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the-lightning-strikes-again · 3 years

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Posting this for @pilotkinkade in response to their recent post made here, regarding concerns about VLD and how it includes white savior complex or potentially smears Allura’s character with that complex. I’m not reblogging directly because this is a long response lol. Thank you pilotkinkade for chatting earlier; I hope you find this post interesting at least and would be curious of your thoughts in return!

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I do agree with your general sentiments, that VLD takes on a disquieting savior complex throughout a good portion of the show, even more so than in previous Voltron iterations. For me, it feels most apparent in the way that Voltron as an all-powerful machine in VLD is piloted by its second generation.

To compare: In the original OG alliance (Alfor, Zarkon, Trigel, Gyrgan, and Blaytz), multiple major races were represented, functioning as one to save their own collective galaxy from threats. So even among the OG paladins, there were checks and balances (maybe Zarkon had the strongest military skills personally, but Alfor had the alchemy, etc.), with mass racial diversity. This seemed like a pretty innovative and cool addition to the Voltron franchise. The s3 finale also clarifies that, unlike VLD’s second-generation, all of these paladins were leaders of their people. This meant they had political and legal authority/experience that an average warrior or citizen wouldn’t.

By removing that whole structure and retrofitting Voltron with (mostly) a group of unprepared teenagers from a single planet entirely uninvolved in the universal conflict, it created a lot of strange hierarchies...

We see much of the known universe raise up people who had zero prior experience with war, and little to no military or diplomatic training, as well as very little awareness of the traumas or people groups involved in this war. (Shiro is possibly the exception here.) But suddenly, all of these paladins also had unfettered, largely unquestioned access to ultimate power to carry out whatever vision they felt was right in the moment. Because simply “might is right,” we see even highly experienced commanders like Kolivan become castrated in authority compared to Team Voltron. Various alien groups express upset or side-eye Team Voltron’s well-meaning actions but obvious insensitivity to/ignorance of their problems or fears. Even at the paladin-level, a princess trained to fight and lead is subordinated to a boy with zero leadership training whatsoever (which is very different from previous iterations where Keith was actually very competent, more experienced, and wanted to be a leader).

And when Voltron plays the unchecked judge, jury, and executioner across the entire universe, the new paladins as a whole also do not have the political or legal authority the OG pallies did in the boundaries of their own galaxy. The second-gen paladins are not authorities of their people or representative of the people groups affected in the war they’re now leading. The OG pallies built the actual legend of Voltron in less than 28 decaphoebs, clearly going beyond their 5 nations to help others suffering from natural disasters or unknown needs, which might raise some eyebrows perhaps because we don’t know what all that entailed. But while we see that the Voltron machine eventually got celebrated, the OG pallies are never shown personally soaking in some kind of savior celebration…

(Photo ID: Alfor says, “Why I joined up this band of scoundrels, I’ll never know.” Trigel responds, “Because we’re the only band of scoundrels that would have you.” Third screenshot is of the paladins celebrating their alliance win by themselves.)

…compared to second-gen paladins (or some anyway) who pretty clearly soak in the love and prestige they’ve received based off the historical and legendary precedence of the OG alliance’s work:

(Photo IDs: Lance taking selfies with aliens excited to be around paladins. A second screenshot of Lance daydreaming about being a universal savior, stomping on Zarkon, planting a flag to mark ownership, and having Allura stare up at him in worship.)

In fact, a lot of the pro-Voltron war propaganda relies heavily more on recreating the legend already built for them, than on the actual competency or experience of the current paladins:

(Photo ID: Pidge complains about the war propaganda scripts, “This isn’t even factually accurate.” Coran replies, “Well, this is the Legend of Voltron, not the documentary of Voltron.”)

On that note, we even see the scripts reverse who is actually the most competent or capable of performing.

(Photo ID: Coran says, “Ladies and gentle-aliens, bear witness as the Paladins of Voltron attack Zarkon’s base to save the helpless Princess Allura!”)

Coran’s script, however well-meant, pretty massively infantilizes Allura as someone who needs to be saved by an external force, rather than mentioning her as someone who is an active and critical ally of the Voltron paladins in this war.

Unlike Coran’s script, Princess Allura isn’t helpless. In terms of the second-generation paladins, she’s has the most war-time experience, and is also the one that the paladins lean on constantly to create a meaningful connection with other people groups who are otherwise hesitant about Voltron.

(Photo ID: Allura speaks to the Balmeran people, “Balmerans, this is Princess Allura. You don’t know me, but I am here to help. I know what it’s like to watch your home planet die.”)

Allura is the successor to the Altean monarchy and a direct victim of the OG galaxy wars. So unlike other second-gen paladins, she has some semblance of legal/political authority that she was actively trained for, as well as personal skin in the game. She is ultimately the only paladin who has experienced a mass omnicide of her home and people, similar to other victims of the Galra regime. She also still accepts the authority of her father, whose AI tells her in season 1 to be prepared to sacrifice everything to undo his mistakes.

We see Allura from that point onward functioning under that directive from her father and king—to sacrifice everything she has to end Zarkon’s regime. One could potentially make the argument that, within this structure, Allura might suffer from a certain subset of “white knight syndrome,” in which one feels they’re worthless if they’re not sacrificing for others. If I have my facts right, it’s a different psychological state from white savior complex (in which I define white savior complex as “when someone outside the issue at hand barges in to make a change that may or may not benefit the recipient, simply to make themselves feel better or appear useful, without regard to the recipient’s wishes or real needs”). But I feel even the comparison of “white knight syndrome” gets dicey. Because Allura is shown as acting happy without necessarily sacrificing things (in fact, she acts progressively depressed s7-s8, the more she has to give up intrinsic things about herself or her identity). But when Allura chooses to assist or sacrifice, the sacrifice she makes has a very relevant and functional impact for the people she helps.

In season 1, she chooses to sacrifice herself to save Shiro. Shiro was, at that time, the Black Paladin and leader of Voltron, so Allura saw herself as functionally the less important of the two to save since she did not pilot the universe’s only weapon against Zarkon.

With the Balmera, she similarly chooses to act because the Balmerans themselves acknowledge they are entirely out of options, and also because the Balmerans (and the Balmera itself) accept her help she offers. At this point in time, she has already established a deep personal connection with them by virtue of their shared trauma of losing their home planets.

(Photo IDs: Shay says, “We’re lost! All are trapped with no chance for escape!” Allura says, “We can’t give up.” Shay responds, “But what can be done?” The group realizes the Balmera is regenerating beneath the ship, and Shay wonders why. Allura says, “The Castle!”)

Here, Allura assumes that the Castle—which is powered by a Balmeran crystal itself—could be regenerating the Balmera. But a Balmeran elder corrects her:

(Photo ID: A Balmeran elder says, “Not just the Castle, but you, as well.”)

So Allura did not even recognize at first that she was in any way a part of the solution to the Balmera regenerating.

Regarding the Balmera act itself, I’m not sure it satisfies the conditions for a white savior complex? I’m curious about your thoughts here, because I guess I saw it happening differently, from a witchcraft perspective...

We know from both Coran and Shay that originally, Alteans were one of the historical races who sacrificed some of their own energy to replenish the Balmera when seeking a crystal:

(Photo ID: Coran saying, “In the days of old, when Alteans were given the gift of crystals from a Balmera, we would repay its sacrifice by performing a ceremony. A sacred Altean would re-infuse the Balmera with quintessence. In this way, we had a symbiotic relationship.”)

We see that Balmerans were a voluntary part of this energy exchange by virtue of their unique connective powers (which is likely why we see them kneeling and activating said powers during these ceremonies).

Shay herself seems to indicate she is highly aware of these old ceremonies:

(Photo ID: Rax says, “Everyone comes to Balmera and takes, but gives nothing in return!” Shay says, “In the past, those who took the Balmera’s crystals would replenish her with energy. It was an equal exchange.”)

Shay agrees that the ceremony itself involves a sacred exchange of life force.

So I would argue that in this case, the Balmerans are not kneeling to Allura specifically or worshiping someone—it seems to be just the imagery associated with magical spells/magical transfers (where one object in the middle is the main conduit/focal point, and the other objects surrounding help to create and sustain the spell/protective barrier, etc).

One of the basic practices in real-world witchcraft is casting a magic/ritual circle. The circle creates a space where the spell, ritual, or form of protection can be performed. Forgive the stock image, but here’s just a super basic example:

(Photo ID: A magic circle in the form of a pentagram, with a candle in the middle, compared to a screenshot of 5 Balmerans surrounding Allura in the form of a pentacle, creating a sacred space with Allura glowing in the center.)

The five points in particular mimic standard pentacle-based ritual circles designed to create a sacred space of some kind. We do see various configurations of witchcraft imagery used in other instances throughout the show, such as when the druids have to help Haggar sustain her spells:

(Photo ID: Haggar centered in a magic circle, surrounded by druids helping her complete the ritual. Haggar kneels against the glowing symbols to complete the ritual.)

I think, similar to the druids that Haggar relied upon to help her complete a spell, it can be argued that the Balmerans were an active part of the regeneration spell with Allura. We see across the entire Balmera that they magically connect to help sustain the energy transfer, because it’s a planet-wide, massive undertaking:

(Photo ID: Balmerans activating their connection to the Balmera in the middle of the sacred ceremony to regenerate the Balmera.)

To me, it felt like the Balmerans were necessary to complete this ceremony--without their agreement to this energy exchange, and without them connecting to the Balmera to assist the transfer, Allura might not have been able to connect her life force and transfer power to the whole planet.

And to complete the ceremony, Allura herself kneels as well, just as Haggar did and just as the Balmerans around her do, in connection with the Balmera:

(Photo ID: Allura kneeling alongside Balmerans to complete the ritual.)

(Which means she’s technically kneeling to at least three other Balmerans in front of her.)

So I think the kneeling imagery would not correlate to some white savior complex event as suggested.

One other thought I had is that I feel help from a “white savior” is often haphazard and pushed onto recipients regardless of their thoughts or real needs. In comparison, we know that the Balmerans were willing to try this spell with Allura and accepted her idea of attempting the ancient ceremony. The only person who expressed hesitancy is Coran, who warns Allura that this attempt could kill her.

(Photo ID: Coran warns Allura, “To heal an entire planet, it could take more energy than you possess.”)

I do think it could again be argued that Allura seriously undermines her own value and worth in an attempt to help everyone, no matter the cost, which potentially gets more into white knight syndrome born out of trauma than white savior complex born out of privilege. She snaps back at Coran for being concerned about her well-being, and then she proceeds to enact the ceremony, not knowing for sure whether she’d live or die. But Allura also knows that her life force is uniquely tied to Voltron and that she is the only one with this kind of connection to the Castle ship’s battle-class Balmera crystal—all of this makes her a very powerful capacitor in a lot of ways. Which is why she looks like this after the ceremony:

(Photo ID: Allura having collapsed in Shay’s arms after regenerating the Balmera, but her physical features are not otherwise affected.)

And not like this:

(Photo ID: A screenshot of an Altean named Petrulius from season 6, whose features are distorted after having had the life/quintessence sucked out of him.)

So to me, it seemed that Allura was enacting an ages-old, magical ceremony approved by and wanted by the Balmerans—simply on a scale that no one had ever before attempted. And it’s likely that no one else would or could attempt it, because Allura is the single character in the entire universe whose personal life force is tied to Voltron’s regenerative energy (by virtue of Alfor’s alchemy on her as mentioned in episode 1). It’s an even deeper tie to the whole machine than the transient bond between paladin and lion. No other Balmeran or Galran or Altean had that kind of tie in their life force. Likely, even Alfor would have died if he’d attempted this act himself without being connected to an infinite power source.

And after Allura saves the Balmera with assistance from Balmerans, we also do not see her like this with the Balmeran people:

(Photo ID: Lance soaking up a savior fantasy as previously mentioned in this meta.)

Instead, post-Balmera resurrection, we see it’s actually not even the Balmerans themselves who thank Allura. The Balmerans simply convey the will of the Balmera, which Allura cannot hear:

(Photo ID: A Balmeran says to Allura, “Yes. The Balmera lives. It thanks you.”)

So backing up for a second, I do think there are much larger issues happening in the narrative with Voltron itself, with the unequal power dynamics of having young, inexperienced people from a single planet make and enact all the big universal decisions. But in the instance with the Balmera, it seemed like Allura was openly welcomed to help save the planet, using magical ceremonies as approved by the Balmerans themselves for millennia, and that the Balmerans were not passive in those ceremonies but a necessary part of their success.

In general, Allura doesn’t seem to embody the “white savior complex” vibe at all to me, unlike some others in the show. Even in season 8, when Allura planned to make The Really Big Sacrifice, she asked her team to keep her actions a secret. She literally didn’t care for any respect or acknowledgment or prestige in exchange for sacrificing her life. She was doing what needed to be done because she was, once again, one of the few who could even perform at that level:

(Photo ID: Shiro says to Allura, “Most of them won’t know the sacrifice you made so they could live.” Allura replies, “And they’ll never need to.”)

(As an aside, I would argue that it was entirely unnecessary that the narrative would demand Allura sacrifice herself at all when she was literally standing in the universe’s seat of power alongside other powerful beings like her own father or the billions of other magic-wielding dead people, because apparently the lines between life and death blur in that space.)

(I also think there are some questionable “master race” vibes in the VLD universe in general, given that it forcefully pushes, even against the wishes of Alteans themselves, that Alteans are the only ones who can wield the big power to do big things. It’s clear that other groups and beings can wield magical abilities, but the larger narrative very oddly pins the “purest quintessence/bluest blood” back on Alteans time and time again in later seasons, leaving Allura in basically a no-win, no-help-available situation until other Alteans come along.)

So yeah, I hope something in this meta might help settle some concerns about Allura as a representation of white savior complex? Or at least that this would open conversation for further discussion about what could be done in future iterations to avoid that messaging. Because yeah, I agree with you that the unquestioned savior complexes in this show are a topic that can and should be discussed! And also that, despite early world-building to suggest otherwise, the narrative especially in s6-s8 pushes that Alteans have a “purer/more alive” life force compared to any other race or form. Which is just…hm. Like, the master race vibes of all that are weird and definitely not even inherent to the Voltron franchise. (In previous iterations, humans, Galrans/Drule, and Alteans could all perform incredible levels of magic. For example, in Dynamite Voltron, Keith, Lotor, and Lotor’s siblings had all been taught magic.)

There’s definitely some weird images and unnatural power dynamics in VLD at times. It seems like more often than not, the narrative does strive to make Allura sacrificing something the only viable resort for anyone ever. In those circumstances, I’m just not convinced that she herself functions as an embodiment of white savior complex, by virtue of her behavior in those instances. But it’s definitely weird that the narrative places so much weight on her when the larger Team Voltron narrative is supposed to be about found family and strength in unity.

(If you read this far, thank you! Sorry I’m not succinct.)

#Voltron #Voltron meta #Voltron critical in ways #Allura #Balmera episode #discussions of white savior complex #I ultimately state that Allura doesn't seem to meet the basic behaviors for that #but the show does get into some strange master race stuff in terms of abilities #and we do see several iimages of white savior complex throughout the show by virtue of some other characters #which idk why that got dropped in without at least a reflection on it #like I can handle problematic stories but prefer it when they know they're problematic lol #in VLD it felt like I was supposed to be cheering for those issues #that I wasn't supposed to question it or that I was supposed to actually connect with that fantasy #I feel like this is a really interesting topic because in other iterations there were other Voltrons #as in more people had similar machines #which I feel like helped to control the savior complex inherent in manning a powerful weapon #and in fact one iteration goes as far to say that voltron ISN'T special at all #which surprises various characters #Just a very different vibe from VLD entirely #I'm really fascinated by that #Anyway thanks for reading my rambles!

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ettawritesnstudies · 5 years

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How I outline!

Helllloooooo it’s been ages since I promised to do this and I’m SO sorry it’s so late but I finally got around to actually writing this post today so here it is :P @abalonetea and @inkwell-attitude, I think you both wanted to see this! (sorry to everyone else about the long post incoming!) DISCLAIMER: This is just my process, I’m not claiming it’s the best or that everyone should do this or that it works for every project. I don’t do this for short or simple stories, only for novel-length WIPs with complicated facets, but the process *can* be distilled for something less complex.

Step 1: Brain Dumping

At this point, I probably have some semblance of a premise and characters for this idea, and possibly also an endgame idea of where I want to take the story but not middle or clue of how to get from point A to point B. This is where you collect ALL the thoughts. Usually, I do this between phone notes and a document on my laptop for brainstorming, but you can use voice memos or whatever else works. I’ve drawn ideas on my hand in pen during a lifeguarding shift before and just taken pictures of my inked-over arm before I have to jump into the pool again. It happens. In any case, you have ideas.

Step 2: Put it in some semblance of order by using a map

[Image ID] a blurry picture of a whiteboard covered in ideas in various covered pens looking something like a conspiracy theory board. This is the outline I was working on last night for the first book in the Laoche chronicles but it’s so vague at this point that I don’t think spoilers really matter. [end image ID]

The next objective is to put the random ideas in a linear order. I collect all the thoughts into one spot and dump them on the board. I color code, so first I write down all the set plot-points in the approximate order in the black pen, start to finish, and leave space above and below for stuff has to happen in the middle.

Then the characters come in. I generally know backstories so those get dumped around the starting point in green. I figure out what characters are driving the plot and draw arrows between said plot points writing what the character does in the green pen. I include motivations, feelings, alliances, anything that might possibly be important to the plot too.

Then come logistics and filling in - that’s in red. You could also use conspiracy theory string. Where are they in the world? What needs to happen next? Where do I have plot holes? What makes the characters tick? What makes sense to happen next? What needs to happen to get to the end? What worldbuilding needs to get figured out to enable this plot point? Write it ALL down on a separate piece of paper and start brainstorming again. When you’ve got a good connection, add it. You’ll start to notice the board is starting to fill up. It won’t be linear anymore. That’s fine.

Step 3: Flesh it out

[image ID] a poorly lit photo of a board covered in sticky notes of different, some overlapping each other. This is only a corner of the board because it’s the outline for Storge and I only took a picture of the first few chapters [end ID]

This is where it starts getting real. I take everything I have on the whiteboard (which at this point is a disaster) and transfer every plot point, character interaction, motivation, worldbuilding thing, pacing notes, anything about unreliable characters, author notes about who knows what at certain points (both the characters and the reader), plot twists, and anything else from the notes that didn’t make it to the whiteboard and reconstruct the story on a board.

The reason I use sticky notes is because you can move them around, layer them, and space them to create a cohesive narrative. If I need to play with timing, I can do that easily. If I need to connect plot points to characterizations or anything else, I can do that with layering and spacing next to each other. I’m still color coding at this point. I can start slapping on stuff like “which day does this happen on? What kind of transitions do I need?”, chapter divisions, and thematic elements. You’ll notice there are more holes. Fill those in sooner rather than later.

Step 4: Outline Time

I obviously can’t take my carefully made board with me to school so now it’s time to put it into a document. At this point I should preface this with the fact that I really like the 3 act structure, so I start my outline with that before anything else, like so, using headings to make a document outline - that way I can jump around the outline using the outline quickly. Probably a bit extra but it saves a ton of time

[image ID] a Microsoft word document outline with a hierarchical structure that shows acts, plot points, chapters, and chapter titles. [end ID]

Once that’s been filled out, I start putting the information from the board into the outline structure, and I make sure to cover EVERYTHING something like this: (with color-coding)

Chapter #/Title

Day of the narrative: this helps me keep time and iron out the pacing

The objective of the chapter: what does the reader need to learn, what is the one big thing that happens plot-wise

Main Plot Happenings - this goes in red text and details what actually happens in the chapter. For Storge, this is the plotline that follows Luca and the Laine family (when they’re together)

If there are subplots, these go here too in other colors. Orange for villainous cutaways. Purple for anything with the avian city/war subplot

Character arcs: these are green. I bullet point a list and name every major character in this chapter. anything important to their arcs goes here, as well as how I’m writing them. What are the emotions involved? This is normally the longest part because I have a lot of characters

Worldbuilding: What does the reader need to learn about the world from this chapter? This helps me space out the exposition. Details come up on a “need to know” basis, so there’s new worldbuilding in every chapter but no page-long dumps anywhere.

Themes: WHY is this chapter important? How is it contributing to what I want to say with this story?

Any other author notes about unreliable narrators, plot twists, foreshadowing, and what the reader should know at this point in the story. The goal is that you don’t anticipate the twist, but rereading it there’s a “HOW DID I NOT SEE THAT BEFORE” reaction, so this is more for my sake as a storytelling-craft thing.

Any excerpts or dialogue or description that I pre-wrote in the brain-dump phase and liked and think would fit well in this chapter.

Repeat with every chapter until you’re done.

This takes a long time, and I’m always revisiting and reworking that final outline once I’ve finished it but it’s such a huge help to set me on the right path without detouring 565479851321 times because I realized there was a plot hole too late. It’s overly complicated and incredibly intense and in-depth so It’s not for everyone but I like my 30-page long outlines, so here I am :P

If you’re still reading this, then wow good job, and thank you! I hope this was somewhat informative and not too tedious to scroll through!

#long post #outlining #writing #writeblr #writeblr community #etta rambles #storgewip #the laoche chronicles #wow that got long #I tried to keep it brief #but my read more still isn't working on moble #which is stupid #so here I am #lol #hope you liked this!

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ccsthemovie2 · 3 years

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trick or treat 2021 letter

DEAR MY KIND AND HARDWORKING GIFTER,

hi there my ao3 is zagspect and thanks in advance for making me a piece of fic or art in this fun little exchange! heres some food for thought to munch on.

i loooove slice of life, character moments, outsider povs that make things we’re used to in canon seem absurd or funny or weird or scary, humor, horror-in-fluff’s-clothing, sweetness-found-in-horror, and also just plain sweetness. feel free to get weird or experimental with your writing if you think the moment calls for it :3 im not really requesting anything sexy-nsfw in this exchange so pls keep things down to a nice pg13 (high-rated gore for higurashi work is an exception, lol, like, it’s when they cry. that’s just part of the deal.)

🌸✨

cardcaptor sakura (trick or treat!)

clear card manga spoilers are fine with me! manga and anime canon are both fine, and mashing them up is cool too. no aus past that though, please!

clow reed

the big man himself! scare me with his his manipulative tendencies, his eternal pushpull fear of both being eternally relied on and being no longer needed, the way he treats other people, especially people who love him. (yue! the madoushi! i am into both of these being unrequited romantically on his end, but he’s not gonna just gonna tell them that, you think he’s straightforward like that?) what’s daily life like in the clowse? creating a new card, what’s that like? does everybody get along with the normal, non magic neighbors?

yelan li

what’s up with her??? what’s her relationship with her children like, what are the responsibilities of a magician family’s head, how weird is it that clow is kind of back all of a sudden, what’s her thoughts on sakura? fleshing out a minor character is always fun :]

eriol & li

okay, so, we get to the end of the original series. syaoran returns to hong kong. ????????. syaoran is in cahoots with eriol to (vaguely alluding to cc spoilers in case you haven’t caught up in the manga), do some pretty serious magic behind sakura’s back.

so, like... what went down in the ?????

kero & sakura & yue

they’re FAMBILYYYYY. magic found family i love them so much. show me the depths of their care for her, and hers for them, the way there’s absolutely some ice to break with yue but when he gets loyal he will DIE for you, the way sakura can mend the rift between kero and yue, the way the two of them are balancing this wonderful openness and equality with oh yeah, she’s eleven, we kind of said some seriously dark stuff in the haze of sleepover talk didn’t we?

ruby & spinel & eriol

pre-canon or mid-canon or post-canon! what’s the dynamic between them, a quiet night in, a day out telling people that you’re connected by whatever lie you find funniest. going to tomoeda and having to pretend youre a kid, a teen, and a cat, but goddd you could all go for an elegant and adult glass of wine right now (especially the cat). what horrors are lurking in that house from the clow era that no one cares to address? like emotionally and also because it’s a magic wizard house with magic stuff in it.

touya/yukito/yue

i am here for any and all angles of this ship- all together, your touyukis, your yuetouyas, your yuekitos if you wanna get in on a rarely seen angle! (but pls have touya and/or yukito be 18+ at a time where yue shows interest in them). i wanna see the way they interact! how they deal with, you know, the everything! pre-relationship pining, going on a date, touya and yukito in college wondering if they’ll end up having different majors, different paths for the first time. yukito seeing yue on video for the first time (OH NO HES HOT), yukito and yue figuring out internal boundaries, etc etc etc.

naoko and touya

the girl who loves ghosts and the guy who sees (or, used to see), ghosts! does she follow him to one of his haunts (pun intended)? does he have to go to her for ghost sensing advice now that he’s a regular old human? does he have to save her from a ghost that means her harm? how excited is she to tell sakura about the COOL GHOST I MET WITH YOUR BROTHER OMG U DIDNT TELL ME HE LIKES GHOSTS??? and how much does sakura wanna sink into the ground lololol

🌹⚔️

revolutionary girl utena (trick or treat!)

ohh, what a place of scary happenings! tell me a fairytale, even if it’s not such a good idea. pre, mid, postcanon, im fine with it all. feel free to weave a web with easter egg references to any other media you feel is right for the moment- utena is all about Genre and Stories!

shadow girls

i love them i love their whole everything. i wanna see a play, i wanna see them interact with other characters! what if they do a play AS the other characters, ooooh.

anthy/utena

THE GIRLS WHO INVENTED LOVE THEMSELVES. ive read a thousand stories of them finding each other and it never gets old. id love to read about their life post-ohtori, especially the not-so-happily-ever-after parts- the old wounds reopening, the fights, and how they work through it, wont lose each other ever again.

saionji/touga

what’s spookier than toxic masculinity? both of them miserably stuck, saionji obsessed with touga, touga believing anyone who believes in friendship is a fool. bro we are taking shirtless pictures among 500 potted cacti....why does my heart hurt..... oh shit its the cactus i rolled onto it ow ow

nanami

nanami being nanami! she’s got no clue how to act ever, she’s desperate, she’s trying SO HARD. i’d love to see a nanami finally getting out of there, too. leaving home with nothing but the clothes on her back, diamonds in her necklace, and a wheeled suitcase of raw eggs.... (crunch crunch crunch)

🎲🗓

higurashi when they cry (trick or treat!)

i’m a gou/sotsu enjoyer and gonna prompt about that a lot but original flavor is, of course, great too. pls dont go too heavy on info outside the main 8+saikoroshi+gou/sotsu? i haven’t read those. ive read umineko+ciconia though so references there are fine :3

rena/mion/keiichi

college days! getting together, crushing on each other, poly relationship figuringouts? dates that are just club meetings with kissing and all the ridiculousness of that.

satoko/rika

gou/sotsu era TOXIC LESBIAN EPIC MOMENTS!!!!!! obsession and desperation and satoko putting all her emotional eggs in rika’s basket no matter how angry she is with her, rika’s love for satoko across 100 years and how that all crumbles (to satoko) in the face of rika’s Cool School. rika wanting satoko to go to school with her so so so bad. deep pain and misunderstandings and acting badly (like, murder badly), and then, we hope, atonement and something new beginning? i love character moments where someones so obsessively in love it feels like its eating them up inside.

rena & satoko

look, rena’s smart and really pays attention to how people feel and i think, before or after satoko becomes a looper but especially after, she would make an attempt to have a heart to heart with satoko. and satoko, as a looper, will politely brush her off, will go you dont know me you can’t affect me. youre just a chess piece. when i get to the miracle world where rika loves me, ill listen to you. this you is here to die, or to kill.

eua

oh eua is just using satoko up like a bar of soap and it takes satoko way, way too long to realize. evil girltalk/crush advice from the witchmom perhaps?

shion

meakashi made me LOVE her. internal shion moments, perhaps? shion being an empath (decides what ppl are thinking and instantly believes it)? shion in gou-era wanting to talk to satoko about st. lucia’s, but she never shows up to dinner?

okay i think that’s all for now!!! thanks and i hope you have fun!!!

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childhoodgrave · 4 years

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whats dtl about ifff ud like 2 talk abt it i see cute sprites & decide i wanna know things.. hehe the top hat n cape guy gif is in sync w my music hehe

IM SO GLAD U ASKED this game is probsbly my favorite game ever its been a special interest if mine since i was 7 and i dont think its a GOOD game per se bt i love it a lot and it impacted me a lot as a little kid w a mild interest in art :)

so basically the game is a little 2d adventure platformer where u get to draw and design the character u play as. its p clunky and the way ur character moves looks rlly silly bt again this game was released in like 2010 on the ds so its ok .. the game also gave u templates to go off of and use too just in case u didnt want to design a character from scratch

the story of the first game is abt this world that was drawn into existence by “the creator” in the book of life. u hav this little sequence where u get to draw the world, and the forrests and the creatures tht wld inhabit it. the creatures tht inhabit the world are callec raposa and they r little fox creature w funny ears :)

like this guy (his name is zsasha and hes a thief but hes like a bad one who ends up returning all of the stuff he steals and also watching over a little orphan girl who he basically adopts LOL)

in the universe if the game the “creator” eventually went silent and the raposa lost hope in them ever returning. the world was slowly shrouded in darkness and gradually all of the raposa inhabiting this little village were either lost or left on purpose bc it was slowly falling apart. the game starts when one of the remaining raposa, mari, prays to u, the creator, to come back and help restore her village, saying that everyone else has lost hope but she still believes you can return to her. u can answer, and either say that u will help or you wont, but either way u end up agreeing to help her and she goes to tell her dad, the mayor, abt it. you create a “hero” to be the vessel you will speak thru, and thats the character u end up designing and playing as. the game is abt going to various areas from the village and rescuing all of the raposa that are lost there, as well as restoring the village to what it used to be and drawing in bits of the landscape, like the sun and plants and stuff.

the villain of the story is a guy named wilfre, who was another villager in the town who ended up drawing in the book of life bc he wanted to create things the way the creator had. he ended up making these big inky monsters and got consumed by them, and when u meet him at the beginning of the game he tears up a bunch of pages in the book of life which get scattered across the land and you have to collect them in order to restore the village.

so u basically just go around saving villagers, collecting pages of the book of life, and redrawing bits of the town that were lost to wilfres shadows. eventually wilfre ends up like, killing maris dad (the mayor) and then after youve restored a majority of the village you enter his realm and kill him!! yay :)

throughout the game you also meet these two weird npcs called heather and mike. heather is a little raposa girl who has half of her face covered in shadows, and shes mostly mute. shes found early on in the game and is taken care of by another one of the main characters named jowee

mike is a character u end up rescuing later on in the game, hes p confused and doesnt know how he got where he is, and hes also different from the other raposa bc he doesnt have ears like they do and kind of just looks like a normal human (even tho none of the raposa know what that is and they just think he looks rlly weird)

in the first game heather is shown to take a liking to mike but it isnt explained why and she doesnt talk to its left unexplained

so yah the first game ends with you, the hero, defeating wilfre. mari takes on the role of her father and becomes mayor of the town, and all of the raposa (+ mike) live happily in the town youve restored. the hero goes dormant because theyre no longer needed and u get a scene at the end of the game w them sitting by the ghost of maris father.

the SECOND game takes place a while after the first game, in which wilfre returns and captures heather at the beginning of the game. he also kidnaps a bunch of the other villagers and transports them somewhere else, and he drains the color out of the village the raposa were in. they end up fleeing on a giant turtle with an abandoned town on its back that appears while the color is draining from the village. inside mari and jowee find another mannequin similar to the one the creator had drawn the hero on in the first game. they pray to the creator for help and thats when u draw the hero u get to play as for that game!! the hero doesnt seem to remember mari and jowee or any of the events of the first game, but they agree to help them rescue heather and all of the villagers wilfre stole.

jowee also has like, this magic pendant that belonged to heather that he found after wilfre took her, which seems to be leading them to where heather is. they use that to navigate the turtle thru the ocean to a bunch of other islands on the world. the second game is basically about traveling to different islands and helping them restore the color thats been drained out of them by wilfre. you also meet these two characters, salem

who is a villain in the first island u travel to, and sock

who is a villager on the first island u visit who ends up befriending jowee and traveling with them while they try to save heather.

so ur doing all of that but THEN, halfway thru the game mari is shown to be talking to wilfre, and then she dissapears. jowee assumes wilfre has captured her too, but shes later seen on the turtle again, and rips out a bunch of pages in the book of life the way wilfre did in the first game, and then wilfre appears to take her away and says that shes working with him now. jowee is heartbroken but resolves to get her back as well as heather

THEN, sock, jowees friend from the first island whos been tagging along and helping out, is ALSO revealed to be wilfre in disguise and he betrays jowee and steals heathers pendent, leaving jowee with basically no means of finding heather and wikfre and mari by extension.

so eventually they do end up finding where wilfre is and mari is like “jowee you dont understand wilfre has shown me the truth of our world and who the creator is and thats why im helping him” and jowee is like “i cant believe yoy are helping him how could you i cant believe you bla bla bla” and so wilfre is like “FINE ill show you the TRUTH of this world” and takes jowee and then the hero is kind of left ln their own for a bit to like wander around the world and try to keep rescuing ppl and such. and eventually jowee comes back and is like shaken up but kind of vague abt what wilfre showed him, but he still decides to side with the hero and the creator and eventually mari is convinced by him to join them again as well

so u fight wilfre again and EVENTUALLY wilfre reveals that if you defeat him basically the entire world will dissapear and thats what hes been trying to avoid by fucking w things and messing with the book of life. so all of the raposa have a bunch existential crisis abt them ceasing to exist if they go thru with this but then they decide to to it anyway bc the alternative is just as bad blah blah and u go and kill wilfre and he does this when he dies which is cool

[the gif was fuckjng broken im sorry but like look up his sprites and youll fjnd it 💔]

and now heather is back!! and her and mari and jowee are all talking about mike and how important he is and meanwhile mike has no clue whats going on and is kind of freaked out by all of this, but theyre all like “mike you need to wake up” as theyre all fading out of existence and shit around him and eventually him and heather are the only ones left and they dissapear too

and THATS when you get the ending and find out it was all like a dream mike was having while he was in a coma after a car crash anx this plays while the credits role lol https://youtu.be/Kur0qaYM1jM

youtube

^ they ended up releasing different versions oft he game w a less dark (but still w the whole ‘it was all a dream twist’) and thats it!!

there was also another game released for the wii that like gave wilfre a girlfriend kind of but i never played it to completion bc it used the wii remotes motion controls to like draw and shit and it was rly janky and hard so i never finished it and most ppl did the same. i kind of rlly want to try playing it again tho bc it was a p cute looking game even if the controls were fucked up

AND YEA thats drawn to life its a weird silly little series tht i was obsessed w when i was a kid and it still holds a special place in my heart :) i basicaly just spoiled the entire series i guess but if u have a ds or a 3ds (bc the game is backwards complatible ! ) id still suggest like getting a cartidge off ebay or something and playing it bc its honestly a rlly sweet and beautiful looking game and i think a lot of it still homds up even if the controls r rlly janky now

#theres also rumors of another game in the series being released on the switch so :)#THIS IS SOOO LONG HAHAHA IM SORRY I RLLY CARE ANT THESE GAMES #long post

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barrendome · 5 years

Text

the 2b2t survival guide

are you planning to play on 2b2t? have you been playing but can’t seem to get out of spawn? or have you been waiting 12 hours in queue to no avail?

in that case, have i got some stuff for you! heres a handy guide about how to actually play, and some tips to help along the way!

step one: preparing

you can just hop right in and go, but it is smart to know a bit beforehand.

know what you're getting into. the server has no rules to it, so you just have to expect a fuckton of disgusting shit, slurs, etc. just kinda accept that, and ignore it.

get a hacked client. sure, you can play on vanilla, but doing that will make your life harder. the best client to use is impact, but if you really need to you can download wurst instead.

make a plan. although this is optional, its smart to do. you can just wing it if you wanna, but it’s helpful to have a goal for what you wanna do in the server.

step two: queue

queue is basically inevitable, but there are a few things you can do to make the wait less painful!

decide if you want priority. priority queue is a godsend, it takes 30 min at MOST to join the server! but on the other hand, its 20 dollars per month. if you’re planning on playing for a long time and dedicating lots of time to playing? get priority. if you just wanna check the server out? don’t worry about buying it.

join when nobody else would. the best times i’ve found are near 1-3am, or on a weekday in early mornings. you’ll still have to wait hours, but not as long as you would otherwise.

pray for a server restart. when it restarts, turn on auto-reconnect (if you have that) or just keep on trying to connect. you’ll get onto the server extremely quick if you’re able to join right after a restart.

do something else. multitasking is the best way to wait. leave queue running in the background and check on it whenever you can, but fill your time with other stuff. i usually draw or watch videos when waiting!

step three: common sense

you gotta use normal common sense, but also server-unique common sense.

remember: there are no rules. people are going to kill you. people are going to grief you. people are going to say gross shit. the worst kinds of people are here on the server, you have to accept that.

what you build is gonna go. no matter how nice it looks, how far out it is, how tiny it is, whatever. its how 2b2t works. when you build, you have to remember that its going to get destroyed one day.

you aren’t safe. no matter how far away you are, or how nice that one person is. don’t get lulled into feeling secure, stay on edge. better safe than sorry.

enderchests are your friend. you’re definitely gonna die, several times, so keep any important things in your enderchest. for more space, put everything into shulker boxes and store the boxes in your enderchest. this is why silk touch pickaxes are something you’ll need: because your enderchest is the only safe place for your items.

signs are the best communication. carry a sign with you, and read all the signs you find. its not important, but its fun to read what people write, and its nice to make your own mark on the world with just a simple sign.

don’t trust anyone. or at least, be cautious of everyone. if you run into someone, expect deaths, and be cautious even if they give you stuff.

you aren’t special. oh, so you watched a bunch of fit videos and know everything about the server? no you don’t, shut up. you’re gonna spam things in chat and grief a bunch of builds to become a notable player? you’re gonna become a minor annoyance, shut up. you read this guide and now know how to become the best 2b2t player ever? my guide is shit, shut up.

everyone hates new players. don’t openly say you’re new. just stick to yourself for the first while of joining.

step four: chat

so you’ve joined, and you connect to see.. the constant spam of chat.

hide the chat. go into settings, and turn chat off. usually chat isn’t worth looking at, except for warning about server restarts. if you wanna keep chat on, just turn down the opacity.

use /ignore. theres bots constantly flooding the chat, so if you wanna keep chat on, spend time quickly ignoring all the bots.

don’t ask for help. you do not wanna let everybody know you’re new, and if you don’t get ignored, people will send gross shit or fake help instead.

if you have a question, ask google. like the point above, asking for help isn’t a good option. search stuff up on google or the 2b2t subreddit before asking chat. and try not to ask obvious questions either.

don’t get into arguments. don’t rile people up or argue, its kinda risky, and again some bad shit will get sent your way. its really not worth it. if you get angry at some gross shit people are saying, just /ignore them, because fighting them will make you just a laughing stock.

step five: escaping spawn

i know what you’re thinking, “tumblr user barrendome! stop rambling and just tell me how to actually PLAY now!”, and yeah yeah, okay, i will.

turn your hacks on. what i’d suggest is turning on storage esp, player esp/tracers, search (search for blocks like melons, crops, wood, etc), and things like that. also keep xray and freecam ready, and make sure you set keybinds for those.

collect, store, die, repeat. i never did this, but my boyfriend did, and it worked incredibly well. he would collect as many resources as he could, store them in an enderchest whenever he saw one, and then either die of hunger or something else. he’d repeat this process until he had enough stuff in his enderchest to get him out of spawn.

save your hunger bar. try not to run, and try not to jump. its hard, but its important. most deaths are from hunger in the first while of playing, so just try not to get hungry. for this exact reason, the main thing you’re looking for is food.

don’t go into the nether right away. spawn nether is impossible to get out of, so travel on the overworld for about 2000 blocks, and then its safe(ish) to go into the nether.

20000 blocks is the safer zone, but its still spawn territory. outside of 50000 blocks is when id consider making a base if you really need to, but try to go much farther if you can.

step six: just outside of spawn

so you’re out of the major spawn area... now what?

find food, farm food. get as much food as you can, thats the most important thing to do at this moment. make sure you have as much food as you could need, and store some in your enderchest.

make a temporary base. you can make a small house, a hole, or even just a dirt hut. just make sure you have a place to store all your extra stuff, and a place to stay for now. (sidenote, don’t put a nether portal right beside your house.)

find a bed. later on, beds aren’t a big deal, but at first they definitely are. try to find or make a bed, and set your spawn somewhere. i’d suggest hiding the bed somewhere near your temporary base, but don’t make it visible.

get geared up. use your xray and get some diamonds, look through dungeons for enchanted books, make yourself tools, etc. its best to get what you need now that you’re out of spawn.

go fishing. you can get food, enchanted books, xp, etc. going fishing is actually super useful. the autofish hack is your friend right now. but don’t go afk when fishing, you can get kicked for it.

remember the nether highway myth. if you have almost nothing, and are travelling on the nether highways, there’s a good chance a high-level player could stumble upon you, take pity, and give you stuff. remember not to trust anyone right away, they could still end up killing you. but there is still a chance that being on the highways could get you everything youd ever need. again, though, make sure to put everything in your enderchest!

step seven: planning and playing.

im ready! ..what do i do now?

make a goal if you haven’t already. if you wanna be a nomad? plan where you’re gonna wander. if you’re gonna make a huge base? plan where to build it and go out there. if you’re gonna go visit monuments? figure out which ones and their coordinates, and start walking. gonna join a group? figure out which one would be safe and fun to join, and try to get in.

get as far from spawn as possible. unless you wanna stay near spawn, try and get 100,000 blocks away or further. and if you really wanna keep a base intact, don’t stay near any of the major highways.

have fun! as rough this server can be to play on, theres a lot of cool stuff you can find, and its important to find joy in the chaos.

and that’s all for now!

i may have forgotten things, so feel free to send me anything i missed! but i hope that everything i was able to write down will be enough to help anybody that wants to join 2b2t.org, the oldest anarchy server on minecraft!

#2b2t #minecraft #mineblr #2builders2tools #fitmc #fit #barrendome #salc1 #minecraft guide #minecraft server #what do i tag this?

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ask-mortarion-the-death-lord · 5 years

Text

ooc: for your consideration, an 8th edition that didn’t piss the bed.

cadia still falls, the galaxy gets torn in half, and roboute gets revived because i do feel that it was a good setup. Only on this occasion when traveling to terra to go talk to dad, it isnt magnus that ambushes him but rather abaddon who arrives to cut off a new problem for his goals before it has a chance to flourish. abaddon gets to strut his stuff, dueling a primarch to a standstill and laying heavy causalities to an already battered imperial force but it isnt enough and roboute manages to escape his grasp, if only because of roboutes temporary eldar allies.

primaris marines arent a thing, instead its simply tru scale model releases with perhaps a couple of new units calling back to old legion formations to signify roboute return and influence. Alternatively, if primaris marines have to be a thing then i feel it would have been better to keep their look more in line with the established marine look as opposed to trying to make it look more hip and inline with modern trends. additionally no hover tanks or rhinos or marines with stupid names, youd have primaris tactical marines, primaris terminators, and a non hover primaris rhino. also on a personal note id use the introduction of primaris marines to introduce female marines as well personally, if were breaking all the rules might as well do something cool.

regardless of no primaris or all the primaris, the ultima founding and indomitus crusade still happen to try and shore up an exploding imperium with a fuckton of new chapters and reestablished chapters. roboutes more so on the back foot here trying to tie together a failing imperium, and the ynnari well nominally allies also kinda fuck off for long periods of time to do whatever they want, and a large number of imperial authorities dont want to listen to him because “you arent the real roboute!” and other petty and self serving reasons.

still, regardless of the obstacles hes finally got something of a working imperium going again, and just as hes planning to cross over to the other side of the galaxy and start the cleaning up process is when lorgar suddenly shows up and launches a word bearer crsuade of his own against ultramar. replacing the plague wars, the war of dark faith is brutal and all kinds of nauseating flashbacks for a done with your shit roboute, and well he does push lorgar back eventually ultramars gotten fucked up again, lorgar escaped with dark artifacts left behind by the heresy word bearers or captured by ultramar in the past 10 millennia, lorgars established a little dark empire of his own right on ultramars borders, and lorgar got to mock roboute well also declaring that the other traitors are slowly trickling back into action.

after that magnus would do his thing and finally get to blow up fenris, followed by morty fucking up the dark angels and the unforgiven in order to aid a cornered typhus on nurgles orders. after that perturabo would show up to effectively crash the phalanx on another planet and just generally making the imperial fists lives miserable, angron would begin making a beeline for armaggedon again and well roboute trying to stop that fulgrim decides to return and try to kill roboute properly this time. roboute barely manages to escape fulgrim, thanks to the ynnari intervening and hauling along a surprisingly still alive jaghatai who the plucked out of the depths of the dark city and pointed towards aiding his very overburdened brother.

with jaghatai now back, he roboute are able to organize a proper counter offensive against fulgrim and angron leading to something of a stalemate, though the imperium is straining against the breaking point. suddenly however, ghzagkull shows up with a massive waagh, and pushes all other parties out effectively letting him finally take over armaggedon. well this is a blow it does allow jaghatai and roboute to properly regroup. well this is happening, lemen russ returns to realspace in order to pull his sons out of the fire of magnuses wrath, thanks in part to some manipulations and direction giving handed to him by the ynnari. dorn also gets to show up to save his own sons, though in his case hes unsure how he actually got there, there being the crashed phalanx.

The four brothers reunite as one, and get ready to have a massive showdown with the four aligned deamon primarchs. the battlefield, the remains of cthonia. lemen obviously goes after magnus, jaghatai takes on mortarion for a round 2, dorn decides on facing angron, and roboute after getting himself psyched faces off against fulgrim. its a very bloody battle, roboute, dorns and jaghatais fights ending on stalemates as morty, angron and fulgrim pull back for various reasons. However, lemen and magnuses fight ends rather differently with magnus finally repaying the favour and cracking lemens back. before magnus can finish the job however, the other loyalist primarchs show up and force magnus to retreat, though not without a mocking word or two to lemen.

while this is all happening, some major events for the non imperium or chaos factions gets peppered in.

the tau manage to crack warp travel enough to see a surge in the size of their empire, as well as a surge in the number of their problems, and on top of shadowsun getting to be supreme tau commander we get some new tau characters and units established, a new supreme ethereal after the old one gets ganked, and farsight and shadowsun forming an uneasy alliance as the tau have to stare down the sheer size of the fucked up galaxy they wanna stake a claim in.

ghzagkull still gets his head cut off, only instead of ragnar its the tyranid hive tyrant, and gets it sewed back on because honestly thats so orky, but to make up for it he also gets to krump a massive sector of imperial space, beat the tyranids, and establish a proper ork empire as he gets ready to go krump armaggedon right and proper, some new ork characters of other waaghs, and have ghzagkull build a battle moon as his new main headquarters.

the eldar well still on the backfoot, have started to make some gains of their own thanks to the ynnari, biel tan and the like dont get fractured thanks to the ynnari, and their string of success draws more and more eldar and dark eldar to them. the ynnari also get a unique army look and their own codex with unique units, the phoenix lords get new models and some wins along with the craftworlds in general getting new models and characters, and the dark eldar get the establishment of what are effectively dark phoenix lords along with some new units to go along with them.

more necrons awake, establishing their own little empires and kingdoms, new units, new characters, you effectively know the drill.

and thats as much as ive got so far. might add to this depending on what GW actually do.

#warhammer 40k #warhammer40k

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burning-clutch · 4 years

Text

Crashing Like A Tidal Wave With Cardiac Arrest: Part 2

Read on a03: Here (chapter 2 of 2) Pairings: Jack/Maddie Trigger Warnings: Blood and violence. major character death (part 1) Author: @burning-clutch (Team Ghost) Total words: 6132 Prompt by: Anthropwashere / Anthrop AO3 and FFN: Anthrop

-.-.-.-

Danny was numb… numb to everything.

He could feel his friends hugging him tightly, and his father and whoever else clung to him at any given moment to offer him comfort, but it did little. He had never realized you could hurt so much you could become this numb… Emotionally, that is to say

He felt tired too, but not physically... Purely emotionally tired. He was tired of having people ask him how he was holding up, and how he was doing, how they could help him. He didn’t know how to help himself so how could they?

He remembers food, he remembers the days like they were a blur leading up to the funeral. He was just… aware but not there. His mother was cremated, and the urn chosen was one of a pretty polished blue and black stone. Not that it mattered… he was too busy staring blankly at the picture of his mother that was sitting in front of the infernal holder.

His mother smiling so brightly and carefree in the picture, taken from their last extrusion to the celestial observatory, his mother who stood at a decent height, condensed into a tiny stone container the size of his head…. He could hardly fathom it…

He hardly heard the words his father said and couldn’t understand the ones his sister had tried to get out, her tears blocking her voice from truly projecting itself, despite there being a microphone there.

Then it was Danny’s turn to speak. Normally public speaking would give him butterflies in his stomach, which at this point would be a welcome change to the numbness settled in his chest… but alas it was not to be. He had his speech printed out, and he read it flatly. When he was done he left the podium and didn’t even feel it when he tripped down the small three stair height difference and face planted on the hardwood floor.

He simply pushed himself up and continued on. That seemed to be all he ever did nowadays…

His one major saving grace was there were only a few ghost attacks that had happened, and the ones that did were simple minded animal ghosts that had no semblance of true intelligence. He was thankful for that… he could comfortably leave those to the Red Huntress and take some time for himself to just… well… be numb.

Danny watched blankly ahead as a few more people went up and said their piece, before the pastor, priest, daikon? Whatever the guy was, came up to say his closing statements. Then he rose, wordlessly and grabbed his part of the case, a ghost as a pallbearer would be ironic, funny even if he wasn’t numb.

They didn’t have to walk far, the funeral home that they were in for the service, had the cemetery just in the back. There was an odd sense of finality when they put the urn into place in the wall. A vase to the side of the plaque was practically overflowing with fresh flowers.

Another odd feeling came when they hung the plack in place. Maddie Fenton with her birth year and death year subscribed in bronze forevermore, while Jack Fenton, was beside it, birth year in place but the death year left open like some sort of taunting reminder to the man’s own mortality.

Jack sighed, running his hand across the plaque seemingly having a similar thought to his son as he didn’t stop at just Maddie’s name, tracing over his own.

“We should go. The wake is starting…” Jazz’s soft voice seemed to startle Jack from whatever thoughts had been running in his head. Still, he nodded and off they went.

Danny seemed to blink and he was there, Sam and Tucker once again glued to his sides as Danny stared blankly at the TV that showed pictures of his mother on loop. Nothing felt real. This was like a horrible dream worse than anything Nocturne could conjure up.

But it was real. Too real.

Jazz had been trying, she really had, but with Danny and Jack both having had seen the grizzly seen, the blood the-- the… Danny shook his head. It was too much to process…

It was something straight out of a movie, but the scent will be something that he knows will haunt him longer than anything else…

Danny blinked again and a sandwich was in his hand. Egg maybe? It didn’t matter, he wasn’t hungry, and besides, he didn’t really need to in here. The grief and sorrow were practically supercharging his ghost side. That would keep his human half satiated too.

The next time Danny blinked he found himself in a car, someone he wasn’t related to, or maybe he was, he couldn’t remember and frankly didn’t care to. As another blink sent him home where he and his father were curled up on the couch together. They were both sitting and staring blankly ahead at the TV which had been off for a while now, Jack’s arm around his son in a rather weak side hug, well for Jack anyway.

Danny was just thankful for the contact, the sort of normalcy and grounding the gesture brought. The other thing he was thankful for was that Vlad hadn’t tried to weasel his way into the funeral home, for, well, any of it.

It was refreshing actually. Though it also made him suspicious.

He also hadn’t really gotten too much time to talk with his father about the revelation either, and what that meant moving forward, and Danny, of course, didn’t want to push the man about it, but now the funeral was over those thoughts returned full force. At least his Dad was still here with him, that was something. Right?

Still …

“Dad… I’m…. I’m sorry.” Danny said after a moment of silence.

“I know… but you shouldn’t have to be. It’s not your fault and none of this should have ever been on you….” Came Jack’s sombre response. “If anyone’s to blame it’s that Wisconsin ghost… he’s been plaguing this family ever since we went to that family reunion in Wisconsin... “ Jack shook his head.

“I still should have… should have told you sooner… and mom too...” Danny argued back weakly, flicking his reddened eyes to his father. When had he started crying again?

“It doesn’t matter now… I … that didn’t come out right…” Jack sighed rubbing the back of his neck nervously. “I mean I know now so you shouldn’t have to worry over the what if’s son…”

“Still…” Danny started but was cut off as his father turned to him and hugged him tightly, pressing the air out of him.

Jack had a few tears that flowed free from his eyes himself, though he refused to let go even as he could feel his boys snot building on the back of his jumpsuit. “You really can’t change the past, and even if you could, you shouldn’t… this isn’t something that we like, but it’s how it should be I think... It’s just something we need to get through right?”

Danny sighed, he got that message loud and clear, thanks, Clockwork… “Yeah…” he responded despite the inner turmoil he was facing.

The numbness continued for the week, falling in line with his routine. Even when ‘Phantom’ once again started reappearing in public, people commented on his lack of glow, though he had regained some of his lustre from the day his mother was killed, taken from him, cut down in her prime, he looked nothing like he usually did.

When Val, or rather The Red Huntress, confronted him about his duller look. Danny had tried to avoid her, had told her he didn’t want to talk about it, but she wouldn’t take no for an answer, shooting and attacking him as she normally does… Only this time, for Danny at least, it was different…

He had only wanted to fire a small blast, enough to take down her board’s engine and make her lose control of her speed and have to land… what he got was a large emotionally charged blast that obliterated her board. Danny stared at his hand a moment before snapping into action catching Valerie at the last second and turning them intangible.

When they were safely on the ground he’d uttered a quiet ‘sorry’ before going invisible and flying off, leaving a bewildered and angry huntress in his wake. The ghost was clearly getting more powerful… buy why. She’d remembered it starting right around Maddie Fenton’s death but… that couldn’t possibly be related…

She vowed to track him down again and shoot the answers out of him… as soon as she gets a new board that is…

The routine continued like this for a while for Danny… he was numbly floating on some days and hardly there on others. He would get up, eat, and go to school. Come home stare blankly at his off computer screen before going on a lacklustre patrol before dinner. He would patrol again before bed then sleep. Rinse, repeat.

After about two weeks he started to see things in his father again, how he would smile at Jazz when she came home with a perfect score, or how he would excitedly eat fudge, even how the large man started to regain some of his normal volume.

That it turn helped Danny regain some sense of normalcy to allow himself the illusion that everything was fine. That if he just went down the hall at night he would see his parents cuddle up together in their bed, of id he went down to the lab after school his mother would be there,

Yet it never was…

Danny had the sad realization, once his father started bouncing back to a bit of his normal personality, that was, that he didn’t notice as much of his mother’s lack of presence now…

It hit him like a ton of bricks.

His mother was always in the lab or working on some kooky invention or another, and when he did see her it was at the dinner table. Even then sometimes there were days often more than not, where she would opt to work through the family dinner time. Jack had always come up with the mention of food.

It was the main thing Danny had always wanted more of as a family… normal dinners. One’s where they just ate stuff and talked about how school was and not how they planned on dissecting ‘Phantom’ much like his father had started doing now… and all without his mom…

Jazz had helped pick up the extra chores to make it easier on Jack, and Danny had already started to do his own laundry before this… Meals had been rotated from person to person now… a schedule that his mother wasn’t on but worked without… the floors were still swept and vacuumed and the furniture was still dusted.

Jack hadn’t been in the lab as much either stating that it just wasn’t the same without her and it was too raw a nerve for him at the moment… but still, without his mom, he saw so much more of his father…

He hated that normalcy now… that sense that things were alright when everything felt so foreign, yet so… so… he didn’t know what to think really and that was the problem. He just didn’t understand this overly complex mix of emotion or the fact that he could enjoy this house without his mother in it.

It just felt wrong to do so…

Was it wrong? Or was that just him being a screw up again?

It was some time, almost a month later he’d found out Vlad had taken pity on him and made sure that the ghosts would leave Amity alone when Skulker showed up for the first time in a while. Surprisingly the hunting ghost paused his attack and backed off fairly quickly after Danny had exploded on him.

Both figuratively and literally, if the smouldering hole in the pavement from his halfhearted ghostly wail about his mother’s passing had anything to say about it. Skulker seemed to become contemplative a moment before disappearing back to wherever he’d come from.

And Danny simply continued on his way back to class, trying to calm his shaking hands and aching heart. Not to mention he had to try to make it back before Valerie was able to get out here herself and after him…

It was later that night though when something changed, something felt off, he just didn’t know what it was at first… Though when his ghost sense went off, stronger than it had been the last little bit, and he sensed two decently powerful ghosts, he knew he had to head out, despite his father's asking that he stay in the house once it was past midnight.

He heard the fight before he’d seen it, thought the smoke that billowed up from downtown was a good indicator of where he was headed. He zipped off towards the city’s core and instantly had to flick into intangibility as Skulker was thrown at him.

Danny blinked and frowned watching the robotic hunter spark and twitch felled on the ground, before looking up to his new opponent. His hands that were awash with energy fizzled out in an instant as he stared open mouthed to the new ghost before him.

They were female in form the hips and chest made that obvious. Her hair was icy blue and moved in an invisible wind and like smoke, it disappeared when it moved too far away from the source. Her eyes were a bright golden colour with iris only a shade or two darker and what would be the whites of her eyes only a shade or two brighter, making her eyes appear to be wholly that colour of gold.

Her clothing was made up of mostly reds, whites and blacks in a tight form fitting suit that looked more like something a fighter pilot would wear, rather than a rubbery spandex that Danny would have been expecting.

The white pouch that hung at her hip bobbed a bit as she turned her narrowed and angered luminescent eyes to Danny’s current green ones. But Danny couldn’t move he was frozen to the spot, Though the skin had a touch too much green and looked all too smooth like that of a doll, there was no mistaking it…

“M-Mom?” he had whispered out.

The woman screwed up her face and blinked at the ghost before her. Something sparking in the back of her mind but it was muted… did she know him before maybe? “Mom? I don’t know? Am I?”

Danny was awestruck yet still too rooted to the spot in the air to move his mouth agape as he stared at her confused posture, a slender finger poking at her lip as she bit the corner, screwing up her face in thought and strain.

Before Danny could speak he was snapped out of his thoughts by a loud. “Whelp!”

Danny spun instantly, hands reigniting their fire as he snarled at Skulker, core flaring in the need to protect his mother’s ghost. His aura burned brighter than it had for almost a month, and yet, Skulker simply raised his sparking and twitching hands in a placating gesture.

“I’ve brought you a gift Whelp. One Plasmius would have undoubtedly had me deliver to him,” Skulker said simply, causing the heat on Danny’s gaze to increase. Again Skulker waved his hand in a pointless gesture to soothe him. “I have not clearly. You have become weak without this one in your afterlife, so I brought her here so that I may hunt you again soon... you are of little challenge to me as you are now, whelp and I will not lose my title of Ghost Zone’s greatest hunter because I took out a prey in an unfair game.“

Danny blinked a few times as his rage died down. He did something nice? Granted it seemed it was for a selfish reason but still… He had his mother back… Sort of.

“If that’s all you came here for then leave” Danny ordered butting every ounce of his anger behind the command.

Skulker huffed but nodded turning away. “Until next time, whelp,” he said with a small smirk before fading from the visual spectrum.

Danny turned back to his mother and offered a small smile, watching as she too extinguished the yellow-green glow in her hands. She seemed to size him up for a moment before adopting a more casual stance in the air, while Danny was once again struck with awe.

“What do you call yourself then?” She’d asked after a moment, her eyes had roamed his form and still, the spark was there, she felt… something and she had to know.

“Phantom… Danny Phantom, I… Mom I’m so happy to see you” Danny couldn’t help himself. He flew top speed into the woman and clung to her chest like he was just a small child, tears flowing freely. Tears of joy this time, Tears of relief.

“Mom,” She mused. Her body was stiff at first when the other had ‘attacked’ her but she quickly realized this was something else. Following an instinct that guided her, she reached up and swam her fingers through the boy's ivory locks. It seemed to trigger something in the boy as he squeezed her tighter, and nodded his head into her shoulder.

“I’ve been calling myself Vexera, is that close to who I was… Before?” The ghostly woman asked after a moment.

“N-No… I don’t think so…. Your name was Mandoline officially, but you preferred Maddie, and well Dad called you Mads.” Danny explained.

She hummed to herself in thought, a low melodic sound. “Mad… Vex I think I see the connection,” she chuckled brightly. “Then if it’s true, you’re my son?”

“Yeah, Yeah! I am… I… I tried to save you. I really did! I never wanted this to happen, and you’ve died and it’s my fault! And you probably hate me for it, but I still love you so much!” Danny rambled off in a whir of tears.

Maddie simply held her son tight idly playing with his hair, her core sparked and it soothed her as she comforted him, telling her this was good. “For what it’s worth, I don’t think it’s your fault, or rather I don’t feel mad at you anyway… I have a lot of anger towards something, it’s part of why I picked Vexera for a name, anger was all I knew at first, but... I know it’s not you that I’m mad at,” she soothed

“I… You’re not?” Danny practically whimpered into her shoulder. He sniffs a bit before wiping his face on his jumpsuit sleeve and looking her in the eye.

“No, I’m not.” She repeated simply offering a small smile to the teen.

“Still I’m sorry I-”

“Freeze ghost skum!” A shot of a reddish pink ectoblast whizzed towards them snapping Danny out of his sorrow and into battle mode. Instantly a green shield came up around him and his mother’s ghost blocked the blast.

Danny glared at Valerie, his eyes burning holes into her head, hands flaring, beside him Maddie readied herself in much the same manner. “Not the time, Red” He hissed to her.

“You’re looking normal again, ghost, and now you’ve got yourself a cohort!” The huntress snarled out to the ghosts.

“Mom? Do you remember where we lived?” Danny asked though the woman responded with a shake of her head to the negative. Danny frowned this would be harder then…

“Mom?” Valerie scoffs. “Ghosts don’t have mothers.” She hissed out charging another shot.

“I still am a mother,” Meddie growled fiercely. Her own aura sparking dangerously with electricity. “I had two kids when I was alive! And I’m still their mother even now!”

Danny couldn’t help the smile spreading across his face. “Are you starting to remember stuff mum?” he asked, completely ignoring Valerie in favour of the more pressing issue.

“A bit… I think I remember the house… it’s big with a-”

“Great, go towards the house then if you remember where my room is, go into there okay? I’ll deal with this then head over and we’ll properly talk.” Danny said, interrupting his mother before she could spill the beans on where he lived.

“Are you sure, Sweetie?” She asked.

Danny’s heart melted and his aura sparked in kind hearing her say that. It had been a month since he’d been called any embarrassing pet names by his mother. It was one of the stupidest things he’d found himself missing over the month.

Valerie shot a blast and Danny matched it with his own causing it to mix and explode into an odd sickly purple brown smoke. “You’re not going anywhere ghost!” Valerie called out heading out through the smoke to attack more physically.

Danny went up, Maddie went left, with Valerie following close behind apparently having deemed the newer ghost less of a threat or an easier target.

It was the wrong move though, as Danny’s core sparked and he spun around and took off like a shot towards the huntress, slamming into her, and catching her off guard. Phantom was hardly ever an up close fighter with her, preferring to stay back and shoot her as opposed to attacking her directly.

Valerie let out a yelp as she was suddenly slammed by the speeding freight train that was Phantom before the pair slammed into an apartment rooftop. She yelled and hissed in pain but her suit had taken the majority of the damage.

But really, what made her gasp more than anything was that she was staring into the fully green overfilled eyes of Phantom. No whites of his eyes no Pupil just green voids in his skull. It was creepy and the snarl on his face with bared fangs was the most ghostly she had ever seen him.

He let out a hissing noise that sounded like static before blinking a few times. His eyes cleared of they’re solid green state but his glare was no less fierce. He seemed slightly confused but saw his ‘mom’ floating nearby and seemed to relax somewhat.

“What did you do that for!? I swear if you broke my board again-” Valerie ground out.

“Sweetie?” Maddie’s voice struck through Danny’s obsession blinded brain as he turned to look at his mother.

“I’m fine… I just... “ He shook his head and turned his glare back to Valerie. “Don’t you dare touch her.”

“You don’t tell me what to do ghost!” Valerie spat back wrist ray popping out from her suit in retaliation.

“No, but I do, and I say stand down.” A new voice sounded as the door to the roof opened.

“What? But I-”

“Yes, yes you have the ghost right here, but, you silly girl, do you not see what was happening? Obsession blindness is not something you want to trifle with. These two are fairly new ghosts and do not know how to control themselves properly.” Vlad said sternly.

Instantly Phantom bristled. “You! I swear-”

“Ah- you will do no such thing if you wish to keep yourself in at least some mystery,” Vlad warned.

“You… I knew you…” Maddie said slowly after a moment.

“Why yes you did my dear,” Vlad purred.

Danny’s hands flared and Vlad shook his head “Come now, none of that while ladies are present little badger. You wouldn’t want to have yourself fall to ruin. Go home huntress, I can take these ghosts from here.”

Danny stood protectively in front of his mother. He would not fail to protect her a second time! He’d just gotten her back and he would fight tooth and nail to make sure she stays with him this time.

Vlad’s eyes narrow and flash red as he glares at the brat who dared stand in the way of his beloved.

Valerie looked between the ghosts and Masters a moment before catching his eyes flash. “What?! I knew something was wrong here! All you ghosts are just trying to trick me! Well, I’m smarter than that!” In an instant, she threw her arm up at Vlad and fired.

The blast never hit though, as a pink shield appeared in front of the slimy man.

Maddie instantly bristled seeing it, something in her mind and core sparked dangerously and her golden eyes glossed over. When the ghost, Plasmius, appeared, however, the reaction was instantaneous.

Maddie lunged.

Vlad gaped, both versions of him, as the sheer power of her ecto coated fist shattered the shield. The woman didn’t slow down as she instantly made an ecto constructed bo-staff and whacked Plasmius with it, shattering the concrete on the roof.

“I’ll end you!” Maddie roared bringing her construct down, sparking with electric power, right into where Vlad’s core should have been.

The man had managed to turn intangible at the last second and disappear into the building, leaving Maddie to frantically search and reach out her senses for him.

Valerie tried to launch an attack at Maddie while she was distracted only to be phased away by Danny, who was only a little bit in his right mind at the moment. The last thing he really needed was Valerie getting hurt because of his rising emotions.

The flood of his anger, worry, fear, protectiveness of his family, and love for his mother more particularly at this moment, all flared and swirled. His human half feeding into his ghostly needs and making it stronger.

Danny dumped Valerie in what he believed was a locked room, silently hoping that her need to play hero extended to not causing too much needless property damage, before flying back up to the roof.

All hell had broken loose up there. Maddie had turned into a hell beast with the ferocity that she was attacking Plasmius with. Human Vlad, Danny wasn’t sure which was the real one at this point, stared up at the display with a mix of giddy awe, with a touch of fear and worry.

“Perhaps I miscalculated where her biases lie…” Vlad muttered to himself. “I would have thought for sure she would have come after you as well,” he mentioned flicking his eyes to Danny as he speaks.

“You’re the one who killed her, you frootloop!” Danny growled, tossing an ectoblast at the man, who simply snuffed it out with his own pink glowing hand, while the other tossed something towards the boy.

The spectral cube activated and shocked Danny instantly, trapping him and forcing him back to human form.

Vlad shot the boy a grin of triumph, while the battle raged on overhead. “Now as soon as I can tire her out, I can bring my dear Madoline home, and take her as my bride.

Danny hissed out in frustration only to yelp as a lightning bolt landed near his trapped form. His eyes widen and he can’t suppress the shiver that wracks through his body. He hated lightning, and well any electric thing more than any other type of attacks he’d come across.

It always gave him death flashbacks…

Vlad, the human one, suddenly gasped and gripped his chest in pain as pink ectoplasm rained down around the roof. “You- You” he stopped himself and stared up at Maddie who landed harshly on the roof. Her glow was flickering and she looked tired but looked more than pleased with herself for having defeated the clone.

“Impressive… Though I should have expected no less from you, my dear.” Vlad managed out, trying his best to look poised as always.

Though Maddie ignored him in favour of staring at Danny, “Your… Phantom?” she asked curiously. “Danny Phantom.” She nods in understanding. “So then you’re the halfa I was hearing about”

“Oh thank you, darling! You took care of that nasty ghost who was overshadowing me! I can’t thank you enough!” Vlad poured on the good guy act as he moved to grab Maddie's hand.

In an instant her hand ignited, causing Vlad to yelp and jump back from the ghostly woman. She glared. “You. I don’t like you” she said simply.

Vlad’s face fell. “But why ever not my dear?”

“I don’t remember, I just know I don’t.” Came the clipped answer.

“Danno! I saw your signal blip out so I came to help an- V-Man what are you doin’ here and…” Jack trailed off as his eyes fell upon the full scene. His son was trapped in some kind of ghostly looking box, a ghost that looked suspiciously like his dead wife, and his best friend Vladdie all staring each other down. “M-Mads? Is that… is that really you Mads?”

Vlad sneered and as the Red huntresses hoverboard whirred in his ears he decided it would be best to take the distraction and bow out. As Jack moved to his wife’s ghost Vlad slipped into the stairwell to hide. A second later there was only pink mist where he had once stood.

Maddie turned to the large orange clad man, and something sparked in her. Her eyes seemed to become sharper and more defined and her aura seemed to calm seeing him. “Jack? Your name is Jack, right?”

Valerie had planned on coming out guns blazing hoping to take down the infernal ghosts that had been conspiring against her and her employer. When she rounded the rooftop to find Vlad gone, Phantom gone, Danny trapped, and Jack Fenton, the number one most eccentric ghost hunter HUGGING a ghost… she paused, turned her board to stealth mode, and tried to listen in, hoping to gather some info about this ghost's potential plan.

“You remember me then?” the large man asked hopefully as he practically drowned the ghostly woman in his arms.

“Some things…” She admits. “Not everything. It’s still fuzzy…”

“Some is better than nothing mom… The fact that you remember anything at all is really impressive. Usually, it takes ghosts a while to remember anything from their past life… er right, dad?” Danny asked.

It was still awkward when he talked to his father about ghost related things. There were things that his father had made theories on that were completely off the wall while others were very close to what he’d been taught as fact. But his father was considered one of the top ecto-biologists so whenever he talked like he knew more than his father, even though his father had been nothing but encouraging… it was still awkward.

“Yep! I remember talking to you about that a little while ago, we were talking about looking for your mother possibly in the Zone but she showed up here on her own!” Jack boomed in a boisterous manner he hadn’t used since Maddie’s passing a full month ago. Even the tears in his eyes did little to ruin the overall image of a happy Jack Fenton.

“Can someone get me out of this thing by the way?” Danny asked after a moment of his parents staring at each other.

Jack turned in an instant. “Yea, of course, son! Er, why are you even in that thing Dann-o? And what does it do?” it looks ghostly… kinda. Mads did you attack Danny before you recognized him?”

“No, that wasn’t me. It was the other man... Who’s run off now…” Maddie scrunched up her nose and lifted her lip to bear her fang. “I don’t trust him…”

“V-man? Hey Vladdie! ...huh… guess he didn’t want to get in the way of this reunion?” Jack asked with a slight shrug of nonchalance. He frowned and moved over to the thing trapping his son before finding a toggle switch and turning it off. It shrunk back into a small handheld object almost instant;y.

“Thanks, Dad,” Danny said with a sigh of relief.

“No sweat son! Though it’s an odd looking shield, I’ll have to give it back to Vladdie later.” Jack said with a nod to himself before pocketing the cube.

Danny ignored the large man in favour of moving to hug his mother’s ghost once again. “I really missed you…” He managed out with only one voice crack.

“I’m sorry I wasn’t able to come back sooner… but to think! My boy, a halfa!” she said with a smile holding him tight only for jack to wrap his arms around both of them in a death hug and crush the boy even further.

Hovering just below the roofline as silent as could be Valerie went slack jawed. She mouthed out the word halfa, thinking back to the little half ghost girl she had helped to save. It wasn’t long after that for her to put two and two together.

Phantom had called that ghost mom, Jack Fenton had affectionately called the ghost ‘Mads’ and again, the ghost called Danny, a halfa. Valerie felt betrayed and hurt and… so many other awful things directed towards him right now. But as she peeked out to the roof, and saw the three of them crying in a reuniting hug, she couldn’t bring herself to interrupt.

As much as she hated Phantom, he was still half human, and she knew full well what it was like to lose a mother. She was just never so lucky as to have met her in death… though if her mother came back as a ghost would she have the strength of will to bring her down just like any other ghost? Or would she be dragged into its tricks by its image…

Valerie closed her eyes a moment to think, before shaking her head and deciding it best to just leave. She had a lot of thinking to do…

When the Fenton hug finally broke apart, Maddie's eyes were cleared, she had a slightly greenish tint to the whites of her eyes, but the only golden colour was the iris. Her glow looked stronger than ever, and she wore a loving smile as she assessed the males before her.

“I think… I think I remember our house… I would like to see it for real to be sure… if -- if you wouldn’t mind that is?” Maddie asked, looking to Jack with a hope filled glint in her eye.

“D’aw baby, ya don’t gotta ask. You’re still a Fenton, and Fenton’s stick together no matter what!” Jack answered with a glee filled chuckle

“I’m just glad to have you back mum” Danny sighed out before letting out a large yawn.

Jack shook his head though a fond smile still pulled at his lips. “See this is why I tell you to not go out ghost fighting past midnight… Though given the circumstances I think I’ll hold off on grounding you.”

Danny shook his head and blinked a few times. “Thanks?” He tried, unsure if that was really the appropriate response or not.

“Well, what are we waiting for!? Let's head home and wake up Jazzy pants!” JAck boomed.

A second later an angered resident from the apartment building next to the one they were standing on the roof of, called out a few obscenities at them.

“I think the neighbours agree it’s time we head out.” Maddie chortled out, an echoing musical sound. “I’ll help get us back down.” Maddie hummed out before grabbing an arm of each of the males and phasing them through the side of the roof and onto the street below.

“I remember a large truck?” She tried, looking around the area.

Jack beamed at his wife and nodded eagerly. “Yeah! That’s right hun! The Fenton Ghost Attack Vehicle! GAV for short!”

Thus closed a chapter in Daniel Fenton’s life, but with it came many more problems. Maddie slowly regained some of the memories she’d once held dear, though she still had large gaping holes in what she did remember. It was a slow process, but one that the usually overeager Jack Fenton had no problem being patient with.

For Maddie, she’d found it hard to fit back in with the family, and for the longest time, she was constantly trying to regain some semblance of what was. She didn’t really know who she was supposed to be, or who she once was as a human. Though, once she accepted her changes and realized that she was not any longer the Maddie they remembered, and were not pushing her to be such, she’d come into her own and found healthy ways to feed her obsession.

All in all, it was weird, good but weird. Then again the Fentons were always known as the weird ghost family anyway… What’s one more rumour in the mill?

-.-.-.-.-.-.-

Complete

Total word count: 6132

#Danny Phantom #Phic Phight 2020 #Prompt fill #jack #maddie #vlad #danny #main character becomes a ghost

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destiny-smasher · 5 years

Text

I used to be close friends with one of the composers for Steven Universe. I watched them rise from a YouTube remixer living in a cramped bedroom in a shared apartment with nothing but a mattress on the floor and a keyboard beside it to owning a house, happily married with a whole backyard garden and a cat because they found success working on one of the biggest cartoon shows I’ve known. But they broke off that friendship earlier this year and it’s made my biased love for Steven Universe become very difficult to grasp with. Understanding how and why we weren’t friends anymore was likewise difficult to grasp, even after hours of us trying to hash things out and resolve it. And while we DID resolve things amicably (I hope) and peacefully, it wasn’t until Steven Universe: The Movie that I was really able to feel like I could see the forest from the trees and ‘get’ what happened. This will be a kind of review of the movie, but mostly it became more of a personal ramble relating my real life experiences with Aivi to those of characters within SU, especially the antagonist of the Movie. This is lifted from this Twitter thread, so it was originally written stream of consciousness and I’m sharing it here to keep it more readable and archived. This is a bit of a read so tucking it behind a ‘read more.’

"You keep on turning pages for people who don't care about you And still it takes you ages to see that no one's there Everyone's gone on without you"

Time to finally talk about the #StevenUniverse Movie. Strap in 'cause this gon' get personal.

It should go without saying BUT I am gonna be talking about the movie! Dunno how in detail per se but I can't properly say what I wanna say without diving into some of the important plotty stuff. So yea.

Don't read this thread if ya don't want #spoilers #sumovie

First off, I wanna talk about what this movie does well. Going in, I had heard it was framed like a musical. And I wasn't sure how I felt about that idea, though it wasn't surprising. After all, the 'musical' style episodes tend to resonate quite a lot.

I think they work great when it's one song in a 10 minute episode, but an hour and a half of songs? I wasn't sure how well that would go. Turns out, pretty well. This is due to many factors but primarily the variety of song styles and art styles used throughout. Basically every scene has a primary song that drives it home, and basically all of them have a different genre/tone as well as visual presentation style. A lot of work went into getting it all to work together and feel cohesive. TBH for me personally the main highlight of the movie was honestly the animation. Average TV goers might just see "yup sure looks like a cartoon" but on the whole, on average, the movie is CLEARLY animated and framed with much more dynamism and detail than the majority of SU. Getting to see these characters we've gotten to know over the past few years a couple years in the future, generally at peace with things, but animated with more detail than ever, THAT is the true highlight of the film for me. Naturally, there was a lot of bits of comedy, often relying on knowledge of what the characters have been through, and I felt a lot of bittersweet smiles throughout as this felt like a good send off for Steven and his Space Moms. It managed to work in cameos from basically everyone you'd expect, some of which...didn't work out as well as others (specifically, the Diamonds bookending the movie was a bit forced and weird IMO but they ARE important to the lore even if I find them boring tbh) It was nice getting to 'catch up' with everyone, and the plot itself uses a generic 'gotta save the world again' thing (bleh) in a creative way, at least -- it all becomes an excuse to "re-live" the four primary heroes' stories through song. Cool enough. Something the movie inadvertently highlights, however, is the fact that SU as a series really started spinning its wheels a lot for its second half, in particular. Much has been said about how and why and why or not this doesn't matter, etc. etc. I was just along for the ride. I've repeatedly expressed my personal bias in the series' favor for a long time, and now? I kinda don't really have that personal bias anymore. I still love the show, I still think it's one of the best cartoons I've ever seen. But those rose-tinted glasses are off now. Taking said glasses off and actually listening to and looking up what critics of the show had to say kind of unearthed a bunch of things I had kept sweeping under the rug for the sake of personal bias/support of someone I loved and cared for a lot. We'll get back to that. I say all of this because the movie ironically failed to do much of anything NEW, something the series itself kind of struggled with for a while until it finally got around to the conclusion of Steven's story arc. The film ultimately kind of ends with "yeah Steven can change!" Which, um yea? Obviously. He's a completely different person than he was in S1. But he's kiiiiinda been the same person for....some while now. The weird irony of SU as a series is that about halfway through the narrative, the protag has essentially grown up, done. The last half or third or so of SU's narrative was basically Steven having to cheer everyone around him up and help them deal with their shit, and...kinda just going about that essentially the same way every time. The power of love, the friends we made along the way, etc. To be clear, there's nothing BAD about this, and in fact it's what sets Steven apart from most every other narrative of this type. The protag is almost always forced to change in ways they don't want, do things they don't want to do, etc. But when you put it side by side with something like Avatar or Gravity Falls, those series saw everyone growing alongside each other. There are clear arcs for everyone, almost all of which get resolved in ways fitting each character. It's imperfect but it's varied. SU has a tendency to just...hammer everyone's character flaws and arcs with ONE option: just love yourself and be nice, and everyyyyyyythinggggg 'll work out in the end! Which is fine, but when a story does it for so long, over and over, always the same, it gets a bit weird. I specifically LIKED in the film, at the end, that Steven actually does have to fight, because THAT is what Spinel needed to do. She needed to let out all of that anger, and that violence was her own way of doing it. 'you can't just sing a song to make everything go away' etc. It's typical, perhaps, for protagonists to have to tackle problems in different ways because that's LIFE. The fact is, Steven's approach will NOT save everyone. Lapis stilllll kinda stands as an example of this but an as of yet unresolved one. I liked that at the end of things, Spinel still doesn't come into the same fold as everyone else. Basically "sorry, I already fucked this up too much, I can't really deal with this," and that is IMPORTANT and I really liked it. Before really digging into the personal angle, I want to bring up how fascinating it is that the movie essentially had a real BUDGET and so they deliberately seemed to design an antagonist that would take full advantage of that animation budget. EASILY, by far, Spinel is the most interesting-to-watch antag in the whole series imo, in terms of how she moves and fights, etc. They really just wanted to flex and they did it, but like any SU antag there's (somewhat predictable) motives. This gets back at what I was saying before -- how the series spins its wheels a lot -- but Spinel's motivation/back story isssss kiiiinnndaaaa a lot like many many characters' issues and, like, I get it. We get it. Steven's Mom was Not The Best does that have to be the basis behind kinda EVERYONE who goes against Steven? Or the Gems? Lapis, Bismuth, and Peridot all offered more varied motivations, and even THEN, Bismuth was still essentially in the same boat? Anyway, I digress. I DO appreciate the way the series set up Rose as this wondrous lovely lady and has severely dissected and broken that down to the point where I really do not like Rose, in any of her ID's, as a character or a fictional person, and it did so gradually. A lot of what the movie did was kind of expected. Right? Songs, singing, check. Steven going about things the same way, check. Re-living/celebrating how far he and his moms have come, check. What I didn't expect was -- OK, well, there WAS that one fusion...which, um

But the actual thing that really latched onto me was how much I conncted with Spinel. As is the case with any story that has well presented characters, you can attach to SOME part of just about all of them. I associate most closely with Pearl overall but can relate with just about anyone prominent. I see parts of me and Jenny in Steven/Connie, in Ruby/Sapphire, in Peridot/Lapis. I see what kind of woman I might've become in Amethyst (and sometimes am). Spinel, though, is a really weird case because I see my adolescent self in her SO MUCH and yet fairly recent events in my life -- directly tied TO the show itself, mind you -- make that connection weirdly poignant and present. For some context, I used to be good friends with Aivi, one of the musicians who works on the series with their husband. Spring 2018, Aivi and I vocalized to each other that we considered one another one of the closest friends in each other's lives. We're no longer friends. To make sure this is clear, I think Aivi is a wonderful person, and our breaking apart wasn't violent or dramatic or anything, Aivi just...decided they weren't interested in the relationship anymore. And neglected to tell me this until like a year later. The context is of course not at ALL as severe or dramatic as Spinel/Pink, so please don't assume there's some one-to-one there. But OOF are there some harsh similarities and it really made Spinel's backstory sting in a very confusing way. I say 'confusing' because, as I mentioned, I see my adolescent self in Spinel. The way I was going about making friends matches her 'happy' self. The way I acted in my senior year of college matches her 'angry' self. There was no single person that created any of that, though. In high school, I was like Starfire, in college, I tried to nurture that, play to my strengths. I failed miserably. And what I feel is a big part of why is inherently tied to my transitioning (which is, still, something I feel I am failing miserably at). By the end of college I was more like Raven, and there I remained through the duration of my first long-term romance, into a very weird and atypical marriage and breakup, and then I moved to CA and started changing. Fittingly, my current self can't quite ID with any single Teen Titan. I'm not a teen anymore, after all. Throughout a lot of my friendship with Aivi, they really seemed to fixate on comparing me to Pearl. It sometimes made me uncomfortable the particular ways they did, though. I strongly identified with Pearl's flaws and strengths in personality (though we're obviously different people), and so seeing Pearl go through redemption via self-love and self-acceptance meant a lot to me. "It's Over, Isn't It?" I was IN THE ROOM listening to Aivi and their husband work on the chorus to that song. Obviously they couldn't talk about it but I knew damn well what it was about, and anticipated that piece for a long time. Now it's even more weirdly painful. I met Aivi because they made Mario arrangements they put on YouTube and they happened to live a few blocks away when I was subletting my first summer in CA. They seemed very kind and caring and eager to Be Nice and at the time I really needed that at a very vulnerable and fragile time in my life so I latched onto that. -In The Garden- The week when the LiS terfs freaked out on me and that Bad Spinel side of me lashed back, and I found myself suffering from being gaslit and facing the fact that the worst part of myself that Trigon in Raven's mind that Angry Spinel was still THERE was still ME It was too much For the first (and thankfully, only) time in my life, I experienced suicidal thoughts. And Aivi REACTED to that shit. Strongly. In a way no one ever had for me before, ever. They drove across the Bay to my house, picked me up, had me over, and helped me process it. And in the months to come, as I was healing and coming to terms with how That Worst Part of Me That I Wanted to BE RID OF was still THERE and apparently could just fucking show up, through all of that, Aivi helped me work through things, and we really bonded. In retrospect, though, it's SO damned hard for me to tell if Aivi and I became so close because of mutual respect or pity or just conditioned behavior to Be Nice and Keep Up Appearances. I dunno. What I know NOW is that apparently Cost More than I would've thought. I'm not Aivi so I don't want to really dig into 'dirt' (again, Aivi is a great person who works very hard and that's WHY their work is so good) but looking back, it's wild to see their progression into SUCCESS and fame while I just stood by, floundering The thing is, Aivi was a super busy person. We barely got to spend time together -- when we DID, it was a multi-hour affair and apart from like, Jenny, Aivi is prolly the person I've had the deepest, most vulnerable conversations with. They were next to me when I realized 'oh huh I'm maybe trans??' because they were there when I was at one of the lowest points in my life. I never ASKED them to be there, to Be So Nice and as it turns out, Being So Nice is harder than it looks. So to kind of loop this back to the movie, I wasn't some Skullgirls Peacock Cuphead grinny goof or anything like that but I AM WILLING to bet that from Aivi's POV the way Happy Spinel acts toward Steven is prolly how I felt in Aivi's life at points, at the least. The irony is that we would go weeks, months, barely interacting. But looking back, the way Aivi talked about things, the same phrase keeps dominating my mind: Aivi got bored of me. I wasn't 'useful' to them anymore. Aivi said that day in spring 2018 was like 'the climax' of our friendship, or something like that. Way they talked about it was like...the finale of a season of TV. Our character arc together was over. Even though we TALKED about it, came to mutual understandimng of The Logic behind Aivi's decision to cut ties, I don't think it ever REALLY made sense to me, how Aivi must've felt about our friendship, until Spinel. By spring of 2019, my role in Aivi's life -- from what they have told me, from what I can perceive -- was more like I existed in a separate space from the rest of their life. I was that one interesting person always waiting in The Garden for them to visit when they felt like it Because while Aivi had gotten BIG, gotten MARRIED, gotten a HOUSE, found legitimate SUCCESS in their creative field I was still poor still stuck in retail still unable to find an audience still unable to understand the pressures of Success And OOOOFFF in those last couple years, interacting became more and more strained for both of us, from opposite ends of things. Aivi had responsibilities, PEOPLE vying for their attention, people wanting to hire them, projects to complete, a house, a spouse, etc etc My life was (and kiiiinda still is?) nothing like that, and as our Mutual Creatives Struggling to MAKE THINGS and Get By transforming into Yep I Am Still Here but you are SUCCESSFUL I think that really put a lot of strain on things I never accepted until Spinel. After Aivi hit it big with SU, in particular, they gradually started...acting differently. Acting in ways that made less and less sense to me. They were a Diamond now. And I was still just what I was. When drawing comparisons to characters on the show, Aivi persistently compared me to Pearl. A fact I once took pride in. They repeatedly compared themself to Garnet. Which...always kind of didn't make sense to me. Aivi wasn't really like Garnet. They are more NOW, though? In the sense of how they act, I suppose. Specifically, one of the last things Aivi said to me was that trying to be friends with me had started feeling like Pearl trying to force Garnet to fuse with her. This was problematic because from my POV nothing of the sort was happening. All I was looking for was occasionally hanging out a few times a year. Like. Ya know. Actually a lot less than what I was looking for with basically all of my other friends. And that was still Too Much? But when I start looking at things like Pink Diamond and Spinel instead of Pearl and Garnet, somehow things make a lot more sense. I was probably too clingy, too exciteable, and what amusement or relief I could provide eventually stopped being useful. Aivi eventually didn't even want to spend time with friends to just...spend time with them. Everything had to have some kind of practical Purpose to it, it had to be contributing to a Goal. I still don't get that, tbh. But I'm also not A Diamond. I'm not Successful. The most responsibility I have right now is fucking hanging up the laundry to dry. I have college loans that have and continue to feel pointless to try and repay. I have severe dental problems I haven't been able to fix. My body fell out of shape because of retail hell, and what energy I’ve had to spare from that always ends up going into the people I love, and trying to keep Making Things. Let's not forget The Complications of coming out and wanting to transition but not possessing the resources to do so. (Aivi was actually super supportive of this btw and was the first person to make me feel comfortable wearing feminine things so yea) Anyway, the point I'm trying to make is that MY LIFE is not together. My personality is? I feel like I am finally Myself in terms of mental/emotional stability. And that is largely because Jenny helped me get there. But Aivi helped a lot with that, too. But I think Aivi got to a point where Success was more of a measure of how Grown Up and Healthy one was because despite my behavior, my personality, my mood, what I was asking for, and what I was giving, all changing DRASTICALLY after being with Jenny, I think Aivi still...looked at me the way Pink Diamond looked at Spinel during that song. Like, "yeeeaaaa ok kiddo it's time for me to go now, kinda done here" This is what's so confusing about all of this metaphor/etc. I'm not...like Spinel anymore? My current, post-coming-out self doesn't really relate with Happy OR Angry Spinel. It's almost like Aivi couldn't see me for who I became, and could only see me for who I had been. And maybe that's like why Spinel can't be friends with Steven at the end. It's too painful. I used to take pride in being associated with Pearl because "I'm enough" and "being strong in the REAL way" but now it's more like "oh you just think I'm still hung up and needy and clingy?" which uh don't feel so great a comparison. I can't help but wonder if while working on the movie, Aivi saw some of themself in Pink. Because I'm not the only person who apparently wasn't 'useful' to them anymore. And I'm not saying we should've kept forcing something that wasn't working. Not at all. What we had was good for both us, but it also entailed a lot of patience on my part and effort on theirs. And unlike any of my other long term friends, I often ended up waiting weeks, months, "Happily wondering night after night, Is this how it works? Am I doing it right?"

Years and years of broken friendships, one after the other, most lasting merely 6 months, MAYBE a year at most, with a handful that have lasted since middle school (but which are so much harder to maintain) took a toll on my Adult Self until Jenny, anyway. For quite a long time - the majority of my life, currently - I assumed I just was Too Different and that was why my friendships didn't seem to last, didn't seem to extend to the depths I was looking for. That's perhaps one critical difference between Spinel and I: she's looking for FUN, for smiling faces, for attention, for creating smiles, I just want some fucking consistency. At this point, I'm not even sure WHY I still reach out to people. I don't NEED friendships in that desperate way I used to, back in the Happy/Angry Spinel times. And I've come to terms with that Other Max part of myself and integrated it, accepted it. My worst parts are still me and instead of suppressing them (often by relying on bids of deep friendship with others) I just have to let them EXIST and let them do their thing once in a while. This is ALL why Celeste hit me as hard as it did. Because even if I'm not actually much like Spinel anymore, and Aivi's not really like Pink Diamond, even if I don't actually share much in common with Madeline (other than the subtle 'I drink sometimes to deal with my problems' thing, which I don't anymore) I still comprehend and resonate so much with that concept of just needing to accept the worst parts of yourself and work with them rather than trying to keep them caged up and then they escape and rampage every 5-10 years or so and ruin your life As I felt myself coming to all of these Good Feelings I FINALLY felt like I could help Aivi in the ways they had helped me. That I finally had something to offer I didn't before. Turns out, I didn't, apparently. Aivi had More Important Things to do than visit me in The Garden. And I couldn't blame them. Not a bit. Especially if they had gotten bored of visiting me. I didn't like feeling like a burden on them, either. Can't really argue with that. During the last time we talked, Aivi didn't use the WORDS, didn't literally say them, but I finally could see it: I wasn't Useful anymore. I couldn't Understand, either, because I wasn't Successful. Our friendship was rewarding, but because it required effort. And that effort was still worth it to me, but no longer to them. I was no longer worth it. And despite that, despite starting to feel those hunches, I spent those final months -- as had been the case before, they were afraid to hurt me so avoided actually confronting the problem -- I remained "Happy to listen, Happy to stay Happily watching her drift away" I have no idea if any aspect of our friendship impacted anything Aivi had worked on creatively. TBH Aivi seemed to approach even relationships themselves with more of a logical, pragmatic style -- it was entirely unique compared to anyone I had ever connected with. But if you've read @lis-allwounds then it might not surprise you to know that a lot of what I expressed through Stella and Max, as well as Other Max and Another Stella, channels a lot of these things. I even quoted Aivi directly in the story's end (perhaps foolishly optimistic) And yes, that epilogue moment of sorts is gonna be entirely different if I ever do finish the visual novel. The fact is that we were ALWAYS very different people and our friendship was weird and complicated and hard for one or both of us throughout its, what, 8 year duration? Ironically, I think I took away the opposite 'Character Arc Lesson' they did from all this. But that's just the thing, nothing is permanent for a Human Being. We aren't Gems, we don't actually fuse, we can't just change our appearances when we feel like it, or project ourselves to look how we want to look, or exist for thousands of years. But we DO all have different needs, different ways of understanding those needs, and different ways of needing to adjust or change ourselves or our environments in order to pursue what we want to pursue with the limited time we have here. We tried, hard, and it lasted long enough. If I'm not useful, I'm not useful, I guess? I don't have any ill will toward Aivi, I loved them as a friend and I know they loved me, too, and were better at showing it than most any friends I ever have had. If I'd been better at reciprocating in ways that were actually useful, that would've been good -- but then maybe we wouldn't have become friends in the first place if I hadn't needed 'saving' in the first place, I don't fuckin' know. And I hope my saying all of these things doesn't make anyone think any less of Aivi because your relationship with them is, very likely, not at all personal like mine is. And you know as well as I do how good they are at what they do. Aivi took the time to ease me out of things. Aivi did NOT suddenly up and vanish for thousands of years. While the dynamics of the situation might bare sharp points of similarity, Aivi is not like Pink Diamond and I'm not like Spinel -- not in the present, anyway. Stories help us because they share THREADS with reality but it's always important to recognize those threads for what they are and not confuse them for ropes. And me ranting and tossing all of this out there is something part of me has wanted to do for months but needed to take the time to grieve and process and accept. And maybe it's selfish to be posting all of this, I don't know. But it helps me accept myself and them a lot more. "Finally something finally news about how the story ends" Aivi likely has brand new friends, better ones than me, and I'm willing to bet some of them worked on this movie. And it turned out pretty good, all things considered, probably in part because Aivi was able to focus on it That person I became friends with, she doesn't exist anymore. Just like how who I used to be when Aivi first me, he doesn't exist anymore, either. We both changed, and grew in opposite directions, I guess. We've found happiness and growth and relief in different ways. In the end the Movie helped me come to terms with all of this in a way Angry Spinel younger me couldn't have still hurts yo

"Isn't that lovely?

Isn't that cool?

Isn't that cruel?

And aren't I a fool

to have happily listened,

happy to stay,

happily watching her drift away"

#Steven Universe The Movie #Spinel #Personal #SU #SU Spinel

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hallodraws · 6 years

Text

Our Confessions | Peter Parker x Male!Reader

Wordcount: 3,290

Genre: Male!Reader x Peter Parker/Spider-Man | Marvel/Insomniac’s Spider-Man (PS4) Christmas Special Summary: “You’re out trying to buy the perfect gift for your boyfriend, Peter. But when criminals step in to destroy Christmas for NYC, you’re caught in the middle of it. Lucky for you, there’s always Spider-Man.”

Warnings: mention of weapons

Author’s Notes: I know I’m late, but Christmas this year was exhausting. I had something ready for you guys two days ago but I wasn’t happy with it. So after some rewrites, I finally have something I’m proud of for you guys. For any new readers, this special is a direct continuation of the Thanksgiving story found right here. I hope you guys had a wonderful holiday, and if you’d like me to continue with this “Holiday Series” please let me know in the comments below. :)

You walk through the busy streets of Times Square, blanketed in a sea of lights and snow. It's December 21st, and the city is bustling with last-minute shoppers - yourself included. You spent the majority of the day walking from store to store, list in hand, checking off the various things you still had to get. It wasn't your fault you waited so long, at least not entirely. In your defense, you weren't so much shopping today as you were picking things up. God bless the internet; you were able to buy things online early, that way you could retrieve them at the store just in time for Christmas. After a few hours of walking, you finally made it to the last name on your list - Peter.

It's been about a month since you and him got together - all from a double confession at F.E.A.S.T on Thanksgiving. The memory of that day still warms your heart, even on this chilly late December evening. You and Pete officially began dating about a week after that. He took things slow, and that was okay. You didn't mind, because you've been there before (more times than you'd like to admit). You were just happy to have Peter look at you the way you've looked at him for so long.

You make your way into the watch shop, just a few blocks away from the hustle and bustle of the square. Peter was perfect - mostly. At times he was a bit dodgy, often late to dates, or even having to cancel plans altogether. But this little quip quickly became an inside joke between you two. There were no hard feelings, he was busy and so were you. You're both adults, and he always made up for it in the end. It even gave you the perfect idea for a gift

A few weeks back, you saw the most beautiful watch online. It was out of stock at the time, but luckily it's back just in time for Christmas. You thought to yourself how cute and meaningful it'd be to give him a watch. You joke about how now he'd never be late anymore, you'd laugh, and you'd kiss. Perfect Christmas. You find yourself smiling as you make your way to the counter.

"Why hello. Can I help you, sir?" The kind old man said from behind the glass casing, shimmering with dozens of gold and silver pieces.

"Yes, I'm (Y/N). I'm here to pick up an online order." You waste no time showing him the receipt you printed out earlier from home, as well as your ID to confirm identification. You've been doing this dance all day in so many stores; you knew it by heart by now.

"Oh yes!" He happily exclaimed, pulling a small black bag from just out of view, "My newest favorite from our collection. Is it a gift?"

"Yes, it is. For someone very special." You have a bit of a giggle to your voice. You can't help it.

"Well, I can guarantee they'll love it," He places the bag in your hand. You want to do a quick check, so you dig inside and open the box, eager to see it in person. You didn't think it was possible, but it looks even better than it did online. The way the gold accents sparkled against the matte black remind you of stars twinkling in the night sky. It was perfect in every way. You can feel your blood pumping, excitement brewing at the thought of Peter opening his gift. You just wanted to see him happy. It was too cheesy ever to say out loud, but seeing him smile really did make your day all the more special. With a grin still smeared across your face, you close the box and slip it back into the bag.

"Thank you so much," You give a soft wave to the clerk as you take your leave, "and have a wonderful holiday."

"You as well!" He returns the gesture as you exit back out the glass doors into the snowy air of New York City. All you'd have to do now is get home, wrap it up nicely, and give it to Peter Christmas day. To think, this would be your first Christmas as a couple. You were excited about it, but oddly also a little nervous. Peter said he has a surprise for you - something he wanted to tell you in person, alone. Dozens of ideas come into your head of what he has to say - some good, some bad. But he didn't seem concerned when he told you about it in the first place, so you try not to worry yourself.

You're too lost in your thoughts of Christmas morning with Peter that you didn't realize you made a left when you should have made a right. When you finally snap out of your head, you try to fix where you messed up - only getting yourself even deeper into unfamiliar territory. You reach for your phone in the depths of your winter jacket, hoping GPS will come to save the day. That's when you see your news app has a breaking report for the Time Square area.

"Krampus attacks NYC," you read aloud, "Reports of robberies by individuals garbed in Krampus themed attire are active in the area. Suspects have yet to be apprehended and appear to be armed and dangerous." You feel a lump in your throat form after reading the scrolling text on the marquee. You knew what Krampus looked like; honestly, after that 2015 film, everyone knew what the Anti-Santa-Goat-Man looked like. Horns, fur, claws - basically a weregoat in your eyes. While you loved creepy things like that, you had no intentions of ending up on Krampus's naughty list this year, so you decided home was your number one priority.

You didn't know it at that moment, but you were lost. Sure New York was your city, your home. But everything changes in winter. The buildings all look the same under the ice and snow. It didn't help your case now that it was getting late, the city falling under darkness as you made your way away from the main streets. You quickly remember your GPS app - unfortunately, not soon enough. By the time you click your home address, the last ounce of juice in your phone's battery zaps out, leaving you with a black screen and a deep dread.

You try to remain calm. At first, trying to retrace your steps - only to find the snow has covered them in little to no time at all. Your next step is to find a street with light. Light meant people and people meant safety. You keep telling yourself that, but after ten minutes of failure, the panic begins to set in. That's when you hear it - voices. You could hear laughing in the next alley. Without thinking, you hurry through the soft snow towards the sound, hoping you could borrow a phone to have Peter pick you up. At the very least, you could ask someone for directions.

But luck wasn't on your side. As you turn into the alley, you see two tall silhouettes - horned silhouettes. You're still, as if the cold city air has frozen you in place. You watch as the two things before you laugh to one another, their furry outfits blowing through the wind and their horns bouncing with each hearty laugh. You're able to make out the tiniest of lights by the masks' eyes - red LEDs to make them even more menacing. Slowly, you take one step back. Silent as you are, the two men take notice of you. But that's not what scares you. What sends the chill down your spine in the sound behind you - breathing.

Just over your shoulder, stands a third man. He too is outfitted with a horrifying mask, furry suit, and beaming red eyes of the iconic Christmas demon. You can hear his hoarse, labored breathing behind the silicone face. Suddenly, he speaks.

"Hand over the bag." The man growls in a low and breathy voice, his empty hand extended. It doesn't take long for the others to join.

"Please," you beg, "Just let me go, and I promise I--" But he doesn't let you finish, choosing instead to take the bag by force. His gloved hand squeezes the handle of the bag and pulls, but you cling to the bag itself, feeling your fingers dig into the sides. For a moment, you two stare at one another, the other two merely laughing at your feeble attempt to be tough. You can't see the mans face much, but his eyes peeking through the holes is enough to say it all. You’ve pissed him off.

Almost as if you each rehearsed it, you pull violently on the bag in unison, each of you tearing at it as if your lives depended on it. In mere seconds, the bag splits through the center. You watch as the small box inside tumbles to the snowy pavement. Without hesitating, you grab the box and sprint by the man. You don't turn around. Hell, you barely open your eyes. You just let your feet carry you as fast as they can.

"Please!" You call out into the night, "Somebody help!" You can hear your voice echoing off the brick walls of the alleyways. But you also hear something else - footsteps. You somehow find the courage to peer over your shoulder to see your attacker not far behind, joined now by his two cohorts. The sight of them all sent a chill down your spine, like something out of a nightmare - a child running from demons.

You're too lost in your head again, not focusing enough on your surroundings. You feel your body slam into a wall. It doesn't hurt (it must be the adrenaline), but you do feel the terror rise when you see nothing but brick blocking your path. You look in every direction - you've hit a dead end. You turn, and there they stand. Horned shadows drape across the brick as the city lights illuminate the men, their red lights the stuff of nightmares. You look down - three knives, one for each of them, glittering in the dark. You can hear them laugh as they step closer to you.

"looks like your outta luck, bud." One man chuckles from under his mask.

"Was all that running worth it?" Another speaks, twirling his weapon through his fingers.

"Please..." Is all you can say. You're not sure what you're even begging for at this point. You feel stupid, all this trouble for a dumb watch. You feel tears begin to well up in your eyes, knowing that whatever happens to you next is going to be painful - and it's all your fault. You clutch the box close to your chest, wishing you were with Peter.

"Hey, Goat-Jerks!" A voice calls out; the men stop in their tracks. You all look around the alley, frantically trying to find the source of the sound. Suddenly, a red and blue blur drops from above, sending one of the men firmly to the ground. As it rises, you see it's a man, adorned in a blue and red suit - a very familiar one.

"S-Spider-Man?" You mutter to yourself. He doesn't respond though, instead choosing to keep his attention on your attackers.

"C'mon. It's Christmas!" Spider-Man jokes as he shoots a web at the man beneath him, fastening him to the pavement. In a few short moments, a couple of swings from both sides, and a few web blasts from the hero's wrist - the men are glued to the alley, and you are safe.

"Yuri!" Your rescuer calls out, seemingly into thin air, "I got three of your Krampus jerks apprehended. Send some officers to come put these billy-goats back in their pen." You finally deduce he's communicating with someone. Once he finishes, he hurries to your side, placing both hands on your shoulders, "Are you alright?"

"I... Yes. I'm okay." You're still a little shaken, apparently quite visibly, because Spider-Man leans in, putting his hand on the back of your head.

"You sure? They didn't hurt you, right?" You feel your cheeks flush just a bit; hopefully, the cold air would be enough of a cover to hide it.

"Y-Yes. I'm sure."

"Good," His hand drops back to your shoulder, "Listen, it still might not be safe. Let's get you out of here, okay?"

"Okay, but what--" You try to ask him, but his strong arm around your waist stops your words dead in your throat.

"Hold onto me." He whispers. You continue to blush, but stay silent, doing just as he instructs. You lock your arms and fingers around his neck and together, you lift off the ground, slowly rising to match the height of the buildings around you. It's high, very high, but Spider-Man's grip on you makes you feel safe. You gently swing higher and higher, making your way from rooftop to rooftop.

After a couple of minutes swinging, your surprised that you're not on the street - but on a rooftop. Spider-Man lets go of your waist, you look out over the side of the building, seeing thousands of windows and headlights twinkling like stars. You're left breathless at the sight (granted, it could've also been the altitude or the cold - but it was still beautiful none the less). You hear Spider-Man clear his throat behind you, so you turn to face him. What you see behind him practically knocks you back (thank goodness not actually, considering how high off the ground you were.)

There behind him sat a beautiful Christmas tree. It was huge, maybe ten feet tall. It was so bright that you don't understand how you could've missed it. It was practically a personal lighthouse for this street.

"This is... beautiful," Slowly you walk around the tree, enamored by the glitter and glow of all the lights, "My gosh, did you do this?"

"Yeah, wasn't all that hard," He chuckles to himself as he steps towards you, "It just took some time, some planning, and a lot of untangling."

"I'll bet! It looks incredible." You laugh. It did look incredible. The elegant way the lights draped around the tree, the dozens of blubs (all red and blue to match his suit) all perfectly spaced, the star at the top shining bright like a beacon - it looked like something out of a magazine.

"Good, it's for you." He was behind you now. You were so focused on the tree you barely heard him.

"I mean this must've taken--" and then it clicks, "Wait... what did you say?" You turned, the tree now illuminating you from the back. There stood the webbed warrior, twiddling his thumbs nervously.

"This is all for you. Granted, you weren't supposed to see it until Christmas." He repeated, this time a little quieter.

"I don't understand." You didn't. Did Spider-Man... have a crush on you? How could he? You've never met him. Besides, you had Peter. The idea of a superhero like Spider-Man thinking about you did tickle you inside, but the thought of Peter's warm smile and matching embrace was greater than any superpower. Lost in thought once more, you don't notice as he reaches for his mask.

"Please don't hate me..." He whispers behind his mask. You can hardly make out his words he's so quiet,

"Hate you? How could I--" The mask comes off - and you're silent. It feels like time is frozen and the world has grown quiet. There before you, clad in the same red and blue outfit you've come to see on the news every day - stands Peter Benjamin Parker. He squeezes the mask tightly in his hands, twisting it tighter and tighter with each second that passes without you saying anything. Finally, you find your voice again.

"P-Peter. You're... Spider-Man?" You don't know why you ask that. It's pretty obvious after all. But still, you needed to hear him say it.

"Yeah." He mutters, his brown eyes struggling to maintain contact with your own.

"I-I mean..." You try to formulate your thoughts, "I didn't..." but every thought that comes into your head creates another question, "I mean how? When?" You begin to wonder if you'll ever form coherent sentences again. But Peter ends your prattling by placing his hands in yours, still gripping the mask that now slips through your fingers as well.

"I've wanted to tell you for a long time." He's got a sadness in his eyes. It almost crushes you looking at him this way. The way his eyes glitter in the night make you feel that at any moment he could crumble to tears.

"I..." You try to speak, but Peter's hand squeezes. You decide to let him finish.

"I-I'm sorry I kept this a secret from you for so long," His hands slide up your arms until their at your shoulders, "I want you to know... it's not because I don't trust you. In fact, you're the person I trust the most."

"Pete..." You can feel his thumbs glide in little circles on your shoulders - something he only did when he was nervous. And just as you predicted, tears began to roll down his cheek.

"I just wanted to protect you but... It didn't feel right lying to you about this anymore," the tears sparkled from the lights of the tree, "I understand if you hate me... and if you don't want to be with me anymore--"

"Peter Benjamin Parker." You interrupted. He looks at you with shock, surprised by your little outburst. But all that sadness fades away when you place your lips on his cheek, kissing his tears away, "I could never hate you. Never."

"Y-You're not mad?" His voice breaks just a bit.

"I'm shocked, a bit confused, maybe a little anxious - but no, not mad." You take another look at him - a good hard look this time. His hair is a bit messy, some of it pushed to his forehead with sweat. His suit looks... amazing, but it has its minor flaws - scratches and imperfections here and there. You've known about Spider-Man for a long time now. He's a hero, a protector, and a good person above all else. Now that you think about it - that does sound like Pete.

"You saved me tonight, just like you've saved hundreds of others," You cup his face in your hand, "How could I hate someone who does all that?"

"(Y/N)..." Your name escapes his lips as the corners of his mouth turn into the smallest of smiles. You lean against him.

"No more secrets though, okay?" You hold him close, your head resting on his chest.

"No more secrets." He hugs you back, his gloved hand running through your hair.

"I'm not going to pretend I understand it all, and you have a lot of explaining to do," You squeeze around the small of his back, "I mean it, Pete. I want to know everything."

"I love you, (Y/N)." Peter lets out a soft laugh, his cheek pressing against the top of your head. Your heart skips a beat at those words.

"Pete, that's... the first time you said that to me."

"I-Is that okay?" You can hear the nervousness rise in his voice again. You laugh, bringing his face close to yours.

"Yes," You kiss him, your chapped lips breaking through the cold to connect with his. After a brief moment, you break away. "Because I love you too."

#spider-man #spiderman #spider man #spiderman ps4 #marvel #peter parker #peter parker x reader #peter parker x male reader #male reader #x male reader #peter parker x male!reader #spiderman x male reader #christmas #krampus #marvel spider-man #tom holland #spiderman game #Avengers

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professorprophetess · 5 years

Text

Analysis

Why “Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle” worked where other video game themed movies fell short”

Jumanii: Welcome to the Jungle was not met with any sort of optimism whenever the sequel to the beloved Robin Williams movie was announced following the actor’s death. Yet despite all misgivings this movie turned out to be better than one might expect it to be, even standing its own and paying many moments of homage to the prior film. It managed to be a video game movie that actually worked, and that mostly comes from how it embraced its concept whereas other game movies tend to try too hard to take those half-real incoherences out of the equation and it more often than not weakens what is being attempted. In contrast I’ll be referencing these other movies: Spy Kids 3: Game Over and Ready Player One as well to compare and contrast how well each films handles their game elements.

First a few definition of terms might help those who are not as versed in the terminology as I am or as other game scholars might be. Whenever I say Incoherence, I am of course referencing Jesper Juul’s Half-Real. In it, these things are basically those parts of video games that are non-diagetic but are part of gameplay. The UI, the menus, the rules, the loading screens, the world maps, etc. It’s one of those reasons straight video game adaptations have such a hard time because a large part of what is going on with the game is those non-diagetic elements (Juul 121-162). I may also refer to certain games as MMO, MMORPG or just RPGs and while I know many know what those abbreviations stand for, I’ll spell them out right now. An MMORPG is a Massive Multiplayer Online Role Playing Game whereas MMO is just to refer to any large game that is online. RPG is simply a Role Playing Game. Any game that has classes to choose from and the party system are generally RPGs. There are other types of abbreviations for games but for the games being discusses, these are the three most pertinent. The final abbreviation is VR or Virtual Reality.

I will start with the oldest film of the three: Spy Kids 3: Game Over. Its central conceit is child spy Junie Cortez had retired from spy work because he was feeling inadequate and just wanted to do something else with his life. Then the maker of a new VR MMO game turned out to secretly be an evil mastermind. They had sent another spy kid into the game but her mind had been trapped by him somewhere in it. Since the other spy kid is his older sister Carmen, Junie has no choice but to enter the game world and go after his sister and save the world while he was at it. In the end, the villain is stopped by Junie and then the virtual monsters somehow end up in the real world with the climax being that the mecha monsters are stopped by Junie and his family (Spy Kids 3). As far as video game adaptation movies go, this and the other films don’t technically count since the games in their plots aren’t real. However, Spy Kids 3 doesn’t also seem all that concerned as to how its central game’s rules work. Sometimes they’ll throw in the gaming concept of mini-games to advance —the robot fights, the racing game, the duel, I can only think of a few times where they faced monsters. Only three times did their life points count—the robot fight, the duel, and when the guy got blown up—. Emails are mentioned but it’s never shown how they exchange them aside from an awkward mimed handoff. Then there is the power up the bad guy gives Junie’s Grandpa AKA his old friend. These items, and the few elements of game play rules are there but they’re not really anything other than a plot point here or a beat there. They’re not central to how the plot is resolved nor how the story is playing out beyond a few bumps in their path to the climax. In fact the film version of incoherence AKA breaking the fourth wall plays more of a role with the climax as the 3-D glasses are used to see the monsters once they get into the real world. They’re not called those in the film but it is very clear with how they look that they are 3D glasses. Still, while it doesn’t resist the incoherences, it merely accepts them as a fact of a game movie and moves on (Juul 121-162, Spy Kids 3).

The next film I’ll look at is Ready Player One. Unlike Spy Kids 3, Ready Player One’s VR world isn’t actually an MMO. The OASIS is actually an internet interface that has many gameified elements to it (Ready Player One). In this film, the inventor of the OASIS died without any heirs about ten years before the start of the main plot and then added an extra gameified element to the OASIS. He left behind an Easter Egg Hunt for the whole of the OASIS’s user base to find. Winner takes the whole OASIS for themselves. This set off a bunch of people pouring over the things he loved in his life to see what kind of Easter eggs he hid to find the clues to get to that final prize. The hero, Wade, is a major Halliday—the OASIS creator—fanboy and finally manages to crack the code to get through the first challenge. From there, the race is on against his fellow gamers and Sorento the menacing head of a company that—should they get control—would make the VR world of the OASIS a pop-up filled nightmare. For the most part the rules of the game are not as important as the rules of the real world, as Sorento being the generic corporate villain that he is uses in game data to find the offline ID’s of the leaderboard to threaten them or, in one case, kills Wade’s not-all-that-lamented Aunt and Uncle as well as a bunch of innocent people who also lived in his trailer house stack (Ready Player One). Item inventories and passwords play a large role in the movie’s outcome as well as an extra life and the rules of the various mini games and challenges the players go through, but beyond that, I wouldn’t say the incoherences are ever used to anyone’s advantage beyond a plot device moment with that extra life Wade got from the Archivist (who turned out not to be just an NPC but an actual user avatar after all: the ex-best friend of Halliday) (Juul 121-162, Ready Player One). Ready Player One was far more concerned with pop-culture references than it was anything else. This doesn’t detract from things but it is what it is.The gameified OASIS of the movie with its customizable avatars is interesting but doesn’t seem particularly efficient for anyone just trying to use the internet for data sharing or business. In fact it seems like it has a lot of wasted features to look cool instead of be functional. If it were a straight up VR MMO, that would make sense but here it creates more issues. Ultimately, the incoherences are there but not super important more than item collection—the keys and Wade’s 1-Up—,the moment where they steal Sorento’s password, and the chase scene at the end where the real-world jerking about it making it hard for Wade to get to his goal. Never once do they seem to be anything anyone—except the bad guys—can take advantage of and even then it was more by accident than design (Juul 121-162, Ready Player One).

I saved Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle for last. In the original film, Jumanji was just a board game. A possessed board game but a board game none-the-less. Yet, its rules affected the whole plot of that first film. That first film ends with two of its Protagonists, Allan Parrish and Sarah Williams, throwing it into a river for it to get washed away in the year 1969 (after having been adults in 1995 for most of the film’s plot). There is a post credit scene where two girls speaking French come across it on a beach (Jumanji). Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle opens with a man jogging along a beach and finding the game in the year 1996, one year after a majority of the plot of Jumanji took place. He picks it up, takes it home, and tosses it on his sleeping teenage son, Alex, who remarks “who even plays board games anymore?” While he plays his vaguely Atari 2600-esque console, the game magically changes into a cartridge version of Jumanji. Alex picks it up and puts it in. The next that is seen is a flash of green light. The movie jumps ahead and now it’s 2017. The movie introduces our four new teenage protagonists as four types of teenagers: the wimpy nerd, the lazy too-cool-for-school jock, the introverted awkward girl, and the self-absorbed, selfie-obsessed, popular, pretty girl. Also, the father of the Alex is re-introduced and the consequences of his disappearance have made him a wary, angry man. The four kids all get in trouble and land in detention; pretty girl Beth for being on the phone in class, Awkward girl Martha for mouthing off, and the boys Nerdy Spencer and Jock Anthony “Fridge” are in trouble because Spencer helped Fridge cheat on his homework. They find the old-quasi Atari console with its very Nintendo looking controllers and decide to turn it on to play Jumanji. It is shown to look like it’s an old school RPG for four players that can each choose from different characters to play. After pressing start, they all get sucked into the game and become their characters. Spencer becoming the handsome Dr. Bravestone, Fridge becoming the comically small “Mouse” Finnbar, Martha becoming the sexy Ruby Roundhouse, and Beth becoming the male Dr. Shelly Oberon (Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle). The first instance of game incoherence being part of the actual plot is when they get into the game and Beth dies but comes back because the extra life system. They meet a helpful—to a point—NPC named Nigel who fills them in (enabling a flashback cutscene) which is even explained by Spencer to the others. He gives them the item they need to finish the game as well as warnings about the bad guy they’re running from/racing to the center of Jumanji and drives off repeating his voice lines. A nice touch, as after they’re done with any sort of major speaking, NPCs do repeatedly say the same thing due to programming (Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle, Juul 121-162). The next incoherence is ability UIs that can be displayed by pressing their names on their outfits, and that Bethany being the character who is the cartographer is the only one who can use the map-item. Along the way, Fridge’s back-pack is an inventory for weapons that shouldn’t reasonably fit in it and the group has special attacks they can activate once conditions are met, like Martha using Ruby’s fighting skills or Spencer using Bravestone’s weapons(Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle, Juul 121-162). Other touches where the game incoherences are woven into the plot are when NPC’s only talk to Spencer’s Bravestone, shortcuts across the whole world from the bazaar to the jungle house of Allan Parrish, and the NPC guardsmen whom Martha has to distract with a radio that conveniently is there for here to use her character’s dance fighting with. Then there is the scene where Alex, who has been in the game since 1996, is almost game-overed permanently but Beth transfers an extra life to him. Finally, there is the climax of the film where Martha as Ruby uses one of her extra lives to get to the top of the giant Jaguar mountain where the stone needs to go to win Jumanji, because characters respawn in this world by dropping from the sky. She purposefully uses her character’s weakness to snakes to get to the sky and she slaps the stone into Spencer’s hand so he can end the game(Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle, Juul 121-162). This leads to them winning once he yells Jumanji and the kids are free to go. They leave school and see that Alex was sent back to 1996 and his family’s house is no longer the dilapidated mess but is now warm and full of life. The kids move on and the movie ends with them at school the next day smashing the console with a bowling ball and the credits roll. At no point were the rules of the game they were in ever ignored and as mentioned the characters of the movie were even able to use those rules to their advantage whether it be getting through the world faster via a shortcut or using how the characters respawn to get around the bad guy. It wove these in well and that is why, of the three films here, it implemented its game aspects the best. There were still moments where the movie deviated—since we would see what the villain was up-to from time to time—but otherwise it stuck to keeping the rules consistent (Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle, Juul 121-162).

Jumanji: Weclome to the Jungle was a film I had very low expectations for and not only did it exceed those expectations, it very cleverly used parts of gaming that other films ignore —unless they have to deal with them—to their full advantage for the plot line. Spy Kids 3 and Ready Player One didn’t ignore these aspects per-say but they did not fully embrace them as Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle did. By doing things the way they did, the writers of Jumanji were able to side-step a lot of the problems movies with video games in them could run into while attempting to make an engaging video game based narrative. The other two films attempted this same tactic but with varying levels of success. Video games are hard to adapt, and that is just a consequence of their inherent interactive status. The player’s interactivity affects how the game is to them. Adaptations take this out and lose part of the game. What Jumanji ultimately did that the others didn’t was make it feel like this was a game someone could play and showed how it would be played. The others did not. That was why they fell short.

Sources:

Jumanji. Directed by Joe Jonhston, performances by Robin Williams, Kirsten Dunst, Bonnie Hunt, and Bradley Pierce, TriStar Pictures, 1995.

Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle. Directed by Jake Kasdan, performances by Dwayne Johnson, Karen Gillan, Kevin Hart , and Jack Black, Sony Pictures, 2017.

Juul, Jesper. Half-Real. MIT Press, 2005. pg 121-162.

Ready Player One. Directed by Stephen Spielberg, performances by Tye Sheridan, Olivia Cooke, and Ben Mendelsohn, Warner Bros, 2018.

Spy Kids 3: Game Over. Directed by Robert Rodriguez, performances by Daryl Sabara, Alexa PenaVega, and Antonio Banderas, Dimension Studios, 2003.

#academic paper #jumanji 2017 #jumanji #spy kids 3 #ready player one

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sometimesrosy · 5 years

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Your thoughts on the parallels between Octavia and Clarke's respective identities as Bloodreina and Wanheda? And on the possibility of Niylah reprising her role as the accepting loyalist and us getting canon Octavia/Niylah as perhaps a way to take some of the sting out of endgame Bellarke for the wlw community?

That is a good question, and I’m not sure I have a theory on Wanheda and Blodreina parallels. I do know that I have a different take on Wanheda, because while western society associates death with evil, a lot of other societies don’t? It’s a part of life. One that can’t be avoided. And also, in considering Commander of Death, the commander doesn’t only decide that people will die, she also decides who will live. It’s LIFE and death, really. Clarke saves as much as she kills. She heals. The knife is an edged blade that can kill but it can also do surgery and cut out the poison so that the body can keep living. In the tarot, the Death card actually represents REBIRTH, not death. And seeing as this is a story about the apocalypse, the end of the world and saving humanity from the brink to bring it back, Wanheda can’t be as simple as “genocide king.”

Blodreina is different. First there’s no tarot card for it….although…. wait… There are lots of queens. Blodreina could represent Queen of Cups, because blood is liquid, but that represents the heart and emotion and Octavia is dead inside. She could be Queen of Cups reversed, blocked because of her broken heart. Or she could be the Queen of Swords, which fits with her persona, but not the name. No. I googled. not queen of cups. what was I thinking. Octavia is definitely queen of swords. Definitely reversed. Remember the poster had wonkru reversed? (btw, Clarke is wands, Bellamy is cups, Octavia is swords and Raven is pentacles, and i knew that already. The symbolism has always worked. Like the chess metaphor, I believe they’re using those archetypes. The blood in blodreina threw me off.)

Description of Q of Swords

The Queen of Swords sits on a stone throne decorated with a cherub, representing the Queen’s softer side, and butterflies representing transformation. She faces towards the future, with her left hand raised as if to receive, and in her right hand, she holds a sword up high and straight, representing her desire to find the truth in all matters. [x]

That’s clearly an earlier Octavia, butterflies, swords and all. But in the bunker, she went into the upside down and became the reversed, blocked negative version of herself.

At times, the reversed Queen of Swords can come across as cold-hearted, resentful and bitchy, particularly if she is devoid of any emotion or compassion for others. This card may represent a part of yourself or someone else you are trying to deal with. You may be putting others off-side and losing your supporter base, isolating yourself from others and being seen as narrow-minded, intolerant and mean. [x]

Actually, if you want to go this site, you can look up the court cards, notice that s1 Octavia is the Page of Swords, season 2, 3, and 4 Octavia is the Knight of Swords, and s5 is reversed Queen of Swords, although she has the clear potential to be upright and transform her darkness. What I noticed is that Clarke and Bellamy are both the queen and king of their suit, respectively. You never saw their growth from page to knight to q/k. that reflects their status as heroes, I think. (I have not analyzed the pentacles, because I’m trying to stick to the question.)

So I need to say that Blodreina and Wanheda are NOT parallels. Wanheda is on another level from Blodreina. Octavia finally made it to a Queen card, and that is on a worldly level, not actually reflecting her journey of fate. Clarke’s fate is as Wanheda. She is going to save the world and she’s already started. She didn’t get there for two seasons, while she was saving her people.

Sorry if I went tarot reader on you, but Wanheda and Blodreina are both tarot archetypes. So symbolically, that’s what I needed to look at. Blodreina is a court card, and it’s important and a leader, but in the worldly sense. While Wanheda is the major arcana, and this is fate, higher purpose, the larger story at hand. If Octavia is getting a major arcana title, it hasn’t happened yet.

Okay that was a lot more than I expected it to be and i’m only 1/3 of the way into your question.

I don’t know what’s happening with Niylah. I had high hopes for Niytavia, and it’s at least hinted at, but I don’t know if they’ll make it canon or just leave it as subtext, or put it in the past. I don’t know if they usually do that, but, I’m afraid that Niylah isn’t strong enough to be with Octavia. She needs a stronger partner, because otherwise she’ll walk all over them and turn them into her subject. :( I mean, you don’t want to be with someone who thinks of you as a goddess, because that’s worship not a relationship. She needs a partner.

And then Marie made comments about JORDAN and Octavia and I was like, uh oh. Because Jordan’s innocence is something that Octavia needs to regain, if she ever had it, because Octavia represents HUMANITY and she’s so fallen and darkened and traumatized. So in her symbolic presence in the story, she doesn’t need Niylah. She needs to resolve her loss of Lincoln and what he taught her, but she also needs her INNOCENCE back, her HOPE. And Jordan represents that.

So as for Niytavia being used as a kind of apology for wlw fans? I’m not sure they’re doing that. I did spec that in season 4 I think. But I think that would be kind of mean and cynical, as if like you could buy someone a puppy when their beloved dog died and that replaces what they’ve lost. Like, you can’t replace one ship with another and make it okay. you know? And tbh I don’t think it was JUST because CL was wlw that it was loved, I think it was because it was a traditional fantasy fairytale story. It wasn’t a very special episode about ‘being” lgbt, it was a FULL story, just like straight people have always gotten, but the main characters were wlw. It was a story for women who wanted genre stories where they got to be the heroes and the love interests. Like, the stories of minority people are not just about how hard it is to be a minority. We’re people. And we have all the same stories as the people who have gotten to be heroes for millennia.

I do have a speculation that seems almost unavoidable to me at this point. And it is about endgame CL. Because Lxa is in the flame, and Clarke was a commander and in the flame, and when a commander takes the flame, their consciousness is downloaded into the AI, so even though Clarke did not DIE, her consciousness should actually BE in the flame. So in that case, if they address it (and I think they did hint that flameClarke is in there by some of the things Madi said,) then FlameClarke and FlameLxa are currently together in the flame, and will indeed have an endgame, immortal romance.

I don’t know how that might be received by the wlw community, if they will feel that as an epic story or as a cheat. Because I doubt that The 100 will follow the story of FlameCL on screen, but it does open up an almost unlimited universe for fanon and speculation in which CL is real. The rumors of Alycia returning for a cameo would support this theory, although I’m not a fan of rumors, so id on’t know.

However, I think endgame FlameCL will also be paired with the in canon story of Bellarke endgame. And I know that just makes the CL fandom angry on principle, so I guess that’s where I wonder if they will accept a FlameCL endgame or think of it as a cheat.

#the 100 #wanheda #blodreina #tarot #symbolism #octavia blake #clarke griffin #niytavia #flameCL theory

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karmanticmoved · 5 years

Note

1-85 uwu

j esus okay

1. describe yourself.

uh,, emotional ig, dumbass, quiet, exhausted all of the time, v queer, healthy mix of feminine and masculine, insecure, and not tha t great tbh. kinda a pussy ass b itch

2. if you could go anywhere for a week all expenses paid where would it be?

idrk. maybe somewhere like a hella nice beach in another country, maybe somewhere in europe. i like travelling but i hate the travel to get there and have no money so i havent put thought into it. maybe hawaii or somewhere like that.

3. do you have siblings?

the one thats still alive is my half brother

4. what is your favorite constellation, why?

orion maybe bc i don't know a lot but i can see that one from my bedroom window even in the city n idk. its comforting. or scorpius cause i'm a scorpio

5. favorite color.

yellow, pink, or blue.

6. what kind of music do you listen to?

almost anything. whatever catches my interest.

7. favorite flower. (you can name as many as you want cause flowers are awesome)

forgot what i said last time but those

yellow carnations i think?

8. if you could do magic, what is the first spell you would learn?

maybe smth to put myself to sleep immediately bc f uCk

9. favorite childhood memory.

my summer camp memories are pretty great. also memories of my dad and i going fishing are good.

10. have you ever been cheated on?

i mean in theory i couldve been bc online relationships but no. n im polyam and have identified as such for a majority of my relationships so no.

11. if you could describe your perfect room, what would it be?

big but not too big, yknow? like big enough that it can be filled and have room to walk around and lay on the ground or whatever but not Empty. and a pretty big bed to stretch out on, n a closet in the room. multiple windows w blackout curtains so theres light but it can be blocked out. n fluffy rugs or carpeting but preferably rugs in case smth spills so we can get it out of at least Remove the rug. and probably a cat tree thing in corner for dipper. n a computer desk and actual lights that light up the whole room. but probably,, fairy lights too bc full lights too bright. and i kinda want a pink room but blue or yellow work also. a nd pride flags on the walls + posters and various other stuff bc plain walls are boring. and tons n tons of b ooks too.

12. favorite animal.

river otter

13. what was the last photo you took of?

cat

14. do you believe in soul mates?

i'm not sure. i do kinda think there are people who you will like. really really click with and who become so important in your life that they're like. apart of u yknow? but i don't think that anyone as an individual needs to keep those people in their life forever. they arent destined to stay with them, and they shouldnt force that relationship (platonic, familial, romantic, or whatever) even if they were close for years and years. screw destiny. youll have people you care about, and sometimes you have to break that bond to save yourself, and thats okay. there will be other people who can and will be just as important. that got kinda off topic skbsks. i don't think theres really like Destiny soulmates. but there could be like. soulmates in the sense of for however long we're together, we're soul bonded. even if its not forever. does that even make se nse skbsns

15. do you hang toilet paper over or under?

over is the one thats socially acceptable right

16. your go to place to eat & your favorite thing to get there.

idk theres a place near a movie theater closeish to my house and its a nice little cafe and i dont eat there bc i dont eat much in general but i get their bubble tea and i love. raspberry bubble tea w rose popping bubbles. its comfort drink.

17. do you believe everything happens for a reason?

no. sometimes shit happens for no reason, and its bullshit, but you can't reverse it, so you gotta figure out how to move on from it.

18. guilty pressures?

im assuming thats meant to be pleasures

umm,, idrk. i don't know what exactly i like that would count as a guilty pleasure so,,

19. favorite mythical creature, why?

merpeople are s o cool i fuckin. love funky aquatic pals hell yeah. maybe im just Water babey but. they're rad. dragons are also hella cool bc like dragons???? theyre scaly and prett y and can breathe fire or have wings and kill u?? also like selkies bc again. water. but i used to hear a lot of stories abt them and theyre so nea t

20. something most people don’t know about you.

i have the potential to be a huge asshole and also kinda Wish to fuckin murder someone sometimes but. i act nice most of the time anyway.

not murder murder but i can get angr y enough that i just wanna Stab smth

21. where did you grow up, what was it like?

grew up kinda near the edge of the city, still in it but not like the main city area. in western washington. it was kinda rly boring, i used to spend a lot more time outside or just by myself playing with leaves or toys or whatever. when i had friends i played make believe w them even when outside of school. so yeah. boring id say.

22. do you believe aliens exist?

sure.

23. what was your last google search?

other than names for some actors n stuff, i was looking up various star wars things

24. what did your last relationship teach you?

the one that like. ended? i guess thatd be. be careful with your own feelings and try to figure them out before jumping into anything, and also don't try to force smth that in reality isnt really working.

25. would you relocate for love?

honestly yeah

26. do you hold grudges or forgive easy?

both. it just depends on how badly i or someone i care about was hurt by it. more likely to hold a grudge if a friend was hurt by someone d eep enough to leave a lasting impact or if they don't get a genuine apology i will be 🔫🔫. or if the person keeps hurting them. even if that person is also my friend.

27. favorite book.

favorite graphic novel is bloom by kevin panetta

favorite books in general are autoboyography, more happy than not, and what if its us. all gay. i know. its okay. im a kinnie.

28. do you consider yourself an extrovert or introvert?

introvert by far

29. have you ever kept a journal, do you now?

i tried once. i probably will have to once i go see a therapist, or at least one for my Bad Thoughts

30. top 5 favorite movies.

in no particular order

little shop of horrors, love simon, coco, it (2017 and 1990), and shazam! ig? maybe others but i definitely Forgot all the shit ive watched

31. do you believe that everything happens for a reason?

32. what is your greatest fear?

definitely gotta be all of the people i love hating me and abandoning me or secretly hating me and then leaving me without saying anything. and the worst part is im always afraid its gonna happen babeyy

33. favorite alcoholic beverage.

im baby

34. most embarrassing thing you’ve done.

im embarrassed by my own existence. i don't remember the Most embarrassing thing

35. do you believe in ghosts?

not until i have proof that i can actually trust and believe in

36. what is the best and worst part of your personality?

idk ig im nice. but im also. very easily set off on certain emotions especially the bad ones which sucks like especially jealousy bc i dont wanna!! feel jealous!! tho i think that ties into my greatest fear bc my brain immediately tells me im useless to everyone and they hate me. but. sometimes i get jealous and then feel bad for that and then hate myself for all of it. bc my friends deserve to hang out w other people and care about other people im just fucking stupid babey !!

37. should you split the dinner bill?

i rly don't get why you wouldnt tbh like if u both wanna be there u should both pay. but if one person gonna pay it should be the person that asked.

38. are you a good liar?

most of the time. when it comes to my mental health i can either lie great or im literally breaking down in front of the person so

39. what keeps you up at night?

depressing thoughts. anxiety about everything. wishing i could cuddle and fall asleep w jay. sometimes i just cant sleep bc im too restless.

40. would you rather go without your phone or music?

music. i need my phone to text my friends and i Need my friends

41. do you believe in god?

what god would let the world get to the point its at. what god would allow people to do such fucked up shit.

no. i don't.

42. how do you relax when frustrated?

cry, take a nap, take a shower, listen to music, cuddle dipper

43. what’s something that offends you?

when people go "oh yeah i support gay rights but im still gonna eat at chick fil a bc its good" like i get so fucking. pissed off by that. youre not gonna fucking s ta rv e without their goddamn chicken. i know a bi person who goes there and says its okay bc they dont Directly Give Their money to Specifically anti gay organisations but im just. ugh. fucking pissed bc there are other places to get food just avoid the one place for fucks sake. their food is good it doesnt matter. its like saying yeah pewdiepie is a bad person and nazi and a racist asshole but his videos r funni haha so im gonna watch him anyway

44. favorite food

i hate myself whenever i eat food

45. if you were on a 10 hour flight and could sit and talk to any person the entire time, who would it be?

@destinedformuchmore or @pinaplelee

46. when do you feel the most confident?

never? but ig i feel confident when working on tech construction during theater tech. as long as i know what im doing.

47. what do you do in your free time?

sleep. draw. cry. play video games. talk to my friends.

48. is there anyone who has completely lost your respect

matpat did for being a dick abt neopronouns and making a transphobic joke and only apologizing when a cis person told him to. not when hundreds of trans people did. and also other jokes that are inherently offensive to various groups. a n d for making extremely not Child friendly jokes in his videos which are very much targeted towards kids. say what you will about the target audience, there are a lot of children who watch them. please stop making creepy nsfw jokes if you won't even swear, sir.

49. have you ever broken someone’s heart?

i guess so yeah. but she also broke mine first.

50. did/do you play sports in school?

i did. i don't anymore bc highschool sports are bullshit but. basketball, ultimate, and soccer.

51. when are you happiest?

talkin 2 jay prolly

52. coffee or tea?

tea

53. what is one possession you own you wouldn’t want to live without?

my binder. or my stuffed cat puppet thing ive had since i was 7

54. what is the first thing you notice about a person?

their general emotions, mostly. like if theyre in a good mood or if theyre bored or distracted or whatever. or if they seem interested in actually talking to me

55. what is your favorite season, why?

fall. my birthday, the atmosphere is nice, it's pretty, its hoodie weather.

56. what makes you laugh?

stupid little comments or jokes my friends make tend to make me laugh a lot harder than i should but jabdn

57. are you a clean or messy person?

a mix. i Cannot have some things messy or i will ksjqkd. Die but i don't make my bed too often bc its ha rd when its against 3 walls.

58. what is important for a successful relationship?

communication communication communicati

talk about ur goddamn problems n keep talking to each other.

59. what was your upcoming like?

if thats supposed to be upbringing

idk, very relaxed. pretty easygoing and kinda boring.

60. favorite holiday?

any holiday in december rly. i don't celebrate a Lot but the atmosphere and others celebrating is nice to see. i kinda wish my parents did more to embrace the jewish part in our family blike. whatever. christmas is fun.

61. what is the first thing you’d do if you won the lottery?

give half of it to my parents. and then probably use it for plane ticket

62. what’s the best pizza topping combination?

hawaiian pizza. pinapple n canadian bacon ty

63. favorite outdoor activity.

frisbee

64. how are you? honestly.

not great. i want highschool to end.

65. would you rather go camping in the woods or stay at a beach resort?

idk. camping is fun but if i get to stay at the resort for free i would rly love 2 stay at a resort tbh ive never done that

66. what is the most beautiful thing in nature?

waterfalls. or rivers or just. water in nature. and very green forests. aNd snow.

67. favorite type of candy?

none

68. if your life was a book, what would be the title?

i can and will do arson, an autobiography

69. what movie quotes do you use of a regular bases?

i quote john mulaney and whatever my obsessions are pretty regularly

70. what was cool when you were young but not cool now?

silly bandz. pokemon cards. these weird unicorn figures i collected

71. what’s the craziest conversation you have ever eves dropped on?

im mostly the one having the weird conversations

72. what’s the most interesting documentary you’ve ever watched?

i watched one about dogs and cats and their evolution which was lit

73. what’s the worst hairstyle you’ve had?

when i let the lady just go fuckin ham on my hair bc i was watching spirit that horse movie and didnt wanna stop so it was. rly bad bangs and hella short in back but not the sides

74. what do you like to cook?

whatever im hungry for. i don't have the energy to cook a lot

75. what’s the coolest animal you’ve seen in the wild?

really pretty tropical fish

76. what’s the funniest tv show you’ve ever seen?

idk. i rly like schitts creek its pretty amusing

77. do you usually follow your heart or your head?

heart at first but my head if things get bad

78. what is your favorite quote?

"i have a splitting headache and i think i'm dying. how are you?"

or a character just saying "try harder" when another failed to do smth.

this is supposed to be deep or whatever but im in a Mood

79. what’s the weirdest crush you have ever had?

once had a crush on a character in a minecraft parody lmao

80. what’s your love language?

sending shit that makes me think of them. n just. making tons of stuff for them both online and irl like bracelets.

81. do you ever feel alone?

oh yeah. all the time. im not but it feels like i am which sucks

82. ever been bullied?

yeah

83. are you usually early or late?

late bc of my parents rip

84. what kind of art do you enjoy most?

drawing, or writing. also theater.

85. what do you wish you knew more about?

i just wish i could remember everything ive learned more about. i know a lot i just forget all.

id like to know more about forensics tho

#asks #long post #friends

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amandajoyce118 · 6 years

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Daredevil Season 3 Easter Eggs And References

I somehow managed to watch the full season in about a week. Probably because I actually had a day off of work in there. These season of Daredevil borrows heavily from two very famous comic book arcs, “Born Again,” and “Guardian Devil.” If you’re familiar with the comics, you probably saw a few things coming. That being said, there aren’t a huge amount of Easter eggs in the season.

As usual, the Easter eggs are broken down by episode so if you want to read as you go without being spoiled for future episodes, you can. This is spoiler-heavy though, so if you’re trying to steer clear and haven’t watched the season yet, look away. I’ll understand.

I didn’t spend a lot of time explaining who people are if they’ve appeared in the show before, maybe just a reminder here and there in case they didn’t make a huge impression on you.

So, onto the Easter eggs!

S3E01 “Resurrection”

Father Lantom

I’m sure we all remember him from earlier seasons, but this is just a reminder of his role in the comics. In the comics, he also provides a place of refuge for Cloak And Dagger as well as the Runaways. Taking in heroes with sad backstories is kind of his thing.

St. Agnes

Again, sure everyone recognizes it, but also just a reminder that on Agents of SHIELD, the orphanage where Daisy Johnson AKA Skye AKA Mary Sue Poots spent her youth was also called St. Agnes. I’d still love a connection.

The Timeline

Despite Matt waking up and seemingly thinking he just made it out of a collapsed building, it’s actually been “several weeks,” which probably puts this happening right around the same time as the events of the most recent season of Luke Cage or Iron Fist. More episodes will likely clear this up.

Sister Maggie

She is a comic book character, plucked from the pages of the “Born Again” story arc. There’s likely a big reveal coming with Sister Maggie, so I won’t spoil that for you. She also features prominently in the “Guardian Devil” story arc.

Ben Donovan

This lawyer certainly gets around. Taking care of Wilson Fisk still even though he was devoting so much time to Mariah Dillard over on Luke Cage.

Fisk And The Wall

After he gets bad news, he stares at the white wall of his prison cell. You’ll remember in season one, he liked “White Rabbit In A Snowstorm” because it helped him think. It’s also how he was forced to deal with his father abusing his mother.

Rymon Cable

The van that has bad guys Matt decides to test himself against? It’s full of clothes even though it has the Rymon Cable logo on it. There’s no comic book connection to Rymon, but Holly S. Rymon is a “production executive” on the series. She’s also worked on Iron Fist, Luke Cage, Jessica Jones, and The Punisher over the last two years.

S3E02 “Please”

Fisk’s Deal

This deal isn’t unlike ones he’s made in the comics to further his own ends. During “Civil War” he actually passes information about Captain America to Iron Man, which briefly makes him a target for other criminals. He tries to get his stature back by putting a hit out on Spider-Man and his family, which backfires when Spider-Man shows up in prison and beats him to a pulp.

Karen’s Backstory

In the comics, she’s an only child, but she does have darker and darker side stories. She becomes a drug addict and a prostitute at one point, so I’m curious to see how much the writers reveal of her dark backstory here.

Blackout Cripples NY

This headline appears on a new newspaper clipping on the wall in Karen’s Bulletin office. Now, all of the other clippings were there before the office belonged to her, courtesy of Ben Urich. That means this new headline is likely one of her stories. That story is likely in response to the blackouts that happened all over the world in Agents of SHIELD season four when a hate group was making a statement about Inhumans.

Blake Tower

You all remember Blake Tower, right? He’s been showing up on multiple shows, just like Ben Donovan, Claire Temple, and Turk Barrett.

“Hell’s Kitchen is ground zero for vigilantes…”

Foggy’s not wrong. Daredevil, Iron Fist, Jessica Jones, and Luke Cage have all been around in the last few years. Iron Fist promised to protect Hell’s Kitchen, but the events of his last season changed things up a bit.

S3E03 “No Good Deed”

Kingpin’s White/Grey/Lavender Penthouse

The color scheme for Wilson Fisk’s room is very reminiscent of his clothing choices in the comics.

The Presidential Hotel

Was it just me who noticed the hotel, combined with the “Lock Fisk up,” the fake news comments, and the fact that the owner was convicted of fraud? I think those are a lot of real world shoutouts right there, and I appreciate every single one of them.

Fisk’s White Suit

Matt might be hallucinating Fisk, but this is Kingpin’s comic book look. It’s perfect.

Millar

I couldn’t make out the second name of the electrical/plumbing company Matt sneaks into the hotel with, but the first in the logo is definitely Millar. Frank Miller is typically the name associated with Daredevil, but I feel like Millar is a shoutout to comic book creator Mark Millar. He’s better known for the Kick-Ass franchise and his work for DC, but he’s also written on some X-Men books, some Fantastic Four, and some Spider-Man, as well as the “Civil War” arc.

Vanessa Hiding In Spain

Vanessa frequently has to hide out in the comics to escape the wrath of Wilson’s enemies. Spain isn’t usually a big spot for her, but Wilson lived there for about a year in the comics before Lady Bullseye caught up with him and sent a bunch of Hand ninjas after him.

Agent Poindexter

He seems to like the nickname Dex and he has a great skillset - never missing his mark. Benjamin Poindexter is the main alias of a villain named Bullseye in the comics, and I don’t think that’s spoiling anything for you since casting rumors and trailers should have done that already. He’s probably Daredevil’s biggest enemy, not Kingpin. So, that’s going to be fun to watch develop.

Matt’s Clothes

Not his vigilante ensemble, which is a callback to him first starting out in season one. His walking around clothes. It looks a lot like how Stick used to dress when he was in New York, huh? Guess Matt is taking cues from his former sensei.

Matt Picking Foggy’s Pocket

Okay, so I realize this is just a means to an end for Matt, but I like to think of it as another connection between Matt and Daisy. Both orphans at St. Agnes (possibly the same one), both steal the ID of someone who meets with them in order to get more info. (In Daisy AKA Skye’s case, it was Mike Peterson in the Agents of SHIELD pilot.)

S3E04 “Blindsided”

District Attorney Foggy Nelson

Foggy was District Attorney of New York City for a while in the comics. He also became Chief of Staff for the mayor for a while too.

The Prison Fight Sequence

Less an Easter egg and more a reminder that Daredevil is known for doing a spectacular single take fight sequence every season. This one, where the cameraman literally just followed Charlie Cox from room to room lasted nearly a crazy 15 minutes. No cuts. That’s impressive.

“We were just being friendly.”

And Karen pulls a gun on some guys up to no good. I feel like she and Jessica Jones need to hang out more. They could just intimidate skeevey guys in alleys for laughs.

Trucks Full Of Chemicals

The FBI agent’s story about her dad hauling chemicals, I think, made a nice nod to the fact that both Matt Murdock and Jessica Jones got their abilities from trucks full of chemicals hitting them in the comics.

Felix Manning

“Felix” has been the name of the person in charge of Vanessa’s location, so I’m going to wager they’re one in the same. He also appears in a whopping two comic books - Daredevil issues 230 and 231. He wanted Melvin Potter, who appeared early in the Netflix series, to make him a duplicate of the Daredevil costume. He was actually killed by a Daredevil imposter. Foreshadowing? We’ll see.

A Taxi To The Water

A version of this happened in “Born Again.” It didn’t get rid of Matt, but it did make him a little more loopy.

S3E05 “The Perfect Game”

Fisk Giving Matt’s Name

There is a story in the comics where Fisk implicates Matt as a vigilante and gets him arrested. The FBI, however, decides not to take the deal with him, and they put Fisk in prison for numerous crimes as well. This clearly isn’t playing out exactly the same way, but, when Matt and Fisk try to break out of prison during a riot, it’s Bullseye who has to save them. I can’t help but wonder if there was a little inspiration there.

Felix Threatens Karen

Again, a little hint of her backstory here. In the comics, she’s also from the New England area. Her father, Paxton Page, who gets namechecked in the threat, actually became a villain named Death’s Head in the comics.

Baseball And Bullseye

Cute that little Dex has a bullseye on his baseball cap in his childhood. Funnily enough, comic book villain Bullseye claims to have attempted to become a major league baseball player, but he got bored pitching a no hitter and threw the ball at the final hitter to kill him in a minor league game. Killing his coach when he pulls him from the game is a bit of a twist on that.

S3E06 “The Devil You Know”

Matt Doesn’t Take Karen’s Coffee

Luke Cage’s “coffee” has ruined he drink for everyone. Karen offering Matt a cup when he comes to her for help, and Matt refusing could be a sign that anything romantic between them is officially over. Or it means nothing. Who knows?

Karen Is Way Too Comfortable In A Drug Den

Karen is around drugs a lot this season. A lot. And it all seems to give a nod to her comic book story, but I feel like we’re inching toward more of her family backstory with just how comfortable she is buying drugs and making her way around other addicts.

“Maybe I’ll get lucky and they’ll lock me up next to Fisk.”

This did actually happen in the comics, as I’ve mentioned before. It’s a nice nod.

Felix Manning Getting Dex The Suit

Likewise, I also mentioned Felix being the one to get a copy of a Daredevil suit in the comics. Looks like his appearance was some foreshadowing after all.

Dex As Daredevil

Bullseye has actually dressed up as Daredevil in the comics as well. He’s not the only one. So has Foggy.

Karen Between Bullseye And A Victim

If Karen stepping between Dex and the witness gave you pause, it’s probably because you know how she loses her life in the comics. She gets between Bullseye and Matt in a fight, taking a lethal blow to save Matt’s life. This imagery is not going to be fun for Karen fans.

Side note: I’ve never really been a Karen Page fan because the comics put her firmly in the slot of victim. She never really outgrows that no matter who writes for her. But I love her this season. Maybe it’s because we got to see more of Karen being Karen than of trying to fill someone else’s shoes.

S3E07 “Aftermath”

The Hidden Room

Kingpin officially has a supervillain lair. Less of an Easter egg here and more of it being about time.

WJPBTV, WNEX, WHiH, etc

All of the news networks Fisk sees the Bulletin carnage on exist within the MCU already. WJPB is the news station most often seen in Luke Cage. WNEX is the station that aired Trish Talk. WHiH is the one most often seen in the movies. You get the idea.

Melvin Potter

AKA Gladiator in the comics is something of a gentle giant. He kind of fell into a life of crime, which is largely what Daredevil has done with him in the show as well. The shirt he’s wearing when Matt confronts him is a nod to his comic book costume. So are the saw blades. His girlfriend Betsy was, I believe, a social worker in the comics, not a parole officer. (BTW, the comic that features Matt, Fisk, and Bullseye breaking out of prison during a riot? Melvin’s in prison at the same time as well. Matt advises him to stay in his cell so he doesn’t get hurt.)

S3E08 “Upstairs/Downstairs”

Keys

As Karen nears the front door of her apartment, there’s a piece of paper from a legal pad that says “KEYS.” I love that she’s so focused on her work that she has likely forgotten to take her keys with her enough that it warrants a giant reminder.

Fisk’s Plan

His plan, of putting himself in charge of the criminal groups, is essentially what he wanted in season 2 as well when he gave Frank Castle a means to escape prison.

The Maggia

This is the first time the Italian-American version of the mafia has been mentioned in the present day in the MCU. I say present day because it did have its fingers in Agent Carter season two. In the comics, the Maggia gets the ire of quite a few heroes and antiheroes, but most often, the Punisher.

Sister Maggie

Unless you never read anything related to Daredevil at all, you were probably spoiled at some point that Sister Maggie was really Matt’s mom. People started speculating about the reveal being imminent as soon as there was a “get Maggie” at the end of The Defenders. In the comics, the reveal is a little different as Matt already suspected she was his mother before he found out for sure.

Apartment 131

Dex lives in apartment 131. What comic book did Bullseye make his debut in? Daredevil #131.

S3E09 “Revelations”

Kingpin

Wilson Fisk finally officially gets his codename. I like that we’re back to the season one idea of his lackeys not wanting to name him because someone is always watching/listening.

Karen’s Running

In the comics, Karen basically runs whenever things get hard. I’m kind of surprised she stuck things out this long on the show.

Rosalie Carbone

The woman we see Nadeem take in was last spotted in season two of Luke Cage making a play for Harlem. She’s the one with the Maggia connection. The other names we get are Hammond and Star. The only Hammond I know of in Marvel Comics was the original Human Torch. I’ve got nothing for Star, but the other names could have been picked at random. I don’t recognize the other two people at the table either.

S3E10 “Karen”

Karen Selling Drugs

At least this explains why she’s so comfortable in drug dens. I like that this gives us a nod to her comic book tragedy, but here she’s the seller instead of the addict.

Fagan Corners, Vermont

This is where Karen’s from in the comics as well. The name of the fictional town is an homage to Tom Rutland. Rutland organized an annual Halloween parade in Vermont themed around superheroes. He was actually written into Avengers comics in the 1970s.

Penny’s Place

Named for Karen’s mom in the comics, Penelope.

“... two lines away from doing blow jobs on the street for heroin…”

Maybe this isn’t true on the Netflix show, but yes, this happened in the comics.

Bullseye And Daredevil In The Church

Their in-church fight actually happened in the comics when Matt and Karen were hiding a baby in the church. The big difference here is that when Bullseye aimed a fatal blow at Daredevil with his own billy club, Karen got between them and died from her injury. Father Lantom takes the hit for Karen here.

S3E11 “Reunion”

Custos Diaboli

This is inscribed above the gate to get to the basement where Matt and Karen hide out. From the Latin, in translates to Guardian Devil, one of the comic book arcs the series draws from.

KTTA And ZCN

These are two of the networks I could make out on the mics in front of Fisk when he has a press conference outside of the hotel. KTTA is a television station from the comics that frequently reported on the Thunderbolts. ZCN already exists in the Netflix universe. They offered Trish Walker a job in the second season of Jessica Jones.

Nelson & Murdock: Attorneys At Law

Leave it to Foggy to formally name them as they were named in the comics (and the first season of the show).

Side note: I love the Holocaust survivor standing up to Fisk and refusing to give him her family’s painting. It very much reminds me of the scene in The Avengers when Loki demands everyone kneel, but one man reminds the crowd, “there are always men like you,” and refuses. It’s a great reminder that so many comic book creators, during an era when comics flourished, were Jewish, and their relatives were being persecuted and killed half a world away.

S3E12 “One Last Shot”

Vanessa Embracing The Kingpin

Not a lot of Easter eggs in this episode that I noticed, but I thought it was important to point out that in the normal timeline of the comics, Vanessa isn’t a part of Wilson’s criminal undertakings. In alternate timelines though, she’s the Kingpin herself. Her embracing his work and wanting to be a part of it feels like the writers are trying to find some middle ground there.

Side note: Some fans pointed out on twitter that the Morales vs Parker poster in Fogwell’s Gym is a nod to the Spider-Man characters of Marvel Comics. I find that unlikely only because there are plenty of boxers who have shared those names. It’s more likely a coincidence, especially since most of the names in previous seasons were nod to production team members and writers.

S3E13 “A New Napkin”

The Rose

Interesting that Vanessa specifies Fisk should pick the rose. Why? In the comics, Fisk’s son Richard became a vigilante who used the name the Rose. In fact, he wanted to overthrow his father at one point. His mother was the one who killed him. Will Vanessa become the Rose instead? It would be a nice touch.

The Crystals Bounce Off Fisk’s Suit Jacket

In the comics, Fisk actually wears kevlar under his suits to prevent any of his enemies from surprising him with bullets or knives. In the first season, his body armor that he was wearing were designed by Melvin Potter and he wore them under his suits. It seems he might have gotten an upgrade as everything just bounces off of it instead of tearing it, and he gives his jacket to Vanessa to prevent her being hit by anything.

Karen’s More Stable Than Jessica Jones

There are probably a lot of people more stable than Jessica Jones, Matt, jeez. That doesn’t mean she’s not a great detective.

Dex’s Injury And Cognium

In the comics, Bullseye did some time paralyzed. Of course, like all comic book characters, it didn’t last forever. Something else Dex had in the comics? A spine laced with adamantium. Yep, the same stuff on Wolverine’s bones. It’s what made him so indestructible. The MCU probably can’t use it since it’s reserved for the X-Men movies. At least not until everything about the Disney-FOX deal is official.

Dr. Oyama

This doc goes by another name in the comics. Kenji Oyama is Lord Dark Wind. This is the comic book doctor who found a way to make adamantium bond to bone. Wolverine and Bullseye have him to think for their bone structure.

Dex’s Eye

That final shot of Dex’s eye makes what we’ve all been waiting for clear. Dex is definitely officially Bullseye now.

Side note: The milk crates in the freezer with the bodies that have ice all over them? Must have been there for years. I’ve got milk crates used to store product in my freezer at work, and they never build up frost. And our freezer is kept far below zero. Also? I love how much Rosalie Carbone appreciates theatrics. And how Vanessa just wanders around in the background after Fisk repeatedly tells her to leave while there’s a huge fight going on. That’s all.

#daredevil #daredevil season 3 #daredevil spoilers #easter eggs #marvel comics

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