#Also for sure some of it is just for survival BC if they regress they probably won't get another chance

[hajihiko]

Even Makoto must have realized that the plan for them retaining their memories via shutdown really came down to nothing more than "HOPE AND MAKE IT WORK SOMEHOW, WE GUESS." I actually had to write a fic to clarify in my own head how they held onto themselves, because let's be real, the ending (rightly) assumed that the player just got swept up in the "fuck yeah!!!!!!!!!" emotion of the ending.

I think Makoto was very much just Doing The Right Thing, like, *not* letting the train run over the small group to save the larger group, because that's who he is

But as for the survivors I think the fact that they recover and rehabilitate comes down to a few key points:

-They got force-booted out of their old way of thinking and acting, which they had gotten very desensitized to, so they got back some of the inherent innocence of being teens (not you Fuyuhiko)

-The memories of Junkos manipulation and their own subsequent actions trickle in slowly (as opposed to hitting like a freight train like in Mikan and Nagitos case) so they have time to process

-They genuinely have a better support net in the abandoned post-apocalyptic island than they did in their school year lives. DR2 has some sad sad backstories and Hope's Peak sucks, living with your best friends who understand your trauma & know what to look out for is a lot more healing

-they just made That Choice, they say that's the most important part in overcoming a bunch of unhealthy stuff

(I am nota bene operating on my own headcanons wherein the hypnotism bs didn't happen)

I think it's a nice theme that anyone can do bad but also anyone can choose to be better :)

#Like its not easy but with the combination of Therapy and Good Social Connections and sci-fi mind reset #You can reverse the harmful mindset you got so caught up in #That's why Junko had to try so hard to convince them to make the wrong choice #Anyway that's my take lol! #Not an art #Talky Talky #Also for sure some of it is just for survival BC if they regress they probably won't get another chance #And they no longer have as much power so it'd be curtains for them. They WANT to be good but it's also the best option for life

[dino-boyo-agere]

Okay, I don't know if I'm alone with it, but I can't stop thinking about Saltburn characters as age regressors & CGs, especially Felix..

I'm sorry, but this man boy had a broken bike, and instead of just.. pushing it to the destination that wasn't too far, (especially not with this long legs!!?!) all he did was sulk and sigh in the hopes somebody would take pity? He definitely belongs in the baby pile!!

Same with Annabel.. You can't tell me she doesn't use regression to cope with her messed up family life, and the fact that she had to survive in the shadow of her golden child brother..

Anyways, here are Saltburn AgeRe head canons:

Felix mainly regresses for fun and to give his true emotions an outlet.

His regression also helps to heal his inner child from the emotional neglect he had to experience throughout his childhood, but he hasn't quite figured that out yet.

He keeps it "secret" from his parents, cuz they wouldn't understand..

Elsbeth knows technically, but she thinks it's a k1nk thing & she doesn't care.

James also knows.. He doesn't understand it, but he places some baby stuff in Felix's room as a surprise every once in a while.. Felix doesn't know they're from his dad.

Duncan has become some sort of primary caregiver for Felix.

He takes credit for the gifts, because he really enjoys the happy dances, thank you hugs and pictures he gets from little Felix. Ducan thinks "if the gift giver didn't put their name on it, they probably didn't want Felix to know anyways, so there's no harm in taking the credit."

He really enjoys how loving, cuddly and vulnerable little Felix can get.

Duncan feels like he can finally raise a child of his own. (He never had time for even a relationship, bc of his job.)

Felix is still a little brat when tiny, he was raised to be one, so it's hard to shake off.

He throws fits, cries, yells or even throws physical things, when something is not going his way.

Annabel knows about his regression and is not sure how to bring up that she also is part of the baby pile.

She found it helps her cope with her mental health issues, she mainly regresses involuntarily, after bad episodes.

Felix ends up finding out and they have playdates sometimes, but they often end up fighting.

Big Felix also judges/ makes fun of her for "not being able to control her regression". He doesn't understand the concept of involuntary regressing.

He has a really hard time realizing that not everyone is exactly like him, that's just a result of being the golden child.

Annabel is often sad/ upset when tiny.

She also gets jealous when she sees how loving Duncan is to Felix.

But she also really wants Felix to like and play with her, she's desperate for his approval and a sibling connection.

At one point James finds his daughter crying, that's nothing unusual, but this time he could tell it was different.. she seemt so incredibly small and fragile.

He becomes her primary cg after that night, and their relationship immensely improves.

Felix gets upset because he doesn't get as many gifts anymore though and gives Deacon he'll for it, still thinking they where from him lol

He's happy to see Annabel and James creating such a loving relationship, but he'd never say that out loud.. he's a little jealous at the same time aswell tho.

Farleigh also finds out about their regression, but is not sure what to make of it.

He kind of wants to take care of the little ones sometimes, and that scares him.

Little Felix giggles a lot, he likes running around and playing outside & in the water.

He's also an absolute cuddle bug, but only with Ducan. He follows him around like a lost puppy and constantly seeks physical touch. (Grabbing his hand/ arm, hugging him, etc.)

Felix also really enjoys showing off his skills, to get praise from his cg.

Ducan has a whole chest full of pictures, crafts and learning pages little Felix did.

Annabel is more of the quiet type, she likes coloring and just snuggling with her Papa or a plushie.

James really values this second chance at being a good dad to his daughter, he felt a lot of remorse for always prioritizing Felix.

Annabel and Felix's relationship also ends up improving.

The fighting will probably never fully stop, that's just sibling things.

Farleigh also finds himself filling a "big sibling" role over time and he likes being the one in charge every once in a while.

He's is stricter than Ducan and James, but he's not unfair.

With Farleigh he kiddos have set bedtimes, a limit to how many sugary stuff they're allowed to consume and get scolded for fighting/ causing trouble.

The most dreaded punishment of Felix is sitting on the stairs for 5 to 10 minutes, kid hates being bored.

Unfortunately he often has to sit on the stairs, he's quite the trouble maker.

Annabel hates getting her plushie taken away, the plushie is still in the same room, but up on a shelf, she just can't cuddle it for 5 to 10 minutes.

Luckily she very rarely has to be punished, she's a very well behaved kid!

All in all, regression brings most of the family closer together! <3

That's all I can think of right now, I might add more later.

I left out Oliver on purpose, cuz he's a creepy little freak and we don't stand him in this household hehe

Hope y'all enjoyed this read!!

.ﾟ｡.･.*.ﾟ☆❗only interact if your blog is SFW❗☆ ﾟ.*.･. ｡ﾟ.

#nates headcanons #age regression saltburn #saltburn age regression #saltburn agere #agere saltburn #little! felix catton #cg! Duncan #little! anabel catton #sfw interaction only #sfw #sfw agere #agere #age regression #agere community #age regression community #age regressor #agere fandom

[brainrotdotorg]

ITS ABSOLUTELY DIVINE THAT YOU MADE THE CUNOESSE BLOG!!! i was just thinking about the klaasjeruby + cunoesse dynamic. (btw the asks on that blog so im dropping this heeeere)

first of all, i think cunoesse would absorb ruby's personality. bc in this au cuno (in her eyes) betrayed her, she is probably very possesive of ruby once they actually bond. can absolutely see her changing her name to something that sounds like ruby (ruin? rue as in rue the day? ruby calls her kangaroo once and gets hissed at) and then like. having an identity crisis because she learns ruby isn't a natural ginger. cunoesse may feel shut out because ruby will not tell her things that cuno would have done (nightmares, for example) while ruby is just trying to be The One Decent Adult This Kid Has Ever Seen

would she view klaasje as competition? i think the inevitable answer is yes, because klaasje has the 'upper hand' as both knowing ruby beforehand and being an adult. and again, by being scarred from cuno betraying her, c might view ruby's kindess as conditional, and would attempts to like...become ruby's guard dog???? as in, if klaasje does something to make ruby upset or annoyed, cunoesse is on high alert. to klaasje, its a mix of eventual fondess for c as well as apprehension, because a child tailing after a moralintern fugitive and a la puta madre run away is a massive vunerability.

i think she ends up transing c's gender though. c asks her how she slips through so many different persona's, and she gives some poetic metaphor about consuming the previous self to sustain the future, only for c to go 'i have to eat cuno's gender. got it 👍'

i

kicking my feet in delight as i listen to all of this . love the idea of her eating cunos gender

VERY fun interpretations of the way things could go when c runs aaway with ruby i loooooove the kangaroo bit lol. in my version of events ruby doesnt run away with klaasje, i dont really see them together bc klassje did ruby SOOOOOO fucking dirty (it was for survival ofc and shes got her own shit going on but for the sake of au. its ruby c roadtrip time)

i think the two dye their hair together in a truckstop bathroom and c goes with a crazy color. maybe blue or something. something that when she looks in the mirror it doesnt remind her of cuno anymore. its amazing how much a color can change a person entirely. ruby dyes her hair too for safety since shes on the run but she helps out c with the entire process

i think now that c has a good role model (ruby is KIND she is SELFLESS she is GENEROUS she is CONSIDERATE she is BUTCH AND AWESOME) (also hell now she just has. any role model in her life.) she doesnt exactly mellow out but ruby helps her in a lot of ways. she still will wake up screaming in the night and will curse out ruby when shes scared or mad and sometimes will regress and pretend shes a creature to cope again. but now shes got an adult in her life that cares about her

its a process that the two get to know each other by, c doesnt want to talk about her shit and ruby doesnt appreciate being called a dyke every other sentence. they for SURE have a tough time adjusting. but they adjust. because what else are they going to do?

ruby probably knows how it is to be a little girl thats scared. we dont know a ton about her past but i would imagine that she was probably the type that was visibly queer from a young age and learned that this was not a world that was made with her in mind. and it wasnt made for c either. they both know how to run and theyre running together instead of running with people who dont help them get better. c is just a kid and shes a kid who deserves better. the two really help each other.

#disco elysium

[snoopyblankie]

Could you maybe please do a list of non-canon fluff/comfort killjoys headcanons? :3

Of course !! Sorry it took a couple days, work has been busy (bleh) so ! I’m writing this before I get ready ^w^

NON canon killjoy hcs include …

- Jet insisting they do movie nights to keep everyone occupied (he memorizes everyone’s favorites, and at first would keep lists here and there just in case) (typically, whoever is regressed gets to pick the movie, and if there’s more than one person regressed, he’ll pick a movie with like a coin toss or something to that nature)

- I like to imagine them all living together, just a buncha young adults splitting rent or something in a little place, and I think that there’s probably room sharing involved (as such, Party’s and Kobra’s room looks the most childish, the walls littered with a mix of movie/music posters and such Knick knacks, as well as drawings from one another and various toys/stuffed animals everywhere)

- Building off the last one, they could all maybe work to have a distinct space for folks who’re regressed, but since money is a big part of things, they probably all just have very specific bins with some go-to regression gear (books, coloring books, markers, a favorite sippy cup or similar, fidget toys, etc etc etc) all tailored to the specific regressor

- Ghoul loves those like excavation kits?? Whether it’s looking for the dinosaur skeleton toys or some cool rocks, he loves using those

- Party is probably the worst (affectionate) to take shopping, because (with the lack of responsibility of survival on their shoulders) he is a lot quicker to slipping when passing by something they’d want when regressed (this is usually paired with them coming home just “…whatcha got there” “……..nothing” or “why Can’t I get that?” “You’re on a Budget”)

- Kobra would love a weighted blanket so much I feel like and he absolutely deserves it (as well as those tactile minky blankets with the bumps on one side??)

- I also think (back to the sibs’ bedroom) they’d have the string lights everywhere or just colorful ambient lighting in general, it makes them feel cozy

- Jet likes offering to take each of them out for just like little outings?? The park or a walk around a museum or if he’s got a lil extra money maybe to an aquarium or a toy store (Party frequently tries paying him back, he ends up giving back the money bc he only does that stuff when he can for sure afford it)

Thank u for asking !! (Killjoys aren’t mcr !)

#lil pup answers ! #anon ask #fandom agere #fandom age regression #danger days agere #ttlotfk agere #jet star #party poison #fun ghoul #kobra kid #age regression #agere #age regressor #agere blog #age regression blog #alternative age regression #alternative regressor #alternative agere #alt age regression #alt regressor #alt agere

[ryanthedemiboy]

20 Questions for fic writers

(I was tagged by @annachibi )

Note: i'm combining answers for all three of my pseuds/both accts

1. How many works do you have on AO3? 56 :)

Ana's response: "18, I'm not very prolific haha"

That's so much! iirc the average person has like 2 fics under 3k total!

2. What's your total AO3 word count? 231,440 :D

3. What fandoms do you write for? Right now it's Fullmetal Alchemist. I may or may not go back to Marvel at some point. And I may move on to another fandom at some point :)

4. What are your top 5 fics by kudos? Four of the five are from my Ed is Dying series c: #1, 6, 7, 3. The fifth is an HP fic I wrote in 2016.

5. Do you respond to comments? Yes! It's extremely rare that I don't; only if I have nothing to say.

Ana's answer: "Yes, just about every one! Sometimes I don't if it's been multiple years since I wrote the thing and I don't have much to say back, since I figure some people don't necessarily want the author to respond anyway."

I promise you, almost everyone wants the author to respond! And the ones who don't just aren't going to check them xD

6. What is the fic you wrote with the angstiest ending? Oh this is an excellent question. I have to be careful here, because spoilers. The end of the first fic in my spn series ended in a suicide that was unclear that he survived (he did). And then I have the death fic for my Ed is Dying series written, that's angsty af. There's also a fic I wrote recently on my semi-secret AO3 acct that doesn't seem angsty but it really fucking is.

7. What's the fic you wrote with the happiest ending? Uhhh... I need to go look.

I forget if Out of the Box (MCU non-sexual age regression) had a happy ending, but basically the whole fic was gentle happiness. Same with Cas and the Bee Bag (spn. This is 9 years old)

I do not appear to have any other fics that are happy. Interesting, neutral, enjoyable, positive, sure. Not happy 😂

8. Do you get hate on fics? Not thus far

9. Do you write smut? Sometimes

10. Do you write crossovers? Not usually. It's very rare that I will. The main one I can think of is unpublished, idk if I even have it tbh — I had to write a crossover fic with A Scarlet Letter for my English class in 11th grade. I chose Doctor Who xD I believe that remains the only fic i've written for doctor who.

11. Have you ever had a fic stolen? Not that i'm aware of.

12. Have you ever had a fic translated? Nope

13. Have you ever co-written a fic before? Yes! It was a blast. I forget why, but I asked my friend not to list me as a co-author.

14. What's your all-time favorite ship? Riza/Al, I think.

15. What's a WIP you want to finish but doubt you ever will? My spn series. I am so many levels of uninterested, and even if I did, i'd have to rewrite it from scratch bc it's not up to par, anymore, and is extremely insensitive in parts (in particular, I have Cas using bible pages as the rolling paper for his weed. He is not xian. That's just what I remember off-hand). All that said, i would love to finish it.

16. What are your writing strengths? Emotion. Hitting the reader where it hurts.

17. What are your writing weaknesses? Anything with happiness 😂

18. Thoughts on writing dialogue in another language in fic? I have done it both ways. And both are kind of cringey for me, when i've written them in the past.

Generally, the best way is to use italics to signify another language, and specify that language, as long as the POV person understands it.

19. First fandom you wrote for? HP

20. Favorite fic you've written? Talk about a good question. Probably one of the kink fics i've written. I love how i've had the characters be with each other, and shown their love for each other. I also love some of the drabbles i've made — it's hard to get a fic to exactly a word count, and getting an entire fic in so few words is a massive challenge, and very rewarding.

I'm not going to tag anyone, but if you want to do this, go for it!

Blank questions to easily copy/paste (incl on the app) below.

1. How many works do you have on AO3? 2. What's your total AO3 word count? 3. What fandoms do you write for? 4. What are your top 5 fics by kudos? 5. Do you respond to comments? 6. What is the fic you wrote with the angstiest ending? 7. What's the fic you wrote with the happiest ending? 8. Do you get hate on fics? 9. Do you write smut? 10. Do you write crossovers? 11. Have you ever had a fic stolen? 12. Have you ever had a fic translated? 13. Have you ever co-written a fic before? 14. What's your all-time favorite ship? 15. What's a WIP you want to finish but doubt you ever will? 16. What are your writing strengths? 17. What are your writing weaknesses? 18. Thoughts on writing dialogue in another language in fic? 19. First fandom you wrote for? 20. Favorite fic you've written?

#long post

[crepusculum-rattus]

Hey rat,

I'm doing math stuff and I'm genuinely about to commit several unspeakable crimes, would you happen to have some hardcore headcanons for my blood pressure? I'm particularly interested in what you think the end island looked like prior to flooding. do you think the canonical excavating was done by the ender king?

please. the regression models. i want to kill.

hi hi hi ^v^ i’m at work so it took me a minute to be able to respond bc we are Very busy today @_@

and oooohhhh yesyesyesyes i DO have a few ideas of what ender’s realm looked like before it Was endlantis. in my mind the pillars actually used to connect more Together to create this really cool (but also fucked up) castle. it wasn’t all fully obsidian so a lot of it didn’t Last.. i think it was made of lots of different materials that are mostly found in the overworld (while still utilizing mostly darker colors bc dramatic ass bitch) bc it was one of those ender showing off his wealth things… i think the place was actually quite beautiful despite ender being the reason for it. very extravagant. very.. ender

also i like to imagine there used to be wayyy more to the island that what it currently is.. not even just block height wise.. but like. the thought that it used to spread across more of the end, but a lot of it didn’t survive the flooding. a bunch of islands (the others smaller than the Main one which houses ender) with not very wide bridges to connect them all. like actually whole end cities near the main island except they do in fact look Very different than most end islands since they are under ender’s direct control. it would be fun to think of the logistics of That.. but i have not. yet

But i think most of the actual Damage to the island (islands in my mind lmao) happened because of the flooding. i mean.. the end’s inhabitants aren’t super compatible w water so i doubt the rest of it does well with water after long periods of time LMAO. the smaller islands didn’t survive and the bridges connecting them did not hold up. they were lost quickly. and like… not to mention,,, ender might be terrible and greedy, but he Loves his stuff. the island, the realm, is a part of that and i think he took great pride in how it looked.

so nah, i don’t think ender actually did much to damage the island. well i guess other than making that keep full of his treasures N stuff.. but that was mostly hidden and purely for showing off the shit he collected. not much damage done by the guy purely bc he would’ve probably thrown a tantrum like a toddler at his stuff “being ruined.” mans loved his stuff, and his stuff alone. would be counterproductive to ruin it.

other than like. when he attempted to wipe out all of the dragons ever. but that’s less of damage to the island itself and just like….. damage to nature. the dragons didn’t belong to him for Sure lmao

i wish you luck w math tho o7 i’m rlly bad at math, so i’m thankful i don’t have to take a math class Ever Again

#it’s kinda sad to think abt the entire city being wiped out tho #all bc of ender being a greedy bitch #but ehhh gods do what they must for the greater good or Whatever #hate ender So Much. feel a bit bad for the random ass endermen living there #philza #philza hardcore #endlantis #ender #rat got mail #manmadesunshine #ty for the ask ^v^ #🐀

[myupostsheadcanons]

(myu rants about DBZ stuff after crawling through a fandom sinkhole for the past month)

it is kinda fd up thinking about how most of the surviving saiyans were like under the age of 10 when their planet got blown up and then like the surviving adults mostly get killed off...

vegeta goes on-and-on about saiyan shit but he was like 7 before everything went to shit. he was also royalty... he was being spoon-fed the equivalent of class propaganda from birth

Nappa was stuck with two 7 year olds and prob watched the rest of the surviving adults get killed off in missions, then end up getting killed by one of those kids he had been stuck with for 20 years... after the other one was just killed off on a mission

Yeah... the saiyans act all -just keep moving on- when something bad happens... but from what crud Vegeta went through, that was some massive PTSD that built up after years of having to ignore/pushdown/hide/regress that needed dealt with before he could progress.

Not even mentioning the short end of the stick Raditz got... he would've been rather well adjusted if left with Gine and Bardock growing up, but nope... he was stuck being Vegeta's chew toy and had to listen on about how useless he was on loop for decades and made him mean/cruel. i am like 99% positive vegeta basically gave him a “no win” situation when it came to getting Goku back. It was like “sure go get him.. if anything we'll have another toy to kick around, and I'll kill you if you fail bc you are useless” Only to show up to find out that he had to scrap the whole thing bc his bro got brain damage and would rather die than come. >o<  (it isn’t like he could just give up/leave and he couldn’t defect to side with his brother because of Vegeta and Nappa being hella stronger than they are...)

#dragon ball z #saiyans #vegeta #nappa #raditz #loooook.... its one of those fandoms i was in really super heavy as a teen #i didn't really like Super that much so i didn't watch it... but i got a bug up my butt and went fandom dumpster diving

[nickjunesource]

nick has proved that he is a true selfless lover then why would june kiss luke in that spoiler

June is nuts

She kissed nick passionately in the S4 end just bc he helped her to seek Fred

She is selfish she used nick to survive and then left him

Because this contains spoilers, our response is below the cut.

Like we've answered previously, we totally understand why so many fellow Osblainers are upset by the things we've seen between June and Luke. It's not anything we or anyone in the Osblaine community want to see. We all believe that June has finally moved on from Luke and that by killing Fred, has ended her marriage. But we have a couple of theories about what's going on and we hope that this helps a little:

A conspiracy heavy theory (so take with a grain of salt), but some of us here aren't entirely convinced that it's June and Luke that are kissing, but rather Lizzie and OT. By this we mean that Lizzie and OT noticed the camera/attention and decided to get everyone talking by kissing. Our proof: For starters, Lizzie is wearing totally different pants and shoes compared to when we see her filming the scene where she appears to be looking up at something. And we know that that scene is a real one because the clothes (long cream coat, black leather pants, black heeled shoes) match up with the scene they filmed a few days earlier by the American consulate. We also know it (the looking up scene) is real because we could see footage of what the cameras were doing. Also of note, Burton Leblanc posted an instagram story featuring an article about the kiss. Would he have done that if it were meant to be on the show? Some of us here don't think so. They're very strict about spoilers from crew members. So in short, it's very possible that this kiss occurred between Lizzie and OT as a way of getting people to talk about the upcoming season, which they have been successful in doing. (Though of course they've upset a lot of people and turned them off, which we're not sure was a reaction they anticipated.)

The second theory is that June finds out about Nick's marriage at some point and is completely devastated. As a result she spirals and regresses and copes by falling into the role of the June from Before, playing house and ignoring what's going on around her in an attempt to survive. We see this as plausible because the cream coloured coat reminds us of a different cream coloured coat June wore in a season 2 flashback, where her Mom accuses her of playing house and being naive to the world around her. Additionally, the last time Nick was married off nearly killed June and so we can see the writers drawing threads from that and showcasing something similar where she becomes numb in a different way. (Of course we'd rather June be devastated for Nick and fight for his freedom, rather than stringing along a dead marriage and the writers recycling an old plot point.)

June and Luke are presenting a united front to try and save Hannah, and so they're pretending to have gone back to the way they were in an effort to do so. Hannah is the one last thing that June and Luke have, and we believe that they'd do anything to try and save her, even if it means pretending that everything is ok when it isn't. In the scene outside the American consulate and the scene in the busy square, June and Luke are both wearing similar colours, much like they were wearing similar colours in 409 when they were trying to save Hannah. Perhaps by presenting a stable and non-threatening united front, they hope to get public support that will pressure governments to try and help get Hannah back. Or perhaps they're doing this to show they're stable and a "traditional" family, worthy of getting Hannah back.

While it is possible that June is being selfish in some form (though we don't believe that June has or ever will use Nick, we're 100% confident that she loves him), that they're saying goodbye in this moment, or that she gives in to Luke and gives him another chance before they ultimately end for good, we're most attached to the first three theories. We believe that Osblaine are endgame, even if they keep needlessly dragging Luke/June along.

We do want to emphasise that they're not even halfway through filming yet, as they've just passed the 2 month mark and have another 3 months to go. (They've filmed for 63 days and have roughly 86 more left.) So it's still pretty early along and there's lots of Osblaine that can happen in those days, even if those early days unfortunately have some romantic Luke/June scenes. And gosh, do we ever hope to get a little sneak peek of something involving Osblaine. We sure deserve it.

#spoilers #tht s5 spoilers #tht spoilers #asks

[ot3]

Sorry to bother - feel free to ignore. I’m trying to write an orv fic bc. I like them. And I’m having trouble understanding why with the regression depression it’s the happy memories that get yjh the most. Best I can figure it’s bc he can use the bad memories to propel him forward - like he’s doing this to avenge them. But the good memories force him to realize these people are gone and he’ll never see them again. Do you have any thoughts? Thanks!

i think that's definitely more or less accurate! i think the 'those people are gone and he'll never see them again' bit you've pointed out is the critical piece here. ill stick my further thoughts below the cut. this is really long because i've pulled a LOT of long chunks of text from the novel to shore up this point. i just got home from work so my thoughts are gonna be a little bit incoherent here. skip to the end if you're not interested in reading all the segments i pulled from the text. spoilers all the way up through chapter 508

first things first, let's just go back to the novel and look at all the bits where YJH's depression gets brought up

“Maybe Yoo Jonghyuk-nim has already repeated a few lives. You have fought against terrible enemies and struggled against the beings of this world to save people. Enduring alone, lonely memories… We respect your sublime spirit.”

This jerk, such skillful flattery. Yoo Jonghyuk would be moved to tears if he heard. Later when he was depressed, I would have to tell him these words.

“But Yoo Jonghyuk-nim should’ve realized it from your past regressions. Even if you have an outstanding miracle, you alone can’t fight against the disasters that will come.”

Plus, he was right.

- from ch 48

「 Everything is twisted because of this person. 」

「 It is different from what I know in the earlier regressions. The amount of information available is too limited. I can’t save the world like this. 」

What was this?

「 The reason I was hurt by the Salvation Church was because we spent too much time in the last round. It was a mistake to train for 100 years then. My mind was permanently damaged. 」

「 Maybe it was a mistake not to get the Absolute Throne.  」

「 I will start from the beginning again… 」

Dammit, the regressor’s depression had begun. Was it due to the mental attack? I cried out in fear of what he would decide. “I’m hurt you jerk!”

- from ch 140

「 Those people can’t save the world, even with 100 trucks. 」

「 Once again, the answer is regression… 」

“Now now, our Supreme King isn’t in a good mood right now so back off. Do you want to die?” I personally stepped forward to get rid of any causes of depression.

- later on in ch140 as well

This jerk, he was always so impatient. He had been given time to rest but he was still busy thinking. Regardless of his depressed state, Yoo Jonghyuk was Yoo Jonghyuk.

“Before that, let’s take a moment to breath. The view is great.” I said while sitting on the roof railing.

Yoo Jonghyuk asked me, “What are you up to?”

“I’m just looking at the world. Isn’t it beautiful?” The city of Seoul was destroyed by the monsters. I quickly added, “It was originally a beautiful place.”

“I don’t like landscapes.”

“Why?”

“They are things that will disappear someday.”

I thought I had a bit more understanding of the third regression Yoo Jonghyuk after fighting against Shin Yoosung. I wanted to believe he was a person who could love this world without giving up or feeling despair.

I told him, “However, we need to protect these things.”

“Kim Dokja, you don’t know.”

This might be my misunderstanding. Yoo Jonghyuk could give up at any time because he was still in the midst of his regressions.

In the end, Yoo Jonghyuk’s purpose was to prevent the ‘destruction of this world.’ Paradoxically, he could give up on this world at any time. His essence was regression and this fact would never change.

“No, I know,” I replied.

“What?”

“The fact that you can regress at any time means that death is meaningless.”

I looked down at Lee Seolhwa caring for the injured. Lee Seolhwa was feeding her boiled soup to an unknown person. Despite her efforts, there was a high probability that the character would die. Even if they lied now, they would die tomorrow. If they miraculously survived tomorrow, they would die the day after tomorrow.

It was the same in the fourth regression and the fifth regression. There would always be ‘death’ in the world of Yoo Jonghyuk, even after passing the 100th regression.

“If there is no sense of death then the value of life also disappears.”

- ch141

There was the vague belief that he could do better in the next round with more information. It was easy for him to give up on this regression if something went wrong.

This was the precursor symptom of ‘regression depression.’ Some of the contents of Ways of Survival passed through my head.

It was around the 48th regression. Yoo Jonghyuk had consulted with an incarnation of the constellation ‘Discoverer of the Subconscious’ on the ‘regression depression.’ At the time, he seemed to be speaking like I was now.

I continued speaking, “Yes. It might be as you say. If you repeat it 10 or 20 times then it will surely get better. You’ll be exposed to more scenarios and see more of the future. The real problem is when you someday save the world in this manner.”

“What does this mean?”

“At that time, do you really think you saved this world?”

“…”

“Do you think you will be able to keep the same mindset after repeating it 100 or 200 times?”

“I won’t regress that many times.”

I silently stared at Yoo Jonghyuk.

「 …Don’t tell me? 」 Yoo Jonghyuk’s eyes slowly widened.

I kept speaking, “Are you having nightmares these days?”

“…”

“You won’t be saved, even if you save the world. The moment you save the world, the worlds you have forsaken will come to you. Despite saving one world, all the other worlds you abandoned will drag you to hell.”

- from further down in ch141

「 Yoo Jonghyuk felt lonely as he saw these watches. They got their time back but he still wasn’t

living in this time. Yoo Jonghyuk suddenly thought. If so, where do I live in those countless hours? 」

It was the monologue of Yoo Jonghyuk, who once saved the Demon World. It was also one of my favourite scenes from Ways of Survival.

I suddenly seemed to understand a bit of his mind. To the regressor Yoo Jonghyuk, the time in these worlds didn’t belong to him. In a life that could go back over and over again, the present time was meaningless.

Once this was over, I would ask Aileen to make me a watch. If he had something like this, he might become more attached to this world. Maybe the regression depression would get better…

- ch 207

A person who regressed more than a thousand times. A spirit that had become insensitive from the hundreds of suicides and tragedies that an individual could suffer. The extremely widespread regression depression…

「 Yoo Jonghyuk of the 1863rd round is the despair of the world itself. 」

- ch 285

Abnormal condition? There was no way. Who was the 1863rd regression Yoo Jonghyuk? This was Yoo Jonghyuk who was the Ruler of the East Hell and killed the Devil of Principles. There was no one among the constellations who could place an abnormal condition on the present Yoo Jonghyuk.

Yoo Jonghyuk’s eyes were blank.

I felt uncomfortable like something was stuck in my throat. No, there was. There was only one person who could cause an abnormal status in Yoo Jonghyuk.

+

* The target is suffering from ‘regression depression’ due to an unknown cause.

+

It was Yoo Jonghyuk himself.

Regression depression. The spirit of the man who had been broken over 1863 lives made the regression depression almost a passive, low level skill. Once he fell into the depression, his consciousness was caught in the weight of his memories and he couldn’t wake up.

[Kill him! He isn’t invincible!]

The ruthless strikes caused Yoo Jonghyuk’s body to bleed little by little. It was strange. Originally, the regression depression shouldn’t occur in this situation. In the 1863rd round, Yoo Jonghyuk had learnt how to manage this disease.

- ch 286

then this REALLY LONG BIT from 287. it has stopped letting me indent for some reason so i guess ill bold this.

I knew how to wake up Yoo Jonghyuk from his regression depression. In other words, it meant I also knew how to sink him deeper into that melancholy.

I saw Yoo Jonghyuk’s fingertips moving and opened my mouth. “Do you remember? The 33rd round. You cleared the 40th scenario and Lee Jihye said this.”

Yoo Jonghyuk’s eyes dimmed and his moving fingertips stopped.

「 “It would be nice if Master didn’t have to go to the next round.” 」

“Think about it. You weren’t always unhappy. Right? In all the rounds, there were moments when you were happy.”

Yoo Jonghyuk’s expression was becoming stiffer.

“The 173rd round. You protected Earth for quite some time. You also saw Lee Jihye receiving her high school diploma and Lee Seolhwa smiling at someone’s child.”

「 “Jonghyuk-ssi, are you happy that you’re alive?” 」

Every time I spoke, Yoo Jonghyuk’s expression collapsed. It wasn’t despair that broke down Yoo Jonghyuk.

“The 383rd round. You finally cleared the 75th scenario. Fortunately, nobody died in that round. That was the first time. Then Lee Hyunsung told you.”

「 “Jonghyuk-ssi, I won’t forget today until I die.” 」

The feather-like memories sank into his head.

“Then the 498th round…”

Yoo Jonghyuk’s palms moved to cover his ears. The usual Yoo Jonghyuk wouldn’t have fallen from this much. Now it was different. I held his hands and kept talking. “That happened 10 times.”

A human sank deeper into the water just because of the weight of these feathers.

“Twenty times.”

My breath clogged up and my lungs tightened. I could feel what Yoo Jonghyuk was going through. Only I could feel it. The most primitive darkness at the bottom of one person was swallowing his ego greedily.

“100 times. It repeated over 1,000 times.”

All those words were destroyed. All the happy memories flowed back to a time they could never return to. Through the countless regressions, the meaning of happiness faded. All the values he preserved became pieces of torn paper.

“Yoo Jonghyuk.”

Yoo Jonghyuk’s self was sinking into the deep sea. It was to a place that he could never come up from without someone’s help.

“Have you protected all the things you wanted to keep?”

I looked at Yoo Jonghyuk’s miserable face and thought: Don’t worry Yoo Jonghyuk. I’ll do the rest. You stop and rest.

[Your understanding of the character ‘Yoo Jonghyuk’ is increasing explosively.]

Yoo Jonghyuk’s empty eyes were showing memories of losing his master. I didn’t use Omniscient Reader’s Viewpoint but it wasn’t hard to read.

「 I want to die. 」

「 I want to finish all of this. 」

「 If only I can never wake up. 」

A few drops of rain fell from the sky. It was black rain made from the blood of the demon kings and constellations. Liquid also flowed onto Yoo Jonghyuk’s face. Yoo Jonghyuk’s gaze lowered and finally fell on me.

I was looking at the moment a human’s spirit collapsed. There was a broken voice. Like a creaking machine, Yoo Jonghyuk stammered, “Wh,at… should, I, d…o?”

i think this one is obviously very important.

then, the 'have you protected all you wanted to protect' stuff obviously reaches its culmination in the finale

⸢The regression depression.⸥

That was the only weakness of Yu Jung-Hyeok, who had repeatedly regressed for a very long time.

[In the 173rd turn. You managed to protect Earth for a pretty long time. You got to see Yi Ji-Hye receive her high school diploma, and you even got to see Yi Seol-Hwa smile with another’s child in her arms.]

The light in Yu Jung-Hyeok’s eyes was wavering.

⸢It wasn’t despair that could defeat Yu Jung-Hyeok.⸥

⸢Small feather-like memories settled down inside his head one by one.⸥

The ‘Dokkaebi King’ was using the exact same method I relied on back then.

⸢The breathing got harder, and the lungs were getting tighter.⸥

⸢A man drowning in water would sink even deeper under the surface from the weight of a mere feather.⸥

I couldn’t afford to idly watch on anymore. I shouted at Yu Jung-Hyeok, telling him to wake up, and not to fall for such an illusion.

However, my voice couldn’t reach them as if a non-conductive barrier was set up between us. And the ‘Dokkaebi King’ was smiling away, perhaps to mock this entire story.

[Yu Jung-Hyeok, have you protected all that you wanted to protect?]

Slowly, Yu Jung-Hyeok’s knees sank down.

I roused the Status of Fables. I needed to undo that ⸢Stage Transformation⸥ right now, But, how should I…

Grab.

There was a hand still tightly clutching mine. It was Han Su-Yeong.

“That’s not a battle you can interfere in.”

“But, if he’s left alone….!”

“….Even a star that can’t be seen still emits light. You said that, right?”

….A star that can’t be seen?

Her words made me look back at Yu Jung-Hyeok once more.

His gaze being lowered had come to a stop. Blinding sparks were completely enveloping him.

Tsu-chuchuchuchu….

Something was waking up his fading consciousness.

[Great Fable, ‘Ones that Remember the Apocalypse’, has begun its storytelling!]

That was a Fable I wasn’t aware of.

As the sparks lessened gradually, several silhouettes revealed themselves. Now that I took a closer look, Yu Jung-Hyeok wasn’t alone. No, four others were standing beside him.

A tall man, a young man with blonde hair, a girl with a ponytail, and finally…

[[He couldn’t protect anyone. That’s why he now stands in this place.]]

….An Archangel with blindingly-pure wings.

Astonishment quickly dyed the Dokkaebi King’s expression.

The Fable from the destroyed 999th turn was now burning brightly like the conflagration of end times on the edges of the Archangel’s blade.

[[Because he believes there are still things left to protect.]]

- from ch 508

Now here's a couple of tidbits about depression when it comes up for Other entities:

The fastest thing to get shaved away after becoming a Constellation was their own ‘Fable’. The more a Constellation depleted its story, the weaker its power would get. They would grow bored, disinterested, fall into depression, or lose themselves in tedium.

Constellations would desperately seek out other Fables in order to escape from such a quagmire. In other words, they would search for a new tragedy to escape from this horrible eternal cycle, even if it was only for a brief moment.

- ch 498

⸢[Constellation, ‘Abyssal Black Flame Dragon’s’ ■■ is ‘Something that can’t be found’.]⸥

I had read what his ■■ was from the original novel. His description showed up when he became Yu Jung-Hyeok’s ally for a little while during the 1863rd turn.

⸢The evil dragon suffering from the worst possible depression in this <Star Stream>.⸥

The reason why the ‘Abyssal Black Flame Dragon’ believed his age to be 15 was simply that he’d not be able to continue on if he didn’t.

A life stretching for thousands, no, tens of thousands of years, made an originally solitary dragon into such a creature.

In order to stop itself from decaying, he chose not to age. He chose not to lose his curiosity of the world. He chose to torment Incarnations or play bizarre pranks. And for his final prank, he even chose to betray the ‘Absolute Evil’, too. He stood on Yu Jung-Hyeok’s side and while mocking the <Star Stream>, breathed his last.

- ch 503

okay so

i think there are a couple of different ways to look at the regression depression in line with each of orv's 'themes'. of course despair at losing his comrades is the main primary emotion here, but there's subtler stuff going on here too.

for starters, the foundational components of any creature within the star stream is its stories. the more your stories are known and shared the more powerful they are, etc, etc. time and time again their shared stories are the thing to save them and ground them. but as we see with the hellscape of eternity, yjh begins to become isolated from the interpersonal aspect of the story as he loses the people he originally formed these stories with. the stories are how people communicate. as YJH progresses through his regressions he is unable to relate to the 'story' in the way you are supposed to, and this essentially causes a complete ego death. life no longer has any meaning for him, because he is fundamentally incapable of connecting with people. the [impossible communication] of a life and a burden that can't be shared.

then there's the [samsara] aspect - being worn down by the endless repetition of fate. everything is the same, over and over again, and yet we still delve into it hoping to get something new out of it. maybe the story will be different this time. ABFD was able to stave off depression by keeping himself in a state of permanent novelty - there was still something left to discover - but as YJH progresses through the regressions and falls deeper and deeper into repeating the same pattern, the tedium becomes too much. he has nothing new to experience. he has repeated everything this reality has to offer - or so he thinks - and it shows no sign of ever changing. if it's the same every time, why stick around? why not go again? it doesn't matter. none of it matters. you are just part of the wheel.

and if we think of it in terms of [good and evil] we see yjh slowly become something that almost any human being would call a monster. as kdj says in that conversation with anna croft near the end, "can you really call someone a human if you have to look so hard to find their humanity?" as far as it goes. yjh commits some atrocities! Because of said aforementioned removal from reality and ego death, he is able to fully justify any action it takes no matter how horrendous. and yet his noble goal never changes. undeniably, what he is by the end is some sort of monster. but still, of course, just a man. and he knows this. he feels himself slipping a little bit more, every regression. he knows its coming. and he doesn't want it. he wants to maintain his humanity.

but really i think we can almost best think of yjh's regression depression as almost his equivalent to the [fourth wall]. whereas the 4th wall is a unique passive skill that protects kim dokja by preventing him from fully conceptualizing what's happening to him as 'reality', the regression depression harms yjh by preventing him from conceptualizing what's happening to him as 'reality'. in a sense, his friends and loved ones have almost become 'characters' to him as well, as he already knows the way this story happens. he is an outsider, observing these beings interact with each other but not quite the same as them. he is an anachronism. this isn't his present. this is a present, one he can take or leave at any time. the thing yjh does in his later regressions - using people as tools - is something kdj does in the beginning of his journey. because, well, it doesnt matter if this isn't the 'real world'! they mirror each other.

that ended up being so much longer than i thought it would im sorry. i hope this was even like 10% helpful.

#orv #orv spoilers #yjh

[fedonciadale]

1 Thanks F, your page is a safe heaven for Jamie's adherents! Imo J. is right now reevaluating everything he thought he knew, which is what makes him so interesting to me. His arc is so closely connected to Jon and Bran, perhaps his redemption will begin when he sees them again. His life is characterized by his unwillingness to serve, and this must change for him to go forward. This is why I believe Tyrion's ending was in reality Js, he'll be Jon's or Bran's hand. With Bran there's another

2 aspect: he laments in his chapters that Cersei hadn't allowed that he become true father figure for his kids, especially Tommen. If Bran becomes king in the south, and J is alive, he can be that father to him that he couldn't be for his own son. Bran will need some sort of regency bc of his minority. There's some moving poetic justice there, the hand that committed the crime against Bran having been severed, but serving for protecting the victim, an innocent boy. No, imo Jamie will live.

Hi there!

Before season 8 aired I was quite sure that Jaime would be the Lannister to survive, and I'm still not quite convinced that I was wrong. lol

I do think it depends on if GRRM wants to give Jaime a real redemption and not just some second thoughts about the decisions he made in his life. For Jaime to survive he needs to feel remorse and he needs to make amends. And still redemption does not necessary mean survival. Some sins are too great.

But who of the Lannister children has committed the worst crimes? I think that the show ending is not entirely impossible. It could be that Jaime's second thoughts never become more than that, that he regresses and returns to Cersei, to end it all by dying at her side (as I said before, I doubt that he'll kill her).

I think that Tybald Lannister the Hand to Aegon III, a very capable Hand, but crippled, unloved, doing his duty despite the hatred he experiences every day might be the foil to the Hand we see at the end at Bran's side. If Jaime fights against the Others as his dream with Brienne seems to hint at, then I think it is possible that hell get even more injuries. The dream also hints at him being alone in the end - which could mean that he is the one who remains.

And there is the fact that Jaime serving Bran until the end of his life would a very poetic way to make amends.

I think, it could work depending on how Jaime's arc continues. But then there is GRRM and his enigmatic wording that we know "an end, but not the end" - whatever that means.

Anyway, I am very reluctant to let go of my headcanon that Jaime survives and will be the last Lannister, alone just like he dreamed. Jaime himself sees his dream as a death omen and that alone probably should make us suspicious about what it really means.

Thanks for the ask!

#anon ask #Jaime Lannister #Jaime as Hand? #will Jaime survive #I thought so #Still not convinced he'll die #He won't kill Cersei though #No chance of that

[sleepy-watcher]

Snacks

Requested by HemoOryctolagus on ao3: "Baby jon gettin snacks!! Maybe throughout the day they give him small snacks bc they know he doesnt eat enough?"

CWs: Vague references to Jon not eating enough

__________________

It hadn’t taken long to realize that Sasha has an odd gift for finding snacks Jon will eat while regressed. While Jon definitely makes restrictions to what he eats normally, his tastes while little are even more difficult. It doesn’t help that he can’t just say what he wants. Still, his caregivers have been patient in finding a variety of things he’ll actually eat.

Their hunt for things Jon will eat also comes with a plethora of things he definitely shouldn’t eat for every meal, even if it would make days where he stays regressed the whole day much easier. Yes, he will eat three red velvet cupcakes like it’s a meal, that doesn’t mean his caregivers will let that happen… again. And they learned the hard way that Jon will absolutely make himself sick from eating too many fruit gummies. They’ve had to move them to the top shelf in the breakroom so he can’t get them on his own anymore.

So, Sasha has planned ahead. She spent her night baking strawberry muffins as soon as Jon mentioned liking them. Now, they sit in the breakroom fridge, ready to be eaten whenever Jon slips into littlespace. She knows it’s only a matter of time, really. He hasn’t regressed this week and Sasha can practically see him teetering between headspaces.

Sasha’s grabbing a snack of her own when Jon peeks into the breakroom. He’s got an expression they’ve all learned to read at this point; A look of soft anxiety, something they’ve learned to understand as Jon regressing but not knowing how to ask to be taken care of. Sasha’s always quick to make sure Jon knows she wants to take care of him.

“Hi baby!” She coos.

Jon giggles and steps over to her, hugging her tightly. “Sa-Sa!” he squeals excitedly.

Sasha picks Jon up easily and balances him on her hip. “I think it’s snack time for you, hm?” Jon responds with grabby hands, which she takes to be a good sign.

Sasha quickly fetches a strawberry muffin from the mini fridge and hands it to Jon. He examines it closely, hesitant to eat it.

“It’s strawberry, baby. You like strawberry!”

Sasha must make a compelling argument, because Jon takes a big bite. If his smile is anything to go off of, Sasha considers this a success.

Jon finishes the muffin without issue.

__________________

“C’mon, bud. Work with me here!”

Perhaps Tim shouldn’t have offered to handle Jon’s next snack time. He had, ignorantly, overestimated how good he would be at finding something Jon would eat. Sasha was just so good at this. Tim’s halfway tempted to grab another muffin from the fridge, but both Sasha and Martin told him not to do that. Jon is, unfortunately, not allowed to survive solely on strawberry muffins.

So, now Tim’s going to be responsible if Jon doesn’t eat anything, and he really doesn’t want to be the reason Jon doesn’t eat again.

Jon huffs, because it’s not his fault he doesn’t want anything Tim has offered him. He just doesn’t want them. Tim’s started pacing, wracking his brain for anything he could give Jon that wasn’t totally off limits.

Well, he certainly has an idea. He’s not sure if Sasha and Martin will like it, but if it gets Jon to eat, they probably won’t have too many complaints.

“How about this?” Tim holds a granola bar out to Jon. Tim knows Jon doesn’t particularly like granola bars while little, but he’s willing to eat them sometimes.

Jon huffs and shakes his head. Precisely the response Tim had planned for.

“No?” Tim hums. “I’ll make you a deal.”

Jon perks up.

“If you eat this, I’ll give you two packs of fruit gummies.”

Jon gasps and grabs the granola bar. Tim hands it over and goes to grab some gummies from the top shelf of the cupboard. By the time Tim has the gummies, Jon has nearly scarfed down the whole granola bar.

“Careful, little guy.”

Jon finishes the granola bar and immediately makes grabby hands at the gummies Tim is holding. Tim hands them over and Jon tears into the first pack. Bribery aside, Tim counts this as a win.

__________________

Martin doesn’t mind handling snack time. Sure, he may not be as good as Sasha when it comes to finding the perfect snacks every time, but he’s certainly been doing better than Tim. In Tim’s defense, Martin has a bit of an unfair advantage.

And besides that, Martin thinks it’s nice. He does prefer to get a bit more involved with snack time than Tim and Sasha do, after all.

When Martin steps into the breakroom and sees Jon fast asleep on the couch, he almost doesn’t want to wake him. Lord knows he needs the rest, and Sasha had spent almost twenty minutes trying to get him to take a nap. But he needs food too. Maybe, if Martin is lucky, Jon will fall back asleep once he’s fed. Maybe.

Martin places a hand on Jon’s shoulder and gently shakes him awake, earning a string of sleepy babbling. As much as Martin doesn’t like waking him, he can’t deny the sleepy noises Jon makes are worth it. Jon blinks up at Martin, bleary and adorable.

“Hi there.” Martin coos, taking a seat next to Jon. Jon immediately clings to him. He’s always a bit more clingy when he’s sleepy. He whines quietly, burying his face against Martin’s chest.

“Oh, I know. But you need to eat, okay?”

Reluctantly, Jon pries away just enough to look at Martin. Jon rubs the sleep from his eyes and only now sees what Martin has brought him to eat: Applesauce. One of Jon’s favorite things to eat while regressed, though not something he gets often. Martin, Tim, and Sasha learned quite early which foods Jon can and can’t eat by himself, and applesauce is firmly set in the “can’t” column. And while Tim and Sasha aren’t always up for hand-feeding Jon, Martin quite likes it.

Jon’s much more awake now. He crawls onto Martin’s lap, watching him eagerly.

“Oh! Careful-” Martin does his best to steady Jon. Once Jon is settled, Martin holds up the small bowl of applesauce and a spoon. “Ready?” Jon nods.

Somehow, even when being fed, Jon manages to make a mess. No matter how hard Martin tries, Jon will end up with food on himself. Still, it’s better this way than if he fed himself.

“Good boy.” Martin praises every few bites. It’s probably not entirely necessary, but it makes Jon happy. And he is a good boy, after all.

When all the applesauce is gone, Martin takes a napkin and wipes away any food that may have ended up elsewhere. “Messy baby.” He coos. Jon giggles, fed and content, cuddled up against Martin once again.

A surprisingly easy day for snack times, all in all.

#tma agere #jon #sasha #tim #martin

[fyeahbatcat]

Hey! I wanted to ask you something that's been on my mind. Why do you think the fandom seems divided on Selina's characterization? Half the fandom wants to "remain a villian" and the other half wants her to be an antihero, i.e. wanting more out of life besides thievery? Personally, I feel like both opinions are valid based on the amount of material she has, and bc DC just hasn't given her a proper definitive origin, it's hard to know what makes her tick, so her characterization has become murky?

Everyone’s entitled to their own opinion but FWIW that hasn’t really been my experience. Most of the people in fandom that I’ve seen or interacted with who are Catwoman fans seem to be more in favor of the anti-hero with a heart of gold characterization. My observations hasn’t been anywhere near what I would arbitrarily call “divided.”

Except for maybe a short time during the Silver Age, Catwoman has never been a hard line villain. She’s more self-serving than anything. Even in the Golden Age she had a moral code and aversion to killing and extreme violence so categorizing Catwoman as ever have been a villain is not accurate. She can’t “remain” something she never was to begin with. So that’s the first thing.

Like I said everyone’s entitled to their opinion but it would strike me as odd that anyone who is familiar with Catwoman’s modern (modern being a pretty generous term) comics would say that since her own comics has never portrayed her that way. Ed Brubaker’s Catwoman run, to this day is widely considered to be the most definitive Catwoman run. Whether or not you agree with that isn’t really the point. The fact that the series when Catwoman firmly reforms and we see that transformation from her perspective, is the most acclaimed and well known Catwoman runs, says something. In my experience the people who say that Catwoman is a villain or that thievery is the main crux of her character, are more familiar with her in the most basic sense. I think when you consume more Catwoman-centered media you see her more as a character and less of an archetype.

Thieving isn’t even something Catwoman particularly cares about, which is why she’s able to give it and move onto other things. It wasn’t her life-long dream to become a master thief, she wasn’t called to it or anything. She started doing it out of survival and eventually grows weary of the lifestyle. It’s more or less a gig to her. Okay maybe I’m being being hyperbolic, but only a little bit. This has been pretty consistent across Catwoman’s characterization, even in other forms of media. Catwoman begins a life of crime out of necessity, and eventually wants to find a better path for herself. This goes back to the Silver Age. It’s pretty ironic that some want her to “remain a villain” when it’s exactly that kind of perception and low expectations of her that makes Selina feel that she can’t move on with her life, even if she wanted to. It’s because of how others perceive her and pigenhole her into that role, that she feels like she can’t be anything else. Catwoman is a thief and that’s all she’ll ever be. These were prominent themes in The Dark Knight Rises and Batman: Telltale.

As much as I would love for Catwoman to get a new origin story I don’t believe that it would change anything about people’s perception, I guess because I don’t believe that her origins are unclear. I think it’s been consistent for the last few decades, in one way or another, that Selina becomes a criminal for survival. In The Brave and the Bold #197 she reveals that her abusive ex-husband left her socially and financially ruined, and thus stole to get back at him.

This was published in 1983, but it was a Silver Age era comic. Catwoman (v2) #81 goes into a lot of depth about Selina’s upbringing. She grew up in an abusive household and was orphaned at a young age. She learns to steal to fend herself on the streets. I’m going to link the panels instead of posting because it’s extremely graphic, but be warned: it contains images of suicide and domestic violence, but if you’re interested you can read about it here.

DC Comics’ has more or less stuck to this as Catwoman’s *origin* ever since. If you are interested in learning about how her childhood and it’s connection to thieving I’d check out Catwoman (v2) #39. It’s one of the few times Selina talks about missing out on having a loving family and stability growing up. You can see a few of the panels here. 

The only thing else I have to add is that I think that people have an overly romanticized impression about what Selina’s life of crime is like. Sure she’s had some really great and highly entertaining heist stories, but it’s also come with very severe consequences. Including, but not limited to, getting Selina almost killed, thrown in jail a bunch of times, accused of crimes she didn’t commit, forced on the run, led to the torture and even death of her and her loved ones. She’s had to fake her own death more than once. So...yeah. If you read about all of these things happening to her you can see how the criminal lifestyle would start of lose its appeal, and why she’d want to move on with her life.

Selina has said herself that eventually the thrills wears off, and she doesn’t feel fulfilled by it in the long run. That is an indication of character growth. Development in character and storytelling should be moved forward not stifled or regressed. This is also just bad from a storytelling perspective. The first half of Catwoman’s first and fourth ongoing series were about Catwoman heisting and general life of crime, and if you’ve read them you might find that they start to get really repetitive and boring after awhile. As a reader you want to see different things, and I can see why readership eventually dropped off for both of those series. There are only so many ways you can see Catwoman dangling from the ceiling about to burglarize some museum or whatever.

I honestly think you have to read Catwoman’s comic book series to really appreciate her as a well-rounded and multi-layered character, because it’s from her point of view. You’re not really going to get the same insight if you only rely on her appearances in the Batman-centered media. I’d definitely check out at least the end of her 90s series and Ed Brubaker’s run for more depth.

#ask #anonymous #personal note

[cruelfeline]

can I just flop into your inbox and despair for a hot second about how like. bewildered I am over the lore of spop??? I thought about doing this as proper asks but then it got... long.

Sure! Anyone can flop into my inbox c:

idk if it's me and I'm just dumb and not getting it?? I've gotta go back and comb through the show I guess bc the wiki and google and the internet at large are the opposite of helpful.

but no okay the show kept saying that the first ones were basically - etheria's first settlers or whatever the hell right?? something along those lines? am I remembering this correctly? that's why the etherian's CALL them the first ones? (I mean but Prime did too didnt he now that I think about it. I'm not sure why he would though, the context for why the etherian's would use the term and why he'd use the term are different?) ugh whatever, like I said I gotta go back and comb through but I wanna say that the implication was that the first ones were the...First Ones to be on etheria. which is like....??

Mm... it’s a bit unclear, but Mara speaks in a way that highly implies that there are native Etherians already on Etheria when the First Ones arrive. One of them being Razz. 

I doubt that Etherians really know much about their own history; their records seem sporadic to me, so they may or may not know that the First Ones weren’t actually the first sapients on the planet.

And Prime doesn’t really call them the First Ones; he simply acknowledges that that is what Adora and the Etherians call them. I don’t recall him calling them anything specific.

bc then when it comes to the whole, heart of etheria thing, and the runestones, and all of that? and then the princesses? I'm honestly just so confused as to how it all is supposed to fit together. bc then uh where did the five royal families come from to begin with? were the runestones there from the start? were those five families magically connected with those runestones from the start or were they only connected and whatnot after the first ones were all like "hey so uh, if you synch up to this rock you can do cooler magic" but then if etheria was already being ruled by several different courts of elemental royalty or wtf ever, then they couldnt really call themselves the first ones. but Also it's just (and I think you've addressed that the showrunners seem So Much More Interested in telling the catradora gf drama angst saga then fleshing out their world building lmao) it's kinda just like... why do all of these families only have one child? why do each of the princesses of power not have a sibling? like what if - considering mooooost of them seem to be orphans lol - one of them trips down the stairs and smacks their head on the floor and dies?? I guess uhhh, now your kingdom doesn't have a ruler??

So, my understanding of the runestones is that they were devices created by the First Ones in order to enhance and better control the magic of those naturally in tune with certain elemental aspects of the planet. I don’t think this is explicitly stated in canon, but I assume as much by extrapolating from the purpose of She-Ra’s sword. As we learn over the course of the show, the First Ones did not create She-Ra, but they did create the sword. She-Ra is an Etherian entity, some form of planetary guardian or what-have-you, and the First Ones created the runestone sword in order to control that entity and incorporate it into the Heart of Etheria. I would assume that the other runestones serve a similar purpose.

Now, as far as our current Etherians not knowing this: this is a fairly common sci-fi trope. The idea of the original purpose of something (usually some form of advanced tech) being lost as information is lost to the ages is often used to facilitate protagonists not immediately knowing what a thing is for. Like... oh, if you’ve ever read the Dragonriders of Pern series. That’s a good example: Earth colonists land on a planet, find it inhospitable, genetically engineer empathetic dragons to help fight the threat, and... well, people live there for generations, forget their origins, regress technologically, and just assume that there have always been dragons on Pern.

As far as single child Princesses and whatnot: likely a by-product of the show already having a million characters, and siblings not being needed for the plot! I mean, the show already had enough to deal with; no need to add more fluff.

and yeah it's a kids show but it doesnt ;__; none of the any of it makes sense to me.

what is the Heart of Etheria even supposed to Do again??? like we know it's a superweapon that channels magic and like, Mara trapped etheria in despondos 1000 years ago so my soft theory is that the first ones were maybe using it as a last ditch effort against Prime? I mean is the sword just.... gps coordinated to fire at prime regardless of where he is in the universe or whatever?? bc I mean at that point is prime on etheria's doorstep?? I don't! I dont understaaaand.

Well, since it never fires, we cannot know for certain, but Death Star-style planetary destroyer seems logical. 

I do like the headcanon that it was actually a last ditch effort to defeat Prime, especially since we now know that the First Ones fought him and apparently lost!

This is an interesting concept to me because, while their colonization of Etheria is widely regarded as Bad, because colonialism is Bad, the idea that they did it in order to try to save their own lives, and potentially the lives of others in the universe, makes the situation far more morally grey than it might initially appear. Yes, their colonization harmed the Etherians, but might it have been worth it, if they had succeeded and killed Prime a thousand years ago? Would that have prevented the genocides he committed on other worlds? Would sacrificing Etheria have been worth it if, say, a thousand other inhabited planets had been spared as a result? Not a set of questions the show asks, but meaningful ones, in my opinion.

why does Prime want it? like is he not under the impression that messing with it is gonna like... pretty much blow up everything within a big ass huge af radius? he said something or other about purifying the universe and starting over or some nonsense like that but??? like you'd be dead too my guy. you might be egotistical and narcissistic and vain af but I dont think he's that stupid as to think he's somehow immune to giant fricken explosions.

Oh, I think he has some idea of how to survive it. He can body hop. He is, in some sense of the word, eternal because of that. If She-Ra hadn’t stepped in, he likely would have succeeded in continuing his existence. The way he speaks, one may even infer that this sort of thing has happened before.

But, hard to say! Thankfully, we don’t have to find out c:

and I'm just. I just wanna know more about the spop world at large you know?? like. I just want All the world building and backstory and explanations to things. I have so many questions.

anyway sorry for kinda dumping this giant wall of shrieking nonsense in your inbox I'm just like. I dont... I dont get it. I dont get any of it lmao and I wanna get it! like the whole universe of this show could be so cool and so fun and interesting but it's like... some of the pieces dont seem to.. f i t

yeah

Ah, such is the burden of a world that has only enough worldbuilding done to facilitate its story, no more and no less. But! At the same time, this means that we as viewers can infer many things from canon and fill in the blanks with whatever we prefer. Leading to a lovely variety of fandom content to amuse us for some time to come c:

[seagullsausage]

i used to have this old hc that marvin could shapeshift into a cat, especially when they feel threatened/scared and i wanna bring that back cause i feel like we can do a lot with that concept. like, marvin spending more time in their cat form than their human form when they were homeless in the woods bc they could survive easier as an animal, or marvin shapeshifting when they’re feeling especially dysphoric just to escape their body. 

i also have this scene in mind where marvin has this big breakdown a few weeks after they get home from anti, screaming and crying with their magic burning around them until they manage to knock out the power grid of every house within a 50 foot radius. and when everything’s calmed down, marvin’s nowhere to be found so the other egos try to find them, panicked out of their minds. 

jackie’s the one to find them, but not in the form he expected. he finds a white fluffy cat curled up under his bed and hes just like...oh. he knows right away that it’s marvin because he’s seen them do this before, and knows that marv must’ve been terrified out of their mind to shapeshift like this. 

it’s sort of like a form of regression, like how chase regresses when he gets scared or stressed. when marvin is a cat, they are small and soft and they don’t have human things to worry about. they’re fast and flexible and can hide in small spaces with ease. not to mention, they feel especially safe from anti.

anti can’t torture marvin in his usual ways, anti can’t dehumanize them any more if they’re already an animal, anti can’t put his hands on them or try and kiss them if they aren’t even a human, anti can’t try and possess them because he hates being in animals, and he can’t try and abuse their magic if they don’t have hands or a balanced body to conduct spells. 

none of the other egos really know what to do for poor marvin besides leave them alone. let them hide and rest until they feel safe enough to come back to them. and it does take some time, but eventually they let themself be held by jackie, lets henrik pet them, eats the food chase got for them, and sleeps on jameson’s bed with him. 

it’s been a few weeks and the others are starting to worry that marv will never return to being a human, but they eventually turn back. henrik finds them sitting on the edge of their bed, human fingers wrapped around thin shoulders, staring out the window. 

they don’t really talk that much after that, but everyone does their best to make sure marv feels safe and secure, encouraging them and giving them as much love as they need. marvin shouldn’t feel like they need to be a cat just to escape all the bullshit in their life. 

#ego posting #ask to tag

[mistresstrevelyan]

One Year Anniversary

This has been a really rough week for me.

My brother is at the hospital, my grandmother died, the anniversary of my Mom’s death, the wound healing having regressed a bit......

And now the one year anniversary of my surgery. Today a year ago I survived sepsis (Chances were at 5% survival, IF that) and became an above the knee amputee.

So much has changed in this year but there were also some encouraging constants. My job waiting for me and REDACTED paying me for six months instead of the three I was entitled to on top of a year of access to a huge gaming library for free, making adjustments to my desk to help me be comfortable and making sure my insurance stipend keeps coming. If it wasn’t for REDACTED being my employer, I would be homeless now.

My family were fantastic & still are, especially my Dad and my younger sister. 

BioWare. I kid you not. Their games were my refuge and my escape. The friends I have there also kept me going.

I met a really sweet mare I try to visit every day:

I named her Tara after my own childhood mare who looked a lot like her except for the star, Original!Tara had a blaze.

But things are tough. The (Phantom) pain can be rough and my depression sometimes gets the better of me despite therapy and medication. The constant pain from a still 25.5 cm gaping wound on my leg healing slowly bc of my lymph edema is grueling and often wakes me up at night.

Small tasks like using the loo and grabbing a glass from above are still daunting, no matter how good I am at them.

Every. Transfer. Hurts. (Transfer as in Chair to bed or vice versa. Or Chair to loo etc.) It hurts me physically and mentally and remembering clearly how it’s like to stand/walk is like mental torture. 

The wound healing has regressed. Though we went from 32cm to 25.5 in about 2.5 months, over the last few weeks the amount of dead tissue film (Due to lymph edema) has increased and some patches of healthy skin have disappeared again. This is expected but in a week of so much heartache, it wasn’t something I could handle well. We’ll try a different vac dressing in a couple of weeks, one that is more designed for long term use than the Prevena 125, so let’s hope that’ll help.

My Mom’s Angel Day on the 20th also hurts like hell.

The pain medication is EXHAUSTING me, I sleep up to 18 hours a day atm and there’s no end in sight re: dropping the morphine and opiates.

Not being able to fly home to attend Nana’s funeral is killing me.

It feels longer than a year. I feel stuck and angry and hurt. I feel ugly and useless and hopeless.

But you guys truly are the best. Your OCs, writing and blog posts are beautiful distractions. I just wanted to say thank you. You make my life better. And if I and my OC daughters can repay even a tiny fragment of that, I am content.

May the Force be with you always,

/Persephone Out

#Persephone chatters #Illness blogging #Amputation cw #There's just so much weighing on me #Life is SO hard atm #Please pray for me if you do pray #I love you all

[bellamyblinkingrapidly]

Rewatching S8 Pt 4: Episode 4

- more and more reasons why Jon doesn’t deserve Ghost. Doesn’t even stand by him. Doesn’t even pat him on the head.

- hate jons stupid little scab makeup like he should have burns and singed off hair

- “family duty honor” we see Sansa as he says “duty” and “honor” cute. Also we see him and Sansa as he talks about “those who come after” 👀👀👀

- I like that everyone has someone marched up with them to burn their dead body like the person who made a difference to them the most

- Sansa sobbing over Theon kills me. I just want the Starks to have their own little memorial for Theon and moment of being like “I’m glad the pack survived”

- wow Gendry is just like only thinking about Arya from the get go and I love him for it

- I for real was SO scared when Dany called out Gendry. And SO WAS JON. SO WAS DAVOS. You can’t tell me Jon loves someone he’s afraid of.

- wow Dany thinks she’s so smart lololol she literally isn’t at all. She gave power to someone who is very obviously loyal to the Starks.

- everyone is so nervous about it until Jon and davos are like oh okay this is fine and Jon seems pleasantly surprised by her niceness

- what’s Sansas look? Is she baffled by Dany’s gesture? Baffled as to why Dany would be so dumb as to put power into the hands of someone who is loyal to the Starks? Is she upset that Dany would interfere with the man Arya is in love with?

- davos and Tyrion’s conversation has like no real purpose ??

- wow Sansa is for real jealous of Dany. What a cute moment between her and Jon.

- I absolutely hate Sansa and Sandors conversation!!! It serves no purpose!!! We don’t need it!!!

- glad pod had a threesome lol

- gendrya scene was heartbreaking but made sense. I stand by the idea that if they aren’t gonna happen he could’ve just died.

- Braime.... knowing he leaves her cheapens everything that happens between them romantically and sexually to me and I just wish they’d left it at the making her a knight scene. If Brienne had died then it would make more sense for Jaime to regress and go back to Cersei.

- jons stumble kinda feels like he’s faking being drunk?

- Dany is really trying to see if Jon loves her & he can’t say yes so he just kisses her. That’s my interpretation esp bc he only says it way later after seeing her burn Varys alive & she doesn’t believe him then. She says “fear then”

- he can’t have sex w her and she gets upset that he ever told her. He tries to placate her and be super subservient by calling her my queen and getting on his knees. But when she asks a promise too much of him, he stands.

- Again Dany and Jon talk about Sansa shocker. And Dany is super rude about Sansa and her trauma. She thinks Jon is naive abour Sansa. I don’t think he is... maybe he waited to tell Sansa til after the NK was defeated bc he knew she might make a play & he knew they couldn’t afford for that to happen until the NK was defeated?

- you are my queen. They are my family. This is huge. Dany doesn’t trust “family”

- Dany doesn’t care about not destroying KL already lol she’s mad at Tyrion for trying to save them. Dany doesn’t care about anything but sitting her ass on the throne. Even if she already rules, she can’t have any kind of opposition.

- Jon doesn’t stand by his siblings - he’s trying to show that he isn’t allied to them but to Dany

- he gets super mad at Sansa for speaking up bc she’s already angered Dany a lot.

- again this Dany vs sansa conflict better come to a head and have some kind of pay off.

- wow Greyworm was very petty about that one tile he didn’t want Jon to move on the table lol I’m glad there’s some more conflict between them in the next episode & I hope it increases in the last

- WE SHOULD HAVE GOTTEN TO SEE ARYA AND SANSAS REACTIONS TO THE PARENTAGE REVEAL this is the payoff we have needed for so long

- will Jon be mad at Sansa for breaking her promise? Will something come of this??

- finally a stark sib scene but I need moreeeeee we were promised more in teasers

- bronns scene with the Lannister bros is so pointless. What’s the point of this for the plot?? It doesn’t further anyone’s character either?? The only thing maybe it does is get Jaime to think about Cersei and what if she survives?

- finally Varys steps in to tell the truth and he will be murdered for his betrayal. That’s great pay off.

- not sure what tyrion is doing at all honestly. What’s the pay off for all his time as hand for Joffree? He just keeps saying “I believe in our queen” it’s about as bad as Jon

- Tyrion and Varys talking about treason so openly should have consequences. I’m glad Varys dies next episode.

- “I always wanted to be there when they execute your sister. Seems like I won’t get the chance.” Sansa doesn’t get to see Cersei die. Bad payoff.

- Jaime leaves Brienne... bad payoff. Unclear motivations. Stupid stupid stupid. Unnecessary for him to start up an ongoing sexual relationship w Brienne before leaving her for his sister.

- why don’t the Lannister’s just open fire on Dany’s people?? They literally could.

- Tyrion’s plea to Cersei is just like ones he’s made in the past. I’m so over it. It’s nothing new. What comes of this? Nothing Cersei doesn’t kill him. He never faces off with her again. The only purpose this serves is to be their last scene together before she dies. But all Tyrion’s efforts of trying to break through Cersei’s walls just seem so dumb at this point. He’s naive and not learning and that’s not Tyrion.

- Missandeis death I don’t actually hate. I’m just a fan of people dying. I don’t like that it’s being used as a way to humanize Dany. I don’t like that she’s the only woman of color on screen and gets killed to further the white womans afenda. I don’t like that she dies in chains and that she says dracarys. Some of it I understand as terrible cruel poetic justice or as the showrunners giving us the brutal bitter ending instead of the sweet one of Missandei and greyworm on the beaches in naarth. I’m glad at least that Greyworms character is affected by this death and his regression into an emotionless killing machine has a cause.

- Jon and Tyrion are both just trying to manage Daenerys and not get their sisters killed lol