#theyre confusing and a lot

[spoopup]

klavier and simon friendship again

[shkika]

Considering SM was likely gone for ages, Suns must really be far gone to mistake another slugcat for Spears

yeah there wasn't much left of suns. but at least what was there kept them warm!

[snikt111]

hi hi hi hi I found out about Hal Jordan TODAY and am going so autistic over him it’s insane can you please give me a rundown on what his deal is I think you’re the Tumblr Green Lantern guy

omg hi, insane compliment btw, tysm! i'm glad to give you a rundown!! also definitely check out @katmaatui for more hal info, red is SUPER knowledgable abt him. @rillette, @catboyollie, @halcarols, @starsapphire and @yellowcorps (along with so many others that i cant think to tag off the top of my head) have some great hal takes too! (edited the post just to tag more ppl)

apologies if this is a bit rushed/messy, i'm doing this while i smelt stone in minecraft LMAO

that being said... i think this will be a long one, so more below the cut :3

(cw for light mentions of pedophilia, abuse, canon typical violence)

okay, so hal jordan is the first human green lantern of the GREEN LANTERN CORPS. it's important to note that there was technically a human green lantern before him (alan scott, originally from earth two/the justice society, but integrated into main DC canon after crisis), but his power comes from a different source- which is a whole different ballpark that would take ages to explain, lol, so i'll move on from that.

hal was originally introduced in a showcase issue in 1959, but ended up getting a solo run in the mid 60s because of his showcase issues doing well. he's been a test pilot, middle brother, compassionate, rule follower (although being surprisingly liberal for the time) with an interesting relationship with star sapphire carol ferris since those first appearances. for the first 20 odd years of his appearances we had no information on his parents, but we got a lot from other family members, such as uncle titus, cousin hal jr (aka airwave), younger brother jim jordan and older brother jack jordan. through the 60s and 70s those members of his family were developed along with him; with the audience learning that jim's wife sue thought jim was green lantern, rather than hal, and hal himself training his cousin, hal jr.

the most known version of how hal got the ring in the first place is probably based off of geoff john's rewrite in the mid 00s, reiterating the original story of abin sur crashing onto earth and dying, leaving hal with his ring to be trained by sinestro and the rest of the glc, while also changing miniscule details that had been developed in emerald dawn 1 & 2 (which was released in the 90s, more on that later). the main premise of abin sur's crash has stayed the same, but the story around hal's current life, job, family and stability keep changing. for instance, the original comic with abin sur in showcase only showed hal getting the ring, the guardians choosing him. the first rewrite i can think of was emerald dawn volume 1, published in 1989 and continued in emerald dawn v2 (1991). here we get the classic hal watches his father die in a plane crash with carol ferris beside him as a pre adolescent, and some of the biggest implications of the mistreatment from his father. we also get introduced to hal, despite his stick to the rules, straight edge attitude, making some serious mistakes and putting people in danger and even death- with the implication of alcohol abuse. the audience HAS known hal used to be in the air force since sometime in the late 60s or early 70s (sorry, i don't remember the exact issue!), but emerald dawn shows us that hal's moved on from the air force and into test piloting, and that his mother keeps having to bail him out for making mistakes. emerald dawn vol 1 shows the abin sur moment, followed by fights that cost hal's friends life, and is followed up by sinestro training hal in emerald dawn vol 2, where we get to see the iconic scenes of hal finding out about sinestro and his... dictatorship.

along with that; how the guardians and rings are treated and hal and the glc's perception of them is vastly changed over time. in the early days of gl in the 60s, the guardians were really never to be seen. hal was repeatedly summoned to them and then had his memory almost fully wiped- only leaving a vague notion of his orders. the guardian's called hal to them at seemingly the worst times, ending up with him almost getting injured, getting in trouble at work, and even ending up jobless and homeless. the chaos of being a green lantern has been around the WHOLE time, but originally, the green lanterns didnt really... fight it. the guardian's were their masters (and even father figures, to hal) and not to be questioned. the rings in the 60s were also much more powerful, despite the yellow weakness (the yellow weakness is the notion that from about the 60s to the mid 90s the green lantern rings were completely unable to be used against anything yellow). time travel, phasing, teleporting, etc were all very viable and common things- as well as forceful shapeshifting, invisibility, mind control, mind reading, etc etc. these days, writers have dampened these powers down to mostly shooting light and constructs.

okay, it's parallax time. the emerald twilight arc from the mid 90s wasn't an arc that was as thoroughly planned out over a long period of time as it probably should have been. a lot of fans at the time (and even now) hated what happened there, and claimed it ruined hal's character entirely. i can understand why! but, at it's core, the parallax arc is a story about a broken man pushed to the limit, fully grieving his home and family (originally, he lost his brother jim in the destruction of coast city, along with a lot of other family members) and being goddamn fed up with how his "masters" treated him and the rest of the corps. the so called "perfect lantern" (no, he wasn't that much of a rebel, despite what johns wants you to think) snapped and essentially tried to gain as much power as he could to bring back coast city. when the guardians stripped him of his powers so he couldn't, hal became enraged and took down every lantern in his path, just to get to the guardians and that power. long story short, he kills the guardians and absorbs all the energy from the central power battery on oa, becoming parallax- essentially a god. this marks the start of zero hour, an event made by dc to restructure and reset; giving the comics a new generation of heroes. hal destroys the world and remakes it, but is ultimately taken down by kyle rayner, the new green lantern, with the help of the jla, jsa and associates. there are a few more run ins with parallax after this, before kyle convinces parallax/hal that he can make up for all of this by reigniting the sun after it went out- aka killing himself. hal does it, is stuck in limbo for awhile and then becomes the spectre to continue to make up for the horrible things he did as parallax. the spectre is the spirit of god's wrath and vengeance, a weapon used to drag sinners to their very own, self made hells, and scare the shit out of people. the spectre, from it's very first appearance, is a ghost like spirit that takes on a host, and is primarily described using christian terms and is used in a very... christian ideology. HOWEVER, the spectre 2001 confirms that hal is jewish (jewish mom, catholic dad) and that belief system, plus his personality as a whole, literally makes him change the spirit of vengeance into the spirit of redemption, for at least as long as they are bonded. the whole parallax to spectre arc is about grief, pain, cycles of abuse and terror, redemption and guilt. it is NOT about a fear bug that possess hal. (im so serious though, the spectre 2001 is one of the best comics ive ever read. amazing. changed my world view) but... geoff johns changed all of it, decanonized the spectre, and ruined the legacy of parallax and hal's growth as a person by releasing green lantern: rebirth in 2004/2005. this retcons hal's breakdown and journey through grief into him BEING POSSESSED BY AN ENTITY CONTROLLED BY SINESTRO THAT FULLY CHANGES PREVIOUS GREEN LANTERN CANON AND IMPLICATIONS. also, fucks up the importance of kyle becoming ion, but whatever. geoff johns writes hal (and even more so, carol) so very wrong, and change their stories so vastly in ways that go against the stories very meanings.

SIGH.

now... time to get started on some rougher stuff. hal jordan misconceptions. i'm saving that arc for last.

- hal jordan wasn't much of a rule breaker or rebel until the 70s/80s, where he BEGAN (very slowly, mind you) to be radicalized by oliver queen during denny o'neil's green lantern/green arrow. hal was painted as more of a conservative during this period (which, admittedly, kind of goes against previous canon... he's always been relatively central to liberal, not to any extremes like ollie though, lol) but gets more and more understanding of how power structures work and how lower classes are mistreated during this time- which ends up opening his eyes a bit to how shitty the guardians are. (this is helped by the guardians literally just. leaving. the green lanterns and kind of disbanding them so they can go fuck the zamarons, lmao). geoff johns tried to change this narrative into making hal a very... maverick-from-top-gun type of character, who punched his way out of the military (when, in reality, the original story during emerald knights in the late 90s was that hal had been framed for stealing a jet and was dishonorably discharged, which he took the punishment for because he knew someone had to) and hits on women constantly and gets ladies and allat (which, funnily enough hal was awful at getting carol to like him for a long time, since carol fell for green lantern rather than hal. not to mention the awkwardness of carol's proposals or hal's many, many failed relationships). hal has always been insecure and lowkey boyfailure, he is NOT a top gun maverick tom cruise sorta guy! fuck you jeremy adams!

- hes not that much of an idiot asshole. hal can be a real dick, he's had that going for him since the beginning, but he isn't what you read in batfam fics. he's not stupid and shouldn't be the laughingstock of the justice league. i assume this idea started from the obsession with batfam and the fact that the jla has quite the history of ignoring hal and his issues (as well as. all of their issues. theyre not so great at work life balance), but it's gone too far. hal isn't making fun of the robins and pissing bruce off bc of that. hal isnt fooling around on the job 24/7 (he takes being a gl and pilot VERY seriously, although he does enjoy some danger and high stakes) or slacking off to get girls. again. not top gun maverick.

- hal has not been a creep since the beginnings. hal was not weird with carol in the 60s. things were weird between them, yeah, but that's based off circumstance and the craziness of star sapphire and green lantern. he was NOT being horribly sleazy! i hate that i even need to say this, but i see this take too much not to

- going off of what was said above, lets discuss the arisia arc. if you want to be a real hal fan, this is unfortunately something you need to know about. in action comics, after crisis and the guardians left to go fuck the zamarons, most of the green lanterns fell apart and seperated. a small group went to earth- led by hal and consisting of hal, john stewart, katma tui, kilowog, salaakk, ch'p and arisia rrab. (also sometimes guy gardner, but that's complicated) previously to this arc, hal treated 14 year old arisia like a beloved little sister, welcoming her and leading her into the corps just like everyone else. things started to change once the timeline gets closer and closer to crisis, where arisia starts showing that she has a crush on hal (who is roughly 30s at this point). any advances made by arisia are shut down by hal at the beginning, because she's a child. now, it's unfortunately a common thing to just call hal a "pedophile" because of what happens in this arc- but it really isn't that simple. still weird and icky, but definitely not to the degree of which some fans like to act like it is- esp to attack hal fans for, which is... an odd choice regarding how many fucked up things every character (esp male characters) did back in the day. arisia ends up using her power ring to artifically age herself up, making her body AND MIND into that of a young adult (the comic makes this very clear). once this happens... hal stops rejecting her. they get together, they kiss. the only person in the group of green latnerns who actually has an issue with it is john (salaakk is meh about it, but he just doesn't like human-esque romance no matter what), and katma even directly encourages their relationship. kilowog ends up crushing on arisia as well, and guy gardner hits on her repeatedly throughout the whole period. eventually, hal and arisia break up, but this legacy (thank so much englehart, for wrtiting this. /sarc) is a big controversy among the comics crowd. "is hal jordan a predator?" personally, and i know a lot of friends/mutuals/other gl fans choose to erase the arisia arc entirely (versus how canon ended up retconning it to be 14 earth years is equal to that of an adult and she didn't really get super ages up, or whatever) and go with the familial relationship between hal and her. that's my preferred version! i know red (@katmaatui) has explored that version as well as an alternate version where the arisia arc did happen, and how it affects arisia in particular, which is really depressing but super interesting. anyway, it's complicated and weird and nuanced, but that whole occurence doesn't mean hal's a bad character or person (cause yk. retcons) and it's certainly not bad to like his character. (definitely ignore any guy gardner fans who try to bitch about this arc. cough cough. guy was ALSO into her and hit on her repeatedly. smfh) most people who bring this up to demonize fans didn't even read the arc, and don't know the nuance or the other weird shit that happens in it. (hal is not a horse, sigh)

OVERALL NOTES!

hal jordan is a super complicated character with an extensive history spanning from the 60s to his worse written appearances in modern age. it's okay to like any version of the character, but it is important to note the changes that have been made, the storylines butchered and lost, and more. he has quite the legacy, and he's particularly interesting as from a moral standpoint. hal's a real sweetie though, when it gets down to it! he's neurodivergent coded (imo at least.. his dad very much gets onto him for being disrtracted, hes kinda shit at social interaction (and then amazing at it the other half of the time) etc etc. "spacecase") and his dad is an abusive asshole, who he desperately doesnt want to be like but thinks he NEEDS to be like!

[starry-bi-sky]

i have... ✨Danyal Al Ghul Headcanons✨ but specifically for my yaelokre danyal oneshot

There's also the tumblr post here but I recommend the link in the title because its the ao3 version, and that one is edited and has some stuff in it that's not in the tumblr post, and will be the version I'm using.

So for summary: this Danyal is also from a Demon Siblings Au where Danny is five years older than Damian. However, things turned out a bit differently, and Danny and Damian had a fantastic relationship with one another. Danny loved music and regularly came up with songs to sing to Damian with. Specifically the folk band Yaelokre's EP "Hayfields" (seriously go fucking listen to it its sooo good. Harpy Hare is the second song but its my favorite. Special shoutout to @gascansposts for introducing the band to me)

He falls off a train when he's twelve and Damian is seven while the two of them and Talia are on mission. He ends up with magically induced amnesia and wakes up in Arkansas while the Fentons are on their yearly Divorce-iversary visit to Aunt Alica, and since he can only remember his name, he ends up being taken into their care.

---------------

Yaelokre Danny has the same facial scar as Things in Threes Danyal, since he was initially another version of him where things turned out better. I'm debating on whether or not I should take it away however, and give him a different scar (maybe from when he fell off the train?), just because the scar is a pretty key identifier for Ti3 Danyal.

-----------------

Danny frequently visits Aunt Alicia in Arkansas! Well, only after he gets settled in and stuff. He doesn't really like the city that much and prefers the countryside where Alicia lives. I know she lives in a cabin but I'm changing it to a farm, so she puts Danny to work and gets him to help her.

I don't want to confine his hobbies to only being star stuff, because people tend to have more than one hobby and I feel like it reduces him to one-dimensionality, so he likes to garden, and learns guitar. His room becomes filled with plants, and he turns their roof into a rooftop greenhouse right below to OPS Center.

He has a complex relationship with the weapons from his past, but he's not... like... appalled by it? When he finds his weapons in the Fenton attic all he thinks is that they're his weapons, and he starts carrying a knife on him afterwards. Essentially he becomes fascinated with weaponry because its one of the few physical ties he has to his past, and while he's not training like he is in the League, he allows his strong muscle memory to guide him through his katas.

Danny likes climbing things. This causes Problems For Everyone Else.

----------------

Danny was not the "kinder Al Ghul" in the League. His kindness extended to his brother and family, and that's it. To everyone else he had high expectations out of them, and the pride you'd expect from the grandson of Ra's Al Ghul and trained by its top members. While he wasn't like, unnecessarily cruel or anything, he wasn't merciful either.

This transfers post-train fall as him coming off as no-nonsense and unforgiving. He's not fond of the idea of giving people second chances, and is skeptical of the idea. He's disgusted by incompetency and views it as an unforgivable offense, especially if he thinks that the person should know better, although he's not sure why. Some egocentrism for the soul.

He doesn't like being touched by anyone who isn't family, and gets irritated when anyone grabs him or holds onto him for extended amounts of time. Dash has gotten hit so many times. With Jack Fenton's tendency for abrupt physical affection, it doesn't make it any better. I'd argue it'd make it worse because Danny doesn't want to be touched more often than not.

------------------

Danyal had a red scarf in the League that he wore on his last mission, it came off before he fell off and caught itself on the roof. Damian still has it and took it with him to Wayne Manor. He's got it locked in his room and takes it out when he's alone and missing Danny the most. One time he forgot to put it away before leaving his room, and Dick was visiting the manor for something and found it. Damian found him holding it and freaked out.

Dick could only say "I've never seen you wear this, Damian, this is really pretty--" before Damian shoved him to the floor and stole it out of his hands, before screaming at him; "Don't touch this! You don't ever touch this! This is mine! You hear me!?"

It caused such a commotion that the rest of the family present came to see what the fuss was about, and Damian kicked them all out of his room. Dick is the one brother Damian's the closest with, so the fact he reacted so strongly shocked them all.

This is likely what leads to the "Danyal" conversation.

[themyscirah]

What runs/stories do you recommend for someone starting WW? Could you please be specific (/nicely)

Yeah ofc!

My Wonder Woman Starter Recs (specific style 😎)

First stops: for an initial introduction to Wonder Woman, I'd generally recommend going to at least one of three places first. These three are:

Wonder Woman: Historia: The Amazons by Kelly Sue DeConnick

Wonder Woman: Year One by Greg Rucka

Wonder Woman: the Hiketeia by Greg Rucka

Of these I generally recommend reading Historia first, as it's a retelling of the origin of the Amazons as a race and how Diana came to be (so it essentially starts from the beginning) and is also the most recent of the them (if that means anything). Something to note about Historia though is that it's a DC Black Label book, so it's events aren't strictly canon in the main DCU and there are some changes and new elements present. I don't think this is something that should discourage anyone from reading it though, it's the best WW origin story out there, and even in strict main canon over the years her origin is one that has had many fluctuations and small (& sometimes big) changes. WW:Historia is three prestige format (longer) issues.

You'll notice the third book there is WW: The Hiketeia. Hiketeia is a great book if you're looking for a view into Diana as a professional and experienced hero. It's a graphic novel so standalone and not too long, and has a great Diana and really interesting plot (Diana vows to protect a young woman and finds herself pressed against the wheels of Greek Tragedy). This is also the first work with Diana done by Greg Rucka, one of her most prolific and loved writers. A sampling of this work (and also Historia) I think gives a good guide to where to go next in terms of runs on her main title.

Wonder Woman: Year One is the second book on the list up there, but I'm mentioning it last here as it's a bit more complicated in terms of format. Unlike other year one books, WW: Year One is actually a series of issues on her main title, showcasing Diana's arrival to man's world in Rebirth (and also current p sure) continuity. The issue numbering for this one is strange (only the even issues 2-14 on WW (2016)) so I recommend looking for this in trade form if possible.

These 3 books I think give a taste of some of the best standalone stuff in the Wonder Woman mythos, and give the reader a good idea of where they may want to go next in terms of longer runs on the title. So I'll break that down here as a Step 2.

STEP 2: WHERE NEXT?

Here I break down some highly recommended runs based on what they have in common with the standalone books from step 1. As a rule, these runs are going to be much longer than the above and generally more connected to the wider DCU and other books. Look for the italics to see the introduction to each new work. Explanation paragraphs follow after each italic/bold rec.

Curious about Greek mythology in WW and the Amazons' origins after reading Historia? Liked the prescence of a supporting cast and Diana learning about Man's World from Year One? Willing to read a longer run? I recommend: Wonder Woman by George Pérez

George Pérez's time on Wonder Woman totally reinvented the character after Crisis on Infinite Earths, and is fundamental in establishing many core concepts of her lore. At 62 issues, 2 annuals, and a 4-issue crossover event at the end (War of the Gods), it's definitely a commitment to read, but it's the most enduring and well-loved run on Wonder Woman for a reason--it's just that damn good. Lots of focus on mythology (although with a lighter tone than Historia) alongside Diana learning her role in relation to Man's World & establishing herself as a hero and ambassador. Pérez's run also has almost-certainly the most expansive and developed supporting cast in WW comics, something that really drives the emotional core of the series, especially in later issues. Obligatory note that this series was written between 1987 and 1992 and contains some very occasional aspects that I thought were in some way dated/uncomfortable etc. while reading (details of Cheetah's origin, depiction of the Bana-Mighdall, Hercules) but despite that I still highly, highly recommend this run. The word fundamental cannot begin to describe it.

Liked the experienced Diana of the Hiketeia? Interested to see her attempt to balance the high stakes responsibilities of an ambassador and superhero? Looking for some really badass moments and fights? Haven't read enough terrible tragedy? I suggest: Wonder Woman by Greg Rucka 2003 EDITION.

Some of Diana's coolest moments of all time are collected here. Also one of her most controversial. The 1st Rucka run is very much the story for anyone who liked the Diana of the Hiketeia and the tragedy of that and Historia. 2003 Rucka Diana is a Diana tested, forced to make decisions that are anything but easy, and live with the consequences. She's extraordinarily capable, but her enemies know that and are prepared to that end. This run, along with the Pérez run, rank among my favorite Wondy comics of all time (those and Historia are my top 3). This run is such peak Diana, especially in terms of sheer badassery. Her final confrontation with Medusa is in my opinion perhaps the greatest Wonder Woman fight scene of all time. Her encounter with Athena in the second-to-last issue breaks me every time. Cannot recommend this book more.

*a note abt this run is that it is more context-dependent than the other ones listed here, as it's the run that finishes out the Wonder Woman vol. 2 book and so has some guest appearances from characters introduced in other prior runs (Artemis of Bana-Mighdall, Cassie Sandsmark, and Vanessa Kapatelis, to name a few). I read this run before knowing much (if anything) about any of them, and still enjoyed it a lot, so I wouldn't be worried about this really but just thought I'd mention it.

Rucka's 2003 run is published from Wonder Woman (1987) #195-226. You can also find it in trade and I believe(?) omnibus. Sometimes the Hiketeia is included in collections of this series, as the 03 run is thematically similar in many places, just with a much deeper look at Diana and the world & with higher stakes.

Liked the specific characters and plot threads of Wonder Woman: Year One? Want to see what happens with Diana's exile, or learn more about Barbara Ann? Want a Diana in between the extremes of young and highly experienced? Wonder Woman by Greg Rucka 2016 EDITION may be for you.

...yes I'm putting ANOTHER Rucka book on here. He writes a great Diana, what can I say. This run is the same one that Year One came out of, just the follow ups to that story and versions of the characters. I have this run listed as separate from Year One though, as there's some really big time skips since the events of that first volume. A lot of time has passed since then, and there's more history between the characters, not all of it without drama. This run continues to be weird with the numbering, as well as some artist changes, so I definitely recommend looking into reading this in trade format (physical or digital) if at all possible. My recommended reading order is WW 2016 by Rucka vol. 2 "The Lies" (Wonder Woman: Rebirth Special #1, followed by 2016 main title odd numbered issues 1-11), then Rucka 16 vol. 3 "The Truth" (odds 13-23) then Godwatch (evens 16 through 24) followed by 25? But The Truth and Godwatch combine near the end so that doesn't really work either. This run is so good but recommending it is such a pain because the numbering is so all over the place. On God I never know which order to read this in. Going to revoke my previous statement and say read it as Rebirth Special 1, then only odds 1 through 11, then from 13 through 25 normally. That may lead to some weirdness as you read because the two stories take place at different times and have different art styles, but they come together at the end pretty dramatically so I think it's less confusing to read it this way? Maybe? So strange bc this is one of the go to good starter runs and yet it's set up so unintuitively. If someone has a better way to read this then let me know and ill edit, ik this explanation is super confusing bc neither way to read it is totally ideal imo and I feel I definitely read it in a weird order.

Going to call that a good rundown of some of my greatest recommendations in terms of Wonder Woman comics. If anything wasn't fully clear here or anyone (not just anon) has questions or wants to talk abt WW comics/my choices feel free to send as many asks or dms as you want. Have a good day everybody, & as Diana says, may the glory of Gaea be with you <3

[spacedlexi]

people dont talk enough about how heartbreaking the marlon betrayal mustve been for clem too,,

this dude saves the life of her and her kid. takes them in has them patched up gives them their first hot meal in who knows how long. gives them a safe place to stay. possibly permanently. confides in her that hes trying to be a good leader but feels like and fears that hes failing. asks her to help him take care of the rest of the group. helps her get over her fear of dogs by asking her to trust him. and things go well. she feels safe. like this place could really finally be the home shes been looking for

but as soon as she finds out what happened to the twins. that marlon planned on giving up her and aj too. she immediately becomes a liability to him and he attempts to kill her for it. locks her in the basement to die by walker. then tries to turn the group against her so he can shoot her instead when the first method fails. and he nearly succeeds

then a majority of the group turn against clem the minute aj kills marlon. ignoring marlons mistakes but condemning aj for his. like clem wasnt betrayed by marlon in the exact same way he betrayed the twins. like she literally wasnt almost killed twice? and how long had he been considering giving her up? was it always some contingency he planned? did he truly want to keep them around and things only changed when he feared the raiders had returned? she'll never know

[dandeyrain]

i genuinely don't mean this in a like. condescending way. but reading people talk about how Confusing and Nonsensical and Overpacked boy and the heron is make me feel insane. every single plot point is clearly spelled out; frankly, one of my only critiques of the movie is that i wish they'd left some of it LESS clear. yes, the second half is rich in dreamlike fantasy, but the story never breaks its own rules, and before every major reveal in the fantasy world theres an extremely obvious explanation — almost too on the nose to even call it foreshadowing — from somebody. like i just don't understand how anybody finds it impossibly confusing and weird and bad to engage with

[nyxi-pixie]

nakahara 'i could think of 190 ways of exacting my revenge' chuuya and dazai 'ive been thinking of ways to kill chuuya every day for seven years' osamu

[bigothteddies]

can’t stop thinking of all my past connections with people tbh :/

[avephelis]

okay, was there ever an official confirmation of exactly what kind of softshell donnie is? because i was under the impression he's some sort of spiny softshell, (apalone spinifera), but i'm not sure whether that's ever been confirmed canon.

[lanternlightss]

i am itching to say something but it’s technically spoilers but siren venti Can talk, it’s just at. this moment in time they are trying to appear as nonthreatening as viably possible here (even if. this attempt didn’t go so well …)

[aroanthy]

this might be unbearably obvious as an interpretation to some, but i was thinking about mikage’s little hands and how interesting they are as a framing device and specifically a very imposing framing device, and i was like wow. i actually really feel as though those hands are in service of his own perceptions and understandings as he struggles to make his way back to them/relearn/remember them. they’re very different to the ohtori academy certified rose frames in the sense that they beep, they’re kind of mechanical or automaton-y, they are literally pointing and drawing your attention to things much less subtly than a silent, spinning rose. idk, i don’t have much more to say on this one atm, im just rotating the show and its various perspectives in my head a lot atm

[sonknuxadow]

to be honest i have mixed feelings on the idea of the freedom fighters ever coming back . because yeah i like them and i wouldnt mind getting to see them again. but the version of the sonic world theyre associated with is so different from the games that i feel like they cant just be thrown into the games or idw sonic with no changes. like maybe they could be introduced as a separate branch of the restoration or something but i feel like the group dynamic would be a bit different from before considering in every continuity theyre in sonic and tails are part of the freedom fighters too and have known those guys forever. or maybe they could just pretend theyre old friends of sonics who have been here the whole time and just havent shown up onscreen before but personally i dont really like that idea and cant put into words why. idk

[oh-cramity-its-amity]

i love my friends so much. i feel like yesterday i had a lot of shit going on in my head and i woke up to my friend explaining things in a way that put my mind at ease. i dont feel as anxious anymore because i know i was overthinking. i think my dad said it best when he told me that he thought my wonderful brain of mine just wants to think problems are bigger than they actually are. he is right! im just inexperienced in life and half of the time im scared im doing something wrong but- HEY. i need to be more confident in making mistakes. making mistakes doesn't define me as a person!! i need to stop worrying about doing life right and just live for the sake of living and doing what makes me happy!!!!!!!

[bawkrya]

who are the dragons for the "Love is some kind of punishment" post? and why did you choose them for that autogenerate pic? /eyes emoji

EEEEEHEHEHE SO XANTHIA AND CAMIR! this is going to be so long

For Xanthia, she was previously Pentes' wife! The two were married in order to unite Pentes' kingdom with a country that would merge with his own, and she had been the firstborn daughter of this country's previous leader. Because Pentes himself is an immortal, and he LOVES himself some consistency, Xanthia was granted a shared immortality upon this marriage in order for her to be his wife for eternity. Which wasn't exactly something she had wanted at the time, but over the first couple of decades of their marriage she grew to genuinely love him as at the time Pentes was good to his people, and in turn good with her.

But. Pentes isn't a good man. He is the physical embodiment of mud, the Lord Alluvium specifically, and was given his sentience by pure exposure to King Norve, who was very pissed when he was digging underneath the Scarred Wasteland. He inherited this anger and the want for power that King Norve had wanted at the time. So, after their multi-decade-long honeymoon phase, Pentes began to try and gain more and more power by taking over the land around him. Much of this land is actually where the Quarantine Zones are in the Scarred Wasteland now, and if he could overpower someone, he would do it without hesitation; so the peak of his rule expanded for this entire area and then some. Xanthia didn't like this.

The Thing about Xanthia is that she's very straightforward and blunt about her opinions. She thought this drastic expansion was unnecessary and greedy, and would only hurt their people in the long run, which was NOT something Pentes wanted to hear. For most of these expansions, because she loved him so much, she kept her mouth shut and did what she could behind his back, but it wasn't much because (motions to the mud part) he quite literally had eyes everywhere there was dirt.

She would become more defiant though the more it started to affect their kingdom negatively. Pentes was solely concerned about gaining power, for what he never knew, but he knew he needed it and wanted it. He was becoming more and more aggressive, more arrogant, and while to the outsiders perspective his kingdom might have been thriving through this, the reality was that it was tearing apart the inner councils and that the kingdom was very near collapse. So Xanthia decided she had QUITE enough of it and finally, publicly, denounced what Pentes was doing.

Pentes to the public eye took the speech she made gracefully. He acknowledged what she had qualms with, and announced that he would make a formal speech in return, and address any problems his people might have as well. but well actually he was pissed as hell.

The Thing Is Though. he couldn't just kill her. she honest to god wanted to rest, so it wouldn't scare her to threaten to take her immortality. On top of that, it would ruin the image that his kingdom was Fine Actually for the Queen to suddenly die in some way, so soon after she made a speech against him. So he keeps her alive. but he doesn't keep his people alive, and that is what hits her the hardest. Before they married she was in schooling to become a doctor, and was notorious for helping those around her no matter their status/relevance.

The title of Bell is one held within King Norve's Council. The Bell is a warning signal, to take on the dress of the Bell is to announce that there imminent danger that is unavoidable, and no one will escape the incoming tragedy alive, and typically this dress is given by King Norve himself and the title holder will act as a messenger. Each Bell title holder usually has its own moniker, and Pentes' title would come to be the Blood-Ridden Bell. Six months after his response to Xanthia's claims and soothing his kingdom, he very suddenly has an "outburst of magic" after donning the Crown of Pins* that leads to a very violent slaughter of a GOOD portion of the inner kingdoms people. His end goal was to devastate Xanthia so horribly that she fell into a deep depression, and become something malleable for him to manipulate-- because she has power of her own! While she's wasn't a god like him, she was becoming one through exposure to him, and she could've very easily be turned into a living weapon just like King Norve himself.

But she doesn't devastate like he intended her to. After "coming back to his senses" and "realizing what he had done", Xanthia is already making moves to leave this kingdom. Of course she's in pain about what had just happened, but she knows Pentes after well over 200 years of being married to him, and knows that he is just Too Powerful to have an uncontrolled outburst like that. His power is well cultivated and precise, but he didn't account for the fact that Xanthia knew him so intimately as she did-- because while she loved him, he didn't love her fully. She was a prop for his kingdom, and he believed her to be just as knowledgeable about his power as his people. But she is insanely smart! And Again! Loved Him Deeply! so she would pay attention to these things!

So he scrambles. He's apologetic to his peoples and seems to be deeply ashamed of what he's done and immediately goes to repair what's been lost to the best of his abilities, even putting in significantly more work to rehabilitate everyone in the kingdom and bring back people to the inner kingdom. But Xanthia is missing. and people notice this quickly. But he never gives a proper statement as to what happened to her, because truthfully, for a very long time he genuinely didn't know-- only that she was definitely still alive.

This ofc pisses him the fuck off even after King Norves gives him the little Bell promotion in titling him the Blood-Ridden Bell, because while he has technically gained power, he could've had a LOT more power if he had kept Xanthia and turned her into the weapon he wanted her to become. But alas.

So, Xanthia is exiled from Pentes' rule, and in turn is exiled from the Vermin Court, which pins a very large target on her back if she is to be rediscovered by the wrong dragons of this court.

Right now, Xanthia is actually taking shelter under Anura's eye in the Clan of Phrauge, and has been since the Clan was first originated. Not many within the clan actually know who Xanthia is at length, just that she's an immortal doctor and was said to have known Anura when he was the Clans leader. Pentes, as of the present storyline, is actually aware of this and visits Xanthia VERYYYYY very downlow.

It's usually to taunt her. She is still sickeningly in love with who Pentes was before he become who he is now. She always seems to be in a state of mourning of this version of him, and it doesn't seem like she'll stop mourning him anytime soon, especially when he visits her. Some days he'll come to her and basically lovebomb her into confusion, other days he'll be cruel and accusatory, threatening to expose her to those who want her dead for abandoning him, etc etc etc. It's really bad. Anura unfortunately isn't in high of enough rank for his actions to sway Pentes any, and because he is still affiliated with the Vermin Court he can't completely keep Pentes out of his clans boundaries-- especially not without exposing the fact he is still alive to his own clan.

So. Xanthia is just very tired. She'll always love who Pentes was, and he will always dangle this over her head.

*- Crown of Pins: This was a crown made by some of the first organized Religions around the Plaguebringer, specifically when she was still known as Jhortanas to the common people. It was worn by religious leaders while performing rituals in order to communicate with her, and became a weapon of destruction after being imbued with ancient plague magic. King Norve stole this crown after running off on his own, and gave it to Pentes to form his physical body. Pentes only brings out this crown when he intends to do mass destruction, ie, the Blood-Ridden Bell Murder.

Now. 1. imagine if i had this in a bio. 2. Camir's situation is. significantly less convoluted. HELP.

Camir Moreno is the second husband of "Arianwyn" Craftwood aka Crafty, but the two divorced somewhat recently and on less than neutral terms. It's rumored that the two had children and that well he didn't get custody, but given that the Craftwoods are so vigilant about keeping their family members anonymous within reason, no one actually knows if there's actually any kids. But

Camir grew up with Crafty in the burrow market. For as long as he can remember he's been in love with her. He fell for her REALLY hard and continued to love her throughout a shit ton of Burrow Market Tragedies:tm: and even the War of Flies which VERY much fucked up things for them. but hes also a narcissist and has a shit ton of his own problems and while the love he has is genuine, he never actually got along with her that well?!?!?

They had conflicting interests for the Burrow as they both climbed in leadership. They had conflicting customers, ethics, literally everything, and it came to a point where he very legitimately questioned Why he loved her, but came down to like 'heh i just like women who stand their ground' which like. sure whatever.

he was very difficult to deal with in marriage, and the only reason why they even married was for political gain. The Morenos and Craftwoods on the surface are very influential families in the Gabbro (old city in phrauge) and having these families come together would only bring each other customers. The second this shit was proposed Camir agreed. But it took craftwood a LOOT of hefty talking into because she had actually, previously, been married to fucking Patriarch Feir (guy who made Bawkrya the Patriarch with no warning) which is A BIG DEAL!!!!!!!!!!!!! and that marriage obviously led to divorce as well, and she just didnt want to waste her time with more political marriages (and also she was preoccupied banging women and sopping wet men (neither of which is camir))

but she would relent. and immediately regret.

They made the marriage work just long enough for her to get some important contracts that she wanted out of the marriage, but she very quickly handed him the divorce papers the second she knew she could safely break off the marriage w/o severing what she built Off of the marriage. and Camir found this really insulting. Because again, he really liked her! he's had a fascination with her since he was like fifteen! but he absolutely didn't have the words to express this, and didn't feel like it was necessary to do such because oh you're my wife now.

But, he perceives anything she does that he doesn't like as something to spite him and is generally very petty about the divorce, and Quite Literally has beaten the FUCK out of someone for bringing it up in a manner he didn't like. On the surface, he holds an amicable relationship with her, but its something he Has to do as they're both burrow masters.

anyways he was just in love with the idea of her that he made in his head that is absolutely nothing like what Crafty's actually like as a person, and she is very well aware of this. The marriage isnt the first time he's brought up his feelings for her. Hes just one of those guys that cant take no for an answer

to Craftwoods delight though, Xidorn aka her sopping wet man her little rabid ring dog her sweet cinnamon apple, ends up getting a hit on Camir and kills his ass after provoking him during a VERYYY large fighting tournament in the death rings. They both coordinate his assassination even getting vasyl in on it, and uhhh i havent planned anything beyond this but camir gets whats coming for him.

[nonuggetshere]

I'm gonna continue with the requests later, but I also felt the need to doodle my two PVs with a little bit of gender on the side

They're both still very much genderless, but because not every non-binary/agender person will have the same perception/feelings regarding their gender and won't have the same gender presentation, I decided to mess around with it a little

Hallow is genderfluidv(though after some consideration I realised agenderflux describes them more accurately, but oh well, these labels don't even exist in their story so who cares), they're non-binary but their alignment fluctuates between fem-leaning, masc-leaning, something in-between and neither. They're fine with any terms and pronouns but mostly go by they/them.

Luna is genderfae/transfem, their gender fluctuates between agender and fem-aligned non-binary. They mostly go by they/them and gender-neutral and feminine terms, they're fine with she/her and some neopronouns, but any masculine terms and pronouns are a big no-no for them. Currently, I'm considering making them an enby lesbian, but that might change in the future.