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thatdesklamp · 7 months

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Hello! It’s the anon who sent you the ask about Gojo’s POV a few days ago. I meant to respond earlier, but life has been kicking my ass recently, but I’m here now.

I get where you are coming from with Death of the author. An old friend of mine is a writer, so I’m super familiar and have had a lot of discussions about the topic. I ask for your opinion on that stuff because I’m super interested in the way you see things as the writer behind the series, not that it colors my perspective at all. Also never apologize for going on a whole thing about your story, I really love reading your responses. So please, I would love to hear you talk more about Intrinsic Warmth, I’ll probably send you more questions when I reread it.

I think my main interest in Gojo’s POV is that we get a different perspective of life and the story as a whole from someone different than Hebi. I adore Hebi and the way she’s written, but it's nice to see what Gojo is thinking in certain scenes - in scenes where Hebi’s complete lack of self-esteem clouds her vision. You did an excellent job in making things very slight, but enough to pick up on what other characters *might* be feeling.

I definitely could've missed something in my read through of Intrinsic Warmth, I’ve only read it once (I’ve re-read a few chapters), but I really mean to go back and reread it in full once I get more time for myself. I’m also someone who is really bad at absorbing all the information, so I’m sure I’ll definitely get little hints and signals to where Gojo is “showing” Hebi he really likes her and both me and Hebi just miss it completely. I think another reason why I missed a lot of Gojo's little tells of "I like you Hebi" is because I read Intrinsic Warmth in essentially one sitting, so I was in Hebi's mindset for quite a while (which I find super interesting from a reading perspective).

Personally, I found Intrinsic Warmth through Gojo’s POV of 2007 on here and read it without context. I was *so confused*, because I didn’t know about The Chapel, who Hebi-Hebi was, why Gojo was having a little fantasy about this character, what fight they were in. After doing some searching I found Intrinsic Warmth and read it. So I think when I read it on AO3, I was always sort of looking for hints where Gojo was in love with Hebi and I really thought maybe 2008-2010 they would confess because it reached an explicit warning. Boy,,, was I wrong about that explicit warning AND the confession. So I think the way I was thinking is that Gojo realized he had some sort of feelings for Hebi in 2007, and just decided to do nothing with it because of what happened between them. [ I, also, thought eventual smut would take place in the chapel, it just felt like such a secret place to the two of them ]

Ultimately, thank you for your answer! I really enjoyed reading it. (and sorry for another really long ask [im also sorry if this ask is all over the place, I'm very sleepy])

HI!

Hello my love--I have taken truly too long to reply to you and I am very very sorry. But yes, thank you for getting back in touch!!

When I've been writing my Gojo POV things, I kind of consciously didn't write many things that were actually directly in IW--the one exception was when he remembers half of the scene where they first met, but other than that, it's been stuff in-between the chapters. I've liked it, because for once I've been able to write something other than tHE SEVENTH OF SEPTEMBER, but even then I've amused myself by leaving some things very ambiguous. It does just make me laugh, but the whole, 'ehhh this is set sometime in winter, probably between these dates, maybe i'll give you a year if i'm feeling generous' just makes me giggle.

I might go back on that rule and double up the perspectives for some scenes, a la the first scene, once I'm a bit further through IW, though. I'm not sure, you know??

But hey, if you do fancy a reread of IW, you can absolutely read it through a very nice fluffy lens of 'yo my girl does not understand that Gojo is DOWN BAD' which makes some things very funny and some things lowkey tragic, lol.

You know, it's actually crazy that you found IW here on tumblr first. In my head, all of these tumblr things are very optional companion pieces, and aren't at all intended as standalones at all--and so I can understand that you'd be confused, oh my goodness! It didn't occur to me at all that anyone reading these oneshots wouldn't be familiar with IW. I truly thought it would be for the established readership and no-one else. Wild!!

And ooh... yeah, I do feel kinda sorry for the people reading from the beginning post-explicit tag change, because damn, it makes sense if you've been reading it chapter to chapter but starting from the beginning must be so misleading, lmao!!!

So many people have the eventual-smut-in-the-Chapel idea... I am keeping my lips sealed. I have a plan and I cannot change it because it's stuck in my head now (spoilers, but I have literally choreographed, but not written, the conclusion to the 'eventual smut' tag. it's set in stone, just not typed up).

And thank you for your ask, and I'm sorry I took so long to get back to you!! <3333 thank youu

#intrinsic warmth #asks from la lamp de desk

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timetravelingsherlockian · 7 months

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Fantasy Packer Review: Deux the Trans Male Packer from Fanstastic Kreations

tl;dr: Gorgeous detail. You're expecting extra shaft, but you're gonna get even more ball. One of the designs I wish was in extra-small. Not practical for anyone closer to 5 ft. than 6 ft..

Where can I get him?

You can get him here and also on etsy.

Can I get him in glow-in-the-dark?

Yes.

Images & additional details below the cut.

What did I order?

Design: Deux the Trans Packer. This is one of Fantastic Kreation's TRANScend packers, not their interchangeable TRANSformer line. These are the folks who produced this Karuno tentacle dick.

Size: One Size

Firmness: Super Soft (00-20)

Other customization: Two colors of "Metallic Silver" and "Shimmery Blue".

Important thing to know about me for sizing context: I'm under 5', so any potential challenges with Deux being large are inevitably more pronounced for me. If you're bigger or are otherwise comfortable packing 8 oz., I'd recommend focusing less on my size comments and more on proportions comments. This is also my second packer outside of a pair of socks.

How are his stats?

Design: Gorgeous! His details, from the smooth ridges to the little bumps to the detail on the sac is incredible. His design is simpler on the underside of the shaft, and this seems purposeful; whoever designed him put a deliberate, delicate vein or two.

The folds around the sac are incredibly soft and detailed; for all of his marketing hook being in the duel shafts, surprisingly, the balls are where Deux's artistry shines. And the balls are thiick. This is my impression of the piece as a whole: You assume you're here for the shafts, but you're wrong. You're feeling the balls and he's gonna make you know it.

I wish they had gone with a 2/3 silver, 1/3 blue on the coloring.

Size: His total length (top to tip) is 5 in., and ball width is 3in. His ball height is about 1.25 in. at the widest. They only sell one size. You can find further sizing details here.

Weight: Website weight says "8 oz". You could probably use it as a projectile weapon.

Firmness: I ordered Extra-Soft (00-20). The silicone holds its shape well and springs back quickly, and it also feels a bit tacky to the touch if unpowdered. He's squishier and gummier than Something Squishy's Alien Packer (review here), but closer to springy than memory foam. They also have an optional 50 shore hardness.

Wearability: If you're closer to 5' than 6'? Nope. The balls are not gonna let you pack this one down. You read the size on the website, but the reality is something different. The balls were too wide to fit into my Cake Bandit packing jockstrap. Experienced packers (who are also presumably taller), however, find it wearable. In their packer sales post, @fantasypackerreviews calls Deux "A little weildy, but a good packing experience if you like 'em a bit hefty!".

How else can I customize him?

Fantastic Kreations has a broad selection of colors—including glow-in-the-dark. Here are their colors (this page is to add an extra color; the Deux comes with two colors for no extra cost). Also check out other packers and toys on their site for more inspiration.

Summary

Too large for my body, and be prepared for the balls. Gorgeous design, and I love that there's a packer with multiple cocks. Would be fantastic in an extra-small size. (I'm probably gonna cut off a ball, shave down the back, and wear him anyway.) I would recommend this packer for advanced levels of packing experience and taller people than I.

#indietc #adulttoy #packer #packers #fantasy packers #review #packer review #fantastickreations #fantastic kreations #fantasticocks #deux packer #deux the trans packer #hemipene packer #trans #ftm #nonbinary

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dana-chan-the-control-brain · 3 years

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Hey, do you have anymore thoughts on Membrane's parents? I know we only got a brief glimpse of them, but they're so interesting yet there's so little fan content about them. That, or I'm looking in the wrong place haha.

Ps. If I am looking in the wrong tags or place could you please direct me to the right ones?

Ah, I talked a little bit about Membrane’s parents here during my first ramblings of the quarterly and I did talk a little about that headcanon here but I might as well repeat it again.

Like I do find it interesting, the idea that his parents are scientists. Like Membrane tried following in his parents’ footsteps and unintentionally put that pressure onto Dib as he grew up... but for me personally, there’s just a lot of reasons this doesn’t make sense.

Like Why is adult Professor Membrane the brand and face of Membrane Labs and Membrane Enterprises when it was apparently a company he inherited from his parents? Of course, it could be that Membrane did make Membrane Labs himself and his parents were just scientists and Membrane Labs wasn’t really founded, but that makes less sense.

I always kinda viewed Membrane as someone who appreciated the value and effort of hard work ethic and built everything from the ground up with his bare hands and became the World Famous Man of Science all his own and it was his Legacy. Kinda like Scroodge McDuck and his fortune. Making Membrane inherit a company from his parents kinda loses a bit for me for him as a character.

Why did his Parents give him socks for Christmas and claim it was from Santa? They know what Uranium238 is. I’m certain of that. It could have been a Christmas Story situation like “you’ll shoot your eye out kid” but Santa is the one who gives their kids the “cool gifts” I thought every parents knew that. It’s just one of those unspoken rules...... but like... to give him socks...

Like were they really that cruel? It’s kinda hard to say... But it does kinda paint a bad image that they did have 100% the capabilities to give him what he wanted for Christmas... and they never bothered to explain to Membrane WHY he was given socks.

LIKE LOOK, THESE TWO FUCKS LEAVE MEMBRANE IN THE DARK FOR YEARS ABOUT THE TRUTH OF SANTA CLAUS JUST CAUSE THEY DON’T WANT TO ADMIT THEY FUCKED UP, EVEN WHEN HE PROBABLY WENT TO FAR:

I can only assume that these two science parents are dead, just from how Membrane regards them when he holds that photoframe...(and the fact that we never see them) but honestly, they were probably still around when he was a teenager and still dedicating a portion of his life to destroying santa...

I know Membrane is as thick-headed and stubborn as Dib, so maybe they tried to explain it to him, and Membrane didn’t listen, or his parents suck at explaining things... but like.... come on... it’s your direct responsibility for unleashing this childhood santa trauma/rage.... You owe it to Membrane to be direct with him...

But then again, Dib never listens when his Dad tries to explain what he thinks about Aliens, Cause Membrane doesn’t Not believe in aliens. He in fact says so in the show.

So perhaps they were and he just didn’t listen... there’s that...

Why is this family so obsessed with seeking the truth, but don’t listen to anyone’s opinions who are different from their own.... sigh this family.

But in any point, they could have at least said why they can’t give him Uranium238... but if they do, it’s off-screen and no further context is provided to the audience...

It just makes sense for me that either Membrane’s family is poor, or they didn’t know what Uranium238 is... Making his Parents be scientists as well just throws a whole bunch of questions about just.... everything about this situation. It really makes me ask:

“Did his parents not give it to him because it was dangerous?”

“Or did they give him socks cause they were that unaware of what their son wanted?”

“Did they just give him socks cause they were that cruel as Membrane didn’t want to believe?”

“If so, why socks? Why not a rocket ship or a science playset or baking volcano kit or something?”

It just raises a whole lot more questions.

A more simple explanation that gets rid of those questionable morale questions is that his Parents were poor from a humble upbringing and could only afford him socks for Christmas. It’s a more logical and simple explanation and it’s far more cleaner than having his parents be scientists in this.

Another thing that bothers me is Membrane’s “childhood home” in general. Look at this place:

This huge place, with a giant rocket ship, dressed to the nines in Christmas decorations.

It also very clearly shows the interior.

We see the living room couch, and multiple Christmas trees and this huge rocketship/missle thing front and center.

And if we compare it to Membrane’s childhood home in the Invader Zim episode this is supposed to be taking place in:

Now I know that the Invader Zim show has a darker color palate than the comics and even the Netflix movie, but I’m not talking about colors here...

A smaller tree that practically touches the ceiling, Fluorescent overhead lighting, something that looks like a couch or a side table with noticeable stains on it... garland pinned to the walls with a lower ceiling...

This looks NOTHING at all like how Membrane’s “childhood home” is like in the comics...

This is obviously not a wealthy home, or the home of a respected enterprise as shown in the comics.

Now, I know this franchise has a thing for inconsistencies. Canon is basically non-canon. There is no continuity, and there is no continuous timeline of events... but to model Professor Membrane’s childhood home so vastly different from this brief flash in the show, that’s a pretty big one...

So me and @paketdimensioncomic made a theory that can kind of coincide with our fics...

We think that

SUPER PERFECT SCIENTIST PARENTS..... are what Membrane wishes his parents were probably like.

And that he lied to the press about his humble origins and upbringing. He didn’t want them to know that he grew up poor because it would be something constantly brought into question everytime he posed everything... He didn’t want his parents talked about in the media at all, especially if they were passed by the time he became successful.

So... I think Membrane’s scientist parents are an elaborate lie. He told the press. I mean, He is a scientist, he always wanted to be a scientist, he is good at being a scientist and both of his parents were scientists...

I mean... He didn’t seem too concerned about the photo of his supposed parents.. he even threw it to the wall when his son called:

RIP parents.... he hardly knew you.

Do I think the Membrane Science Grandparents have a cool design and I want to see more fan content on them? Absolutely! Go nuts!

Do I think that Membrane’s parents being scientists makes little to no sense and was just kinda made for the sake of a dumb joke without giving too much thought about how it would lessen Membrane as a character if he were just leaching off his parent's success this whole time? And does it poke a lot of holes in the idea of why his parents gave him socks as santa at all? Absolutely.

I think it’s far more likely that Membrane built up this backstory of “I was always a scientist since birth” to the press and has more fake photoshopped photos around the house to show the press when the topic of his parents actually come up.

Basically, the fandom has been around for a long time you can do what you want with Membrane parent theories because as far as I’m concerned, I always appreciated the vibe of “Poor upbringing Membrane who learned the value of hard work and unintentionally became a workaholic because of it and really put too much value in work to the point he’s unintentionally neglectful towards his own offspring the same as his father was to him”

Rather then.... “Science parents go brrr”

But again, just my headcanon.

And I always love people drawing the science parents.

But @esthyradler‘s Farmer Membrane Parents are definitely my favorites.

#Invader Zim #Invader Zim Quarterly #Professor Membrane #Membrane's Parents #danachan's rants #danachan's headcanons

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clean-bands-dirty-stories · 4 years

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The Best Things ~ J.V. (part 8)

A/n: This part is super upsetting. Character death, graphic violence, I dare even say gore. Homophia, which I should have been warning a while back I am so sorry for that. Things are gonna get HEAVY- I am so sorry lol.

Word Count: 3800+

Playlist

Masterlist

"Nah, you're not crazy," Harleen giggled.

"Says you," Y/n teased, rolling his eyes. "You may have a doctorate, but you're also bias."

Her smile widened. "Okay that's fair." Y/n sighed, sitting back in his chair. He looked down at his hands, smile small as he got lost in thought. "What's on your mind?"

"Harleen is kind of a mouthful," Y/n told her. "Do you like the name?"

She tilted her head, as if considering. "I never did. When I was younger I had a friend who called me Lee, but with things happening-" Y/n's face scrunched up and Harleen snorted. "Exactly. Name's already taken- and it would be even weirder if I went by Dr. Lee, so I scratched it."

Y/n nodded. Then he sat forward, his elbows resting on the table. "So you've never had any other nicknames?" She shook her head and then shrugged when Y/n donned a surprise expression. "Well I have to give you one then. That's what friends do, right?" She grinned at Y/n's words and he watched the room get a little brighter. She was magic like that- as if she was made of sunshine. Her happiness was contagious, and she made the world a little better. She was accepting and also calm, making him feel safe as well as loved. She was his best friend and he was hers and they gave each other something they couldn't get with anyone else: unhindered fun with absolutely no expectations. It was an odd place to find real friendship in, but here they were anyway. "What about... Leena?" She immediately shook her head and he chuckled. "Uh... I mean, there's always Harley."

She considered that. "You know what, I like it." She crossed her arms. "Harley Quinzel." She nodded. "I'll allow it."

Y/n rolled his eyes. She was only like four years older than him, but had far too quickly fallen into a rhythm of acting like an adult talking to a child every once in a while, as a joke. Whether she was flaunting the years she had over him, or the schooling, Y/n wasn’t sure, but he refused to acknowledge it and it had become an unspoken inside joke between them. "What about you? I have to give you one now."

Y/n shrugged. "I don't like nicknames."

Harley tilted her head, the bottom of her blonde ponytail brushing her shoulder. "Why not? You like giving them."

"Well, yeah..." He bit his lip. "It's just, every bad guy has a code name, you know? Oswald Cobblepot goes by Penguin. Edward Nygma is going around as Riddler. Then there's Mr. Freeze. I just feel like if I take an alias, it'll be official you know? I'll be as crazy as the people I associate with and as evil as everyone says I am."

Harley hummed. "Okay, that's fair." She sighed, raising her hands to rest her chin in her palm. "Speaking of people you associate with. You and Jerome..."

Y/n's mood darkened. It had been a while now and Oswald was gone and Jerome still hadn't made an appearance. "I think he's mad at me." Harley tilted her head in confusion and Y/n shrugged. "I left with Alfred because Bruce needed me. Didn't give him a heads up, and then went missing for, like, months..." He shook his head. "Maybe he thinks I've gone back to my old life, or that I've left him behind. I just feel like he's avoiding me and one doesn't usually do that for no reason, so I figure-"

"What if he's just busy?" Harley proposed.

Y/n snorted. "With what? Reading a really good book series?"

Harley pursed her lips. "I guess you have a point."

"Why do you even care?" Y/n asked, raising his hands to knit his fingers behind his head.

Harley stared at him silently for a long time. She had the look on her face she always does when she'd trying to read Y/n's mind. When she's analyzing everything she learned in school and looking at the actions and words that he was currently giving as context, as well as past ones, and then somehow putting it all together to figure out the secrets sometimes even he didn't know. The same magic that made Arkham home also gave her the ability to read minds- Y/n had determined she was a proper superhero.

After she reached some kind of conclusion - she always nodded after she'd done the reading and then switched which leg was crossed over the other - a little smile teased her lips. She was trying to hide it. And failing. Y/n tried not to be curious. Usually when Harley didn't tell him something it was because he wasn't ready to hear it... but that smile. It was too late. He had to know. "What?"

Once he asked, the gate broke and she grinned. "You're in love with him."

Y/n snorted. "No. I'm not." The coy curl of Harley's lips added to her raised eyebrows to make Y/n doubt himself, even though he could feel his feelings and knew that it wasn't... he didn't... no way. "He's important to me," Y/n gave. "I care for him. But... love..." Y/n shook his head. "I don't know about that. There's been too much going on- I haven't had enough time with him."

She nodded, expression serious, as if this was a very important discovery. "I call Maid of Honor at the wedding though." They locked eyes as Y/n went to tell her off, but then a slow smile rose to her face as he realized she was joking. They both busted up into laughter.

"Whoever I marry, the position is yours." He winked at her and she flipped her hair, both of them giggling.

A timer went off. Harley stood, gathering her stuff and sighing. "That's my cue. Same time tomorrow?"Y/n nodded then stood.

He draped his arm around her shoulders. "You know, you make this place bearable. You're a real friend to me." He kissed her forehead. "What would I do without you, hm?"

She rested her head on his shoulder for a second before they began walking and it got too awkward to coordinate. "Probably the same thing I'd do without you. Be alone and miserable." She popped up on her tiptoes and kissed him on the cheek. He pretended to gag and she fell into a short fit of soft giggles. "You're an idiot."

"Ah and yet what I lack for a brain, I make up with a big-" He cut off and she groaned. "Heart," he enunciated. He smirked and she rolled her eyes. "I have quite a large heart, full of love for my favorite gal." He shook her slightly, making a point that said gal was her.

"Every lesbian deserves a best friend with as little brains and as big a heart as you," Harley joked.

"And every gay deserves a best friend with as much brain and just as much heart as you." He finally let her go as she moved to the door that would lead outside. This is where they parted- her, to home, as he was her last patient as per usual. Him, further into the Asylum where he would have dinner then return to his room to be alone and sleep. Goodbyes were the pair's least favorite part of the day. "Until we next meet, Madame," Y/n initiated, pulling away to bow deeply.

Harley grabbed her doctor's coat lightly, pulling it out as if it was a dress as she bowed back. "I shall count the seconds." They laughed one last time, waving before she turned and left. He watched her go until she disappeared. She turned back several times to wave yet again, until she couldn't see him either just by turning around.

The second she was out of sight, the world lost a little color. It was a little darker. His smile got smaller and Y/n's shoulders sagged. He shoved his hands in his pockets before turning back to the hallway that lead to his room, beginning the trek.

A hand on his shoulder stopped him. People rarely touched him. The only person that touched him like this was one that Y/n hated so much that his hands curled into fists in his pocket, his face suddenly cold and empty as he stared straight ahead, halfway through a step- his foot on the ground and extended, but not carrying him forward as it had been intended to. He took a deep breath through his nose. Unfortunately, in all the chaos and people getting booted from Arkham after beating on Y/n, the one person that meant the most hadn't been caught because everyone refused to rat him out.

The man who'd started it all.

"You and her..." The older guard mused, a nasty smirk on his ugly face. "I thought you were gay." He said it mockingly, like he'd caught a child who hadn't said they weren’t hungry sneaking food when everyone seemed to be asleep.

Y/n rolled his eyes, forcing his body to relax as he faced the man. The monster. "Not every girl in the world was born solely for men to shove a dick into them, Jameson." The older man glared and Y/n smiled, getting satisfaction. "As a matter of a fact, Harley and I are just friends."

"You're pretty affectionate for just friends," Jameson argued. Y/n still didn't know the man's first name. He didn't care enough too. He didn't want another name that tasted bitter in his mouth. He already had his fingers crossed he'd never meet a cute boy with the last name Jameson, because the name alone would ruin Y/n's chances before he'd even taken a shot. No reason to make it even harder for himself.

"We're comfortable around each other." He rolled his shoulder back once, slightly stiff from sitting so long. Jameson wouldn't attack, knowing that Y/n would report him instantly- especially in such an open space, with cameras and the chance of someone rounding the corner any second - but one could never be too safe, just in case. "She gets me like no one else does. But, as you so wonderfully pointed out, I'm GAY." Y/n enunciated the word, going the extra mile by taking a step closer to stress it even more. "Girls aren't my thing."

Jameson looked like he wanted to deck Y/n. The younger boy's lips curved into a mocking smile in response. Now the guard was the one who had to control himself. "You guys have a lot in common?"

Y/n shrugged, too caught up in his casual gloating that Jameson couldn't act out like he wanted to- like he used to be able to. "Enough. We talk a lot. She's cool." He relaxed thinking about Harley. "She doesn't think I'm crazy. It's nice." He cleared his throat, focusing back on the enemy in front of him... only to immediately be confused by the very odd expression on Jameson's face. "What?"

"Nothing," the man dismissed, moving to leave. "I've heard enough. You're both a waste." He shook his head as he left and Y/n glared at his back until he was gone. Then the boy turned back toward the cell and finally made his way.

Man, why did he have to be surrounded by such assholes? Why couldn't Harley be around all the time? Why couldn't he be free? They could get an apartment and talk all the time. Help each other get through life and protect each other from unwanted attention. Be themselves all the time. Make jokes and exchange irritated expressions when idiots like Jameson said stupid shit like he always tended to.

Tomorrow. He'd see her tomorrow. That wasn't too far away.

He could wait until then.

Y/n's knees gave out from under him and he fell, cracking them on the cement. He didn't even feel it. His attention was being completely held by the TV, which was turned onto the news. It was a small screen that had been installed in one of the Day Rooms recently. They were rarely ever allowed to watch the news, though. In places like Gotham, far too often the news held very upsetting content that set inmates off- either into panics, or into violent rages. Y/n had stood to turn it off when he'd realized what news was being shared. Someone had been murdered. Old news. This was Gotham. Then he'd heard the name.

"23-year-old Harleen Quinzel was found dead earlier today. Her body was badly beaten, with words carved into her stomach. It was the cuts on her wrist that were the cause of death, though it's been determined that none of this was self inflicted. We received a photo of the body recently. Beware: what you're about to see is not for the faint of heart."

Suddenly the screen was showing the broken body of Y/n's best friend. The sunshine girl with the bright smile and the contagious laugh. The girl who was going to be Y/n's Maid of Honor. Y/n's better half. She was limp and unmoving, her eyes wide and empty. Her skin was pale, nearly white, except for where dark, huge bruises and blood discolored it. Her hair had been cut off, the blonde locks left next to her head but clearly detached. Her shirt had been rolled up to letters on her stomach- carved as promised.

There was an L next to a G, in a circle and crossed through once. Underneath the symbol read: Sinner.

Someone was talking, but Y/n couldn't make out what they were saying. A hand in his shoulder and he looked over to see a concerned guard. A woman. She knelt next to Y/n, but she wasn't the one touching him. No, that hand belonged to Jameson, who had a sick expression on his face- a cross between smugness and victory, muted as if he was trying to hide it, badly masked by some version of concern that was so unconvincing that Y/n ripped his shoulder out of the older man's hand.

He was on his feet again and running. Out of the room and to his cell- despite all the people who kept asking him what was going on, and someone in the very back changing the channel as the news reporter announced, "If you have any information, please contact-" Y/n ignored the rules. He ignored the people yelling at him. He ignored the people trying to stop him. He just started running and he didn't stop until he was in his room, where he opened the door and closed it behind him. His heart was ramming against his chest and all he could hear was the rushing of his blood in his ears. He saw black spots and felt an emotion bubble up that he couldn't even begin to put name to. All he knew was that it was dark and twisting and it was very quickly consuming everything good.

Something in him broke. It snapped off. Something vital. Y/n was aching, but he didn't know what it was or where it had fallen to as he lost it. He just knew there was suddenly a gaping hole where something very important used to be, and he felt absolutely terrible with it gone.

On the upside, he could finally breathe. His chest loosened and his body relaxed and as the door opened behind him, he turned to see the person with complete calm.

"Jameson." The word was not a greeting, but more of an observation. No. It was an accusation. The older man smiled and Y/n's insides began to twist and boil- less like a tightening of anxiety and more like a snake, seconds from attacking. "Why?" He stepped forward. "She was innocent."

Jameson scoffed. "You think you two are subtle? You two act like you're together and then talk about how you're not- you just 'get' each other." Jameson shook his head, cracking his knuckles. "You're spreading your sickness, Y/n." The snake coiled tighter, hissing and spitting. Y/n felt his calmness very quickly drop, perfectly placed with rage. His body didn't move, he just suddenly had a bunch of energy and he was waiting for the perfect moment to use it. "You two aren't quiet either. Strutting around here acting so out of line, in front of me. Acting like you're not being evil." Jameson scoffed. "You're evil, Y/n. And if they wouldn't let me punish you here, I'd have to get more creative. Even if you don't see it, you're in love with her. What you think you are is unnatural, and I knew if you could see how you really feel-"

Y/n's hand was around the man's throat. Jameson tried to push the younger boy away or claw his hand off, but Y/n just rammed him into the wall behind him. Jameson's head cracked against the grey wall, his efforts suddenly becoming useless. "You think I'm dangerous as a disease? You're so desperate to cure me. You're about to find just how very dangerous I am, Jameson. All on my own, with just my two hands." And then he began to squeeze. Jameson writhed and fought and clawed but when he started to get strong, Y/n would smash his head again or ram his knee into the man's junk and the efforts died down once again.

It took longer than Y/n thought. Jameson started to change color, his eyes bulging and his lips moving desperately but nothing coming in or out. Just when the man seemed about ready to pass out, Y/n let him drop to the floor. He gasped, clawing to try and get away. Y/n smiled, toeing the door gently closed. Jameson squirmed away, features taken over completely with terror. Y/n felt amazing.

"You will never hurt another person, ever again." Y/n squatted down, taking the man's thin hair in his hands. "Me however?" Y/n giggled. "You've helped create a monster. Know that every person I kill in the future is on your hands. Every injury is your fault. I'm not a violent person, Jameson." He snorted. "Well, I wasn't. But it seems you fuckwads only answer to violence, so..." Y/n shrugged casually. Jameson shook his head, choking out pleads for his life. Y/n snapped the man's neck and he stopped begging. It was so easy... The silence was wonderful. Y/n felt a weight lift off of his shoulders. "I'm done sitting idly while assholes run Gotham." Y/n stood, not even bothering to do anything but leave the door wide open as he walked calmly away, grinning like an idiot.

Something had been broken and lost indeed. It was Y/n's self control. His moral compass that kept him grounded and toeing the line between good and bad. It was the thing that kept reminding him he was a Wayne. That he was a good person. That he had a family that depended on him, in some way or another. That he had Alfred and Bruce, who he did want to visit even if he also wanted a life outside of them. That he had Oswald, who most often found solace in Y/n's sanity and depended on his restraint to reel him in when people were trying to set him off; Oswald needed Y/n's sense to balance his emotions. And, overall, Y/n was driven by pure spite not to let those damn reporters be right. He would be good and successful and he would show all of them that he could be more than the black sheep of the Wayne family. The disappointment of Gotham. The failure, always in the shadow of the Golden Boy younger brother Bruce Wayne.

But those people who Y/n cared about so much had let people like Jameson walk around, unhindered and unchecked. They had let him get beat up for a very long time before he was nearly killed and their hand was forced. They had let evil people run around and control things while they locked up Y/n for being gay. For being attracted to a man even though he wasn't a woman. There were murderers running wild, with super powers and incredible genius, but the problem people were deciding to focus on was that Y/n was gay.

Well, he was done with the lot of them. He was going to get out and prove to all of them that he was more than a Wayne. More than a mistake. More than a shadow. More than evil or good. More than Bruce's older brother. More than the one dude who had feelings for Jerome Valeska. More than one more gay plague on the face of the planet.

They wanted a monster? They would get one. And Y/n wasn't going to stop until he was satisfied, even if it meant all of Gotham had to die.

"Knock knock."

The door opened and Y/n looked over, his face finally showing emotion as his surprise rose. "Jerome?"

The redhead smiled, striding toward Y/n as if he has a tasty treat to share. "My little lover boy." Jerome hooked his finger under Y/n's chin. Y/n yanked his face away. Jerome frowned. "Are you mad at me, pretty boy?" Y/n glared at him. "I'll take that as a yes." He leaned backward. "What have I done, My Darling?"

"You've been avoiding me. We haven't talked in, like, months Jerome. What the fuck?"

"A tad dramatic," Jerome hushed. "And not totally fault." Y/n opened his mouth to argue but Jerome gently grabbed Y/n's throat, pressing his fingers gently into the skin. Their faces were suddenly very close and despite himself, Y/n suddenly felt a thrill to finally feel their skin touch as cheek brushed cheek. "I've been busy planning our escape, if you hadn't noticed." Y/n's eyes drifted to see a nervous Jonathan Crane and Jervis Tetch. "Come with me, won't you? I think we've been apart long enough."

Y/n suddenly began to relax. He didn't manage to smile, but he did get excited. "Well... lead the way."

Jerome left an excited kiss on Y/n's cheek, letting his hand fall away from Y/n's throat in favor of shooting into the air in victory as he giggled, turning to his two partners. "And so we all escape! Come now, we don't have much time." Y/n stood as Jerome lead the way, all four of the men finding their way out of Arkham Asylum finally.

The fun was about to begin.

#jerome valeska #jerome velaska #valeska twins #gotham #joker #cameron monaghan #male reader #jerome valeska x reader #jerome valeska imagine #valeska twins x reader #valeska twins imagine #gotham x reader #gotham imagine #joker x reader #joker imagine #cameron monaghan x reader #cameron monaghan imagine #jerome x reader #jerome imagine

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bettsfic · 4 years

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after writing mostly fan iction for a long time, I'm trying to write more original fiction. one issue I keep running into is, whenever I go to write an interaction b/t 2 original characters, the non-pov character always feels super undeveloped and hard to define, which makes it hard to write. do you have any tips for developing non-pov characters in original fiction, where you don't have an already existing character to work off of?

some of my answer is the 2 normal things + 1 weird one method i describe for minor characters here. you can use this method to begin drafting a non-pov character and then let them develop as the story does.

so, this is the big difference between ofic and fanfic: context. even in modern aus, there are certain assumptions you can make of characters, shortcuts and whatnot. fanfic is like coloring in a coloring book. the lines are all there but you have the choice to color inside or outside of them, or maybe make it into something totally different. with ofic. you’re starting with a blank square and you’ve got to make the whole picture. one is not necessarily harder or better than the other, both have equal benefits and drawbacks (fanfic: constraint, like no matter how much you want to change it, you’ve still got existing lines on the page, and you have to do something with them; ofic: decision fatigue, wtf do you put on a blank page? and how?)

i think if you’re a fanfic writer moving to ofic, the best advice i can give is to start with as many existing things as you possibly can in order to minimize the number of creative decisions you have to make. and in subsequent drafts, slowly veer further away from the original source material. take names, characters, settings, tropes, and then as you rewrite and revise, those will start to shift closer toward “originality.”

all writing is a response to something else, even if it’s not fanfic proper. no creativity happens in a vacuum. all writers draw inspiration from something, and no writer should be expected to begin a story totally anew, with nothing borrowed from anyone else. if you want to write ofic and you have a really solid POV OC talking to a big question mark of a character, turn that character into someone you’re already familiar writing, who has a rich history and voice in your head already. if that means you have to write Kylo Ren into your pastoral eighteenth century historical drama, then that’s what you have to do. and then when you rewrite it, you give him a new name maybe. you change his appearance a little. you twist his history bit by bit, until he’s someone completely different.

in writing, it’s better to make a lot of really tiny steps over a long span of time than it is to make a few giant leaps. by that i mean, make everything easy on yourself all the time. grab the quickest, most cliche turn of phrase. if a character is driving a car, make it your car. if you need a place, pick the house where you grew up. borrow, steal, whatever you have to do to avoid decision fatigue and therefore writers block. what you put down may not be correct or good, but if you get it down fast and accept that you’ll have several drafts, things start to move a lot more smoothly.

#writing advice #dow20 #Anonymous

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stomach-rental · 4 years

Text

SKETCH COMMISSIONS

Hello, lovely people of the internet! I have some good news and some bad news. The bad news is that, with coronavirus and similar things, I have been unable to do full drawing commissions as I usually would like to, and I'm reducing my commission types to just sketches. :( The GOOD news is that this means discounts for you!!

My old general commissions sheet is here if you’d like to take a peek at it, I reblogged it to this blog at some point but for now it’s outdated since coronavirus has allowed for,, some leniency in prices. I’ll go in detail about what all of the exact prices are underneath the cut. But, for now...you might be wondering. What CAN you commission from me that falls under these new prices?

The Good Stuff

vore! safe vore specifically

digestion w/ implied regeneration

g/t, both of vore or just of general giant/tiny things so long as it’s not fetish related/sexualized in any way

stuffing! foodplay!

normal art!! real life people(depending on the context)!

fanart!

ship art! oc x canon!

furries/anthro! animals! animal-like creatures!

there are,, a select few kinks I am okay with drawing, such as emeto, eructo, etc. etc., but they’re Few And Far Between so if you want to ask for something like that make sure you check with me ahead of time

mild body horror/gore is ok, depending

Getting In Deep Art...not kidding, if you commission me for getting in deep art I will Absolutely go ham on it

The Absolutely Not Stuff

sexual content. of any kind. even implied sexual content for vore or similar kinks mentioned above. sorry, I just,, cannot do it due to me being apothisexual :(

nudity, for the most part. top nudity isn’t a problem. characters in underwear and such is Fine, though I most likely will not post it on my blog, and it would be Preferred that said underwear is not Especially skimpy

fatal vore

super complicated character designs or super complicated mecha

pedophilia/racism/homophobia/incest/etc., or drawing from shows/people that support those things

same size,, I’m alright with half size and quarter size, and I’m also ok with naga related full size, but. most of the time it makes me uncomfy :( I’m also uncomfy with weight gain and similar things, mainly because it hits home to me in ways I Don’t Enjoy

suicide, self harm, eating disorders, other heavy topics

long vore sequences-- I get easily tired out and sometimes don’t have the ability to draw lengthy sequences of time. a few vore related timelapse things aren’t an issue, but, they will be priced in full just like they were multiple drawings.

does that all seem like a category your possible commission would fall into ?? then click under the readmore to learn more about prices and contact information!! also, for those who don’t feel like commissioning or don’t have the funds for it-- reblogs are also always appreciated, so I can help get more of an audience for my work! thank you ^^

so. I said my commission type was just sketches, from now on! you heard me right! but what does that mean??? I’ll Tell You.

the art that you commonly see on this blog(digital sketches and traditional sketches) has been broken down to some bare bone parts-- lines, “color”, and shade. lines would simply be a sketch with no further blocking, just black and white lines(or colored lines if you chose digital) where you can see the character you chose. here’s a digital and traditional example of the lines style.

see? no color blocking, just quick and simple. due to the nature of these being sketches, they won’t be cleaned up a ton, but they’ll still probably be cleaned up a little more than the above doodles, which were just made in my freetime.

then, there’s color blocking, which just flat shades. here’s the digital and traditional example for that.

as you can see, it’s still “black and white”, but in this case it has shades blocked out to make it pop a bit more. this is slightly more expensive than just lines since it takes a bit longer, but honestly, I usually do it with a lot of my drawings anyways because it makes the characters look a lot more cohesive and gives them solid shapes.

finally, we have full on shading!

with the two examples here. full on shading takes more time and planning, but, can work for either medium, so I’ve decided to include them!

you still get the same sizes as far as characters, so, I’ll rewrite the pricing here with the updated sketch prices. if you’re having trouble visualizing what each size is, check back to the older commission sheet linked above, and it will have plenty of information for you!

headshot/mawshot - lines: $5 - color block: $7 - shaded: $10

halfbody - lines: $15 - color block: $17 - shaded: $20

fullbody - lines: $20 - color block: $22 - shaded: $25

those are all for one character. every extra character is +50% of the price (ie. a lines character headshot is $5, but to add another character interacting is + $2.50[50% of $5], which makes the total $7.50 for both lined character heads/icons), unless said character is a tiny in comparison to the first character, in which it’s only +25% due to the size/detail difference. if this is confusing at all, that’s okay! it’s completely understandable and I will walk you through pricing when you first come to commission me.

digital and traditional cost the same, but, you’ll have to tell me upfront which one you’d prefer for the commission--I like to add a little bit of a pop of color to digital ones, and I like to add extra shading/effects to traditional, as a treat :)

uncomplicated objects do not have any further pricing issues, so you can add a few objects or food related things if you’d like with no extra cost. however, try not to put any super complicated objects or more than a few objects in the picture, as these are just sketch commissions and extravagant object lists or details can make things go longer as far as your wait time.

there are three types of backgrounds that I’ll do for free-- stomachs/mouths, simple shapes/logos, and no background. complicated and detailed backgrounds are available upon request, but, they will cost extra, and the exact price fluctuates depending on how detailed it gets.

that...should be most of the information! now, I know what you’re thinking-- what do you have to do to actually start a commission, then? the answer is simple! contact by dming @crittern or @stomach-rental on tumblr. if tumblr doesn’t suit your preferences, you can also hit me up at [email protected] or you can message me over discord @ Crittern#8971 (make sure to send a friend request first! it’s helpful if I’m dmed on tumblr about said friend request beforehand so I know who you are)

it’s Best if you have access to this information that you can send me before you start! you don’t have to send it all in one form like this of course, but, it’s just a little guide in case you easily get lost in details like I do.

name:

best way to contact you:

paypal email: (this is the method of payment used for my commissions)

medium of sketch: (traditional or digital)

size of sketch: (headshot/mawshot, halfbody, fullbody)

type of sketch: (lines, color blocking, shading)

number of characters: (include which ones are tiny, if any)

description of what you want the commission to be:

background description: (if any)

references for commission: (references are required for character designs! they could be just an in depth description and some helpful pictures like face claims/outfits for the character, but, I usually can’t just go off of description of the character alone)

any other information: (information on the history of the characters that you might find helpful, concerns or questions you have, etc.)

I will do the pricing for you, so don’t worry about adding it up yourself! I will be sure to show you every step so that it’s clear before we do any transactions. payment is due before the drawing is given-- usually the preferred time is upfront when it’s first discussed and agreed upon, but I’m lenient so long as it’s given to me before the final product is shown to you. along the way, I will give you a few thumbnail sketches for you to choose from as far as poses, and probably at least one of the other drafting stages as I work on it, so you aren’t going to be left in the dark as to how your commission is coming along. Most commissions should not take longer than a week, but, due to school and other complications, deadlines might have to be extended or tweaked. I will always let you know and talk about it if such a thing happens.

I’m excited to see how this goes!! I know that things are really uncomfortable and bad right now, so hopefully the lowered prices and variety in options will make my art more available to help you guys and give you guys more opportunities to add more to the community. hope to see you out there!!

#commissions #safe vore #g/t #vore mention #giant/tiny #drawns #HOPEFULLY...this will be a good thing #I enjoy doing sketches so much more than I do normal colored art and I Really have been wanting to take like. requests and similar stuff #but I Need Money so these prices should help to make that!! affordable and easy for you guys while still giving me enough to afford stuff #like. food #and also things for the house #and maybe some new plants

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nomoremetaphors · 7 years

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How do you think the lex redemption arc would pan out further along in the dceu? I'm hoping that they will go in that direction too and I'm curious to hear your theories

All right, you asked me this, and I hope you remember that as this is liable to get long, involved, and more than a little bit fringe-theory in nature, because I’m definitively a Lex stan first and foremost when it comes to the DCEU.

So, first: Who is Lex Luthor?

Lex is, fundamentally, a representation of this line from Alfred in BVS:

That’s how it starts. The fever, the rage…the feeling of powerlessness that turns good men cruel.

Lex and Bruce are mirrors to each other in BVS – the difference and divergence between them is that while Bruce can be forced to see Clark’s humanity through the connection of “having a mother” and the idea that saving Martha can be a redemptive act for him, Lex is too isolated to find any commonality between himself and “Clark. Joseph. Kent.” If anything, Lex shows more sympathy to Zod in the Genesis chamber than he does to anyone else.

It’s always been a little darkly funny to me that the very things that make Clark human – his restraint, his gentleness, his commitment to justice – are the very things that make him so alien to Lex. Lex believes that power cannot be innocent; he uses that as a justification for his own evil and as a reason to believe that Superman has to be a fraud, and has to be secretly evil himself.

This comes out of a need, I believe, to see himself as a necessary product of his childhood and the power that he now holds.

Lex spent his childhood under a man who had an impeccable public reputation, but was an abusive, religious monster in private (”No man from the sky intervened when I was a boy to save me from Daddy’s fist and abominations.”). In believing that power generates evil, he also had to learn that the only way to be safe is to be powerful, more powerful than other people.

He does what he does out of a need to survive in a world that he absolutely thinks conforms to his own childhood experiences of power and abuse. It allows him to do terrible things, because he thinks that he has to be evil anyway.

And Lex does see himself as evil – he refers to himself as “the problem of evil in the world” when first speaking to Superman on top of the tower.

If Superman is not ultimately evil – and by dying to save mankind, he proves he is not – then everything that Lex has ever done, all the evil he has become, wasn’t necessary. It opens up a wide world of choices that Lex could have made differently, and I’m not sure Lex knows how to live with that.

Now, we have to take into account a second question: what does this mean, thematically speaking?

I think that this actually ties most heavily into Suicide Squad. SS thematically focuses on the idea that good and evil are ongoing choices that people make. Almost every member of the Squad has done something reprehensible – Killer Croc eats people, Harley helped kill Robin, Deadshot is a hitman, Boomerang is a thief, and Diablo killed his wife and children.

And, in some ways, the element of choice is taken from them by the chips implanted in their necks. But that stops mattering when they get into direct conflict with Enchantress. She shows them their deepest desires in an illusion to distract them, but all of them break the illusion. Ultimately, Diablo sacrifices his life to help stop her.

So, good and evil are choices that people make from day to day. This opens up the potential for redemption arcs across the villainy spectrum.

From a character perspective, Lex is in the perfect position to embark upon a redemption arc, to learn from watching Superman die that he could choose to be better himself. From a thematic perspective, this would fold into the idea that good and evil are choices, and that bad people can do good things.

So, this brings us, once again, to the third question we can start to theorize about, the question I touched on in the last post: What will Lex do in Justice League?

Well, let’s start with the narrative context. Lex is the person who knows the most about Steppenwolf and alien technology, barring Cyborg. He has the capacity to use Kryptonian technology, and there is still Kryptonian tech on Earth.

Additionally, Lex has only ever been wrong about one thing – Superman’s motivations. Everything else he’s said has been true. He manipulated Bruce and Clark masterfully, and is the first person to warn Bruce about the impending invasion of Steppenwolf/Darkseid. It is, technically speaking, because of Lex that Bruce is so intent on pulling the Justice League together so quickly.

And Lex knows that demons don’t come from hell beneath us. They come from the sky.

Lex would see Steppenwolf and Darkseid as the ultimate manifestation of every dark thing he thought Superman had to be. He could very easily latch onto this as a chance for redemption.

This is why I foresee Lex building his warsuit. I also believe that he, like in the N52 comics, may pattern it off of Superman’s colors. No Lanterns, no Kryptonians – but a man wearing Kryptonian symbols, fighting in honor of a Kryptonian, that would be something.

It would also provide a theoretical answer to the question asked in BVS, Should there even be a Superman?

June Finch answers that with There is. And there must be – that’s the whole point of the Reign of the Supermen arc in the comics, and why Lex takes on Clark’s colors and cape in the N52 after he dies.

Zack Snyder favors complexity and moral quandaries in his superhero films. We know this. Having Lex embark on a redemption arc would be another chance for Zack to tackle this kind of story, because it would be a longer haul and much tougher sell than the way Batman finds his way back to the light in BVS.

And now, to really get to your question: How will that redemption arc look?

First of all, I don’t believe Lex will be trusted, and definitely not at first. Any partnership between him and the League would be borne out of necessity and reluctance on the part of the Justice League.

Lex will likely resent this a little, because he is that kind of person. Nevertheless, he will make a name for himself as a hero, an atoner for his past sins. Eventually, he may even become friends with some of the members of the League.

Lois will never be okay with this – and frankly, I wouldn’t blame her. Lex was particularly awful to her specifically, and, unlike Clark who died, she has had to deal with the lasting ramifications of Lex’s actions. Bruce, also, will never, ever trust Lex, even a little bit, because he’s already sworn that he will be keeping an eye on Lex forever.

Now, this is the part where I start to wander into fringe theoretical territory, if I haven’t already, but I have to say it:

I believe that the “him” that Barry is referring to in Bruce’s vision is Lex, not Clark.

This is the full text of what Barry tells Bruce in the vision:

Bruce! Listen to me now! It’s Lois! Lois Lane! She’s the key! Am I too soon? I’m too soon! You were right about him! You’ve always been right about him! Fear him! Find us, Bruce! You have to find us!

Now, most people took that as an implication that Superman is going to become the dark, monstrous, Injustice-flavored version. Other people took it just as a dream, like the Knightmare sequence or the Man-bat dream.

But if you consider the idea of Lex as the ‘him,’ the quote still holds up.

It’s Lois! Lois Lane! She’s the key! – If Bruce had listened and sought out Lois Lane, she would have been able to tell him about what Lex had done to the compound in Nairomi, and the way he’s been manipulating him. She’s also the key to understanding Clark’s humanity. Additionally, if this does reference something in the future – which is likely – Lex is fairly likely to interact with Lois in the future; their enmity is a common part of most Lois-Lex dynamics, both in the comics and on TV.

Am I too soon? I’m too soon! – In terms of time travel, this is a really ambiguous statement. Does he mean “too early?” That’s what most people took it to mean. If so, why would the quote be about Superman? If it was, then wouldn’t this be exactly the right time to tell Bruce he’s right to be doing what he’s doing – while he still has the capacity to kill Clark himself? But if it’s Lex, it fits almost scarily well, especially if you consider the idea of a redemption arc.

You were right about him! You’ve always been right about him! Fear him! – People, including possibly Bruce himself, thought this has to do with Superman. But Barry doesn’t meet Bruce until after Superman dies. After Clark’s death, Bruce comes to understand that Clark is, in fact, just a man trying to do the right thing. Bruce does say in the JL trailer that Superman showed people the best parts of themselves. This doesn’t jive at all with the idea of a panicked You were right about him! You’ve always been right about him!

If Lex becomes part of, or an ally to, the League, and then betrays them, Bruce will have always been right about him, and the “always” has to do with the whole time Barry has known Bruce. Additionally, Bruce has never liked Lex, even before Lex’s true depths of evil were known – we can see that in the party scene. His opinion of Lex hasn’t really changed, just gotten worse.

Now, what do I think happened in this future?

Well, it has to do with the Darkseid War in the comics. After Darkseid is killed, Lex returns to Apokolips to lead a revolution and install himself as its ruler. Subsequently, in the Men of Steel story arc, Super-Lex and Pre-N52 Superman encounter precognitive aliens who have seen a future where Lex has become a despot who is worse than Darkseid.

The Lex we have in the DCEU has shown himself to be unstable even in his most together moments. It wouldn’t take much for him to return to his evil ways, especially if he feels betrayed by Superman for whatever reason. If he takes control of Apokolips, that could be a precursor to a future that Barry warns against by traveling back in time.

So, in summation: I believe that Lex will try to redeem himself, but something will either prevent that, or some perceived betrayal will have him slide firmly back into villain territory, leading to Barry traveling back in time to try to warn Bruce about it.

Thanks for asking! It was nice to get this all out on paper, frankly.

#dceu #lex luthor #analysis #asks tag

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lalesath-blog · 7 years

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In the post Vnc vs Pandora Hearts, you said the all the PH characters felt "whole" I'm planning on making a novel of some sort and want to know what you mean by "whole" can you give me like a long-ass paragraph of what is whole and what is not? Or what is it that made you feel the characters were "whole"? Thank you!😘

Oh dear lord, anon. Okay. Before we start, let me just tack on a disclaimer saying that… where as I believe most of what I’m about to say is generally accepted/“fact” some things may undoubtedly be or sound more subjective. So just keep in mind that this is my own perspective on the matter. Also: PANDORA HEARTS SPOILERS (since I assume you’ve read it?)

This is kind of a … tricky thing to answer. Saying “they should feel like a real person” is unhelpfully vague. Not to mention, plenty of real people are decidedly shallow;;

Achieving realistic characters starts with knowing them as the writer. Really knowing them. Knowing where they grew up. What their first pet was. What they eat as comfort food. What their “mindless” habits are. How many nicknames they’ve had. How many nicknames still remain. The feeling they get when they think of the nickname they haven’t heard spoken for 6 years because the only person who ever used it walked out of their life…. Obviously I just mean to say that you should KNOW your characters. Even seemingly trivial details. I’m not saying you have to know what color nail polish your character wears on Wednesdays, but getting a grasp on little things can shed a little light on personality quirks/habits that will make your character more nuanced.

Lots of little details tend to form tangible, meaningful results. Combine that with some original plot details and voilà~ Example: Knowing Sharon is very much into romance content gives some insight into how easily flustered and excitable she gets even regarding her interactions with Break. How she reacts to Alice’s curiosity and her kiss with Oz. She’s a romantic. In more than one sense. Which means she’s also going to be insecure about her body not developing… which ties into a plot detail about legal contracts.

—-Another really obvious thing… is that they need to grow. Develop. And despite popular belief, this development doesn’t have to be positive. There simply has to be a discernible process of getting from point A to point B. Sometimes this is more subtle (especially with secondary characters). And sometimes this is abrupt… but there always has to be meaning to it.

Example: Something I really, really loved… not to break anyone’s heart again… was Elliot’s flip. He was adamantly against self-sacrifice in the beginning of the manga. He tore into Oz, trying to communicate that that way of thinking was harmful/disrespectful to the people he cared about. And how that kind of thinking was inherently selfish/self-righteous and would only hurt the people he claimed to love… And Oz trying to claim that it would be FOR them.

Cut to Elliot choosing to sacrifice his own life to “end the nightmare” (so to speak)… and even to save Oz the burden of having to kill him.“I’m sorry, Leo.”

(I’m not crying… You’re crying).

—-In general though, I think being able to make your reader feel sympathy or EMPATHY for your characters is extremely important. ESPECIALLY when it comes to antagonists, imo. There’s nothing worse than a flat villain. If you don’t care about the source causing your protagonist to struggle, you can’t really take the story seriously, you know? And I cared about every damn character in PH. No matter which side they were leaning towards at any given time.

And characters should engage the reader. Cause them to think. Always. If you have someone questioning their own morality, you’ve hit god tier (Psycho Pass and Code Geass hit me hard with this). Make your characters convince me. All of them. Of everything. If I can’t be convinced they’re right, I at least need to understand. Which usually means delving into multiple layers of emotions. Example:–What does Vincent Want?Vince Wants to Erase His Existence For GilBecause He Wants Gil To Be HappyBecause Gil Never Abandoned Him–Why would he think Gil should abandon him?Because he was a child of misfortune born to parents who abandoned him/them and he felt he was nothing but a burden on his brother.–Why is he willing to go as far as killing himself?Because, due to the above, he never had a sense of self-worth in the first place… and the further trauma/guilt he sustained after the tragedy of sablier made it all the worse.

~~~Multiple Layers & Repeating Patterns~~~ Makes him feel super real, doesn’t it?And sure, Vincent comes across as an asshole a lot of the time… especially early on. But did I cry over his feelings for Gil and when he hugged Ada? You bet I did. Not to mention, I had Echo’s perspective of him as well. Which is another important detail. Characters adding more dimensions to each other through their various povs.

Aaand now to the super obvious. Characters should have both negative/positive bits. Protagonists generally lean WAY TOO FAR onto the positive side (for me)… minus their one (1) hang-up. Which is usually a simple, easily explainable complex. Like the overly generic [UNDERDOG] issue…. ANYWAY.

People have flaws. People have insecurities. People have bad habits and different ways of reacting to conflict. Different reasons for acting the way they do. Make sure you know them. Example:Leo, for instance, comes across as being subdued. But he’s more volatile than Elliot. Why does he present as subdued? Because in their context, Elliot’s fire tends to put his out. How does Leo confront conflict? By literally letting someone else take control from him while he tries to ignore it. He’s been an escapist his entire life. Hair in his eyes. Glasses that block his vision. Books to distract himself with. Etc. It’s a reoccurring theme with Leo even in his day-to-day demeanor… which means it was important to know from the get-go.

And to cont. from a bit above… everyone also has bits of light. Even a sociopath. Maybe you create a sociopathic serial killer who, every Thursday, leaves a homeless boy a bag of take-out in the alley behind the restaurant the killer and his ex used to visit… before he killed them. The boy had seen him do it, yet hadn’t screamed or alerted anyone. And now your killer practices this sentimental ritual that he doesn’t understand. Maybe, by the end, he forms his own understanding.I think making the reader feel curious never hurts. Make them form questions they want answers to. Even little ones. If I never wonder about ANYTHING, there’s probably not enough detail. I’m not even saying there have to be definitive answers just… I want to notice things. Like why is break always eating candy? Does he actually like sweet things? He didn’t SEEM the type in the past? Is it just to compensate for his former personality? Is it because of Shelly? Is it a shout-out to Emily? Like with the doll? Did he used to smoke? Also he doesn’t drink??? Why?

Really good characters? It’s like looking at them through a prism. By the end, you’ve seem them in a dozen shades of light. Example:

—-Xerxes Break:The MentorThe Loyal ServantThe Protector/The KnightThe Serial KillerThe VictimThe Wild CardThe Suicide RiskThe Comic Relief The BAMFThe Needy ChildThe Cold, Near-RecluseThe Brother FigureThe Partner The Unhinged ClownThe [Tragic] HeroEtc.

He’s played dozens of roles on his own and through his relationships with other characters. Some of which are exceedingly different.

When you really get down to it, I think I personally also love the characters in PH so much because I can find something to relate to in all of them.Whether it be Lacie’s otherworldy dissociation, Leo’s escapist tendencies, Sharon’s drunken queen play, Oswald’s bluntness, or Vincent’s self-worth issues… I just. They feel like so much more? From their quirks & hobbies (Ada’s what… VOODOO room? hahaha/the trio of book nerds/Break and his doll… and his candy/Alice and being a massive carnivore/Gil smoking to emulate Oscar… and being afraid of cats/Elliot secretly ADORING cats but not wanting to admit it;;). To their contradictions. Their incorrect views on themselves. And on each other. The various self-realizations. The great dialogue. Just… asdfghjkl

ARGH. It’s SO hard to explain. Just. Characters are more than their goals and their easily definable trope traits. They’re more than their role in the story they’re in and that should come across.

#answered #Anonymous #i hope this is even remotely helpful #it's like 1am and i'm rambling

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douchebagbrainwaves · 4 years

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WHY I'M SMARTER THAN MONEY

So if you're the least bit inclined to find an excuse to quit, there's always some disaster happening. Especially since it would only mean you eliminated startups in your own country. What hard liquor, cigarettes, heroin, and crack have in common is that they understand the cost that raising money from them imposes on startups. You're supposed to build things that get used for pornography, or file-sharing, or the company will be their physical location, but I'm not sure what happened to the application after I left. In most fields, prototypes have traditionally been made out of different materials. Whatever its flaws, the writing you find online is authentic. But when founders of larval startups worry about this; worry about that instead.

I started a scandalous underground newspaper. For example, most painters in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries used brownish colors. And since you don't know your users. They distributed your work, and sold advertising on it. That averaging gets to be a rule with them that everything has to start with something that actually looks unfinished. It's harder to hide wrongdoing now. What happened? How much would that take? Most are equivalent to the ones people use for procrastinating in everyday life would be considered pathological. The Detroit News. The shielding of a reactor is not uniform; the reactor would be useless if it were a single phenomenon.

You can of course build something for themselves and their friends, who happen to be good. After all those years you get used to it, and look bold. If you build something popular is that you can't tell. It may be just luck, but I've saved myself from a few technologies that turned out to be real stinkers. Does that mean you should quit your day job? Money is not wealth. 064. Do you have good weather? If a city offered these companies a million dollars worth of wealth in a couple years be the CEO of the hottest startup in the old days was a pretty effective filter. After all those years you get used to the idea of inhabiting a world ruled by a caste of giants who run after an oblong brown ball, as if this deal didn't exist. Either it's something they felt they had to do was play hardball with licensees and copy more innovative products reasonably promptly. Startups make wealth, which means increasing numbers of things we need it for.

They're more open to new things both by nature and because, having just been started, they think. When I go to a VC with a new idea and ask him to invest in it, but how clean the finished program looks in it, one of the hardest questions founders face. You launch something, the drawing will look boring. Because an ordinary employee's performance can't usually be measured, or there is no danger there is almost certainly no leverage. The ball you need to launch? Both further increase economic inequality. Unless we want to be a good guy. But you can't get very far by trading things directly with the people who just make exactly what the customers tell them to. They have to, or die. The inhabitants of all those worlds are trapped in little bubbles where nothing they do can have more than a couple weeks. Start by picking a hard problem.

The arrival of crowdfunding or more precisely, preorders has helped a lot. There are a lot of ways to get money, including chance, speculation, marriage, inheritance, theft, extortion, fraud, monopoly, graft, lobbying, counterfeiting, and prospecting. I think more. Mistake number two. Don't Get Your Hopes Up. I've never liked this question. If that's true, most startups that could succeed fail because the founders make them take off. There's nothing more valuable than the advice of someone whose judgement you trust. You need to be able to resist switching from jeans to suits. In almost every domain there are advantages to seeming good. Venture capital is a business where occasional big successes generate hundredfold returns.

In a way this is virtuous, because I think startups are a good thing for the world if people who wanted to work especially hard. Choosing a marginal project is the startup equivalent of my eight year old strategy for dealing with fly balls. About twenty years ago. But if the software were 100% finished and ready to launch at the push of a button, would they still be waiting? But they can't physically be with them all the time. Raising money, in particular, don't be deterred from doing it. He meant it more literally—that one should focus on quality of execution to a degree that in everyday life would be considered pathological. Hotmail because Sabeer Bhatia and Jack Smith couldn't exchange email at work. If we want to be smart, and to want to be popular, the same way that someone might design a building or a chair that's horribly uncomfortable to sit in their offices and let PR firms bring the stories to them. If you need to launch?

It's also obvious to programmers that wealth is something that's made, rather than the cleverness, and this essay is about how to make a more deliberate effort to locate the most promising vein of users. In fact it's only the context that makes them so. If you want a recipe for a startup to be developing a genuinely good product, take slightly too long to do it for less than a million per startup. It wasn't so bad. 1/1-n to see if it makes the company worth more than twice as much. But if you lack commitment, you'll just find that for some mysterious reason good things happen to your competitors but not to you. The books I bring on trips are often quite virtuous, the sort of big social shift that only happens once every few generations. I do, I look them straight in the eye and say I'm designing a new kind of writing draws readers away from traditional media, I can't imagine they'll work any less hard to feed stories to bloggers, if they know that some of the people have half the total wealth, they tend to think injustice! This principle is very powerful.

In principle they're entitled to, but how would they choose valuations for the startups? It breeds a rebelliousness that actively drives kids away from the things they're supposed to be the investor of the future won't simply be the same shape, scaled up. Will a startup inevitably stop being a startup as a way to make existing users super happy, they'll one day have too many to do so much for them were largely the same government agencies that paid thousands for screwdrivers and toilet seats. This essay was originally published in Hackers & Painters. They don't even try to bluff them. As I was doing it I tried to imagine what a company would be like if people could think that well at work. We were already thinking about the kind of things that go wrong when kids grow up sufficiently poor. It's obvious that biotech or software startups exist to solve hard technical problems, instead of spending all our time playing an exacting but mostly pointless game like the others. In some ways, this assumption makes life a lot easier.

Thanks to Jessica Livingston, Fred Wilson, Robert Morris, Steve Huffman, and Harj Taggar for their feedback on these thoughts.

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