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littledead-ridinghood · 10 months

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sorry if this is a weird question to drop on you you were just the first person I thought of who might know but do you know if it's canon/canonically-based evidence that jason is physically stronger than other bats because I always see people say jason is the one with "brute strength" and I can't remember if that's based on anything besides people saying that as a nicer way to call him a brute(maybe it was on lobdells stuff? but I wiped most of those out of my memory)

You thought of me first? <333333 I'm blushing. And it's not weird at all! Even if it was, I love answering weird shit.

Anyway:

So part of Jason being considered "the muscle" of the bats comes from the fact that Jason's currently the biggest of the robins. (Adult!Damian is usually drawn as the tallest of the kids when all is said n' done (that's vague for "age")).

Well, how big then?

I always go with this chart which was released while UtRH was being released:

(I Love this! I wish DC still did little info things like this within their comics. Or maybe they do and I'm just blind. But Look! Canonical Information!)

So canonically speaking, at least when running around pre-crisis, Jason is 6 feet tall and 180 pounds. (Also note criminal mastermind and put a pin in it)

But you've probably heard 200 & 220 thrown around a lot. Those numbers are specifically pulled from two different DC character encyclopedia books which I don't trust at all because there notoriously filled with false information and are dubbed as not canon all the time.

Personally, I use the 6', 180-195 pound range which estimates for fluctuating weight, the passage of time, muscle mass, and minimum bulk & cutting (which I assume is part of most superheroes' training to stay in fighting form, but please recognize that vigilantes are more athlete than bodybuilder) because it's from a canon source (Canon is "king" and all that). No shame to people who use the other numbers or even headcanon something completely different, but again, vigilantes are predominantly running all over cities day after day, not stagnant weight lifters. Cardio vs weights body compositions are quite different even if both are healthy. (And it's not all "swimmer's body illusion" either (they have that body because they swim? No, they swim because they have that body.)

How much muscle mass a person can maximally obtain is up to your genetics. But that max only comes with constant maintainment. It's not feasible for Jason to be doing all that cardio and also have that much muscle mass and fat. Cardio burns "fat" (calories), weights build muscle. We constantly see the former and former-adjacent workouts more than the latter with him. Jason is running across rooftops, flipping off them before falling into a shoulder roll onto the next roof over chasing after bad guys every night. The number of calories he'd have to eat and time put into lifting weights (too many reps a week lead to damage, not growth) to maintain his max (max being what a lot of weights category athletes try to achieve which Jason just hasn't been shown to be (except in his jailbird phase where he could literally only lift weights, read, and avoid being killed to pass the time)) isn't possible.

Using comic art to "prove" how much he weighs doesn't work either. Firstly, because everyone wears weight differently. Two people can be the same height, weight, and sex and look completely different. This is due to different body types, composition, genetics, diet, (what kind of) exercise, and many other factors. Assuming someone thinner is automatically "super light" doesn't factor in different body compositions (fat, muscle, bone percentages). (yes, I know it's stupid to apply science to comics. There's my digression. let me live). Secondly, Jason (just like everything else about him) isn't drawn consistently at all. Sometimes he's pretty damn massive, but we also have Twink and Twunk Jason (DC can't even decide on hair color? Do you think they're gonna decide on his body?).

So, comic book art isn't super reliable as evidence unless we want to theorize if, how, and why he seems to fluctuate between weights all the time (<- Which I have a whole headcanon about if anyone's curious), especially in comparison to the others because, seriously, it's totally a Jason thing. Most characters are pretty consistent in body type. Anyway, someone could argue "See! he is 210!" but it's also not for a long enough period to stick around :/ Again, hard to consistently maintain that much weight as a 6-foot-tall, cardio-based athlete.

Also note: DC is horrible when it comes to weight-to-height lineups. A woman hero can be ~5'7'' and then we're told she's 110 lbs which Fact 1. is considered underweight for this kind of height-to-sex ratio, Fact 2. probably isn't factoring in the fact that muscle is heavier than fat, she just "looks thin", and 3. Usually, totally, absolutely is just blatant sexism.

Really, the numbers don't seriously mean anything of actual substance because their comics, are unreliable, and also usually just...scientifically wrong. But Jason's perception on page, as well as the information we've been told, is one reason he's considered "brute strength first and foremost."

Furthermore, Jason has been shown repeatedly to be on par with Bruce (even when Jason, most of the time, plays defense in their physical fights) but many people chalk this up to him and Bruce having similar physiques making it "easier". Again, counter-productive argument because Bruce and Jason have been drawn very similarly before in stories as well as completely different from each other in others. Also, this purposefully, blatantly ignores Jason's actual skills. No one chalks Dick Grayson or Cassandra Cain beating Bruce up to their body types. Moreover, when Bruce and Jason are drawn similarly in body, no one refers to Bruce as "Brute Strength" either. Bruce gets to be tactical, strategic, clever. (Also Also: In Pre-Crisis, Bruce, Dick, and Jason are deliberately drawn to look similar (height, mass, looks, etc.) to get that Brothers in Blood effect. Still, No one chalks the formers up to all strength. Just Jason)

And that brings us to your question, Anon: Is there canonical evidence for Jason being stronger than the other Bats?

Remember how I told you to put a pin in that "Occupation: Criminal Mastermind" note? Well, first off, Jason creating jobs for his community. Go off, king. Second off, and more importantly so, "Mastermind": a person who supplies the directing or creative intelligence for a project (Merriam-Webster).

When Jason was first re-introduced, what made Jason dangerous was that he was highly skilled and smart. He was playing with both Black Mask and Batman like a cat batting a toy mouse. He orchestrated an entire "slow-growing" takeover of Gotham's underworld (he was actually very quick about it). Jason controlled the situation and planned so well that he had the villains and heroes who were both after him fighting each other so he could slip away and do what he actually needed to do.

Throughout Jason's history, he's always had tools with him when he fights. To the point that Bruce says to Jaybin "You won't always have this" cutting his utility belt, insinuating he relies too much on it, which Jason returns the favor to on his return and fights B hand to hand <3 Love a cocky callback. Furthering this, he knows many, many different fighting styles and techniques both from life experience and from extensive training. Jason's a quick learner by nature and is incredibly adaptive. Guns; knives; swords; pens; sets bombs to specifically implode, not explode; makeshift gadgets; a baseball bat just laying around; a tire jack that one time; brains. I could go on. Jason doesn't just hit things. He uses what he has as a means to an end. He's canonically known as one of the best strategists in-universe and is incredibly creative with his surroundings. Jason isn't just great at extensive, long-term planning either. Bruce himself has remarked on the fact that Jason thinks incredibly quickly on his feet, he's really good at improvisation. Concisely, he has plans A-G and if all those fail, he can pull something out of nothing. Contrast this with Bruce who needs to have a plan for everything. Even if it doesn't look like he's following a plan, Bruce is. Opposed to Jason who can go with the flow and figure it out along the way.

Jason even said this in present-era in TFZ:

And that's the whole point, isn't it? Jason is strong. Incredibly so. He's big and tall and has gorgeous thighs. Not to mention, has a mean right hook. But just because Jason's strong doesn't mean he isn't a bat first and foremost who relies on his brain before anything else. He died 4'6 (on his death certificate, his height varies depending on what source you pull) and famously had to defend himself his entire life ever before being Robin. Being young and small and forced to survive shaped Jason into a quick thinker who could either get away or take enemies 10x his size down. Nowadays, he just has a longer reach.

In Event Levithan when Damian says: "Jason Todd is one of the Great Master fighters of all time" He doesn't say strongest because Damian doesn't mean strongest. Damian means adaptable, smart, capable, and well-rounded in skill.

While I don't doubt that Jason is most definitely one of the strongest Bats due to his size, what makes Jason dangerous is not his body, but the fact that he knows how to use it. It's not "Brute Strength" as many people like to say, it's Strategic Strength. He knows just because he's stronger than someone doesn't mean he'll always win. A la see panels above. Jason knows throwing his body around won't do anything of real, long-term substance. That it's just blindsided and stupid.

I'm sure if I looked I could pull panels where other bats and/or vigilantes refer to Jason as the muscle, brute (strength), all brawn (no brain), other such implications, etc, but whenever people do, it's always to undermine Jason's skill. Because it's not actually about his strength. Jason, with his taller, more built form, makes walking quiet seem easy. And it looks easy because he's good. Jason himself knows his skill set, it's everyone else that undermines him time and time and time again. (Again, Event Levithan, Bruce doesn't agree with Damian's statement even though Jason just outsmarted the six or so people who all just tried to take him down (for something Jason didn't even do, mind you))

But, again from Damian, Jason's not known as "the muscle," he's "the emotional one" also usually used to...degrade Ja--We can't have anything nice apparently is what I'm saying. But yes, when people refer to Jason as "Brute Strength" it's usually them trying to find a nicer way of saying Brute or "thinks with his fists" or "Jason hits first, asks questions later." It's in the same vein as when people say "Jason likes books" as short-hand for "see, he's smart at something" rather than acknowledging that Jason achieved a degree's worth of knowledge in comp-sci by age 13.

Anyway Smart and Strong Jason, my beloved. I wish DC & others loved you as much as Rosenburg and the teams of artists he's been working with do.

#jason todd #jason todd meta #every thought I have has a 2nd secret thought behind it and I've been trying to be better about not rittling my metas w 2nd thought->(...)

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morskisir · 5 months

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Answer to this ask I had to post seperately because I reached the character limit or something.

OHHHH Anon you are not ready. I think about this bastard so much and too deeply.

Before I get into it:

I love how you worded this question- gives a nice atmosphere.

Just to be clear this is all about RED Sniper. I apologise to any BLU Sniper enjoyers for I don't have thoughts about that guy.

I'm not the biggest fan of the comics for many reasons so don't mind me retconning a lot of that.

In the end these are all MY opinions and views of him- if you don't like them that's no problem. It's free real estate.

And FINALLY; my thoughts, under read more:

OKAY, let's start with what even got me to interpret him the way that I do; hell yeah baby, it's Meet the Sniper time.

I've seen MANY people often assume that Sniper is one of the most normal/chill people of the 2fort nine- but the impression I got is that he wants you to think he's normal so desperately despite everything else pointing to how fucking weird he actually is. Simply noticing the stuff he's saying makes it a lot more clear. The very beginning where he goes "Boom, headshot," making light of taking another person's life so swiftly. "Cause at the end of the day; as long as there's two people left on the planet- someone is gonna want someone dead," really positive light you see the world in, Sniper.

Of course you can take this as him being "realistic", and I do agree he's more of a realist than a pessimist or optimist, but "...have a plan to kill everyone you meet," is SO fucked up. Why is his first thought when meeting someone to know how to kill them? This to me is him not being able to properly connect to other people/understand them or actually SEE them as people. Not to mention his smile after delivering that shot in the timelapse of him sniping (AND after stabbing Spy). This cunt enjoys killing. He's not the type to slowly kill someone or torture them- but he is the type to feel satisfaction after planting a bullet in someone; give himself a pat on the back for it- or perhaps find humour in the kill.

The conclusion this brought me to is that he is an unreliable narrator in "Meet the Sniper". (Also the "..be polite," line. Yeah, sure, dude. Your voice lines are very polite.)

CAN WE TALK ABOUT HIS FUCKING TEETH? The way his teeth look and how much they're shown to the viewer by exaggerating his mouth movements feels like a "this guy is NOT normal" sign. No one in the game has teeth similar to him and his canines are HUGE. Like holy shit, he's an apex predator.

A comment @cheebuss (I know you wanna get tagged) saw once has been a running joke between us- it was basically "He indicates so he's normal," which is fucking hilarious, but I can genuinely refute that point. First of all we see him fucking speeding in the beginning of the video- to be fair we don't know what the speed limit on this road is, BUT:

Cunt drives around with a broken side mirror. That's really unsafe, obviously. A good chunk of that mirror has gone to shit and he does not care to replace it (which feeds into my headcanon of him being stingy/not wanting to spend money because he lived on a farm and they did everything themselves). Speaking of his van; it gave me the impression he likes having everything he needs near him- he doesn't need a grand, expensive space to feel comfortable. (I headcanon that he's actually scared/unnerved by vast, empty spaces/buildings) ALSO I think he's messy and prefers the claustrophobia of his van. I like to believe his childhood room was much the same (to the detriment of his mother)- that's his safe space damn it!!!

And here I can transition into talking about his parents!!! : D Of course, not much was shown to us of Mr. & Mrs. Mundy, but we can still glean some stuff from the video- and partially- the comics.

His father very obviously disapproves of his job, calling him "a crazed gunman", and showing his morals do not align with Sniper's. Sniper calls for his mum during the phone call shown at the very end of the video- looking annoyed and somewhat distressed. It's clear to me that they've had this argument many times and Mrs. Mundy is the mediator in them. I think she disapproves of the job as much as her husband does, but is sick of hearing them argue to that extent. Regardless of this conflict, Sniper loves and cares for his parents- they are his world. He doesn't care for anyone else, most of the shit he does is for their sake and continuing to provide support so they can live a stable life at their farm as they get older. It's one of the nicest things about Sniper.

Although, I do think he struggled to get them to understand him properly. He is a quiet man who doesn't express a lot of his emotions. That will complicate things, especially if he doesn't talk about it- and he doesn't!!! : D

Despite this, I think they were the people he was closest to. Sniper, to me, is a guy who's never had friends and has been lonely as well as isolated his entire life. "Too weird to live, much too rare to die." And this is a VERY long time we're talking about; DECADES. Decades of minimum to no human connection. (Just to note; he is almost 50 to me. The comic writers fucked the timeline up and made him a 20 something year old. The Sin. Do not speak of it to me. It makes him less interesting/compelling I'm not kidding.) He is anxious in social settings, barely speaks up, and prefers to simply back away when he doesn't know how to deal with something. (SUPER DUPER AUTISM + SOCIAL ANXIETY!!!) Does he try to interact with his co-workers? Veeeeery little. He yearns for connection he convinces himself he doesn't need. He trusts no one. He's a mystery to them.

But hey!!! Less distractions from his job!!! (Bad transition) This man is genuinely incredible at what he does- I keep replaying the part where he reloads his rifle. He was not kidding about being efficient (he also kills the entire BLU team in that video??). The lad's got incredible patience, aim, control, and overall understanding of what he's doing. There's something fucked up about him observing the people he's targetting like prey, but let's leave that for when I mention his previous job as a tracker (if I do). I imagine the only thing he excelled at in school (he did go there!! He can write!!!) is maths, as that is very much needed when you're a sniper.

BTW I think he barely passed school; he hated being there, had no interest in school work and his teachers kept pestering him about his social life. Leave him alone, he doesn't need that (he does).

Most of his focus went to his parents' farm where I think he mostly took care of the animals....or went out to hunt them; which is how he learned to shoot out of a rifle in the first place. (His dad taught him.) He's not exactly an animal guy but he's also not not an animal guy.

It's complicated.

ANYWAYS, I've talked enough about one single video. Let's mention his in game voice lines a bit!

There's a LOT of material there but here's the stuff I want to mention:

He talks to himself a lot. He isn't out there with the others- his job is to be perched up somewhere high and shoot from a distance so he doesn't get spotted. He makes so many jokes that only HE's going to find funny, except "You've got a forehead on ya like a coffee table," which is genuinely the funniest thing he's ever said. Boy voices his thoughts and tries to entertain himself when he's alone- I don't judge him for that. He has to sit there for hours in complete focus (he helps himself via a lot of coffee). I DO judge the things he says, however.

He's violent. (WHAT!?) There's plenty of examples but I would like to mention one adressed to his teammates. One of the "Jeers" commands is "Should've saved a bullet for some of you blokes!" which, hey, what the fuck? That's scary. He got so frustrated he threatened his own team with murder. (It's kinda funny) To me this shows he's bad at controlling his outbursts or that he never learned how to deal with them. (Autism moment!!!)

He literally growls.

There's this line addressed to Spy: "What goes around comes around, you snotty little nance." If you're not aware- "nance" is derogatory Australian slang for a prissy, effeminate gay man. I headcanon Sniper as a homosexual man so it tickles me that he's so insecure about this fact. It's sad, absolutely, but I find humour in this horrible man being a homophobic homosexual. Project your insecurities onto a guy who can read people extremely well, why don't you. He won't do anything about it, I promise :) (Lie)

I was doing my best to not mention SniperSpy but CAN WE TALK ABOUT HIS LINES AIMED AT SPY AND HOW THEY'RE DIRECT RESPONSES TO THINGS SPY SAYS? (plus the highest number of revenge lines he has directed at someone is Spy)

-> = response to:

"Aww, did I get blood on your suit!?" -> "You got blood on my suit."

"I was never on your side either! Wanker!" -> "I never really was on your side."

"Ah, my God, you've been shot. Did you get a look at the handsome rogue who did it?" -> "I'll see you in hell, you handsome rogue."

BY THE WAY, THAT LAST LINE? SPY ONLY SAYS THAT TO HIS COUNTERPART. WHAT, WERE YOU LOOKING AT HIM? WERE YOU WATCHING HIM ALL DAY? WHY DO YOU REMEMBER SO MANY THINGS HE'S SAID? WHY ARE YOU SO FOCUSED ON HIM? ARE YOU OBSESSED WITH HIM? ARE YOU OBSESSED? WHY ARE YOU OBSESSED WITH A LITTLE NANCY BOY? HM?

There is so much more I could mention. I think whatever thing he has going on with Spy is super important to him, but I will hold back for your sake as I can talk about this for hours. You have no clue how many parallels there are, etc.

Anyways, he's in Expiration Date! A little bit! He doesn't say anything. <3 I'm proud of him!!! <3

He literally just stands around ominously in the shadows (and finds RED Spy being made fun of very amusing).

"Hehe."

(I just noticed he took his watch off and put it on his vest. This is an autism moment because I, too, hate having something on me that I don't usually have so I need to balance it out by removing something else; if I have it on me. Either way it's sensory suffering.) (Him being super attached to his hat and glasses is also an autism moment. He is no one without them.)

And then he has that one part in The Bread Fight(tm) where he gets confused by Pauling and Scout pushing the bomb.

"Tails gets trolled" looking ass.

I like watching him fall over.

After he falls here, he takes his kukri out which was... attached? situated? It was behind the strap of his arrow carrier. I think that's cool. I also think he wouldn't be doing that during matches because Spy is very much capable of stealing it/putting it away without Sniper noticing, even if it was literally on his back.

Also, I am a firm believer in "Sniper can only do one thing extremely well and has little to no interest in creative stuff," so I disagree with the idea of him being able to play a saxophone. You could say he was made to do that in school, but this guy is a smoker. I do not believe he can do that. You cannot convince me.

I think that's enough! This doesn't even go past the hypothetical tip of the iceberg, but it's a lot of words. This is the very basic stuff you have to know about how I see this cunt.

Thank you for letting me share some of my insanity.

#ask #morskiwords #tf2 #sniper #sniperspy mention i gues #thank you so much for this ask i love talking about this fucked up thing i care about too much #i wanted to include the 'feelings?' line but id have to tackle too many things i hadnt even mentioned here #overall im really surprised at how little of my thoughts are in here. i guess you dont realise the extent you think about a character until #-you write it down #uh. yeah. im normal

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2deadkat · 25 days

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i'd love to hear ur complaints abt modern geronimo! If u'd like to share that is

Thank you for asking anon, I’d love to share and you have inadvertently entered the dragon’s den/lh

But fr tho, it’s a lot. It’s mostly pertaining to the writing.

The reason why I hate modern Geronimo is in the biggest nutshell possible, they screwed up the original dynamic for the Stiltons, a majority of the books is just one big game of Geronimo torture porn between the other characters, and overall a lot of wasted potential for unique interactions between the wider cast and the rest of the Stiltons as its limited to just Geronimo himself. Hell a lot of the plots could have the input from the other Stiltons if they were brave enough. And there seems to be a new character every few books and there’s no rhyme or substance to it anymore. Since when did trap reproduce???

And you’re telling me von Volt has another relative???? Yk at some point you just stop reading the books. Oh and do not get me started on the Thea problem…

Let me start with the Stiltons real quick, somehow they got worse by watering down their personalities to a bunch of cheap jokes.

What made the classic (or early) books work was that the whole point of Geronimo’s character is that yes he’s a wimp, but that’s because he’s a tired boss who gets dragged into his family’s shenanigans, and by extension his friends and allies around him. Everyone has some eccentric personality that shocks or baffle him in some way, and that’s where the comedy comes from. He’s able to stand on his own because of his duties and eagerness to stay in his comfort zone is where the meat of the interactions come from.

His family especially Trap and Thea were meant to be respective foils to him. Trap consistently bullies him and Thea is meant to be the direct opposite of him, she’s the driving force in the group and has more pants to cover up what Gerry doesn’t have. She’s the one behind a lot of their adventures or scoops, hell she’s also the one who keeps finding them in the first place and drags her family and connections into them which makes sense because that’s her job and also where a lot of the plots start from. She fills out the spots that Gerry doesn’t have. Trap is just pure comic relief and is basically that outside force to the group. Hell the two even have a dynamic of their own where’d they just fight over the most trivial things and that makes us side with Geronimo more because of the ridiculousness of his family, that’s what made it click (to me). Highly recommend you read the early books, it shows the strongest character imo (#1-20).

Now Geronimo has all his autonomy stripped away and he’s been reduced to a nothing but a punching bag for everyone around him. I hope I’m not kidding here but try reading a classic book (let’s say #7 or #26) and compare it to the writing in a modern book (let’s say #46 or #74) it’s very jarring. They put more emphasis on different ways his day is ruined and give him no room to breathe or stand on his own. There’s just no charm to that anymore. There’s no fine line with his relationship with the other characters (Run for the Hills Geronimo is probably the worse one and represents everything I don’t like about the new dynamic)

Now over time that initial draw to action is also done by Trap, which I thought was cool because it still plays into the idea of Geronimo’s family dragging him into their shenanigans and the motives make sense to him specifically. It’s like he keeps getting calls from his relatives on schemes which is fun. But the more you keep reading the modern books the dynamic gets skewed over time and here’s the part I’ve been waiting for…Thea gets shelved completely. And now it’s somehow the GOD DAMN GINGER BROS SHOW?????

Now I think about it, Trap used to be a lot more clever in the classic books as well, he’s essentially a bumbling fool who keeps falling into the wrong situations to make a quick buck which slowly backfires on him. If you know me that well you know I’d call him a less scummier Grunkle Stan. The fact that there’s no Thea to balance it out or at least ground the dynamic to some level feels really annoying now.

You don’t really see much of her anymore as she’s either smiling at the back or doesn’t say more than five lines anymore, which is baffling because she’s the one who can pick up the pace the most. I really wished they showed more of her involvement again…They’re a trio, not a duo…and the books are suspiciously phasing her out to make room for the ginger bros fail routine and it ultimately feels very empty…there’s not much acknowledgement or involvement from her really like they could say she’s busy at mouseford or something but nope! Shelved completely without an explanation or a missed opportunity for a tie-in mention.

So far the only redemption I see is the Mayan Mystery one and the Soccer one where she had a more integral role which are way more recent but it still bothers me that they just shelved her for a majority of the modern run.

Listen if the modern books weren’t cowards she would SOLO all these people

she’d probably have an interesting dynamic knowing that she gets along with everyone well and is technically an adventurer. It’d be such a good parallel to her brother to play off of.

hell it’s even worse in the comics. Like there’s legit no acknowledgment of her at all, when trap is absent that gets an explanation but she’s just suspiciously…gone and the only time she does have a major role is when she’s used as a fake mask for a psyche-out to the villains (I’m sorry but if the comics are gonna pull that shit then I’m baited to believe that Thea and (cat lady) would have a homerotic switcheroo fight akin to Ms.Bellum and Sedusa. SHES THE TOUGHEST AND SMARTEST RODENT, USE HER GODDAMIT)

Idk man I tried reading some of the comics and it never worked out that much, again the dynamic feels suspiciously empty with zero acknowledgment. It’s not the Stiltons it’s just the fucking ginger bros for some reason. It doesn’t feel solid like it used to. I really can’t get into them which is a shame, and tbf why would I want to read a comic where Geronimo goes back in time and helps a colonist do his thing 💀

I’d be very happy if someone here can give me one good reason to get into them somehow, I want to like modern Geronimo, please/s

Look if there’s one character I don’t mind them putting in complete absence it’s probably the unaccompanied minors/s…Or Petunia which makes much more sense since she’s a family friend!

Look I actually like Ben and Bugsy as a duo, I think their whole concept is really wholesome, but the books don’t really push their parts that much, like there’s no meaningful interaction they have with the adults which is a lot of missed potential that or it’s just limited to Geronimo. Like listen I get that the whole point of the books was that it was from Geronimo’s perspective, but it’s not like everyone else was just “present”. They had more active roles and Gerry would just write all his observations down. You want a good example? The Mona Mousa Code.

Still…Benjamin had more charm and a bigger role in the classic books…that boy can hyper fixate and master niche skills in anything and was the emotional rock for Geronimo. But now he just goes along with his uncle being a punching bag routine :/ and I KNOW they could do a lot more for Bugsy here, especially since the paws are practically family friends.

—-

But you know…I’ll do give it credit here this era has one of my favorite art styles in the series and notably the one I grew up with the most (classic books illustrations still hold more charm imo) but the way action and expression is illustrated is just *chefs kiss* there’s a certain bounce to it that makes it so memorable.

And I’ll do admit all those geography facts (even if it’s just basic facts I mean it’s a kids book) and long detailed lists or charts about a characters detail is really cool and somehow makes it more immersive.

And it’s really nice to see the universe get expanded.

But overall, the writing is not the same anymore, the original dynamic is screwed up, and lots of missed opportunity to round up the cast together. It’s either empty or I’m just getting too old…Maybe I’m just nostalgia-biased in different areas who knows. But that’s pretty all my thoughts I can pull out.

#I now understand how it feels to be a Simpsons or a SpongeBob fan #I would not be suprised if the modern books are written by ghost writers #I could use this in a four hour long video essay #I would if tempted hard enough #thinking about what a friend said I wonder if this would expose the way I characterize the stiltons #been holding this out for a while and also I’ve been busy #trying my best not to fume at the mouth #hope you like me rambling Anon #Keith answers #mouseposting #geronimo stilton #thea stilton

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thewertsearch · 9 months

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Asks Comp 4/8

The thing is, Davesprite's situation is more complicated than an unfulfilled time loop. His timeline isn't an irrelevant offshoot - in fact, it's integral to the existence of the Alpha Timeline, and presumably always was. Davesprite forms part of a weird, fully intact time loop which spans multiple timelines.

And since this is a future Dave, you have to assume he knows about Bro. The two clearly had a complicated relationship, but he's surely shaken by his death - if nothing else, it's a sign of how serious things have become.

That'll be a fun thing to check out when I've finished the comic! It reminds me of those Hunger Games simulators that were doing the rounds a couple of years ago.

That's true. Dave knows how strong the Underlings have become - and yet, he's still confident that Jade can stand up to them. Presumably she finds some sort of workaround for their First Guardian powers?

Sunslammer is so good! A standout song, even in a comic with as many bangers as this one.

Honestly, part of why I'm dragging my feet on the album reviews is because I want to hear these songs for the first time in context. If I'd heard Descend before watching Descend, I feel like it would have robbed the song of some of its dramatic weight.

I assumed it was just because witches are associated with frogs.

That would have explained why they're part of her Land, but I'm pretty sure that Kanaya's glitched planet was also a frog Land, and she's not a Witch, so...?

*The rest of Sal's response has been redacted, lest we fall once more into the Frog Theory Black Hole.*

I'm pretty sure that's a statue of Echidna, the mother of monsters and Jade's Denizen. Dave's probably close to LOFAF's Palace!

The Seer sees all - and sometimes, she understands the implications before we do.

It'd certainly be interesting. I just reread that conversation, and the biggest takeaway would have been that the kids were going to befriend the trolls, and get involved in their personal drama. This would certainly be consistent with the tone established by an Act 1 Hivebent!

Yup. Vriska was only able to 'create' Perfect Jack because Becquerel didn't object.

Really, he could have prototyped anything he liked, no matter what Vriska did. Even if she tried to shut the Entry down by incapacitating Jade, he could simply have activated the piñata himself.

I mean, that's basically what happened!

If any Aspect is geared around survival, then it's Feferi's. There's no breath left in her body, but our girl is still in the game!

Getting back to the trolls will be interesting, especially since - I assume - we'll be zipping back to when Feferi was still alive. The Veil is a much less friendly place, now - but does Feferi know this? What, exactly, is about to happen to the trolls?

I suppose. I guess there's no reason for every Carapacian to be created with knowledge of the Rings.

Actually, Sburb might not want them to know - Jack's probably not the only one who wouldn't respect the Ring's rules. There could be potential ringwielders out there who are far more dangerous.

Thank you! I feel like I've been doing a lot more character analysis in Act 5 versus previous Acts, where most of my speculation was about the lore. It's a fun change of pace.

Damn, I didn't think we'd actually be explaining these!

It's moments like these which really enhance the comic for me - justifications for things that I genuinely thought were just nitpicks on my part. It's really gratifying, honestly.

@thelegendofgreg asked: Here's some commentary from the jade enter flash, theres uh. alot to read but its all neat stuff "I talked about this way back, maybe even in an earlier book? Well, here I go again, so hold on to your ass. There are four entry items: Apple of knowledge, Bottle of wine, Crow's egg, Dog piñata. A, B, C, D. All of them are related to new life or new beginnings. You bite the apple, you fall from grace, enter a new world, begin this wild journey. You smash a bottle to christen a ship. An egg hatches, creating new life. You break a piöata to celebrate a birthday. Each involves breaking or puncturing something. Each involves a form of sustenance, or something to consume (piñatas have candy inside). Two are vessels for the substance (bottle, Piñata), two are the food items themselves (apple, egg), and one arguably counts as both (egg). Two of them drop from the same basic tree template (apple, piñata). They ramp up in complexity. John's is a simple test: bite the forbidden fruit. Not much to it. A single unit of departure, almost conceptually elemental, like an apple, as Rose goes on about later. The challenges get trickier. Rose has to break a bottle. Easy enough idea, but things go wrong, and she has to take a blind leap to get it done. A sacrificial gesture, and one of faith in a friend (Jaspers). Dave's is even more obscure. A simple test of patience, but one that's not clear. He isn't told what to do and just has to wait. Non-action is the key, and in a way it's another gesture of faith under dire circumstances. Finally, Jade's challenge incorporates a lot of these elements. It's another "blind faith" situation. She has to take a shot in the dark. There's a sacrificial gesture, but instead of risking herself (like Rose), Jade must symbolically sacrifice her friend via effigy and cannot complete the sacrifice without help from that friend. (Bec must redirect the bullet. There's no way this works if he doesn't.) It is also a signifier that the pet she knew as a friend her whole life is about to, in a way, become her enemy. Like a good dog gone bad, who now must be put down."

So they are all intended to be foodstuffs! And, apparently, alphabetical - although I think 'Crow's egg' is a bit of a stretch.

There are also themes of sacrifice and faith that I didn't really think about before. Choosing to enter Sburb at all, knowing the stakes, is absolutely a leap of faith - and it's a game which sacrifices your whole planet. Skaia's been telling us the score this whole time.

Homestuck absolutely deals with dark themes - but they start out buried under the surface, and even now, are still in the process of revealing themselves. This makes sense for Homestuck, a coming-of-age-story whose protagonists are slowly coming to terms with some dark truths about their lives.

Awful Hospital, however, immediately says: here's our protagonist. Her baby is dying. She just woke in a strange room. She doesn't know how she got here. Her baby has been stolen. There are monsters inside her brain. By the way, here's a quip, because this is actually a funny comic. It just felt... dissonant, and not in a fun way. I don't really know what it's going for, tonally.

Don't take this as a negative review, though! I only read a couple dozen pages, so I'm really not qualified to rate the comic - I just wasn't feeling it at the time, so I shelved it. I enjoy a lot of Bogleech's writing, and Awful Hospital's lore sounds pretty interesting, so I'll probably give it another shot at some point.

Not for the most part! I'm super into time travel stories, though, so I'm well-Primed to understand their intricacies.

So there might be intermittent stages between the four we've seen in the kids' session? That'd be interesting - I'd love to see the intermediary stage between John's 2D chessboard and Rose's 3D cube.

There are, at this point, too many awesome songs for me to pick favorites. Umbral Ultimatum and Sunslammer are excellent, but what songs aren't, at this point?

I can't imagine what we're in for when we reach the Act 5.2 finale...

Ooh, interesting. Considering how many accidental references Hussie seems to make, it's honestly up in the air whether that was intentional.

That said....

Jack is looking awfully divine these days.

I suppose Tavros has probably logged the most rocket-hours, yeah.

I'm sure all Breath Players probably learn to fly, unless there are some oddball classes which don't let you interact with your Aspect.

Anonymous asked: forwarding this message to you from someone who doesn't have a tumblr account. ~DJ "Important fact. Dave and Aradia both use musical instruments for time travel, but different ones. Aradia’s is a music box, it has a single prerecorded music, the only way to “play” it is to turn it so it plays the music that was always in it. Dave’s is turntables. They contain a preexisting music, but what you do with them is to jump, cut and shuffle this music, creating something new, having full control of it. - RM"

I like it! As Time Players, they both follow the set path of the Alpha Timeline - but Dave gets a little funky with it, multiplying himself with a complex series of time loops.

Aradia, ever the fatalist, instead turns to doomed clones for reinforcements. I don't think we've ever seen her make a stable loop.

#full liveblog #asks #act 5.2

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domesticandlovingmonsters · 1 year

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Their First Christmas With You: Hellboy

Just wanna give a little FYI: I’ve kinda mixed all the characters from the movies together. Abe is obviously from the 2004 movies and the others mentioned are from the recent one. Obviously, Hellboy is just Hellboy.

He would never forget to get you a gift. Never. Why would you ever doubt his love for you in such a way?

But later you did find a search history of gift ideas on his phone one day. And Abe had come to you once or twice asking what you wanted for Christmas. Which made you chuckle, because you damn well know, Abe has had presents for everyone since March.

You didn’t say anything about it. You just started dropping hints around Red so the poor man didn’t stress too much.

But other than gifts, Hellboy is all over Christmas. His room was full of blinking lights and little Christmas trinkets. The Bureau's tree was decorated by him. Anytime he saw an empty hallway, he demanded it be decorated with some sort of Christmas theme.

When he was able to go out on missions, a Santa hat was clipped to his hair between his horns. But he refused to wear the big red cloak or a white beard.

You had the best idea of putting bells and baubles on his guns. Like little charms you see on FPS games. And since then, everyone has to at least have some sort of trinket hanging from their pistols.

Coming up to the big day, it's a party. Red is in the best mood, always with a drink in hand and going around running amok while feasting on all kinds of Christmas food.

The Christmas lunches/dinners you used to have with your family? Imagine it spreads over a week leading up to the big day and then when you thought you’d eaten your last dish, Red demands more and every night you went to bed in a food coma.

As gifts are exchanged, gathered under the massive, stupidly expensive tree, you hand Big Red your gift to him. And he almost cries at it.

You know he’s a big gun nut. And also a massive comic book nerd with a flare for the dramatics. And you were pretty sure he was still tipsy when he tore open the wrapping to reveal an exact replica of DoomSlayer’s shotgun. A WORKING replica of the weapon to be exact.

He stared at it for so long you thought that made him have a heart attack. But he hugged it close to his chest and pressed the biggest kiss on your cheek.

“Christmas is canceled! Nothing can outdo (Y/N)’s gift.” Hellboy says, still hugging the gun like a puppy.

To you from Red, it's a scrapbook of photos from all of your missions with Red, Abe and the others. And with each photo was a little description in Hellboy’s handwriting. All of them were about the moments he loved or was proud of you from each photo.

One was a very gruesome photo of you, Hellboy and Daimio’s were-jaguar covered in filth after a nasty fight with a giant toad monster in the swamp. The photo captured you laughing, a deep gasp over your right eye, pushing away the jaguar beast as it tried to lick your cheek. Red was leaning against a tree behind the two of you looking winded but holding onto the tail of Daimio in a meager attempt to stop him from pushing you over.

The description read: “I love that even after being beaten, swallowed and thrown against a tree, you still find the kitty cute enough to let him cover you in tuna breath.”

All of you spent the rest of the morning flicking through the book and reminiscing about the times that were shown in each photo.

P.S. It was Sasha’s idea to make something more personal than something from an online store.

#christmas theme #Christmas h/c #christmas stuff #head-canon #hellboy #hellboy christmas head canons #hellboy headcanons #hellboy h/c #hellboy x reader #reader insert

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jtownraindancer · 7 months

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top 5 burn characters go

Good gods Anon this is evil. Only five!??? 😭💕

I spent like three days trying to make up my mind on this, and I'm still not satisfied, but as of the moment, in no particular order:

The Best Boys

Mr. William Guppy of Kenge & Carboy, Bleak House

He's awkward, he's manipulative, he has no real social skills to speak of, and he's in love. I actually really disliked this character when I first read the book circa 2011, but as Burn seems wont to do, I ended up being completely won over in the end. ^_^; His Guppy is expressive, less a comic relief and almost sympathetic. I mentioned in a conversation with @synthapostate about how Guppy is technically an antagonist, but he's played in such a way that you really can't see it (unlike the book). Also the camera is half in love with Burn this entire series, and it makes it very, very easy to fall in love with this dorky, curly-haired puppy of a man.

Dr. Hermann Gottlieb, Pacific Rim & Pacific Rim: Uprising

I could write sonnets about Hermann for how much I've come to love him. 😅 He's one of the Characters of All Time for me. From his passion, his stubborn resilience, and his sharp humor, to his unwavering loyalty for those he cares for and his ability to care so deeply, how could I not irrevocably fall for him? (Also singlehandedly the cause of the 2023 Burn Binge.) Hermann found his way into my heart from the very beginning, but I never realized how at home he had made himself until the day I turned around and he was patiently waiting for me to see him. I think I fell for him and Newt in the same fell swoop, and my love for both of them is unwavering.

Dr. Owen Harper, Torchwood

I've been in love with this bastard since 2013; I've been repressing that adoration for 10 years. I- I don't really remember the exact moment that my opinion of Owen shifted from extreme dislike to him carving a permanent place in my very being, but there it is. He's sarcastic, an incorrigible flirt, and has one of the biggest, kindest hearts I've ever come across in fiction. At the time, I was pre-Med, and I aspired to be half as compassionate a doctor as him. After Exit Wounds, I gave up Torchwood (I couldn't, not with Tosh gone too.), but I've slowly been dipping my toes back in via Burn's reading of some of the books & the Big Finish audios. It's been 10 years, yet I think I'm more in love with this bastard than I ever was before. (And okay, I admit, he might be my favorite-favorite ^_^;)

Sgt. Detective William Blore, And Then There Were None

Bill, Bill, Bill... He's a crooked cop, he's tired of everyone's nonsense, he's filled with regret, he's probably gay. Detective Blore is yet another classic lit character that I first met back in the late 20-aughts, early 2010s who I really didn't care for. Then 2023 rolls around, and not only did I come to love him in this adaptation, but I've ended up going on an Agatha Christie bender because of it. Burn made me... well love would be too strong a word, but I definitely rank Blore as "a poor little meow meow."

Major Edmund Hewlett, TURN

How could this list be at all complete without including my beloved major? (Just picking a gif for this made me realise how badly I've missed him. 🥺) Edmund is... How do I explain how much I adore this guy? How do I possibly pin down the levels of pride I have in his journey, in his growth, explain the way my heart aches at the twists and turns that will tear him apart and build him back even stronger? How do I possibly do justice in conveying how damn aspirational he is, how merciful, how delightful? I can't, really. He's a force of nature that one must experience for themselves. (And I need to resume my rewatch methinks~)

Runner-Ups

(or the characters who have been spinning in my brain nonstop like rotisserie chickens and absolutely deserve mention)

Ben Jarvis, Cheat

I... I have entire essays I want to write about this guy. I have theories I want to discuss, but as most of them are... I can't. Yet. Maybe soon? I- Anyway. Ben was a huge surprise, and definitely nowhere close to what I was expecting when I finally got around to watching this show. I would be lying to say it wasn't a pleasant surprise, and I absolutely love how Burn was able to do a lot of solo work this series, with a lot of focus on body language and his uncanny knack for killer expressions.

Jacko Argyle, Ordeal By Innocence

This... This beautiful little shit ♡ One of the first Burn movies I actively chose to seek out, my second in his Agatha Christie adaptations, and my first dive into gif making. And Jacko-! Oh, Jacko... You stole my heart then broke it in only a few, few precious moments of screentime and backstory. He haunts the entire film, he haunts me still, and I'm so glad I had the chance to meet him.

Martin, Up There

(Oh look yet another one of my gifs 😅)

Martin is absolutely one of my favourite characters, especially for his absolute growth during the film. He crawls out of his downward spiral, he finds himself again, and ultimately discovers that there can be life after death. He just- He's grumpy, he's beautifully sarcastic, he's depressed, he's loved, and he just- Seriously I love him. Martin feels like a friend who I haven't seen in an age, and it's always a good day to bump into him again.

Reverend Benedict Marley, Lark Rise to Candleford

I almost forgot my favourite clergyman??? D:

Benedict Marley came into my life just to shake my very foundations, send me on an existential journey of self discovery, and waited for me at the end of it all with a soft smile and encouraging words. He only had one episode in the show, but his story was so easily woven and understood, his humility humbled me, and in ways that make me almost afraid to admit aloud- I felt seen in a way that I ever so rarely am. I connected to him; I understand him. He has depths that I could hardly explain in a single paragraph, but I can say that- out of all these characters- my feelings are birthed more out of a very deep respect and admiration.

I can't say this list will stay the same- I'm far from through with Burn's portfolio- but for his on-screen roles, these guys firmly remain top-tier for me. :)

(If you'd like to hear about his voice work instead, please let me know; I could go on for Hours about some of those lads. ♡)

Thanks for the ask Anon, and if you haven't seen any of these yet, I definitely recommend them!

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veloxiraptors · 1 year

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Vic's Midpollo/The Authority Rec List

Core Content:

- Stormwatch Vol 2. (issues #4-6) contains Midnighter & Apollo's origin story. It's written by Warren Ellis, and anything written by him is guaranteed to be good. The team they’re part of is blatantly a satirical take on the Justice League and it’s hilarious. While these are the only issues that include Midnighter & Apollo, I definitely recommend Ellis’ entire Stormwatch run (Vol.1 #37-50 & Vol.2 #1-11)–it made me fall in love with Shen & Jenny Sparks more than I already was.

- The Authority Vol.1 (issues #1-12) was also written by Warren Ellis; this is truly one of my favourite comic books of all time. The character interactions, plot, and art are all fantastic. I started reading this run for Midnighter & Apollo, and by the end I had fallen in love with the entire team; they’re rough-edged and violent without being gratuitous, witty without being corny, and it was fun as hell to read through them slaughtering both interdimensional colonialists and also god. There is unfortunately a villain who is an Evil Chinese Stereotype in the first arc though.

- The Authority Vol.1 (issues #13 & #29) the first & last issue of The Authority written by Mark Millar. It sucks ass but these two issues explain Midnighter & Apollo's adopted daughter (#13) and show them getting married (#29) which is the only reason I'm reccing them in the first place. It’s gratuitously violent without reason, and hurls slurs, homophobia, racism, sexism, and addiction at its readers for no reason other than shock value.

- The Authority Vol.2 (issues #0-9, #11-13) Issues 0-9 are an absolute blast, both the art style & tone were more in line with Ellis' run than Milars, and we get a call-back to the first arc of The Authority Vol.1 which I thought was pretty cool. Issues 10-13 take place after a 4-issue mini-series (Coup d'État) that culminates in The Authority ousting the president of the US, which I didn't read bc I had no desire to. Issue 10 is a direct follow-up to that arc, but it's rarely mentioned throughout issues 11-13 which is why I kept them. There were definitely parts of Vol.2 that I wasn't fond of, but the good far outweighs the bad in my opinion.

- The Authority: Revolution (issues #1-12) starts with The Authority dealing with the consequences of taking over the USA in Coup d'État, and it still made sense despite the fact I never read that arc. I was slow to get into it, but by the end I was flipping pages as fast as I could read them. The first few issues set up some interesting ideas and it follows through in knocking them down in a satisfying way. Their fight against the Big Bad felt a little too clean-cut in my opinion, but issue #11 has some amazingly angsty midpollo content.

- The Authority Vol.4 (issues #1-17) takes place after a crossover event spanning 3 mini-series between the biggest Wildstorm properties, but all you need to know is this: it's the apocalypse. While Midnighter and Apollo are separated by circumstance, it makes the issues where they appear together all the more impactful in my opinion. The original Authority run by Ellis will always be my favourite, but this run is definitely second place. The series wraps up nicely on a beautiful and hopeful note, and while there were still a few loose threads, this is definitely one of the better comic series ends I've read.

One-Shots & Miniseries:

- Planetary/The Authority: Ruling the World is a one-shot crossover event. It’s a pretty fun read, minus the fact that H.P. Lovecraft makes an appearance.

- Wildstorm Winter Special 2005: Two Dangerous Ideas is a funny little one-shot where Midnighter and Apollo meet their alternate-reality counterparts: Daylighter and Pluto. Hilarity ensues.

- The Authority: Human on the Inside (miniseries) the plot makes no damn sense but Midnighter & Apollo have some really cute interactions in this and the art is soooo pretty.

- Lobo/The Authority: Jingle Hell the art is an... interesting choice and the writing is a rude, crude riot. I found this in my local comic shop's dollar bin and while it definitely belongs there, I do not regret buying it.

For the love of all that is good and gay please do not read Stormwatch Vol.3 it was part of the New 52 relaunch and reading it caused me psychic damage.

And feel free to drop me a message if you have any questions!

#midpollo #midnighter #the authority #lucas trent #andrew pulaski #midnighter and apollo #this post was brought to you by: me wanting someone to talk to about the goddamn authority #vicshit

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professoruber · 3 months

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Thoughts of Birds of Prey (2023-) #6

Spoilers for Birds of Prey (2023-) #6

So the newest issue of the current Birds of Prey comic has recently come out and I guess since I took the time to make multiple fairly long-ish posts about this run, I should go over my thoughts here.

To sum things up... I thought it okay but also not really too big of a fan by the end of it. I didn't exactly dislike it, but I guess it left me with too many questions and felt a bit too contrived. It was enjoyable enough, but kinda felt like my enjoy-ness of it decreased with each subsequent issue. It wasn't bad, but I guess that's my knee-jerk fresh reaction.

Of course, it still possible that there is more to the story than there is now and that future issues will reveal new information which might clear up some of my issues more, I'll be discussing that as well...

Note again that I am a novice in comics, and Gotham Academy was one of the first I read fully so perhaps I'm biased in that area. But to go over my thoughts for why I kinda feel slightly disappointed in more detail...

What was the point of Meridian?

Warning of future doom, apparently. So as it turns out, the real reason that Barbara wasn't include was because she died eleven times already

(the fact that this was far from Meridian's first attempt was foreshadowed last issue with her noting where the last battle "always is"). So someone is out to get the Birds of Prey, and they're possibly using Future Maps time travel tech to do it.

While this does somewhat answer the question of why Barbara was specifically excluded; still doesn't explain the secrecy.

Like, all these visions of Barbara dying have her in her Batgirl outfit, so couldn't she just have been informed she'd die and asked to oversee the mission as Oracle? Or does that also somehow lead to her death?

Being kept in the loop would also presumably have greatly helped avoid awkward feelings like this. And from what I know of Barbara, her tactical mind is probably more valuable than her martial art skills. But I guess whatever evil time traveller is targeting the BoP would've found a way to get to Babs anyway? (also on a side note; Barbara getting hurt by not being included was at least one thing I kinda predicted. My other, more thougt-out predictions though... well I'll get to those in a bit)

It also confirms that Dinah indeed did not apparently get any explanation for why she had to exclude Barbara until after the mission was complete and.... that feels weird?

Like I said, I'm a novice on comics (although I am now definitely adding more Birds of Prey stuff to my to-read list) so I'm not the biggest expert on these characters. Nevertheless it feels that Black Canary here would've agreed to attack Wonder Woman and her people while excluding Oracle all on the word of a time traveller she's likely never met before (and in the present is a teenager who she's likely never met before either) without even demanding a damn good explanation first.

I guess it was more dramatic from a story perspective for Meridian to reveal this stuff now and set up the next arc. But it still just feels contrived to me. Maybe I'm overlooking/overthinking something though?

Meridian's Motives

So I've gone over a theory before that Meridian was in fact evil and possibly even connected to Megaera. That theory was not confirmed, or overly supported, by this. And it does seem like Meridian is probably on the up-and-up.

Perhaps I'm a tad biased/sunk-cost fallacy right now since I spent a decent amount of time on the theory of Meridian being evil, but still worth noting that this mission ended up Megaera possessing Sin, albeit with Sin in control (and presumably actually in control because Megaera said Sin was in control while Sin used the lasso on her).

There's still quite a few similarities between Meridian and Megaera which are a bit difficult to overlook (you can check out the link I placed above where i went into more detail into that).

Its worth noting as well that Meridian mentioned that whichever evil time traveller is targeting the BoP, they're using her technology most likely. An interesting detail, and one which raises q

Could it be Meridian is hiding something still? All the information we know about the future and her motives comes from her after all.

Or could it be she's being controlled without her knowledge? Or a second Meridian is up and about?

Perhaps it seems like I'm still focusing a disproportionate amount on Meridian, but she still remains the driving force behind all this issues of the narrative which have somewhat hurt my enjoyment and given me questions.

And to repeat what I've said before. Meridian seems like a strange direction for the character of Maps Mizoguchi.

As I've alluded to before, I'm probably quite biased in this area because I've read Gotham Academy years ago before I really got into comics like I have recently and it was one of the first runs I've finished and stuff.

Maps is a character who wants to be Robin. And that's the path which she seems to have been developed upon during her fairly recent return.

Given how still early she is in her storyline of becoming Robin (or some other kind of vigilante) it just still feels like a strange choice for Maps Mizoguchi of all people to show up as a time traveling hero with a persona and skillset which seems in stark contrast to her every prior appearance.

Meridian does not appear to be a martial artist, Maps doesn't appear to be a tech genius. Magic would seem like a more likely 'superpower' than super-tech for Maps considering the more supernatural focus of Gotham Academy.

Maps has been established with a preference for swords while Meridian is only shown fighting using a fancy taser.

Am I thinking too deeply into it? Probably, yes.

But still feels like an overall strange decision to introduce Future Maps in such a manner. Especially when Present Maps has only returned to semi-focus in recent years and still hasn't really developed too much in her own current goals (such as being Robin).

So taking a character who's still in need of a bit more focus and development and then giving them a future persona which is at contrast to their current development chain? Seems odd.

Also at first i just assumed Meridian comes from a post-apocalyptic future which would be retconned out of the timeline by this arc. But Meridian's comments about how she doesn't take time travel lightly and is trying to right the timeline suggests she does not in fact come from a post-apocalyptic timeline.

So does that mean Maps is destined to become Meriden?

Again, this is probably my bias due to Gotham Academy nostalgia. But I'm not sure if I'm too much of a fan of this direction for her.

Especially, as I keep noting, Present Maps has only barely gotten started on working on becoming Robin (or any-kind of vigilante); but Meridian seems to suggest Maps is going to drop her current direction and go in a completely different direction at some point in the future.

Well those of my thoughts I guess. I suppose I'll see how things develop from here.

While I did find the Birds of Prey quite well-drawn so far and fairly enjoyable. All this thoughts I've gone over and the general feeling this arc was a tad contrived has all somewhat mitigated my enjoyment.

#professoruber thoughts #dc comics #birds of prey 2023 #birds of prey 2023 spoilers #birds of prey #bop #comic review #comic criticism #maps mizoguchi #bop meridian #mia mizoguchi #dinah lance #dinah drake #dinah drake lance #megaera #sin lance #barbara gordon #batgirl #oracle

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erithel · 10 months

Note

Sorry people are being d***s to you about you having the gall to (reads writing on hand) ...Take the time and patience to release a comic one page at a time... consistently. A goal that has so far cost you MONTHS or work, time, and effort. It's deeply disrespectful to you and dismissive of how much work you put in. Also, it's not "dragged out" at all, your flow feels absolutely fine... That accusation was incorrect, as well as rude.

Other points I'm sure you don't need to know but I'm gonna say just in case:

1) It DOES flow absolutely fine, so far as I can tell: they just feel that way because they're just waiting on the actual kiss and aren't thinking about the surrounding context or how much work it takes to get to any point. They just want a smooch. (It's not an excuse but I genuinely believe people, especially younger folks, have been mentally conditioned by stuff like netflix and tiktok to have no blooming patience for anything that takes more than 30 seconds.)

2) Maybe, just maybe, getting to the big damn kiss isn't the point of the story.

They aren't thinking about the framing and how it's meant to convey character emotions. They aren't thinking about the weight of the situation. They aren't taking time to drink in the full page spreads and the immense amount of detail you put into it. If someone wants that, fine, but you don't owe it them and they can just go find a three page fanfic or art dumps on wattsapp (no shade intended to whatsapp writers) instead of nagging and bullying creative people for not working to their pace.

You have worked hard. You have shown respect and patience. And you are not beholden to us. I'm sorry we hurt you this way. Keep doing you. We are not owed anything. Your art is your art. I hope the behaviour of people online don't ruin it for you.

(...Also ngl you posting the two middle fingers page instead of an actual kiss would be kind of funny.)

I really appreciate you saying all of this.

And you are absolutely correct.

I'm sure there is a direct connection between the drop in people's overall patience that correlates with the start of full tv series being released on streaming platforms all in one go, as opposed to weekly.

And that has only been amplified with Tik Toks and youtube shorts and reels, where everything has to be as quick as possible in order to keep someone's attention. Maybe even vine had something to do with that.

My biggest concert or disappointment in all of this is how the actual story is being missed or glossed over for the sake of "getting to the big kiss."

The whole point of this comic (as I intended it) was to explain that getting over a traumatic event takes time.

Lance witnessed Keith die. He needed time to figure out how much of his heart he was willing to risk, because if this was something that was likely to happen again, it would be too much for him to handle.

Keith needed to understand that his actions had consequences outside of himself - that they had a huge, lasting effect on someone else, and that maybe he was hurting Lance even more by "protecting" him than any damage the actual shot might have caused.

They needed to talk, and they needed to reach an understanding.

As I said in another post, of course I know my work isn't perfect. And of course I know not everyone will enjoy my kind of storytelling. But I also think we've had to sit through too many shows and movies and books where suddenly everything was just fine in the end, or suddenly everything was just magically healed with a kiss.

If I take a step back from my own annoyance, it's actually fascinating because based on people's comments and reactions to this comic, I feel I could safely assume which readers have lost a loved one or been through something very intense, and which ones have not.

#asks #erithel's hot takes #gone comic

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maxwell-grant · 2 years

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Sooo... The Penguin: One Bad Day?

...Honestly?

Considering the genuinely abysmal precedent set by the prior two One Bad Day stories? I'm just glad this didn't push Penguin absurdly far into complete monster territory. I'm glad it didn't assassinate the character, like the other one that should go unnamed. I wasn't even gonna touch it until you dropped this ask. I kept reading the entire issue waiting for the other shoe to drop with some twist like, oh he's gonna kill all his associates in the end because he doesn't care for them or, oh he's gonna have some awful new detail added to his backstory like they did for Joker's Asylum or Pain and Prejudice but, no.

I did like a fair deal of how it depicted Oswald, I was rather shocked by it. It passes my "I can hear Paul Williams reading this" test and that's pretty damn high praise coming from. I did like spending some time with Penguin at his lowest and how this does the "Oswald claws his way to the top" set-up but without violence being his biggest asset, more so his ability to negotiate and manipulate and even beg his way into assembling just enough of a crew and just enough firepower to scrape by. I kinda liked Tiny Homeless Trash King Penguin as a concept (I figure Spamton fans who are also Penguin fans might get a kick out of this story).

I like that it establishes that Oswald's relation with his henchmen is that he thinks he treats them significantly less shitty ways than he actually does, which still makes him several tiers better than most other Gotham rogues even if not, great, and in the end he will in fact try to make amends. I like that it establishes Oswald's history with being lonely and ostracized as a reason why he treats his goons a little better and why he employs people that would be otherwise discarded, and this is ultimately why he wins (you can argue that this comic represents said people poorly and, you'd be right, but, it's a Batman comic, if you're in too deep in those, at some point you kinda have to settle for the less-abysmal depictions of mental illness / physical deformity / race / gender / etc when given such)

It didn't shy away from showing many of Oswald's character faults, but it also played straight the idea that, overall, he is indeed a better class of criminal and significantly better than your average mobster, if nothing else it also gets major points with me also for the lengths it went to avoid the misogynistic Penguin cliches others default to. It even goes so far as to state that Penguin played a significant hand at both ensuring Gotham's rogues had the tools necessary, as well as secretly kneecapping them so that the game between them and Batman would never escalate too far, to the extent that Penguin thinks of Batman as "a piece in his conglomerate". Honestly? I'm still not sure this is an idea that works, but I don't hate it? In fact it's kind of something I always wanted to see explored, even something I'd toyed with on my personal Batman or superhero-related ideas?

If nothing else, this does go someway towards explaining why Batman tolerates Penguin to the extent he does. Not because Penguin's good at looking legitimate or because he makes for good intel, but because Batman pretty much always has someone or something worse than Penguin to stop, and because wasting time with Penguin inevitably means turning his back on worse problems happening at Gotham (I feel like the Reeves film continuity is kinda heading in this direction as well). And Batman hates it, he hates that Oswald knows this, but this story also points out what happens when Penguin's removed from the picture to be inevitably replaced by some far worse scumbag with no interest in theater or balance. This idea wouldn't work for any other character in Batman's Rogues Gallery, except for Penguin. Granted, this also kinda means that Oswald's purposefully kneecapping himself but, at least it acknowledges this as part of the set-up required to make mob boss Penguin work.

Even the fact that Penguin resolves the battle by going full beast / Returns, I don't mind that much here, it's played for contrast of Penguin spending the entire issue powerless or being played as a gentleman (if a deluded, cutthroat criminal one) for most of the issue. Honestly? I like this as a display of monstrousness way more than "ruins your life for coughing within earshot", I'd have little to complain if Penguin tearing out the throats of mob bosses with his teeth was the lowest he'd be willing to go, in fact I think he should do that more often. I do like some savagery in him.

I mean, yeah, the whole reocurring animal thing, and it culminating with him thanking his former bully for instilling the idea on him that he's just "a little animal", has some whiff of that "the bullies get it right" awfulness from Frank Tieri's one-shot but, it's not going that far. There's some issues in this story and especially from a plotting perspective but, I'm not sure how much I liked this because it was a good Penguin story that utilized the character in an interesting way or even a good story in general, or how much I liked this because it wasn't as aggressively dogshit as I was expecting and how much better it was than so many other modern Penguin stories but, I'm pretty lenient on this, I liked most of it well enough.

I don't know how this relates to the current continuity that I'm not reading, and I don't care either, but between this, what little I've seen of other recent Penguin moments and the upcoming show, I'm feeling pretty good. It's kinda seeming like the character's getting some of his groove back. I'm pleasantly happy with it.

#replies tag #dc comics #dc #batman #the penguin #penguin #oswald cobblepot #comic books #honestly I've kinda given up on most superhero comics in general #unless they're written by someone I really like #or I get recommended to check them out #I'd rather just sit by and let others inform me of the dumpster fires #but thank you for pushing me to read this so I could reply to you #about-faces I am so so sorry that they did this to you #what an awful thing that was

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blackstarchanx3new · 6 months

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Creations AU FNAF 4, But I obnoxiously over explain it PT 1

Pages 0-29

Holy shit remember when I said there were "Side comics"

Lmfao yeah they go more in depth.

We're starting with FNAF 4 because as of rn it's the first in the timeline of comics I've made. SL will be next and imo has the shittiest art because I was hurting myself with every page of that damn thing.

Content warnings I guess: bad things happen to fictional kids because this is fnaf lmfao.

I forgot wtf the faded words say but I'm pretty sure they're all written from William except one which is from Josh. Fuck if I remember which tho XDDDDDD

They're all talking vaguely about the incident.

So I'm going off the bold assumption you've seen the over explains for the main AU and will be talking about FNAF 4 from that perspective: Honestly the biggest hurdles in the Creations AU over explained is just how much I dump about the games, the AU as a whole, spoilers what to AVOID spoiling ex.

(Like...What I FEEL should be common knowledge I sometimes say, but then I realized: Holy fuck most of my current tumblr followers are ZELDA people who might just be reading cause they like my stuff in general and have ZERO Fnaf knowledge lmfao I'm very sorry if I don't always communicate things from the games specifically well.)

If you're here from the Creations AU MAIN comic over explained:

We are all to aware Elizabeth is dead and Cody has SEEN said incident, which gives a lot of insight into his character going forward in this comic.

This is based on the fan theory crying child saw Elizabeth die. I honestly dunno how much merit that actually has in CANNON but it's a fun story idea for Creations at least lol.

Circus Baby, the animatronic pictured was the one that did the deed.

So funny story: I actually like Josh as a character MORE after drawing FNAF 4 X'D and I will get into why. He's been the butt of the "I hate this character" joke for a long time but now the script has flipped because I actually like him a lot from a character standpoint but the audience couldn't stand his ass. (Reasonably he's awful lmfao) I didn't HATE him in SL I mostly hyped up how much I "Disliked" him If I hated him, I wouldn't draw him lmfao but I find he's 100xs more interesting as a person in FNAF 4 because he's WAY more flawed and his vulnerabilities are on full ass display here.

So dialogue wise: Josh goes on an absolute anger filled tirade on Cody merely taking a look into his presumed dead sister's room.

Their mother is out of the house under false pretenses, and beats Josh. She doesn't do this to Cody apparently which is clearly causing resentment. We can already make some assumptions about Josh's behavior due to his mother's abuse. Being, he repeats said cycle of abuse onto his younger brother.

He's a bad person lmfao and I won't justify his shit but I can completely understand why he's acting this way. Bro should not be in this situation.

William's "Checked out". Presumably not emotionally available or even physically considering Josh is looking after his brother.

He's being FORCED to basically parent his younger sibling who he dislikes STRONGLY, which uh. Makes older siblings carry a LOT of baggage later in life and in the moment is clearly doing NO ONE favors. He's also VERY CLEARLY not emotionally capable of dealing with a child. Which is just irresponsible as hell on his parents ends. That is a recipe for a complete trainwreck as we will very soon see.

Oh. The bear talks.

Hide and seek with high stakes. I got nothing much to say about the scenes directly tied/based to the minigames as they mostly speak for themselves.

Josh is a dick, that's evident.

Some of yall might not like it but I'm going on both Josh and Cody's perspectives here lmao. Deal with it

I would also lose my patience with a screaming child throwing an absolute tantrum. But on Cody's end, I wouldn't wanna go to Freddy's/Fredbear's either considering HE SAW HIS SISTER DIE THERE.

Josh's reasoning for bringing Cody makes sense though: Their dad is here and he can spend time with his friends. Josh's friend Lucas points out they're technically "Banned" from Freddy's. And she's cheating. According to Josh. Which just makes her leaving her son with his abusive older brother to cheat even more insulting/disgusting. Oliver Blondie with the green shirt is disturbed by Josh trauma dumping lmao. Richard cracks jokes about Josh's mom's affairs. Josh like Michael and William are British which Richard not so elegantly makes fun of. You'll notice a significant LACK of Michael here. More details: All four of these boys indulge in bad habits. Like smoking.

I WONDER WHY. Sarcasm aside, it's almost like abusing your kids results in them lashing out in horrible ways, mostly self destructive...

As we know Richard's dad is a freak who sleeps with married women and Josh's mother's known for infidelity. And all four smoke except Lucas apparently.

The "Josh you of all people would know I don't smoke" line is a play on the fact they're in a relationship and kiss, because Lucas and Josh's relationship is not subtle at all.

I find it amusing they all blame each other for Richard's stolen cigarettes as it's clear Josh and Oliver are behind it but MOSTLY Josh.

Well, he did the bare minimum of leaving him in a place he THINKS is safe, with a way to get back to the house?

Josh this is still shitty as hell. X'D

Lucas continues to be the only one in this friend group with a brain, also I do like how he nags his boyfriend and his shitty parenting choices for his brother lmfao.

He won't DO anything about it but he'll point it out.

Fredbear we can see this.

HAH SCARY.

Haha trauma.

Not now son Daddy's helping people into fur suits.

Yeah closing the door doesn't help this situation. Poor kiddo.

My bro wanted him to fall lmao. That would have been funny but nah.

Josh is playing on a 3DS because it's funny.

He at least fed his brother. Bare minimum parenting there buddy.

Not Josh getting annoyed because Cody says something scary he didn't personally tell him. X'D

He gives a half hearted attempt at advice...? Comfort? idk what you'd call that lmao.

And okay fr from Josh's perspective his brother is just acting like a ungrateful cowardly brat. X'D That doesn't make what he does right but like: Would YOU Believe him if he told you he "Saw" someone get eaten by a robot lmfao????

Children lie or misunderstand things. And Josh is old enough to know how these things work. He knows they're people in costumes or just lifeless things on the stage. Or at least they're SUPOSED to be.

Josh amusingly telling Cody he can walk is funny when you think he carried him TO Fredbear's last time.

Because Josh is a dick.

I don't have a lot to say about Cody's behavior because it's self explanatory. He saw his sister die here, his fear is justified and has an obvious reason. He's failed by the people around him ESPECIALLY his parents.

This is just more NPC dialogue in the minigames. Not much to say.

#fnaf 4 #creations au comic #creations au #fnaf au #fnaf #five nights at freddys #five nights at freddy's #fnaf comic #fnaf crying child #fnaf 4 comic #fnaf 4 cc #fnaf 4 afton #fnaf 4 bullies #fnaf 4 brother #circus baby #fnaf circus baby

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kindlespark · 1 year

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Too shy .. but I do agree with you on the Cerebrocast not getting QQ 😔.

OMG HI TWITTER PERSON ok context for everyone else i’ve been listening to cerebrocast (who do not like quentin) but i personally have so many thoughts about quentin quire and i DO hate it because he’s the stupidest whitest bitch in existence.

the thing is that i need his story to have been about white trans/queer rage because he literally looks like he has pink hair and pronouns and something something he looks like a walking trans flag with the pink hair and blue psionics and he’s a fucking PHOENIX HOST. YOU KNOW, THE X-MEN’S MANIFESTATION OF FEMALE RAGE??? ANYWAY. its just nonsensical to me that in new x-men morrison chooses their incel school shooter allegory to be…. a punk counterculture radical anarchist mutant who is driven to action when he sees a (implied gay) mutant fashion designer/activist killed in a hate crime. like i just dont think morrison understands politics. it’s a story that demonises leftist radical protesting/riots, and implies the youth doing it are just fucked up/co-opting it for a trend, and are also just super addicted to drugs all the time lmfao. and it is even bizarrer in retrospect because everyone in comics and making comics now pretty much agrees now that magneto IS right. that is just how minority politics irl have developed!! charles’ assimilationist bullshit is long past!!

HOWEVER. i do think there is a way to redeem/fix that and that’s if we think of it as a story that demonises WHITE counterculture. if we take it as a story that’s like yeah, white leftism and white queer/trans rage without intersectionality is just white supremacy. that tbh is what it should’ve been and i’m never giving grant morrison that credit but that’s what i wanted bc my god white gays are annoying and quentin is like such a perfect encapsulation of that entitlement. tbh. i like him so much as a character but if i knew him irl i’d block him on all platforms and throw him off a cliff etc etc

like i think it’s fine to take quentin’s writing in riot at xavier’s at face value bc morrison WAS seemingly aiming for a criticism on how people co-opt politics to be trendy and as an outlet for more personal issues which does happen! i just think the optics are bizarre for that and it falls into wild horseshoe theory shit and i dont think it WORKS you know i think there’s more interesting ways to take that character that aren’t like “the youth’s anger and protesting and counterculture is stupid” especially because we don’t really HAVE any radical characters that arent consistently villainised. and i think people have tried to do that since wolverine and the x-men with a more defanged pathetic quentin who is i think bi now? idk last i remembered christina strain made him lie that benji was his boyfriend in gen x 2017 but does that count? have they said it more explicitly since then? who knows i dont remember either way i think he’s better having been kicked down a few rungs and given growth. i like that his biggest fear is losing his friends/community at school. im glad that ppl have made him more fun as a character now… but they’ve also done that while wiping the political beliefs/allegory out of his character and making him just that superior annoying dude instead of trying to tackle what it does mean for quentin to have a genuine rage and hatred for how the system oppresses and kills people like him. the story implies that rage was never really genuine and he was just acting out but that SUCKS and is BORING because fuck if im not also angry all the damn time about the state of the world! let us be angry about injustice without demonising that anger! like that is why i do think quentin does have a niche following of queer fans bc like for a moment we connected with that rage from a guy who looks like *waves hand in the air* that

also my hottest take that i got redpilled into via one article i read years ago is that i think idie/quentin/evan could’ve been the next insane phoenix jean/scott/logan love triangle. a LOT of work and writing would need to be done to actually make me care about quentin in any relationship but the potential was there and could’ve been great tbh. we’re long past that era now but sometimes i think about how i would reboot that whoooole schtick into something cohesive like it could’ve been a subversive little queer story of colour if watxm volume 2 wasnt just the quentin quire show and idie/evan got more spotlight and if it wasnt completely incomprehensible or had unfortunate art. BUT ANYWAY.

THIS GOT SO LONG AND IS SOOO INDECIPHERABLE SO SORRY ANON I JUST WANTED TO RANT AND TRULY TWITTER HAS A WORD LIMIT ❤️❤️ thank u for ur support ❤️❤️❤️

#sam speaks #answered #this is fucking crazy im so sorry #watxm #quentin quire #x-men #xmen comics

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minoru-wife · 9 months

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Defending Mineta Minoru - Comic Relief Role

Welcome! This is your beautiful grape juice enjoyer writing to you! Today I will be talking about something light, which is: Mineta comic relief role! Grab a snack cause this is a big one of a post.

This blog has no intention to attack anyone or/and the fandom. It's simply to bring awareness to the community to something that isn't noticed by many. It's just an opinion. Also keep in mind that I stopped watching the anime around the time [spoilers ahead, maybe] Deku found his extra abilities with One For All, so pretty much everything is based on things I remember.

Many fans that hate Mineta feel outraged with him having the comic relied role in the show. One thing is not finding the character funny, that's totally fine, but wanting or not Mineta is the comic relief character and here are some reasons.

Reason number 1: He's a punchline, literally. The creator makes him do and say stupid things just so the characters can punch him. I laugh horribly every time I see that scene when Tsuyu slaps Mineta with her tongue!

Reason number 2: His outfit. My man isn't dumb! He knows he can't catch girls with the way he looks, so he plays the funny card. HIS HERO COSTUME IS A GRAPE BOWL! IT'S FUNNY! (Doesn't matter if we laugh at it or not. It's ridiculous, cute and funny)

Reason number 3: Culture. I saw a video once from a youtuber saying that each culture has it's own values on what they find funny and each one has also their problematic puns that are socially known as wrong but accepted as a joke. It's not a surprise that Japan pictures pervert characters as comic reliefs in anime. In my culture we also see pervert people/sexual jokes as good comedy, but that's it. We know it's wrong and I swear to you that I slapped the shit out of everyone who was a pervert towards me and even with that I still like Mineta. Some cultures find funny puns about masculine sexual abuse like "Don't drop soap in prison", some find funny homophobic puns, no culture is perfect and innocent and there's nothing wrong with it. What's wrong is when people don't know to separate the pun between reality.

Reason number 4: Balls. Yeah, we all like to say jokes about balls and Mineta has infinite huge balls to entertain us for a loooooooooooooong time! (If you look well at it, the o's look like balls) Cannot go wrong with the balls puns, every one laughs at it. As the good AC/DC once said "I got big balls, he's got big balls, she's got big balls, but we got the biggest balls of them all!"

Reason number 5: Character design. Mineta is short, no doubts in that and his height is many times used as a pun. "They're making fun of people with dwarfism!" (I had to use google translator for this one, correct me if I said it in the wrong way) No, they're using his characteristics for comedy! Have you ever seen those videos made by dwarfs creators where they compare a normal sized spoon in the hands of their tall friends, but gigantic next to them? It's not making fun of them in an insultive way! The mha team doesn't turn it a bad thing on the character and many times is an advantage for him while still being funny!

That's all for today. Two long posts in one day? Damn, I was inspired this night! I would like to come back at some points here in the future and maybe I might do a second part of this theme.

Thank you for reading my words. I may be a fan of Mineta, but I don't defend his pervert actions and I'm the first to admit he's nasty during the show. Let's see...what could I talk about for the next topic? Let's try and see Pervert Characters and understand why many pervert characters aren't judged by their actions and deemed problematic by the fandom, but why Mineta is the exception at the fandom eyes.

#mha #bnha #mha minoru #defending mineta minoru #my hero academia #mar opinion

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charlesoberonn · 9 months

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Haven't read the second Yangchen book, but from what I remember about Yangchen's first book: is it just me, or is one of its biggest problems that… Yangchen isn't really explored in any meaningful way? First, too much of the story is tied to a random water tribe kid instead of her; (it's okay to have him as another POV character, but he takes up so much screentime that it makes Yangchen feel like an afterthought some of the times, in her own story).

Second, of course we had to skip over some of her early exploits because the comics had already dealt with General Old Iron, but... it still feels strange not seeing much/anything of Yangchen's childhood (her one scene where she's having visions in the prologue aside). We don't get much worldbuilding for the Air Nomads, which this was a great opportunity to.

But what gets me the most is that, her entire deal, supposedly, is her strong connection with her past lives. She can access them very easily, and she talks to them a lot. But... Nothing is done with that, really. We don't really get scenes where Yangchen contacts them and talks to them, which could have been highlight moments for the story. (It's also baffling because they would have been able to show off a bunch of new past Avatars to the audience, like, a golden opportunity for the creators to just flex with some cool characters.) Yangchen is never possessed by them either, which could have been interesting, to have ancient Avatars inhabiting her body for spooky spiritual moments. And jumping off those points, the LIVES AND HISTORIES of the past Avatars aren't even important to the story, which just feels wrong -- if she has a strong connection to them, damn well we should see her talking to them, and their histories should have some bearing on what's going on now. So it's like a completely wasted character opportunity.

(Which makes me frustrated during the one scene where Yangchen is talking to a rude White Lotus person, and she says "I talked to all kinds of Avatars and none of them thought they lived during a golden age." But my dude, as far as I remember, WE didn't get to see that!)

Idk. There's just something about the very setup of the book that feels wasted. Makes me wonder if Book 2 was, too. (Sorry for long ask, just wanted to make sure my point was making sense!)

Don't be sorry. I agree.

I would add more but I found the first Yangchen novel very forgetable.

I do remember that there's basically zero development between her and her Team Avatar. They spend most of the story apart.

Despite the fact that the foreword to the first Kyoshi novel explicitly states it as an essential element of an Avatar story.

Now that I think about, Kyoshi's Team Avatar were also absent (except for Rangi) for most of her second novel. I think F. C. Yee just doesn't like the concept of a team of supporting characters.

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initial-lime · 1 year

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tell me about your fave yen relationships (platonic or romantic!)

Honestly this is another one of those questions where my answer is just “all of them” Yennefer has a really unique way of interacting with the people around her and I love those dynamics so much because a lot of it puts a great twist on relationship tropes that we’re all familiar with.

For starters I am and will always be a Yenralt supremacist. They are LITERALLY destined for eachother.

It’s love at first sight, which is a trope I actually religiously hate, but the way it’s written is just really refreshing, because the only one who’s smitten is Geralt’s stupid ass, Yennefer just wanted her damn apple juice. She spends the entirety of their first meeting being either sarcastic or just plain angry, she entertains Geralt for the sake of knowledge and then enchants him to get revenge on the townsfolk who wronged her. And the whole time Geralt is just like “what a woman 😩”

After that they have a really tender on and off yo-yo kind of relationship, which I can’t help but love because I am a traumatized idiot and if I’m not devastated and ruined by the end of it I don’t wan’t it. But yeah they end up agreeing that what binds them is destiny and what they owe each is “nothing less nothing more” and decide to momentarily go their separate ways to avoid hurting eachother further. This is one of the moments where I wish I could quote the book specifically because their whole conversation is much better than I could ever explain it (I first read this book in my native language and I don’t think I can translate it properly as it is)

After that whole thing they ofc slowly come back to eachother and end up re-bonding in a much more genuine and healthy way over their common love of Ciri which!

Yennefers relationship with Ciri is absolutely amazing. Yen spends FOREVER trying to find a means of regaining her fertility because having that choice taken from her is one of the things she has the biggest internal struggle with (again the theme with autonomy, I really love the witcher for this) and at first she’s (at least pretending to be) really upset with having to spend time with her at all as she generally doesn’t think teaching magic is worth her time, but they slowly get to know eachother over the course of it where Yennefer is extremely loving (in her own way) and seems to be genuinely proud of Ciri for her accomplishments.

She eventually comes to love Ciri as a daughter, which some might argue is a bad trope of female characters only having “maternal instinct” as a motivator, but I actually think it’s quite the opposite! Yennefers wish to have a baby is never about having the baby she doesn’t crave maternity, she just wants her choice back. And her bond with Ciri isn’t rushed in any way quite the contrary in fact, she takes her damn sweet time before she takes up ANY kind of “motherly” role whatsoever.

Having Ciri under her wing also lets her learn that all the sacrifice she’s made might finally be worth something as she learns to trust the people around her trough her adopted snotty brat.

I also do like her relationship with dandelion, simply because the two have such a comical relationship of “I hate you so much I’m going to protect you” and that’s just mutual between them. She burnt a man’s face for the dumb bards sake and then immediately belittles him.

Love that for them.

I do also love her interactions with the other sorcerers/magicians because there is some resemblance of a family-like bond to them that she never really found in her biological family, it’s incredibly strained and she spends a hot second arguing with the others over everything and nothing, but it’s there nonetheless.

#the witcher #yennefer of vengerberg #geralt of rivia #the witcher books #witcher geralt #cirilla of cintra #witcher cirilla #yennefer #the witcher characters #the witcher dynamics #yenralt

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