#the other one gets pitied at best and villainized at worst

[olympeline]

Been thinking about why I found Arthur in the Dark so impressive and it made me realise something kinda significant. Something significant that I’m going to put under a read more because it revolves around a heavy subject. So I wouldn’t advise looking beyond the cut if you’re sensitive to that kind of thing.

Less important, but everything below is a big spoiler and, guys seriously. If you like USUK and can handle darker fiction - no pun intended - give AitD a try. Don’t spoil yourself here. Go try it first and then come back if you’re interested. Try it if you’re neutral on USUK. Or, heck, even if USUK is a ship you dislike but isn’t an outright NOTP. I’d still recommend checking out this comic. Arthur in the Dark is still worth a read in my opinion. It’s that good. But enough gushing. Read on for the meat of this post.

Ready? Here we go: Arthur in the Dark has one of the best depictions of rape I’ve ever seen in a piece of media. “Best” as in most skillfully crafted for narrative purposes. Honestly and truly. Not even kidding. Which is kind of amazing considering it’s a depiction that came from a fan comic based on a jokey, anime gag series. Why do I feel this way? A couple of reasons:

Firstly, the rape in AitD is frighteningly, tragically realistic. Something the majority of fictional rapes are not. We tend to think of rape as taking place in a dark alley in the inner city. Stereotyping up a scene of a bottom feeder, criminal man dragging a (young, attractive) woman away to violate her. They’re usually total strangers and it’s always violent. These kind of rapes do happen, but statistics tell us they’re the minority. The majority of rapes happen like the one in AitD did: between two people who know each other well. Friends, romantic couples, even family members, make up the bulk of rapists and their victims.

Most narratives prefer the less common type of rape. Usually because the creator doesn’t want to tell a story about rape. Not really. What they want is a gut-punch to add easy drama and darkness to their creation. The sliding scale of “irredeemable bad guy” roughly goes: murderer → cold blooded torturer → rapist → child rapist. Making a villain a rapist is one of the worst things he - because 99% of the time it’s a he - can be. Conversely having a character be raped gains them instant sympathy because people are moral and empathetic creatures at heart. Most creators know this and throw in a rape for the shorthand: “Look how evil our villain is!” Which often makes the rape and its aftermath feel artificial. In no small part because the rapist characters, by virtue of being written to be the worst of the worst, don’t come off as very human. They can’t be when their main purpose is to be loathed by the audience. I could go on because there’s tons more to unpack about rape in fiction, but you get the point.

The rape in AitD isn’t like that. America and England know and love each other. Their relationship is complicated (oh boy, is it ever!) but that part of it is never in doubt. They’re each other’s most treasured person and have been for centuries. They’re not a duo made up of a flat, hate bait, villain on a collision course with their victim. Who’s doomed to suffer and be pitied until the creator decides the audience has had enough of their trauma and shuts it away so the story can move on. America and England are two people living together, going through a period of immense change and stress, trying to manage as best they can, and sometimes getting it very wrong. From a narrative point of view, this makes what happens between them so much better and so much more upsetting at the same time.

Which brings me nicely to reason number two of why this particular rape works: the build up. Like everything else in AitD, America raping England is carefully planned out and set up. The chocolate bar scene, man. Brilliant, I have to say. Alarming, uncomfortable, and brilliant. The scene in the garden is not just sprung on the reader for a jarring “Oh no! Oh shit-!” moment. If your typical under written rape is a cheap jump scare, the rape in AitD is a carefully crafted slowburn dread. Early on we start to become aware we’re building to something bad. From the foreshadowing, the art, the atmosphere, etc. We just know a storm is coming. It’s done without America acting OOC too, which is very important. It’s how he can come back from what he did. Something that would be impossible if the author didn’t handle this setup well. America’s actions aren’t right, but they are understandable. That’s the crucial distinction. The psychology of the whole thing is so very well done. America was in love with England and had been for a long time. The guilt he felt tormented him because of what their relationship was in the past. Caught between his human side and his immortal one. The guilt helped keep America in check because he didn’t want England seeing the lustful way he’d begun to look at him. Then they started living together and England was suddenly vulnerable. Vulnerable in more ways than America was aware. Which is another vital detail of how the creator keeps America sympathetic, but more on that in a moment. England willingly went blind so he wouldn’t have to see when America - the man grown from the child he raised - looked at him with lust. The guilt America felt peaked, only to clash with the realisation that he could freely indulge in his fantasies. Indulge and push (again, chocolate bar scene) now the usual moral restraint - England seeing his desire - was removed.

Meanwhile, England himself felt that same guilt but his was also laced with panic and despair. He didn’t want to lose or strain his relationship with the most important person of his centuries long life. Pulled between human standards of morality and the very inhuman existence of nation-people. Incidentally the clash between their existence as humans, while also being something more than human, is brilliantly done in AitD. It’s something that’s hard to get right - especially involving such taboo topics - but Hotama nails it. USUK usually handwaves the implications around England raising America, but here it’s made part of the narrative. Part of the tragedy, part of the resolution. Good stuff. Anyway, England begged Arthur to take his sight away so he wouldn’t have to see the way America looked at him. Then banished Arthur back into the dark in an attempt to run away from his problems. But without Arthur - without his strength - England couldn’t stand up to America when he needed to. Not that America was aware of any of this because he never knew about Arthur. Which brings me to point three: nuance of blame.

“Blame” is a very loaded word in this context, so I’ll do my best to talk about this carefully. Rape in the media is almost always black and white. Absolutely evil, irredeemable rapist. Absolutely blameless, sympathetic victim. But real life isn’t always that simple. Obviously the rapist is always the perpetrator and the one most in the wrong. I need to make that very clear. But the scene in AitD illustrates that sometimes a victim could have done more to help themselves. Not always, but sometimes. This is a delicate subject so I hope you understand I’m not trying to victim blame. Just saying that rape, like all crimes, doesn’t always deal in absolutes. Unlike media, real life is often complicated and tragic. Good people can give in to temptation. Be weak, do bad things, or allow those bad things to happen. England told America to stop, but failed to follow it up when needed. When America pushed for more and used England’s own words to argue he’d already been given consent, that was when England needed to push back. Interpretation comes in here but, personally, I think if England had told America to stop when prompted, America would have. But England didn’t and he gave in instead. Something America took as a tacit “yes.” Again, not right, but understandable in how it could happen. Their power imbalance had grown extreme, stress and feelings were running high, they were struggling to connect as they used to, England’s prior cowardice and separation from Arthur prevented him from being strong when he needed to be, America was ignorant of his problem, and it all came together in a horrible, tragic mistake. All throughout, the rape continued to be brilliantly, awfully realistic. America not noticing - either genuinely or from denial - that England was not enjoying what was happening. England quickly becoming too distracted by the pain to do anything other than focus on enduring it. Then the aftermath where America didn’t realise what he’d just done due to coming down from a post-sex, post-stress euphoria. Awful, miserable, horrifying, tragic, perfectly crafted scene.

Which brings me to my final reason why this comic impressed me in its depiction of rape: where the story goes from there. Where it goes and how the narrative builds from the rape instead of trying to move on because the “shocking” part is over and now we’re in diminishing returns. Going back to my first point, too many stories see rape as something that happens in an isolated part of the narrative. It happened, it was shocking and brutal, now it’s done and we can move on because we didn’t plan to interweve the rape with the rest of the story. So we won’t give it the weight it needs. At best the victim might get a few scenes expressing their trauma later on - maybe a callback or two - but that’s it. It’s shallow. Plenty of fictional rapes could be replaced with a savage beating and nothing would change. In the worst cases you could remove the rape, not replace it with anything, then run the story with minimal problems. Not so in AitD. There, the rape isn’t just another semi-important plot point. It’s a crucial one which couldn’t be replaced with anything else. The whole first part of the story, the engine of the narrative, is built around America and England failing to deal with their changing relationship. A relationship between a pair of humans who also happen to be strange, immortal beings that ordinary humans can’t understand. Changing from platonic/familial to romantic over hundreds of years. With romance comes lust. Lust can be perfectly healthy just like any other bodily appetite. In this case it became twisted by circumstance, and the only “suitable” narrative payoff was rape. Nothing else would have had the necessary impact.

Then there’s how the rape compares to the final sex scene in some classic narrative juxtaposition. The final sex scene which happens to be the only one in the comic that’s fully consensual on both sides. The one that goes beyond sex and becomes real, honest to goodness lovemaking. It’s a perfect contrast. The rape scene had all the trappings of a classic romance. Right down to it being their first time and taking place in a rose garden. But it’s tragic, horrifying, and deeply unsexy. Then, near the end of their story, America and Arthur get lost on their road trip and have sex in their car. Their crappy, cramped car, where they’re surrounded by ordinary luggage, both of them sweaty and a little cranky with each other after a long day. It’s awkward, ordinary, imperfect and gorgeous. If we didn’t have the rape before to show us the nadir of this relationship, the healing and the dawn that came after wouldn’t be half so meaningful. A very strange thing to say without context, but it was a perfectly done rape that gave the audience the payoff of perfectly done lovemaking. It’s no small feat to get a reader to cheer for a romantic resolution after all of the above. Kind of in awe of Hotama’s skills, I tell you what.

Up to this point and I don’t know what else there is to say other than, geez. This comic, man. Blew me away. I’m so happy I rediscovered my interest in Hetalia if for no other reason than I got to read Arthur in the Dark. I’m a bit of a bookworm in my spare time and I’ve read quite a lot of classic literature over the years. Classic literature with rape scenes not crafted half so well as AitD did. Really think about that. An amateur fan comic based on a jokey gag series about national personifications being silly with each other. Did better at something than the books we hold up as the best of the best. Can’t really say anything else than that is genuinely bloody amazing

[thelordofshrimp]

i love the autism creature as much as the next guy but i do wonder how many people's internal biases re: neurodivergence would be revealed if they were asked to make an OCD or bipolar creature

[scaredycatwrites]

Quiet Comfort

Pairing: Morgie le fay x gn reader

Prompt: you were a victim of one of Uliana's outbursts and Morgie finds you in a quiet part of the courtyard and tries his best to comfort you. 

Warnings: accidental hitting, crying 

a/n: I love Uliana's character honestly so much but i just felt this was a cute idea, this is the first time i’ve posted a one shot so apologies if its badly written.

Word count: 1,851 words

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Being a VK was fun most of the time, you and your friends would have fun pulling pranks, terrorising the other kids and causing mischief in general but of course it came with its issues. Uliana was a great friend, but she was prone to outbursts of frustration and anger, especially if someone bested her at something, and today happened to be one of those days where someone decided to test Uliana's patience when she was talking down to them. Now usually you and the rest of the VK's could calm her down after a while making her feel better by reminding her that she can get them back next time but she was not in the mood for that today.

“Uli, don't let it get to you, we can get them ten times worse next time.” You spoke attempting to comfort the sea witch. But she wasn't in the mood letting a growl leave her. “Not now Y/n I don't wanna hear your attempts at helping!” Morgie and the others watched as you attempted to calm her down knowing it was probably not the best idea. You looked at her before trying once more. “But Uli, it's not the end of the world, we can get that spoiled princess back I know we can!” The others knew the look Uliana wore well, she was frustrated and at her breaking point. Uliana then snapped. “Oh my god Y/n do you ever know when to stop talking!? Just shut up! I don't need to hear your pathetic attempt at comfort! I don't want your pity!” The sea witch exclaimed her tentacles flinging out in frustration to hit at anything she could around her, unintentionally smacking you as she did so. 

Most of the group backed up to let Uliana take her frustrations out on the surrounding area however Morgie was focused on the way you stood still for a moment as you put a hand on your face where the skin was turning a purplish red on the surrounding area of where Uliana's tentacle had caught your cheek. He could see the way your eyes threatened to spill tears and in a matter of seconds you seemed to excuse yourself mumbling an apology before doing a speed walk turned jog away from your friends. 

You made your way to one of the quieter courtyard areas of Merlin Academy and sat on one of the corner benches, soft sniffles turned to silent sobs, occasional hiccups leaving you while you let out your emotions. The truth was you'd been dealing with some other stuff and this was the last straw to set off your tears you'd been holding in for a few days. It was definitely needed but inconvenient that it happened during school hours, you'd be mortified if anyone saw you crying like this, it made you feel weak and vulnerable, something you were taught by your parents that villains should never be.

Your worst nightmare began as you heard the softest little. “Hey..” come from the entrance to the courtyard, you knew those steps and that voice anywhere. Morgie. You turned your head away trying to stop the little sobs and hiccups from leaving you, taking a shaky breath you stuttered out a broken. “G-go away M-morgie.. ‘m fine..” Morgie slowly made his way closer to the bench you had sat on and sat on the other side keeping distance between you for a moment. “You don't have to be fine, it wasn't exactly a nice situation to be in, I saw how she caught your face, that must've hurt, trust me I know she's caught me a bunch before.” He half joked trying to lighten your solemn mood. You appreciated the boy's words but still felt uncomfortable appearing so vulnerable. “Morgs I'm fine.. I'll put some ice on it or whatever.” You mumbled trying to hide the shaky tone but unfortunately for you Morgie could hear the shakiness. 

Morgie then shuffled a little closer to you on the bench placing a hand on your arm hesitantly which made you jump but you didn't move his hand away. “Y/n, you don't have to hide your emotions from me, I'm not gonna make fun of you, we're friends, I'm here for you.” You felt your heart ache slightly, it was difficult for you to be openly emotional due to your villainous upbringing and Morgie knew that pretty well having grown up in similar conditions yet he seemed so soft and gentle and kind with you all the time. “Morgie, why'd you come looking for me.. You know I would've been fine on my own.” You finally glanced at the boy next to you, your face tear stained and puffy from your crying, yet that didn’t seem to phase him all too much. Morgie slowly reached a hand up, using his thumb to wipe away any tears left, the gentle motion caused your cheeks to flush a faint shade of pink although it partially blended with the red tone of your skin from the crying which you were thankful for. “I know you say you would be ok on your own but i wanted to come and check in anyway, you mean a lot to me and i want you to be ok..” Morgie attempted to hide the faint blush on his cheeks as he confessed this to you.

Morgie let out a small hum, taking a breath as he spoke in a much softer tone than his usual excitable one. “You know, i thought you were very brave to try and help Uliana, you’re always positive about things which are hard to find in a villain, you’re kind Y/n, it’s hard to find that, even in those royal snobs.” His words made the corners of your mouth turn upwards ever so slightly producing a small smile. “Morgie.. You’re so sweet, I don’t understand why you are though, Uliana’s probably gonna kick me to the curb for trying too hard to be positive.” This caused Morgie to frown. “Not on my watch, besides you did nothing to warrant being kicked out of the group. Uliana is just having one of those days, it’s not your fault at all. I’m sure if we talk to her later she’ll probably be fine with you,she just needs to cool off.” You gently nodded and took a breath realising how silly you probably sounded worrying about being kicked out of your friend group. 

You hadn’t even realised that Morgies hand was still resting on your cheek until you felt yourself leaning into the touch. He seemed to continue the gentle rubbing motion with his thumb, no longer wiping away tears but just comforting you with the gentle touch. You let out a comforted hum as he stroked your cheek, the touch was so soothing, it felt intimate in a way but you didn’t want to assume anything about the way Morgie was being. The moment of gentle touch and quiet lasted for what felt like an eternity before Morgie spoke up. “Hey Y/n, i care about you, so much.” You let out a small laugh. “Is that so? I didn’t think that villains were supposed to care about anything.” Morgie smiled a little as he rolled his eyes. “Well if that's the case then maybe i’m not a total villain because i seriously care about you Y/n, like a lot.” You looked at Morgie not expecting him to be genuine but there was nothing but genuine adoration in his eyes. “Oh.. oh Morgie that’s so sweet of you.. I care about you too.. And I seriously appreciate how kind you’ve been to me.” 

Morgie gave a gentle nod as he felt his cheeks flush at your minor confession. “Well I'm glad we’re on the same page about caring for one another.” he half joked, causing you to snicker and nod. “Me too Morgs me too.. I should probably get to my dorm before I get seen by a bunch of snobby princesses, doubt we’d live down me being caught crying with my face in your hands.” This caused Morgie to laugh a little as he hesitated before letting go of your face and standing up. You also moved to stand up, missing the feeling of Morgie’s gentle touch on your cheeks. Morgie then gestured to you to begin walking which earnt an eyebrow raise from you. “Morgie le fay, are you offering to walk me to my dorm?” you teased playfully causing his face to flush pink and he begged you didn’t see, but you of course did. “Well.. um.. Yeah I just thought it would be the polite thing to do.” you let a giggle slip out as he explained himself. “And since when did you care about being polite?” Morgie then shrugged and smiled, beginning to walk off. “Hey if you don’t want me to, I can just let you go alone.” You shook your head quickly before doing a small jog to catch up to him. “I never said I didn't want you to.” This caused him to chuckle as you walked side by side in a comfortable silence for a few minutes towards the girls' dorms. “Thank you by the way.. For uh.. Coming to check on me, you didn’t have to do that.” you spoke up as you approached your room, unlocking your door, standing in the doorway for a moment. Morgie gave a small smile as he spoke in that soft tone once again. “Anytime Y/n, seriously if you ever need anything don’t hesitate to ask me.” you nodded gently leaning your head on the doorframe giving Morgie a lopsided smile. “The same goes for you Morgs, you can always come to me if you need anything, but if you tell the others about me crying don’t forget i know where your dorm is.” You half joked. Morgie shook his head. “I would never, I swear, VK’s honour.” He gave a silly salute making himself laugh and you giggle. “I’ll see you tomorrow Morgie, get to your dorm safe.” Morgie then took your hand in his for a moment pressing a gentle kiss to your knuckles causing your face to flush a bright pink. He bowed teasingly, chuckling. “I bid you goodnight dearest Y/n, sleep well and no more tears tonight or I shall have to return and you will soon tire of me doing this voice.” You laughed quietly at Morgies silly attempt at a princely voice shaking your head and rolling your eyes. “Yes I will, your unroyal evilness.” you teased making him laugh in response before moving backwards into your room giving a gentle wave. “Goodnight Morgie, you dork, you should go before curfew.” “Ah of course, goodnight y/n, don’t miss me too much!” he chimed before you watched him head off closing the door giggling to yourself and shaking your head, a warm fuzzy feeling in your chest as you thought about everything that happened and found yourself anticipating what might happen when you see Morgie again tomorrow. 

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An: I hope you enjoy this, honestly I just wanted to write some Morgie stuff because the world could use more Morgie. This is my first time posting my writing so I'm a bit anxious about it.

[lizzaneia-elizalde]

Yandere! Butler x Noble! "Villain/Villainess"! Gn! Reader

Ah. I just reread Beware the Villainess for the nth time so expect our yandere for the day to be heavily inspired by Nine!

Yandere Butler name: Zero (get it? Cuz Nine's name is a number so I made our yandere's name Zero--)

notes (not really TW): slight nsfw, yandere is being used by reader, also, a bit of manipulation and breeding by the yandere (Since there is breeding, womb is present in reader.)

Zero had no qualms on making other people his priority.

He was made with that in mind, after all. Being a chimera, he was made by his creator to serve them and nothing more.

But, once Zero grew up to have a mind of his own, and having his own opinions, he was effectively kicked out of the lab. He begged and begged for his creator to take him back but to no avail.

"You were made to serve me unconditionally! But you dare question my experiments and the way I created you?! I'm your god! But you defied me, so scram!"

With a heavy heart and a lovely face filled with tears, he ran away.

He roamed the streets and promptly passed out on an alley.

Despite being a chimera, he was still built with human bodily functions. So the hunger, stress, thirst, and tiredness caught up to him.

When passerby's saw him, they turned a blind eye on him. Spitting on his body, rolling their eyes, ignoring them, or the worst of them all, pity him yet did absolutely nothing to help.

Maybe, this was his fate after all.

The punishment for going astray from his original role.

Until one day, a hand appeared in front of his face, offering him a safe place to stay.

It was you.

You were his savior, his grace, his god.

And he will do anything for you.

Anything.

Sobs can be heard from your room. It was so faint that only the keenest of ears can hear them if they strain it far enough.

You just got fooled by your fiancé, the prince, again. He called you to the palace to meet him, and you, being in love with him still, rushed to the palace with the best outfit you can wear.

But once you entered the sitting room, you saw him once more, making sweet, sweet love to a woman who wasn't you.

Ah, how many times did he do this again? Two? Three? Seven? Who counts anymore.

You were the foolish person who refused to let go of the prince and continued to torment his lover, deeming you the villain/ess in people's eyes for being opposed to "true love."

Is it really true love if it stemmed from adultery?

You always question yourself that. And it seems that even your own family is getting tired of your quick dropping reputation that's plummeting even faster than a meteorite.

You hate him. You hate him so much for making you love him. Your heart squeezes in pain as your short bursts of gasps of frustration filled your lethargic body as you continued to cry out to ease the dull ache in your soul.

You want revenge. You want him to eat shit. But how?

Zero knocked on the door. His hearing, being more advanced than a regular human, heard your sobs. He wanted to comfort you so bad, he wants to hug and kiss you, to make you forget the prince, to make you fall for him. He will not hurt you, so please give him a chance!

But Zero shook his head. "Presumptuous." He thought.

You opened your door, and Zero's heart squeezed also when he saw your tear stained face. He can see it in your eyes that you wanted revenge. You wanted to get back at the prince.

He gulped, nervousness eating him.

This is it. He can be of help to you.

He stepped forward, one, two. Then bent down to kiss your tears away. With a whisper on your ear that left shivers down your spine, his lovely and sultry voice suggested.

"Use me at your disposal, master. I am your one and only loyal servant, and I am willing to be your tool for your revenge."

His face lit up with love and lust as he saw your eyes sparking in curiousity.

"Yes, just use me." He grabbed your hand and pressed it to his warm, red cheeks. "You're my god, after all. I live to serve you."

"gah... huff... Ah..."

"Master... Hng... There, right... agh, there..."

Soft moans and gasps can be heard from the sitting room as two individuals engaged in what old conservative nobles would say, a sinful act.

"Rougher, master... Don't... Ah~ worry about... Me!"

Zero's voice can be heard, pleading his master, you, to take him more rougher and faster. You being on top of him, pressing down on his tall, lean, and muscular body that sweated with heat and speckled with bodily fluids, he looks so blissful and so euphoric.

You and Zero have been making rounds on the local gossip and tabloids. The noble y/n who's engaged to the prince has found a man? And it's their butler?!

Scandalous!

Outrageous!

But also, exciting!

Everyone loved the gossip. Everyone loved the drama. The prince had a lover, so why can't you?

People looked on the situation with keen and sharp eyes. They want more of this. Some suspected that this is all a ruse by you, the villain/ess of the prince's and his lover's relationship. They think you're faking your relationship with Zero!

But how can it be faked when you declined the prince's invitation to be his partner on the royal ball, and instead went with your hot butler? Some also saw both of you make out in the gardens!

How... SInful!

Yet people can't turn away!

And one of the people that can't turn away is the prince. He wants answers, now!

So he's running to your mansion and will demand answers.

But, what if he's the one to catch his own fiance/e making sweet, sweet love to their lover?

And what if, that lover, somehow manipulated the fiance/e into letting him breed a child in them?

Zero shakily touched your abdomen. It already has a slight bump on it as you continued to bounce on top of him. He grinned. His eyes dark, hazy, and full of obsession as he groaned from the pleasure. Your sounds of euphoric release also urged him to climax also inside of you once more.

"Yes, master." Zero said with a trembling voice, just coming down from his high. "I think, having this child between us will effectively make the prince finally end the engagement between you two."

Sweet, dumb you, only nodded with a shiver as you laid on top of him. You were totally convinced that this was the right choice and plan.

At first, you were apprehensive. After all, pregnancy? Isn't that too much? Also, he's a chimera. That's impossible.

But once you saw him experimenting on himself and applying alchemic practices on his own body to make the plan possible, you knew he would do anything to help you and serve you. So you agreed.

You got swayed that easily.

He smiled sweetly. His lovely and innocent face calmed you down as he kissed your forehead. Faint shouts can be heard from outside the sitting room and both of you readied to face the prince one last time.

Zero smirked under his breath.

After all, you were his god, his lover.

He will do anything to serve you.

He will do anything to have you.

[heartaces]

𝐁𝐀𝐋𝐃𝐔𝐑'𝐒 𝐆𝐀𝐓𝐄 𝟑 𝐒𝐄𝐍𝐓𝐄𝐍𝐂𝐄 𝐒𝐓𝐀𝐑𝐓𝐄𝐑𝐒 ASTARION EDITION ⟶ part one

“there is a time and place for violence. i mean - this place is perfect. but is it the time?”

“heaven forbid. we’re all entitled to our secrets.”

“sitting by the fire while you do all the hard work sounds marvelous, actually.”

“couldn’t you wait ten minutes before being an absolute freak?”

“you’re welcome to try and kill me, of course. but i don’t die easily these days.”

“ugh, don’t be so nice to me. it makes me want to be nice back.”

“a horrible death is always just around the corner with you.”

“stabbing someone a dozen times can be many things. but ‘the right thing to do’? hm, i doubt it.”

“immortality is only as good as the life you’re living. an eternity of luxury sounds a lot better than an eternity of struggle.”

“what are you doing? this isn’t safe. you can’t trust him.”

“look, i’m a not a details person, all right. but turning up and causing chaos has worked for us so far.”

“they were clearly artists. you can tell because it’s a mess in here.”

“you know, there is a point where bravery becomes stupidity. and walking into that thing would be very, very stupid.”

“i’ve had enough of bad poets singing of my looks - urgh.”

“is the plant bothering you?”

“until then, try not to die.”

“oh yes, i’m fine. i just feel… awful.”

“shut that oversized chicken up.”

“you know, the only way to cure temptation… is to give in to it.”

“next time, just warn me before you do something stupid.”

“there certainly is a strong ambience down here. i don’t know if it’s the bats or the decaying - everything. it’s quite homey.”

“it’s nice to see heroes are as awful as the rest of us.”

“unusually polite for a god.”

“of all the places you dragged me, this might just be the most foul. and that is saying something, given some of the things you exposed me to.”

“i mean, i hate to judge the proverbial book, but that oath may be all cover and no pages.”

“a shapeshifter? it could be anyone. i mean - it’s not me. but it could be anyone else.”

“sometimes we need to think with our heads before our knifes, dear.”

“you could watch for anyone acting strangely, but - well, you know the lunatics we camp with.”

“thank you. for being that evil bastard.”

“can you feel that? the dark, it’s - hungry. best watch the shadows.”

“this place brings back the worst memories.”

“well, that’s disturbing. still, better than having an actual conversation with him though.”

“oh no. not again.”

“honestly, just once, could we end up somewhere normal?”

“i prefer to travel in smaller groups. it’s more… intimate.”

“nice as it is, she still doesn’t have the best hair in the camp.”

“thank goodness. i was worried i’d have to get involved. now, let’s keep our hands to ourselves.”

“i much prefer it when i’m the one prowling in the shadows - about to strike.”

“ah, nothing says ‘true love’ like faking your own death to avoid someone.”

“you’re not going to eviscerate him? i was hoping for a show.”

“it’s just a waste of a perfectly good cult we could be controlling.”

“can you - ugh, can you shut up and let me read?”

“i hate to be negative. but they’ll carve you up like a goose.”

“my, she sounds positively demented. i love it. let’s tell her everything.”

“you villain. i didn’t know you had it in you.”

“a well-presented face can open a lot of doors.”

“hardly a promising introduction.”

“do you mind? i’m brooding.”

“i’d rather be the only dark power inside your body, if it’s all the same to you.”

“easy now, let’s not do anything hilarious.” 

“i’m with you, my dear. wherever this leads.” 

“i appreciate anyone who opens a conversation with bodily harm.” 

“nothing like a little camp drama to spice up the evening.” 

“it’s almost a pity things ended up amicably.”

“what do you see when you look at me?”

“i would’ve liked more for my trouble than a pat on the head and vinegar for wine.”

“do you have any other chaos you need to unleash here?”

“all i want is a little fun. is that so much to ask?” 

“don’t be so sour. i like a good time as much as anyone.” 

“this seems like a lovely little spot. the sense of impending doom aside.”

[brucewaynehater101]

"If it's closer to fanon Tim, he would feel guilty for Jason. Closer to canon Tim would either be indifferent to Jason's troubles or he'd feel glad (maybe even a little spiteful) that Jason is facing the consequences of his actions. He would, however, feel guilty for how the revelation affects the street kids."

I have to say I disagree with this. Firstly; with the whole post you're framing this as though Jason beat up a child... which like, true, but also Jason is hardly two years older than Tim. I know comics make him seem aged up, but its simply not the case. (dont @ me if u know this cuz u probably do know this already)

Secondly, Canon Tim.... doesn't hate Jason?? Like, really not at all. If there is any dislike, I'd see it as when Jason is acting particularly villainous, he treats him like any other rogue. Though they don't necessarily interact a lot when Jason is in his villain moments. It's other bats who take care of that, so there's really no beef there.

When Jason isn't having an evil moment, honestly a good word for what Tim feels for him is either pity at worst, admiration at best. With the admiration, I'm not talking about Tim liking him as Robin 'cause that's honestly pretty fanon, I'm talking about how Tim admires his tenacity and determination to keep going even when he feels like everyone is against him. And Tim wants to support him! He sees Jason struggling a lot and wishes Jason would accept help- hence the pity.

I sincerely doubt that Tim would ever feel glad or spiteful towards Jason. He's gotten him back for the whole 'beating the shit out of him' thing. Which really, wasn't really about Tim? Plus its far in the past at this point.

Not to mention Tim is one hell of a badass, he doesn't wallow in self-pity, and I don't think he'd want to interfere with RH's stuff and would probably stop the information leak himself, or even deny the rumors with something like "Oh that? It was just a disagreement/misunderstanding lol the rumors got out of hand,"

Sorry if this was too much, I like ur blog and the things u say, this one just felt really misinformed.

Thank you for letting me know. Reading the post back, I can see how I worded it wrong. I appreciate you giving me the chance to correct that and clarify.

Yes, Jason and Tim are close in age. However, Jason's age (as far as I'm aware) isn't known to civilians. Because of his helmet and bulkiness, a kid would view Jason as an Adult. If they knew his age and then the fight with Robin, that would probably be an acceptable level of violence for them. That's just two kids beating each other up, then. From their perspective, though, Robin is a Kid and Jason is an Adult. A possible solution to gain back their trust could be to disclose how old they were at the time (they might not even need to disclose any details or reasoning with that).

Later in canon, Jason and Tim start getting along. If the reveal happened at that point, Tim would not feel gleeful and spiteful. He'd feel bad for Jason. That is entirely my bad for not making that distinction.

Tim is, undeniably, an asshole at times. He wants to do good, tries to help people, and overall is kind. He's badass and I love him, but he can be an asshole (particularly to Steph). He, especially his inner dialog, sometimes makes asshole comments. This includes Jason. To add on, when Jason was beating him up and demanding Tim to answer if he thought he was good (skill wise), Tim answered yes twice. To me, this seems like a petty/spiteful response. That or Tim is just being honest af about his feelings, not giving a shit he's taking a beating.

However, Tim would not hold this grudge against Jason. One of his better qualities is to not hold grudges against most people (even those that he arguably should). It's why some villains/rogues/enemies become his allies or end up becoming fond of him.

Tim may feel glad that Jason is experiencing the consequences of his actions, but not for himself. This would be during his time as Robin exclusively. Red Robin would not feel this way.

Spiteful, though, was the wrong word to use. Tim, as the loveable asshole that he can sometimes be, might be sort of happy that Jason, in his villain era, is being shown the effects of his actions and possible wrongs in his ways. Happy also seems to not match, but the emotions wheel isn't really giving me an alternative.

Tim would, despite his feelings, hate the effect of this on everyone. The street kids, Jason, and the batfam would be negatively impacted by this, and Tim would try everything he could to stop or mitigate the outcomes. He would never release this information willingly nor stand aside to let it happen. Robin may internally say some shit about Jason and the situation if it blew up in their faces, but you're right that he wouldn't purposefully make shit worse. He would actively work to fix the entire mess.

I really am thankful that you helped me articulate this.

It's 100% my bad that I dropped the ball so hard. If y'all see me fuck up like that again, feel free to let me know. As long as you're not mean about it, I appreciate constructive criticism.

Imma edit the previous post this is about and link it to this one so that I fix the mischaracterization

[eerna]

okay wait actually now that we're on the book-series-strengths-and-shortcomings-train what do you love most about tlt and tlc? (multiple answers bonus)

HOHO A COMBO

TLC: 1) Friendship not being secondary to romance!! The series' main theme is love. In the grand finale the big bad taunts the MC about love... but she doesn't use her boyfriend, no, she uses her best friend. This is made even more powerful because by all means, the best friend was meant to be the secondary love interest by all rules of 2012 YA, but NO he is JUST A FRIEND and it is not treated as "something less". 2) Team building!!!! Oh my god!!!! Building onto point 1, but it needs its own point. Rarely does a fictional team of main characters feel as natural as the Rampion Crew. This is even more impressive because the 9 of them don't appear in the same room until the end of the series. Even though the team consists of 4 couples and 1 single, everyone has a dynamic with everyone, they have arcs that aren't tied exclusively to their partner but also someone else on the team, they interact with each other freely. 3) The wide range of characters! I am a sucker for a "team of girls totally different from each other saves the world" setup, and TLC does it perfectly. I think this is one of the best YA series out there because of how much it empowers different kinds of girls. The guys are also easy to tell apart even at first read, and I sooo appreciate that at least one of them isn't conventionally attractive (anymore). 4) It's so funny. I love these books and how funny they are. They hit the perfect balance between a fun teen adventure and a heartfelt emotional story. 5) This is one of the least "Here's what REALLY happened" series I've read. A bunch of times major things influence characters' thoughts and opinions, but those things are fake and never revealed as fake, OR the characters never learn some big things that could change their opinions at all. Seeing how impacted Winter was when she realized Levana truly loved her father, when I KNOW what really happened, always shakes me to my core - and Winter never learns the truth!!! Everyone who could explain what really happened is dead!! Winter will forever go on thinking at least her father had a marriage of love!!! And why should she learn the truth, really, it would only serve as yet another sad plot twist that traumatizes her even deeper. 6) Levana. I am not usually a villain girlie, but Levana absolutely slaps. She is simultaneously disgusting, horrible, and pitiful. Usually if I like the villain it's because he has something smart to say, but Levana doesn't, I can't relate to her or see things from her perspective... But the leads can! Levana seems to carry all the trauma and complexes of our leads, but she crumbled under them, showing Cinder what she might have become if not for her loved ones.

TLT: 1) Isn't afraid of people not getting it!! Do you understand how refreshing this is to see in a mainstream popular series??? The book doesn't act like you are an idiot, it acts like you are some sort of a genius, and you feel illiterate until you realize NO ONE got it the first time around and you're gonna have to do lots of rereading and thinking to get it. This makes it impossible to get into for some people, but so what. So what!!! What matters is that it rewards those who stay and put in the work!! 2) Absolutely bonkers insane relationships. No one can be "just a friend" in these, we need 1000 different layers of trauma and tenderness surrounding everyone. 3) Pathetic women. These books are the epitome of all the worst parts of yourself laid bare. These characters act out the most shameful, horrible memories and impulses of your heart, all the while spouting poetics about the entire situation. And it is pure catharsis!! It is so rare to see female characters depicted this pathetic without it being torture porn. 4) Writing style. It's the perfect example of how realism doesn't matter if you're good with your words. No one in these books talks like a real life person, but they are all distinct from each other and filled with personality. Every book has several lines that have the power to reduce me a to a sobbing mess just from hearing them. Just. The writing style is so good that I even enjoy reading INTERVIEWS with the author, she has a way of speaking that keeps you engaged and makes her sound so smart. 5) Each book is its own thing, keeping you on your toes, but they all still feel cohesive. It also means that even if the final book sucks, I won't have any hangups about it, since I will just be able to reread the first 3. Honestly even if AtN never comes out, I won't feel like I wasted any time, because the books are so fantastic and so worth reading that the end of the journey doesn't even matter to me that much - and if you've been here a while, you'll know what a radical statement that is for me. It is so nice to relax and enjoy the ride instead of stressing over my thoughts and opinions aging badly.

[yukii0nna]

Rant plus "JLM"

We could have had a cautionary tale warning about not letting go. But instead we got that nightmare!!!

Imagine a man who becomes a monster only to realize it but by then it's too late. At first he was fine. Not the best dad but okay. But then he becomes worse over time. It's to the point that he would put in the same position he was in without remorse

.He needs to be put down but you can't help but pity him. He wouldn't be redeemed but he will be mourned in a way. So I think we lost out on a good character. Thanks a lot writers!!

Which leads me to "JLM" Gabriel.

I'm trying to make him seem.... Well not exactly sympathetic but more human.

He starts season 1 as an okay dad. Not a good dad by any means but he was trying a bit. Also as Hawkmoth,he still had standards;not working with criminals, no people with mental health problems,no r@pists,no one truly evil. All in all,he wasn't the worst. He still could be kinda redeemed here . In the other seasons,not so much.

In season 2,he slips. He becomes more desperate. He becomes worse as a father. More distant,more controlling,the only reason Adrian is still in school is because of Chole and him giving back the book (I'll explain Lila one of these days.). As Hawkmoth,he loses some of his standards. He justifies as "this is for Emilie". Plus in his mind, he is still not a monster. Just a father. Then he goes off the rails and things get worse

Season 3,the man is gone. Nothing is too low for him anymore. In his mind he is the hero,not realizing that he was the villain. He doesn't care who gets hurt as long as he gets what he wants in the end. He is no longer a man but a monster who will do anything to get Emilie back. In the end, he loses his soul.

Funny really,his son could turn into a literal monster (I'll explain later) and still has his humanity,he was still a human but transforms into a metaphorical one

What do you think everyone?

@insomniac-jay @punkeropercyjackson @achy-boo @anxious-twisted-vampire @abyssthing198 @marrondrawsalot @nproduction626 @yugirl @writing-heiress

[scandalouslamb]

Do you think that dill was afraid of Felix? Or resentful of him like that's the relative of the president responsible for her people and the other district suffering and one wrong move could lead to her family being punished so what do think dill thought of Felix?

Thank you for the ask!

Dill's been dying and written off by people around her even before the Games (in my headcanons). I think that Felix actually gains some points with her even if all he's doing the bare minimum because of that. I think that while he'd be visibly uncomfortable, he'd also be willing to look her in the eye and lean in to try and figure out what she's saying.

He clearly wouldn't be that thrilled to be her mentor, but Dill would be used to people not being thrilled to be around her for fear of catching her sick. I do think he gets her food (he might not give to her directly himself though). I think she probably thinks that she got one of the better mentors even if he isn't really showing up like Coriolanus or anything.

I think to Dill, Felix is only one of a long list of people who feel bad for her but don't do much for her. I imagine in District 11, she got a lot of pitying distant looks from people, and that's how she views Felix probably. She doesn't think those people are necessarily bad, but she probably resents them at worst and doesn't really care about them at best.

I'm unsure if she'd think that within the Capitol there's some medicine that will cure her, but that could get her to become a bit more resentful, but I think if she is feeling that way, she just stew in it. I don't think she wants to die, but she's come to terms with the idea of it more than other tributes probably.

I don't think Felix is broadcasting his connection to the president, and given that Dill may only hear his full name once or twice during her stay at the Capitol, she probably isn't thinking too much about it if she doesn't make the connection immediately. I'm sure people hear about President Ravinstill in the Districts. They resent him for the Games and the war, but there are more immediate villains in corrupt mayors, Peacekeepers, and other officials. Dill might hear Felix's name and not think about the connection. She has a lot of stuff going on. If she does, I think about the connection, I think Dill's put at ease that Felix isn't really pushing his weight around or demanding that much of her. She probably decides to not be antagonistic to be safe. It might be part of the reason she agrees to do an interview.

Still, I don't know how much she's lucidly thinking about the Ravinstills' connect to the suffering of her District, I might be bias because whenever I'm sick, I just can't think at all, but she just might be occupied with trying to even make it to the Arena to fully develop a deeper resentment than 'these kids living in the lap of luxury while we starve in Eleven.'

Honestly, at the end of Dill's short time in the Capitol, I don't think Felix himself makes much of an impact on her. movie! Reaper, who takes a way more active role in her well-being, probably makes more of an impact (and maybe book! Reaper too depending on how much he was taking care of and protecting her before he lays her out in the sun. Still that bit of kindness means a lot given the circumstances).

Felix is just her mentor who made minimum impact on her, I think.

[thebibliomancer]

Essential Avengers: Avengers West Coast #61: The IMMORTUS IMPERATIVE

August, 1990

AVENGERS West Coast vs IMMORTUS and the LEGION of the UNLIVING!

Well! A Legion of the Unliving! And an Immortus. Vs the Avengers. We've been here before. But not with this specific Legion of the Unliving. Is that Iron Man 2020? He's not even unliving yet! Way to think outside the current year, Immortus.

Anyway.

Last times on Avengers West Coast: John Byrne was building up to something with Scarlet Witch and Immortus. But he had beef with editorial so he took his ball and went home and now Roy and Dann Thomas are going to pick up the plot threads and tie them together as best as they can.

But in plot terms: Scarlet Witch has been having the worst several weeks of her life. Her husband was disassembled and rebuilt except without emotions so he fucked off to the other Avengers team. Wanda went catatonic except when she woke up to be capital E evil and then she went catatonic again.

While she was Evil, she joined up with Magneto for his vague plans and kept suggesting he murder people. But then she went catatonic while he had to fight the Avengers by himself. So he fucked off.

Immortus has been shown spying on the Avengers for Reasons and deleting divergent timelines for Reasons and after Magneto fucks off, Immortus shows up to claim everything has transpired according to his plans. Also, he's going to marry Wanda or something.

Sir. If Wanda takes up polygamy, you are not high on her list.

Honestly.

This era of Avengers has way too much Kang and Kang accessories in it.

Quicksilver (and Lockjaw via growls) tell Immortus to get his creepy self away from Wanda but Hank Pym is like dammit, let the villain monologue!

He says it's for Wanda's sake but I think he just knows we'll never know what the plot is if we don't let Immortus villainsplain at them.

Wasp: "Spoken like a true leader and founding father, Hank!"

God. Get off his dick, Wasp.

I'd hoped that her characterization being reduced to being Hank's cheerleader would go away with Byrne but forecast looks bad.

Hawkeye ignores Hank (because the Avengers West Coast don't have an official leader so Hawkeye thinks it should be him and therefore he can do what he wants) and shoots an arrow at Immortus.

Which bonks off thin air.

Wonder Man: "You know force fields are standard issue with supervillains, Hawk!"

Yeah, Clint. Are you a veteran or not?

Immortus takes issue with being called a villain and asks "do you apply such negative labels to everything you cannot understand?"

Which would hit harder if it were not Immortus and not a situation where he's mind-controlling a woman.

Hawkeye points out that Immortus has been causing trouble for the Avengers since issue #10. I mean, he's right. But how does he know that? Issue #10 got retconned.

And Wonder Man says that his own introduction in issue #9 happened a few weeks after the Immortus fight that didn't happen at all because it was retconned and as Simon describes it the issues would be in the wrong order even if it did happen and...

This way lies madness.

Despite his injured leg, Quicksilver isn't going to stand by letting Immortus talk even if Dr Pym, Wasp, and Iron Man say he should.

He tries to rush Immortus but Immortus has Time Powers.

Immortus: "You would use so pitiful a power as speed -- against one who controls time, without which speed is an inconceivable concept? I could take this single step backward -- or walk to Earth's Moon and return -- while you were merely careening into this other fool who thought to sneak up on his superior!"

So Immortus just steps out of the way of Quicksilver's charge and lets him collide with US Agent. But he describes it as TIME POWERS.

Immortus doesn't actually want to Explain It All and says he's protecting all timelines, source: trust me, bro.

But the Avengers don't trust him, bro.

Wasp tries to get Lockjaw to teleport Wanda away. But she's still in that time-space stasis field thing and that's immune to teleportation. And also, Immortus has Dog Sleepy Powers which he uses to make Lockjaw to sleep.

Supposedly.

Lockjaw continues standing around with his eyes open. So maybe Immortus doesn't know how to get the Dog Sleepy Powers to work.

The Avengers all rush Immortus, since he won't exposition at them.

Immortus sighs and decides okay fine, I'll just take you with me then. And teleports them all to Limbo.

Leaving behind a weird after image of himself in the Avengers' base.

Immortus' throne room has been redecorated to look more... organic, apparently. Immortus says that's because Limbo reflects his moods and he's been in an organic mood lately.

Sure, okay.

I'm not sure what he means because the background just looks like. Rock. Like a rocky cave that someone put a metal floor in and a throne.

Wonder Man thinks it's very impressive and says a set like this would cost the budget for three of the movies he's worked on.

Hawkeye: "Right about now, Simon, your movie career's the last thing I'm worried about!"

Hey, c'mon, Clint.

He's just describing it through his lived life experience. And reminding people that he's an actor who acts in movies.

Remember when Hawkeye showed new maturity by getting married and leading a team of his own? Remember when he and Wonder Man came to an understanding in the sauna that even though he was an actor, being a superhero was still Wonder Man's number one priority?

I can't believe I'm saying it but characterization has gone downhill since Englehart.

Whether on Earth or in Limbo, the Avengers are still ready to kick Immortus' ass. And apparently his TIME POWERS only work on Earth. Because Limbo is timeless. Except for all the passage of time that the people in it experience because duh.

But if there's anything consistent about Immortus from the non-occurring events of Avengers #10 onward it's that Immortus doesn't fight his own battles.

Immortus: "Still, I am disappointed you think me stupid enough -- to face all you overly muscular specimens alone."

And boom. As the cover promised, a new Legion of the Unliving.

Getting a bit ahead of myself but that's Toro, not the Human Torch. The villainous Black Knight. Ugh, Grim Reaper. The Swordsman. Left-Winger and Right-Winger. Iron Man 2020, who I guess is unliving in the sense that he's not even been born. Unless you count sliding timescale because the timescale slid so hard that Arno is now contemporaneous to Tony. And Oort, the Living Comet.

Despite Oort asking if they remember him, this is his first appearance.

Like Arno, Oort is implied to come from the future. Although a more recent future.

Honestly, that's a fun thing to do with Immortus. It's HARD to do, unless you have established some characters from the future like the Iron Man 2020 series. 2099 characters would be a good choice but we're a couple years from that being possible. Or you can just make up a future character like Oort, the Living Comet, and have him mention a personal history that hasn't happened yet.

My point being: despite how stupid this story is looking, I like Immortus getting creative with his Legion of the Unliving choices.

Most everyone dies at some point and Immortus has every point at his disposal so he could throw any given character into his Legion.

Actually, I'm a little sad that the MCU just has Immortus as One of the Kangs and that maybe the Kang plot will get dropped or deemphasized due to so many reasons. Because an MCU Immortus dropping a Legion of the Unliving on someone. Imagine the characters you could bring back for it.

There are so many dead characters in the MCU. So many.

The only limit is imagination and how much Disneymarvel would be willing to pay to get actors to come back and reprise.

Anyway.

Wasp tells the Avengers not to hold back just because these are dead people that they might know. As far as she's concerned, these aren't the real dudes, they're simulcra that Immortus pulled out of time and if the Avengers get too in their head about fighting dead people they might know, they'll wind up dead instead.

She's actually right.

Because Immortus kept using dead characters that actually turned out to be alive - including Wonder Man once - it's had to be retconned that sometimes Legion of the Unliving members are just Space Phantoms.

So many Space Phantoms in Immortus retcons. So many.

Anyway, this Legion of the Unliving seems to have been chosen for personal connections with the heroes. Mostly.

Wonder Man obviously squares up against Grim Reaper, his supervillain brother that keeps harassing him and trying to put him and Vision in a blender.

Iron Man 2020 fights Iron Man because he's always wanted to prove he's better than the original Iron Man, Tony Stark, his great-uncle. Despite Iron Man's protests that he's definitely not the handsome, brilliant Tony Stark.

Hawkeye fights his old mentor and frenemy Swordsman.

Swordsman claims that he taught Hawkeye everything he knows which is why he's totally going to win this fight. Kind of ignoring the fact that he's been dead for years and Hawkeye didn't just stop learning shit. It's just a dumb boast, is all.

Black Knight faces Dr Pym, his old nemesis. Hank is no longer Giant-Man but he unshrinks Rover, the airship with the brain of an ant who loves Hank, so he can have an aerial duel with his old foe.

Right-Winger and Left-Winger fight US Agent. They're dudes he fought during his time as Captain America. He kinda blew them up in to a coma. Because they were involved in his parents' deaths.

Wasp is fighting Toro (who everyone is mistaking for the robot Human Torch). ... Okay, this is the odd one out. Wasp has no connection with this dude.

You couldn't think of a dead villain that has a personal connection to Wasp? I hate to say it but... I mean. She did tell Hank to crush Vibro to paste three issues ago. Maybe she should fight Vibro.

It would kind of make that fill-in issue where the Avengers West Coast take a break from the Wanda is Evil and Crazy arc more relevant to the arc. Wasp sentenced a dude to die because he wouldn't stop earthquaking Los Angeles. And then he pops up again in the Legion of the Unliving.

Feels like it writes itself but it didn't.

Anyway. The most interesting match-up here is actually Quicksilver vs Oort, the Living Comet.

Because Oort knows Quicksilver. And Quicksilver has no idea who Oort is.

Oort: "We never did find out which of us is faster, did we, mutant?" Quicksilver: "What are you talking about, Oort -- or whatever your name is? I never even heard of you befo-- NO! Those comet bursts --- fired at Wanda -- !" Oort: "You haven't changed a bit since we met in the 50th Century, Quicksilver. Even there, you were overly protective of your sister... though she couldn't care less whether you live or die!"

It sucks nobody ever ran with this.

This story is Oort's only appearance. We may never know what the hell Pietro and apparently Wanda were doing in the 50th Century. Or why they started beefing with this Oort dude.

The Thomases introduced Oort in this story as a future foe of Quicksilver because Quicksilver doesn't have a rogues gallery to draw on and everyone (but Wasp) was getting personalized fights.

So they made a whole new guy up to give Quicksilver a personalized fight and they gave Wasp Toro.

Double standard, boo.

Meanwhile, in the Hawkeye vs Swordsman fight, Swordsman does his usual Swordsman thing. You know, slicing or batting Hawkeye's arrows out of the air.

Really showing off his visual acuity and reflexes, the jerk.

He even mocks Hawkeye's gimmick arrows as relying on a "technological care package from Tony Stark" as if Hawkeye didn't invent anti-gravity by himself and then never use it for anything.

Swordsman: "Whether it's the strength of my arm -- or the sharpness of my blade -- I shall always be the teacher, and you merely the pupil!"

Basically Swordsman talks a good game up until the point Hawkeye tricks him into trying to block a 21k volt electro-arrow with his very conductive metal sword.

Props to the story, for a dude that Hawkeye has personal history with, he comes off like he has personal history with Swordsman.

After he... yeah, he basically kills Swordsman. Twenty-one thousand volts will do that. And this is Avengers Don't Kill Hawkeye, having to re-kill his dead mentor because if Hawkeye lost, Swordsman would move onto killing the next Avenger.

Hawkeye: "You -- shouldn't have made that crack -- about what you were gonna do to the others. I knew you best, so that meant I had to be the one to stop you, at any cost. Do me a f-favor, okay? D-don't let Immortus bring you back to life again. I really don't think... I could take that...!"

It's a low bar to clear but nobody in West Coast Avengers but Wanda has had appropriate emotions for the entire Byrne run. So I'll give credit where due that Hawkeye is emotionally impacted by having to kill a dude he has conflicted feelings about.

I'm realizing that I'm liking a lot of the bits in this story. The overall story is still kinda dumb. But it's cleaning up someone else's mess so maybe this bodes well for the Thomases run on this book.

Anyway. Remember how Immortus left behind an after-image when he teleported everyone to Limbo?

Yeah, Agatha Harkness did that.

She "half-sensed" Immortus' hand behind all the shit that's been happening to Wanda and her growing powers and her hard swing into mutant superiority and also the fake made-up children who definitely didn't exist.

Agatha didn't tell anyone though because fuck you nobody tells anyone their suspicions about anything in this book until it's too late to matter. Remember all the times recently that Hank Pym suddenly claimed he knew something all along?

But since Agatha Harkness kept a low-profile, Immortus didn't think to take countermeasures against her and she was able to cast a spell that left behind an after-image of himself.

Why? Eh. Apparently she can do magic on the after-image to learn what he's up to.

Agatha Harkness: "For, as you know full well, Earth's very timelines are in danger of unraveling, like threads in a fallen skein... but I, for one, am far from certain that you are the one to knit them up again!"

That's fair. He retgonned the timeline where Lincoln kicked John Wilkes Booth's ass. What a jerk thing to do, to get rid of that.

Anyway, Agatha does a magic that will make the image of Immortus share all the hot goss about Immortus' schemes. Magic can do that. Why wouldn't it?

In the grand aerial duel of Dr Pym vs the Black Knight, Black Knight's flying horse outmaneuvers Hank Pym's technology. He uses his laser lance to blast Rover but Hank just unshrinks a hover-pack and jumps out at Black Knight.

Who panics and falls off his horse to his re-death.

Hank saves himself with his hover-pack. He realizes that Black Knight must have remembered the last time he fell to his death, while fighting Iron Man, and that's why he panicked and, ironically, caused history to repeat.

Having put this together, Hank feels lousy about helping history to repeat on Black Knight.

He supposedly repented his evil right before he died the first time and then Immortus drags his ghost out of time, or whatever, and throws him into superhero fighting again. Black Knights just got no luck.

... Huh, did Thor ever get Dane out of that time warp he left him in?

Meanwhile, US Agent gets double-teamed by Right-Winger and Left-Winger.

Then US Agent throws his less-mighty-than-Cap's shield and makes Left-Winger trip so both brothers accidentally stab each other with stalagmites.

US Agent: "Welcome back to the dead zone, boys."

It's his favorite DBZ movie.

But, wow, he sure is proud of himself for deading those two guys.

Elsewhere in this big Limbo, Iron Man vs Iron Man. Future technology vs modern technology. A dude who just bought his armor vs the dude that built it.

And Iron Man 2020 is kicking Tony's ass. There's several decades of advancements in Arno's favor, even if Tony is the better engineer.

Iron Man 2020: "Face facts, unc... You're like some primitive stealth bomber up against a star raker from my day!" Also Iron Man 2020: "Whoever you are in there, you're last century's model!"

And then Tony wins via sucker punch.

I guess decades of improvements don't mean a lot if you can't take a punch.

Shrug.

(Feels like there was a more thematically satisfying conclusion to this fight somewhere but this is a team vs team fight issue and each character can only get so much time.)

Over with Wonder Man vs Grim Reaper for the umpteenth time.

Grim Reaper is in full bigger brother bully mode, reminding Simon of when they were kids and Eric would threaten him with a stolen pocketknife.

Grim Reaper cuts Wonder Man up with his scythe (which he lampshades he wasn't able to do when he was alive) but Wonder Man grabs him by the throat and demands he stands down.

Bigger brother bully refuses and shocks Wonder Man with his scythe, Wonder Man determinedly keeps his grip on Grim Reaper's neck and-

KRAK!

Wonder Man: "My grip -- so strong -- I killed him -- broke his neck! Immortus's control over him was so strong -- he wouldn't quit fighting till he was dead again! You're going to pay for this, Immortus! So help me -- you're going to pay!"

Damn. That's dark.

Which seems to be the theme with the fights where the Avengers win their fights.

Hawkeye had to go against his Avengers Do Not Kill principle and re-kill his mentor. Hank Pym (accidentally) put the fear of death in Black Knight so hard he died of it. And Wonder Man squeezes his brother's neck so hard it breaks -- and doesn't even realize he's doing it.

Oh, and US Agent made two brothers kill each other. But he doesn't seem too broken up over it. I guess he's the combo breaker.

And the afterthought fight: Wasp vs Toro.

Who she confuses as Human Torch until he informs her otherwise.

I sincerely believe this fight happens - and Wasp gets screwed out of a personalized fight - to clear up some continuity.

When Toro reveals he's Toro, Wasp realizes that the previous time the Avengers saw the robot Human Torch in a Legion of the Unliving (under Kang) it couldn't have been Jim Hammond because androids can't die because they're not real people!

Oof.

Toro: "Kang the Conqueror once thought I was the Torch, too -- when he gathered the first Legion of the Unliving! I was a man -- so I could -- and the Mad Thinker murdered me! -- Just like Immortus is going to make me kill you -- RIGHT NOW!"

Glad we cleared that up.

And, yeah, Wasp loses her fight because she's too distracted by the Not-Human Torch thing.

This issue kept cutting back and forth between Agatha interrogating Afterimage Immortus and the Avengers vs Legion fights. I just moved most of the fight stuff together in this recap for clarity.

Because we're about to do some big retcons, Agatha Harkness asks Immortus to RECAP HIS ENTIRE BACKSTORY.

Granted, how long has it been since we learned Immortus' complicated deal?

He was born in the 30th Century in a world of peace and plenty and he hated it because it was so boring. His only solace was watching old video tapes of superheroes punching people.

Especially the Fantastic Four. He loved their exploits best because he had learned that he and Reed Richards both traced their ancestry back to Nathaniel Richards.

Little Kid Future Nathaniel Richards (Ie Immortus) found a shrine Reed's dad Nathaniel Richards left behind with a time machine. Young Immortus rebuilt the time machine to look like a Sphinx and time traveled back to Egypt to take over as White Pharaoh Rama-Tut.

Then the Fantastic Four showed up and kicked his ass and he fled Back to the Future.

He went too far, wound up in post-apocalyptic year 4000 and became Kang the Conqueror.

Later, he became ashamed of all the stupid shit he did as Kang and became Rama-Tut again and took over Egypt again (but benevolently?). Then he became Immortus and moved to Limbo.

Afterimage Immortus: "As Immortus, I was a more contemplative type than my Kang counterparts, who were dedicated only to the conquest of historical eras. Sequestering myself in the ageless dimension known as Limbo, I dedicated myself to the study of that ultimate enigma -- time itself."

Then, the Time Keepers came to Immortus in Limbo and taught him all about time and appointed him the custodian of the time stream for the period which he had lived as Kang -- 3000 BC to 4000 AD.

So Immortus became responsible for monitoring time travel during that period. Which mostly meant monitoring himselves.

And if he fulfills his vow to the Time Keepers' purpose, they'll give him total mastery over those seventy centuries.

Kind of seems a downgrade from when Immortus was Master of Time.

Agatha Harkness asks Immortus what the Time Keepers' purpose is and what the heck it has to do with Wanda or with all those divergent timelines Immortus deleted in Byrne's run.

Afterimage Immortus: "You already know the truth, old woman! The Scarlet Witch is a nexus being -- one who belongs equally to all possible timelines -- all realities and divergences -- so that, through her, all futures can be totally safeguarded -- inexorably controlled -- by Immortus, Master of Time!"

Okay. Does that mean anything for Wanda herself or does that just make her a plot device to win?

Remember when Sentinels kidnapped Wanda because they needed to her power to sterilize Earth? And not her hex power, just the fact that she was A Woman?

This shit keeps happening to Wanda.

I'm surprised she didn't go evil and crazy sooner.

Speeeeaking of whiiiiich.

This is where (Afterimage) Immortus explains how he's been behind everything.

EVERY. THING.

Going back to his first appearance in Avengers #10 which was retconned and didn't happen so I don't know what he's talking about.

But, hypothetically, his evil plan in that story that didn't happen was to break up the Avengers so Scarlet Witch could never join them. Without the Avengers as a support network, Immortus could have manipulated Wanda so much more easily.

And why did Immortus show Vision an origin where he was built from the body of the original robot Human Torch? TWAS A RUSE! He wanted Vision and Wanda to marry and only knowing his origins would make Vision comfortable enough in his life to marry!

(The retconned origin that Vision was made out of extra Human Torch parts is close enough that one wonders why Immortus didn't just show him that? This is stupid. God I hate sweeping retcons like this.)

Why did Immortus want Wanda and Vision to marry? Is he just a big ol' shipper actually?

NO!

WANDA MARRYING VISION WAS ACTUALLY A SLOW BURN PLAN TO MANIPULATE WANDA! IMMORTUS PLANNED IT ALLLL!

Immortus knew that Wanda would want children and that she would specifically use her mutant magic to magic them up instead of adoption or surrogacy! He knew it all along!

And having created fake, not-real children, he knew that one day, she would learn they weren't real!

Afterimage Immortus: "Over time, Agatha Harkness, I slyly seduced the Vision into attempting to dominate the Earth by taking over its computers. After he tried that, it was easy to subliminally influence a multi-national security alliance to take him apart-- in such a way that, although his android body could later be more or less reassembled -- the Vision's particular mind and memory -- and thus his love for the Scarlet Witch -- became part of a dead and unrecapturable past! Soon afterward, even while I was subtly increasing her hex power, I made certain she was one of seven brides-to-be of Set, to further undermine her confidence -- by making her fear she was doomed, always, to be a victim of circumstances beyond her control. Perhaps she was, at that. Witness her quite coincidental capture later by the human servants of the micro-organism known as 'That Which Endures'... Although Master Pandemonium, whose kidnapping of her 'twins' caused her pain and terror, was unknowingly obeying my secret suggestions. And when her 'offspring' finally vanished forever -- you, dear lady, did me the service of explaining to her how they never truly existed! This was the final straw that turned her into a hard-hearted human-hater -- and thus perfect for my purposes. Magneto's blundering along just then was an annoying, but quite temporary, nuisance -- one which scarcely delayed the implementation of my plan!"

God this is so much. I hate it also so much.

Saying someone secretly conspired to organize so many events is a hard sell. And roping in Master Pandemonium seems unlikely since Immortus couldn't see into the netherworld where he took Wanda.

Saying Immortus nudged Vision into his takeover the world plan diminishes the original story.

And the writer drawing the line at Immortus being responsible for the That Which Endures story is just kind of funny. It's brought up solely so Immortus can say "that wasn't me" even though it seems like the racism goo turning Wanda into a mutant supremacist would only serve his plan.

There's so much to like about this issue and then there's the big reveals, which are unfathomably stupid.

Sheesh.

With all this exposition, Agatha Harkness has finally pieced together what Immortus' plan for Scarlet Witch is.

Although, she doesn't share it with the class. No doubt wanting to keep up the tension for next issue.

(Also, Immortus sends the Legion of the Unliving back into the void, sparing Quicksilver and Wasp from being finished off by their opponents.)

Next week, switching back over to Avengers East Coast for more airport paperback political thriller action in the Crossing Line arc. And in two weeks, the Immortus slash Wanda is Evil and Crazy arc wraps so the Thomases can start their own plots.

I will not be sad to see Byrne's lingering plot threads go.

Follow @essential-avengers. I'm too tired for a more extravagant pitch. Like and reblog, maybe?

[sepublic]

When it comes to my own Ninjago fanon, I like to interpret the Overlord as like. This dark, deeply jaded god. He is sensitive to the darkness in the hearts of others, he can see into someone's innermost, worst thoughts and feelings and desires, and it sickens him because it's the majority of what he sees due to his nature, so to him he sees the 'truth' of people.

Because of his godly status, he's detached from mortals and as a result it's easier to make grand, sweeping decisions for them because of that distance. He's very lonely, and hurt; He finds it difficult and pointless to connect with mortals and their short-lived lives. He's made Kozu and Cryptor, but they're minions designed to serve him, so it's not the same, plus he admittedly does take their lives for granted as kind of lesser.

He envies the Golden Dragon for finding its champion in the First Spinjitzu Master, who sided with it instead of him; There's nobody who understands the Overlord's unique existence and dilemma. He resents the Golden Dragon getting to keep their hands clean, while the Overlord must commit the dirty work that must be done, and be vilified for it. He's disillusioned with free will. When the Overlord senses Garmadon's hesitation over Lloyd in S2, he feels there will be an inevitable betrayal and decides to preemptively strike first, rather than risk being the one hurt. He thought he found someone who understood, who knew what it was like to be cursed with the role of the villain, but not quite.

Pythor was more his vibe, though he seemed more inclined to just lash out and destroy, not ultimately preserve. But so was the Overlord, who refused to accept the injustices of this world and their possibility, under no conditions, until what he has achieved has basically been a violent tantrum over the unfairness of it all. He has a paradoxical disdain, concern, and pity for mortals.

He comes to Harumi because he resonates with her, sees himself in her, as someone also failed by Garmadon, who wasn't who he thought he was. Someone deeply disappointed by the failures and broken promises of 'good' to vanquish evil, someone lonely who was cast out and dejected, and whose only true ally was a mindless minion they created.

When Harumi has reservations about the carnage, the Overlord quietly speaks to her, assuming a gentler, more personal paternal role to her than Garmadon in his half-formed state did; He genuinely wants to connect and make this work, but he's also an ancient god who doesn't quite understand mortals and can only see the big picture. He points out to Harumi that the ninja defeated him twice, and how did that turn out in the end?

More violence, more destruction, more villains threatening lives and the peace. If the ninja had just let the Overlord commence with his plans to spread his influence and control everyone with, none of this would've happened; The death would've actually been worth it. How many children like her, other Harumis, have also been orphaned because of incidents such as Aspheera or Kalmaar's invasions of Ninjago City? The ninja did their best, but people died. Children were orphaned. Can Harumi bear the thought of others like her coming into being? It must've already happened, multiple times.

But the Overlord lashes out when she finally defies him; He feels betrayed. He tells Harumi that she was nothing but a scared child cowering for cover when he found her, and that's how she'll die. He spitefully reminds Harumi that as he said; There must be other children, orphaned because of the ninjas' failure. He can always find another champion in them instead. The Overlord laments that everyone always leaves him, and he is truly alone. His love is a violent, painful one that feels too much and doesn't know how to control itself, he is all emotion, dark and messy.

[bluebeebalmwrites]

About that Vampire Ascendant Tag on Houses...

Hello! My series Houses is getting some attention, and as the series keeps going and going [insert self-deprecating fic writer jokes], I’ve had a few conversations crop up about the Vampire Ascendant Astarion tag that have been similar. I thought it might be a good idea to address that tag and this version of Astarion in one place. I consider the tag to apply, but Housestarion is… complicated.

What I am not interested in writing:

Some folks have worried that, because of the Vampire Ascendant tag, Housestarion might eventually abuse Gale or the series might have an Abuser/sub dynamic. I promise that if I ever write a fic like that, I would put content warnings all over it /gen. I take that very seriously. Regardless, writing a two-dimensional abuser is not a headspace I want to go into for Houses. I wrote some rough abuse from Mystra in my other series (GCA), but I'm not interested in making Houses into some sort of in-depth character study about abusive relationships or even a moralizing tale. I think that would be the antithesis of the fun I’ve been trying to have with it while writing a salacious porn-with-plot series (it's intentionally trashy - like vintage pulp magazine content in my mind). I'm walking a fine line with them, for sure, but Gale and Astarion in Houses are dysfunctional, have obsessive/possessive toxic impulses, with some complex underlying abandonment issues. But ultimately, Houses is about guilty pleasures, not horror.

When thinking about the Ascendant character:

The in-game Ascendant is written to be very objectifying and dominant, but I also appreciate how he’s also comical and pitiful. He’s an almost cartoonish version of a vampire villain, complete with cheesy bat references. The complexity in his character, though, is how Ascendant is still scared, horribly codependent (and I don’t use that word lightly), and views the world as a terrifying place that is only worth either controlling, running away from (if you take him to Avernus, etc.), or destroying out of revenge. He’s composed of the worst parts of Astarion's character wrapped up under an outwardly confident façade. He’s the new Cazador, but he’s also an Astarion flavoured Vampire Lord and his outlook is filtered through that traumatized lens. Instead of healing from what happened to him, he’s weaponizing his trauma and looking to punish the world for it on top of controlling others around him to keep himself safe. He’s stuck and can’t move on, and he likes it that way because anything else would require work and vulnerability that he can’t let himself afford. That complexity is so juicy for a writing brain, because Ascendant Astarion can be simultaneously repulsive, tempting, tragic, and pitiable. Like, whoa. What game writing, right?

I seriously have to credit some other Bloodweave writers in this space for pointing a lot of this out to make Ascendant far more interesting to me (patheticfangirl is in the middle of writing a really in-depth, twisted longfic that involves a deep character study on him. It's better than what I'm doing. She takes the concept of how Cazador is tormented/regretful/grieving if you detect his thoughts in-game, and applies that to Ascendant who is psychologically tortured by what he’s done. It’s very good - though please mind the tags).

When looking at the vast majority of fics under the Ascendant tag, most of them are dark power fantasies with a Dom/Sado/Top Astarion with a self-insert Tav. If you're not personally into that or triggered by Ascendant characterization (due to PTSD from an abusive relationship with that dynamic), I absolutely understand avoiding the tag. That’s part of curating your content. It’s just the nature of the beast that sometimes it's tricky to decide how to tag a fic when the fanon has taken a character in a different direction than what you're going for.

Ascendant in Houses:

With Houses, I do my best to not have Housestarion be the strictly Sado/Dom/Top version of Ascendant. He has needs that crave to be filled by other dynamics. I want the complex and ridiculous parts of Ascendant. Housestarion starts off as a fuckboy (in Penthouse) and is revealed to be more of a messy, shattered guy. As an AU, he’s basically the idea of an Astarion that had to take Cazador out by himself – translated into a modern “real life” setting with no vampirism or magic. So some parts have been whittled out, some of the softer traumatized parts brought forward, but (hopefully) much of the edge and brattiness kept in. He’s more of his own character, rather than a straight translation.

However, I am keeping the series under the tag because while Housestarion is in many ways his Own Thing, he is still very much an interpretation of Ascendant Astarion and Ascendant inspired (complete with dialogue references) and I do not want anyone to be surprised by that. I hope that clears some things up!

[enobariasdistrict2]

i actually do have a math test tomorrow that i need to study for but one thing about the hunger games series that's been making me think a lot lately......... the way katniss interacts with the career tributes is by far one of the most fascinating thing about her characterization and the theme of the books.

katniss has this hatred for them because she believes them to be these vile, bloodthirsty, pampered, brainwashed murderers with no honor (hence her hostility toward peeta after he seemingly chose to ally with them). she very much has reason to hate them, as do most of the oppressed districts. katniss sees the careers as adversaries, since she really has no choice but to.

however, she's not motivated by her hatred, and her actions towards them are more merciful and compassionate than she gives herself credit for. when clove dies, she actually takes the time to note that cato literally begs for her life, for her to stay with him - and this is from katniss, a narrator who tells only the details which are most crucial to her and her family's survival (and, from a narrative construction perspective, crucial to moving the story forward). katniss makes it clear to the reader in thg that she does not want anyone else to die, including cato, whom she has no obligation to care about, someone she despises on principle. katniss shoots cato, but suzanne makes it excessively clear that katniss did so out of pity, as a mercy kill, not as vengeance or a deliverance of justice. because despite the fact that he's not a likeable or good person in her eyes, she doesn't feel any satisfaction or joy in making someone suffer, no matter her opinion of them.

and even though she did not get to know the career tributes well, and more often than not found them unpleasant to deal with at best and sadistic, bloodthirsty people at worst, katniss still took every opportunity to humanize them and honor them as much as she is capable of. it's not an accident that cato and clove, supposedly expendable secondary characters who, in any other series, would have been easily disregarded by the narrative once they outlived their use, were mentioned throughout the book series and as far as mockingjay, which took place two years later. because despite the fact that they were, in her eyes, hateful and violent people, she never saw them as forgettable or expendable or arbitrary, as side characters confined to the background, as nameless bodies that she had to kill. katniss made the effort to remember them as human beings, victims just like her, living under the capitol's thumb.

because the realization that katniss comes to, which is the theme that suzanne has been trying to express throughout the series, is that the capitol is the only villain in this story, the only party responsible for the deaths and atrocities. even the career tributes, who are supposed to be these barbaric and savage brainwashed tools, whom she has little reason to care for, are victims of the capitol's cruelty. as both haymitch and finnick advised her to, she remembered who the real enemy is, and continuously reminded others, including the reader, of this fact. katniss knows that the career tributes, while somewhat complacent, were never the problem, the reason their society was so broken. it was the capitol, and the rich's exploitation of children for their own entertainment, that was always the enemy in this scenario - and katniss, as well as suzanne, spend the whole of the trilogy communicating this message.

[choccy-zefirka]

OC info under the cut! (The list is not exhaustive, I just 1. Have not made much content for others; and 2. Run out of poll options)

Yvie is a half-elf, half-dwarf from a small mountain village from Orlais. I often tag her as Lavellan because that's her father's last name; he was, however, fully adopted into the extensive family of Yvie's mother, the Kaders, and Warden Kader from Awakening is Yvie's older sister. Yvie is a humble and peaceful gardener, but getting the Mark essentially turned her into a DnD bard (in that she casts spells by singing). She bonds with Alexius over her unusual magic, which intrigues him enough to feel almost not depressed from time to time, and over her overall compassion for her fallen enemies. Posts about her can be found here, here , here and here

Una is a Carta thug with a secret passion for nerd shit, which she hides out of insecurity. The Mark also turned her into something of a mage, though she favors elemental battle magic that she uses in unusual ways, similar to ATLA-style bending. She bonds with Alexius after he discovers her two deep dark secrets: that she sneaks into the mage tower at night to read books, and that she has a little son whom she gave up for adoption to keep him away from the Carta. Posts about her can be found here, here , here, here, here and here

Pilar is a former Antivan crow assassin that was trained in blood magic. This weighs heavily on her conscience, and she acts pretty much like a broody gothic antiheroine. She bonds with Alexius because she considers them both to be villains on a redemption arc. Posts about her can be found here, here, here, here , here, here and here

Sophia is a Circle mage who, despite being an elf, grew up Andrastian and landed with heavy religious trauma. She is afraid that if she ever strays from the straight and narrow, even by as much as thinking an "impure" thought, demons will snatch her up. She bonds with Alexius after a long and painful period of silent agonizing over her tragic villain crush. Posts about her can be found here, here, here, here, and here

Solange is a Tal-Vashoth that got her fashion talents recognized by Duke Bastien and Vivienne when she saw the former gallantly throwing down his ornate cloak so the latter could walk across a puddle, and heckled him for ruining good fabric. Since then, she's been rubbing shoulders with Orlesian courtiers, amid much grinding of teeth because how dare an oxwoman be so talented. She bonds with Alexius when she comes to him and Dorian with ideas over how they can incorporate Tevene robe design into Inquisition mages' uniforms for better casting (yes, Dorian talking about fashion has poor optics, but my idea is that Tevene mage robes have practical elements to buff their wearers, like glyphs hidden among embroidery etc.). Solange is also a mother who loves and supports her child instead of shaping them into her own image, which is similar to how Alexius supported Felix despite him not being a mage. Posts about her can be found here, here , here and here (with a bit of an outdated horn design). Bonus post about her family story!

Elgara (named so by her parents because she was supposedly a real ray of sunshine during her alienage childhood) is a Tranquil who failed her Harrowing because she took pity on the demon meant to test her. The Mark cured her, and she now has twenty years' worth of emotions to grapple with, which she handles as best she can with the help of her new friends and some calming elfroot now and then. She bonds with Alexius because she is not as afraid of being vulnerable and emotional around her former enemy, as around people who look up to her as a hero. They've already seen each other at their worst, so might as well! Posts about her can be found here, here , here and here. Bonus long-ish fic about the exact circumstances that began Elgara and Alexius' eventual friendship. Also this one of the most on-point faceclaims I ever had for an OC!

Issala is a former Tamassran who was briefly engaged in sex work but was then reassessed and appointed to teach the Qunari children and help new converts adapt. (She did contribute to breeding a couple of times, and one of her biological children grew up to be Hissrad/Iron Bull, though he was raised by a different Tama and Issala did not keep track of him). Only one of the children in her care turned out to be a mage, and even though she'd read about the process of subduing a Saarebas, seeing it happen proved too much for her, especially considering that the terrified child turned into an abomination and had to be put down. Shaken by the experience and blaming herself for not mentally preparing her student enough, Issala left the Qun (choosing her new name, meaning Dust). She struggled to find a purpose at first, but managed to fit into the Inquisition. She bonds with Alexius over them both being teachers; she also flexes some of her past Tamassran skills and offers him to become friends with benefits for stress relief... Unless... Posts about her can be found here (bottom left, also featuring Solange and Vhenas!) and here. I ought to repost fic of her some time too!

Vhenas is, probably, one of the most chill and mentally stable characters on here. She is a Dalish Keeper who was getting ready for retirement when the whole Breach thing happened. Irreverent, adventurous, slightly crass but intelligent underneath, she is the Cool Mom TM to her three adopted children, now young adults by the time of Inquisition. She bonds with Alexius because she can sympathize with a fellow parent, and he is incredibly fun for her to tease; also Dorian and Warden!Felix are also her sons now, she just has a knack for taking in troubled youths. Posts about her can be found here, here , here and here. Bonus time loop fic that's Alexius-centric but features Vhenas as the active Herald/Inquisitor!

Lira is a self-taught shapeshifter; her favored form is a cat, and she is stuck with a tail after messing up her first few transformations. Originally coming from a broken home in an alienage, she used her covert magic to break her neighbors out and seek out the Dalish, earning a place of respect in her new clan that weighs heavily on her because she feels like she peaked at the age of fifteen, and will never be able to do anything as grand as her escapades as a teenage elf liberator. When the Conclave, in a manner of speaking, promotes her to saving the world, her gifted kid burnout leads to impostor syndrome. Lots of struggles under that cutesy cat girl exterior! She bonds with Alexius after he vents out his disillusionment with Corypheus, regret over pushing Dorian away, shame over how low he's stopped etc. etc. to what he thinks is a regular stray cat lounging around Skyhold, but is actually Lira in disguise, hiding from Josephine because she is terrified of war table meetings. This turns them into each other's confidantes, and then, well. Posts about her can be found here, here, here (butt warning!) and here.

[twothpaste]

i'm interested to hear about Porky for that character meme

First impression: The first time I saw Porky was in Smash Bros Brawl when I was like 12, and I was probably about as bamboozled as every other kid back then. I remember being creeped out and a little captivated, wondering what the hell could possibly be up with this rampaging kid / old man / ??? In some kind of life support mech??? Like damn these Mother games must be crazy. (Proceeded to emulate Pokemon instead for the next 6 years 🤸)

Impression now: Oh, I see! He was The Best Villain In All Of Media. That's what was up with him. He carved out a corner in the back of my brain where he's been living rent free for a decade. If I think too hard about him I go off the rails and sometimes become cataclysmically sad. Awesome.

Favorite moment: The entire Empire Porky Building is a mesmerizingly monolithic character study unto itself. But his climactic speech when you finally reach him at the 100th floor is like. God. Fucking hell. Where does one even begin. The surprising eloquent conviction with which he speaks, after a whole dungeon of childish taunting. And then, it's actually such a thin veneer after all. He's deluded himself into thinking he's a godlike visionary, but everything he declares about "humanity" is so insecure and immature and downright wrong. The unnerving spite and tragedy of it all. The urge to pity him feels like a bellyache. How you know where he came from and what a hapless child he used to be (and maybe still is) - but to the people of Nowhere?? They've got no fuckin' clue. And he doesn't belong here, but at the same time, he embodies every individualistic capitalistic apocalyptic thing they tried to shove under the rug and forget about. Just. Agh. Turns my brain and bones to jelly.

Idea for a story:

Unpopular opinion: He's not "insane," or mind controlled by Giygas, or gone "crazy" in the aftermath of Giygas' influence. A thousand lifetimes are sure to do something to a guy's head, sure - and I'm sure his mental health ain't great - but like?? Everything about him hits so much harder if he is of relatively sound reasoning (like every other capitalist), and if he's acting on his own will. Stripping him of his psychological agency renders him so thematically & conceptually toothless to me, idk. If he was just acting zany & evil 'cause he was out of his mind or whatever, then none of the shit he does or says really means anything!! Giygas brought out the worst in him. Aloysius and Lardna conditioned him to make terrible choices. Porky chose to spend 3842389 years committing atrocities unto mother Earth and mankind.

Favorite relationship: His friendship with Ness is so bittersweet, and his use of Claus as an extension of himself is both harrowing and fascinating. I think my fav is his narrative dynamics with Lucas though. How they both faced cruelty at the hands of shortsighted adults and the world at large, but learned completely different lessons from it. How Lucas, presumably a boundlessly kind and forgiving person, gets pushed to his absolute limit with this guy. How he's gotta grapple with the ethics of Porky's fate, whether or not he deserves to spend eternity trapped by his lonesome. How Porky coerces this humble farm kid into the role of Ness, chasing the high of his friendship and rivalry. How he calls Claus his "double," right in front of Claus' actual double, just to drive the knife in deeper. How he thinks he represents the grim reality of human nature, while Lucas stands tall and faces him as a shining counterpoint. Everybody explode now.

Favorite headcanon: Uhh shit I dunno what my favorite is. The Masked Man is based on one of his original comic characters he used to draw when he shouldda been paying attention in math class. He had a crush on Ness and didn't know what to do about it and now it's the whole universe's problem. He has a laughably poorly-informed admiration for Ronald Reagan, 'cause his dad spoke highly of him. If he were just a guy in the 2020s, his goal in life would be to usurp Elon Musk by being exactly the same but "smarter" and "more competent" (he would fail because he's neither).

[undreaming-fanfiction]

No matter how stupid or futile this is, I have to do it, I have to write everything down. Maybe it will help me remember, although I have to say forgetting sounds pretty amazing right now. Still, I need to make sense of things, but at least clear my head.

Who am I kidding. This is not for me. It's for you and I so, so hope you will be able to read it. That you'll understand what I went through and why it had to end this way.

Right. Let's do it before this paper disappears along with this fucking day.

It's March 1986 and out of all the fucked up things that have happened in my life, this one takes the cake. Two murders with a curse, power of mind, whatever. People fall asleep standing, start floating, die with a crunch and there's no sign of it stopping, so that's fun. And by fun I mean really fucking horrible. It seems I'm writing the word "fuck" a lot. It helps a bit.

Nancy said, I mean, will say later today...that the guy, Vecna, Henry Creel, One, who honestly cares, plans to do some really messed up shit with Hawkins. And yeah, which villain doesn't have plans like that, but this one means it. Like, really means it. I saw it happen again and again and for some fucked up reason, some higher power chose me to fix this. Just adorable.

Why it chose me, I have no fucking clue. Anyone else would have been a better choice - Dustin and that huge brain of his would figure out not only what to do, but also why it's happening. He'd make sure Vecna would bite the dust during the second, third loop. Maybe it would be a week, but he'd get it eventually. Robin would run around like a headless chicken, but she'd start piecing things together. Nancy? She'd grab a gun or twenty and make sure everyone lives to see another day. Me? I can't get anything right.

I tried telling the others, but honestly, where do you start? You all die horrible and gory deaths. I've seen you choked, broken, torn apart, bleeding out, bones crushed to pieces, all that and more. I keep trying to fix things, but you don't listen to me and at this point, I don't even want to tell anyone because you look at me in that sad, pitying way, as if I was stupid - and shit, maybe I am, okay, not much going on under this fabulous hair, but the last time I tried telling you, you forced me to sit it out and nothing changed, except I just had to wait, listen to your screaming on the walkie. That has been the worst loop so far.

And what's even worse is how much I know about all of you now. I never thought the end of the world would take this long, but I've spent days changing things, piece by piece, but it still ends in bloodshed. But I keep the pieces of you all I've collected along the way and they make the stakes so much higher, so much more cruel. I used to think I know all of you but now I feel like I have some extra puzzle pieces that were thrown in the box and I need to keep them a secret. Day by day I keep learning about everyone...and about myself.

You hate yourself so much and I don't understand it. You do the best you can with the hand you're given and I admire it so much, even if I saw you in a completely different light only a few days ago. But ever since we met in that boathouse, you intrigue me. What you do for the kids, for Dustin...you need to survive this. You need to live because I can't imagine a world without you.

I'm going to try something different today. I used to charge with you, storm the Creel house, but this time I will have to stay behind. Maybe it's just a matter of time, maybe you just need a few more minutes, seconds...but I can't stand to see you die again.

If by any chance this paper makes it with all of you to the next day, I just want to say it was an honor to meet you. I'm so glad I could learn so much about you, understand you, learn to love you for who you are. Maybe it's a matter of a simple exchange and I'm willing to try, because to me you're worth it. I wonder if we could have been friends, maybe something more, if we were only given more time.

Hm. Can't believe I wrote that. Sorry, didn't mean to make this awkward, but marching towards certain death makes you brave.

Please take care of everyone, Steve. And yourself too. Especially yourself.

Love Yours Thank you for everything.

Eddie