#But I think he's also a character who is defined more by Rex by their relation and defined by the story by his guilt

[anyoldfandom]

I am actually. I am so emotional over the Salazar parents and I need to share this to tumblr too.

A lot of stories where the MC is adopted I feel. Either dismiss the biological parents and the impact they have on the kid's life, or makes them evil and abusive, framing the loss of the bio parents as a good thing, or at least something we shouldn't think about just look at this new family.

But Genrex doesn't do that. From the start, Rex wanted to find out more about his parents - it's one of his primary character motivations, next to helping people. He loves them, even though he doesn't know them.

And the more he finds out about them, the more he realizes they loved him. Rylander is consumed by guilt but as Rex's first connection to his pre-Event life, the first thing he does is hug him. And when he tells Rex about his parents, the two things Rex knows is that 1) they were scientists, and 2) that when he was in danger, they were desperate enough to use their secret, experimental technology to save him. Technology built from their desire to help the world, to save countless lives and end countless suffering.

And then. When he finds out that they were dead, he doesn't stop caring. It'd be so easy, too, to tie it up there - his parents were good people, he got his answer about them, the end. But they don't. He doesn't. Because the show is saying once again that they are his parents. He still calls them mom and dad, even as the show makes it clear Holiday and Six adopted Rex as their son. Even as the show even parallels Six and One with Rex and Six (and I will talk about that more later if I don't forget, trust me), to really drive home how much they're family. Rex even says he considers the two of them family, and later that he considers Noah, Claire and Annie family.

He has new family, the show tells us, but his old family still matters to him. He's upset that he never has the chance to meet his parents, that everything he hears about them, about his time with them, is secondhand knowledge. It tells us clearly that not only does Rex still love them, but that he still wants to know them. And everything we find out about them reinforces the love that they had for each other.

We see Abuela and the family in Mexico, who connect him to his birth family and tell him that he was so loved back then, and still is now. We see their office in Abysus through Rex's eyes. The picture of him and his dad on his desk. The drawing Rex drew, proudly pinned to the wall.

We see it in the familiarity of the drawing. That that robot, that build, was what Rex created when he was lost and scared and alone - that it was made to keep him safe. That it first appeared in his mind in a place he felt safe.

The show says, tenderly and softly, that the love is still there. That the fact these people died was nothing but a tragedy, that their love is a big part of what made Rex who he is today - that every molecule in his body is filled with their final gift to him. That every time he cures someone, every time he uses a build, every time he makes a machine - we see the love that they had for him.

And the way he quietly absorbs his father's face. The way he freezes and whispers "Mamá?" when he finds out Zag-Rs has their mother's voice. The fact that she even has her voice as a testament to Caesar's love, too - that it was meant to bring comfort and safety. The way Rex yells at Caesar when he finds out they have a family property, a connection to their past, the way he fights to protect it.

And, none of this takes away still from Six and Holiday being Rex's family too. None of this removes the work either set of parents did for him, the love either set has - the show says that it was unfair that the Salazar parents were lost. That Six and Holiday are not replacements, that they still love him as parents but play different roles in his life. They can not, and have no desire to, replace the Salazars. But Rex needs parents, he needs protectors, and so they will do what they can for him - at first out of necessity, to keep this kid they barely know safe, but then out of love. They aren't replacing what was lost, but are doing their best to do what Rex's bio parents would do. And they do mess up in it - they mess up in ways Rex's bio parents might not have. Six is clearly bad with showing affection, affection we saw the Salazars give Rex so easily, and Holiday is overworked and stressed constantly, sometimes breaking under the pressure and snapping at Rex and Six, things we never saw the Salazars do.

It's just. It's about how sometimes things will not be the same. They will be different. That doesn't mean the people you lost aren't still with you.

#This is also. Why I dislike the 'Rex was secretly made for the nanite experiments the accident was a lie' theory so much #Bc it assigns malice where the show says over and over again there was only love. #That this was only ever a tragedy of good people whose good intentions were manipulated and twisted. #And I think giving them something shitty to have done in the past especially goes against the message of the show's perspective on adoption #The family we choose is not always stronger than the family we are born to. Sometimes they are equal in different ways. #Rex's bio parents are gone but not replaced. They have also shaped who he is #Six and Holiday are just picking up where they left off. Because they have to. #Also I don't like the theory that Rex's parents are EVOs somewhere bc I think it diminishes the impact of the tragedy too. #I get. Wanting them to have a happy ending. But I think it's important to realize that this is the closest they can have to a happy ending. #Some things cannot be replaced. Or fixed. Sometimes life takes what we love and what loves us. And that is okay. #It is okay to be upset at that and it is okay to never fully move on. #'What about Caesar?' I have. Another post's worth of thoughts about him. #But I think he's also a character who is defined more by Rex by their relation and defined by the story by his guilt #I think he is the closest thing Rex has to a shitty bio family member and he is shitty in plenty of ways #But he's also a parallel to Rex in a lot of ways. He fails where Rex succeeds bc of it. #generator rex #genrex #Anyways. Sorry for the big post.

[demolition-lesbians]

Rolling Stone #1119 December 9, 2010 - The Playlist Issue

(click for better quality) Here's the playlist if you want to take a listen! Transcript:

Gerard Way: Glam Rock

My Chemical Romance's frontman grew up a metalhead, but when he heard Iron Maiden's lead singer, Bruce Dickinson, cover Mott the Hoople's "All the Young Dudes," he discovered a whole other world, "I knew I had to find out more," Way says, "To some people, glam is just about makeup. To me, it's a very magical thing almost like witchcraft."

1: "Ziggy Stardust" David Bowie, 1972

This song defines glam. It was also the first thing in rock that really challenged people's notions of sexual orientation. Bowie actually sings about a man's ass! 2: "Children of the Revolution" T. Rex, 1972

You always knew Bowie would make it out alive and turn into another character; with Marc Bolan you didn't know that. He came across as very vulnerable. 3: "All the Young Dudes" Mott the Hoople, 1972

This is kind of a cheat because David Bowie wrote it for them, but I always preferred the Mott the Hoople version. By this point, Bowie was talking about the actual glam movement, which is why it's about kids stealing makeup and breaking into unlocked cars. Glam became about the kid in the room, the poster on the wall, putting on a women's short fur coat and eyeliner, with no shirt on, just listening to this music. 4: "Ballroom Blitz" Sweet, 1973

They completely break the fourth wall when the song opens up and they're calling each other by name. We emulated that on our song "Vampire Money." It literally starts out just like "Ballroom Blitz" does. 5: "Cum On Feel the Noize" Slade, 1973

Obviously, everybody knows this for the Quiet Riot version, but when you hear the original you realize just how bold it is. The soundscape they created is probably one of the best out of all the glam-rock bands. 6: "Love Is the Drug" Roxy Music, 1975

Roxy Music took the glam thing and then modified it. Bryan Ferry looks nothing like a glam artist, and that's what I love about him. He's wearing this great suit and he's got short hair and he's so romantic. Maybe some people wouldn't consider Roxy Music a glam band, but I do, for a lot of reasons. A major one is that they used to have Brian Eno behind the keyboard wearing feathers on his shoulders and eye shadow.

7: "Needles in the Camel's Eye" Brian Eno, 1974

Speaking of Eno, this is the first track on his first solo album. It's the glammiest track on the record. As soon as he finishes that song, he's almost over it, and he's moved on to something else. Besides Bowie, Eno is still the most important artist to me of the glam scene. When you heard his first album, you knew it was gonna be his last glam record. He just needed to do it once and he was done. 8: "Clones (We're All)" Alice Cooper, 1980

With "Clones," Alice Cooper was moving into the glam of the future, like this kind of Blade Runner replicant version of glam. Alice Cooper doesn't get enough credit for being a glam artist. A lot of people just say, "Oh, he's shock rock," but I think he's way more Rocky Horror than he is shock rock. 9: "48 Crash" Suzi Quatro, 1973

She's the most unsung glam rocker. She's also the prototype for the Runaways. "48 Crash" is one of her more aggressive songs. She looks amazing on the cover, wearing this black cat suit. Everything about the song is magic. 10: "Personality Crisis" New York Dolls, 1973

They were a lot more punk, but I will always consider the New York Dolls glam by the nature of how they looked and their attitude. They took glam to America and really challenged the sexuality of it. They also had Johnny Thunders, who's basically like the American Mick Ronson.

#can not describe the feeling of finding what issue this belonged to but man was it good #gerard way #glam rock #rolling stone magazine

[tranakin-skywalker]

Fuck it, fic rec list time!

I'm bored and can't sleep so here's a non-exhaustive list of some of my favorite Star Wars fics. I'm leaving the really well known ones off, wanna share some of the more obscure gems.

Not Placid Stars But Singularities by iceplanet

He stands before Sidious, head bowed, helmet pinching at the back of his neck where he hasn’t yet gotten the med droid to file down the sharp edges. Sharpness is another fact of life, now: the feel of metal digging into flesh defines his every motion. Given the time and the opportunity, he himself could probably have built prosthetics better than the ones he currently wears. “Your task, Lord Vader,” Sidious is saying, “is to transform this heap of antiquated softness into a palace worthy of our new Empire.” In the weeks after Mustafar, Vader must come to terms with his new body and the remnants of his past. In the process, he has a few conversations that he does not expect.

This one has everything I love: ghosts, mutilation, Vader being the saddest wettest murder meow meow, Sith Lord batshittery. What fun.

Skin Graft by HENST33TH

“ I hurt you.” killed her, Vader's stomach roiled. Bile clawed at his throat as he looked at her. He wasn't making any sense. Her face softened some. “ Dreams…?” she said. Padme thought she understood. It was sick, it was corrosive. He was unfaithful. For twenty years he was unfaithful. He hurt her children. He needed to spit it out. Explain. She deserves it. She needs to know. Vader needed to crack himself open. Padme needed to tear him apart. For her safety. He got out of bed. Twitching with the need. Shaking with the pressure inside of him. Taught like a noose. He stood before her. She placed her hands on his arms. “Then what, Anakin.” Anakin, Anakin, Anakin. Vader sank to his knees. Resting his head against her middle, he breathed. The shame clung to him and coated his throat till he was choking on it. “It’s so much worse than that.” all at once the future loomed over him. Daunting, a beast of its own. How can he explain it? *** Or, Anakin Skywalker gets thrown back in time. He has to learn: 1 how to have a body again 2. To curb his Raging insecure attachment style. 3. That his wife should be the one making the important galactic decisions.

A newer fic that I am quickly becoming obsessed with. The way it's written is perfect. The characterization is perfect. Everything about it is perfect imo. And the ending of this latest chapter. Masterpiece. I want 10 more.

Nameless, On the Edge of Nowhere by Taxonamie

Following the presumed death of the evil Emperor and his hulking henchman Darth Vader, the fledging Alliance stands on the verge of victory! But as they press their advantage against a destabilized Empire and manifest from the seeds of Rebel resistance, can this new government survive their own instability? Among the scattered Imperial forces of the second Death Star, Darth Vader's disapparence is not so final as they would hope. Worse yet, the Rebel Hero Luke Skywalker has gone missing! Alone and disadvantaged, what will Anakin Skywalker do to find his son? Will he walk the razor's edge of tentative alliance with the Rebel Forces, or succumb to the draw of Imperial power? Free from all Masters, can Anakin Skywalker learn who he wants to be, at last? Princess Leia Organa must navigate this minefield of clashing obligations and dripping grudges, all the while attempting to understand a heritage she hates, a brother she loves, and a mysterious mother she cannot understand.

I think this fic is the most successful at bridging the gap between Prequel Anakin and OT Vader that I have ever read. They genuinely feel like a continuation of the same character here rather than a disjointed Before and After.

trust displays by AshToSilver

Rex meets Luke and Leia for the very first time the night they are born.

I love how sweet but also horrifically fucked up this one is. Cannot express how much this fic has influences the way I write the clones.

in morsum ardeo by astarsdarkheart

A fallen Jedi and Lord of the Sith burns in a pyre on the banks of a river of fire. Something else rises from the ashes.

This series rewired my brain. Like, holy shit. Holy shit. I don't think I could ever actually choose a top favorite fic of all time, but honestly? This one makes a strong case for itself. It has haunted me every day since I first read it over a year ago.

Forever War by yujacheong

Vader has trouble distinguishing between the past and the present. Fortunately, it rarely matters in the context of the Empire's forever war.

Love me a good Vader character study.

this place loves what it eats by roadtripexpert

What could be called but isn’t death, or Leia Organa doesn't kill the man formerly known as Anakin Skywalker

I know I've already recommended this one but it is just. So fucking good. The note from my bookmark: Father-daughter roadtrip results in about as much murder and bitching as you would expect.

relieved to live in the wreckage by niniblack

When Obi-wan doesn’t follow Padmé to Mustafar, she’s able to convince Anakin to run away from everything with her. But this doesn't prevent his nightmares from coming true, and he's left alone in a hostile galaxy with the infants she begged him to protect. “Master Anakin,” Threepio says, still hovering in the doorway. “Might I suggest bouncing the children?” Anakin stops pacing around with the twins, head swiveling to look at Threepio. He doesn’t have to ask what the fuck Threepio is talking about; Artoo does it for him. Threepio seems to draw himself up as straight as he can. “I have conducted extensive research on the subject of human childrearing in anticipation of Mistress Padmé giving birth. Holding an infant and gently bouncing them in the parent’s arms is thought to be an excellent calming method.” “Oh,” Anakin says. “I thought you meant… bouncing them on the floor or something.”

The note from my bookmark: Single dad Anakin. Congratulations buddy, no one's ever done it worse.

Send the Whole Damned Thing Down the Drain by handstitchedanarchist

“Are you a conscripted soldier or a battle slave?” General Skywalker asks him one day. Rex thinks about it. And then thinks about it a little longer. And then he has to admit, “I’m not sure what the difference is.” The general looks distant and… sad? “Yeah, me neither,” he says.

This is another one that has greatly influenced the way I write the clones.

Gonna end the list here cuz my meds are starting to kick in and I feel like I'm going to fall over

#fic recs #pretty sure i only picked fics with less than 1k kudos #some of these are criminally underrated #not going to think about what this list implies about me lmao #there is definitely a running theme with the fics i chose

[xecutivecucumber]

Executive Cucumber's Thoughts on the Bad Batch 03x09!

Spoilers under the cut

Apologies for this being late, I worked overtime and then immediately went to rescue my sister and her kids from a car breakdown. I got overwhelmed pretty quick.

I really liked this episode, but as I was in a not great mood when I watched it, I didn't absorb as much as I normally do. (My mood really affects how much I enjoy something, regardless of quality. I was in a foul mood when I first watched Faster and was fairly critical of it. I was wrong.)

This is really the first time we've seen not beautiful weather on Pabu and that's terrifying.

CROSSHAIR IS PART OF A COMMUNITY!!! Have yall considered that he's never been a part of a community before? Like yes, he's has his family, but a community?

'Does it matter? We're not giving her up.' This man. I love this man. If Tech did not already reign Supreme in my heart, I think Crosshair would be my favorite character in Star Wars.

ASAJJ VENTRESS MY QUEEEEEEEEEN

Oh Omega, that story fell apart faster than Hunter's resistance to adopting you.

They leave a space for Tech 💔

Apparently those blood tester things that Qui Gon had were Jedi issue only.

YOU CAN DO IT OMEGA!!! Wrecker, honey, if Omega CAN do it, that means her life gets WAY harder.

They one hundred percent sent Crosshair to look at Tech's data because Hunter and Wrecker can barely do it.

'Go get a flower kid, I gotta beat up your dads'

Okay, I honestly think Hunter doesn't have the time for romance and could honestly see him as asexual, but-

HIS WAIST IS SO SLUTTY. HOW IS IT SO SLUTTY.

I don't think we've seen such well choreographed hand to hand fighting in animated Star Wars. Except maybe that time that Rex absolutely destroyed those Zygerrians. But I might be biased about that.

'SHE'S A WAR CRIMINAL OMEGA' Okay now I need to know what defines war crimes in this universe. Did they have space Geneva?

You know, good thing Echo's not here. He'd probably be WAY more pissed than these three.

'You're naive' says the man who was changed by the child saying people can change.

I love Crosshair's 'oh shoot she's right' face.

Wrecker's little gasp when Ventress looks at them is AMAZING.

I love it when Star Wars is using the Force to connect with animals.

I'm sorry, Hunter girlies, I guess we getting wet hair everyone except Hunter. (Though Ventress looks SO GOOD)

VENTRESS YOU QUEEN I LOVE YOU YOU'VE COME SO FAR (I haven't read dark disciple but my sister has, and she informed me that Vos' Dark Side training by Ventress culminated in him summoning a water monster and killing it. This is such a beautiful parallel that she calms it.)

Crosshair helping Omega on is my everything.

I really love that Crosshair has decided to give Ventress a chance, because he was given a chance. (And also I lowkey ship them in a one night stand kinda way. Crossajj is such a good ship name too)

DAD DUO.

I don't think Ventress is lying when she says Omega isn't Force sensitive. Omega doesn't show ANYTHING in this episode that implies that she's sensitive. Yes, she uses Batcher, but she'd trained Batcher with normal friend methods. I think that Ventress stops the testing prematurely before she can be more sure, because she sees the possibly unhealthy attachment the Batch have. It might also be to protect Omega to not know for sure. My personal theory is that Omega is slightly more sensitive than the average clone, but not to any natural talent degree.

Oh gosh, I'm so scared for the next few episodes. Ventress gives them such a clear warning. This episode did such a good job of getting the tension tight again.

I know some people call this episode redundant, but the characters NEED this in order to catch up. We as an audience knew that M Counts meant midichlorians. But the Batch had no idea. Sometimes, we need to let the main characters catch up with us.

(This is also why Tech as CX-2 works on a reveal level because the mystery isn't for us, it's for the characters)

But yeah, a great episode! I'm terrified for everything and everyone!

A quick note- I've seen people say that it's too late in the season for Tech to return. I'd like to remind you that it took exactly two episodes in season 2 to get us behind Crosshair's redemption. They can do a lot in a few episodes.

#the bad batch #tbb #tbb season 3 #the bad batch season 3 spoilers #the bad batch season 3 #tbb season 3 spoilers #tbb spoilers #tbb omega #tbb s3 spoilers #tbb crosshair #tbb wrecker #tbb hunter #asajj ventress #tbb tech #tbb echo #tbb batcher #tech lives #take a deep breath #things are going to go downhill from here

[antianakin]

Not to be salty but have you seen "He was a good master" from the Ahsoka show? Thoughts?

Nothing positive lol.

I don't think the Ahsoka show did anywhere NEAR enough to really earn this moment of Ahsoka saying that he was a good master when they refused to really delve into what should've been Ahsoka's very complicated feelings about Anakin. The closest we get to it is "You were more powerful and dangerous than anyone realized" which... barely scratches the surface. It doesn't hit on anything particularly PERSONAL about Ahsoka's feelings regarding Anakin's betrayal, both of the Jedi and of herself. It doesn't get into her guilt over having left him, her anger at what he took from her. They have her question what she's able to pass on to a padawan one day, but she attributes her lack of ability to having fought in a war rather than Anakin's own training of her. The show even sort-of implies that it's Anakin's training that will help her overcome the "death and destruction" she thinks is all she has to offer.

This show won't let Ahsoka have any real emotions. She's not allowed to be angry or betrayed or guilty or scared. Episode 5 tossed out a few lines that sound really profound and deep but don't actually do anything to explore Ahsoka's psyche or her relationship with Anakin in a way that's particularly meaningful. Those lines are pretty, sure, but there's nothing nuanced behind them.

I also just don't think that Ahsoka deciding he was a good master is all that interesting of a conclusion. Like sure, maybe he had some good moments she can remember and decide were real. But the nasty shit he did was real, too, and that SHOULD still enter the equation. He still lied to her, he still abandoned her to die, he still stole her future from her, he still tried to kill her on Malachor. He WASN'T a good master, because those are all still things he did to her. So he made her a few recordings, so he taught her to "be a soldier" during the war. I'm sure those things are important to her, but the stuff he did to HURT HER are important, too. And this show focuses entirely too much on Anakin just... being a good dude for my taste.

I think I would've preferred for Ahsoka to land on something closer to "He had his moments that were real, and I do think a part of him genuinely did care about me, but he wasn't ready to be a teacher and he chose to abandon ME, not the other way around. I can learn from his mistakes and do BETTER."

It also really is starting to feel like they're continuing to refuse to let Ahsoka move on from this relationship. It's the ONLY important relationship in her life, she is literally DEFINED by that relationship to Anakin. There was no attempt to bring in ANY OTHER JEDI CHARACTERS or even have Ahsoka MENTION anybody else. We got like half a second of Rex in a flashback scene, but no exploration of that relationship at all. It sucks. Being Anakin's apprentice should be the LEAST of who and what Ahsoka is at this point and instead it's become the focal point of her entire character.

#star wars #ahsoka tano #ahsoka show #ahsoka series #ahsoka spoilers #anti anakin #anti anakin skywalker #anakin critical #anakin skywalker critical

[picturejasper20]

Something that i still find interesting- years after new animated shows aired and finished- is that Steven is pretty unique when it comes to his set of powers and abilities in his own series.

Usually in other animated series, the main lead character has powers that are offensive- meant to attack their enemies in combat- including character leads who empathize with people that oppose them and they try befriending them on the long run.

Think of Anne from Amphibia or Luz from The Owl House, for example. Anne has a calamity form that works pretty much like a super saiyan in universe, meant to punch and smash things. A lot of Luz Noceda's magic spells are offensive as well (thought others are more specific).

In contrast, Steven's powers are mostly defensive or support. He can summon bubble shields or walls to protect his friends, something he usually does in the show. He has also healing powers that he can use to heal gems/organic beings or revive them (later on in the series). They aren't meant to have the purpose of attacking an enemy but defend one's self or others from them.

All these powers Steven has go well along with his personality and his character arc of trying to help people and a lot of times trying to define himself in around ¨fixing¨ others. Steven sees himself as a helper, someone who assists people with their problems.

That's not to say Steven doesn't find a way to use them in a offensive way like throwing his shield to hit targets or charge using his bubble-but his gem abilities are still defensive and support at his core. He uses them to protect himself and others.

I'm not sure if other main lead characters from other animated series with this type of powers come to mind. A few examples i can think of are: Aang from Avatar TLA ( who uses air powers), Oscar from Summer Camp Island (his magical powers are to make others happy) and maybe Wander from Wander Over Yonder ( mostly he evades and moves fast). Rex Salazar could be partially added since he has healing powers (most of his moves are still offensive).

The point is that Steven still stands out from other main character leads when it comes to having a set of powers that are with the intention to protect and help. It is quite unique take for a main character to have considering most have this thing of ¨how strong can i get to make half of a city explode¨.

#steven universe #steven quartz universe #SU meta #su analysis

[jasonrae117]

Just Another Hollywood Scene

Just in time for the new year! Please enjoy the next installment!

Also on Ao3!! https://archiveofourown.org/works/49727071/chapters/133334152

Chapter 3: New News

Damian was heading to Dick’s house to have what he called a celebration, but what seemed to really be a ‘I hope the media takes the news well’ support group. Most of the people that worked in the offices were going to be there so Damian really had no choice but to come.

The costume consult went pretty much as expected and like many of his other ones he’s done in the past. The superhero costume itself was slightly uncomfortable yet manageable and defined his physique. His only complaint was that it was the colors of a traffic light, a little more red and black heavy but yellow and green definitely made their appearances. The costumer, Rita Parr, who had a 1950s vibe told him it’s to reflect his background of being from a circus. Damian snorted, the fact that Dick used his own backstory to fuel this character was still very funny to him, especially when others don’t know it and think it's so absurdly original.

The craziest thing about this movie was that Dick was not only directing it, but he is the primary writer too. He didn’t want to come across as too bold and open his sure to be box office smash to criticism because an actor turned director could also write a script well. So he put it under a pseudonym. Damian was quite surprised when he found out, the script was well written, the characters all seemed grounded, and it was more than just an action movie. Dick had found a way to work a compelling romance amongst his characters too. That is why Damian would have begged his brother to be in the movie, of course he didn’t have to, Dick was all too eager to have Damian be a part of it, but Damian would have begged if it came to that. 

When Damian’s town car pulled up to Dick’s small mansion, he could already see the cars of about seven others, and by some of the specific vehicles he knew that the majority of the production team leaders were here. And sure enough when Alfred, his family’s butler that Bruce requested help host Dick’s gathering, opened the door, he could already hear some of their voices.

“Welcome Master Damian. Wonderful that you could make it this evening.” The gentle older man stepped to the side, gesturing for Damian to enter.

“Good evening Alfred. I’m afraid I wasn’t allowed to RSVP no to this event.’

“Well, nevertheless, I have brought your favorite bourbon to help you settle in better. Master Grayson is in the theatre room with some of the others. He requested I direct you there upon your arrival.” Alfred walked along beside him.

“Great, already jumping into work talk. I’ll take a double of that bourbon when you get the chance.” Damian shrugged off his coat and put it in the coat closet, politely denying Alfred’s assistance.

Approaching the theatre room, he could already hear the familiar voices of a good chunk of the production team:

Wally West ( Director's Assistant)

Barbara Gordon (Secretary/PA)

Zatanna Zatara (Producer)

Clark Kent (Cinematographer)

Garth Bernstein (Casting Director)

Victor Stone (Sound Designer)

Rex Mason (Production Designer)

Along with Jason Todd, Slade Wilson was also present. Slade Wilson was cast to play the villain and arch nemesis to Robin, Deathstroke. Damian wasn’t a huge fan of the older man, throughout his long tenure of acting he was known to be vindictive, manipulative, and only watch out for himself. He ran his own talent agency poaching other managers of their clients to fill his arsenal. It worked, however, his name and his wealth always convinced the young and naive actors and actresses to buck over to his team. So before him, he had an army of good talent that made him richer and made membership under his agency ridiculously pricey. As for the actors and actresses, Slade saved the best roles for himself and his favorites, so every audition season was cutthroat and everyone sucked up to Slade to gain his favor and potentially better roles. Damian was disgusted by it and was appalled that Dick would include him in his project, but Dick argued that the new movie needed a genius villain and Slade was the best to play the evil man.

He had to agree with his brother, while Slade was unquestionably a terrible man in real life, he elegantly portrayed one even better on the big screen. Once he aged out of the roguish antihero type leading man, he began getting typecast as the man pulling the strings or the mob boss. Slade loved it because people loved his bad guys and he won a multitude of awards for them. It killed Damian to say it, but he was a perfect choice for the role.

Damian took a deep breath and opened the double doors to the large projector screen with luxurious plush red velvet reclining chairs creating three rows facing the front. The various men and women standing or sitting around the room, each with a drink in their hand. They turned their heads to see who the newcomer was. Dick came bouncing toward him while the others raised their glass in acknowledgement, waved, or called out a greeting. 

“Hey Dami! I’m so glad you could make it!” Dick embraced him, but really just hugged around Damian’s hanging arms.

“I had no choice in the matter and you know it, now get off.” Damian resisted.

“Well I’m still glad you listened to my threats.” Dick laughed and guided him inside. “We were just going through the final candidates audition tapes, I’ve decided we’re going to decide tonight as a team!”

“We’re casting everyone tonight?” He looked at the screen to find it paused on someone’s audition. An average height, lanky male with blonde hair and green eyes, no doubt someone auditioning for Changeling. 

“No, not everyone, but the main team. Well those we haven’t cast yet! We already signed Kori as Starfire, and yesterday we finalized Connor Kent as Super Boy!” Dick practically cheered.

Damian rolled his eyes at the last casting announcement. “Clark’s brother? And I’m the one that gets called out for nepotism.” He crossed his arms. 

Clark snorted, “You know I really thought you guys would have been the best of friends back then. Bruce was right though.” He chuckled again, few of the others joining in as well.

“He really does play cocky and arrogant well though, and you can’t play both roles!” Zatanna called out, making the rest burst into laughter.

“Ha ha. You all know he is a diva. Not everyone that fits the description of the character everyday of their real life should be the actual character. We’re actors because we can be things we’re not, not because we can portray ourselves on screen too, that's why we have reality TV trash.” 

“Yeah that’s why we cast you as Robin, a leader, noble, maybe a little romantic, hero. You sure aren’t any of that in real life.” Garth hollered, Jason cackled with him. Damian’s eyes narrowed at the pair.

“Oh, but that’s why he’s an actor, because he can sure as hell act like a badass but isn’t one!” Jason added, their laughing continued. Damian dared a glance around the room, seeing Clark trying to hide his enjoyment, Rex’s smile and the way he nudged Zatanna as if they all agreed. Slade was sitting a glass of whiskey in one hand and a smirk on his face. Once his eyes landed on Barbara and Dick who also got caught giggling, he felt his anger start to rise. 

“Your own words are biting you in the ass, Wayne.” Barbara snorted, emphasizing the use of his last name and punctuating the snarky comment with a sip from her glass of wine. 

“Laugh all you want, you know I’m right. Now can we please just get on with it so I can go home?” He snapped.

Dick, still chuckling, clapped him on the back. “Sure thing. We actually started a bit early and just voted on our Mark Beast A.K.A Changeling! His name in Garfield Logan-”

“The guy from Space Trek?” Damian scoffed.

“The very one! He has a great following and a pretty solid comedic timing. His fans adore him and he’s already got green eyes! The rest will be easy! Plus he is already trained in gymnastics and does parkour, so stunts should be a little easier and perhaps more practical!” Garth chimed in.

“See, watch!” Dick pressed play and the screen brightened to life, displaying Garfield’s audition, followed by some footage of him at a training facility doing parkour and gymnastic routines. In Damian’s opinion, he wasn’t a poor choice, but he was still skeptical. 

The group resettled into their chairs and watched clip after clip of auditions, until they narrowed it down and finally selected someone for the remaining roles. After Garfield Logan, they agreed upon Jaime Reyes to play Dan Garret A.K.A Blue Beetle and Donna Troy to portray Wondergirl, or Cassie Sandsmark. Alfred had arranged some catering to come in and supply them with a delicious meal as they were already a few hours deep into deliberation. 

It was finally time to face the choice Damian dreaded the most. Who will play the Sorceress? He hadn’t stopped thinking about how important it was that she get along with him and be a good actress herself. The role was the second largest in the movie and could cost them dearly if they choose incorrectly. That and the fact that the office didn’t stop discussing this one girl’s audition for two full days, luckily it died down after that but Damian didn’t want Jason’s new plaything to be involved at all and certainly didn’t want her too close to himself.

Garth, the casting director, had narrowed their choices down to three different women that had been the best of the bunch. The first audition wasn’t memorable, the girl had played it safe, and while it was still very well done, it was missing that certain something.

Damian recognized the second woman instantly, and all he could think of was how horribly wrong the choice would be. Terra Markov, or better known as Slade Wilson’s lapdog. She was his pet, and she also got any audition she could dream of. No doubt Garth was bribed or in some way coerced to give her a shot, because her look did not scream sorceress at all. To give credit where credit is due, she was a decent actress, she just had a temper and her questionable ties with Slade didn’t sit right with him. They still watched her performance and the crowd seemed rather pleased.

“I really like how she delivered that line!”

“Her blue eyes are so pretty!”

“Imagine if we just dyed her hair or used a wig, I think we have a winner!”

Damian looked to Slade who was sitting there with a smug grin on his face. “She is quite talented isn’t she.”

“She’s great, but we’ve got one more. So let’s not make any decisions quite yet.” Dick answered.

“What? You don’t think she is fit for the role?” Slade pushed back.

“No, no. She did very well, I’m just saying we have one left and we should watch it first. Terra is a strong actress, no question why you signed her under your agency.”

“Mr. Grayson, it’d be most efficient to just call it here, everyone approves of her.” A general nodding of heads and agreements filled the room following Slade’s words.

“True, or we can suck up watching five more goddamn minutes like the fucking director wants, and see all the possibilities. Or is it past your bedtime grandpa?” Jason barked.

“You listen here-” Slade was cut off.

Damian had marched over to Dick’s spot in the theatre and snatched the remote out of his hand, he walked back to his place towards the back of the room and away from everyone else and pressed play on the last audition tape.

The slam of the door and the energy that filled the screen silenced everyone. However, no one was more stunned than Damian, who had just realized that the very woman auditioning was the same from the lobby. It was made evident by the large brown coffee stain he caused on her blouse.

Damian watched the audition speechless. This couldn’t possibly be the one everyone was talking about. To his dismay, he had to admit that he was captivated. He knew that she had been late which explained the sudden start to the tape and lack of a slate, but despite what he caused, it seemed to fuel her annoyance of being disturbed by the alarm. She had added some lines and improvised her movements, Damian knew because he practically had the whole damn script memorized. 

He almost laughed when she forced a poor assistant to become her scene partner, the shuffle of papers being thrown at the young man caused a few giggles from the small viewing audience. His eyes widened when she pulled her shirt off and he quickly berated himself for appreciating the fullness of her breasts and how prettily they were wrapped in her beige lace bra. While the woman on the screen addressed her apparel, Damian ‘respectfully’ averted his gaze and was curious to see what the others were thinking.

Barbara and Victor were smirking, seemingly appreciating the woman’s strong presence and how she kept going even though the brainless men were stuck on her wardrobe malfunction. Victor and Dick shared a look that confirmed that whatever they were thinking, that they were on the same page. Once the girl appeared back on screen wearing Jason’s signature jacket, the owner proudly grinned and nudged Garth in the chair beside him whose eyes seemed to be glued a little too much on her body. Rex and Clark were happily enjoying the audition and had even put down their food and snacks, fully entranced. What caught Damian’s eye the most was that Slade has shifted his posture, going from neatly relaxed with one ankle resting on the opposite knee, to leaning forward, fingers laced under his chin and elbows planted on his knees merely observing.

Damian’s focus shifted back to the screen, watching her move about so confidently before sitting in a lotus position and chanting lowly.

“Azerath, Metrion, Zinthos.”

Then Dick called cut and jumped in the scene beside her before the tape was stopped seconds later. A few seconds of silence and processing followed before everyone excitedly looked around and began discussing what they had just seen.

“It’s got to be her!”

“Her eyes are so unique!”

“She improvised all that? That’s incredible!”

But all Damian could think about was the war in his head. There was no denying that she was clearly the best, but he knew he already screwed up with her and was certain she hated his guts. He wasn’t sure if they would be able to work together.

“Okay, so that was the fantastic Raven Roth! She is a phenomenal actress whom you might have seen on Skulls as the forensic scientist.”

“I think it has to be her. Even her look is spot on, she is mysterious and cool.” Barbara said.

“I don’t know…didn’t it seem kind of amateurish to just storm in there. That would not fly on set!” Zatana chirped.

“She wouldn’t do that on set, some jerk spilled coffee on her which made her late! I completely sympathize for the poor girl, and to give us a performance this strong? Incredible! Trust me, I’ve seen a lot of auditions over the years.” Damian’s cheeks started to burn at Garth’s words, unknowingly calling him out. 

“I for one agree with Mr. Bernstein, here.” The mumbles around the room silenced at Slade’s approval, he never sided with anyone that wasn’t his own talent. 

“You do? But isn’t Terra your client?” Dick asked outright, sparing any tiptoeing around the subject.

“Yes, I am not blind and I know when to fold if my hand is not strong enough. Terra cannot out-perform this girl, at least in a role like this. This girl doesn’t seek attention, she demands it with her screen presence, it’s powerful, impactful. Terra’s performance was surface level, good, but inadequate. I’ll coach her about this later. But nevermind that. Miss Roth would be an excellent addition to the cast, as well as my agency. Does anyone know if she’s being represented?” Slade asked the room, Damian noticing a certain look in his eye that he couldn’t quite name.

“Alrighty then.” Dick looked around the room, everyone nodding in agreement to the unspoken question. 

Damian felt a weight in his stomach. No way they all almost unanimously chose the vile woman from the coffee shop. Sure she had done well, but they couldn’t see past that? They’d soon find out her temper and Damian would enjoy watching them regret their decision. But still… he’d have to go to work everyday and look at her stupidly, definitely not in any way attractive, face and convince her to like him. It wasn’t fair. Maybe he should speak up? But to speak up would be to reveal himself as the ‘asshole’ and he couldn’t have that. They’d just side with Raven, and he wouldn’t even be able to explain himself. He had to get out of there, he couldn’t risk anyone realizing that he hadn’t given his usually very vocal opinion. Quietly, he snuck out the door just as Dick was finishing his statement.

“It looks like Raven Roth is our Sorceress!”

He could hear the applause from the hallway but he didn’t look back, he proceeded to the kitchen to grab some water and hide. Feeling the cold water slide down his throat, cooling the anger and frustration within him slightly, Damian took a very needed deep breath. Just then, the last person he wanted to see found him.

“Damian, why’d you leave? We just broke out the champagne to celebrate the completed casting!” Dick held his flute of champagne out, swirling the contents as if to entice him.

“I don’t care for champagne.”

“Suit yourself.” he shrugged and took a large sip. After pulling the glace down from his lips, he leaned his hip against the kitchen island and stared directly into Damian’s eyes. “Don’t think I didn’t notice that you didn’t speak up in there.”

“I had nothing to say.” Damian tried to sound nonchalant. 

“If there’s one thing I know about you Damian, it’s that you always have something to say, especially when it directly affects you.”

Dick was good, he always knew when something was up, and usually Damian reluctantly found it endearing but right now it was definitely not the time. “It’s not like I have a choice in the matter. You all seemed very pleased with her so there is no point in voicing my opinion for it to be met with criticism.” He shrugged.

“Criticism huh? So you didn’t like her?” 

Damian opened his mouth to protest but once again, Dick had caught him. Pinching the bridge of his nose, he figured he might as well get the interrogation over with. “I had the displeasure of meeting Miss Roth sometime before her audition. She was inconsiderate and rude and I don’t think we need that kind of behavior on set. Oh and she’s Todd’s new plaything which also poses a problem.”

“Oh, I had no idea. She certainly seemed nice and courteous enough when we talked to her. But I suppose she could be putting on an act for her benefit and given that she wouldn’t know that you were already cast she'd have no reason to give you better treatment. I was also under the impression that Jason and Raven had never met prior to her audition.” He rubbed his chin in thought, “I will take this into consideration as we onboard her. I don’t want to react harshly without further investigation. As it stands, she will continue to be our Sorceress with Terra Markov as a potential backup if Raven falls through.”

Damian crossed his arms, frowning slightly. “I don’t think this will end well for me…I mean us.”

“Everything will be fine. I’ll look into it and adjust whatever needs adjusting. I’ll tell Jay to back off and we’ll make sure she’s not a diva. I appreciate you telling me and not brooding to yourself about this like Bruce. 

“Yeah, whatever.” He relaxed slightly, dropping his arms in surrender. “I’m going to go back to my place.”

“You don’t want to stay for the rest of the party? We were gonna watch some of the segments announcing your casting!” 

Just then the sound of shattering glass echoed in from the entryway. Dick winced and looked back to Damian who barely reacted..

“Absolutely not. I can watch them on my own time”

“Fair enough, thanks for coming anyway! I’ll see you soon!”

“I still had no choice.” Damian called over his shoulder as he headed out the kitchen and toward the entrance. He bid Alfred farewell and departed back to his condo.

Finally settled into the peace and quiet his own space brought him, he started searching for the articles about himself. Most of the articles had received and reported the news positively, stating that the casting choice was a no-brainer and how excited they were to see the cast built around him. A few wireless welcoming but they came from more unpopular sites, and some outlets hadn’t reported anything yet. But the information was still new so it will keep trickling down through the circuit until everyone has given their mostly unsolicited insight. 

The one thing that still popped up everytime his name hit the headlines though started popping up right in front of his eyes. It never failed to make him feel less than and unworthy.

Nepotism

#raven #teen titans #raven roth #robrae #damian wayne #damirae #jayrae #dc fanfic #demonbirds #fanfic #just another hollywood scene

[monsieuroverlord]

Comic book thoughts of day:

Wolverine #47

Ugh. Now we're at the part Logan realizes "he can't do it alone," and is getting a new weapon and a suit.

Laura is the best. I wish her fight with the Lady Sabretooth had more pagetime

Weapon X-Men #2

An improvement from the first issue, but I still maintain you should at least be a little tipsy when you read it.

The whole thing is too silly.

Spoilers:

On Wolverine:

I know Laura is supposed to be a master assaissin, but I have mixed feelings on her fight with Savage Sabretooth. I don't know. It wasn't as cathartic as I had hoped it would be. This whole arc feels inconsistent in terms of skill levels.

Yeah, maybe you could argue that "Well, Akihiro fought the 616 Creed, who is arguably the toughest et cetera et cerera...."

I don't care.

Laura's slaughtered two Sabreteeth (as she should) Aki should've at least gotten one. He has decades of training on her. He's more cunning than his father. He is SMART, dammit. He's worked in close proximity to Creed and should've ascertained a weakness or two. AT MINIMUM, they should've dragged the fight out longer, in my opinion. (Ya, I am still salty)

If they MUST do angst, I would much rather have seen him get the same treatment as Laura -- captured, roughed up a bit, then a grand tag-team escape via the eldest snikt siblings clawing their way through through hordes of beheaded Sabreteeth-robot-things.

That would've made for some good violent and gory fun, as was advertised with this arc.

Also, I am currently disappointed in the Krakoa seed. The visual was cool, and I guess there is still time to bring it back as plot twist, but also meh. We already know it won't kill him, but maybe it'll drain his healing factor too or something.

Laura is definately THE Wolverine here. Literally the only one kicking ass and taking names. (I mean, Oya and Nekra are doing their part. But Logan is a useless bastard) But her characaterization feels a little off to me. Character growth is good, but she sounds like a mini-baby Logan. Not as badly as the X-Force run, but its still there.

Also:

Sir. PLEASE. sir. sir (God, the shippers are gonna have so much fun with this panel, lmao).

Honestly, I'm still struggling to get through this. I don't like any of the plot decisions. It doesn't really feel like much of a "war" to me. Just another Creed/Logan brawl, except Creed didn't have a love interest to target this time.

We already know Quire is somehow gonna be back.

And we have two more confirmed deaths in Melter and Toad. The more the deaths pile up, the more inclined I am to believe there will be a mass resurrection. or perhaps a series of small resurrections (Like Rachel via Phoenix, Quire via telekinetics, the Dead X-Men via the Five in the White Hot Room, etc.)

On Weapon X-Men

I actually like Logan/Mariko as couple, so seeing them married and raising their kids was cute.

Also, Logan having a good relationship with Amiko?!!!?!? (didn't care for her marrying Nate, but whatever)

Also, I really like Jane Howlett. Just as a concept. She's a refreshing change from the usual broody alternate Wolverines, and I'd love to see more of her backstory as a proper, independent Victorian lady of the Howlett Estate. Apparently we're supposed to get more of her next issue. But I'd also like to see her pop up again in the future. I think she has potential. Also, her getting excited over fighting a t-rex was delightful.

#wolverine #wendesday spoilers #comic book spoilers #james logan howlett #logan howlett #laura kinney #nekra #nekra sinclair #oya #idie okonkwo #sabretooth #victor creed #mariko yashida

[blankerthought]

Planning vs Reacting: A Yuri-Yaoi Take On Two Superhero Relationships

By blank

[a/n: putting this essay on here too for convenience and for @aelyris who wanted to see it, you're a gem. also partially going under a cut because i did write like 1.2k on this]

Though many people are aware of western superhero comics- Spiderman, Batman, Superman, to name a few- generally it’s the characters alone who are known. Their relationships to one another are understood through reading the source material, despite them changing from many different interpretations across the decades and writers that have taken it upon themselves to put their own flavor on the text. Of these relationships, this essay shall focus on two specific ones, both of which share the same character of Bruce Wayne (also known as Batman). The oldest relationship has been known for decades since their first meeting in 1939, as it is with another juggernaut of the genre, Superman. The youngest, however, has only been around since 2020, with Ghostmaker’s appearance in Batman #100. This essay looks to expand on these relationships through the lense of yuri and yaoi.

According to what tama (2023) writes in Yaoi is for people who bit their peers in childhood, Yaoi Magazine, Volume 2, our average view of what makes something yuri has been misconstrued and made anew into something more palatable to the general public through online jokes. "And this too is yuri" is a common phrase, repeated many times throughout several online spaces, and most often referring to a simple definition of yuri in which any relationship, as long as it didn't involve two women, could be yuri.

In their essay, tama states that this concept is held primarily by non-yuri fans, because this belief invalidates the basic idea of yuri; that is, passion. Yuri is characterized by intense emotion, thought out, scrutinized and sometimes, though not always, acted upon, between two women. Yuri is, however, not limited to women; yuri is an overwhelming presence of what could be called obsession in a relationship. This is a contrast to yaoi, which is not defined by a lack of passion, but by a lack of thought. Yaoi contrasts so sharply with yuri, the yang to its ying, because it most often presents itself through action. Rushing to, as tama elegantly states, "gripping a cute boy by the back of his neck and shaking him until he whimpers", and not thinking of the consequences of the action.

In the context of superbat (the relationship name for Superman and Batman) and ghostbat (relationship name for Ghostmaker and Batman), it’s clear to see where these characteristics shine through the most. Superman is a smart man, sure, but what matters most is that he is first and foremost kind. Superman is a man of action and reaction, the man who swoops in front of a train to avoid letting it hit a child, not thinking of alternate paths. He’s the light to Batman’s darkness, the action to his planning, the charming country boy to the local orphan billionaire. There are few writers out in the world who have avoided the alluring call of opposite and complementary aesthetics, and superbat as a whole are not among those few examples. 

From Action Comics #1000 (Early June 2018) with art by Jim Lee (pencils), Scott Williams (inks), and Hi-Fi Design (colors)

On the other hand, Ghostmaker is a master planner on par with Batman; his rival, his parallel. Many aspects of his life as a vigilante are a direct callback to Batman’s, including The Haunt, a.k.a Batcave 2.0, in which he even stores a Spinosaurus to compare to Batman’s T-Rex (and his is bigger). Every aspect of him is in one way or another intertwined with Batman’s. As is revealed in Batman #100 and elaborated upon in the Batman: The Knight, Ghostmaker and Batman have known each other since they were teenagers, and spent much time learning side-by-side from the greatest masters known from several disciplines. Despite their select differences- namely Ghostmaker’s lack of a moral code and many emotions, in contrast with Batman’s famed rules and his endless emotionality, be that grief, rage, or love- the two are evenly matched and consider each other their equal and rival. 

Batman is, himself, an almost immutable center of yuri. He is passion, grief, love, and a thirst for justice that is only fueled more and more by those same emotions. His crusade is born out of an avoidable tragedy that he refuses to let others suffer through, if he can, and his way of accomplishing that relies primarily on his skill and intellect. Batman is known for his million contingencies. He plans ahead, for everything that he possibly can, and that razor-sharp focus lives at the core of who he is, as well as making him a great example of everything yuri is. 

An understanding of yaoi is essential to superbat, as is an understanding of yuri to ghostbat. There is little space for rationality in superbat’s actions together, despite Batman’s attempts to direct them; Superman’s emotions and recklessness are rewarded in kind with Batman showing himself in a more vulnerable way towards him, allowing them to circle closer to one another and stand together in the same ground. Despite the many differences between them, their shared emotion, the need to reach out and touch, connecting themselves to one another, is what defines their relationship and marks them as unequivocally yaoi. 

Contrastingly, ghostbat is a relationship that balances on a razor wire edge between passion and logic. They’re similar and knowledgeable about each other enough to calculate almost every action and reaction that the other would take, but that almost is what gives them enough space to challenge one another. They’re both planners, people who constantly contemplate what the next step should be. Despite that, many of their interactions are bursting with passion, with their need to have each other’s acknowledgement, the desire to touch but the refusal to do so unless it’s all carefully thought out beforehand. They are obsessed with one another in a way that yuri portrays perfectly.

The use of a primarily eastern concept such as the dichotomy of yuri and yaoi may seem odd in explaining two non-canonical gay relationships in a western comic, but it is ever more prevalent in our present times. Yaoi and yuri are everywhere, after all- even when there is nothing. Perhaps especially where there is nothing. This essay hopes to help explain why this concept is helpful towards the analysis of any relationship, but especially in this, where we are present with drastically different foils that both oppose the same character in different ways. And despite their differences, both pairs reach a state of equilibrium just the same.

Sources:

tama, (2023) Yaoi is for people who bit their peers in childhood, Yaoi Magazine, Vol.2 (tshirt et. al).

Comic Volumes Batman: The Knight (1-10), Batman #100, Batman #109, Superman Action Comics #1000.

A special thanks to the people I spent about twenty minutes explaining yaoi-yuri to, the discord server that got a no context snippet and helped me figure out What Am I Even Saying, and the people I was definitely supposed to be paying attention to today instead of spending that time writing this. I have no regrets. 

#lo's stuff #this is both the funniest thing i've written and not funny at all #i HAVE to write more yaoi essays tshirt et al you're all my heroes #anyway #ghostbat #minhkhoa khan #superbat #superman #batman #yaoi academics #i'm making that one a tag i need it for organization purposes #i see too many good yaoi academia not to want to find them again #ghostmaker #dc #yeah i'm maintagging it. look at my yaoi-yuri academic boy

[the-stage-manager]

Lieutenant Nolan Is a Better Written, More Emotionally-Impactful Villain Than Pong Krell, Here's Why:

(spoilers for TBB: The Outpost)

Krell is a worse villain in terms of how many clones died under his watch, atrocities, and war crimes. You really can't top forcing two battalions to shoot each other. However, I think that Lieutenant piss-face is a more emotionally impactful villain. People like Krell are hard to come by in real life. The grandiosity of his crimes are what makes him such a powerful, compelling villain. However, that same grandiosity is what makes him less believable, less relatable. When hate him because of what he does to the characters we love, but that doesn't mean that his behavior strikes a chord with us personally.

Piss-face is a far more believable villain. Despite being a lieutenant on his first mission, he's an entitled bigot with an inflated ego. A lot of us know people like that in real life, so it strikes a familiar, infuriating chord. What makes piss-face an even more terrifying villain, is how utterly powerless Crosshair is to save Mayday. He does everything in his power to save the commander, but ultimately fails because the Lt. can't be bothered.

There's also the emotional context of Crosshair's arc that contributes to the effectiveness of Nolan as a villain. Crosshair is known, literally, for being "severe and unyielding". He's rigid, inflexible, and absolutely obedient. And Nolan breaks him. Krell doesn't break Rex or Fives or Jesse. He hurts them, but he doesn't break their spirit. Not even Dogma is broken. His choice to shoot Krell isn't out of vengeance, it's a self-sacrificing choice, a choice to define that his loyalty belongs to the Republic and his brothers not just to his superiors.

Crosshair's choice to shoot Nolan appears to parallel Dogma's choice on the surface, but thematically, it's the exact opposite. His choice to shoot Nolan is, essentially, suicide. It's not for the greater good—Nolan is a nobody. He's just some lieutenant out in the back-ass of nowhere. Crosshair shoots out of vengeance. He knows exactly what's going to happen to him, especially now that he realizes just how little his life matters to the Empire. Nolan broke him.

And ultimately, that's what makes Nolan a better villain. He's a nobody who breaks somebody just because he can. He doesn't have an agenda, he's just a narcissistic bigot. It's familiar, it's real, and it's terrifying because most of the time, the villains in our real lives aren't people who act maliciously because they're evil—they just can't be bothered to care about how their actions might affect somebody else.

#tbb spoilers #the bad batch #crosshair #tbb crosshair

[myaoiboy]

Rating All The Metal Gears By Hotness

No, not the characters. Yes, literally the Metal Gears. If I forgot any, let me know.

Metal Gear TX-55 - 4/10

This is just a lil guy. A friend, even. Reminiscent of a gonk droid from Star Wars. Sucks that he was made to do murdering. I can see where someone would find appeal, but not really for me.

Metal Gear D - 6/10

This one I can see. He got some depth to him. Kinda shiny. More smooth, less boxy. Kind of insectoid. In most franchises this would be like an 8, but it gets knocked down because of what comes later being so much sexier.

Also can I say that MG2's spriting? Mwah. Chef's kiss. So pretty. Didn't even read the intro the first time I started it up bc I was marveling at the pretty spritework. I fucking love good spritework, just find it so much more satisfying than equivalent-quality 3D art.

Metal Gear G - 2/10

Never actually completed or seen in game. Was supposed to be a smaller, mass produced version of D. Kinda sexy, loses points for being so fictional that it's only theoretical even in the games.

Metal Gear REX - 7/10

OOOO YEAH, NOW WE'RE TALKIN'!! SHINKAWA ERA BAYBEY!!! Man's got impeccable taste. He could make a literal slab of titanium look inviting.

Rex is not the sexiest Metal Gear to me, partly bc Otacon treats it like a son or a pet dog and I find a 25-yo's son-analogue to be offputting. BUT. I must concede. REX is the blueprint for all the sexy traits to come. He's got the hips. He's got the saunter. He's just a lil too brutalist for me.

Metal Gear RAY - 11/10

I know I have psychological problems because this thing's childbearing hips and murderous mandibles distract me during the boss fight.

Why is it so sexy?? What the fuck?? It's like mecha furrybait but specifically for people who are into garrus mass effect. Please tell me I'm not the only one, I'm pretty sure my boyfriend thinks I'm insane.

Arsenal Gear - 4/10

Basically just an aircraft carrier. I would say not fuckable but it DOES, canonically, have a digestive tract and asshole so like. Technically fuckable I think. But at what cost?

Honorable mention for making me deal with Raiden's daddy issues and fight the sexy mech in this thing's enormous rectum (damn near killed 'em).

Shagohod - 4/10

Not technically a metal gear. I can see the appeal, but it doesn't *quite* nail the drider-esque niche for me. It does get a bonus point for the way it moves being kinda sensual tho. Additional bonus point for being piloted by an evil fa-

Intercontinental Ballistic Metal Gear - 0/10

literally could not even find an image of this that wasn't completely dwarfed by the Saturn V rocket attached to it. Not really much to look at. If you've always wanted to fuck a Saturn V, I guess this would be a good way to get introduced.

Metal Gear RAXA - 2/10

Somehow managed to capture "first day of kindergarten" energy in a death machine. I could be convinced based on its behavior tho. Damn, Portable Ops kind of an L design-wise, huh?

Gekkos - 9.5/10

WHY DOES IT HAVE SQUISHABLE THIGHS?? SIR???

And the feet. Like, we gotta talk about the feet. Why? Why the toes? Why does it stomp on me with its weirdly well-defined toes??? Did they make this mech specifically to appeal to dinosaur foot fetishists? Why does it bleed? Why does it MOO???

Extremely fuckable to the point that it loses half a point purely because it *feels* like horny bait.

Dwarf Gekkos - 7.5/10

This is an object that feels like it was designed by and for lesbians. I have no notes. Slightly offputting only due to the odd number of hands but it IS the perfect number for some activities, so honestly that may be a plus.

Metal Gear Mk II/III - 1/10

Adorable. Not fuckable. This is a gopro with a personality. Not to be confused with the vampiric gopro with a personality from Ultrakill, V1. Literally just a baby.

Outer Haven - 5.5/10

Only technically a Metal Gear by virtue of technically being a stolen Arsenal Gear which is technically a Metal Gear. Gains .25 each for being the site of the infamous russian tuant

and whatever fucked up display of devoted homosexuality this is:

also additional bonus point for being piloted by an evil fa-

Pupa - 3/10

This is just the Shagohod but with an AI pod. -1 for being touched by Huey, but balanced out by the +1 from being made by Strangelove. Even if it IS creepy that she made her dead crush/girlfriend's psyche pilot it around.

Crysalis - 6/10

Not super sexy but it does fly and has a rail gun where one could feasibly conceptualize a dick. Kinda MILF-like (has mini-drones). Has a grappling hook, so could do bondage. Probably would, ngl.

Cocoon - 1/10

Pupa, but less sexy. I barely even remember this boss fight because the game became such a rush right around here, pushing you to the postgame/first ending.

Peace Walker - 7/10

Weird dog, functioning by sheer lesbian willpower. She is beauty, she is grace, she would probably rate a lot higher if my emulator didn't suck ass and make me angry every time I see her now, fuck that bitch.

Rage aside, who doesn't love killing their momgirlfriend and then reliving that multiple times throughout the course of a single game, culminating in her just straight up pulling a Virginia Woolf.

Metal Gear Zeke - 6/10

Really just nothing that special. Okay, wait, +2 for being piloted by an evil little girl in her panties for some fucking reason.

Also +1 for the sick ass boss fight.

Walker Gear(s) - 8/10

HERE we go!!! Hell Yeah Babey!!! Basically human sized! Has lil Fuckin' Roller Skates!!! Carries My Ammo! My Best Friend! (Okay, third best friend, after Quiet and DD)

Yeah Huey developed it but it gets WAY more bonus points for letting me manhandle him.

Sahelanthropus - 7/10

I can't deny the raw sex appeal of Sahelanthropus. Also, it's literally piloted by pubescent rage which is something I deeply resonate with ngl.

HOWEVER it DOES get docked points for uhhh

-getting strangelove killed

-making baby otacon a child soldier

-huey :/

Battle Gear - 0/10

Is there even a single frame of this entire thing? Especially without Huey??

negative 1 billion points for blue balling me in the late game, i want to ride this motherfucker right into the kgb outposts and let 'em have it for what they did to babygirl

#robofuckers non-anonymous #mgs #HEAVY spoilers for the whole series #this took 2 days #metal gear #metal gear solid #hot or not #oh boy now to tag the mechs #metal gear tx-55 #metal gear d #metal gear rex #metal gear ray #arsenal gear #shagohod #icbmg #metal gear raxa #mgs gekko #dwarf gekko #metal gear mk2 #metal gear mk3 #mgspw pupa #mgspw cocoon #mgspw crysalis #Peace Walker #Metal Gear ZEKE #walker gear #sahelanthropus #mgs battle gear

[davekat-sucks]

"the Light Player and Void Player must not meet this early"

Huuuuuh?! What’s the story again? And remember Vriska (light player) and Equius (Void player) are neighbours! So Rose and Roxy aren’t supposed to meet early, but it doesn’t matter to Vriska and Equius?

Or there’s one more thing I don’t understand?!

Part of me wants to say it is because their classpect. Heir has yet to be truly defined, but some speculate the class could be one who surrounds themselves with the aspect. For Equius as the Heir of Void, not only he can make himself invisible, but being besides others can make others invisible. Some could cite this as him and the others hiding in the meteor. That's why Bec Noir has not been able to find him, even with Vriska was present as the beacon. As well as the fact he was hidden away from Doc Scratch's omniscience. Unfortunately, the definition of what Heir would do is still up for debate. Light not only is related to being literal light or knowledge, but in a meta sense, Light Players are also tied to becoming huge roles within the story itself. In a sense, if you are a Light Player, you should be most relevant. We see that in Vriska as would create Bec Noir and she would try to make herself the hero. Hell, in the cancelled flash of Rex Duodecim Angelus, she did the killing blow against the Black King. Bitch was not lying that she did the final blow. Rose also played her major role within her Beta Session as she gained knowledge about the game to help her friends. Not only that, but Doc Scratch kept an eye on her to make sure his plans go just fine. He had already done this to Vriska too and is now doing the same to Rose. We even see this in Aranea as she is one of the only few dancestor trolls to be most relevant in Act 6 to the point where she becomes the next villain. Perhaps each relevance may differ from the class they are in. But for general statement, a Light Player in a session will have some important role to play. Whether they their actions are acknowledge or not, it doesn't matter as anything a Light Player would do would set in motion for bigger things to come. Which makes it all the more ironic by the time Post Retcon happens, most of the Light Players become irrelevant. Vriska may have been part of the army against Lord English, but she doesn't fight him directly. Not even a VRISKA GHOST is seen fighting against Lord English. Roes may have been present and actually fought The Condesce, but she isn't the one to give the final blow. When you even think about it, The Condesce herself wasn't her main goal to reaching to fight the bad guy. It was suppose to be JACK NOIR, the one who killed Mom Lalonde in her session. And if you wanna get deeper, Lord English, the one behind everything. The one Doc Scratch would become to be after using Rose for his plans. The Condesce may have been the one to kidnap Roxy to force her to make the Matriorb, but that is only after The Scratch happened that she had to move on to this plan. Rose's role would not be as great because she was stuck on that meteor and did fuck all to help anyone besides being a drunk depress mess by Act 6. By the time Post Retcon happened and Vriska saved her ass, she is suddenly fine and still didn't do anything on meteor besides be lesbians with Kanaya. She only become important just to fight The Condesce. Void Players in a meta sense, would be being hidden away from importance of the narrative. To the point the Void Player could be irrelevant, as we see in Horuss. Despite Equius would be one of the people to become the big bad, his role within the Homestuck series is barely touched upon, we don't see him do much, and Hussie writes him off as a JOKE CHARACTER despite that he would become a necessary component for Lord English and has Herculean strength that its a mutant gene that is not taken as seriously as Karkat's own mutant red blood. The only Void Player that manages to stand out was only Roxy Lalonde. The story with Calliope and Roxy is that after Roxy got knocked out, she fell asleep and is able to meet with Calliope's soul in a special hidden area, so Caliborn/Lord English won't go after her even after he killed her dream self. Calliope gives exposition to Roxy about the situation and then she gets taken by surprise that Rose Lalonde appears so suddenly without Calliope's knowledge.

Because Light Player can be surrounded by literal light, Calliope assumes that Rose would be a becaon spot for her brother to go after Calliope. Not only that, but she is upset that Rose would appear here. She doesn't know how or why, but it's clear that she did not expect something like this to happen. Thus, gets upset something like this comes by. As much as she knows about Roxy's relationship and longing to meet with her sister/mother, she postpones it for her own selfish needs to save herself. She blasts anti-majyyks without their conssent. What kind of friend or lover for those who ship Calliope and Roxy, would do that to someone who wanted to meet their family member? Calliope might have known how Rose is important to Roxy, but doesn't want it to happen this early, especially in a place where her brother might find her. But how would Caliborn/Lord English go about sensing Rose? It is not really stated. Calliope had no say or right to deny what her friends want. Especially if they are suppose to be friends that would help her against her brother. But apparently, only her method of how things should go is important. She is no different from Caliborn for how things should go his way. The way Calliope goes about it is playing as the victim that the whole situation is hurting her and she needs others for assistance. If others have any issues of their own, it's only second fiddle compared to her.

#Homestuck #HOM3STUCK #Calliope #HS Calliope #Calliope Cherub #Light Player #Rose Lalonde #Vriska Serket #Aranea Serket #Roxy Lalonde #Equius Zahhak #Void Player

[thepatchycat]

hellooo! 👋

i hope it as okay to tag you in the WIP game!!! 😅😅 you have so many cool projects underway!!

I would love to hear more about your Defiance series! Side stories and spin offs?! What a world you must be creating! 🤩

thanks and have a lovely day !!☀️

Certainly! :D I don't always respond to tag games, but I do always appreciate being tagged in them. This one especially makes for a nice excuse to ramble about projects, and I'm delighted to talk about Defiance~

I'm pretty sure Defiance (the main fic) is the second fanfiction I've ever worked on in earnest and also my first and only longfic (not counting some sort of journal thing for Pokemon X I think I started many years ago, as I quickly lost interest in that project; otherwise, I hadn't really tried my hand at writing fic until 2020, despite reading it for much longer). Back in early 2021, with far too much time on my hands and having recently finished binge-watching all of The Clone Wars TV show, I felt very strongly that Fives needed to live and everyone deserved a happier ending, so I started planning a fix-it (actually the idea may have begun cooking back even before I finished the show, but February 2021 is apparently when I created the first doc).

It, uh, spiraled a little.

The planning/notes document is currently sitting at 102 pages (~46k words) of loose outline, worldbuilding notes, character notes, media notes, etc. The fic document itself is at 127 pages (~49k words) of stuff ranging from rough outline to fully written chapters and outtakes. There is also a Sheets file with timelines so I can track who is where, and when. The Sidestories doc is for ideas that would probably take place during Defiance but not be part of the more central plot, like bonus side chapters, and the Spin-offs doc is for other fic ideas that would take place in the same universe—some of which have graduated to their own documents. Though I've not been making consistent progress in the actual writing and have a very long way to go, I am lost in this sauce.

Anyway, the general plot of Defiance is as follows: unbeknownst to Palpatine and the general public, a timely intervention saves Fives' life. This allows him to actually explain himself to the Jedi, who along with the clones investigate the chips further and work behind the scenes to prevent Order 66 from happening while trying to figure out how to take down who's behind it. Critically, despite their suspicions they do not have hard evidence of Palpatine's involvement, so most events parallel canon up through ROTS with the investigation/preparation taking place discreetly, until the train hops off the rails to avoid sailing off the cliff.

If you'd like a sneak peak snippet, here's the first page or so of the main fic below the cut!

Something is wrong. The Force is muddled with a constant and indistinct unease, as it has been for years now—moreso on Coruscant than anywhere else, to Shaak Ti's perceptions. Its warnings are difficult to discern with any specificity. Even so, it murmurs them now. And Shaak possesses her own instincts, enhanced by the Force but extant outside her connection to it; these, too, whisper to her that something is wrong, as she watches Knight Skywalker leave the Jedi Temple conference room to find Captain Rex and investigate the situation with Fives. They are the best fit to track him down and the most likely to confront the rogue clone without further violence. Shaak warned Skywalker that Fives has been acting differently without his chip, that he may not be the man they knew—though she herself is reluctant to believe it—and the Knight and Captain are plenty capable of handling themselves. They will be all right. Still, something is wrong in a way she cannot yet define, and so Shaak Ti decides to join the hunt. Since the Jedi have not been asked to search for Fives, she does not contact the Coruscant Guard when she leaves the Temple. Instead she steps out of the building, pulls up the hood of her cloak, and makes for one of the speeder bikes kept at the Temple for general use. It whirs to life under her hands, and she rides to the nearest transportation portal leading down into the undercity. As she descends, passing speeders of all makes and sizes, Shaak Ti considers what she knows. She is well aware of her own struggles in becoming emotionally attached to the clones; her role on Kamino requires her to balance her care for them as people with the need to defend the galaxy. But many of them, such as Domino Squad, inevitably leave an impression. She watched Echo and Fives grow from bickering cadets to determined protectors, some of the best of their brothers. Her belief in their character during their final tests had not been misplaced. And yet, over these past few days Fives repeatedly defied the Kaminoan doctors, removed his chip, claimed something about a conspiracy, then attacked the Chancellor and fled. Shaak cannot deny these facts, and she must not allow personal feelings to cloud the truth. Then there are the Kaminoans. Shaak clashes frequently with their attitudes toward the clones, the way they view them as products rather than sentients. Nala Se’s arguments for terminating Tup and assurance that the chips are not a problem fall in line with her position as a manufacturer. And Shaak is well aware that the Kaminoans have not shared all of their secrets with her, as she is not owed them. But the medical scientist's resistance had been… spirited. None of this paints a clear picture. As they concluded in the meeting back at the Temple, the Jedi need more information. The familiar sound of a military engine hums past, and Shaak turns her head to watch a pair of gunships heading down the portal through one of the military lanes. She swerves out of the civilian traffic and dives after them, further and further below the surface of the city.

#Thanks for asking! :D #I'm really excited about this 'verse even though it's quite far from getting published #I want to finish at least the first draft of the whole thing before starting to post but that's gonna take quite some time #It'll probably be somewhere between 35 and 50 chapters #Out of which I have...maybe 10-ish written (and around 20 more vaguely outlined). So. Long way to go. #But by golly we're gonna get there! #Patchy Babbles #Patchy Writes #Tag Games

[h-worksrambles]

A personal bugbear of mine in Xenoblade 2 discussion is the idea that Pyra is somehow the ‘fake’ personality, usually when people are saying why they like Mythra more. So often, I see people claim that if someone prefers Pyra to Mythra, they’re missing the point of the story, and proving Mythra’s self worth issues right.

Because, like…that’s really not how the game frames it at all.

Yes. Mythra absolutely came first, and she constructed Pyra as a different self. As we are fully shown in Torna: The Golden Country, she made that personality not only to conceal her power for fear it would only hurt people (again) but also as an expression of her own self perceived shortcomings. Mythra’s comrades criticised her for being too brash, too quick tempered, too eager to jump into a fight and being overly difficult to work with. So she made an alternate persona that is gentle and self conscious, a people pleaser almost to a fault who doesn’t like fighting.

But it’s worth remembering that Mythra is also capable of being many of those things too and vice versa. Mythra can be just as empathetic as Pyra. We see her taking the time to bond with Poppi and show her softer side or allowing Nia to confide in her. Likewise, Pyra can be as fierce or driven as Mythra. We see her wield Mythra’s power at great personal risk to protect her friends (and yes, the fact that Pyra was so quick to lay her life on the line is a whole other, much heavier, topic but one thing at a time). Heck, even the more trivial stuff like Mythra being insecure about being bad at cooking and Pyra conversely being great at it. Don’t forget that Mythra’s Miracle Parfait is the most OP item you can make in Torna. All Mythra needed was practise.

Pyra isn’t just some flawless, shallow fake image of what Mythra isn’t that the player is meant to discard. If anything she’s the embodiment of everything Mythra thinks she isn’t due to her own doubts, but always had the potential to be. Plus, Pyra is still someone with a defined identity and her own thoughts, feelings and struggles. And it’s not like Mythra treats Pyra as a mere mask. They consider each other sisters and talk to each other internally, there’s no conflict between them.

That’s precisely why the game makes such a big deal out of the fact that Rex appreciates both of them. Zeke explicitly asks him if he prefers one over the other. Not only does Rex not choose between them but even directly says they’re more alike than other people think. It’s his ability to appreciate and care for both of them, neither dismissing Mythra for being too unapproachable nor Pyra as being fake, that makes him a great Driver and companion for them. The game wants to value both Pyra and Mythra with equal weight in the narrative. If we were meant to view Pyra as a facade, she would have been phased out of the second half of the narrative as Mythra took more precedence. But she isn’t. They’re given mostly equal screen time from after Mythra’s awakening. Because they both matter and always have.

To be honest, I rather wish the game didn’t have the decision in Chapter 8, since even if it exists more for the practicality of what to call Pneuma, it only serves to muddy the point that Rex doesn’t pick favourites.

Of course, it’s fine to like Pyra or Mythra more. We all have characters we like more or less. But sometimes, the logic I see thrown about in these kinds of discussions feels kind of warped. I can’t help but wonder if takes like this are partly born out of a desire to one up other people in ‘best girl’ debates or shipping wars, rather than good faith character discussion. I dunno, I just wanted to get some brain worms out about why I find these two so interesting.

#xenoblade chronicles #xenoblade 2 #pyra #mythra #pneuma #rex #character discussion #stop pitting the aegis girls against each other please #xenoblade spoilers

[xenoblademisadventures]

I feel like tiering the child headcanons that I’ve seen in Xenoblade 3 :)

S Tier (literally just canon)

Nia + Rex >> Mio 

The game confirms this one, right?

Pyra + Rex >> Glimmer

I’m going to pretend to make an analysis here.

Shulk + Fiora >> Nikol

They’re very cute together in-game. Shulk’s a cute father.

Morag + Brighid >> Sena

I mean, I guess it’s technically not explicitly canon, but like, explain Sena’s hair if she’s not related to Brighid challenge.

Riki + Oka >> Riku

In hindsight, I’m kinda surprised I never saw this proposed as a headcanon considering the brainrot surrounding the other Keves pairs.

A Tier (I personally hold these headcanons)

Shulk + Fiora >> Crys

I think Crys is a lame villain that is conceptually very interesting. I think the reason this is a somewhat common headcanon is because *look at him*, but also, Crys talks a lot about carving his own fate and controlling his destiny in rebellion to a world that denies him that control. He’s defined by his decision to intentionally die before reaching Homecoming. It’s an interesting perversion of Shulk’s will to defy fate. Where that will eventually results in him opposing the heroes. So, I think making Crys Shulk’s son adds to the concepts behind his character.

Shulk >> A

I wrote a fanfiction about this concept :)

https://archiveofourown.org/works/46817347

I’ve been a fan of Shalvis for a while, but I’m not really interested in writing romance for them (I’m aroace and autistic, writing romance just doesn’t click for me). But I really like the idea that Shulk’s will and belief in the Monado is what caused it to become alive. Which is also (somewhat) supported by the information we have about how Ontos functions. Where Ontos is reliant on the wills of others to exist as a person. Furthermore, Alvis’s design is a mash between Klaus in Galea, while A’s design is a mash between Shulk’s and Alvis’s. I’ve been growing rapidly attached to parental Shalvis since the DLC’s release.

Dunban >> Ashera

I’m guessing the main reason this isn’t the accepted headcanon is because Dunban doesn’t canonically lay down with anyone. If I were to guess, I’d say that he gets together with someone post-game, and it’s probably an OC (or NPC if you want to stick to existing characters). But, yeah, Ashera definitely looks like Dunban, she has several references to his kit in her own, they’re both dodge-tanks that also like to do dps, and she has the signature Dunban Family Stubbornness (and disregard for safety lmao). Plus her big neck injury plot stuff feels very “Dunban” to me. Like, her will is too powerful for Aionios. I imagine that the Ashera in Aionios would remind Dunban painfully of a younger version of himself, which is the main reason I like this one. I think what I like the most about this concept is that I imagine that the Ashera who grew up as Dunban’s child would be an almost unrecognizably different person than the Ashera in Aionios. Which I think could say a lot about the Aionios Ashera. Also, I imagine that Ashera’s neck injury would persist even after Aionios, which would give Dunban a massive parenting challenge to deal with.

B Tier (plausible but I disagree)

Reyn + Sharla >> Ashera

I mean, I agree with the idea that she’s the kid of someone in the main cast, but I just think her being Dunban’s kid makes more sense. That said, I totally believe in the potential for this to be fun in a fic. Like, imagine Reyn having to do anything with baby Ashera while Sharla’s just disappointed in the background. Flawless. 

Melia + Shulk >> Zeon

I suspect that this is a headcanon even if I haven’t seen it. Mostly because the thought passed through my brain. My main argument against this is that I’m pretty sure Melia and Shulk didn’t get together. That said, I could totally see Zeon being Melia’s son. He’s got a noble air to him. Also, something funny about the heir to the High Entian throne become a potato farmer. He kinda gives off Kallian vibes tho. I think Melia would be proud of her potato son. 

C Tier (not impossible but lame)

Shulk + Melia >> Eunie

I find Eunie as Melia’s kid to be rather lame ngl. There’s not much to work with here in terms of story prompts and it feels like a commonly accepted headcanon solely because Eunie’s in the main cast. That said, if I were to propose an alternative off the top of my head, making her Tyrea’s kid would be fucking hilarious. Like, imagine Assassin Mom and Chaos (Medic) Child. 

D Tier (I disagree and think it’s lame)

Shulk + Fiora >> Noah

I mean, this headcanon only existed because Noah’s the protagonist of 3. But, it’s never made sense. Especially after the DLC and we know that Shulk has no affinity with N (plus now Shulk has an actual son). I’m not going to shit on works for including this headcanon since it’s all whatever and some of them are still very fun reads. But I, personally, find this headcanon to be both lame and unlikely. 

F Tier (tbf, funny)

Egil >> Valdi

I’ve only really seen this in Egil Lives AUs, which I think is the least interesting version of this concept. Like, let’s say Egil did have a son and that son was Valdi, that would make Valdi an orphan who has to live with the baggage that his dad tried to kill everyone, including his friends, assuming he makes friends with Bionis-borne life, which could have an interesting dynamic with Valdi being the most healer healer to healer amongst the healers. We know Valdi’s a gearhead, so I wonder if he meets Shulk somehow? Maybe Vanea’s looking after him and she introduced them. Shulk didn’t know that Egil had a kid. Like, fucking imagine. Ouch. That said, I definitely see Valdi as Egil’s son as a funny AU fanfiction prompt more than anything approaching canon, which I’m pretty sure ppl who’ve written that would agree to.

Dunban + Vanea >> Lanz

I’ve seen this proposed once. And, to my understanding, it was done specifically to ruin Egil’s day. Which I, personally, approve of. 

#xenoblade chronicles 3 #xenoblade series #xenoblade spoilers

[book-of-baba-fett]

See the issue isn’t Talias weight the issue is you reduced an indigenous man to a trophy wife to a white woman. Rex and Talia are toxic and will always suffer a severe power imbalance. It’s your fucked up fetishizing fantasy.

Tell me you don't read the fic without telling me you don't read the fic.

You know what I agree, anon, Jedi/clone relationships do suffer from a power imbalance and there is an element of toxicity from that. So do Talia and Rex because (and spoilers for folks who aren't caught up yet) it causes issues in their relationship and even leads to them breaking up. Some of the power imbalances are remedied because Talia isn't a direct supervisor to Rex, but he still can be put on the spot when they work together like what happens when he has to pick whether to agree with Talia or Anakin's plans. But there's this thing called nuance. No one is inherently perfect, and in fiction conflict doesn't equal something being problematic on its own.

Also If you think Rex is really just the 'trophy wife' in this scenario you're completely missing on how Rex is a defined character of his own without the relationship. He has his own agency, his own goals, his own desires. The story in IA is their relationship yes, but Rex is far more than just that.

But let's get back to the indigenous man and a white woman statement. Because yes, it's always important to examine these relationship dynamics, particularly in fandom and fanfic spaces. But these two having a relationship isn't fetishizing because of race; saying that is an insult to anyone in an interracial relationship or anyone who is biracial. If you just see fanart, or a fic that involves a POC in a relationship: that on it's own is not fetishization. And yes, my fic contains smut but that alone is also not fetishizing. Comprehension is key.