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lazyjellyfish300 · 3 months

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Traitor💔

Miguel O'Hara x Spider-Woman Reader

Synopsis: A blurb detailing your heartbreak from Miguel inspired by some breakup songs. Word count 1.5k ish. Meant to be a one shot. (JK, I MADE AN EPILOGUE)

A/N: had this idea after @prettyinpink350 commented that The Woman He Didn't Choose part 1 reminded them of All Too Well-10 minute version by Taylor Swift. I imagine getting your heart broken by him would SUCK. The man has such a tragic backstory, it would take a long long time to get him to be comfortable with getting hurt again and vulnerable, possibly hurting whoever he's dating or seeing in the process if their expectations don't align. I think that ATSV and the comic version of him are different however, it's possible some of the personality traits would stay consistent and so as a result he might struggle with infidelity. I think he's had his fair share of experiences.

BUT I do still write sweet, fluffy soft Miguel, though. Because I do believe he has a soft side that exists and it's unfair imo to write him off as completely incapable of being a good partner because I believe he can. I imagine it'll be a tough road but he would eventually get there. He's a complex man and I love him anyway. 🫶🏽 Working on DD part 9 and the woman he didn't choose I promise, I've been dead lately in terms of motivation.

TW: MINORS DNI, ANGST, CHEATING (I DON'T CONDONE THIS), HEARTBREAK, BREAKUP, MIGUEL IS MORE COLD IN THIS, SMUT ( IT'S BRIEF, P IN V, DEGRADATION, SPANKING), age gap(reader is 26, Miguel is like 34-35), no happy ending

The songs that inspired this(all rights to rightful owners, some of the lyrics were tweaked slightly):

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It was her. It was always going to be her.

🎶I was just the villain built to come between you two.

I'm just the other point of view. 🎶

It's the movie where the guy gets the girl in the end. She's the one that got away but then comes back into his life, lighting up his world, making him realize his new girlfriend would never come close.

That all too familiar shift in the way he acted when she moved back into the city. When you noticed how he started looking at you with a gaze that was clearly being stolen by someone else. You decided to ask him about it and he dismissed you with a shake of his head, calling you paranoid.

🎶Brown guilty eyes and little white lies

Yeah, I played dumb but I always knew🎶

Now he brings her around, almost as though to shut you down on purpose. Showing her off like a brand new trophy.

If any of the sweet nothings he told you were true, there's simply no damn way that he could have fallen in love again so quickly...

🎶Ain't it funny....🎶

----

But months later

🎶You call me up again just to break me like a promise.🎶

The 1 am call you know you shouldn't answer but you do anyway.

"She's not here.......Please, I need you."

And there you go, jumping in the shower for a quick rinse and brushing your teeth, speeding towards his apartment like a dumb ass.

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"Fuck......FUCK! God baby...so fucking tight.....I missed this pussy, fuck...."

A shower of sharp spanks land on your ass, one after another, after another as Miguel thrusts his cock into you from behind.

"Yes.....harder, baby.....HARDER!"

"Yeah?....You would fucking like that, wouldn't you....Needy little slut....mmmm you like it when I fuck you like this, huh? Can't get enough can you? "Had to come crawling back for more of this cock?"

Every word stings harder than the slaps he's giving you but it's a sick, twisted, erotic feeling. You actually love it. The fact that he's still craving your pussy even though he's supposedly with his dream woman. The fact that you're still on his mind as soon as she leaves.

The fact that you're in his bed right now, not her. Even if only just for tonight.

"Fuck....yes.....baby.....can't get enough of you....mmmmm fuck I missed you so much....."

"Say that again."

"Missed you so much Miggy...."

"¿Cuánto?..." (how much)

"So fucking much....I crave you all the time....."

Miguel lets out a loud groan and you practically scream as he pounds you without mercy into his mattress he shared with the other woman.

Shortly after, you're laying all fucked out, panting as you close your eyes, decelerating from the heavenly orgasm he pulled out of you, only for it to shrivel up when you feel your clothes land in a pile next to your head.

"She'll be back any minute....you gotta hurry."

"What?" You sit up, confused.

Miguel's too busy taking a shower, trying to rid himself of your scent. The damning evidence of someone else in his bed while she was gone.

You immediately regret ever coming over.

You're about to rip him a new one but your spider senses tingle. You can feel her ascending the staircase. You throw on your leggings and hoodie and swing away into the night without saying goodbye.

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You let him have it on the phone later.

"I wish you thought through all of this before you strung me along and made me fall in love with you..."

Miguel stands outside his apartment, he had to sneak down to take your call as soon as he was sure she was asleep. He tenses his jaw. He feels guilty but there's not much he can do about it now.

"She's older...more mature. I need to be with someone who's able to understand and live with my responsibilities. I shouldn't have given us a chance, but I did because I needed to move on from her.... I can't help that I've known her since we were kids. She gets me."

🎶So casually cruel in the name of being honest. 🎶

"Oh and I don't? I don't Miguel? So all those times I stayed up with you, crying, holding you and promising you I wasn't going anywhere, those didn't happen? Or the fact that I saw you lose it completely multiple times and still called you the next day? The fact that I was willing to let go all the times you let me down because I knew it wasn't your fault and the fate of the multiverse comes before everything else? I literally loved you at your worst, but that didn't matter?"

Silence.

"Look, I just think that maybe if we had been closer in age, we would've been fine."

🎶And that sentence made you want to die. 🎶

"That's not fucking fair, Miguel! I'm 26, not a baby! And we spoke CANDIDLY about this when we got together. I NEVER had, not even a HINT that this would be a problem for you, and now you drop it on me right as you tear my heart out?! And it's not even something I can change!"

You pause, more sobs erupting deep from within your soul.

"I'm sorry, that the stars didn't align and the timing wasn't perfect and my dad didn't fuck my mom around the same time as yours so I could've been born at a better time. I'm sorry that I tried so fucking hard to be the chill girlfriend who lets you do whatever even though I'm not. I'm sorry that I kept my fucking mouth shut when I knew damn well you were talking to her when we were together just so I could keep you around. I'm sorry that I'm not her..."

The line is painfully silent.

🎶The idea you had of me, who was she?🎶

"So who's this version of me in your head you envisioned, huh Miguel? The perfect me that would've made you stay. Do I even know her? She's me, but she's not. She's not needy like I am. She's perfect. Has the perfect body, perfect hair, doesn't ever look bad for you. She's intelligent and has all the maturity you claim I don't. She reflects back on you perfectly every little thing you just LOVE about yourself because let's face it, that's the only person you really ever gave a fuck about."

Loud beeps assault your eardrum and you scoff in disbelief. He hung up, and who knows how long you were just talking to a wall. You hurtle your phone at the ground, letting the screen crack as your knees buckle beneath you and hide your face in your hands in despair.

🎶When she's sleeping in the bed we made, don't you dare forget about the way you betrayed me.

Cause I know that you'll never feel sorry, for the way I hurt, yeah. 🎶

----

Trying to forget him as the weeks passed by ,albeit agonizingly slow. You find yourself weeping in the HQ bathroom, some girl asking you what happened:

🎶You. That's what happened, you. 🎶

A few weeks later, a package with all of your clothes arrived at the post office for you so he didn't have to see you face to face. It even contained all of the pictures you took together and the letters you wrote him. He didn't keep a single one.

You sat in the parking lot for a few minutes as you clutched the Disneyland tickets to your heart, sobbing. The cruel, cruel irony of remembering how you were in the happiest place on earth with him, the place that planted those dreams of happily ever after in that little girl's head, only for her to be crying over a man that stomped it into the ground years later.

Remembering how you walked back, arm in arm to your hotel room together as you leaned into his chest, giggling when you finally got him to admit the park wasn't as dreadful as he thought it would be, despite the ridiculous price tag. He only wanted to make you happy.

🎶I remember it all too well. 🎶

Your lip trembles when you find the Mickey Ears you bought for him lying in the box. "Miguel" cross-stitched in curly gold writing on the back.

Your red scarf from that first week together hung in the corner of his closet until your scent wore off. He would eventually have the gall to offer it to her one December night when she was shivering, saying that it was his mother's.

----

Your tears make your vision blurry as you drive down the dark, rain soaked streets of Nueva York.

You know his street is coming.

When you do finally pass it, you use all your strength to keep your gaze straight ahead, the faded letters on his street sign disappear rapidly behind you as you take a deep breath, and head on home.

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Epilogue

#miguel o'hara #miguel atsv #spotify #miguel ohara #miguel x reader #miguel o'hara x reader #atsv miguel #miguel o'hara smut #across the spiderverse #miguel o hara angst #miguel o'hara angst #miguel o'hara imagine #miguel o hara x y/n #miguel o'hara x fem!reader #miguel ohara x fem!reader #Spotify

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sparklingsora · 2 months

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Hi. I would like to know many things about your roleswap au bc I love it very much but I have no idea what to ask I just want to know many things bc my brain has been consumed already

uhhhhh I guess can you lore dump a little bit on backstories? Idk I just wanna know everything about this au

I will be back in your ask box for this au several times most likely

-Spaghetti Brain Anon

THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR THE ASK!!! i am SO glad that i could get this au to live in someone else's brain rent free too. all i could ever ask for in life tbh i guess i'll infodump about character backstories, dynamics, character arcs, all that juicy stuff putting it under cut because HO BOY THIS IS GONNA GET LONG

as a heads up, take the timeframes i give you with a grain of salt, because i still havent completely figured out the timeline so first of all, vox!! he's a sinner, died in the 1950s, as per canon. he's a businessman, but less stable than in canon. he's always jumping from job to job, business to business, which results in him having a lot of connections with various people around hell. soon after arriving in hell, he met and became friends with alastor. cut to, i'd say around 7-10 years before the events of the story? alastor disappears without a trace during an extermination and vox assumes him dead. having now been personally touched by the effects of the extermination, the idea to try and solve overpopulation another way is planted in his head, but wont come to fruition until much later. in the meantime he meets velvette - finds her bleeding out in an alleyway after getting too cocky and trying to fight back to an exorcist (bad idea). he nurses her back to health, they become friends and eventually start dating, yada yada yada. one day vox and velvette find a funky little cat (keekee). keekee takes a liking to them and leads them to the old ruins of a building up on the hill on the edge of pentagram city. they figure out that the cat turns into a keyblade that can be used to magically build shit (only the hotel though, as keekee is the spirit of the hotel or??? whatever the hell the canon lore is idk???) vox finally decides to realize his idea to try and solve overpopulation more humanely - through redeeming sinners! his reasoning is, if angels can fall (as proven by lute and charlie), then demons can surely ascend, right? though he's not as sure or idealistic about it as charlie is in canon. he simply thinks it has a chance of working, and opening up a hotel means a bigger sample size than if he were to just try and get into heaven himself or something like that. besides, he wouldnt wanna go to heaven, he likes it here. also, im not sure where this is situated in the timeline yet, but he was in a band with adam, lute and possibly eve at some point? the band is called brimstone eden, as mentioned in the comic i posted. im not sure yet whether he was in the band prior to eve's disappearance or after it (eve disappears 7 years before the story starts to mirror canon lilith). swap!vox, like his canon counterpart, is a very reactive person. he follows trends, he's extremely go-with-the-flow to a fault. he never really had any strong beliefs until the hotel - his character arc mainly involves him gaining something to believe in and learning to fight for that belief, 'ready for this' being more or less the culmination of his arc. jesus christ i cant believe i wrote that much JUST on vox. *slaps the top of his head* this boy can fit so much lore in him

now, velvette... she's how you'd expect her to be. same old brave, arrogant velvette. she's a fashion designer and seamstress and runs a moderately sized business which she promotes on sinstagram. she's mutuals with val there, which is how he finds out about the hotel. there's not much to write home about when it comes to val - it's insane how similar angel and him are. like literally barely anything changes when you swap them, it's very clean. he's a prn star, sold his soul to angel dust, yada yada. though a bit on his dynamic with vox - vox is very good at reading people, and doesn't like being lied to (he's a bit of a hypocrite in that regard - he puts on a facade all the time when in professional settings). he can clearly tell val isnt doing as good as he pretends he is, and wants to help him really badly, but val just sees it as vox pitying him and rejects his help (its what they fight about in ep 4, as a counterpart to the whole "charlie going to the studio" thing bc vox wouldnt do that) and now here's the fun part - ALASTOR! oh, alastor, you beautiful stuck up bitch! so turns out, he's not so dead after all! he ALMOST died in that fateful extermination, but husk found him and offered him a "give me your soul right now or bleed out in this alleyway" type deal. of course alastor chose the former, but boy he's not happy about it. he's extremely ashamed of how far he's fallen. so ashamed, in fact, that he hid from the world for those 7-10 years! yeah! he's only pulled out of hiding when husk summons him to be the bartender for the hotel. vox is of course, extremely bewildered and demands answers. alastor doesnt give them and avoids him instead. it takes a sincere conversation with valentino in ep 4 for alastor to finally talk to vox again and explain himself. alastor is basically in extremely deep denial of just how fucked his life is. he clings onto his radio demon persona like a lifeline bc its the last thing that can help him feel some semblance of control over his situation. his tension with valentino is twofold - first they butt heads because of opposing personalities, and second because they both see the other's bullshittery. it's a clusterfuck it eventually bubbles over in ep 4, they both admit how absolutely fucked they are and are friends now. wish i could say more on al & val bc i love them very much but it seems ive run out of eloquency for now. though i know i'll draw some comics of them eventually so maybe it'll come across better in comic form. anyway as mentioned above ive run out of eloquency and im honestly not sure how coherent this whole thing is so you'll have to come back for the other characters some other time, dear anon! until then, thank you so much for the ask once again, and have a nice day/night :)

#askbox #veeswap au

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stnaf-vn · 1 year

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Hello! I just finished playing Friend and it was a very good experience, I wish a could erase my memory and play it again lol I wanted to know if you had share Friend's backstory or past, if so, I'm interested in knowing about him and the other characters in your blog so please tell me where I can read it🙏🏻😩 I'm currently playing A Cry for Help and I look forward to your next project <3

I have! Back before I like knew how tumblr worked, so the comics and stuff I made may have gotten lost....

I'll make a short list here and add them to the FAQ!

TW: CHILD ABUSE, MANIPULATION, FAMILIAL DEATH, DRUG AND ALCOHOL USAGE

Just A Dream

Friend going to Therapy? Friend....crying? High School Friend Friend comes from a wealthy family Friend's Sexuality Friend wears makeup And feminine clothes How Far Would He Go to Have You? Keagan's Opinion on Friend Keagan Talking about....that night.... Aftermath: The 'Accident' Friend's Side of the Story Friend Falling out of Love?

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I'm gonna make a small recap of what Friend's childhood was like behind closed doors, as well as what the 'accident' mentioned before was....

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Friend's Childhood:

Friend grew up in a wealthy home. His mother was a strict and shrewd woman, and his father was also strict. They were both very serious people. Friend's mother wanted to have an heir for the family company that they inherited through their parents (Friend's grandparents). They birthed Friend, and they decided that they wanted to wait to give him a name until they can see what he is capable of, so he didn't receive his birth name until he was old enough to read and write. Because of their lineage of inventors and businessmen and women, Friend's parents expected him to be good at everything he touches as soon as possible. But he wasn't. And so, he was practically cast out of the family. He'd get hit often if he messed up and his mother was very homophobic and hated how "girly" he'd act when he sewed or sung or get in her makeup. Then, he met you. Elementary School. He uh....he was pretty rude to you as kids, and he'd always get annoyed when you'd call out to him.... but, he liked the name Friend. So, he wanted you to just call him Friend. He slowly started getting used to you being around, and he even started being nicer. Although....he was covered in bandages a lot.

His mother thought of him as nothing but a disgrace, so she birthed his sisters: the triplets. After that, his mother gave up on having children as they are "wastes of space" and "can't do anything right." So, she neglected them. Their father, even though he was also pretty stoic himself, was frightened of his wife. Friend practically raised his sisters from elementary to when he was just going into middle school. Which is when the first accident of STNAF happened.... His entire immediate family died in a car crash on their way to a corporate meeting. All Friend has left of them is the amount of wealth given to him and the hair clips his sisters wore. He moved in with his grandparents after that.

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Accident Two: Electric Boogaloo

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In high school, you and Friend were always together 24/7. At the time, he didn't realize he had feelings for you and he was just an average delinquent. His grandparents, although they are nice people, never really got involved in raising him. They just let him do what he wanted. If it wasn't for you, Friend would have probably not passed high school. And there, you met Keagan, an athlete of the school. One day, he suddenly asked you out, and you said yes. Keagan didn't like Friend very much due to the weird "serial killer" aura he gave out (in Keagan's terms), and you and Friend eventually started drifting apart. One night, Keagan started taking you and his friends home. You were the only sober one in the car. And his friend and Keagan thought it'd be funny if they left you in the middle of town, at like 3 AM. So, that's what they did. They drove off without you, leaving you stranded. As this was happening, Friend was also high at a different party. He started getting annoyed because other people kept hitting on him, so he went outside and was desperately wanting you to talk to him Then he got a message from you with your location in it. And he high tailed it to you. (This is where Aftermath: The 'Accident' comes in) That's where the...obsession started. At first, he wasn't sure what to call it. He never felt something like this before, but now.... he just can't imagine his life without you in it. And having you away from him for so long....what if you leave him again? But, he knew what it was when you two graduated and you asked him what his plans are for after high school. He wanted to be with you everywhere you go, do everything you wanted to do together. So, he cleaned himself up, cut his hair, cut back on the weed and alcohol (Although he does indulge from time to time). And, he started studying on how to be the perfect partner. He has mastered every domestic skill needed to have a happy fulfilling relationship. He started working out, and he started actually paying attention to his appearance. He has, and still is, learning how to be the best partner for you. How to be patient, how to make your heart skip a beat, how to be confident but not too confident..... he wants to be perfect for you.

#jesus i didn't realize how much lore I've written over a year--#💾- see thru need a friend game #✨-friend #💔 keagan the tsundere #♡-stnaf lore

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catsharky · 6 months

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Hello Sharky! First off: eternal, endless thanks for entering the fuck-me-tail into Tiefling canon. You have done your fellow tief lovers a service we can never repay 😳

I have a cheeky question…would you ever accept an x Rolan fic for your Tiefling Tav? I cannot stop thinking about the two of them together. Feel free to answer this privately or decline, please just know regardless that I adore your comics for them & revisit them daily! Thank you for creating something so wonderful!! 🥺💞

Holy shit, yes absolutely!! I've read everything you've written and it's all incredible, you're my favourite BG3 author and I also revisit your fics frequently 😭❤ If you want to know anything about my Tav let me know! (in fact if anyone wants to know more about my Tav, please feel free to ask because I love her and could talk about her and her backstory for hours) But either way you have my blessing to have fun with her.

Also, I can't say I was expecting the fuck-me-tail thing to take off but I can't say I'm not pleased! It's been really fun to see so many people immediately latch onto and get inspired by it. I rub my hands together and gleefully go "yes, YESS" every time someone comments that they've accepted it into their headcanon.

Part 3 of the comic will also be coming soon-ish! It unfortunately doesn't have Rolan in it (we're getting some more of the aftermath on Tav's side of things ft. Astarion) but part 4 is finally going to force them to interact again and I already have it entirely planned out so I'm practically vibrating out of my skin waiting to get to it

#not sharky art #underdark-dreams #sharky speaks #I'm the sicko at the window meme going 'YES YESSS' as more people react to the fuck-me-tail

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herebecritters · 8 months

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Welcome to my HTF blog, I have lore and gore all for you to enjoy.

What’s goin on here?

Well I make a Happy Tree Friends Au called Be Brave that delves into why htf is the way it is. Why is everyone dying all the time? Why won’t they stay dead? Why do I love laughing at their misery? What’s up with those weird little stone idols?

Well wonder no more…unless you have your own headcanons. That’s fine too. But if you’re hankering to hear my take, here’s a quick disclaimer and some convenient links to make navigating this blog a wee bit easier.

DISCLAIMER

This story and this blog is NOT intended for a child audience. There will be violence. There will be gore. There will be foul language. There will be sexual humor and adult jokes and topics. Consume at your own risk.

Ocs will play active and important roles in this story. This includes many of my friends ocs. If this is a problem then oopsie poopsie, aw well. Cry me a river.

Shipping is a thing. FlippyXFlaky is my main canon ship and it will be explored in this story. As well as a bunch of oc ships. A few other canon ships may be mentioned or shown as well. If any of this is also a problem then too bad, too sad.

Harassment is not tolerated. I am not afraid to block. I’m old and tired and I give no fucks. The real world is already enough of a stressful nightmare, and Auntie Critters needs their wine and story time to unwind. Just don’t be a dick. It’s as simple as that.

Be patient! Again, I am doing this for fun. But I want to be able to share that fun as well cus I really love the stuff I’ve been cooking for this. However, making content to convey all these ideas I have to an audience is a LOT of work. And I am doing this on my free time. So do not expect there to be a set schedule and understand that I am unfortunately a slave to the whims of my hyperfixations. But I will do my very best to deliver all these stories to you 😤

Now onto the fun stuff…

———

Quick links!

Origins of a curse series:

* Dino-Sore Days Lore

* The First Civilization (coming soon)

* The 300 Year Colony (Coming Soon)

———

Be Brave: An comedic adventure comic with notes of horror and existentialism sprinkled throughout. Follow Flaky as they are roped into saving the Isles and everyone trapped on them from an ancient and evil curse.

*To start reading the Be Brave comic, click here

———

Other links!

* Character References for the God Trio

* Lore Tag

— Paleo Files —

* Cro and Dumuzi Paleo File

*Geshtu Paleo File (Coming Soon)

*Nergal Paleo File (Coming Soon)

*Kyle the Mononykus File (Coming Soon)

*Splash the Plesiosaur File (Coming Soon)

— Tales of the Ancient Past —

* Cro and Dumuzi Backstory (Coming Soon)

* Nergal Backstory (Coming Soon)

* Geshtu Backstory

* Meeting Kyle the Mononykus (Coming Soon)

* For What it’s Surf (Coming Soon)

#happy tree friends #htf #htf ocs #htf cursed idol #flippy x flaky #htf Fancomic #htf lore #htf be Brave #htf Nergal #htf dumuzi #htf Geshtu #I have almost all these stories written #just gotta draw em #but this should make things a little more organized here #may add new links n stories in the future #a living document

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co-mixed · 5 days

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Magneto was...

X-Men ‘97 has already become sort of a cultural phenomenon. I think it’s fair to say even outside of our cozy comics bubble. But the show has given so much to so many. Not for a single second it shies away from what the X-men are truly about and its social commentary avoids ambiguity.

But the thought that’s been bugging me for years now is of course “Magneto was right” or rather, the question of whether he indeed was.

Bear with me, because I’m completely throwing away all plans or structure for this text, it’s not a clever article, it’s just my interpreting process in which I’m dissecting my thoughts on the concept.

The phrase itself has been reimagined in the show. Val Cooper says this phrase about the fear and hate that humans will never stop experiencing and expressing toward mutants. It’s about them never changing their ways to accommodate others, it’s about human nature. And while we clearly see that it’s not entirely true and some are actively working to change that, at its core, it remains a true and sad reflection of what we see from the most powerful elites that control public opinion and ultimately, the world.

It’s funny to me that Val, the same person who got in bed with Bastion and Sinister, was the one to spell it out. Both she and Trask state that they never expected a genocidal catastrophe of Genoshan level and frankly, I find it unbelievable. You knew you were dealing with a fanatical maniac. You knew that this is a possibility and you certainly had the same goal. You wanted to do it with clean hands and you didn’t want to see the result. You wanted mutants to be killed in alleys one by one. It’s all the same thing.

And this actually conveniently brings me to Remender’s X-Force and Dark Beast’s homeworld where the war had been won by mutants and humans were the ones hunted and killed. As soon as the opportunity presented itself, humans made a call to replay the three most famous words uttered by Wanda.

Meanwhile, the most prominent example of how this phrase has been interpreted before is Quentin Quire. In his young and radicalized view, Magneto was right about both the ends and the means. All he saw was violence and he chose to respond in kind (but not in kindness.)

The show stepped away from the storyline that played out in the comics (and I absolutely love that btw). But Magneto in that story was not sympathetic. The things we know about him by now are not all flattering, especially the way he turns on his own if they stand in his way and ask him to rethink and reevaluate his position.

Magneto is often portrayed as a dictator, like most villains. And like most well-written villains, he has a cause that he believes in fanatically which, let’s be honest, after him receiving a backstory, made all the more sense and drove compassion. But he will always go too far.

But let’s again go back to X-Men ‘97. What happened when Magneto turned off… everything. Everything from life support - off, nuclear plants - off, trains, planes, and ships, all have to travel blindly if at all. Chaos, obviously. But while that brings in casualties, was that his intention? Because simultaneously, he saved thousands if not more of mutants. They were hunted by prime sentinels right that moment and remember, not all mutants are X-men or even have an active fighting power. So while he took away something humans needed desperately, but he saved every mutant in mortal danger. So should he have done that?

I don’t know how to answer that. If I hadn’t thought about that before (and I’m ashamed to admit that) now, after Ep.9 it’s clear that the Earth can’t handle the blackout, so Magneto simply decided to pick up mutants he likes and sod off on his newly (and I’m pretty sure poorly) built asteroid into his Utopia. All while everyone else is left to rot.

Not that heroic, huh?

And then there is Charles. Magneto’s way is impossible to review without Charles’s on the other scale pan. And damn, nothing shakes up Charles’s idealism like time and age. We do actually live in an era where his view has become outdated. I recently called Charles a pick-me mutant, I stand by that statement. He wants to be liked and there are so many things he overlooks and ignores. His goal is to have mutants serve for approval. This isn’t equality and this isn’t being proud of who you are. He can live knowing that some of them live in sewers, he accepts that as their choice. Again, I say that a lot, but Charles was very well depicted in X-Men The Dark Phoenix. Regardless of what you think about the movie, they showed Charles in all his glory, risking the lives of his students who hang on his every word, to score some points with humans.

My only regret is that writers never take it far enough and make it final. Yeah, no I know he died and came back, who hasn’t (what’s up, Jean?) But let’s be real, Charles could easily fully retire and stop attempting to bring his vision to life. It doesn’t work.

When we look at the comics, the hybrid version Magneto+Charles didn’t exactly work either. And that’s in part due to Moira’s betrayal, some writers’ magic, and the fundamentally incorrect political approach. I already wrote sheets and sheets about that. But it would’ve failed either way because we can’t have nice things i.e. a successful mutant nation won’t go well with bigots. And given clever public opinion manipulation, almost anyone can become a bigot. It won’t be allowed to exist, because they would still be expected to step back and play nice and limit themselves to avoid upsetting anyone.

Now that I mentioned Moira, I remember the “race traitor” thrown by Magneto at Charles. Honestly, both are guilty of that. Charles for the reasons I stated above and Magneto, for continuously representing mutants as a danger to everyone.

That’s a lot of words and thoughts that I had to dig through to finally ask the question, was Magneto right? And if he was, what was he right about? Right is really an idealistic concept in and of its own. So I’d say his actions in that moment were justifiable. As much as I want to stand with heroes and condemn him, in a post-Genosha world, I can’t. He asked them to “not make him let them down” and that’s exactly what they did. Exactly, because some of them knew what they were getting into, I also mentioned that above.

Is his view of humans right? Yes, without a question. It's awful but it's true. They'd do it again and again. And they will hide their eyes and claim they didn't know.

I will gladly talk about the whole season after the season ends but right now I’m honestly just happy to come to some personal conclusion. I’m not sure I can take this opinion and apply it to the real world because that would require a whole other conversation with myself.

#marvel #marvel comics #comics #long reads #x men #marvel universe #x men 97 #x men the animated series #krakoa #magneto #charles xavier

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schmafs · 3 days

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happy webcomic day! my comic, where the heart is, is still running over at @wthicomic and on comicfury! it's been a real joy to work on it so far and im very excited to keep going with it :)

that aside, here are some webcomics ive been enjoying the past few months! check em out, tell a friend–itll really make someones day!

dead or alive “Wanted alive for fraud, Clay is on the run. Blackbell is wanted dead for 13 counts of murder. The two meet in the town of Nowhere as they attempt to evade capture. When secrets from their pasts come back to haunt them, Blackbell and Clay soon find out their paths are more intertwined than they initially thought.”

(action, western)

dead or alive is a western with incredibly charming characters and a fun adventure overall! im so interested in some characters’ backstories (namely blackbell). i know it’s gonna go so hard…

arc of the spark “Bangaroo, a hot contender in the Spark Wrestling League, seeks to bring his lost family back together by wrestling his way to money and fame. The league has other plans for him however, as he unwittingly finds himself tangled up in its dubious, shady underbelly.”

(action, mystery)

a fun story that, to me, is reminiscent of saturday morning cartoons! great character designs and phenomenal action sequences.

it’s all a dream in the end “A catlike protagonist wakes up to find themselves asleep, and meets a colorful cast on their journey to waking up; a clown, some talking meat, a dream copy of her younger brother, and a rabbit that claims to be in the same never-ending-dream situation. Along the way, she learns to trust people she should, fear things she should fear, and maybe just enjoy the moment sometimes as she moves from dream to dream.”

(horror, surreal, marked tws for blood, violence, and strong language)

this comic is recently finished, and boy is it a neat time. the surreal (and, well. dreamlike) elements in it are really fun and well thought out and it’s a comic i keep meaning to reread so that i can see all the bits of foreshadowing the author laid out towards the beginning of the comic. great color schemes overall, too!

phantomarine “Phantomarine is a spooky-but-sweet fantasy webcomic about a ghostly princess and her perilous journey across a haunted sea, hoping to save her soul from a devious, shapeshifting death god known as the Red Tide King. Expect all manner of maritime mysteries – monstrous sea creatures, sacred lighthouses, strange afflictions, accursed marauders, feuding gods, grand sea battles, and a heaping helping of humor in-between!”

(fantasy, adventure)

im not quite sure where to begin with phantomarine because it’s just that good. bursting with heart and with beautiful scenes and color palettes overall. the worldbuilding in it is also very well thought out (particularly with regard to the religion of the world).

maladious “It’s 2002, and sixteen-year-old Julian Lewis has just debuted as the newest member of Olympos, America’s premiere superhero team. Admittedly, he's kind of terrible at his job–-but he’s got the heart of a hero and the best mentors he could ask for.

However, when a mission to intervene with a low-tier villain attack reveals that an old foe isn’t quite as dead as he’s supposed to be, Olympos must untangle a web of new enemies and old ghosts in what is undoubtedly their greatest challenge yet.”

(horror, action, thriller, rated 16+)

maladious is another comic with a charming art style, but i think the most interesting thing about it by far is the mystery the author is cultivating. i can tell they’re cooking something, but i don’t know what yet and i want to stick around to find out!

invincea and the warriors from hell “Orphaned and mute from infancy, Invincea has never had an easy life. But when what little she still has in a world that rejects her is violently torn away, she sets out to find justice.

Lost and wounded, she soon meets the mysterious bard Lon Quillow, and together they are catapulted into a cross-country string of adventures bringing them closer together as they learn about humanity, empathy, and the deep desire of all people to be understood and accepted.

What has been lost can be found again…”

(fantasy, adventure)

i absolutely adore invincea. the characters are all incredibly charming and the art style is delightful to look at and very reminiscent of cartoon saloon’s work! im so curious about where the story’s going to go next!

tiger, tiger “Tiger, Tiger is a story of a young noble lady, who steals her brother's identity and his ship to sail across the world to find love and adventure, and to write a book about her favourite subject: the fascinating life cycle of sea sponges!”

(fantasy, adventure)

this is one ive been reading for a while! once again, the characters are all very charming, likable, and authentic in a way i cant quite explain. absolutely gorgeous grayscale art in this one.

golden shrike “Something has shifted in the world. Sheltered deer twins, Runi and Nero, will get to see it all unfold.”

(fantasy, adventure)

the author consistently draws these beautiful natural scenes with equally beautiful colors, and i really enjoy the lore theyve put together about the deer world!

starbord: the journey home “In a part of the universe alien to them, all that Zachary Higgins and J.C. Coleman want is to get back to Earth. There's only one problem: nobody's ever heard of a planet called "Earth". Stuck with an experimental spacecraft and trapped in a galaxy teetering on the brink of total war, they'll turn to unlikely friends and face uncanny foes in their journey home.”

(action, science fiction, adventure)

going back to the idea of authentic characters, each and every character in starbord feels authentic to me. theyre all really well written and the main characters in particular feel like people i could meet in real life. the story is also compelling!

inhibit “Victor is a resident at a home for kids who haven't yet proven that they can control their powers. With a transfer only a few weeks away, he has one last chance to prove he is capable enough to go home to a normal life. But just when he most needs things to go smoothly, everything starts to fall apart, and he finds himself tangled in the plot of a mysterious arsonist…”

(science fiction, adventure)

this one’s got some great mysteries going on, and at the moment the plot is ramping up and i seriously cant wait to see what happens next! very likable characters here, too!

a d6 story “A tale of The UnKing. As a familiar horror infiltrates Folia City, a crew of unlikely heroes must fight to save their world as they know it..”

(horror, action, science fiction)

im not sure where to begin with this comic aside from the fact that the hook is absolutely crazy. you just have to trust me on this one.

milos from home “An anxious Torchic and classically amnesiac protagonist Eevee take a shot becoming a Rescue Team. Also something's screwy with the world at large, but one step at a time.”

(fantasy, fan fiction, adventure)

this one’s a pokemon mystery dungeon fancomic, and the author has some really interesting takes on pokemon culture and interpretations of what certain pokemon look like! i care so much about each character :,) except for one. i’ve never wanted to punt a rat (dedenne) into the sun so bad in my life.

first song “10 years ago, a private company opened a portal. It went wrong. Our material plane was smashed into the land of the dead; Limbo. Spoon was at Ground zero of the explosion but survived, and now he wanders the wasteland with his guitar and the demon that inhabits it - encountering ghosts and other survivors on a quest to return to his childhood home. At the same time he is hunted by a mysterious woman who is single-minded in her drive to find him.”

(science fiction, supernatural, post-apocalypse)

i just KNOW the author of this one is cooking something crazyy. we’re still pretty early on in the story, but i can feel it! the fact it’s in black and white also goes a long way in establishing the vibes of the whole thing.

inheritors “The setting is a post-apocalyptic, alternate Earth. Most of the planet was destroyed by a rogue AI program, called Apollo. However, one continent was able to be saved by the goddess Athena, and was able to evolve and adapt to urban life today. Now, Apollo is making his presence known within the existing cities, and new information is coming to light. Who created Apollo? Where are the gods, now? Most importantly, what does it mean to truly be human?

As if all of that wasn't enough pressure, Space-Time's grandson is having an identity crisis over the sudden realization that he's going to outlive everyone he's grown close to. So y'know, there's a whole existential crisis sub-plot along with the mystery surrounding Apollo, the gods, the world of Faerie, and some strange, alien newcomers in the city.”

(action, science fiction, modern fantasy, drama. marked tws for topics of religion, depression, self-harm, bullying, child abuse, attempted suicide, and struggles with identity)

this one’s also pretty early on in the story as well, but i was immediately captivated by the silly little drawings in the first couple pages. i also know the authors of this one are cooking very hard with the worldbuilding! definitely check this one out so youre here whenever things start getting wild!

#webcomic day #webcomics #webcomicday #webcomic series #webcomic recommendations #original comic #indie comic #webcomics on tumblr

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magolandandfriends · 11 months

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...wtf DID happen to Magolor during his "heatstroke"????

I HIGHLY DOUBT THAT WAS A HEATSTROKE!!!

⋆｡ﾟ☁︎｡ ⋆｡ﾟ☾ ﾟ｡ ⋆ ⋆｡ﾟ☁︎｡ ⋆｡ﾟ☾ ﾟ｡ ⋆ ⋆｡ﾟ☁︎｡ ⋆｡ﾟ☾ ﾟ｡ ⋆

Magalor: I don’t know what you’re talking about it was just the heat

Marx: you lived on halcandra for most of your life and that place is really fucking hot- not to mention you still wear a lot of clothing and you don’t sweat to death

Magolor: it was just hotter than I expected

Marx: Magolor for the love of Nova it was only 80° that nOTHING TO Y O U-

(Backstory to Emergency :000)

(but this was also an old ask that has been sitting in my inbox for a while I’m sO SORRY THIS TOOK SO LONG. And on top of that I have another old ask that’s been sitting there please hang in there anon I’ll get to you soon )

(ANYWAYS THANK YOU SM FOR THE ASK‼️‼️‼️‼️ I love doing backstory comics like these, I’ll admit this was a bit rushed because im going to be busy for the next few days BUT I PROMISE ILL TRY NOT TO RUSH THE NEXT FEW ASKS!!!! BUT ONCE AGAIN THANK YOU SM FOR THE ASK)

#Magoland and Friends!#Magoland and Friends! AU #kirby #kirby series #kirby au #fanart #kirby fanart #comic #kirby comic #magolor #marx kirby #taranza #susie haltmann #man what a spooky character I sure hope we don’t see it again #spoiler alert: we do #when I feel like it #but guys I swear it was because of the heat nothing else #also for the people that read my silly tags it’s name is CROWNED #no particular reason what’s so ever I promise guys stop looking at me like that

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animanga-bonanza · 29 days

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i have so many feelings and thoughts about this latest episode of x men 97 -- spoilers under the cut

first, my favorite highlights/takeaways:

As usual, the dialogue is S-tier and this show is really good about putting the characters through dilemmas that have real stakes, and having the characters navigate those dilemmas in ways that both make sense for them and require them to move forward

Xavier is a confirmed bottom 😂 my man was ready to be a PET for this glamorous space lady

Loved that moment where Xavier literally takes the Shi’ar to class and starts SCHOOLING them 😂 he said “hold up I’m a teacher. lemme teach y’all something right now” 👨‍🏫

When talking about what he wanted to remember from Earth, he only mentioned Magneto, his “old friend” (YOU MEAN YOUR EX. YOUR SOULMATE. THE LOVE OF YOUR LIFE. C’MON CHARLES)

Speaking of Xavier x Magneto, when he finds out what happened to Magnus…😭 it was already heartbreaking seeing his reaction to Gambit's death

I’m certain the Shi’ar stuff is going to be the main conflict in Season Two or Three; Season One is gonna be focused on X-Men vs Sinister. Having this warmongering galactic empire on the brink of a coup that believes Earth is a “ghetto”, it’s not gonna turn out well for Earth.

I’m glad this episode confirmed that Sinister is behind the Genosha attack (though idk he might be working for someone else); writers sometimes keep their cards too close to their chest because they’re afraid that if they reveal their hand too soon, the audience will lose interest. But in my experience, it’s often more fun when the writers show you their hand and then use their cards to build a magnificent tower. Knowing who all the players are, their goals and motivations, and watching them duke it out is the stuff that drama is made of. It’s kind of like the Hitchcock principle of showing your audience the bomb under the table in order to raise suspense.

I’m REALLY happy that Storm is back, I missed her so much these past couple episodes! Aaah I’m a sucker for characters with weather powers, and hearing about the stuff Storm can do in the comics, I’m looking forward to seeing her use her abilities in a range of creative ways

Now for some analysis/ramblings!!

Storm and Xavier’s struggles mirror each other. Both characters are having to choose between comfort/happiness and duty/hardship.

Storm believes she’d be happier as a normal human. She could leave all her past troubles behind, build a new life with Forge. But that would be a betrayal of herself, her values, and her community. The Adversary’s line about Storm being afraid of living more than dying cuts deep. Storm was never afraid to put her life on the line to protect others. She literally took a bullet for Magneto. Her biggest fear is living her full truth, perhaps because her power is so great that it might alienate her from other people, even from her fellow mutants. As Magneto said (and I paraphrase), she is the closest thing to a goddess their world has ever seen.

And IIRC, part of Storm’s backstory involved her being worshiped/revered as a goddess or holy priestess. I think this past experience made Storm wary of embracing her full power because that kind of existence is lonely.

Honestly, as a black woman, Storm’s journey resonates so much. In real life, black women are often expected to be superhuman, the “strong black woman” who can shoulder her own burdens and everyone else’s. Storm suppressing her own powers for fear of being put on a pedestal as this flawless “queen” or “goddess” who can reliably solve everyone else’s problems? Yeah. That’s some real stuff. Storm, like everyone else, deserves to be vulnerable. To be protected and cared for instead of having to always protect and care for others.

But the expectation to be "strong" is something that Storm seems to have internalized; she didn't have to leave the X-Men when she lost her powers, but she left in part because she felt like she had to deal with her grief alone. And I hope that, even though she’s coming back to the X-Men with her powers fully realized, she’s able to rely on her friends for comfort. I also love that this series emphasizes her friendship with Jean, and I hope to see more of their dynamic going forward.

As for Xavier, he’s having to choose between life on his home planet, where he’s surrounded by family but having to deal with their “drama” plus the persecution of his community, and life among the stars, away from the troubles of Earth but still not accepted as a full person. Either way, he has to play the role of the teacher, the wise mentor who must guide others to the path of enlightened coexistence. It’s a tough burden to bear.

I’m not disabled, but it seems to me that the way Xavier is burdened with the responsibility of having to be a “role model” for others mirrors the way that society treats disabled people in real life. Again, I’m definitely out of my depth here and would love to hear disabled people’s thoughts on the matter, but it’s my understanding that society tends to dehumanize disabled people as either pitiable/contemptible burdens or admirable/brave warriors who can “rise above” their condition. Some of that seems to be baked into certain aspects of how Xavier was conceived as a character and the way he’s often framed by the narrative, but it looks like X Men 97 is aware of this and attempting to interrogate it a little.

Anyway, this episode was really great, a nice breather after the devastation of last week’s episode while still thematically rich and moving the story forward.

#x men 97 spoilers #x men storm #charles xavier #x men 97 meta

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elbdot · 1 year

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Jesus christ so hey congratulations on completing tha dubs! Excited to experience them later this month 😄

I do want to take this opportunity tho to ask about your overall thoughts on S&V? Like what you think of the stories, characters, and....Paldea's possible inclusion in these comics 👀?

Excited to hear your thoughts!

OKAY I've gotten a bunch of Pokemon S&V Questions since November and now that I FINALLY played through the game I can FINALLY answer them HERE WE GO

POKEMON SCARLET AND VIOLET IS... GOOD

IS REALLY GOOD

It has some really nice storylines, some weaker, some stronger, I REALLY liked the characterization of all the Team Star Admins (even though the team's backstory is a bit all over the place), Arven was my favorite, followed by Nemona and Penny is- Penny is certainly there 😶

Geeta is not really a memorable champion...I don't really care much for her, but I do find it interesting that she's apparently quite unpopular amongst the Gym leader for her strict management. I don't think we ever had an in-universe unpopular Champion before.

My favorite part of the game was undoubtedly exploring the region with my Pokemon! Taking on the Gyms was more of a chore I had to do to be able to catch and train higher leveled Pokemon but I gotta say, the Gym challenges were always really fun and sometimes I reseted my game just to play the mini-games again :D

But I THINK I spent the most time trying to take selfies and pictures of me and my Pokemon whenever something fun happened or I found a really nice location or the sun was about to set. Taking photos is a HUGE hobby of mine and games that give me this kind of freedom with the photo-option are a HUGE plus in my book (You have NO idea how much time I spent in the USUM Photo Club Mini game)

I gotta say tho the Pokemon of this Region...?

BIGGEST weak point in my opinion. WEIRDEST bunch I've ever seen. Weird doesn't always have to mean BAD but in this case...yeah no there were a lot of weird AND bad ones in there, sometimes great concepts but VERY STRANGE execution that left a lot to be desired for me personally.

I was very open to what kind of Pokemon I would catch in this game. I ended up having only ONE new Paldean Pokemon on my team. And it wasn't even an all new Pokemon, it was Paldean TAUROS :'D Gotta say tho, I never cared THIS much about Tauros before. REALLY love my big black bull (ye I have the regular one, the rare ones are cool but I fell in love with this big fella)

I had a Kilowattrel and Amarouge on my team for a bit, but I switched them out after a while, I was really hoping I'd click with Amarouge more, but in the end I gave space for old and familiar faces instead. Kilowattrel I really like tho! But the fact I could walk around and interact with some of my favorite Pokemon overworld made me SO obsessed with adding them onto my team, THIS is the kind of Pokemon experience I've been waiting for for quite a while :DD

I haven't played through post game yet and I haven't finished all of the school classes yet, but I'm looking forward to complete them, as the cast of this game is really vast and fun!

In case of the comics however, just like with Galar I don't think we'll see an inclusion of this region within the story. Given the narrative of Scarlet and Violet, it would also be difficult to tie in its story with those of EAA and to be honest - I know you guys want to see El and her friends in other regions, which is very sweet, I'm happy you care so much about her that you want to see them travel around the world! But...I NEVER felt the desire to make this comic a world travel tour and I don't really understand where this idea came from that so many people expect El to leave Alola any time soon :'D

"El's Alolan Adventures" will continue to be about El's Adventures in Alola :'D I still love Alola and since El is currently Alolas Champion, she doesn't have any plans to leave the region any time soon and there are still SO many stories to tell with the cast of the Alola region! DON'T FORGET Gladion's Arc I still need to finish!!

HOWEVER

I THINK it's a fair assumption that you'll definitely see SOME fanart from me for this region :D In fact, you can already see my first (ANIMATED) piece on patreon! ☺️

AND I'll show a few more of my "travel pictures" as I've taken...A LOT of them... BUT YEAH Pokemon Scarlet, best main-line game since Sun and Moon for me!! OH and Legends of Arceus was REALLY FUN too of course

#pokemon scarlet and violet #pokemon scarvio #pokemon #mod #reply

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undercultundertalepleaseletme · 3 days

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This is a new undertale au I decided to make. I don’t expect it to get popular, but I’m going to be brave and post my crappy art anyway. And don’t worry, I’ll make the rest of the characters tomorrow (probably). This au is based in a comic I watched years and years ago about chara’s backstory and ever since, I’ve been infatuated with cults. In the au, a small group of humans and all monsters worshiped the player together. They thought that they’d be saved from the mass extermination caused by the player because of evil souls. (Thus the rotted hearts). But the majority of the humans didn’t believe this so they soon got fed up with their religion and started to attack their cult. The living human worshippers fled, leaving the monsters to die. But instead, the humans killed a bunch and sealed the other ones underground. There, they built stuff, but still continued believing. Or did they?

#sans au #crappy art #sans undertale #undertale #new sans #art #digital art

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darkestprompts · 11 months

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DD2 Shrine Rewrites Part 2: King Baldwin the Good

And here we are again, back for another rewrite that is not, in fact, a rewrite. We will go over it nonetheless, since the positives we find will provide good contrast for what comes after.

Leper's shrines are some of the best, yet I don't put them quite on the same level as Man-at-Arm's, and that's because of DD2's self-imposed constraints. Barristan's story manages to work within the proposed (and rather narrow) framework of flawed characters seeking redemption. Baldwin, in turn, is an explicit and deliberate exception, demostrated by his position as the only character facing the light in the chapter introductions. That's crucial here, because we'll soon see with Audrey how forcing the regret and redemption structure upon characters that have nothing to do with it can make for confused storytelling. The Leper shrines are allowed to go where it makes most sense, and it shows. I also can't give Baldwin the same props as Barristan because a straight up heroic character is simply easier to write than a mess of human failure searching for purpose. Finally, I'd argue that Baldwin as a character rested on a much firmer base than Barristan, despite his own vague backstory comic.

Baldwin as we knew him

Going solely by the comic, the Leper is a little mysterious. He was some kind of prince or a king that left his realm after developing an advanced case of leprosy. We could assume that the illness is the reason he left, but that's shaky. We can also suppose that Baldwin was liked or at least pitied by his subjects, judging by the sad faces in the crowd.

However, even before diving into his in-game characterization, we already have strong hints about his identity. He is named after Baldwin IV of Jerusalem, the leper king of that historical crusader state. Furthermore, his design directly references Baldwin IV's portrayal in the movie Kingdom of Heaven, that is overall very flattering to the guy. From these two sources, we can expect our Baldwin to be a tragic character, deeply religious, but still representative of the ideal Christian king and knightly general. All these elements are confirmed by the game: he's one of the religious classes, mentions leading men into battle, his CC set confirms that he's a king in exile and his barks give him a dignified demeanour. Baldwin also draws on the medieval image of the warrior-poet or minstrel-knight, shown through a speech dotted with lyrism. His very last treasure isn't a reminder of his past greatness, but a humble flute made of tin.

The Leper class description emphasizes the role of inner strength in adversity, as do skills like Solemnity and Reflection. He's also one of the few classes, together with Abomination, Occultist (arguably) and Flagellant, that can harm himself for the benefit of others (Quarantine). That one of these is the resident masochistic gremlin says a lot. He can be wrathful and fearsome (Revenge, Intimidate), but never a selfish tyrant. Overall, Baldwin comes off as noble, selfless, disciplined, artistic and powerful despite his looming death.

And then they made him hot on top of that. Like. Damn.

...What was I supposed to talk about again?

Ah, right, DD2 Baldwin.

The tide falls

DD2 adds a lot of context and new information to the original comic, yet it succeeds in forming a narrative that feels genuine to the character we know because it never strays far from or contradicts what was established in the first game: it simply gave it definite form.

In DD2 we find out Baldwin contracted leprosy from consoling his disease-stricken subjects. He does this in spite of his advisors, who try to keep him away from the "undesirable" population. As his health withers, conspiracy festers around him until he finds the strength to face and kill his treasonous advisors before they kill him. He then opts to abdicate, trusting his legacy more than his remaining years of ailment (and perhaps, one may wonder, to avoid further questioning of his aptitude to rule?).

On broad strokes, it's quite perfect! It demonstrates Baldwin's sense of charity and love for his people, his disinterested outlook on the throne and how, despite his good nature, he's not a man to be trifled with. The last chapter, where the exiled Leper reflects on his many blessings, is a touching conclusion to a bittersweet tale of virtue.

But wait, someone might ask, you are always going on about things needing to make sense, why aren't you roasting Red Hook for making Baldwin prance around and hug lepers until he got infected?

Because, good reader, Baldwin's tale is a hagiography from start to end and that's exactly the kind of crazy shit I'd expect from a medieval saint. Don't believe me? Look up female saints and mystics like St Catherine and Angela de Ligno, who had the most delightful habit of drinking puss and eating scabs from the diseased. For charity. I guess. Baldwin's pretty sane in comparison, trust me. Especially if you consider the "embrace" action as more metaphorical for him taking care of the sick rather than distributing hugs.

But is it perfect?

My criticism is twofold, although it doesn't prevent any of my enjoyment of the story. One, I would have liked at least a passing mention of the Crusades, given the likely origin of Baldwin's realm. A small change in Chapter 1 attributing the outbreak to the movement of armies would have been sufficient. We don't know how big Baldwin's hypothetical participation in the Crusades would have been, but it would add a bit more nuance to have that little bit of bloody history on the background.

My other issue stems from the lack of emphasis on Baldwin's changing disposition towards his impending doom. As it stands, the transition between the bedridden king to the indomitable leper happens almost incidentally, while the focus is on the palace intrigue, when it should have been a key moment of personal transformation. Perhaps the battle with the advisors was meant to illustrate that moment, but one gets the impression he could have gotten up and kicked ass at any point if he wanted to. This could be fixed with a few lines highlighting an epiphany or ongoing reflection about his mortality, and the nature of pain and adversity.

Oh, wait, I lied. There's one more problem with DD2 Leper.

WHAT ARE THOSE???

Sweetie, you are still wonderful and handsome, but what the FUCK are you wearing?

Next time, we dive into the uncomfortable catacombs of questionable writing decisions with our darling thief Audrey.

#darkest dungeon #darkest dungeon 2 spoilers #dd leper #dd baldwin #dd2 shrine rewrites

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