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wynnyfryd · 6 months

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Trailer park Steve AU part 35

part 1 | part 34 | ao3

cw: Fred slander apologies to any Freds

“Okayyy,” Robin says with a shaky laugh as she points at everyone in the booth, going around the circle and introducing them in a single breath. “Amy-Tim-Vickie-Beth-Grant-Jordan-Fred, aaand Nancy. You, um, you already know— Nancy... r-right,” she stammers at Steve’s pointed glare, “so, um. Anyway!”

She grabs him by the shoulders; shoves him front and center like he’s a really cool new toy she brought to class for show-and-tell. “Everyone, this is Steve! Steve, this is—”

“You don’t have to say it again.”

“Oh, thank god.” She slides into the booth with a relieved huff, and Steve scoots in after her.

Despite the awkward tension and that bonkers introduction, everyone at the table does their best to act cool, to say hello and make him feel welcome while they wait for the band to start. Grant slides him the basket of fries, and Jordan compliments his watch, and Vickie asks if he’s coming to the last football game of the season, voice high and shy as she rambles about how ‘Robin’s solo in the halftime show is sooo good, you really should come see it!’ and wow.

Is Robin vain or something? She’s got a crush on a clone of herself.

Steve munches on fries and keeps an eye on the stage, hoping to catch Eddie before the show starts, and the whole thing’s… not so bad, actually. Kind of decent. Almost nice, until Fred fucking Benson ruins it. Steve’s saying something about the basketball team’s chances this season when the little asshole rolls his eyes and leans in to stage-whisper to Nancy loud enough for the whole table to hear, “The Hair? Seriously? What’s he even doing here?”

...Yeah, fuck this. “He’s getting a drink,” Steve says and storms off to the bar.

—

He’s not getting that drink.

Turns out a tenner isn’t a big enough bribe to get a bartender to break the law, so Steve nurses a diet Coke that he pretends is a lager and refuses to even look in the direction of the booth. Fucking Fred. What an asshole.

And what a stupid name, too, like— who looks at a baby and thinks, yep, looks like a Fred to me? Ugh.

Robin, bless her, has the good sense to leave him alone for a couple minute until he cools off, but then the music starts and she comes over to shout ‘stop moping and dance with me!’ and that’s the end of that.

—

The band is fucking awesome.

Steve doesn't know what he expected, but it wasn't this: high energy, tight rhythms, a driving beat that makes him want to dance. The bass reverberates through the floor, up his shins and through his chest, and for a second it almost feels like he has his hearing back, like his whole body is a wall of noise, filled with the wail of Eddie’s guitar, the scratchy rasp of his singing voice, and Eddie's…

Eddie’s amazing. Lightning in a bottle as he bounces around the stage, hips moving to the rhythm, fingers blurring over the frets. He looks so fucking hot. Denim vest, silver rings, jeans showing a delicious amount of skin — skin Steve has put his mouth on; tattoos he’s tasted with his tongue.

God, he can’t wait to kiss him. Is probably going to combust if it doesn’t happen tonight. Or like, come in his jeans, more realistically.

They dance and jump and shout along to the covers they recognize, and when Eddie dips backstage to let the band do an instrumental thing, Steve shakes the sweat out of his eyes and heads to the bar for a water.

—

"Mind if I join you?" Nancy asks.

Steve sighs. This is what he gets for wandering off alone. Robin's still by the stage, twirling Vickie around swing-style to a frantic, jazzy drum solo in a move that's actually pretty impressive even if it makes no sense with the music, and Steve resigns himself to his fate and nods at the empty stool beside him.

They sip their drinks in silence — awkward and charged, old hurts hanging between them like static waiting to strike. "Sorry about Fred," she says eventually. "And- and for me, too, I guess."

Steve huffs a laugh. Appreciates the sentiment, even if it doesn't change anything. "It's fine."

She glances over at him, that journalistic focus etched into her face. “How are you?” she asks softly.

Another laugh under his breath. He thinks about answering her honestly, just to entertain himself. Pictures the way her face would fall as he went on and on: "Oh, you know. My mom left me to go ‘rest' in Evanston, like I don’t know that means she went to rehab without saying a goddamn word, and when I called my aunt to yell at her about it, she said some ice cold shit about how I should be happy my mom left me, because now I can keep the money from the lot fees all to myself, and I said ‘what lot fees?’ and it turns out mom had been hiding, like, a lot of money from me while I stressed out about our budget for months. Oh! And also my dad’s dead, but you knew that already. And also I want to hump my neighbor against a brick wall so bad my dick is turning purple. How are you?"

"...Steve?" she tries after a moment.

“I’m good,” he settles on. Gives the bullshit answer because that's all they've ever been to each other, isn't it? Bullshit. "Yeah, I'm good," he tells her, "and you?"

"I'm fine." Her smile is tight, bags under her tired eyes, and then she sighs out long and slow, "Actually, I'm not. Everything's been..."

Steve tries to listen, but he just can't bring himself to care. Doesn't want to hear about whatever drama she's going through with the guy she dumped him for. And then Eddie comes back out on stage, and he's looking out into the crowd, and no fucking way is Steve letting him look over here and think he's cozied up with Nance. No fucking way. Nancy's ruined enough good things for him already.

"Sorry," he cuts her off, not feeling sorry at all as he stands up and walks off without looking back at her.

"Steve?" She calls after him. "Hey- wait!"

Steve makes his way to the front of the crowd.

“Howdy,” Eddie greets the room, stepping up to the mic with a Hollywood-worthy grin. His guitar’s strapped over his back, the neck pointing to the ground, and he looks so good up there. So comfortable and real.

And his outfit's different now. The denim vest is gone, and he's wearing a cut off tank top. The tank top; the one he wore that night, loose around the arms to expose his pretty, painted ribs. Steve looks up at him, transfixed. Like staring straight at the sun.

“How’s everybody doing?”

The group at the stage all whoop and cheer, and Eddie laughs delightedly; thanks them all for coming, thanks the tech and service crews. He introduces the band next, pointing each member out by name and letting them do a little solo, and then he swings his guitar over his shoulder and says, “We got one last song for you tonight!”

More cheering from the crowd. Eddie plants his feet and scans the room, a small, secret smile lighting up his gorgeous face when his eyes land on Steve. Just for a second before he looks away, but that smile stays firm, and Steve knows the next words are meant for him.

“Now, this isn’t our usual style, but uh… a little birdie told me someone here might need to hear this.”

Eddie strums his guitar. The opening notes of Go Your Own Way ring out, sped up and made grittier to fit the band's sound. Steve’s heart is in his throat.

“Good morning, sweetheart," Eddie beams as his bandmates join in, "this one’s for you.”

—

part 36

tag list in separate reblogs under '#trailer park steve au taglist' if you'd like to filter that content. if you want to be added tomorrow please comment and let me know (must be over 21; please either verify in the comment or have your age visible on your blog)

#trailer park steve au #steddie #steddie fic #steve harrington #eddie munson #nancy wheeler #robin buckley #fred benson #mean girl steve realizing that actually you can just walk the fuck away #my writing #my fic

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boyrobott · 2 months

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everybody says they love me (but i'm still brokenhearted)

It's been six days now since Astro fell to the Surface, and there is something wrong with him.

Read on AO3.

It's been six days now since Astro fell to the Surface, and there is something wrong with him.

Actually, now that he thinks about it, there are a whole lot of things wrong with him, and it's probably more than enough to fill up an entire book at this point — or, at the absolute least, make for a pretty long list. And it begins with the fact that he's a robot — a real actual robot, like those guys calling themselves the RRF, or the millions on millions of old, outdated machines in the junkyard, or the new zeronium automations rolling off the factory line in the Ministry of Science this month — and he knows it's true, he knows it's real, he saw the wires and circuits under his skin with his own eyes, he saw the Core spinning slow and steady in his chest, crackling with electricity and burning blue, but he just can't get his head around it.

Every night, he lays awake long after everyone else has already gone to sleep, his eyes wide open in the dark, staring up at the splintered wooden bottom of Zane's bunk, right above his own, and he tries to figure out exactly where Tobi ends, and where Astro begins. Every night, he lays awake long after everyone else has already gone to sleep, and he tries to figure out if all these feelings swirling around inside him — the grief heavy and cold in the pit of his stomach, and the hope a tiny, tentative flicker of light in the center of his chest — are really his feelings at all, or just lines on lines on lines of code written into his brain by the man who made him, and then threw him away like he was garbage.

Maybe it wouldn't be so bad if he was just a robot.

Maybe it wouldn't be so bad if he was just your ordinary, average, run-of-the-mill factory-made machine. Maybe that would be okay. Maybe he could get his head around that. Maybe he could figure out what to do with that.

But that's not what he is.

He's the mechanical replica of a dead boy. He's a copy of a corpse. He's a clone, a faint echo of somebody long gone, a pale and empty and imperfect imitation that isn't even supposed to exist, and no one wants him, and he looks in the mirror, and a face that isn't his looks back at him — Tobi's brown eyes, and Tobi's round cheeks, and Tobi's spiked-up black hair, and Tobi's nose, and Tobi's ears, and Tobi's mouth, and Tobi's voice coming out of that mouth, and Tobi's favorite blue jacket on his shoulders and Tobi's favorite red boots on his feet, and this face isn't his and this body isn't his and these clothes aren't his and this brain isn't his and these memories of a whole entire life before last week aren't his and these feelings aren't his and everything he's ever had and everything he's ever said and everything he's ever thought and everything he's ever felt isn't his,because he's not even a real person!

The one and only thing he can truly call his own is his new name.

And he's spent the last six days down on the Surface below Metro City, trying to pass himself off as a Totally Normal Human Boy With Absolutely No Inexplicably Robotic Attributes Whatsoever. No, siree, just your average, ordinary, unremarkable preteen kid over here!

But here's the really crazy thing: It's working.

Astro can barely believe it, but no one has asked him any probing or uncomfortable questions, or even spared him a second look, since the night he showed up here, trailing behind Cora and Zane with his heart in his throat and his stomach tied up in knots, and nervously stammering out flimsy half-truths about his parents and his past, praying no one would dig any deeper, and so sure that he was doing it all wrong, that his posture was too stiff and too tense, that his facial expressions were shifting too fast and too smoothly until they all blended into each other in the most glaringly and unnaturally inhuman way possible, and what if he forgot to blink as much as everyone else? what if he forgot to breathe as much as everyone else? what if the truth was written all over him somewhere that he couldn't see — on his forehead, or on his back, maybe, spelled out in big bold letters saying this isn't a real person, this isn't a real person, this isn't a real person, don't let him fool you, he's a fake, he's faking, he's not a real person, he looks like he's a real person, but he's not, he's a fake, he's a fake, he's a fake!

But it's been six days now, and nobody has said anything about it.

Not even yesterday, when they were cleaning up ZOG for the Robot Games (which Astro still isn't totally sure he understands, but when he tried to ask them about it again, Zane shrugged it off and said it's a Surface thing, dude, so that probably means he'll just have to see it for himself before he really gets it) and Cora slipped off the robot's gleaming bronze shoulder, the bottoms of her shoes slick with soapy water, and he had to fire up his rocket boots to catch her before she hit the ground (because what on earth was he supposed to do in that situation, anyway? just let her fall?) she didn't call him out on it, and nobody else did, either.

And that must mean nobody saw it.

Look, he knows he can't keep this up forever, okay? He knows he has to tell them the truth sooner or later, and he knows it's better to just face the music, just get it over with, and more than anything, he knows they deserve it — after everything they've done for him, the way they welcomed him into their home and their family and their lives with open arms and no reservations, treating him just the same as every other kid around here even though they only met him last week.

They deserve to know what he really is.

And they deserve to hear it directly from him.

Seriously, what does he even have to be afraid of? Hamegg said himself that he loves robots, after all, and it's not like the other kids have any problems with them, either — they were so excited to meet ZOG just a few days ago when Astro got him back online, rushing right over to the giant without so much as a minute of hesitation, and they definitely dote on Trash Can every chance they get, petting him and praising him and spoiling him with treats of all kinds — so it's not like they're going to do a complete one-eighty and decide they hate him specifically for being one, right? Sure, he's not exactly as cool and awesome and crazy-strong as ZOG, and he's obviously not cute and charming and lovable like Trash Can, but there must be something in him they like, right? There must be some reason they let him come home with them that day in the junkyard, right? There must be some reason they didn't just walk away and leave him to fend for himself in the scrap heaps, right? There must be some reason they like him, right? There has to be something they like about him. There has to be something, and if it was enough to convince them to let him into their weird, wonderful family, it must be enough for them to like him even though he's a robot.

Right?

He really shouldn't be so nervous about this.

He really shouldn't be so afraid.

But it's been six days now since he fell to the Surface, and there is something wrong with him.

His whole body has been aching like one big bruise all day long, a dull but constant pulse of pain spreading out and out and out like ripples on a pond until every last inch of him hurts. His arms and legs feel oddly stiff, and sore, almost swollen at the joints in his knees and elbows, and when he tries to bend his limbs, or stand up, or turn his head, he—

—he creaks.

Like the rusted metal hinge on Tobi's locker door at school as it swings open. Like an old wooden floorboard when it takes on too much weight. Like a couple of steel gears grinding roughly together. Like a failing engine in a broken-down hovercar. Like a window that hasn't been opened in a while. Like the millions on millions of old, outdated machines in the junkyard. Like a robot.

And it's so excruciatingly, piercingly loud that the other kids can actually hear it, too, looking around the room with baffled frowns on their faces for a second or two before they shake their heads, shrug it off, say it must be ZOG, or Trash Can, or some new project that Hamegg is working on down in his shop, and Astro knows he really shouldn't be so nervous about this, he knows he really shouldn't be so afraid, but every time he moves, and that godawful screeching, scraping noise rings out, he holds his breath and he waits for them to work out the truth, his hands trembling in his lap and all the air in his lungs turning rapidly to ice.

He really shouldn't be so nervous about this.

He really shouldn't be so afraid.

But his secret is closer to the surface than it's ever been before, and he is so, so terrified.

That night, he lays awake long after everyone else has already gone to sleep, his eyes wide open in the dark, staring up at the splintered bottom of Zane's bunk, right above his own, and he tries not to move around too much, because it hurts, and he tries to figure out what on earth could be wrong with him.

"I-I don't know what's going on," he whispers, finally, to Trash Can — who has apparently decided he doesn't actually mind Astro all that much, because the minute they started shutting off the lights and crawling under the covers, he trotted over to Astro's bunk and curled up at the foot of the bed with a contented little whirr. "I don't know what's going on with me, Trash Can. If I can't fix it…"

Trash Can yawns so wide that his mechanical jaw pops, and gives a single, drowsy beep in response. Boy needs oil.

Astro goes dead still beneath his patched blanket, breath catching somewhere in the back of his throat. He didn't hear that right. There is no way he heard that right. There is no way he actually heard that right. "W-What did you just say?"

Boy needs oil, Trash Can repeats, slower and sleepier this time. Robots creak when oil is low. Boy creaks because oil is low.

"What?" Astro says, reflexively, even as all the air rushes from his chest in a heavy, shuddering gasp, and his whole body goes cold as ice — of course he knows that robots need oil, because Orrin's body used to groan like this whenever he was due for a refill, and ZOG drank almost two entire gallons of the stuff earlier today, and Trash Can will lap it straight from his dog bowl in the corner of the kitchen with his tiny, metallic tongue, but he's never actually connected any of that to himself, because he's not like that.

…Is he?

Boy is robot, Trash Can chirps unhelpfully, like he really thinks Astro needs the reminder right now. Robots need oil. Boy needs oil.

Astro shakes his head, and he doesn't even care about the horrible noise it makes anymore. "But I'm not—I'm not like—" he swallows, a little too hard, the word burning a hole right through the inside of his mouth until he has to shift gears in the middle of his sentence, "—that."

Trash Can whines in confusion, lifting his head an inch or two off the lumpy, torn-up mattress. Hasn't boy ever needed oil before?

"…I don't think so?"

There's a long stretch of silence then, and Astro is just beginning to think the dog must have fallen asleep, or gotten bored of him, or something, when another shrill beep rings out from the foot of the bed. How old is boy?

"Uh…" He frowns, and plucks at a loose, fraying thread on the edge of his blanket as he thinks it through, careful not to put too much strength into the motion so he doesn't accidentally unravel the whole thing. "I-I don't know. No one told me. It's been about a week since I woke up in the lab, though, and I think that was my first day."

Oh, Trash Can says, like everything makes perfect sense now, and he sits up a little, ears perked. Why didn't boy say so before? Boy is baby!

"What?!" Astro isn't actually sure if it's physically possible for him to blush, but a rush of heat definitely floods his face. "No! I'm eleven years old! Th-That's, like, practically a teenager!"

Babies are small, Trash Can chirps at him, with an air of absolute authority. Babies don't know anything. Everything is new to babies. And boy is small. And boy doesn't know anything. And everything is new to boy. Boy is baby.

And then the dog curls up at the foot of the bed again, paws tucked under his chin and eyes squeezed shut, like the matter is settled.

Astro scowls at him for a second or two — just because he's only been alive for seven days total doesn't make him a baby! — but he's got way bigger problems on his plate right now than his age, and everything it apparently means in Robot Years, or whatever. (Or… maybe it's just Robot Dog Years? Are Robot Dog Years different from Regular Dog Years? Maybe he should ask Hamegg.) He doesn't want a refill of oil to be the solution to his creaking body and aching joints — which is really kind of stupid, actually, because a refill of oil is just about the simplest, easiest fix in the world, and he could go ahead and take care of it now, while everyone else is fast asleep and no one will ever know and no one will ever find out — but it's not like he's got any better ideas.

"Do you…" he nudges the dog lightly in the side to get his attention again. "Do you really think it will help me? Oil, I mean?"

Trash Can lets out a sleepy, affirmative beep. Robots need oil. All robots need oil. Even baby robots.

Astro pointedly ignores the jab. "Right… yeah… um… Hamegg has some in his shop, doesn't he?"

Man has oil, Trash Can nods. Man has lots and lots of oil. Man will give oil. Ask man to give oil.

Astro doesn't know why he didn't expect that, but he really didn't expect that, and it sends a sharp, awful jolt straight to the pit of his queasy stomach just to hear it. "No! I-I can't do that!"

Trash Can sits up again, cocking his head to the side in confusion. Man gives oil. Trash Can asks, and man gives. Man gives oil to all robots. Boy is robot. Man will give if boy asks.

And Astro is sure he's right, sure that Hamegg wouldn't withhold a basic necessity like that from any robot who asks (even if they have spent the past six days lying to him) but his insides still feel like a writhing, hissing nest of angry vipers when he thinks about it. "No, Trash Can, I… I can't. I just can't." He tries to swallow, but there's a hard block at the back of his throat, and it won't let him. "I-I don't want him to find out like that." I don't want him to find out ever, but he pushes the thought away, shoves it to the back of his mind and locks it up tight, because that's bad, and wrong, and not fair to the man who has treated him as nothing less than his own flesh-and-blood son ever since he stepped through the door.

Trash Can considers this for a long, silent minute, his bright blue eyes glowing faintly in the dark and his tiny ears flicking back and forth, before he finally lets out another, more authoritative chirp. Trash Can knows where oil is. Trash Can take you to oil.

Before he can say anything to that, the dog jumps off the bed, and scampers out of the room — through the raggedy, rust-red curtain that divides the bedroom from the rest of the house, through the empty, darkened living room, up the stairs, around the corner, and right through the automatic door that slides open with a big whoosh as soon as it senses the weight and motion of living people in front of it.

And then, just like that, they're in Hamegg's workshop.

Even as Astro follows Trash Can over the threshold and toward the big plastic crate in the corner chock-full of tin cans, his stomach is tight with guilt, and he feels filthy all over. He shouldn't be doing this. He really should not be doing this. He should just wait until tomorrow, when he can tell Hamegg the truth, and ask him for some oil face-to-face. He should just go back to bed and come clean to everyone in the morning. He shouldn't be doing this. He shouldn't be using them like this. He shouldn't be using Hamegg like this. Hamegg trusts him, and here he is, sneaking around in the middle of the night and stealing from him.

This is no way to repay the people who took him in when no one else wanted him.

But he takes a seat on the rusted windowsill anyway, the metal cold as ice through the thin cotton of the flannel-patterned pajama pants Zane loaned him when he found out Astro didn't have any clothes except his jeans and jacket, and he pulls a can of oil out of the crate below, automatically popping up the spout just like he saw ZOG do earlier.

And then he realizes, abruptly, that he actually has no idea what on earth he's supposed to do next. Robots usually ingest it through the mouth, he knows that, because that's what ZOG did, and Trash Can, too… but… that can't be what he has to do, is it? But he really can't think of anything else to do but drink it — maybe he could open up the energy chamber in his chest and pour it in through there, but that doesn't sound exactly right, and he really doesn't want to find out the hard way that it doesn't work. What if it gums up his gears? What if it hurts the Core? What if it makes him malfunction? What if it kills him?

"Uh…" he glances uncertainly between the thick, sludgy, thoroughly unappetizing black liquid swirling around in the canister and the dog curled up comfortably beneath the window. "So… I just… drink it, then? I guess?"

Trash Can gives a high-pitched little warble of amusement — if boy is not baby, shouldn't boy know what to do with oil? — and then a quick trill of confirmation: Silly boy. All robots drink oil.

"Oh," Astro says, with absolutely no enthusiasm. "Great. That's… so great. This is great." He allows himself one last apprehensive look at the dark fluid before he finally lifts the can up to his lips, cold tin clinking lightly against his teeth, and takes the tiniest possible sip.

It tastes exactly like what it is: motor oil.

And it tastes… good.

Before he even knows what he's doing, he's already taken another swallow, bigger than the first, and then he goes in for another one, drinking it down so quickly he actually kind of forgets to breathe in between sips, and the can is more than half-empty by the time he finally pauses to drag in a gulp of air instead, though he knows rationally that his artificial lungs don't really need the oxygen at all. He takes a second to wipe his mouth before he finishes off the rest of it, and when he pulls his hand away, the pale skin is stained a sleek, glossy black, glistening faintly in the starlight pouring in on him through the open window.

He doesn't know why it hits him right then. He doesn't know why it hits him so powerfully, and so painfully, but the longer he looks at that dark, gleaming streak on the back of his hand, the deeper and deeper it begins to sink in: he just drank almost an entire can of oil in one go, and he liked it.

Because he's a robot.

Like those guys calling themselves the RRF, like the millions on millions of old, outdated machines in the junkyard, like the new zeronium automations rolling off the factory line in the Ministry of Science this month, like Orrin, like ZOG, like Trash Can. His stomach twists, clenching up like a closed fist — tighter and tighter the longer he thinks about it — until there's a horrible second where he really thinks the oil is going to come right back up again, and he's going to vomit all over the floor of poor Hamegg's workshop in the middle of the night. And then he remembers that he won't, he can't, and he already knew that, of course he knew that, but the reminder still slams into him like a speeding train, smacking him off-kilter and knocking all the breath clean out of him in a single blow.

I don't want to be a robot, Astro realizes, with a clarity so sharp it stings. I don't want to be a robot. I don't want to be a robot. And he definitely doesn't want to be a robot like this — a clockwork clone of another kid who died months ago, a messed-up mimicry of a human with wires instead of veins, iron instead of bones, coolant instead of blood, and a star where his heart should be. He doesn't want to live like this — sneaking out in the dead and dark of night to drink oil where no one can see, and hoping with every gear and cog and circuit in his body that Trash Can won't give him away, that ZOG won't give him away, that he won't give himself away, that he can keep this up for just one more day, just one more hour, just one more minute, just until he's ready to tell them, just until he figures out how to tell them. He doesn't want the rest of his life to be like this — trying to make sure his posture isn't too stiff or too tense, trying to make sure his facial expressions aren't shifting too fast, or too smoothly, and trying to remember to blink as much as everyone else, trying to remember to breathe as much as everyone else, his heart in his throat and his stomach tied up in knots as he carefully carefully carefully arranges himself into a shape so close to human that no one can ever tell the difference.

He doesn't want to live like this. He doesn't want the rest of his life to be like this. He doesn't want to pretend to be normal. He doesn't want to have to pretend to be normal. He just wants to be normal.

(He doesn't want to be different.)

#astro boy #astro boy 2009 #tetsuwan atom #mighty atom #astroboyfanweek2024 #astro boy fanfiction #astro boy fanfic #astro boy fic #astro boy 2009 fanfiction #astro boy 2009 fanfic #astro boy 2009 fic

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jedi-enthusiast · 3 months

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I'm bored, so here is how I'd fix 'The Bad Batch.'

Caveat: Obviously I would've preferred a show centered around clones like Rex, Cody, Fox, Wolffe, Echo, etc. instead of some random "special" clones we've literally never heard of, but that's not what we got so I'm making a post about what we have to work with. Also, obviously I'm not gonna cover every issue about the show, these are just the main things I'd change.

1. Un-whitewash them. In fact, un-whitewash all of the clones, but that's a given.

In the same vein, though, have them actually look like clones. It makes like 0 sense for them to have to hide or have to wear disguises or what have you to hide the fact that they're clones...when they don't look like clones.

I'm gonna be honest, if they weren't introduced as clones in the show, then I wouldn't have had any idea that they were clones. They look nothing like Temura Morrison or the other clones. Fix that.

Or, hell, if people are absolutely dead set on them looking different, have them hate the fact that they look different from the other clones rather than making them think they're so much better than everyone else.

Sure the Kaminoans might've said something or other about them being "better" then the other clones, due to their modifications, but they're also just as likely to have said something negative about them looking different since they want things to be uniform---not to mention that their "special modifications" probably got more attention on them from the Kaminoans, which would obviously be something that sucked ass and probably got them in more trouble/gave them more restrictions.

I feel like it'd be more plausible for them to want to blend in and not want that extra attention- (and everything that comes with it) -rather than them having a whole complex about being "so much better" than everyone else. Especially considering that, generally speaking, their modifications don't really seem to make them any more "special" than anyone else.

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2. Get rid of the animosity between TBB and the rest of the clones. It makes no fucking sense.

No more of the "regs" bullshit, no more of TBB not giving a shit about other clones, no more of the bullying that apparently went on on Kamino. None of that shit.

The whole "oh the regs bullied TBB because they looked different, boo hoo" thing doesn't even make fucking sense!!! 99 looked different than all the other clones and they fucking loved him! Not to mention the importance that the clones place on individuality, distinction, and being yourself---it makes no sense for looks, of all things, to be something the other clones make fun of TBB for!!

And, honestly, given how TBB consistently talked about/treated the "regs," I'm more willing to believe that the other clones started "bullying" them in retaliation to TBB calling them "expendable" and acting like they were so much better than them.

But, that's besides the point, anyway-

Have TBB actually care about the other clones, have them be close, have TBB have more than blank faced reactions to finding out their brothers are being mind controlled---actually have them give a shit and want to help, but they're unable to.

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1. In the same vein, get rid of the animosity Crosshair has with the rest of TBB. It makes no fucking sense, given the direction they're trying to take with the show.

It definitely makes no sense for them to have this whole plot/conflict thing about "saving Crosshair" when none of them actually seem to like each other.

In fact, make the whole team actually seem like they like each other---right now they seem like strangers who barely tolerate each other that just got locked inside a 7/11 together. If there's gonna be a show centered around them, that's gonna try and sell the idea that they care about each other or whatever, actually make it seem like it!!

Have them have more emotions about being separated from Crosshair, have them fuck up a mission on accident because they forgot he wasn't there, have them be more than just "😐" at everything, for the love of fuck.

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3. Instead of making them boring characters that are basically just stereotypes + a one-dimensional version of Echo, give them actual personality.

Also, assuming they keep the abilities the same, let their abilities actually affect them negatively instead of just being a way for them to one up everyone.

Hunter - Give him a habit of being overly anxious. He's supposed to be a leader and he's supposed to be close to his team, so have him be worried about making a wrong decision so he often overthinks things to make sure that doesn't happen. Have him look up to Cody and maybe try to emulate him, since Cody seems to take sort of "older brother" vibes when he's around other people, people just seem to look to him for answers- (yeah because he's Marshal Commander, but also let me just have this). Give Hunter sensory issues, have him get uncomfortable and irritable and upset when things get to be too much.

Wrecker - Instead of making him "stupid, childish, and strong," actually make him smart---he's supposed to be a demolitions expert, so he's not just gonna be a dumbass. Also, maybe make him really protective over everyone and self-sacrificing, believing that he's the strongest so he can take the things that everyone else can't---have him be reckless, not because he's stupid, but because he doesn't want his brothers- (including the "regs") -to do the same thing and get hurt. Give him chronic pain. It hurts to grow and he had to grow a lot more than the others---plus, with all the injuries he's endured from protecting the others, he's bound to have been a little fucked up by those.

Tech - They wanna make him autistic coded? Great, we need more representation, but don't feed into stereotypes this time. Make him smart when it comes to his interests---engineering, technology, etc---but then also have him be lost when it comes to things that aren't in his areas of interest, don't make him know everything because that's not realistic. Maybe give him anxiety when it comes to social situations, me and a lot of other autistic people I know get anxious because we don't know what's "right" and "wrong" in social situations, let him actually have anxiety related to his social awkwardness instead of him just- 😐 -all the time. Have him be curious about things related to his interests and prone to rambling about them---let him be excited to tell other people what he knows instead of just saying- "I thought it was obvious." I'm not really sure what Tech's special ability is supposed to be other than just "smart," so let's just say he has an eidetic memory or something. Give him insomnia. Again, me and a lot of autistic people I know have trouble sleeping, and also let him have stress related to everyone always looking to him for the answers---let him mess up and feel guilty about messing up because "he's supposed to know everything/be the smart one."

Crosshair - Don't just make him an asshole who's always looking for a fight---maybe just make him quiet but with a sarcastic sense of humor, that way it's a lot more shocking when he starts speaking up against Hunter. Let him also be anxious in social situations since he doesn't know how to navigate them, let him look to Hunter or Cody for cues on what to do. Instead of basically saying "let's leave Echo for dead, he's just a reg" in TCW, maybe have him be vocally supportive of Rex whenever someone else shows doubt---have him understand not wanting to leave someone behind, have him care deeply about his brothers, and then let that make it hit so much harder when TBB has to leave him on Kamino. He's supposed to be The Best Sharshooter Ever due to genetic engineering? Great, give him eye problems. Make really bright lights hurt him, so he has to wear his helmet to make things easier on his eyes---maybe have him struggle with seeing things really close to him.

Echo - JUST GIVE ME TCW ECHO BACK, AND LET HIM ACTUALLY HAVE PTSD FFS

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4. Finally, change the direction of the story.

Make more of their story center around trying to help Rex save their brothers and try to figure out how to stop the Empire, not just them apparently having the world’s worst luck and being shitty bounty hunter knock-offs. When Rex asks them to help the Rebellion/their brothers/whatever, have them agree to help and go with him rather than Hunter basically just saying- "welp, that sucks ig, but I only care about my fellow "special" clones, so nah."

Have them join the Rebellion and help Rex free the other clones, use the show to give us a deeper look into the clones---what sort of culture they would’ve developed, the complicated relationship they would’ve had with the Republic, etc.

Give us episodes that center around Gregor, Cody, Wolffe, Fox, Rex, etc. and give us insight into what their lives were like after the Empire took over, rather than just having this show about a random group of "special clones" basically copying the style of The Mandalorian.

#so basically just change the whole thing #that's what I'm getting at #unwhitewashtbb #unwhitewash the clones #anti tbb #tbb critical #tbb hunter #tbb wrecker #tbb tech #tbb crosshair #tbb echo

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serpentinespider · 1 month

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Earth-6198 Flash ref!! Yippee!!

His appearance and personality are based almost entirely off of MCU Flash (with some of my own personal touches obviously), though the reasons he acts the way he acts are different. I also took several aspects from the comics, story-wise. He’s probably the character I’ve put the most thought into for this AU. I love him dearly :]

Abbreviated info under the cut! (It’s still pretty long, though.) Content warning for ableism.

I wouldn’t call Flash a bully exactly, because that would imply aggression; he’s just, well, a teenage boy. He also comes from a pretty wealthy family, which makes him entitled, plus his parents don’t really give him any positive attention. He makes insensitive jokes and generally tries to keep himself as the center of attention because he’s insecure and seeks approval from his peers. Will do pretty much anything to be liked, and if that fails he’ll act out for attention. He’s very resentful of anyone he considers to be smarter or “better” than him. Flash has a running rivalry with Harry Osborn. Harry is somewhat GNC, has stereotypically “cringe” interests, and is disabled (t1d) so he’s an easy target for Flash’s mean jokes. (Flash thinks that he’s “allowed” to make ableist jokes at others’ expense because he himself is disabled.)

Flash has cerebral palsy which affects his fine motor skills and ability to walk. His parents got him into physical therapy as early as possible, and he responded well to it— but not well enough for their liking. In Harrison Thompson’s mind, the goal wasn’t to improve Flash’s quality of life, but to “fix” him. Flash grew up with his parents constantly looking down on him, insinuating that his disabilities were his own fault. Sentiments like “you just have to work harder to compensate; if you fall behind, it’s because you’re not trying hard enough” were common. He’s taken that mentality to heart, and has very little self-worth + large amounts of pent-up stress and anger that he takes out at anyone else who is also “abnormal” (hence his meanness towards Harry).

He has also latched onto Spider-Man as a more… positive(?) reflection of these feelings— his father, who’s a police chief, hates Spidey, so liking him is like Flash’s small way of going against the stuff his parents say (even if it’s subconscious/he doesn’t fully know that’s why).

In sophomore year, Flash dated Felecia Hardy. They were the world’s most obnoxious couple, always getting in very public fights, breaking up but then getting back together dramatically a week later, etc. Felecia and Flash both have huge crushes on Spider-man, leading Flash to have a sexuality crisis and Felecia to break up with him for good after a few months of dating.

Black Cat was commissioned by an anonymous benefactor to steal an “alien clone” from Alchemax… she’d never done anything NEARLY on that level, but she was being offered a lot of money so she agreed. She did manage to steal the thing, but the deal fell through, and suddenly she had one lab-grown alien and no money to show for it. At a loss for anything else to do, panicking a little, Felicia dumped the alien onto the only person she could think of: her ex-boyfriend Flash.

Now, despite what his parents might tell him, Flash is very smart, and figured out what the thing was. Flash is, at first, very hyped about this. His first thought is, of course, to become a vigilante like his idol Spider-Man. Flash has a strong desire to be useful— not in the “I want to help other people” sense but in the “I need to prove to others that I have worth” sense. So, he crafted the Anti-Venom identity for himself!

Around this time, Spider-Man was in the process of fighting his first big villain, Hobgoblin, so the two ended up teaming up to try and take her down (in the least violent way possible). This caused some internal conflict for both Flash and Spidey…

Flash centered his whole identity around "fitting in" to the point that he actually has no identity of his own. He doesn’t know what he likes, he has no concept af his own style outside of mimicking others that he sees as influential, obviously the most prominent of these being Spider-Man. Which obviously comes with its own twisted irony since Spidey himself is so insecure in his own masculinity (mainly because he’s trans). The two of them were sort of trapped in this feedback loop of insecurity and validation when they first teamed up... Spidey longs for connection, but was unable feel comfortable around Flash as he felt like he has to perform to live up to Flash’s expectations. Meanwhile Flash had based his whole personality off of liking Spider-Man and put on this macho facade to try and impress him. But that just made Spidey feel more inferior, afraid he isn’t passing well enough, etcetera… their dynamic made even more complex by Flash’s very obvious (and unrequited) crush on Spidey. They’re awful, I love them :3

#Flash Thompson #earth-6198 #fishy art #Anti-Venom #symbiote

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slenderboo · 1 year

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TW: discussions of war and death

at this point I'm sure most people have seen Jennifer Corbett's recent post featuring a gif from the new All Quiet on the Western Front movie:

I haven't really seen any discourse about this on tumblr, but as someone who has A) seen the new All Quiet movie, and B) is very familiar with the book, I want to fill anyone who isn't familiar with them on what is specifically happening in this photo, and what it could mean for The Outpost.

For context, the guy in the photo is Paul, the main character of All Quiet on the Western Front.

To explain some of the current discourse I saw under the original post on twitter, a lot of people think this is referencing the frenchman scene, where Paul mortally wounds a frenchman and then desperately tries to save him, only for said frenchman to die.

But, that's actually not the part of the movie where this screenshot is from.

Right at the end of the movie, Paul's last surviving friend, Katczinsky, gets shot. Paul carries him for miles until they reach a doctor. There, the doctor tells him Kat had died hours earlier, leading Paul to realize he was carrying his dead body that entire time.

After that, Paul quietly lines up to march into battle one last time, now completely alone after watching each of his friends die one by one. And that is where the screenshot is taken.

Now, that's not to say the episode is going to follow Kat's story, or have a frenchman-style crosshair redemption plot, or even resemble any part of the movie. All Quiet is probably the most disturbing movie I've ever seen, and TBB is literally a children's show.

My guess is that the running theme of trying to save someone only for them to die/being completely alone is what the episode is going to center around, which would be tonally in line with The Solitary Clone and just in general Crosshair's arc.

Or yk the photo was just for effect, considering the episode is going to "push Crosshair to his extreme in a heartbreaking way" apparently, we really don't know until wednesday.

Regardless, have fun theorizing!

#bad batch season 2 #all quiet on the western front #tbb crosshair #tbb season 2 episode 12 #2x12: the outpost #the outpost #tw death #tw war

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the-ratronaut · 5 months

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Okay, so I just wanna ramble about some Alan Wake stuff. Particularly, what the fuck is going on with the character Thomas Zane and my theory on it. Fair warning, this has spoilers and also I am not completely done with my playthrough of AW2's final draft. I got a couple more chapters to go so if anything happens in the last few that makes me look stupid here that's my own fault for playing slowly.

This is a long post, so I'll keep it under a cut.

Okay, so what the fuck is going on with Zane? Every time he appears Tom has been radically different. We have the poet Tom from the original game, the clone of Alan from Control and the wild filmmaking auteur from 2. The games provide the explainations for Tom's changing background by saying the poet was a fictional character made up by the filmmaker Tom that he was taking the role of... but is that true? Personally, I think it is not, or at least was no, true.

There are multiple characters who still remember the poet and his works, Alan, Jesse Faden and Cynthia Weaver in particular. Now, I can't say exactly why that is with any authority, but I have a guess. All three of those people have something in common, they are deeply connected to the paranatural. Alan for obvious reasons, Jesse due to her connection to Polaris and Cynthia due to her connection to both the clicker, the angel lamp and Zane as an entity.

Now why does that matter? Simple, Saga Anderson and the Anderson brothers already showed in AW2 that due to their paranatural abilities as seers they are able to shrug off the changes in reality brought on by the Dark Place. Now we can't say for sure if this is true for all parautilitarians, we can say that there is precedence for it. If that fact applies to the three listed above, we can make an assumption about the truth about Zane.

If my leaps in logic are actually sound, then that implies that the original Zane was not a filmmaker, but was in fact a poet. It brings into question the current Zane. It implies that there must have been a shift in reality that changed Zane into a filmmaker. Now I can't say why this happened, there's a lot of failed plans that Alan had in the Dark Place and it could've been the result of one of those that brought about the current Zane... but that still doesn't explain everything, does it?

There was an ARG that Sam Lake put on after AW1 that centered around a blog called "This House of Dreams". It was about a woman moving into a house in a town called Ordinary (This happening 10 years after the Ordinary AWE). There's a lot going on in this blog but to sum it up she finds a shoebox full of poems by Zane and receives dreams explaining things further seemingly from Zane. The last of those dreams implying that the Zane we see in AW1 is not the original Zane, but a "bright presence" who Zane gave his body to as he dived into the Dark Place, using his last poem to create a safe haven within it for himself and the original Barbara Jagger.

So, that gives us a fourth Zane to account for, while also changing what we know about the Zanes we've already seen. This also implies that the Zane we know from AW1 was probably also a creation of Alan's as his fate doesn't match the one from This House of Dreams. It also solidifies the idea that the original Zane was not a filmmaker, as we see even more of his work. This all together means that no Zane we've met in a game has been unaltered by the story.

Not, what do I think this all means? I think there are at least two, but probably three separate Zanes. The solid two are the Poet who left this reality, and the Bright Presence who took Zane's form and is the one we know from AW1. Looking at the filmmaker Zane is where this gets weird. I believe one of two things is true. Either they are still the Bright Presence but they've been so heavily edited by Alan's writing that they are unrecognizable. Or they are a third entity that at some point latched onto Alan's writing for their own goals. If AW2 Zane is still the bright presence, it wouldn't explain the hostility and desperation he showed towards Alan, not unless Alan's rewrites really did change it to something very different from the benevolent diving suited entity in AW1. If it's a different being entirely, that begs the question of what the hell happened to the bright presence in the last 13 years. Not to mention why is the Control Zane so identical to Wake? Is that one some sort of form of the filmmaker that's still a WIP that Alan is writing? One where the details still needed to be filled out?

#alan wake spoilers #alan wake 2 spoilers #my stupid theories #God this is a long post #This is all ignoring the related question of what the fuck is going on with Scratch which is a lot simpler in my mind #I think there are two separate “Scratches”#The one from AW1 who was their own dark entity and died in AN and the current who is just the Dark Presence #Thomas Zane #Sorry if this is a bit incomprehensible I'm kinda shit at laying this kinda stuff out in text

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rebelsofshield · 1 year

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Star Wars: The Bad Batch: “Tipping Point” - Review

The Bad Batch sets up a climactic season two finale in an exciting episode that teases reunions and revelations.

While rescuing clone prisoners while in transfer between Imperial facilities, Echo uncovers hints of a larger Imperial conspiracy that may threaten the future of the clone army. In order to decipher the encrypted data recovered, he must reunite with his former squad on Pabu. Meanwhile, Crosshair undergoes torture and faces hard choices in the deadly facility of Mount Tantiss.

For the first time in the entirety of The Bad Batch’s second season, every member of Clone Force 99 appear in the same episode. They’re still very much scattered around the galaxy, but “Tipping Point” is the first story in quite a while to connect our full ensemble. In a way, this feels like an appropriate manner to wrap up a season that has sometimes felt scattered and has seen yet another member of the Batch leave the team. It shouldn’t surprise any viewer that “Tipping Point” tees up a finale that very much seems like it will have every member of the squad meeting face to face.

It begins with a tense raid/rescue mission that sees Echo and his new clone resistance allies rescuing fan favorite clone defector, Howzer. It’s a thrill in and of itself to see Echo working alongside his new clone resistors which include the off-kilter former clone commando, Gregor. After spending much of the last two seasons advocating for the rights of his fellow clones, it’s gratifying to see Echo so fully entrenched in this fight. And the sequence itself is a great set piece that has director Saul Ruiz staging a stealthy boarding party rescue/shootout that feels like it’s always on the verge of going wrong.

Writers Jennifer Corbett and Matt Michnovetz smartly use this as a way to bring Echo back into contact with the rest of his squad. Not only is it gratifying to see a somewhat giddy reunion between a bucolic Batch and their war weary former squadmate, but it effectively sets up a mission that feels pressing and intriguing. Mount Tantiss and its experiments sit at the center of all of The Bad Batch’s lingering mysteries and it seems that some answers may finally be around the corner. But, perhaps even more interestingly, Tantiss promises an even more weighty reunion in upcoming episodes.

“Tipping Point” also finally checks in on Crosshair for the first time since this season’s standout episode, “The Outpost.” Subjected to nonstop Imperial interrogation and torture, the Batch’s former sharpshooter has shredded any loyalty to the Empire. However, in perhaps one of the most satisfying character beats of the episode, when Crosshair finally does escape and hazily start blasting away at stormtroopers, it’s not his own preservation that he prioritizes. Instead, he warns his former squad mates that they and Omega are once again in the Empire’s sights. While Crosshair’s emotions and goals are of course still rightfully murky, his turn towards once again fighting for the safety of his clone brothers in arms feels earned and compelling. For the first time in a while, I’m actually eager to see him rejoin the Batch. As long as the reformation of the team is suitably bumpy, this feels like ripe ground for fertile storytelling in future seasons. I just hope that he makes it through this season. Losing Crosshair at this point would be the least interesting move this show could make, even if it’s likely to still land an emotional punch.

And so, we just have the two part finale to go and the Batch seems ready to reunite and truly fight back against the forces of the Empire. Answers and plenty of fireworks seem just around the corner.

Score: A-

#Star Wars #The Bad Batch #Star Wars: The Bad Batch #review #reviews

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hooliganarachnid · 1 year

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An idea for the Ahsoka show...

Picture a flashback to the clone wars, but with Rosario and Hayden in live action. It can be practically any battle--on a republic star destroyer or a small cruiser, and it works better if its not a clear point in time during the war. We see them bantering, genuinely enjoying one another's company, and establish the individuality of the clones, which hasn't been explored enough in the films. A scene like this would bridge the gap between TCW and the greater Star Wars universe, and, would make any clone wars fan shed a tear.

"Hey, Snips, you awake?"

Ahsoka snaps to alertness, and sits up on her bunk.

An alarm blairs, as the ship begins forcefully descending.

"Is that--"

"Yep."

"Oh come on--" Ahsoka exclaims, without a hint of true anger.

"Hey! I wasn't the one piloting this time!" Anakin tosses a lightsaber to Ahsoka, and she catches it. Anakin races off to the docking bay, ahsoka following behind. All around them is comotion, showing various clones getting into spacecrafts, while one man stands in the center of the room, providing orders.

"General Skywalker. Commander Tano," Rex greats, helmet held at his side.

"Focus on the main ship Rex--we need to take out its engines and then make the jump to hyperspace."

"General, I would advise sending more of my men to provide backup against any potential buzz droids..." Rex gives ahsoka a glance, implying a past incident.

"Affirmative." Anakin gives rex a quick salute, along with ahsoka, who gives the captain a nod of thanks.

Ahsoka man's her spacecraft, and tests her communicator. "Skyguy, can you hear me?"

"Loud and clear ahsoka, let's go blow up some droids."

"Yes master," Ahsoka says, with perhaps a little too much seriousness. The ships take off, exiting the docking bay and entering the surrounding space, where a separatist battleship is being attacked. She fires on a smaller ship attempting to take them down, causing it to explode. Over a dozen more smaller fighters come out of the larger ship, flying straight for the jedi.

"Come on snips! This is where the fun begins!"

Ahsoka smiles, and the memory ends.

(Please, writers of the show. I'm actually begging you. I will sell my soul for this.)

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helpish-blog-blog · 10 months

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WHAT ARE THEY FEEDING US.

Social media feeds have become so fucking boring. I spend more time searching than I do consuming. it feels like thats intentional. Like the tech companies give us what we want via algorithms sure, but it also feels like they through in stuff they know we won’t like to keep us scrolling.

I have said it before and I will say it again, podcasts are the last place we have true freedom of art. The rss feed has all but been killed off. even Spotify is trying to kill it off in favor of propriety feeds and exlusives.

It wasn’t that long ago that it felt like exclusive art on the internet was not a thing that could really survive. And yes I said art not “content”

But now we are seemingly foaming at the mouth for walled gardens. We could live in a world where I distribute my art to multiple platforms and people partake depending on the platform they use. This is of course how podcasts work. But no. I am told I must make different “content” for all platforms. And those thumbnails better be on point. I better get my SEO on point… I have already heard this story grandpa.

It’s the same old song and dance. Up the requirements for relevancy to the point you can only have success if you have a large amount of free time and resources and ability. And typically one only has these things if they also have a tremendous amount of privilege, usually passed down through family. So, the people that succeed start to look a lot like each other and a lot like the successful people of the past.

That is the cycle we need to break. I dont think it’s some master plan or some grand conspiracy. It is just how systems of supremacy work. From the patriarchy to white supremacy classism these things all survive because of the systems. And every once in a while a new system poops up that looks like it may finally topple supremacy and quickly rules and requirements of success come in to make it hard for those without privileges to succeed.

Western music theory, proper grammar, universities, best bussiness practices, proper manners, universities, churches, and now social media engagement, SEO, content monitization… these are all set up to make sure only those with privilege can truly succeed and the the about privilege is that its number one priority is to stay privileged.

The ability to subscribe to and follow any is the biggest threat to all of this. So thats why I am not surprised that on nearly all social media platforms follower counts matter less and less and you are lucky if you get your “content pushed to more than 10 percent of your audience. No. Wait. No. You are not lucky. You are privileged.

Instagram just released a new app called threads. It’s a twitter clone but its killer feature was to instantly follow everyone you follow on instagram now on threads. But dont get it twisted and think you are actually able to follow people in any sort of normal real time way. THEY LAUNCHED WITH NO FOLLOWING FEED. Those followings are just used to fee the algorithm to serve you what they think you want and continuously scrolling.

They had a real opportunity for a stable enriching platform. But that is not the internet we have right now. We have an internet and a culture that will gladly sacrifice stability for growth. But non stop growth is no way to live. it doesn’t support actually life. Just ask…cancer.

And guess what? It’s your fault. It’s my fault. It’s our fault. We just accept it and it’s probably the most destructive thing in our society. Look it’s not bad to using algorithms to serve new things, the way streaming sites do based on what you’ve watch and on what people who watch what you watch also watch. But imagine if you opened up Netflix and it only showed you random episodes based on an algorithm.

It’s not good for us. None of this is good for us. It’s all way too damn much.

Internet 2.0 was this great promise and it was centered around a thing called an rss feed. A url that was updated every time a creator released something. This was the backbone of blggon and podcasts and YouTube and later Facebook and twitter. The problem is when private companies went public and the pressure for monetization came in to play.

It went like this.

We need to make money. How?

Ads.

Ok. So we sneak them into the feed.

There is a problem though. We can’t clog up the feed with ads. And if Mary sue only follows 15 people she’s only spending an hour or 2 an our platform so she is only getting an add or 2 a day.

Ok then let’s also show in her feed any post the people she follows comments on. And let’s add groups or forums or trending topics to generate more comments. The more comments we get the more posts show up in the feed.

Now we have a lot more content all of a sudden. Let’s do some research on what kinds of content gets more people to comment on and push that to the top of feeds.

While we are at that research thing can we also find out what gets people addicted to commenting and coming back to see who responded?

Ok. Thats working. Now people are spending a lot more time on our platforms and we can serve more ads.

Ya know now that we have all this data I bet we could write some code that replaces the rss feed with a new kind of feed that serves what ever is going to get the most engagement and keeps people addicted to our platform.

Well that worked. But some of our advertisers don’t nt like how easy it is for certain kinds of content to gain traction and there are certain kinds of people they don’t want having that kind of power. Can we do something about that?

Sure. We can prioritize things in the algorithm feed that make it easier for certain kinds of people to succeed. Then we can pay people to follow these rules and then push their content. We will make them sign an NDA so no one knows and make sure to make it look like organic growth. Then people will follow those rules and start to censor themselves.

And now we have things like “corn” instead of porn or the over use of the term unloving entering the vocabulary of society in a huge way. I am even starting to see people unnecessarily censor them selves in private because it’s become such a huge part of our culture. All because advertisers want you on your best behavior so you can help them sell more products.

Dont get it twisted. Y’all aint content creators you are an advertising platform.

Look I am futurist. A progressive. So I dont say this lightly. We need to turn things back a bit. Or it’s going to be the emotional and spiritual death of us. We need to bring back true followers. Subscriptions. Enrollment. We need to reject scroll culture. We need to get back to picking who we let into our feeds. Feeds are here to stay. But a feel should be a delivery system not the product itself.

Sharing something and following or subscribing to someone should be a meaningful activity. What we pay attention to and what we share with each other is a core of our identity and culture and we need to have ownership of it.

So how do we the “content consumers” do something about all this. It starts with intention. Asking how this behavior helps you or could help you to help someone else whether its insightful ness, silliness, entertainment, education or whatever.

When you share something on social media that someone else made dont just simply share the link. Add a caption. Share why this was impactful enough for you to want to share. If you can’t come up with a reason consider that maybe it’s not worth sharing. Not everything is and thats ok. It’s ok to create or consume things you dont share.

I promise if you limit yourself to 1 or 2 hours a day of short form social media a day not only will your happiness and social media experience improve the way you use it will change.

Embrase long form content. Consider that maybe your resistance to long form well thought out content with lots of context and nuance is not because of your shout attention span but perhaps an addiction to short instantly gratifying content created to get you used to consuming ad length content.

Aint that a bitch? Think about it. We are all basically just watching commercials all day long now. Not just short video but even the way we present text and pictures is set up like an ad. Everything is an add. So many you dont even noticed how many ads are being served to you.

I feel like “influencers” just make ads. Not just for products but ads for joining their “community” which is of course cuz advertisers figured out that community and culture are how trends are set. People like us do things like this.

And now there is this fear of long term content but I think it’s actually some bullshit. It’s not fear it’s junky behavior. Its weird justifications to not admit we are addicted to short form instant gratification.

I dont can’t commit to a 3 hour movie but I will binge watch 30 minute episodes like it’s my actual job for 8 hours.

I dont have time for that 2 hour podcast but I will spend 6 hours watching TikTok videos.

Can’t respond to my friends long ass book of a text who desperately needs connection but nah I can totally talk to strangers on the internet for 5 hours.

And then we act like we fucking know something. We know nothing.

They got us chasing being an influencer just they like did chasing being a rock star or business man. It was all made up then and it’s all made up now. If you give a shit about your well being and integrity you face an uphill slog covered in boulders that crushed those that crushed the souls of those that came before you. Even if you think you are not chasing influencer culture you should take inventory cuz I got some bad news for you… we al are.

They took this wonderful phrase “it aint what you know it’s who you know” and twisted it into this weird middle school social game of hierarchy. Perhaps we should update that. It’s not who you know its who you have a relationship with. Who claims you. Who is enrolled in the outcome of you being you.

#social media

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theoriginalcarnivorousmuffin · 3 years

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Okay but I would LOVE to here your heretical opinions on Padame if you ever want to share them or any of your other views on star wars prequel characters. Your character analysises are INCREDIBLE and really fun to read <3

Oh boy, are you sure about that? Well, the ask has been made so here, we, gooooooooooooooo!

Padme’s one of those strange characters who appears as one thing but in actuality is quite different. Because she appears as the first thing, and it’s something people really like, most people accept that at face value and if she’s not always consistent--well, she came from a series of screenplays written by George Lucas.

Padme comes across as a very noble, kind, and courageous character who is also quite politically savvy. At fourteen, against all odds, she saves her planet from invasion when the Senate did nothing, secured herself an ally in the chancellor (nevermind him being secretly Palpatine), and even after relinquishing her title as queen remains a major player in the senate for years and is seen as enough of a threat to warrant several assassination attempts (one so bad she has to be guarded by Jedi and sent home to Naboo for several weeks).

And I’m not saying she’s not any of these things. Padme is very courageous, is one of those odd politicians who... believes she stands for what she believes in (more on this later), and has a remarkable political career.

However, she’s also romantic to the point of being completely and utterly delusional, self-centered, and frankly a little nuts.

(Yeah, you knew you were waiting for me to say something terrible, WEREN’T YOU?!) Right, so what’s wrong with Padme?

Well, if you look closely at a few of her choices, the ones that never seemed to make much sense, then you can look at her other choices and... Well, it all sort of comes together.

That’s right, I’m talking about “Attack of the Clones” and “Revenge of the Sith”.

Attack of the Clones we have the very lackluster and strange romance of Anakin and Padme.

On Anakin’s end, his infatuation with Padme makes a lot of sense. She was part of the party that rescued him from slavery, she was very kind to him, and was the prettiest girl he’s ever seen in his life. Ten years later, always having harbored a crush on her memory and keeping it alive through whatever news he hears of her, she’s grown into a very beautiful woman and Anakin is by chance introduced back into her life. I get why Anakin falls head over heels for Padme, I’ll get more into this later and how their relationship has some major issues (aside from the obvious), but I understand why he marries this girl out of nowhere even when it could get him thrown out of the Jedi. (As an aside, since this is more of a Padme post, I think Anakin was spurred on in part also by the death of his mother and his massacre of the Tusken Raiders. Anakin’s life was flipped upside down in a very short amount of time, one of his great emotional ties is suddenly gone, and I think he has this internal crisis that culminates in him deciding to marry Padme. Without this, he and Padme may have become lovers, but I don’t think he’d marry her).

On Padme’s end... it’s a little less clear. Anakin has grown into an attractive young man, yes. Take out all of George Lucas’ dialogue, and maybe Padme finds Anakin very charming. However, Padme secretly marries a Jedi she’s known for three weeks. Now, I’d be a bit more forgiving of this, love is love and we can’t always think rationally, but there’s some other things.

Unlike Anakin, Padme hasn’t been spending the past ten years romanticizing her memory of Anakin Skywalker. When they met in Phantom Menace, Anakin was not only five years younger than her, he was nine-years-old. To fourteen-year-old Padme, Anakin was not then dating material and was instead this poor boy in slavery. Which means while Anakin has build up justifying this rapid romance, Padme really doesn’t. What this means is that her romance with Anakin reads a lot more like a romantic fantasy. Cute dashing bodyguard shows up, saves her life, through contrived circumstances they’re sent back to beautiful Naboo where they spend time together, only cute bodyguard is a Jedi and can’t marry, which makes their love excitingly taboo!

Everything Padme does, before and after this point, lends itself to this overdeveloped sense of romance. Padme wants to be whisked away, wants to have this secret unsustainable marriage with a man who cannot be married, she’s in love with the idea of being in love. Given how little time she spends with Anakin, how little they really know of each other, I’d say she’s more in love with the idea of Anakin than Anakin Skywalker himself. And this isn’t a bad thing necessarily, or at least not a grievous flaw, however, that’s not all.

Padme chooses to marry Anakin knowing he murdered an entire village of men, women, and children. She marries him almost immediately after the massacre of the Tusken Raiders. Note, she does not learn about this later and have to come to terms with it, she is right there. She is on Tatooine with him and sees him go to do it and then return.

Padme doesn’t take it... particularly well, that said, she also seems to shove it under the carpet immediately. She, first, marries Anakin within days after this event. She second, never really has a “holy fuck, Anakin” conversation with him. And worst yet, she never confesses to anyone else. Padme is a hypocrite and willing to sacrifice everything she believes in, albeit I believe unwittingly, for her romantic fantasy.

She tells no one about what happened. An entire village was brutally massacred, those who are already poor and oppressed and have no voice, by a man who is supposed to be a protector of all people in the galaxy. I’m sorry, Anakin, but if Padme was who you think she is then she would have to tell the Jedi Order at the very least if not the Republic. Instead, there are no consequences, only Anakin’s descent into guilt and madness as three years pass with it festering in the back of his mind. Padme does not stand for the poor, for the people, or for justice. She only does so when it does not conflict with her own interests, i.e. her actions regarding the invasion of Naboo. More, I do not believe Padme has the introspection to realize this about herself, she never realizes that not narking on Anakin was very very very bad. Three years pass and she lives the whirlwind romantic fantasy that she and Anakin both want. They’re secret lovers/spouses, meeting up at the oddest hours of the day and... This is three years of this ridiculous affair. Three years to come to terms with the fact that something must change. And then the kicker, Padme gets pregnant, and this is where the extra delusional comes in.

The child should have been a signal of the end. There can be no more secret now. Padme is having a child, presumably out of wedlock, and even if space is very very very different from our society I imagine this would be quite the scandal that could even get her thrown out of the senate. I believe Padme mentions as much to Anakin. More, Anakin is no longer a lover, he is now a father. What’s supposed to happen now? They raise this secret child, instructing them that Anakin is only a father in private, never in public?

Anakin and Padme briefly flirt with the idea of Anakin leaving the order. Anakin even wants to do so, but it... never happens. Now is the time it absolutely should happen. Yes, Anakin’s a big part of the war effort, but he could at least start talking to the Order and they could decide if it’d be a slow or fast exit.

My theory, Padme’s too in love with the fantasy. Anakin leaving means he’s no longer a Jedi, it means he’ll come to Naboo, be unemployed and be around. Anakin visiting will no longer be this romantic, fraught with the danger of being found out, passionate, short lived event for Padme. It’ll become real life. He’ll be a real, ordinary man, she’ll be a real, ordinary, woman, and that spark of romance will be gone.

I don’t think Padme wants that.

Which is why, even with the child on the way, we see Anakin and Padme continue to play out this ridiculous secret lovers fantasy. And then, of course, Anakin goes insane off screen.

Padme is told that, once again, Anakin has murdered dozens of children. Of course, this is a terrible thing to be told and she can’t process it. She needs to find Anakin and confront him, but people always criticize Lucas here and feel it’s out of character for Padme to have run to Anakin in sobbing hysterics with no plan of enacting vengence.

Frankly, I think it’s very in character. She did nothing about the Tuskens, remember? I think at the end of the day, the murder of the Jedi children means very little to her. What hurts Padme the most is that the fantasy of Anakin she married is not real. The Anakin she married would never murder the Jedi children, betray the Republic, or do any of what he’s done. And I think Padme only has that strong, iron, will when she knows the world she’s in. With the Trade Federation, her stance was obvious. Her people were being oppressed, butchered, and invaded. In this case, the world she knew no longer exists.

The Republic is gone, perhaps hasn’t existed in thirteen years, as it turns out the senator who had always been her biggest supporter was a Sith Lord. The Jedi are gone, children murdered by Anakin while those in the field are picked off by their own clone soldiers. Padme’s world has fallen apart, and I think that makes it much harder for her to be the girl we saw in Phantom Menace. In time, perhaps, she would have joined the rebellion but... I do think Padme might have also given into despair.

So, yeah, that’s Padme for you.

#ask #anon #padme amidala #star wars #star wars prequel trilogy #anakin skywalker #anti anidala #anti padme amidala #are you sure you wanted this rant?

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agirlunderarock · 2 years

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You know what I haven't done in a while?

Give

More characters I headcanon as being on the asexual spectrum

We're long overdue for this and I'm still at the peak of my star wars hyperfixation so this one is going to be all star wars related

1. OBI-WAN KENOBI

The man is on the asexual spectrum, probably demiromantic my favorite kind of romantic. Like name me a character aside from Frodo (who is also ace) who endures so many tragedies but still has so much love in his heart that it hurts. He has so much love for his friends, they're his family, he'd do anything for them whether they know it or not. Now I know what some of you are going to say, "but Sierra he flirts like a bitch-" and? Whats you're point? Flirting can be fun. He likes word play and showing he's the smartest person in the room, or at least giving that energy. Being bad at flirting isn't an asexual trait. Besides, I too would flirt with Ventress, she makes it too easy. Also I absolutely chose this gif on purpose nothing has given me an ace crisis more than that cloak drop.

2. REY SKYWALKER

I'm sorry but that one shirtless scene with Kylo Ren did not strike me in any way as building sexual tension. Rey is another character with so much love for people, and a belief that there is good in everyone. To me her story should have never involved a romantic arc- (though I do have a way that it would make it satisfying to me and make me actually want to give Kylo Ren an actual redemption arc but thats a different post and I need to rewatch) Rey's story and really all of the stories in the sequel centered around personal identity- and I'm getting off track. Rey is ace and thats all. The only ship she gets excited about is the Falcon. Like what else do you need but a lazer sword and a space ship? A GANG OF FRIENDS TO KICK FASCIST ASS THATS WHAT

3. ANAKIN SKYWALKER

Man only ever loved three women. One was his mother, the third was like his little sister and then of course Padmé. That being said the only reason I don't put him as demiromantic like Obi-Wan is because like it was practically a snap decision for Anakin. Boy fell so hard for Padmé and that was that. And again I know what you're gonna say, "But Sierra he had sex with Padmé!" Yes, whats your point? Still on the asexual spectrum. He can be demisexual or just a sex positive asexual- he can be ace and enjoy being with Padmé.

4. JANGO FETT

The king of asexuals. Man wanted a son and straight up did it through cloning. Good for him. Jango is a guy who's grown on me recently but it has everything to do with his friendship with Zam Wessel before he killed her and I just 🥺 All I'm saying is he's a cool dude okay

5. AHSOKA TANO

Okay now I haven't read the books but I heard about that part where a girl she helps tells her she could kiss her and Ahsoka responds with "Uh thanks?" And if that isn't the most ace response I dont know what is. Sure there was that weird thing with Lux, but like he feels kinda like stale bread retoasted too many times (like the trope with jedi having relationships with political figures). What I'm saying is Ahsoka is yet another character with so much love and respect for her friends and eager to experience the galaxy. A+ ace rep

#star wars #asexual headcanons #star wars headcanons #obi wan kenobi #Rey Skywalker #Anakin Skywalker #jango fett #ahsoka tano #Padmé #my headcanons #sierra writes #i should be sleeping but this demanded to be said

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thimbil · 3 years

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Having some thoughts about the references and inspirations used for the Bad Batch’s designs.

So Boba Fett is my absolute favorite character and Temeura Morrison was perfect casting. I went to see the 2008 TCW movie in theaters because I was so excited to see him again, even if he was animated. You can imagine my disappointment. Whoever was on screen was not Temeura Morrison. You could sort of see a resemblance if you squinted and didn’t think too hard about it. They replaced Temeura with Racially Ambiguous G.I. Joe. If I didn’t know better and someone told me the animated clones are space Italians from the moon of New Jersey I would buy it. One Million Brothers Pizzeria and Italian Bistro. Not that there’s something wrong with being space Italian, I just don’t think it’s the right choice for the Fetts. The design got slightly improved by season 7 but it still bugs the hell out of me.

I did eventually get into the show later and (of course) got invested in the clones. Unfortunately, they were largely sidelined by the Jedi storylines. Out of the two new main characters created for TCW, Ahsoka definitely got more development and focus than Rex. When they announced The Bad Batch, I was excited to see a show specifically devoted to the clones… at least that’s what it said on the tin. We have all seen what lurks beneath those stylish helmets.

Jango Fett, you are NOT the father.

So who is?

Based on interviews with Filoni, it sounds like the Bad Batch was a George Lucas idea. And like all his ideas, it’s super derivative. The original trilogy directly lifted elements from sci fi serials, westerns, and samurai movies, more specifically Kurosawa films like The Hidden Fortress. For The Bad Batch character designs, the influence is obviously American action and adventure movies.

Now let’s get specific. Bad Batch, who’s your daddy?

Hunter

Sylvester Stallone as Rambo in First Blood 1982. That bandana has become an integral part of the iconic action hero look. You see a character wearing one and it’s a visual shorthand for either “this character is a tough guy” like Billy played by Sonny Landham in Predator 1987, or “this character thinks he is/wants to be a tough guy” like Brand played by Josh Brolin in The Goonies 1985 or Edward Frog played by Corey Feldman in The Lost Boys 1987.

Hunter’s model is closest to the original clone base. If you look closely you will see the eyebrows are straighter with a much lower angle to the arch. His nose is also not the same shape as a standard clone like Rex, including a narrower bridge. It’s certainly not Temeura Morrison’s nose. Remember what I said about space Italians? It didn’t take much to push the existing clone design to resemble an specific Italian man instead of a specific Māori man. The 23&Me came back, and Hunter inherited more than the bandana from Sylvester.

Crosshair

The long narrow nose, the sharp cheekbones, the scowl. That’s no clone, that’s just animated Clint Eastwood. Not even Young and Hot Clint Eastwood from Rawhide 1959-1965. With that hair, I’m talking Gran Torino 2008. The man of few words schtick and family friendly toothpick in lieu of cigar are pure Eastwood as The Man With No Name from Sergio Leone’s spaghetti westerns A Fist Full of Dollars 1964, For a Few Dollars More 1965, and The Good the Bad and the Ugly 1966.

In a way, this is full circle because the actor Jeremy Bulloch took inspiration from Clint Eastwood for his performance as Boba Fett in ESB.

Wrecker

In an interview Filoni lists the Hulk as an (obvious) inspiration for Wrecker. Ever seen the old Hulk tv show from 1978? Well take a look at the actor who played him, Lou Ferrigno. Would you look at that. Even has his papa’s nose.

You could make the argument that Wrecker was influenced by The Rock, an appropriately buff ‘n bald Polynesian (Samoan, not Maori) man. But look at him next his Fast and Furious costar Vin Diesel and tell me which one resembles Wrecker’s character model more.

Tech

Tech is a little trickier for me to place. If he has a more direct inspiration it must be something I haven’t seen. That said, his hairline is very Bruce Willis as John McClane in Die Hard 1988. His quippiness and large glasses remind me of Shane Black as Hawkins from Predator 1987. In terms of his face, he looks a but like the result of McClane and Hawkins deciding to settle down and start a family. Although, Tech’s biggest contributors are probably just everyone on TV Trope’s list for Smart People Wear Glasses.

And finally,

Echo

Oh Echo. Considering he wasn’t created for the Bad Batch, he probably wasn’t based on a particular character or movie. But if I had to guess, his situation and appearance remind me a lot of Alex Murphy played by Peter Weller in Robocop 1987. However, Robocop explored the Man or Machine Identity Crisis with more nuance, depth, and dignity. Yikes.

The exact tropes and references used in The Bad Batch have been done successfully with characters who aren’t even human. Gizmo from Gremlins 2: The New Batch 1990 had a brief stint with the Rambo bandana. I could have picked any number of characters for Defining Feature Is Glasses but here is the most cursed version of Simon of Alvin and the Chipmunks. Suffer as I have. Marc Antony with his beloved Pussyfoot from Looney Tunes has the same tough guy with a soft center vibe as Wrecker and his Lula (also a kind of cat). Hell, in the same show we have Cad Bane sharing Cowboy Clint Eastwood with Crosshair. I actually think Bane makes a better Eastwood which is wild considering Crosshair has Eastwood’s entire face and Bane is blue.

So we’ve established you don’t need your characters to look exactly like their inspirations to match their vibe. So why go through the trouble and cost of creating completely new character designs instead of recycling and altering assets they already had on hand? Just slap on a bandana, toothpick, goggles, and make Wrecker bigger than the others while he does a Hulk pose and you’re done. Based on the general reaction to Howzer it would have been a low effort slam dunk crowd pleaser.

But they didn’t do that.

So here’s the thing. I like the tropes used in The Bad Batch. I am a fan of action adventure movies from the 80s-90s, the sillier the better. I am part of the Bad Batch’s target audience. Considering what I know about Disney and Lucasfilm, I went in with low expectations. I genuinely don’t hate the idea of seeing references to these actors and media in The Bad Batch. I don’t think basing these characters on tropes was a bad idea. If anything it’s a solid starting point for building the characters.

The trouble is nothing got built on the foundation. The plot is directionless, the pacing is wacky, and the characters have nearly no emotional depth or defining character arcs. They just sort of exist without reacting much while the story happens around them. But I can excuse all of that. You don’t stay a fan of Star Wars as long as I have not being able to cherrypick and fill in the gaps. This show has a deeper issue that shouldn’t be ignored.

Why do the animated clones bear at best only a passing resemblance to their live action actor? In interviews, Filoni wouldn’t shut up but the technological advancements in the animation for season 7. So if they are updating things, why not try to make the clones a closer match to their source material? Why did they have to look like completely different people in The Bad Batch to be “unique”? Looking like Temeura Morrison would have no bearing on their special abilities and TCW proved you can have identical looking characters and still have them be distinct. In fact, that’s a powerful theme and the source of tragedy for the clones’ narrative overall.

Here’s Filoni’s early concept art of Crosshair, Wrecker, Tech, and Hunter. (Interesting but irrelevant: Wrecker seems to have a cog tattoo similar to Jesse’s instead of a scar. Wouldn’t it have been funny if they kept that so when they met in season 7 one if them could say something like “Hey we’re twins!” That’s a little clone humor. Just for you guys 😘)

None of these drawings look like the clones in TCW, much less Temeura Morrison. Let’s be generous. Maybe Filoni struggles with drawing a real person’s likeness, as many people do. But he had to hand this off to other artists down the line whose job specifically involves making a stylized character resemble their actor. Yet the final designs missed the mark almost as much as this initial concept. Starting to seem as if the clones looking more like Temeura Morrison was never even on the table. It wasn’t a lack of creativity, skill or technical limitations on the part of the creative team. I don’t think there is an innocent explanation. They went out of their way to make the final product exactly how we got it.

This goes beyond homage. They could have made the same pop culture references and character tropes without completely stripping Temeura Morrison from the role he originated. It was a very purposeful choice to replace him with more immediately familiar actors from established franchises and films. It wouldn’t shock me if Filoni, Lucas, and anyone else calling the shots didn’t even think hard or care enough about the decision to immediately recognize a problem. And I don’t think they believed anyone else would either. At least no one whose opinion they cared about. Those faces are comfortingly familiar and proven bankable. They are what we’re all used to seeing after all. They’re white.

Lack of imagination, bad intentions, or simple ignorance doesn’t really matter in the end. The result is the same. Call it what it is. They replaced a man of color with a bunch of white guys. That’s by the book garden variety run of the mill whitewashing. There’s no debate worth having about it. For a fanbase that loves to nitpick things like whether or not it’s in character for Han to shoot first or Jeans Guy in the Mandalorian, we sure are quick to find excuses for clones who look nothing like their template. Why is that? If you don’t see the problem, congratulations. Your ass is showing. Pull your jeans up.

#star wars #the bad batch #unwhitewashtbb #wrecker #crosshair #tech #hunter #echo

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chronicallylatetotheparty · 3 years

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Lucky Charm: Reflekdoll

Summary: Adrien struggles to adapt to his powers as Mister Bug while facing an old villain with a new trick. Will he be able to learn fast enough to save his partner?

----------------------------------

"Reflektas, start turning the rest of Paris into me!"

Adrien hid behind the overturned car as Reflekta's clones started attacking untransformed civilians. Apparently, Reflekdoll broadcast a signal that brainwashed any copies. "That's new."

"You are Chat Noir, correct?"

Turning, he spotted a red kwami holding a pair of earrings. "Yeah? And that over there is... Ladybug?" Adrien asked as someone who could only be his Lady launched herself at the giant sentimonster. The suit may have been different but the cat ears were a dead giveaway.

"There's been a little mix up with the Miraculous. I'm Tikki, pleased to meet you!" Tikki offered Adrien the earrings which he accepted.

"Well! Tikki, transforme-moi!"

-----------------

Marinette dodged blast after blast from Reflekdoll.

"Well, my Lady Noire, looks like you're playing the easy part today!"

Lady Noire looked over to see who could only be Chat Noir with her Miraculous. "Not so sure about that!" Placing herself in front of him Lady Noir whirled her staff as a shield, blocking Reflekdoll's beam. "Looks like we'll be taking on two opponents that amplify each other's powers!"

They jumped onto the top of a nearby stone pillar as Reflekdoll attacked again.

"Stay focused, Mister Bug!"

Mister Bug took his yo-yo out and whirled it like he'd seen Ladybug do countless times. "Just my luck. I'm gonna have to capture two akuma instead of one."

"No, one akuma and one amok," Lady Noire corrected.

Reflekta fired her beam into one of the ports onboard. The magic layered by Reflekdoll before it shot a concentrated beam. Mister Bug acted on instinct and tackled Lady Noire out of the way. They rolled to their feet and charged up Reflekdoll as Lady Noire explained what a sentimonster was.

"Would've been nice to know what the Peacock could do before their sentimonsters started showing up!" Mister Bug commented as he launched a kick at said sentimonster to little effect.

"It was on a need-to-know basis!" Lady Noire swung her staff into the sentimonster with similar results.

"I really need to talk with the Guardian about what he considers 'need-to-know'!" Mister Bug leapt back towards the ground with Lady Noire. "Okay, so we need to find Reflekta's akumatized object and the baby monster's amok."

Lady Noire deflected another beam from Reflekdoll. "Can you manage or should we switch back?"

"C'mon! I'm totally capable of doin' it!" Mister Bug smirked.

Lady Noire pulled him out of the way of Reflekdoll's beam and they ran towards the Eiffel Tower. "We need to figure out where the akuma and amok are!"

"Probably the same place as the last time we fought her. In her bracelet!"

They jumped onto the tower itself and used the iron structure to shield themselves. "Maybe. We're gonna have to check that!"

"If I could just get my hands on a mirror I'd be able to reflect her own beam back at her!"

Landing on the first level, Lady Noire turned to look at Mister Bug. "That's not how it works." She crossed her arms. "The Lucky Charm doesn't just give you what you want."

"You ever asked? Watch and learn!" Mister Bug grinned. "Lucky Charm!"

"A mirror!" Oh, Adrien was gonna lord this over her so much!

"Beginners luck," Lady Noire declared. Chat Noir was gonna be insufferable about this she could feel it.

"You're just jealous of my mastery!" Mister Bug teased.

A loud banging interrupted them and they looked down to see Reflekdoll climbing the tower. Reflekta steering with one hand and shooting her much smaller lasers through the window eyes with the other.

Mister Bug held out his mirror and reflected one of them back at her. Bullseye!

Reflekdoll shot at them with its big beam.

"Very effective, Mister Bug."

"Hey, it worked didn't it?"

Lady Noire sighed in exasperation. "May I remind you that the Lucky Charm doesn't just give you an object to defeat the villain with-"

"I thought that's exactly what it does?"

"You actually have to figure out exactly how to use it!" Lady Noire poked him in the forehead. "Using your head!"

Reflekdoll reached there level and started firing. Mister Bug jumping for cover while Lady Noire blocked its attack with her staff. "Since you wasted your Lucky Charm. I guess that means it's my turn, buggaboy! Watch and learn! Cataclysm!"

Lady Noire leapt at the sentimonster and-

Her body was pulled out of the way of Reflekdoll's beam just in time. Mister Bug unwinding his yo-yo none too gently. "What was that about using your head? May I remind you that Cataclysm needs a physical medium to work properly! If that sentimonster is made outa magic I doubt it'll do what you want!"

Lady Noire held the Cataclysm as close as she could without actually touching it. "Well, what do you suggest?"

Mister Bug pulled her out of the way of another beam. "Uh... I... Knock her back to ground level while I come up with something?" Adrien smiled with the most conviction he could muster.

Lady Noire groaned. "Think fast!" And rushed out. Dodging Reflekdoll's attack she extended her baton and struck the sentimonster with her full momentum. Reflekdoll crashing back down to earth.

Taking advantage of Lady Noire's distraction Mister Bug glanced around from his high vantage point. Trying to spot anything that would spark an epiphany like Ladybug. "Okay, I admit it!" he cried out, shoulders slumping, "Being Chat Noir is way more fun."

Lady Noire leapt around the sentimonster and struck at its body. The Black Cat giving her a bit more agility than she was used to. Very handy.

Mister Bug added a swing of his yo-yo to one of her attacks. Reflekdoll stumbling with their combined force.

Lady Noire landed beside him. "What have you got?"

"Ah," Mister Bug rubbed the back of his neck. "About that..."

She stared at him. "Seriously!?"

"Well, I'm sorry! Some of us are just slow learn-"

"LOOK OUT!"

Lady Noire didn't think. She just acted. Mister Bug was the only one who could purify the akuma and he needed to keep going. She pushed Mister Bug out of the way as one of Reflekta's clones attacked... Just as Reflekdoll fired its beam.

"My Lady!" Mister Bug cried out.

Lady Noire stood immobile as a Reflekta copy.

"Yes! Now get bug boy's Miraculous!" The original Reflekta ordered.

Springing to life, the Reflekta that used to be Lady Noire aimed her bracelet and fired.

Mister Bug whirled his yo-yo as a shield and leapt to the nearest roof.

"You won't get away from me!" Reflekta called after him as he fled for cover.

-----------------

Adrien leaned against the wall of his hiding place. Breathing deeply, heart hammering in his chest. "Okay. It's okay. Ladybug does this all the time! What would Ladybug do? What would Ladybug do?"

The Ladybug earrings beeped insistently.

"This is fine!" Adrien announced as he detransformed.

Tikki falling into Adrien's palms as he fell to his knees.

"This isn't fine! Tikki, I can't do this! I'm no Ladybug! We should've switched back when she said! I-" Adrien's chest constricted and he forced his breath to slow.

"She trusted you enough to keep going," Tikki said weakly.

Her state bringing Adrien out of his head. "You need food."

Tikki hovered closer to his face, looking him in the eye. "No two of my Ladybug's have ever been exactly alike. Some are slower learners than others. I trust you, too."

Adrien looked away, shoulders hunching. "But I messed up."

"Remember Stoneheart?" Tikki prompted. "Ma- Ladybug messed up too. But you still believed in her." She placed a paw on his cheek. "Believe in yourself now."

Adrien's gaze came back to her.

"Don't ask what Ladybug would do. Ask yourself: what would Adrien do?"

Steeling his resolve Adrien nodded, rising to his feet and cupping Tikki in his palms. "First things first," he inched closer to the alleyway's entrance. The overturned car with his stash of Camembert a short sprint away. "Let's get you recharged."

A gaggle of Reflekta clones chased a group of civilians past him. The people hit turning into more copies and standing still until the akuma villain's voice came booming over the city. The new clones springing to life so they could follow her orders.

They lit up in Adrien's mind and his head shot back to the sentimonster in the distance. Its beam lighting up too.

Adrien gazed down at Tikki and grinned. "I've got an idea."

-----------------

"Lucky Charm!"

A mirror fell into Mister Bug's hands. "Wow, twice in a row. Lucky me," Adrien deadpanned as he tied it to his arm like a shield using his yo-yo. The plan was a laughably simple two step process.

Step One: Get shot.

"Hey, Reflekta!" he hollered from a rooftop at convenient shooting hight. "Don't you know that pink frills are so last season?"

"Once I turn the whole world into Reflektas it'll be the only season!" She fired into Reflekdoll's port which concentrated her energy into a stronger blast.

Just as planned. Mister Bug braced his feet and held his Lucky Charm directly in front of him. "Here we go!"

The sentimonster fired.

Step Two: Shoot Reflekta with her own sentimonster's magic.

The beam reflected off Mister Bug's mirror and perfectly into the round eye windows. Blasting Reflekta dead center.

Adrien held his position for a moment, peaking past his makeshift shield. Reflekta and Reflekdoll stood still. Waiting for orders from... themselves. The enhanced magic dependent on the sentimonster and by extension whoever was driving it.

"Yes!" Mister Bug raised both fists. "Now just a little pest control and we can all get on with our day!"

Finding and purifying the akuma and amok was easy when he wasn't being shot at. Grabbing Juleka as the sentimonster vanished and setting her down on the ground.

Adrien looked at Mister Bug's reflection in his mirror... "I've always wanted to do this." And tossed his Lucky Charm into the air. "Miraculous Mister Bug!"

As the ladybug's restored Paris he spotted a familiar black suit. Adrien ran for her.

"Mister Bug? What- OOF!" Lady Noire stumbled as her partner barreled into her and tried to squeeze all the air out of her lungs. Once she could breathe Marinette wrapped her arms around him and patted his back. "You did good, little bug."

Adrien just held her for a moment. She was okay. He'd saved her. She was okay.

Then his earrings beeped.

Breaking the hug, Mister Bug jerked a thumb over his shoulder. "Ah, we should split."

"Yeah..." Lady Noire readied to extend her baton. "... I think I finally get why you're so protective."

Mister Bug smiled. "And I get why you're so focused all the time."

He offered a fist bump and she accepted. Both heroes leaping in opposite directions.

-----------------

"Tikki!" Marinette cradled her friend to her chest.

"Marinette!"

"I can't believe how much Chat trusts me... Knowing you might have to do that again? I don't think I could handle it."

"He's your Chat Noir for a reason, Marinette," Tikki agreed.

-----------------

"Fighting by yourself is horrible, Plagg! I don't know how Ladybug does it." Adrien held him tight. Deciding never to let his Miraculous out of his sight again.

"She's got you most of the time, doesn't she? You're supposed to support each other, ain't ya?"

"Yeah. You're right..."

-----------------

"... Well, one things for sure, Tikki." Marinette gazed off in the direction Plagg flew towards.

-----------------

"She definitely-"

-----------------

"He definitely-"

-----------------

"-got the short straw."

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Yes, this is technically the last prompt... But it's already written and I'm impatient.

@adrienaugust

#adrien agreste #marinette dupain cheng #tikki #ml fanfic #reflekdoll #ml rewrite #adrienaugust #adrienaugreste #kwami swap #mister bug #lady noire

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archtroop · 3 years

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Titan's iteration for Red Hood, for Jason, is not what I was expecting, but damn I like it.

But alao, Curran Walters.

In this type of genre tv/fantasy/comics/sci-fi, more then in other shows, an actor might shine so bright he may literally steal the show. Or rise above and beyond. It's a specific kind of energy. Jensen Ackles did it on the set of Dark Angel. In S1 he was cast to play a side character. He was so, so good, the writers utilized the plot to write him a role in S2. (clones. They cloned him. In a series about clones and test tube baby soldiers, that was on point). Later, as Dean Winchester, he goes on attracting plot and screentime and ATTENTION, even though he was the duoganist to Padalecki's Sam Winchester, the protagonist.

In Teen Wolf, Dylan O'brien, a goofball supporting "best friend" character outshined everyone, got to star in a whole season about Stiles, became the main gravitas point to speculations and meta, and whoa, the half of the most popular ship.

(the shipping in of itself is telling, in regards to all of those characters and the actors playing them. Jensen Ackles & Dean Winchester became a mini black dress cross-fandoms. He was the constant half of the two main and ruling ships on spn. That is A+++ Power over audiences).

Now in Titans... Curran Walters is "it". Some doubted, some are still mean. Some may say he only gains popularity for he was destined to play Red Hood, first time in live action ever. Which is partially true. Yes, he won the lottery (he worked HARD for it, what lottery) with that role, but that was step 0.00001

From here on it was all on him. And boy did he deliver. He has this same energy. On screen charisma, I previously mentioned. He acts with everything that he has, he communicates with his eyes, and in a show centered around the characters, is a character study, a psychological noir of sorts, that is so significant.

Not to diss any of the cast though. Actually I've never been so pleased with a wide cast so much in my life. All so. So good, and engaging. From episode 1.01 I was HOOKED.

I got obsessed with Batman, Robins, DC.

And I was SATISFIED. As it is, I loved it. And then they introduced Jason Todd.

The episodes with him rank higher on viewership, but you can chuck it down to the fact that this was the first time for this source material to ever grace the screens. But I don't think so. Maybe in S1. But not in S2 and most definitely on S3. Jason got his full episode only for himself on S3, episode 5. And HE CAN ACT.

In the next episode, Jason appears for literal moments, and steals the show. The struggle, over control, anti-authority, chaotic nature of an uotlaw are already built in, written in the character. From the cop beat-up, that served as his main "inward" introduction, up to his scuffle with Dick's leadership, and even Scarecrow. The latter scared him a lot. And what he does? Undermines his current "liege", Scarecrow. He does something so chaotic in its nature, that I think, the Joker would have been proud. In the process, he hurts himself, emotionally, deeply, but regaining control over his "destiny", for him, was more crucial.

It's a difficult role to play, a tragic anti hero. It's not just looks. Or the lines. Curran does it with his whole body, with every muscle of his face, with his IRISES. He was looking into the shop as the consequences of his actions took place. He was writing it all down over his bruised, bleeding conscience, sacrificing it to assert dominance over his mind, body and soul.

This is DARK SHIT.

(I was NOT prepared to how DARK this show will get. But from the get go they sank their teeth into the "children in danger" and all kinds of psychological hurt. I'm VERY SATISFIED I EAT WELL ON TITANS.)

He can already carry an episode all by himself. By the end of this season, if he is not spinned-off for an Outlaw something-something, it would be a loss. He can already hold a plot. Imagine him with a partner/team in a series. A season or even two are guaranteed. What a chaos.

A side note. The two previous examples I used were original material. Styles was loosely based of of. But Titans has tons of source material to pull from. Red Hood is a monster of a franchise all on its own but lacks consistency. And stakes are high, but what they are writing for Red Hood in this iteration is unique. It's actually even more grounded, and rounded, than the source material.

Curran Walters playing Red Hood, Outlaw, can be oh so explosive. If they play it right. He has more than enough pull, charisma and on screen beauty. (which entirely different thing for just preety stuff. The camera loves him. It's a huge YES for me.) he works well with other faces on screen. He has the determination and the devotion to the character and to his work. I'm here for all of this.

(but please keep Kory out of it. Just. Please. RHATO Kory was amnesiac at best, high at worst. Unless you have a very good explanation, which, you probably don't, just stick with Arsenal, or Artemis and Bizzaro.)

#titans dc #Titans (2018)#Jason todd #Curran walters #Red hood #Outlaw #My little meta?#Something like that

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omegafan101 · 3 years

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Alright fuck it, I’m bored and I saw someone say Omega was a bland character but it was on a 5 month old Reddit post so I therefore could not bring myself to comment on it. So fuck it here’s an Omega character analysis type thing.

Omega is not a simple, violent, emotionless, metal husk like a lot of people think he is, he certainly has less character than Gamma but that’s another topic.

Truthfully, yes, Omega’s personality is largely centered around his absolute bloodlust. But even that has more character to it than just violence. In the games it’s not just violence for violence, it’s an anger fueled vengeance quest against his creator and everything he’s made. The Archie comics actually made his thirst for blood even better by making him more of a comic relief who practically fell in love with Blaze because of how dangerous her flames were. Not to mention that version of Omega has Gamma’s transferred memories and emotions.

Beyond that though, this point cannot be stated more with how much Sega denies it these day, Team Dark are friends! Yes, even Omega! Case in point, at the beginning of Heroes Omega sees his team mates as nothing more than a means to an end, they are there to help him find Eggman and destroy him, he even has a voice line in team battles after Shadow and Rouge die where he says “That’s a load off my back.”

However by the end of the game his views of them has clearly changed, which is evident from one scene at the end of Team Dark’s story. In the scene, Rouge and Omega find a room filled with Shadow androids, which Omega is preparing to destroy. Rouge breaks the news to him that Shadow is dead and is more than likely also an android, and instead of making any regard of Shadow’s status as a rebellious robot, he instead rationalizes it that the androids must be clones, and the original must be somewhere. He ends up being right but in the moment it comes across both as a sort of comfort to Rouge and a reasoning for him to not have to destroy Shadow, because he sees him as a friend.

Omega is only in two missions in Shadow the Hedgehog, but he’s involved in the plot line of Shadow learning and coming to terms with the fact he’s an android, which ends up being a lie anyway. The very first thing he asks Shadow is “Are you the original.” He wants to destroy the androids, but he doesn’t want to risk hurting his friend. And even when Omega does find out Shadow is one of Eggman’s creations he doesn’t destroy him.

And finally what I think is Omega’s best characterization, ironically is comes from Sonic ‘06. The very first thing Omega does, upon learning Shadow is in trouble, is go into standby mode for well over a hundred years to essentially brute force time travel and save him. People can say he did this because it was a mission from Rouge, but no, Omega is not one to just blindly take orders, especially not ones that would directly impede his destruction of the Eggman Empire. He only does this because it was a request from a friend to save another friend. But my absolute favorite Omega scene comes from when Mephiles reveals that, years from now, Omega will defeat Shadow and seal him away. Omega doesn’t just continue shooting Mephiles, he takes time to think, and then in a fit of rage switches to his machine guns and rips Mephiles a new one. After Mephiles is gone, Omega shows the most emotion ever even with his monotone voice, by seeming genuinely upset as he breaks the news to Shadow. Hell, even in the final story Omega shows sadness when everyone learns Sonic is dead.

If anyone tries to tell me Omega doesn’t care about Shadow and Rouge again I’ll scream.

There’s even something to be said about Omega as a foil to Gamma. Many people compare them as they’re both the red E-100 series robot turned friend, but they have little in common otherwise. Gamma goes down the sort of Iron Giant path. The gun that doesn’t want to be a gun. He goes on a quest to free his brothers from their prisons and even considers killing himself to free the bird inside before Beta does it for him. Omega meanwhile is the antithesis to everything Gamma was. Omega knows full well that he is a violent weapon, and he loves it. If the two ever met as allies, and not as enemies like in Archie, they still would not get along, their ideals oppose each other directly. And I think that is so interesting.

TLDR Omega is a fun character who actually has a personality and cares about his friends don’t @ me.

#sonic the hedgehog #e-123 omega #e-102 gamma #long #analysis #character analysis #Sonic Heroes #sonic 06 #shadow the hedgehog

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