doubled down.

As issue #27 hurtles to its conclusion, Thawne’s real motivations become abundantly apparent. As Barry, infected with Thawne’s own inverted Negative Speed Force thrashes Thawne within an inch of his life, he presses him with a question - Why, if Thawne has always been so inspired by him, has he gone out of his way to ruin Barry’s life at every turn? Why has he done all of these terrible things, from killing Barry’s parents to beating Wally within an inch of his life, to kidnapping he and Iris and hauling them to the future?

Thawne’s answer is as unexpected as it is heartrendingly honest: because these horrible things are the only way Thawne understands how to make Barry spend time with him.

It’s that simple.

Thawne’s love for, and obsession with Barry Allen has permeated his life so deeply and completely that he is even willing to count his time spent being pummeled half to death by Flash as a win. He’s completely unable or unwilling to differentiate between Barry’s affection and Barry’s hatred, and he’s ready to do whatever it might take to put himself at the center of either emotion in Barry’s mind.

“A few years ago, it would have really hurt my feelings to hear you say that,” Thawne taunts after Barry threatens him, “but now to think that I caused you that anger? That I could get under your skin like this? It warms my heart.”

It’s deeply troubling, of course, and horrifyingly uncomfortable to get a look into the head of a villain who is, essentially, the personification of a fan gone terribly, terribly awry -- a theme that only gets more difficult to swallow when you begin to think about the increasingly complicated relationship between fans and their idols in actual, genuine, non-super heroic world around us.

This subtle reworking of the Reverse Flash has made him one of comic’s most poignant ruminations of the idea of toxicity in fan communities, idolization of strangers, and self destructive obsession, and it did so in a way that boldly allowed Thawne to win at the end of the day.

The issue closes, and the arc completes, with Barry exactly in the position Thawne wanted him in: completely alone, just like Thawne was as he built Barry into a hero of mythological perfection in his head. Now, where Barry will end up, and whether he’ll be forgiven by Iris, Wally and the roster of people he’s been manipulating as he leads his vigilante double life, is still largely a mystery.

It’s clear that Thawne didn’t expect, or even really want, Barry to come running into his arms to start their life together the second he succeeded in isolating him -- he makes that abundantly clear as he warns that he’ll just return again and again and again, de-powered, killed or otherwise hindered. Iris may have added an exclamation point to the end of the story arc by “vaporizing” Thawne with a Black Hole gun, but it hardly matters.

Reverse Flash will be back, somehow, at some point, and it’s doubtful that his love and obsession for Barry will have wavered in the slightest. We know now that’s just now how his mind is capable of working. It’s unlikely that Thawne will ever feel anything for Barry beyond his own supremely twisted adoration, no matter how many times the Flash pummels him into the ground. It’s just not the way Thawne’s brain is able to process information anymore.

It’s complicated, messy, and uncomfortable, but it’s also one of the clearest articulations of exactly what makes Reverse Flash such an interesting villain in the scope of not just the Flash family of books, but the DCU as a whole.