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#this starts to give us some idea of what they're really capable of
inbarfink · 7 months
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Goddam, just seeing Simon in these last two episodes is really flooding me with so many conflicting emotions.
Because, on the one hand, after his lowest point in Episode 4 - resigning himself to death in the hands of the Scarab - he’s clearly finally doing better. Just look at him making plans
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And showing off his smarts
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And finally genuinely smiling and feeling happy
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And being so glad to meet the alt versions of his friends
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And getting excited about his nerdy shit for the first time in glob-knows-how-long
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And cracking goofy geeky jokes
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And offering others the same grace and kindness he was given when he was trapped under the curse of the Magic Crown
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And trying to be comforting and fatherly and give Fionna advice and cheer her up
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He’s so clearly doing a lot better now, he’s rediscovering aspects of himself that his depression has torn away from him, he found a meaning and purpose in his life again. And it should warm my heart, and on some level it does....
But it also sends a chill down my spine knowing that this purpose that brought back the light into Simon’s eyes, the purpose he finally found is sacrificing his mind and identity again for the sake of Fionna’s happiness and her world.
He’s throwing himself right back into the miserable existence and the trauma he tries so hard to move forward from. He’s dooming himself because he honestly believes now that he’s always going to be miserable and lonely and fucked up so he might as well have be the kind of miserable and fucked up that is not lucid enough to know how miserable he is all of the time. The kind of misery that at least fits into his world.
Because he started to romanticize being the Ice King in a twisted kinda way, and now he has found the excuse to turn it into a selfless, noble act. Because the only way he feels like he’s useful and like he has worth is by protecting and helping and sacrificing himself for the sake of others.
(And like, especially in light of how he was trying to resign himself to death just moments before coming up with his plan. Not to get extremely dark, but.... suicidal people often seem to ‘get better’ just before the try to kill themselves. Because they feel like they’re finally ‘doing something’ and their misery is almost over. That kinda feels what Simon is going through right now? Becoming the Ice King again is not literally death, but it is a sort of death for Simon Petrikov’s identity.)
And this new sense of purpose in saving Fionnaworld by dooming himself is clearly blinding Simon to so many obviously telegraphed signs that this is a horrible idea.
He saw hints of just how badly Farmworld Finn has been dealing with his own Magic Crown Related Trauma
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and maybe if things would’ve been different this could’ve been something they could have commiserated over. Simon could’ve had someone who understood a bit of what he has gone through, and seeing a version of Finn, of all people, face similar struggles - maybe could’ve helped him feel a little less Uniquely and Irredeemably Fucked Up. (For bonus points, they're ALSO both dealing with the grief of losing their Significant Other)
But his newfound obsession that Everything Will Be Better Once He’s Cursed again was making him totally ignore all of this.
And then there’s their little adventure in the Winter Kingdom. Which had both the Candy Queen/Princess Bubblegum as a perfect reminder of the suffering and pain involved in being trapped in the Madness of the Magic Crown
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And the Winter King as a reminder of the harmful and twisted things he was capable of doing as the Ice King.
But instead he basically refused to learn any lesson from that Universe that’s not just ‘Fuck That Version of Me Specifically’ and tried to advice Fionna to do the same.
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But well, while I am still worried about Simon’s mental state, his improved disposition does give me a little bit of hope. Hope that maybe he himself will notice that he is doing better and won’t be quite so eager to sacrifice his own sanity. Or maybe more likely, hope that now that he’s not just a miserable sadman screaming at their faces
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Fionna and Cake are growing to appreciate Simon Petrikov for who he is and will simply refuse to let him sacrifice himself for their sake. Because, yeah, Simon tried to tell Fionna to not worry about all of that Winter Kingdom stuff, that it was just that Simon was ‘messed up’ - but since when does Fionna Campbell do what she’s told?
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thegnomelord · 1 month
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was thinking about drawing Ifrit from "Hell has a basement floor" and had some headcanons on his appearance.
on one hand i was thinking to make him tall and burly, built big to store all the mana and power he has, make him built like a volcano.
on the other.... what if and hear me out.... Ifrit.... skinny. tall and gangly, long limbs, underfed, outlines of bones poking out from underneath the skin, sunken eyes for that extra unsettling factor. besides magic does have a cost. maybe it's just your body that needs to be exchanged.
now i thought of the second hc because tall and skinny isn't exactly associated with the kind of brute force Ifrit has but he's still strong even if his lifestyle is gonna put him in an early grave. now imagine when he's finally part of tf 141 they notice that he's not very well in the food and weight department for his height and the amount of energy he spends so... they start feeding him (especially Price and Soap because protect and care hoard/pack)......
i've also been getting into the trope where characters gain weight as a sign of health and living a better life. so yeah tell me what you think
and maybe share your hcs on Ifrits appearance because i don't want to butcher your creation on accident
Okay 1: you have no idea how happy it makes me when I hear ppl want to draw fan art of my stuff :DD, internally I'm like that dog video where the dogs happily tapping his paws lol bc he can't contain his excitement lol. And also yeah, I'm a huge sucker for the trope and your little idea with Price amd Soap tickles my brain.
And 2: man you did some mind reading bc your hcs are actually very close to what I've made up for the lore of the whole au. While I want to overall leave Ifrit's body type ambiguous to give readers some space to imagine themselves in Ifrit's place, Ifrit is 100% underweight with more of a volleyball/basketball player type build, as mages focus on stamina and endurance rather than raw strength bc that can be augmented with magic. Also has stretch marks because their weight fluctuates a lot lol
Okay lore spoilers so if y'all want to find out through the story skip this-
Okay so— magic is increadibly taxing on the body, not just by eating away flesh and creating mage marks as a Mage's power grows, but just by simply existing inside the body magic stresses the body. Because fundamentally magic is toxic to humans, and even mages who have the needed adaptations to utilise magic are no better than our ancestors when they were first learning to stand on two legs.
The best metaphor I have for magic is chemo drugs. They're used to kill a cancer but they also damage healthy cells. Magic, similarly, damages the body by existing inside it, but also is used by mages to heal the damage as soon as it happens. This uses a lot of calories and also why mages have really irregular weights, losing 10kg in a week isn't an uncommon thing.
Someone possessing even half of Ifrit's capabilities would need to eat 3x that of a regular human of the same height and weight. Mages are literally Shaggy from Scooby Doo lol. And that's only to get the bare minimum their body needs, caloric need becomes much bigger if they're active like Ifrit is. So you'll find that many mages, but especially military ones, are underweight and need to regularly get Iv fluids and nutrients to help their body recover from using magic. They also need to eat a lot of highly caloric food, which isn't easy when one of the most common side effects of magic use is puking your guts up.
Most military mages don't reach 30. The average life expectancy is around 25, with active duty (i.e. constant missions and daily magic use) mages lasting on average 3-4 years before their body basically breaks down, but they can last longer depending on how conservatively they use magic.
Now, knowing all that, Ifrit has been actively using strong magic on par with military mages since they were 14-15 years old and while they're not the healthiest, they're healthy as a horse when compared to most mages. The reason behind their continued survival — their mage marks.
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I’ve got so many more snake and snake related questions and so I’m just gonna give them in a big list:
I thought that your “animal bones” tag said “snake bones” and now I’m fascinated by that idea as a tag and generally snake skeleton stuff. This isn’t a question I suppose.
Is the number of vertebra of a snake (minus the tail vertebra) comparable in amount to human vertebra?
Are snake scales and snake skin made out of the same stuff human skin and nails and hair are made of (keratin and collagen and the like)?
Are any snakes physically capable of chewing or generally eating something not-whole? Do any of them chew?
To your knowledge, was the creation of syringe needles inspired in any way by snake fangs?
How do scientists milk venom, physically? How much can you take from a snake in one go without harming it? How often?
What are your “smartest” and “dumbest” snakes, if such a thing can be quantified?
Thank you for the snake fact answers. I could just look it up but SEO is a bitch and I like asking people questions about things they’re passionate about.
Great questions!!
Snake bones are so cool. I love looking at viper skeletons especially.
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2. Nope! People have like 24 vertebrae, with snakes it depends on species length but snakes have between 100-600. Snake tails are actually pretty short when compared to their torsos (look at the skeleton image below, the tail starts where the ribs end); tails have as few as 10 and as many as a couple hundred vertebrae. Those numbers sound very variable, and that's because snakes just vary so wildly in size and shape!
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3. Yes! The same materials make up snake skin and scales as make up human skin and nails. Same stuff, different blueprint! :)
4. Snakes are built very specifically to swallow whole prey, and there are no real exceptions to this. No snake can chew. Some snakes, like snail-eaters, have specialized teeth and jaws designed to "scoop" snails out of their shells so sometimes they don't get it all in one go, but even they are built to try and get as much out at once as possible.
5. Not to my knowledge, I think it's a matter of convergent evolution! :) Hollow needles are just really good at getting stuff into other stuff.
6. When we do venom extractions from snakes, we usually just have them bite a funnel and what they give us is what they give us. If a certain venom is in very high demand, then sometimes we'll express the venom glands while the snake is biting down. That involves gently squeezing the glands to ensure a good amount of venom is released in the bite. It looks rough but I promise it's not, the hold is as gentle as possible and the snakes are not hurt in the process! You gently hold the snake's neck to keep them restrained and keep everyone safe (if you lightly squeeze your wrist just hard enough to manually tilt your hand, it's about that much pressure) and you use your fingers on the opposite hand to express the glands.
We might get 1/10 a teaspoon from each snake per extraction, it's genuinely just a few drops. It takes multiple snakes to get enough to do anything with. At my lab we extract from each snake about once every other week; they need time to relax in between! Venom isn't necessary to remain healthy for lab snakes, but we don't want to stress them.
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7. In general, elapids (cobras and their relatives) are the smartest snakes I've ever worked with! King cobras absolutely take the award here, they're so intelligent and curious and just a treat to interact with. Our old boy at my lab, Puppy, can put himself in his handling tube and is always such a show-off for tours. One of my favorite snakes at the lab is an Egyptian cobra named Seth, he's so much fun and loves figuring out the food puzzles and mazes I set up for him!
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As for dumbest...I've said it before and I'll say it again, but hognoses are just absolutely zero thoughts animals.
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catsharky · 3 months
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It looks like her horns are much bugger and more devil like than tiefling naturally. Would her horns grow back to that shape if sue let them, or is it more like docking a tail and permanent? Would she become more comfortable with her original horns being around tieflings more if they could grow back? Why did she trim them initially?
Ehehe I'm glad you caught that, cause yeah you're right her horns are very much meant to be more devil than tiefling!
I figured if a devil is going to screw someone over by giving them a stolen child, why wouldn't they aim to pick one who would bring as much chaos and misery to that person as possible? Ember has no idea who her bio parents are, but she's definitely no ordinary Tiefling.
I put the rest under a read more because it got a bit long:
To try and kind of match the other companions, I wanted her to have the capacity to be incredibly powerful, but limited for game/story reasons. So for Ember, at least one of her parents is someone Powerful and Important in the hells, and that parent is where her sorcery comes from.
It means she's capable of crazy strong magic (like, on par with Gale before he got nerfed strong) but a combination of being self-taught and a lack of motivation means that she's never had a reason to find out what she's actually capable of. She also grew up very isolated, so until she met Gale she was under the impression that magic was just like that for everyone. And tied to all that, one of the most obvious tells that there's something else going on with her is her horns.
I like to think that for most Tieflings, their horns do grow throughout their lives, but hit what's considered 'full sized' by around puberty- at which point the growth slows to a crawl. I also have to assume based on Karlach's broken horn that if the horn breaks? It's gone for good, though they will still maintain that slow growth so long as the core at the base of the horn remains intact.
For Ember however, her horns are just enormous. At age 4 it's expected a Tiefling will have started growing their horns but that they'll still be blunt, nubby things like a baby goat. Ember's were the size they are in the age chart, and continued to grow even larger as she got older.
She likely would have trimmed them no matter what, because not being used to having horns in the first place made dealing with them frustrating, but they're really just unreasonably huge. She trims them down pretty much as far as she comfortably can, the blue tips being where the darker outer layers were cut away.
To her annoyance, they also grow back and do so remarkably fast, which is where the jewelry she has wrapped around them comes from. Those gold embellishments are actually enchanted so they'll stay the size she wants them! (They also keep them from catching on fire when her emotions are high, but that's a whole other thing) So she could actually let them grow back to their full size if she wanted to, she just doesn't because they'd be way too unwieldy and annoying to deal with.
And while I can see some of this stuff becoming relevant after the events of the game, for the duration of BG3's plot this is all just more or less flavour text. The magic stuff is the only part that would have a notable impact.
Also fun fact, this whole part of her backstory is just because I needed an excuse to make her immortal. I didn't have the strength to give Astarion a companion who he'd have to lose in less than 100 years. My heart can't take that 😭 So fuck it, she's the daughter of some big powerful demon or whatever so Astarion can have one nice thing that won't be taken from him!!!
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amazinglyegg · 10 months
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companions react to sole crying when they raise their voice at them
AWW this one's sad
For clarity I'm going with the idea that the companions aren't yelling at Sole out of anger (like, a low affinity talk) but more like they're either scolding Sole over something minor ("you could have gotten hurt! Be careful!") or ranting out loud about something unrelated and Sole is very sensitive to that sort of thing!
Companions react: Sole crying when yelled at
Includes Cait, Codsworth, Curie, Deacon, Desdemona, Danse, Hancock, Haylen, Maccready, Nick, Piper, Preston, Rhys, X6-88
Cait
Uhh. Fuck.
Cait is probably Least Capable of dealing with a crying person
First instinct might be to use tough love because that's what she uses on herself and it works fine
Like "Oh come on suck it up, it wasn't even that bad"
Actually starts to feel bad after a few moments though and will change trajectory into something more gentle
Gladly lets Sole have alone time if they ask because she really needs a minute to try and think of what to say
If Sole comes back completely ignoring what happened she'll also ignore it, but if they continue to seem upset she'll make the first move and actually apologizes
Very awkward with it, every sentence is like she's testing the waters for Sole's reaction.
The apology IS genuine, though, and Sole can tell just by how awkward she is about it. She won't just brush it off if Sole won't brush it off.
Codsworth
IMMEDIATE GUILT
Poor Codsworth would do a complete 180 and start comforting Sole
Sort of has a hard time if they want to be alone to collect themself, he's worried they'll hate him forever (he has a bit of separation anxiety after being alone for 200 years)
Will note exactly what made Sole cry and will never talk about that topic with that voice again
Like if they cried because he was worried about them getting hurt every interaction like that afterwards will be "You NEED to take better care of - I mean, please take better care of yourself please"
Curie
If Curie is raising her voice at Sole she's probably scolding them for not taking care of their health
She wants them to take care of themself but she didn't mean to make them so guilty they cry!!
She'll immediately comfort them and apologize for being so strict
100% mom friend, will not stop apologizing and trying to make it up to them via food and comfort
Gives Sole a hug and a forehead kiss and tucks them into bed with a warm cup of soup. Maybe cries a little
Probably tries to stand up for them on their behalf in the future, like if someone yells at them she'll scold the person yelling for being mean
Deacon
Ah shit
Deacon prides himself on being able to stay calm during conflict and read the other persons facial expressions, it's his job after all
But anger always managed to get to him somehow, and it made him ignore the small signs that Sole was getting stressed out
He wasn't even upset at them, he was just having a bad day, but he knew he fucked up the second their face scrunched up and they looked away
They're crying. Sole is crying because of him
Might try to fix things by making jokes but if he realizes Sole is genuinely upset he'll probably end up leaving and giving Sole their space
He leaves them to cry for a while and comes back once they've calmed down so he can sincerely apologize
Tries to make Sole feel better for the next few days by pulling some strings
Their favorite animal is brahmin? What a coincidence, Des is telling us to go to a safe house with a huge brahmin farm! They really like Blamco Mac and Cheese? Deacon just found a HUGE stash behind HQ, we better eat it!
Desdemona
Just kinda. Freezes.
This never happened before?? And either she doesn't really know Sole that well (agents faces tend to get confusing since so many come and go) and doesn't know what to say, or they're like, the best agent in the Railroad and she's very worried that she managed to make them cry.
Tries to brush it off as smoothly as possible and excuses them somewhere private to calm down so at least they're not crying in front of everyone
If she's closer with Sole she'll actively search them out herself and apologize directly
If not she'll honestly probably go to Deacon or someone first being like "Are they pissed at me?? Should I apologize or do I pretend it didn't happen?"
Might take the silent approach of giving Sole less work/more support and makes the mental reminder not to yell at them
Danse
Listen, this man is used to reprimanding people. He can practically do it in his sleep
But when he hears Sole burst into tears? He immediately loses all train of thought
He's probably the type of person to go "... Are you crying?" because this has never really happened to him before
Super worried that he's pushed Sole too far, regrets even yelling at them in the first place
Doesn't really know what to do, ends up waiting for Sole to make the first move (explain themself, run away, etc)
If he isn't as close with Sole he'll probably hesitantly give them space - it's what he would want if he burst into tears
If they're close/romanced he'll default to trying to talk to them and calm them down
He is a bit awkward and tends to fumble a lot, so Sole may have to be direct with what they need from him (Space, comfort, apology, etc) but Danse will do basically anything to get them to calm down
Like a person who is very bad at dealing with a crying toddler: "no no don't cry... Here's some candy... and twenty bucks... we can get ice cream if you want just please stop crying"
Hancock
I imagine Hancock to be a pretty touchy guy, so if Sole started crying his go-to comfort is by hugging them or rubbing their arm/back
He has high energy and expresses himself loudly so he realizes that he can be overwhelming at times
He'll quiet down and focus on comforting them and getting them what they need
Absolute KING at respecting their space and autonomy
The only thing worse than crying is crying in public so he's bringing them to a quiet room and letting them cry it out distraction free. They make the tiniest action that seems like they don't want to be touched and he'll back off, no questions asked
Also a bit of the "poorly dealing with a crying toddler" person: "You want chems?? No? Candy?? Would it make you feel better if you punched me??"
Haylen
Very empathetic towards Sole, immediately switches to a "Oh, hey, come on, it's okay..." type of voice
She gets that the Brotherhood is overbearing and it can take a while to get used to being reprimanded/spoken to in such a harsh way
If she's spent a good amount of time around Sole she's probably pretty in tune with their emotional needs and can work with that
Sole won't even have to ask, she'll just show up with some hot chocolate and a blanket, or apologize, or pretend like it never happened, or any mixture of those
A little worried and overprotective of them for a while after, though, especially if she's already worried about their mental health
Might talk to them to try and see what's wrong or convince them to take a break
Maccready
Another member of the "Wait... are you crying?" group.
Panics, probably. Doesn't know what to do or what to say.
He'll end up apologizing to them either way
If he's close with Sole he's more likely to do so first and more quickly, if not he might wait to gauge Sole's reaction before talking to them
A little bit awkward but he's got the spirit, will probably try to understand what made them cry and what he can do to make sure it doesn't happen in the future
Will also do a sort of follow-up check in after the fact or if they're having a rough day some other time
Tries a lot to stay more in-tune with Sole's emotions and what makes them upset after this point so they don't end up crying again because of him
Nick Valentine
For Nick to raise his voice like that he'd probably have to be distracted in some way
Either thinking about his words and not his voice as he reprimands Sole or snapping about something unrelated that's on his mind
So he doesn't even realize Sole started crying until their tears manage to snap him out of his thoughts
He's the type to try and comfort them straight away by cautiously reaching in for a hug and apologizing
If Sole runs off or yells at him he takes it personally, getting upset at himself for making Sole so uncomfortable
He will eventually reach out to them and get them to talk about what's bothering them, even if it takes a while
He'll immediately step up and sincerely apologize, and then turn his focus onto Sole's mental health
He realizes Sole has A Lot going on and them crying was probably the result of many days/weeks/months of bottled up emotions
Piper
Sole crying stops her in her tracks and makes her re-think everything that's happened between them in the past 24 hours
Was it something she said?? Or something she did?? What did she do wrong!?
Depending on the situation will either try to explain herself ("I didn't mean it like that, no don't cry I was just joking I swear -") or immediately be worried for Sole and try to comfort them
Might take Sole needing alone time a bit personally, she'll end up worrying that they're REALLY mad at her
She feels like she's not the best at comforting people so she'll try to turn to acts of service/gifts to bring them comfort
Buying them their favorite food, carrying more of their items, giving them hugs, etc.
Preston
Almost confused at first
He's never had anyone shy away from him before - if anything people didn't take him seriously and tended to look down on him
So the fact that he managed to make Sole cry really made him reassess their entire conversation up to this point
Immediately apologizes and asks what's wrong because surely there has to be something else going on for them to cry like this, right?
If Sole doesn't give an explanation he'll default to assuming they're overtired and stressed from work
Probably ends up feeling guilty for every time he gave them more Minuteman-related work to do
Might end up in a bit of a self-deprecating spiral of "I pushed them too hard, now they're upset, it's all my fault, how the hell can I fix this..."
He'll really focus on being there for them, whatever they need.
Less work? He'll take on their load. Shoulder to cry on? He'll stay up all night for them. A warm hug? He won't let go until Sole lets go first.
Rhys
Laughs
Alright he's an asshole
Kind of goes on a power trip about it too
Like "Haha yes I made them cry. Because I am the strong alpha male of the group"
At some point might come to the conclusion, either through his own means or by Danse/Haylen calling him out, that he was being a little bit of an asshole
If he apologizes though it's extremely short and awkward.
Like "Hey. Uhh. Sorry for making you cry. Just don't do it again. It's weird." And never brings it up ever again
Alternatively, takes the "Older Brother When The Younger Brither Starts Crying" approach of "Don't tell Danse! I didn't even yell at you that much! You can punch me back so we're even just please stop crying dude Danse will hear you and he'll get mad at me"
X6-88
It stops him in his tracks
Part of him is freaking out because Oh God Someone Is Experiencing Emotions Around Me
And the other part of him is freaking out because He Made Sole Cry Uh-Oh
Will probably give Sole some space immediately and waits for them to calm down - he's never been good at dealing with emotional people
Once they're calm he'll revisit them with a peace offering of sorts, like a fancy lad snack cake or some tea or something
Very curt apology, hands them the gift, leaves a moment of silence as an opportunity for them to speak up about what made them cry if they want
Once that's over he'll just try and pretend it never happened while also keeping them safe from whatever else could trigger that
He'll try not to yell at them and actively avoid putting them in situations where they'll be yelled at again whenever possible
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Your idea of all soul contracts being voided is very interesting and something I've also played around with/considered. It's a major systemic issue that makes life in Hell extremely difficult for those without power (which is most). If Charlie truly wanted to improve life for all sinners, including those who don't want to be redeemed, targeting that system of ownership would be key and I think it'd be a great progression for her character/mission. If Heaven won't play by their own rules, then give Hell the overhaul it needs that improves life for everyone and remove the possibility of soul ownership completely.
I do want to say, with regards to Valentino's behavior, I personally see him showing restraint in some circumstances. Yes, he SAID he wanted to go and shoot up the hotel but after his initial tantrum with the model, he just sat in his room patiently waiting for Vox. I think there is potential to reason with him, but it'd have to be through someone he trusted (Vox and/or maybe Velvette) AND he'd have to be calmed down first to help him move past the pull to impulsivity. He was also able to rein it in pretty well with Charlie even when she was bafooning it up in his studio, on his turf... I just think it would be fascinating to explore the Vees as potential forces/influences of change and how Charlie could incorporate them into her plan. You'd likely have to get them battered down enough to even be willing to negotiate, but end of the day they are business people and I think they can be reasoned with. Even just within exploration of the adult content industry... turnover is extremely high. Maybe Vox/Velvette could be shown the numbers dipping on Angel Dust's popularity and it would then be their job to convince Valentino to drop him. For them, it's money but maybe for Valentino it's power and then that can be explored in their respective character arcs (ie. WHY does Valentino want that power/what is he gaining from it)? There are so many interesting ways you can play with these themes/characters that isn't a boring "Valentino gets stabbed to death" plot point.
So, I really hope the show chooses the more complex exploration of these characters (and gives consideration to their respective backgrounds that may be influencing their decision-making) rather than reducing them to boring cartoon villains (I also hope to GOD they don't betray each other, I love that they have their own little family among the three of them).
Let us see Charlie trying to win them over to her cause. Let us see Charlie challenged with the idea that some people like the life they've made in Hell/don't want Heaven as endgame BUT that doesn't mean they can't improve their practices or help make life in Hell better for all. There's a lot of potential. I think it also really reinforces the main theme that everyone is capable of change.
This is all personal preference/morality, but for me I truly believe that everyone has the capacity to grow. Yes this includes Valentino. If there is "no hope" for some people and no one bothers to reach out because they're deemed irredeemable, then what incentive is there for them to ever get better? Why shouldn't they just become a worse and worse version of themself then, potentially victimizing and harming more people along the way? Approaching Charlie's school of thought where everyone can be redeemed with a plan that focuses on rehabilitating individuals (and breaking down what that means/how that varies person-to-person) is a natural next step. Understanding why someone like Valentino is the way he is, how the system of Hell has contributed to the problem on a societal level, and what tools he should be given to cope/make better decisions in the future WHILE also protecting his victims from additional harm are all critical steps that I think Charlie (and the show) need to start taking more seriously... if their plan is to really explore this idea of redemption, anyway. This would also apply to characters like Sir Pentious and Angel Dust. Everyone is in Hell for a reason, everyone has a past and a laundry list of wrong that needs to be addressed and given care. How many lives did Angel Dust ruin as a mobster? What had Sir Pentious even done prior to his stay in the hotel that landed him in Hell in the first place?
So much potential in all these characters. I really hope the writers really flesh them out. Sorry for going on too long at the end there, your comments just got me thinking.
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Your idea of all soul contracts being voided is very interesting and something I've also played around with/considered. It's a major systemic issue that makes life in Hell extremely difficult for those without power (which is most). If Charlie truly wanted to improve life for all sinners, including those who don't want to be redeemed, targeting that system of ownership would be key and I think it'd be a great progression for her character/mission. If Heaven won't play by their own rules, then give Hell the overhaul it needs that improves life for everyone and remove the possibility of soul ownership completely.
Exactly. It is a huge systemic issue and if the show been greenlighted multiple season ahead of time, I'm sure there be an a subplot about it. As it something Charlie see how the contracts affect her people greatly and it would be a project she take on to change it. It's a huge undertaking as is basically restructuring the government that been running on the principle for multiple thousands of years. It's just how things are and she wants to change that.
The contracts originally was about a weaker demon seeking out the protection of a stronger demon to keep them safe from the rest of Hell in exchange of servitude. After several thousand years it evolves and got a bit more corrupted but the bases of it still exist. But the protection became more the overlord defending their territory/property.
Obviously the overlords are the ones that will suffer for it, despite it making things harder to the owned souls to exist in Hell and possibly unfair how they obtain it, (But also keep in mind, the deal was consented by both parties, both agreed.) it is unfair to the overlords when it just the the way things are and no warning of a sudden structural change. They are being punished/losing for playing the long game well while playing by the rules of Hell at the time. They were winning at a game and then the host decided it time to change the rules.
The overlords will:
1) lose their compensation after they held up their end of the deal.
2) lose a large if not all chuck of their power and status.
3) most importantly they will become targets after they were forced to give up their power and their numbers that would have defended them. Lets face it, once contracts get voided and overlords losing their power and status, a bulk of sinner will want to retaliate. Attack the overlord that held them or attack another overlord that they felt wrong them and now have the opportunity to do so when they are not overpowered.
This doesn't only effect the big honcho overlords we seen, there be smaller ones...mobs and gangs and what not. But considering the majority of characters we meet are overlords it would be interesting to see how they deal with this as an audience. Probably an overlord meeting about it if they got intel what was being plan and trying to derail it from happening, or a civil war among the overlords on the approach how to deal with it.
If there is a civil war about it, the overlords who still be upset but willing to work with Charlie/Lucifer would be Carmilla, Zestial, Rosie. They just generally to care about Hell and probably treat their souls fairly well. Rosie probably be least affected by it all. She owns souls, but I think her souls will still follow and look upon as a leader even after they been freed, and cannibal town will more or less run the same as it was before. Carmilla and Zestial would probably have a similar situation.
Unname overlord may be included in this.
The Vees will obvious be against it, and Zeezi might be on the undecided side but more on keeping things the way things are. She doesn't seem like she be an overlord to give up her wants and needs in favor for a better society if it can be avoided it.
Alastor will play double agent im sure. He always have like 3 hidden agendas he working at the same time that are his own her other peoples he force to follow. He be annoyed he lose his souls but then again, he would have his own freedom again.
The best possible solution I can think to fixing the infractractor to what Charlie wants, is to wean out the contracts. Creating a clean slate immediately would be problematic. Have the contracts expired in a decade. AND/OR if new contracts can still be made, have there be term limits. A soul can only be bind to a contract for X amount of years then it can be renegotiated or let it null and void. It be a hassle for the overlords for sure as the constantly, and make extra effort on treating souls better for the soul to want to remain under contract/protected while the other try to earn that spot. Possibly a guideline has to be drawn up to have a basic math for length of servitude. If the overlord provide x to the demon, the demon would serve x amount of years.
One thing I wonder is do overlords provide housing and such as part of their protection? Most sinners don't really seem to have jobs to afford housing and food. Most of the sinners we see are working in the guidelines of their contract. So how are they getting money for things? Is being provided with the necessities part of the protection?
But we have to keep in mind, we see how much the people regret their decision on selling their souls. It seem, like most if not all the people who sold their soul regret it. Its nearly common knowledge that its a bad deal to do it...yet...people still do it. They choose to go along and do it regardless thinking they were the special exception. So yes, they are a victim...but at the same time...are they?
I don't think the regret would not be an all time if its limited to a certain amount of years. That if it something they did regret, at least it there's a light at the end of the tunnel and not just a bleak all of eternity experience. Terms limits would at least have both parties put effort into the relationship if they are satisfied with the deal. Both parties have to put effort to want the other to stay in.
Not saying this can be the endgame solution but it can be a start down that path.
I do want to say, with regards to Valentino's behavior, I personally see him showing restraint in some circumstances. Yes, he SAID he wanted to go and shoot up the hotel but after his initial tantrum with the model, he just sat in his room patiently waiting for Vox. I think there is potential to reason with him, but it'd have to be through someone he trusted (Vox and/or maybe Velvette) AND he'd have to be calmed down first to help him move past the pull to impulsivity. He was also able to rein it in pretty well with Charlie even when she was bafooning it up in his studio, on his turf...
You have a point there. Valentino is a violently impulsive but your right, there was some points he did not act out immediately the way he wanted. He had his hissy fit and tore up a model before he sulked waiting for Vox advice. But I did forgot about Val calming down slightly and waiting for Vox. I also forgot about episode 4 completely. Honestly, it makes his character better that he able to reign in some of that impulsive violent nature. It would make the lost of Angel dust contract better. Im sure Val would trash the room the moment he lost is but after thrashing about to calm down he just be seething without acting out on it. Which...I sort of want to see now. I'm sure there still need to put precautions about Val retaliating. Val would want revenge even if he lost the contract fairly. Val would want to send a message hes not someone to fuck with but perhaps he won't actually act upon it like he would want to. At least wouldn't be a blind tantrum rampaging retaliation if he did act out a little.
I just think it would be fascinating to explore the Vees as potential forces/influences of change and how Charlie could incorporate them into her plan. You'd likely have to get them battered down enough to even be willing to negotiate, but end of the day they are business people and I think they can be reasoned with.
True, very true. Vox and Velvette are fairly level headed people. Well, except about Vox isn't when it comes to Alastor.
Which makes me wonder...
If Vox losing his shit about Alastor
Val losing it about Angel
Who makes Velvette lose her shit about? Can't wait for that character to be introduced.
Even just within exploration of the adult content industry... turnover is extremely high. Maybe Vox/Velvette could be shown the numbers dipping on Angel Dust's popularity and it would then be their job to convince Valentino to drop him. For them, it's money but maybe for Valentino it's power and then that can be explored in their respective character arcs (ie. WHY does Valentino want that power/what is he gaining from it)? There are so many interesting ways you can play with these themes/characters that isn't a boring "Valentino gets stabbed to death" plot point.
That would be actually pretty interesting to see. Angel losing popularity. Probably caused by his stay at the hotel. Having the other Vees try to talk Val on not using Angel so much with them going by the numbers and trending.
Actually, Angel being in the hotel might making him almost an embarrassing cringe meme at some point and Velvette and Vox trying to talk Val not using Angel so tarnish their brand. Because they want to be trending in a good way. I don't think Val wouldn't give up the contract because I think Val really likes having Angel around for himself even if Angel not a big income anymore. Maybe Angel becoming a joke and not a money maker Val would hesitantly accept an offer for Angel soul if the payout was big enough.
Even if it not dramatic, I kind of want this play out now. It like the safest and agreeable way to end the terms without much fear of retaliation.
I think it be really sweet way to play out. The hotel residence, and Cherri if she hasn't joined, chip in with everything they have to buy Angel freedom. Lucifer, Charlie and Alastor able to contribute more and possible offer something with more weight like a restricted favor at a given time. Angel would be so grateful and feel so love that everyone did it, that if they felt like a family to him before it only furthered it. It also open up to some Angel angst if favors were offered and the Val request wasn't agreeable to the one giving the favor but has to serve out anyways. Angel would feel so much guilt over it.
So, I really hope the show chooses the more complex exploration of these characters (and gives consideration to their respective backgrounds that may be influencing their decision-making) rather than reducing them to boring cartoon villains
I am a huuuuuge sucker for backstory and character growth. I love character growth. Even if they don't grow, I like how we eventually learn of their back stories to understand why they are the way they are. Make you sympathise with them even if you don't agree with their methods.
I hate black and white/ right and wrong anything..I love how everything grey and having that explored. I mean, the vast majority of people are not evil or good for the sheer sake of it. It usually stems from something that propels people in that direction.
My favorite trope is a villian is sort of in the right in their own way but they went about it wrong. Basically the ends justify the means.
(I also hope to GOD they don't betray each other, I love that they have their own little family among the three of them).
That....never crossed my mind. I would feel so betrayed myself if that would happen. I love their little family. But if one would betray, its Velvette. But it better not happen. They need to stick together! Even if I suspect Velvette be the one out of the three to betray, I doubt she will. Phone Case as evidence. Vox and Val phone case is their own personal brand symbols while Valvette is about all three of them. She probably the biggest heart of all of them and makes them stick together.
Let us see Charlie trying to win them over to her cause. Let us see Charlie challenged with the idea that some people like the life they've made in Hell/don't want Heaven as endgame BUT that doesn't mean they can't improve their practices or help make life in Hell better for all. There's a lot of potential. I think it also really reinforces the main theme that everyone is capable of change.
I been thinking about this exact thing SO MUCH lately. I wanted to make a post about it but didn't end up doing it.
Like, Alastor is a prime example of this. He doesn't want redemption. Giving the life he had, he probably never felt so freeing until he landed in Hell. In life people scampered away or looked away in disgust and hatred because of his heritage, he was taken advantage because of heritage and social standing. He had to hide his identity behind radio to be able to converse freely without judgement and treated equal. The activities he enjoy he had to keep secret. But in Hell? people scamper away out of fear of his power, he can indulge in all his deplorable actives he enjoy. He can force people to listen to him. Hell was freeing for him. It's everything he needs and wants aside not being with his mother. He doesn't want redemption. He doesn't want to give up his fun and entertainment. He doesn't want to give up his power and status. It's Hell, hes going to have his bad days especially with his shackles but overall how he going to enjoy heaven for eternity if he bloodthirsty and enjoys annoying people without receive retaliation?
Even if he makes it to heaven...it be similar to his life on Earth. His power would be equal or lower of the residence of Heaven. They will learn how heinous he once was. They will be disgusted by him and move to the other side of the street to avoid him. He be happy to see his mother...but can he really bring himself to her after...everything? Her having the knowledge of everything because word would get around. She may work past it, but Alastor would feel that her eyes won't look at him the same way as it once before. It pains him greatly. It pains his mother having that knowledge. Heaven not suppose to hurt. He can't have the both of them suffer like that. It's best that she remains in the dark of his deeds because whatever worst case scenario she can dream up about her sweet little boy it wrist slap compared what he actually committed.
He doesn't want redemption...
...but it doesn't mean he can be rehabilitated which I think has already starting to happen. He curb his activities for the image of for the hotel. He hides his particular diet from their eyes to not disgust them. He still gets to indulge and commit murders but now its more reserved for the defence of the hotel and its residents. He always had his own moral code when it came to his murders. But it seem like he hasn't "hunted" since he been at the hotel because he didn't want it getting back to Charlie and disappoint her or ruin the hotel image IMO. So, I think we already seeing Alastor being slowly rehabilitated without him or anyone realizing it. The longer he there the more he going to feel fond with the other residence and continue to change some of his habits for their benefit.
This is all personal preference/morality, but for me I truly believe that everyone has the capacity to grow. Yes this includes Valentino. If there is "no hope" for some people and no one bothers to reach out because they're deemed irredeemable, then what incentive is there for them to ever get better? Why shouldn't they just become a worse and worse version of themself then, potentially victimizing and harming more people along the way? Approaching Charlie's school of thought where everyone can be redeemed with a plan that focuses on rehabilitating individuals (and breaking down what that means/how that varies person-to-person) is a natural next step. Understanding why someone like Valentino is the way he is, how the system of Hell has contributed to the problem on a societal level, and what tools he should be given to cope/make better decisions in the future WHILE also protecting his victims from additional harm are all critical steps that I think Charlie (and the show) need to start taking more seriously... if their plan is to really explore this idea of redemption,
I agree. For Charlie to really move forward with her redemption she needs to start trying to get to the root of the problems. Trust falls isn't going to be the answer. I think she been hesitate because she doesn't want to push boundaries which is a good thing and to extent is working. They feel safe and relatively there's trust and strong bonds....but at the same time...its not solving much either. But progress is progress I suppose no matter what speed.
What had Sir Pentious even done prior to his stay in the hotel that landed him in Hell in the first place?\
Seriously, What did he do?! He such a cinnamon roll.
So much potential in all these characters. I really hope the writers really flesh them out.
There is a lot of potential and I think that what make this show fun! We only know so much about them so it really fun trying to fill in the blanks and figure out their motives. I don't think any of them are meant to be 2 dimensional or plot devices but have several layers. That even the seemingly simplistic character will have complexity. I just hope the show keeps getting renewed so we can be offered everything the creator wanted to give.
Sorry for going on too long at the end there, your comments just got me thinking.
It's okay. It's a delight to know that my rambling can do that. That they might inspire or help someone get creative about the fandom. I only made this blog to just get ideas out of my head of what I'm hyper fixated on which is currently, Hazbin. I didn't really expected anyone would actually read it much less, like or interact with it. I just find it surprising when it happens but brings me joy that my words and thoughts seem to have some meaning to someone.
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stone-stars · 10 days
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Murph: You see a giant figure attempting to push open a door. Before anything else, you recognize the giant greatsword on his back. Howl. Your mother's sword. Calder: Need a little help? Murph: Gowan turns around. Gowan: What are you doing here, Calder? Calder: Looks like you're struggling with that door. Just wanna make sure you know you can always ask for help.
Calder: What can we do for you? Command us. Gowan: With all due respect, Calder. I always thought you would've made a great ranger, but… you are not a ranger. You left. So, the most I can ask of you is to please look out for mom and dad. But, I'll talk to my rangers and I'll figure out a way to take care of this. Thank you all for everything.
Murph: He… looks away from you. Gowan: I already have help. There's nothing you can do for me.
Calder: I-- no. No. I don't wanna be protected anymore. I wanna help.
Calder: Well. You're my brother. The least you can do is let me try.
Gowan: Calder. I'm proud of you. You've gone out on your own, and you've met people who seem like great friends. And you braved the tundra, you came out, you warned us, and we appreciate that. But again. You chose not to be a ranger.
Murph: Gowan starts to walk towards you. Gowan: Alright. Can you make a hard choice here? Calder: We can make a choice together, that's what we can do. You don't have to do it yourself. Gowan: I made a deal with Alexandrite, Calder.
Calder: What are you worried about? Gowan: I'm just-- I'm worried about everyone. I don't know how Mom did it. It feels like everyone who died, died on my watch.
Gowan: She told me that she'd already snuck replicants into the village, and that she'd take out everyone one by one until I gave her the Ice Knife. She can't get in here. Havoc won't let her. And to prove it she killed my best friend, and told me if I told anyone, Mom and Dad would be next. She replaced our neighbors. Have ya talked to any of our neighbors? Because they're watching the house. They absorbed Ingrid. And then you told me she's bringing in more from the lake. She knows everything, Calder. She's everywhere. Calder: Yeah. Yeah, we might be fucked. But we can be fucked together. We can-- we can go down fighting, or you can-- or you can sacrifice yourself like some martyr. But that's not gonna help us. Gowan: If it was just sacrificing myself, I would gladly do it, Calder. But what would you do in my situation?
Murph: Calder, as you are battling with Ultrus here, it feels like the world is being pulled apart as Glen is trying to remove this helm from your head. You see like, cracks. As you look up into the sky, you see the battlefield projected. You see that Callie is missing, you have no idea where she is, and you see that Sol is bleeding out on the ground.
Gowan: Knife to Mom's throat, what would you do? Murph: And he pushes you.
Calder: Ultrus! Make a deal with me! I will let you go. I’ll let you choose your side in this war. Just… don’t let Glen hurt my friends. Ultrus: You would give up yourself? Calder: If that’s the choice you ask me to make.
Calder: I might've done the same thing. I might've done the same thing. But you have to understand that somebody coming in this thing with fresh eyes, somebody who's seen her up close, you don't know the duplicity that she's capable of. You're acting on intel that you got from Alexandrite! Gowan: The intel that I got from you was that Gregor was compromised! And that just meant I stayed around until she killed Ingrid! Calder: So she wants us not to trust each other. She wants us not to work together. She wants us fractured and weak, like this. Gowan: We are fractured and weak, Calder! She's here already! Calder: So circle up with us!
Gowan: Well, if there's one good thing about being a leader in a time like this, it's-- it's that I'm really glad I got to make you a ranger. Calder: Yeah. And… and Gowan I think we're gonna have… we're gonna have a long time together, fighting side by side. Gowan: I hope that we could be so lucky.
Calder: You are my brother, aren't you? Murph: You see the bloodlust kind of leaves Gowan's eyes, and he looks down, and he goes Gowan: Yeah. Yeah I am. Okay.
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melodiousmonsters · 11 months
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Firstly I know you all don't mind three posts in one day but I'm still pointing out that I have done so, I had the day off of school with an ungodly hyperfixation on drawing. Secondly I'm going to utilize my newly developed Spurrit obsession to give some information on the seasonals in the melodious monster chronicles universe.
There's one of each seasonal in this universe (not whiz-bangs though they're special and aren't really seasonals anymore) each of them are the common varient with a few slight differences made to further portray their personalities than what's capable with an 100% cannon design. Spurrit has a beard for example.
They also have names yet again like the celestials do, but that's only important to the hypothetical comic I may make after my monstiary project is done. Speaking of, that's only able to be finished once all the fire, ethereal, magical and mythical rares/epics are released, so that's going to be a few years : ] I'm just as happy as you are about that information. At least my art will be much better then( not saying my current stuff is horrible, I'm actually quite happy with my art, mainly the subject matter but the artistic quality is alright)
Most of the seasonals came into being as a living essence of their holiday that's kept alive solely by that holiday being celebrated. Subconsciously they're programed to keep up their holiday so they don't dissipate back into nothingness. Because their ability to live is solely dependent on their holiday being celebrated they don't age. Each of the seasonals are stuck at an age and they don't physically or mentally develop beyond that.
They can also magically conjure up objects related to their holiday with that same energy from the belief in their holiday. Hypothetically this could be used to summon infinite food for example but the seasonals can't actually comprehend the idea of doing this for more than a few minutes, and they can only come up with the idea in the first place if someone else tells them about it. Some mental inhibiting is needed when you are an immortal god-like organism to not break reality.
Now Spurrit is a bit of a weird case. Firstly his name is just Spurrit, or at least he goes by that, and he uses he/him pronouns as you could see. No one really knows where Spurrit came from but because the other seasonals also seemed to come from nowhere he was just lumped in with them. It's also because the first time he unveiled himself to the monsters early in modern history(which is at most all the knowledge a monster has about the history of the monster world) he actually started perplexpore as a holiday to try and get them to stop focusing solely on rebuilding the basics of soicety after it fell during the catyclysm and you know, explore, do some science. This only sort of worked, some basic machines and the sorts were discovered solely to aid in that previous goal, but it was something and Spurrit was accomplished in his goals. and that just happened so long ago that people mostly forgot that he existed before the holiday, but some seasonals like Carillong(doesn't have a final name yet) DID exist before their holidays were started so even then people still just count him as a seasonal. Whatever he is, he seems to be immortal as he's nearly as old as the monster's perspective of history itself, there's only one of him, and he gets along quite well with the other seasonals. Well, most of the time. (Btw he also has a brittish accent)
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noaltbruh · 2 years
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Bucci gang having a crush reader that was kinda reserved and quiet when they first met them, but once they get to know them they're really fun to be around? I'm talking random facts, suggestive comments, dad jokes 24/7, and low key flirt with them whenever they can?
Something super fluffy and light hearted please <3
First of all, I want to apologize for taking long to answer this, I'm so incredibly sorry and I hope that what I wrote will make up for it :(
Second, oh my God this request was so cute I can't- Let me know of you enjoyed it ^^
Bucci gang with a secretly goofy S/O 😉
Giorno 🐞
Giorno never minded your quiet and reserved nature, being rather closed off himself. He actually found some sort of comfort in just sitting next to you while you both did your own things, even if you didn't talk to each other.
It felt relaxing to be next to you, and you showed your true value in battle, which made him respect you as an individual even more. He knew that despite your apparent reserved and cold appearance, you were reliable and a strong companion.
However, the more time he spent around you, the more you started to show him your true colors which, needless to say, surely caught him off guard.
Giorno has always had an habit of trying to read people as soon as he met them, and he was able to get a pretty accurate idea of their personality just with a few interactions. This is why your slow, but evident change in behavior surprised him.
He grows to love this other side of you super quickly though! You sort of balance each other out, and you're always there to make him smile after he's had a long day at work. Whether you do it accidentally or on purpose, he'll be grateful for it anyway.
He loves to listen to your fun facts, he knows a lot of unusual information himself, but he's sure they're going to be useful to him in one way or another. So, in his eyes, you're helping him out!
Bonus point if it's nature related, he might make a small animal like the one you described and point out its little quirks, or grow a type of plant you told him about.
When it comes to suggestive comments, Giorno tries to play it cool and act as they don't really affect him, especially if the two of you are in public. This aspect of you is the one that surprised him the most, but he won't particularly encourage it.
In the best case scenario, he'll give you a little smile and brush it off like that, nothing much.
He may find himself thinking back about it and slightly giggle, but only when he's alone, so you'll never find out about it.
For some reason, I feel like he can sometimes be a bit dense to others' jokes, especially they're Narancia or Mista's. He knows he's supposed to laugh, he just doesn't understand why.
So, he particularly appreciates your sense of humor. He finds your dad jokes to be genuinely funny and actually gets them immediately, even though he knows that they are considered lame.
He won't tell any himself, but you can always expect him to chuckle whenever you hit him with one of your little gags, they make his day a bit better.
His reaction to you flirting with him may vary depending on the situation you're both in.
Let's say, for example, that you told him you think he's handsome in front of your friends. In that case, he will simply thank you and tell you that you're also beautiful.
If the two of you are alone, however, I don't know if it would be very wise of you to do so, as he won't hesitate to flirt back and won't stop until you get all flustered. He just loved to see your cheeks turning red from the embarrassment, he thinks it's adorable.
If you do manage you make him blush in public, then I must congratulate you, that is not something many people are capable of.
Bruno 🤐
While Bruno is a bit more of a talker compared to you, he's perfectly fine with your introverted nature and also tales pleasure with doing small everyday activities while you're by his side.
He's also quite good at reading people, so he's always able to tell whether it's better to respect your personal space, or make a move himself and start a conversation.
If he noticed you're getting tired of talking, he'll get the hint without you having to say anything and will wait until you've recharged a little bit.
He can't help but feel proud of himself when he sees you slowly opening up to him. But, unlike Giorno, he's not very surprised, after all he has been the one who took in the rest of the gang and watched them grow as people, he was quite confident in the fact that you would have started to show this other side of you sooner or later.
He doesn't know many fun facts (he doesn't have much time to learn about non-work related topics) but he likes hearing about them from you! He'll never get tired of them, especially since he notices how passionate you seem to be about sharing this sort of thing with him, he thinks it's sweet.
He will also try to look for a way to put that information into practical everyday tasks or on missions, whether he succeeds or not, he'll remember each one of them, he's got an awesome memory!
Although it may surprise you, he actually doesn't mind your suggestive comments unless it's a serious situation or meeting. I mean, come on, he's the guy who wears a lingerie, licked a kid and made a condom metaphor.
If anything, if he has the chance, he's going to add in to your remarks and you'll even be able to catch him smirking, it's actually quite fun to see this side of him for you too.
Ok, Bruno is dense as fuck when it comes to humor, he 100% doesn't understand any modern jokes or doesn't realizes that they're jokes in the first place.
Which is why he loves yours, they're literally the only ones he gets, being a mom dad himself. He will genuinely laugh at them and let me tell you this: his laughter is literally one of the sweetest sounds you'll hear in your life.
Also tries to crack some of his own to make you smile too! The two of you got called "boomers" multiple times by the others because of this, but the two of you don't care.
When it comes to flirting, he'll also block it out if he doesn't deem the moment as appropriate. However, under any other circumstances, even if you're just hanging out with your friends, be sure that he won't hesitate to show off a little and answer to your comments
If you can make him blush in public, he'll simply bring an hand to his mouth, cough and "thank you for your compliment".
It's adorable.
Mista 🔫
Mista didn't too much of you at first. Quiet, reserved people who seem to "not know how to have fun" were never really his thing, and he doesn't have the patience to put up with their introverted nature most of the time.
BUT- but, since Bruno quite enjoys sending people who don't really get along on the same missions (see the man in the mirror arc), I do believe that you slowly started to bond through them, helping each other kick the enemy's butt and eventually get the other's respect.
On top of this, conversations between you only got more and more natural, as you decided that it was time to open up a little to him and show him that you're not as dead inside as he thought at first.
You actually become a pretty chaotic duo, to your happiness, and to Fugo and Abbacchio's dismay lol.
Dude have you seen his whole talk about vegetarians and cannibalism? This guy is going to love your fun facts, he's the type of person who looks them up to do literally nothing with them or just find something else to discuss when he's eating with the rest.
Sometimes, he'll even just come up to you only to k ow if you have any new facts to tell him about. Despite the fact that he's not good at remembering details, he will actually never forget even just one of them.
You may even formulate some weird theory together starting from those, which may lead to a debate that could last hours on end if you're not stopped.
Mista is the king of suggestive comments, he might even anticipate you before you can make your own remark. Or, alternatively, the two of you might end up saying the same thing at the same exact time, you basically share one single brain cell and use it over dumb stuff like this. You both look at each other like you're mind connected and burst out laughing together.
This boy is too much of an idiot to appreciate your sense of humor, I'm sorry. Whenever you hit him with one of your dad jokes, he will tell you that they're lame while laughing at the same exact time. You don't understand if he's laughing at you, or if he genuinely likes them and he just doesn't want to admit it.
He will also tell you plenty of jokes, although they're pretty different from the ones you tell, and might even have some dirty implications a couple of times-
Speaking of which, he loves your constant flirting and will ALWAYS play along. Imagine him just shooting one of the enemy while simultaneously flirting back, tell you how cute you are for your attempts at teasing him, or how he thinks it's hot when you mercilessly kill the stand user you were tracking down.
It basically becomes a competition on who can get the other flustered before your partner can. Good luck, 'cause he won't go down easily.
Narancia 🍊
Unlike his best friend, Narancia IMMEDIATELY set his eyes on you as soon as he saw you, he just loves quiet people with all his heart. You can bet on your life that this boy just won't. leave. you. alone. No matter how hard you may try or how cold you might act.
He's constantly dragging you along on whatever he's up to, let that be pranks on the others, late night hangouts, playing games together till you fall asleep...Sorry, but you won't get rid of him.
He's fine if sometimes you just want to stay indoors instead of going outside, you can just chill at home and vibe, he'll understand!
He's a bit confused when he notices how different you are from when he first met you, especially since you're acting a lot more like him, are you trying to do an impression of him or something?
But he quickly grows incredibly fond of the new you! He's super happy he doesn't have to basically force you to do stuff anymore, and that you've begun to match his energy. He feels incredibly relaxed around you and knows he can just act naturally without having to worry about you judging him.
In return, he won't judge any of the behaviors or quirks you didn't show before!
Narancia doesn't know many fun facts, he's too lazy to look up that sort of thing, but he loves to hear you talk about whatever interest you have, so if you like those, he'll gladly listen to you.
He does have a tendency to forget them shortly after you've told them to him, so even if you accidentally say one twice, he won't even notice and will be all "WHAT??? NO WAY!! THAT'S SO COOL! YOU'RE SOO SMART!"
Not one to make suggestive comments himself, mostly because they just don't cross his mind, but he'll laugh an idiot at yours. He's got the sense of humor of a rotten potato, and you love him for that.
Also, I hope you don't mind others hearing it too, since considering how loud his laughter his, basically everyone around you will want to know what you told him.
Like Mista, he isn't really fond of your dad jokes, but he will still laugh at them because he knows you tell them just to see him smile, and it makes him happy.
Do you know the usual "If you like that joke, you either love that person or you've never heard one in your life". Yes, that's basically what's going on here.
Either doesn't realize you're trying to flirt with him, or gets incredibly shy and bashful over it.
Doesn't know how to flirt, couldn't respond to your provocations to save his life, literally nobody has ever flirted with him and he doesn't know how to process it.
Most definitely the easiest prey you'll ever find, you've gotten yourself a blushy Narancia, hope you're happy.
You might as well call an ambulance for him if you start teasing him about it and calling him cute.
Fugo 🍓
Fugo is actually incredibly happy to have someone like you by his side. You're so calm, silent, reserved...Basically a bit of peace for the chaos that is hanging with the others.
The two of you bond over your shared introverted nature and love for calm activities. You're one of the few people he'll be okay playing the piano for, and you just give him a nice, familiar feeling of stability that he adores.
He was a bit startled when he began to notice more layers to your personality than just your closed off façade, he can't deny that he almost couldn't recognise you at first.
But while your behavior may be different, you're still the person he feels the most comfortable around, his sweetheart, and he loves you regardless.
When he stops to think about it, he actually feels rather proud of himself for managing to get you out of your shell. He didn't even realize you were hiding in one in the first place, but the fact that you've decided to show him his true colors reassure him that he's doing a good job in your relationship.
Okay, this headcanon is silly, but I like to think that when Fugo can't sleep, he looks up random pieces of information on the Internet just to entertain himself.
It will be a bit hard to get him with a fun fact he doesn't already know. He might tell you that he's heard it before, but would love to dive more in the topic if it picks your interest.
It's sort of a silly activity and you know that what you are doing is probably not going to be useful to either of you, but you have fun with it anyway.
He doesn't like your suggestive comments. If you weren't his partner, he'd probably tell you to quit messing around and about this sort of thing in a not so nice way.
But since he wouldn't dare to speak to speak to you like that, he'll keep his composure and simply tell you that he doesn't think you should make these kinds of remarks.
Unlike Giorno, he gets modern humor but doesn't find it funny, just incredibly annoying, childish and lame. Mista and Narancia have tried and failed multiple times to make him laugh with their jokes, so they're surprised when you're actually work of him.
He'll let out a simple chuckle and smile at you when you tell him one. Yours are simpler and, in a certain way, a bit more innocent, which he finds cute. He doesn't know many jokes, but he might even look them up just to hear you laugh in return.
Also doesn't know how to flirt, he's literally never been in a relationship and does NOT know how to process your provocations. He may try to look unbothered or tell you that your comments don't work on him, but he's a terrible liar.
Gets incredibly embarrassed when you do it in public, but doesn't know how to make you stop. He probably just goes silent or tells his teammates to stop laughing at him if you happen to get flirty when you're all together.
Looks up on the Internet "smooth pick up lines" to be prepared for next time.
It doesn't work.
Abbacchio ⏮️
Abbacchio just...Kind of forgets you exist when he first meets you, although you could consider it a good thing, depending on how you see it. After all, it's still better than getting picked on like Giorno, isn't it?
In a more serious note, the man is simply relieved to know that at least the newest member isn't braggy or over the top like some others. You're chill and spare him a couple of headaches, which he genuinely appreciates, but is too proud to say out loud.
Starts to grow a bit curious of you seeing how closed off you seem to be. After enough time, you might even get him to let you stay while he listens to music and will share his headphones with you. He decides what you're listening to though, sorry about that.
Probably the most concerned when you start to reveal you're nothing like the impression you give at first. He may even wonder if you're feeling well and it's not actually some enemy stand messing up with your personality.
The imagine he had created of you sort of breaks, but a part of him actually kind of admires you. He's surprised at the way you can just completely let your defense down once you feel comfortable around someone, something he feels incapable of doing, even if he wanted to.
Your boldness, in particular, is what surprised him the most, how can you just be so outspoken? He doesn't get it's he just stares at you.
He's a bit confused as to why you would accumulate so many random facts and information, what's the point? When you tell him that it's simply because you like it, he doesn't really question it further and lets you have your fun.
A good listener if you want to ramble to him about a specific one or an unusual topic in general. He will keep a neutral expression the entire time, but he's actually paying a lot of attention, you just wouldn't be able to tell at first.
Mostly just rolls his eyes to the sky when it comes tp your suggestive comments. He deals with enough brats and dumbasses to the point where this sort of thing hardly ever bothers him anymore.
Lightly smiles at you if he spots you laughing with the others while you all joke about this subject, at least you seem to be having fun.
He knows your dad jokes are supposed to be updated, and not considered funny anymore, but he doesn't get why. He likes them because they're simple, and the way you tell them somehow only makes them seem funnier to him.
Still, don't expect much of a reaction, he doesn't want to show that something as silly as a joke can really affect him. He'll simply smile and you and say "Nice one" whenever he hears one. Secretly, he thinks the way you sometimes chuckle even before you're able to say it is quite adorable.
Lastly, he never gives in to your flirting attempts in public, he thinks something like that should be kept private, although one of your jokes caught him so off guard once, he almost spilled his wine.
When he's sure the two of you are alone, however, you can be assured that your provocations will not go unnoticed. I hope you won't mind having his lipstick all over his face.
Trish 🎙
Trish adores you, case closed.
No but seriously, this girl justly feels so incredibly attracted to in the moment she first meets you. The way you act all quiet and closed off reminds her of how she used to be when she encountered the rest of the gang back in Capri. She just had a feeling this isn't all there is to you, and she is not going to be satisfied until she proves she's right.
She will try to push you out of your comfort zone, keeping you company, asking you if you want to tag along when she goes gets some coffee or a new dress, asks you what you think of her latest song...She just wants you to feel considered.
You'll still have your alone time, she knows you probably want to have some sort of boundaries and she respects that wholeheartedly.
Gets super smug when things actually go the way she had predicted, and you pit down your introverted mask to reveal an incredibly sweet, goofy and lovely person.
Trish couldn't be prouder to have you by her side, she will always tell you how glad she is that she's devised to start a relationship with you and that she feels incredibly lucky to be one of the few people you feel secure being yourself around.
She knows what's it like to be forced to act all passive and unbothered to protect yourself, she just wants you to see that she's never going to think less of you for the way you act.
Amazed at how you seem to take interest in basically any sort of subject from the amount of fun facts you surprise her with. Always listens to you with pleasure and will ask you more questions just to prove that she's genuinely interested in what you have to say.
Probably knows a couple of music related ones and will he more than happy to tell you all about them! She mostly just kept them to herself before getting to know you, so she's happy to share them with someone once in a while.
Claims that suggestive/perv comments don't affect her, but if you're careful enough, you'll see her after covering up her giggle with her hand whenever you tell one.
If you try to point this out to her though, she will slightly blush and deny everything and tell you they you're just imagining things.
Now, talking about your dad jokes...It's a bit complicated, but kind of cute. She doesn't find the home itself funny, it's just something about that little smile you have when you tell them, or the way you run up to her filled with energy just so she can hear them too is what truly gets a good chuckle out of her.
She will gladly play along with you and might even try to come up with her own jokes to make you laugh once in a while. Whether they're actually good or not, you love them every time anyway.
Just as flirty as you are, if not even more. She wasn't sure if you were comfortable with her teasing you in public at first, which is why she always hesitated to do so. The first time you were the one to take the initiative, however, she immediately caught the opportunity and reciprocated your light hearted provocations.
The gang thinks the two of you have no shame and you even got called "show offs" because of this "tendency" you both share.
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starg1rlie · 10 months
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𝐛𝐞𝐭𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐥𝐚𝐭𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐧 𝐧𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫 ㅤㅤPROLOGUE: The Baby | (MLIST)
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⟡ rating. slight romance + angst ( adolescent audience )
⟡ summary. ( the re-written version of "better late than never" is finally here! i know some people have asked about it, since i've deleted it but it's BACK NOW!! ) not all fairy tales end in a happily-ever-after. take (Y/N) and ajax for example; they had the love story of a lifetime and yet it's now all water under the bridge. ten years after the two of them split up, it was suggested that (Y/N) spend a summer vacation over in snezhnaya to give their son and the father some time to bond together and enjoy a relaxing break. however, that's easier said than done.
notes. you have no idea how long this post has been sitting in my drafts, oml. hey, yep, this is leo here, formerly known online as tarluscious (or, leo, as my moots know me), here to talk a bit about the remake of this delightful series. ever since i started publishing more and more chapters of this series back when it was still a "fly by the seat of my pants" project, i wasn't happy with the final results. i mean, hell, who's ever happy with the first attempt? and i've been meaning to re-write this series for so long, but i never found the time to. when i took my hiatus a couple of months ago, i was a little sad that i wouldn't get the chance to write BLTN over again. however, my friend, who now runs this blog (hyokkun) with me, suggested that they might re-write it, and we came to a happy conclusion that the both of us should work on this project together. so here we are, with the prologue. yayy. just wanted to say that what this means is, hyokkun has added their own inputs into this series, while i, leo, am the main author of it. so, all that being said, i hope you thoroughly enjoy this re-written version. please note that some things may be different from the last time you've read this series, and that's because changes has been made to fit the new plot accordingly. reblogs and likes are appreciated ! | wc. 1,542 words ( 8,566 characters )
⟡ feat. childe / tartaglia x female! reader ( she / her pronouns are used )
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ㅤㅤA cry split through the peaceful silence of the hospital. A baby, swaddled in warm, cuddly blankets had begun wailing, even though he was cradled within the arms of his mother. He kept bawling, even as the mother hummed a lullaby, even as she rocked him back and forth in her arms, even as she cupped one side of his delicate face and whispered 'It's going to be okay' over and over again.
ㅤㅤA new wave of sickness passed over (Y/N) as she stared down at her stomach, imagining what it would be like bigger, pondering over the process it takes for a baby to develop within her. It both simultaneously intrigued and terrfied her. She couldn't imagine popping out a baby from her unmentionables, let alone having it stuck in her womb for months. Yet as she began to wonder, a new question came into light: would she give up this baby? Could she?
ㅤㅤPeople say that you don't really have a choice when you're young; no one's capable of raising a child when they're barely just a young adult, and yet, she could name a few people she knew right off the bat who were doing just fine with parenting. But the real question was if she was ready for this. Be it ready to give it up or ready to endure the consequences, it didn't matter. She just had to know for sure if she was ready.
ㅤㅤShe still remembered the conversation that had went down only a few weeks ago. She refers to it as a 'discussion', but really, it was a full-out argument....A migraine had formed underneath her temple and had buried its heels in deep, causing a resonating pounding to echo within her head, messing with her already tangled up thoughts. And yet, that day's memories remained untouched. If anything, it was tugged free of the mess and pulled into the light.
ㅤㅤ"What the fuck? What the fuck?"
ㅤㅤ"Saying 'what the fuck' over and over again isn't going to make the situation anymore better than it already is, Ajax," (Y/N) interrupted, breathing out a slightly exasperated sigh. She'd been scared out of mind about telling her boyfriend about the news and this was exactly why: he'd take it badly. He always took life-changing news badly, unless it involved travelling, free food, or money. She'd grown used to his childish behaviour ever since the two started going out, but right now was not the time to act like a child.
ㅤㅤ"Then what will make this better? Huh? Please elaborate on that for me," Ajax replied sarcastically, throwing his hands up in the air. He'd been pacing for the past five minutes since (Y/N) had spilled the beans about her pregnancy. Anymore pacing and he'd pace a trench right through their apartment floor. "Because I really don't understand how anything can make this better."
ㅤㅤ"Oh, I don't know, maybe the fact that you're going to be a father? Haven't you been going on and on about wanting to have a son one day?" (Y/N) retorted, patience fizzling.
ㅤㅤ"When I'm thirty, not twenty-four!"
ㅤㅤ"What's a few years early? If anything, you'd get your dream quicker," she mumbled under her breath, absentmindedly flipping through the channels on the cable.
ㅤㅤAjax leapt forward and snatched the remote out of her hands, slamming it roughly onto the glossy surface of their coffee table, one that he'd insisted he put together himself, even though the table had come from IKEA, and he knew nothing on how to read instructions in Swedish. That little memory caused a tiny pang to go through her heart, enough to make it ache just a little bit. Please, she prayed, please let us get through this together.
ㅤㅤ"You're not listening! Do you honestly think that I'm ready for this? That you're ready for this? We're still in college for God's sake, do you expect us to be whizzes at parenthood?"
ㅤㅤ(Y/N) barely managed to withhold a snort at his sarcasm, but politely shook her head. She knew deep down inside that she wasn't ready to be a mother, let alone have a child at such a young age. What would her friends think? What would her parents think?
ㅤㅤ"What, then, I 'spose you expect us to waltz right in and get comfortable in our positions as parents, right? We'll be fine, so long as we manage to balance a baby into our already hectic and crazy lives, right? Just plop it right in between work and college and paying bills, hm?"
ㅤㅤ"Right," she repeated.
ㅤㅤAjax paused his pacing for a moment. "Do you understand the concept of sarcasm?" he asked incredulously.
ㅤㅤ(Y/N) went silent, seemingly contemplating whether she'd been too hasty to cast in her answer earlier.
ㅤㅤ"Whatever. It doesn't matter." His jaw tensed and for a moment, he looked as though he might punch something. Not (Y/N), heavens no, but something. Possibly the fridge (poor thing; it never did anything to deserve this sort of abuse). "What matters is that you're pregnant and we're still in college. We're students, we can barely make it past out deadlines, let alone manage a child." He sounded almost tired, and for the first time in a while, she just now noticed the bags under his eyes, and the tired croak to his voice, taking the place of the usual charming lilt he normally had. How many times had she come home from her part-time job at the laundromat to see him passed out on the exact same coffee table they were currently in front of, drooling all over his calculus homework? How many times had she come back from her lectures to find a pristine sink and an empty fridge? Ajax was incredibly vain and conscious about his self-image, that he took great lengths to make himself look presentable each day. But ever since his senior year in college started, his schedue started going downhill and he never had the time to do any of the things he normally did to take care of his body. He hadn't eaten proper food for days, and has been liviing off of coffee (and her fancy vanilla oatmilk creamer) and Doritos for God knows how long.
ㅤㅤ"What are we going to do?" (Y/N) asked finally, voice timid and quiet, as if anything louder might break the fragility of this scene.
ㅤㅤWhen Ajax looked up, she had expected his face to be sad, almost regretful for saying such things about the situation, but instead she found his gaze hard and penetrating, almost menacing. "We can't look after a baby right now, (Y/N), you know that."
ㅤㅤAnd the truth was, she did know it. She just chose not to believe it. But the way he worded it, the way he said it, seemed to hint at something. Something that made waves of nausea roll through the pits of her stomach.
ㅤㅤ"You're not suggesting...."
ㅤㅤ"An abortion," Ajax finished quietly, gaze trained on a coffee stain on the carpet.
ㅤㅤ"Ajax, no. No. We can't give the baby up before we've even tried. That's just cruel. This is your child, possibly the son you said you wanted, and you're just going to throw him away? Let him die before he gets a chance to play on a soccer team, like you did? Before he even gets a chance to see the two people who made him?" Your voice broke at those last few words and before you knew it, tears were streaming down your face in thick, wet trails. "You might be giving up on him, but I'm never letting go."
ㅤㅤAjax inhaled sharply, air hissing through clenched teeth as he breathed out. "We aren't ready for this, (Y/N)."
ㅤㅤ She knew he was right. She knew it in her heart and in her brain. But some part of her wanted to keep this unborn baby that was developing within her stomach right now. Some part of her wanted to know the happiness of being a parent, a mother.
ㅤㅤShe didn't want to follow through with this. She didn't want to let the baby die. And yet...
ㅤㅤ"Miss (L/N)? You can come in now. Dr. Li's ready for you," a voice called, interrupting (Y/N)'s train of thought. She looked up, one hand resting on her tummy, the other clenched around a cell phone. The screen was still on, a barrage of messages (most likely from her family and friends) lighting up the screen with soft 'pings'.
ㅤㅤShe breathed in deeply, exhaling slowly, a breathing trick she'd learned from online to calm her nerves down.
ㅤㅤFinally, she spoke.
ㅤㅤ"Ah, sorry. I'm afraid I've changed my mind. If it's alright with you, I'll be canceling my appointment."
ㅤㅤThe nurse hesitated for a moment before nodding along. She obviously was not paid enough to barge into patients' lives, so she (wisely) kept her nose in her own business. "Of course, miss. I'll let him know you'll be leaving. Have a lovely rest of your day."
ㅤㅤ(Y/N) nodded along before waddling out of the waiting room, feeling giddy and deliriously light from the weight that had just been lifted from her shoulders. Ajax would be upset over this, yes, but it would be worth it. She could feel it in her bones.
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📮 tagging. @kiryoutann, @ajaxstar, @mobiussdarling, @samarill, @dinolvrrr, @messyserver, @xxfrostiee, @enviouspeanut, @ehddsnys, @maaarshieee, @dazaiscum, @mochicurls21, @shinobuko, @iiyumii, @meiraloves2dmen, @retiredmommylover, @electronicphilosopherflower. if your user is highlighted in BOLD that means your current URL does not match the one you inputted in the form. fill out this form if you want to be tagged
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frogchiro · 8 months
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Ok quick question tho like I’m generally trying understand because I just saw that whole argument on your page
How is engaging in a sexual relationship with something you portray as a animal not a type of zoephilla or however u say it I just don’t get it. Like I get it’s a human walking around as a cow but you’re still making that person act and behave as a cow so it’s coming off as a naughty cow that needs to be punished right?. Because if that was the case why can’t it just be getting punished without the animal part? Like what would being an animal add to it?
I’m really trying to get this like not trying to start shit because I’ve never heard about this before 👍🤗
And you're a completely blank blog who comes into a 18+ space. Yummers. To be perfectly clear, I'm only entertaining you because I really have enough of this argument and this is the last thing I'm posting about this and then I'm closing it.
I have no idea where the idea that when writing/reading about hybrid characters is about fucking actual animal came from and I frankly don't want to know but here's the thing: they are literally humans with some animal traits. The traits being ears, tails, sometimes a bit of extra fur or horns and that's it. Hybrids are written to be perfectly able to speak, think, do things for themselves, just are regular humans with some unusual traits. The farm/forest/whatever setting people are writing for are just that- settings for a specific au or scene that the authors create but again, the hybrid characters are perfectly capable of voicing and giving/revoking consent, sane adults and it's always explicitly stated. If you read a hybrid character as an actual animal then it's you whos the problem bc why the hell would you even do that. Like. Why.
Put on a headband with cat ears and tell me what happened. Did you turn into a cat? Did you turn into an animal or do you feel like one? Ofc you don't and the same thing is with hybrids. They're humans with fucking ears and tails but the only difference is that they can move them.
If you really wanna be nitpicky then why not bash a/b/o too since the characters have ruts/go through heats/behave in a generally much more animalistic way? Why don't we go further and throw out the mermaid trope too that's been with humanity since the dawn of time? Succubus trope? Yeah fuck that too.
I'm seeing a ton of negativity and toxicity in the cod fandom lately with some random people bashing and shittalking authors who guess what, creating content for free. No ones paying us to write, we do it bc we like to do it out of our free will. It takes time and effort to put out even a blurb and shit like this is just discouraging me and other content creators which results in them stopping writing or leaving the fandom alltogether and honestly? I don't blame them at all and I thought more than once to do the same.
But back on track. My advice? Don't get into anime, like, ever. Because then you will be in for a ride when a uwu catgirl pops up pal.
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theghostbunnie · 8 months
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How do you see Max and Neil relationship? I mean I know you ship it but why specifically? I’d love to hear your thoughts on it!
I see them my personal fannon wise as having a really deep connection and dynamic where the lines of platonic and romantic love get blurred (when they're older) and even though they're both really terrible at communicating that verbally, and their emotions in general as people, they both just know they can be way more comfortable, honest, and vulnerable around each other than other people bc they really are each other's person. Even when I'm shipping them with other people their friendship is still greatly important in their lives.
Just a silly little HC I have but: Max is shown to be impressed with Neil's capabilities and Neil is shown to be attention and ego-driven. Even though Neil knows not to take Max's opinion too overly highly bc, c'mon it's Max, I HC Neil secretly really likes the way it feels to be "Max's exception." The asshole with few friends and is hard to impress or understand.™
I think I've said it before but I'll say it again too much of maxneil is just ""max and his boyfriend"" rather than Max AND Neil. Max being a huge fan favorite and some fans wanting to give him a romantic partner and Neil being the closest dude in arms reach. Often just focusing on what Max can receive, how Neil feels about Max, what he can do for him, ect.
I love Neil as a character, he's my silly skrimbly and deserves his own life with intricate issues, and affection, and his own needs and flaws.
Neither one of them has endless patience!! They're both very morally grey just in different ways! I love using those aspects about them to come up with angst.
More Cannon-wise though I mentioned how Max is BIG on first impressions not only that, he's goal oriented and specifically wasn't looking for friends in the first episode. When meeting Neil for the first time this kid was: A: very openly unhappy with the situation, and B: smart. Max saw Neil as useful and felt a sensation of kinship. It wasn't until he cussed and yelled out Campbell did he also find him interesting and someone to give more respect towards, due to that sensation of kinship multiplying at the display of taking no shit and yelling at authority about it.
Max still wasn't looking for friends but Neil had showed him a side of his personality that paved a good way towards that anyways. Max trusted him pretty quickly to escape with him.
We know Neil and Nikki had both been victims of bullying, (Neil mentioning being the outcasted kid himself in the Jermy Fartz episode) so they developed a heavy clingyness to their first friend. (In the episode foreign exchange campers they're incredibly distraught he didn't want to be on their team. They're watching him and getting angry/sad about it. I honestly think this same problem they have socially comes back in the recent finale. Neil and Nikki need people to like them more than Max does, he's actively seen trying to calm them down about it.)
So where Max has a "push everybody away" method Neil and Nikki have a "hold on and never let go" to an unhealthy amount. Nikki moves past this partially, Neil doesn't.
Neil had a robot he made JUST to be his friend turn on him FOR being clingy and needy. He blinked away a TEAR when Max called him temporary. Max may have saw him as a friend first but Neil more openly held it closer to his heart.
They both have way more in common than people notice, Neil isn't really the voice of reason to Max's chaos. It depends on the day. Max can loose control of a situation he created for his own gain, Neil looses control when trying to gain attention or gain lack of it actually.
When Max thought he lost Dolph to bears Neil said hope you find him! And outed, But in camp cool kidz when Max starts an uprising after Neil gives him the idea, he's the only person to willingly stay on his side.
When Neil's AI got out of hand Max was impressed, but Neil had to drag him to help. Where as when Neil was lying about the story of Hanukkah, Max tried to give him advice and help him out.
Max both simultaneously uses Neil like a henchman sometimes, but Is impressed by his actions and capabilities. Neil is VERY attention and ego-driven. Max saying he's too dumb to find something just so Neil will happily fetch it for him is him playing on that, although it's a mean move it really shows how well he knows Neil. And even openly admits Neil knows him well too.
Max was the only person who knew/Neil trusted with his bathroom issues. (I hc Neil asks Max to whistle outside the outhouse for him and Max is like "do you know how many superstitions tell you not to whistle outside at night/j" and Neil is like neither one of us is superstitions just start that remix already istg!!!)
Both of their personalities hold so many similarities as well as alot of negative traits so they do bump heads alot, unlike Nikki's behind your back type shit talk, Neil insinuates once to his face he was smarter than Max and got a foul reaction from it.
This post is a lot more messy than the Nikki one as I can probably easily break down a timeline where Max warmed up to Nikki, but with Neil he seemed to connect with him pretty quickly, in reigny day where I mentioned he was quick to shut nikki down, in the same episode he's very driven to figure out where Neil is. Their dynamic is more complicated I think bc when Max and Neil aren't getting along it's more clear and direct and often due to their similar things. Pettiness, selfishness, egotisticalness. On the other side of the same coin they act silently attached to the hip and almost above other people together.
So I guess I ship it BC I like interpreting them with that very big understanding they have of one another, that deep rooted camaraderie, balanced out with that banter of being sassy little shits but in different ways. The potential angst of when they've already become THAT close but their problems of different moral greyness get too big.
The idea of them spending nearly every day together, and deeply loving each other but never actually saying it or expressing their affection in traditional ways, yet still feeling and knowing that love is there.
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Meryl, Luida, and Bridging the Gap
This is just a quick little side-note I wanted to make about the similarities between Meryl and Luida that I noticed as I was reading, and how they end up occupying similar, yet complementing roles in the story.
***Disclaimer: I was sick when I wrote this and my head is full of fog lmao. If I have completely left out a word or something... don't even worry about it it's fine.
First off, on a surface level, they both are characterized as capable, intelligent, level-headed women, who are suddenly thrust into leadership positions, with Meryl being assigned the task of tracking down and mitigating the damage caused by Vash the Stampede plus looking out for her new protégé, Milly, and Luida stepping up to take charge of Ship 3 and its residents after Doc's death.
While the demand placed on them both is immense, nonetheless, they are shown to be quite capable of shouldering this kind of responsibility - however, given their intense focus and objective-driven personalities, they actually both get scenes where they are somewhat horrified by their own temporary prioritization of objectives over morality. We see this with Meryl in Trigun Volume 1 when she doesn't react in righteous anger to Badwick threatening his parents and had shut herself off from writing to her own in pursuit of her job, and with Luida when she briefly considers the idea of another July incident to stop Knives. Both think negatively of themselves for this - of course, I'm of the mind that since they are upset with themselves on reflection, this proves the exact opposite, really. I think they both have hearts of gold, they're just under a lot of stress, especially as time goes on. The two of them are human beings who falter, but whose morals ultimately align closely with what Vash wants to see in the world. Really, what the two of them hate most here is the idea of their own inaction or taking the easy way in the face of wrongdoing - a concept that drives them into action going forward.
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[ID: Two images from Trigun and Trigun Maximum. The first is from Trigun Volume 1. Over images of trees and Badwick's father, Meryl says "But I... I just stood there and took it all in without even budging. I am such a cold person. I chose this path of blood and tears without thinking about the rest of my life. All I can see is what's right in front of me." Meryl starts to cry as she continues, "Why could I not see... that when I closed myself off to him, something was wrong? I..." She then slaps her cheeks and says "No... never mind!" The second image is from Trigun Maximum Volume 8. A single tear runs down Luida's cheek. Meryl says "Miss Luida...?" Her back turned to Meryl, Luida says "I'm sorry. I... was thinking for a moment. If something like July would happen again... it could stop Knives, but... ... I'm a terrible woman. End ID.]
Both of them also have a connection to Vash's past that gives them a different perspective on him as a person, instead of just an ally - Meryl, of course, gets brain-blasted in Volume 5 with Vash's memories (poor thing), but Luida is also more familiar with him than even a lot of the people on Ship 3, it seems - enough that she calls him out for blaming himself after the attack, clearly used to hearing this from him. She also is the one to clear up at least some of Wolfwood's confusion and uncertainty.
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We also get this interesting parallel of them both watching Vash walk away to face Knives, him having rejected their offers of help. It's something that clearly saddens them both, as they watch him fight alone again and again, and wish he wouldn't. Both of them have moments where they feel they can't offer much in the way of assistance, or that their best efforts aren't enough.
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[ID: Two images from Trigun and Trigun Maximum. The first is from Trigun Volume 2. Vash, his back turned, runs off into the chaos, a Plant seen above him and the city ahead, as he yells back "Get as far away from here as you can! Get to safety!" Meryl watches him from the door. In the second image, from Trigun Maximum Volume 8, a grainy flashback shows Vash's turned back as he walks away from a young Luida, who is reaching out to him. End ID.]
Of course, we the readers know this isn't true at all! Meryl and Luida do so much over the course of the story.
Interestingly, they don't start off as the ones completely in charge - Meryl works for Bernadelli even if she is in charge of her assignment, and Luida is presumably part of the Council, but the one in charge is initially Doc. But once they do take over - Luida after Doc's death, and Meryl once the world is thrown into ruins and Bernadelli no longer exists - there is a striking difference in the way they act from their predecessors.
Meryl goes from simply following Vash around to taking a self-directed and active role in assisting him however she can - looking for his old belongings and anything else of potential use, asking Marlon to repair his gun, creating a distraction with Milly, and helping the Earth Federation in the final hour with no hesitation.
Luida takes a much more active role in rallying Ship 3 to assist Vash as well. While some of this may simply have been because the stakes were raised much higher after Volume 3, Ship 3, while already a base of support for Vash, was a distant safe haven, kept largely separate from the rest of the world. Up until that point, they had provided Vash with aid, but not fought alongside him, something that clearly bothers Luida on multiple occasions. She decides to change this. She's the one who sets out to help as many of the towns ravaged by the Ark as possible. She rallies the Ship 3 residents for a rescue mission to help Vash. She's the one to step forward and attempt to bring all the leaders around to standing with Vash.
Which brings me to my last comparison point. They're both staunchly supportive of Vash, quick to come to his aid, and quick to defend his character from those who doubt his intent - Luida even sharply calls out her own people for their moment of mistrust after hearing about July. These two know and care about Vash on a more personal level than most - and as we all know, due to his avoidant tendencies, this is not an easy thing to do. Vash is frequently misinterpreted, and these two are often the ones to set the record straight.
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[ID: A panel from Trigun Maximum Volume 3. Luida, sternly, says "That's a foolish question. You would know the answer just by looking at the scars on his body. If he had used his true immortality, those scars would not be there. End ID.]
In this way, much like Vash is a bridge between humans and Plants, Meryl and Luida are something of a bridge between humans and Vash.
And they're able to do this because deep down, their ideals align closely with his - they're not just supporting someone they care about; they have a similar desire to see the kind of world he fights for, and they choose to fight for it too.
But while Luida is something of a spokesperson for Vash, reaching out to humanity, it is almost as if Meryl becomes the voice of humanity reaching back, responding to him, and agreeing that not everything in the world is awful; that it is worth believing in the best in others. They need to stand together.
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[ID: A panel from Trigun Maximum Volume 14. Meryl, in a spacesuit, with frank determination, says, "Because we decided to stand together. We stand with Vash the Stampede." End ID.]
Meryl is the voice of proof that some people believe in the love and peace he speaks of, and are willing to say it back to him in turn.
Updated on my masterpost - my other book club stuff can be found here!
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blueskittlesart · 1 year
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Something that I wish I saw more people talk about is that 10,000 years between cycles is a /really/ long time. Like, all of human civilization long. Personally I think that feels like too long and it kinda frustrates me, like, stagnating in the middle ages for that long just seems incredibly unlikely. What're your thoughts on this? Do you think there's a reason they chose this time frame? That is has some sort of significance, some thematic tie-in to waiting and hope, etc?
the 10k year gap is the most important piece of botw's setting and it's fundamentally the reason everything in the story happens. you're right that it seems frustratingly long. that's deliberate. 10k years of peace is an unprecedented amount of time, especially for hyrule, which we know to be stuck in a repeating cycle which has NEVER taken that long to reset before. if you want to know why i think the gap happens in terms of like, in-universe cause and effect you can read this, but from a writing perspective, the 10k year gap gives context to the entire setting of botw.
botw is one of the most interesting explorations of the franchise's lore to date because it shows us a hyrule which has essentially forgotten its own history. every game post-sksw except botw has shows us hylians with a decent understanding of the creation myth and the reincarnation cycle. how much is remembered and accurate varies from game to game, but hyruleans almost always know that the goddess hylia gave humans a gift (the triforce) which offered a wish/ultimate power, and that throughout history evil forces have risen up to try to claim that power for themselves, requiring the goddess's heir and a hero chosen by fate to work together to defeat that evil. sometimes the courage/wisdom/power balance will be well-known, sometimes it won't be, but they almost always have at least a baseline understanding of that story. botw hyrule does not.
botw hyruleans have only the most surface-level understanding of what's actually going on irt ganon -- they know that he is somehow related to another evil force which rose 10k years ago, they know that the princess is supposed to inherit a power with the capability of stopping ganon, and they know that the soldier who is capable of wielding the master sword is supposed to help the princess somehow. this is the complete extent of their knowledge. it's unclear if zelda even knows that her power is because she is directly related to the original reincarnation of hylia or not. the triforce has been completely lost to time, and with it the reason why ANY OF THIS is happening in the first place. with so little actual understanding of the conflict they find themselves in the middle of, OF COURSE link and zelda are doomed to fail. Zelda can't possibly awaken her sealing power with no understanding of where it comes from. Link can't possibly defeat ganon without zelda's power to back him up, not to mention the inadequacy he feels for not being able to hear the sword's "voice" -- presumably fi, who hasn't been heard in a single game since sksw, but link doesn't KNOW that. he only knows that there's a voice he's supposed to hear that he can't. no one in hyrule has any idea what ganon's motivation for attacking them is because they don't even have any CONCEPT of the triforce anymore. they had no chance of winning because they had no understanding of what they were up against. and the REASON they have no understanding about what they're up against is because it's been then thousand years since that knowledge was last topical. maybe the knowledge was passed down for a hundred, or even a thousand years after the last cycle, but after a couple thousand years of peace humans will start to wonder why they bother learning all this complicated war history if it's never going to be topical again. thus, the knowledge that might have saved modern link and zelda is lost to time, and so when the time comes that a new hero and princess ARE needed, they are forced to spend years carrying out empty gestures, with no clue what they ACTUALLY need to defeat ganon. i think the most obvious example of this is the spring ceremonies zelda does in botw. they're obviously imitations of the purifying ceremonies sksw zelda went through to regain her memories as the goddess hylia, but to botw zelda they're just motions she has to carry out in the hopes of gaining hylia's power. she doesn't understand the significance behind the motions she's carrying out, so of course she doesn't get the desired result.
so yeah, tldr the 10k year gap is the most important framing device in all of botw. it contextualizes the struggles of link and zelda as they attempt to recreate a story they only have a few burnt pages of. thank you for coming to my ted talk
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veliseraptor · 2 months
Text
Fic Writer Interview
I was tagged by @anghraine - thank you!
1. How many works do you have on AO3?
under my main pseudonym that I actually use these days, 610. total, across pseuds, we're looking at 1,013.
2. What's your total AO3 word count?
4,930,564, which is so close to 5 million!!! we'll see if I hit that threshold this year, I might if all goes well with big bang fic
3. What are your top 5 fics by kudos?
I thought I could do this from memory and I was so close, only missed two.
Life in Reverse (13,990)
With Absolute Splendor (10,436)
some good mistakes (6,551)
The Villain Wrangler (4,445)
half a league onward (4,437)
4. Do you respond to comments? Why or why not?
I do not, because I don't know what to say, get overwhelmed, fall behind, get more overwhelmed, and ultimately end up with a backlog I don't feel capable of dealing with so I just don't. I feel bad about this periodically (often) but I don't do anything with that feeling. Just kinda feel bad.
5. What's the fic you've written with the angstiest ending?
I've written a lot of fics with angsty endings but I might have to give this one to Mercy, because that was a very mean fic on the whole. arguably even meaner than my other murder/suicide fic.
6. What's the fic you've written with the happiest ending?
I have a hard time with this question because I feel like most times my happy endings are at least touched with some kind of bitterness or loss or at least underlying open door that could be a problem down the line, or, like, lingering trauma.
but on the other hand I'm sure I have written generally happy endings in my backlog of fics, there's just a lot of fic in there so it's hard for me to pull them out, because they're probably also the ones that I find less memorable.
in some ways I think With Absolute Splendor might get this one, because it feels like it has ones of the strongest sense of earned catharsis, even if everything isn't all the way fixed. there's probably happier endings in terms of world state, but that's one where the ending feels happier because it doesn't start that way. but how this grace thing works is also one of the fics where I feel like it's on the whole softer/tenderer than my usual work.
7. Do you write crossovers?
not really! I wrote a few once upon a time, and a couple pastiches (one fandom in the style of another fandom), but those are years behind me and I'm not generally a crossover person as a rule.
8. Have you ever received hate on a fic?
oh yes. most of it more entertaining than truly upsetting, but there are a few exceptions. my favorite remains the person who was really bothered by the fact that my Black Jewels Trilogy fic wasn't High School Musical fic. still no idea what was going on there.
9. Do you write smut?
sure do. I haven't been writing as much these days (but then, I haven't been writing as much these days, full stop) and I've never been all that much of a pwp writer but it's still very much a part of my writing.
10. Have you ever had a fic stolen?
once, some time ago - I think it was Life in Reverse got posted on Wattpad. oh, though there was also another MCU fic that got reposted on AO3, but the person deleted it pretty quickly when I commented to inform them I didn't appreciate their doing so.
11. Have you ever had a fic translated?
I have! into a few languages and it's always super cool and flattering to me.
12. Have you ever co-written a fic before?
I have the one in progress but never anything I've finished/posted. I've done a lot of RP over the years but I always kept it pretty squarely separate from my fic writing.
13. What's your all-time favorite ship?
I've had a lot of all-time favorite ships, and there are plenty for fandoms I'm no longer really in that stick around in my head for longer than I'm really participating in the fandom (Celegorm/Aredhel is notable for this), but I think I will say that Xue Yang/Xiao Xingchen occupies a very particular kind of sort of insane place in my brain that feels relatively unique. so I'll give this one to them.
14. What's a WIP that you want to finish but don't think you ever will?
oh lord, so many of them. mostly various MCU wips I'll probably never finish but where I'm like "this was a good idea and I like what I have of it so far, too bad the MCU killed my caring about the MCU." outside of those...I'm so loathe to accept that things will or might remain unfinished, so I'll go with one of those and say the "Hela is around when Thor and Loki are growing up" one, which would've been so good and I still sometimes toy with the idea of returning to, only, you know. aforementioned "caring about the original canon" issue making it hard to actually do the writing thing.
15. What are your writing strengths?
I've been slowly filling out this meme for a while and I left this question conspicuously blank almost to the last. I think my strongest area is probably dialogue, though I worry that I'm giving myself too much credit there. I think I'm pretty good at writing it, though. it certainly is one of the pieces of writing that comes most easily to me.
16. What are your writing weaknesses?
description and action, for sure. I tend to skimp on description in a way that probably weakens much of my writing (I have so much respect for writers with good descriptive language), and I loathe writing action scenes the way that I loathe writing few things - it always feels like wrestling a bear. I usually know what I want to have happen as a result but getting there is just. very hard.
17. What are your thoughts on writing dialogue in other languages in a fic?
something you gotta be very careful with. I was going to say I almost never do it, but the one exception to that is Lymond Chronicles where I do it a lot, but that's because it's a fairly important part of the style of canon and I'm just. following that lead. otherwise, I tend to shy away from it personally, partly because I write from pretty deep in a character's head and if they don't understand what's being said in another language then that's what I want to convey in the story, rather than giving the reader privileged access to what's being said that the character doesn't have.
does that sound really pretentious? probably.
18. What was the first fandom you wrote for?
technically I wrote a cracky Harry Potter fic first, but I consider my first actual fandom to be Wheel of Time.
19. What's a fandom/ship you haven't written for yet but want to?
either bingjiu or beefleaf are two pairings that I love and have a lot of strong feelings about but haven't actually managed to write anything for, and both are on my list as like...just #waiting for the right idea.
also hua cheng/mu qing, which is a tiny pairing of my heart that Needs Me (or whatever) and I know the kind of fic I want to write for it but actually executing it is, as usual, proving harder.
20. What's your favorite fic you've written?
it fluctuates wildly depending on mood, but I'll give this one for now to the backyard is full of bones - it was the first project I bound into a book, which I feel like says something for it.
tagging @gloriousmonsters, @curiosity-killed, @mikkeneko, @brawlite, and @feralkwe; not actually sure how many people I'm "supposed" to tag on this one so if you want to do it consider yourself tagged as well.
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batmanfruitloops · 6 months
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So I noticed that with the Riddler bingo for this AU's Riddler specifically the "Arkham" space was left empty. So that leaves me wondering: what does the Bat do with all of his baddies after he apprehends them? Because as stated with Joker's backstory Arkham exists, but it seems it's not going to be used, so then where does Batman deposit all of his captured baddies at?
This is actually pretty important to a lot of plot points, so this is going to be kind of long!
Batman wants justice and dangerous things to stop plaguing Gotham, but Arkham isn't really going to help that. It kind of just makes people worse. Joker having been in there would also make Batman reluctant to send others there, because he'd be so distraught about the idea. He's been there for years. He knows the personal hell that that becomes.
There are many more circumstantial factors that lend to not sending the rogues to Arkham as well;
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A big one is that Batman isn't actually able to capture a lot of them. For instance, the Riddler and Scarecrow never really get close to being caught. They're too capable and have such methods of evasion. The closest Bats has come to catching one of those two is when he and the Joker started working together. Before Eddie worked with Jo, he operated remotely from a hideout and broadcasted his crimes and riddles. Bats had already been working on finding this hideout, and he had finally located it right before the Joker joined his force. (That's all I'll say about that instance for now) But others like Ivy, Harley, and Polka Dot Man always slip away and are untraceable.
Also another little extra thing: Riddler is able to find a lot of information on bad Gothamites, especially the elite that Bats otherwise can't find anything to present fact about, so if he lets him get away, he can bring more people to him basically.
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(The car they're driving is actually one I'm in the middle of designing, a souped up car Ed made just for heists that he named Elsa, after the bride of Frankenstein's monster - I know it doesn't look like a car, but I swear I tried T_T)
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Bats also lets a decent amount of them get away because they aren't big enough threats. An example of this would be Music Meister. Is he a public nuisance? Yes, but is he really causing any problems? No. In this he's kind of just a silly guy who happens to be metahuman that still wants to use his natural gifts. He's pretty much a theater kid with too much power in his hands.
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There is also a section of the rogue gallery whose issues are resolved before being sent to Arkham would be necessary. Clayface, Manbat, and Babydoll are some such rogues. Their roles in this au will boil down to maybe a chapter or so, depending. Their situations mostly require careful handing (and in Manbat's case being cured) to go back to living as best they possibly can. They're able to be reasoned with and get help, if that makes sense? I'm not sure that's the correct wording, but you'll see when we get there.
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If the rogues have enough money, power, or influence, they themselves could get out of being sent there. This is how Penguin at least avoids ever being sent there, or charged with anything besides a warning, really.
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Batman has also had the unfortunate opportunity of meeting Hugo Strange, the head doctor of Arkham Asylum, as Bruce Wayne. He got to witness firsthand just how demented and intelligent that man is and he'd rather not give Strange more victims to his madhouse.
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- Sarsee
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