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utilitycaster · 4 months

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I genuinely believe the fact that so many popular Imogen/Laudna fics are no-powers AU is, if not the main cause, at least a factor in why so many people resist or even are hostile towards any interpretation of Imogen that isn't largely sweet and harmless. Like, write the fic you want, but Imogen in particular is someone so fundamentally shaped by her powers that to write a no powers AU is to write what is essentially a completely original character who happens to share her name.

I think it's made even more obviously a factor because many of those fics try to reconstruct aspects of Imogen's personality by giving her anxiety or agoraphobia (or both) but the problem is that those are purely mental illnesses, rather than something that both gives her powers and penalties (again, the X-Men problem). Some real-world mental illnesses cover the symptoms of Imogen's abilities, but none cover the abilities themselves. It's quite literally a removal of agency: they take away what she can (and frequently does) do with her powers, leaving only the negative effects on her behind while eliminating the negative effects she can have on others. No wonder there's this overwhelming push to woobify her from that corner; they've utterly defanged her and are now crying that other people who can still see her fangs (and even like them) are talking about them.

And the thing is, for all I can be negative about fanon, it is, ultimately, fine - so long one can either keep it separate in one's mind from canon or else remain in a particular fanon sandbox. But unfortunately people leave the sandbox, and when other people respond to the canon Imogen, who as of episode 81 (RIP CRStats) has voluntarily used Detect Thoughts/Open Mind 60 times and has openly stated her intent to use it specifically to know what her party members are doing in advance and theoretically prevent it, the fanfic crowd is utterly unable to react to this intelligently. The idea of Imogen they have is sweet girl with severe anxiety and a goth girlfriend. The problem is this construct exists only in their favorite fanfic writers' domestic fluff modern AU no powers setting. And frankly, I'm not interested in talking about that warped mirror version of her when I could have all the fascination, complexity, glory, and agency of the real thing.

#i also think that turning imogen's issues into specifically mental health only is for lack of a better term Not Great.#i remember when she took off the circlet people on twitter compared it to her going off her meds as like. a sympathy thing.#and. while obviously the psychiatric field is not without many flaws and prejudices. generally going off meds is. not a good sign.#i will say i would love to see the no-circlet au in which imogen stops ashton. i don't think that goes well at ALL.#like i don't know if they stick around after that.#cr tag #anyway been thinking about the role of fanfic a lot lately in case you couldn't tell #we are finally admitting the importance of They Would Not Fucking Say That and should embrace it #and i'm obviously thinking quite a lot about the book i just posted about a lot too #it is depressing that people are more comfortable with Girlfailure than Selfish #that a woman is only allowed memeable and sanitized quirky faults. GOD FORBID she want actual power.#(were i to be called selfish by someone i respect i'd feel bad but talk through it. girlfailure though? i'm stabbing them.)

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arkiwii · 1 month

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very sad still see the saria/silence divorce headcanon still going around

have you ever tried to consider that they never dated before lone trail because it would be unrealistic with the timeline and the events and also because it would be overshadowing the actual truth of why they couldn't get along

#i'll elaborate #firstly it's ok if you headcanon this i don't want to invalidate what people think #it's just that I think it's a fanon joke that have been going around for way too long #and I can't help but shed a small tear when I see people really headcanoning it #I personally think it's way more interesting if we consider that they never had something going on before Lone Trail #mostly because it's weird that they started dating in like some months when they barely knew or saw each other #but also because it adds nothing but just makes things even more harder for them #my personal headcanon is that Silence was maybe having feelings for Saria but like #you know these very premature feelings #like just “oh wow she's pretty and nice”#but nothing like really deep #but they never had anything going on before the diabolic crisis #and after lone trail after they made up and saw each other's true person #they start to actually get real feelings #I'm just complaining but I've been still seeing it around somehow and it's sad to me that this joke became a fact for many people #there's still a lot of fanfics about how they had been dating and now they're on bad terms #I think that going on the “they're exes” route is way too easy and actually hides the potential and interesting reason #of why Silence was mad at Saria #it's not because she hates Saria or blame her #it's because she's mad at herself for being so weak #really making them appear as exes just hides this really interesting truth and makes it all seem to be a sad love story #consider that they never had any of this and that this tension between them is because they blame themselves!!#their story is not a love story but above all a story about self love and acceptance #just my two cents enjoy my rambling i go back to bed now #(not putting this in the main tag I don't want to start a war I'm just rambling)

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girlwiththegreenhat · 11 months

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Why the fuck are people on Twitter upset about nonbinary robots. Transformers are aliens, why would they follow another species gender binary based on reproduction when they don't even reproduce sexually. If anything, ALL the robots should use they/them.

#liz blogs #transformers #i need to finish earthspark #conservatives won't survive when aliens come to earth #imagine going to another planet and trying to translate pronouns #but either theres more than two or theyre not based on reproduction #how do you figure out if youre a glerp or a blongo or a dee when you dont even have a yundle #and guess what else. if the robots all have one gender. and they use different Earth Pronouns #that dont line up with - in conservative terms - the pronouns they Should have #guess what. all the robots are trans now.#this is probably fucking incoherent i just woke up but man i hate when people think the universe revolves around humans #smash the gender binary to pieces #i write this from an angle to shit on their stupid argument i know nonbinary people can use gendered pronouns as well #the point is its hard to translate. frankly we also deserve big macho bots picking she her because it sounds nice #and little femmebots picking he him because it sounds cool and they want to seem Tough in earth terms #hasbro hire me i love robots and I'll write a transformers show so good it'll make conservatives literally explode

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nguyenfinity · 11 months

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[slams this on the table] HAPPY MOTHERS’ DAY

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#when i said i'm taking y'all down with me. i goddamn meant it.#enstars #mamagi #niki shiina #hi if you're new around here yes i am aware mother amagi has passed in canon this is just my fun little delusion #y'know if the amagis actually had something nice in their lives #the file for this was created april 28th so you can imagine how long this has been on the backburner #i don't think she's. completely innocent in rinne's childhood trauma (if that's the right term for it)#but she definitely regrets not doing more for him #she loves her boys #and her boys' boys #if rinne has a habit of adopting little brothers she has one of adopting sons sorry #i would've liked to make this nicer but working on things a little too long makes my skin crawl sorry #i love her tho #also read bean's fic. 'safe and warm a loving embrace' on ao3 you know you wanna #also is this the mamagi and niki hug you wanted mutsu. remember when you asked for that. i had this whole thing cooking before you did.#heheheheheheh #MY BAD IT WAS COOKIE WHO ASKED FOR THE HUG #I'M SORRY COOKIE #HOPE YOU LIKE IT THO

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iamhereinthebg · 10 months

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Gonna share badly translated panels from the official french translation because I can

I can’t verbally explain how much Akane ROASTED Aoi in chap 69 . He really took the ‘I am gonna end this woman’s whole career” to a next level

:))))

--> to explain the ‘you’re pretending you don’t know’

#for her defense #Aoi actually said that 'he suck!' rather tan him being stupid #she was also fcking done on her part #Teru really went 'oospie?' when he saw them #I can't invent this sht he said 'mince alors' I wanna burn the translators #ty Mari for being okay with my half assd translation from french to english of the whole chapter too #Akane finished his rant and litteraly looked at her and go 'well?'#they need to insult each other every two pages in this translation idk why #Teru really went 'not cool bro' when Akane said 'what are you doing here?'#idk why the vibes of the french translations are so chaotic #but I am here for that #Aoi also said 'I asked you more than once :)))' when talking about his watch l o l she was done #oh and in terms of emotionnal damage they also put wavy texts #when the characters are either dying or have really strong emotions and idk what to do with myself with this #toilet bound hanako kun #aoi akane #akane aoi #nothing too special on the others chapters tbh I just really wanted to translate this one because I love their talk ahah #Akane just refers to the seven mysteries as deities rather than gods too #which is closer to the idea of Kamis to me #good volume as always #next one is in one month :))) chap 71/72/73/74 are all good I am not ready #tbhk #random french translation #disclaimer: it's hard to translate the context which is why I didn't do more page too ahah #I can just say that they are using slangs and are hasrher l o l #the vibes is just 'Oh yes you're testing me uh?'#jshk #jibaku shonen hanako kun fanart #jibaku shounen hanako kun

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chucktaylorupset · 2 years

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its been a million years. percy has gone from young millenial to squarely gen z. i think that while he’s up on that mountain demanding the gods pay their fucking child support, he should tell hera at the top of his sixteen year old pipsqueak lungs that polyamory is a thing now and she doesn’t have to define her marriage the traditional way if she doesn’t want to. she’s the goddess of all marriages! that includes these modern ones too!!

hera is like zeus would you agree to an open relationship zeus is like SOLD i have been trying to do this for years, completely neglects to read the fine print that this goes two ways before signing on the dotted line for this deal with the prada wearing devil because fundamentally, zeus is an asshole

hera starts hooking up with committed married couples and having SUPREMELY powerful demigod children. they are all her favorites and she lavishes them with powers and gifts and attention. she has, unlike the other gods, no millenia of experience with mortal children to temper her reaction, and so this whole move honestly causes more problems than not.

meanwhile hades and persephone; poeseidon and amphirite; dionysus and ariadne; all of them have been trying to talk to hera about this thing for DECADES and then perseus fucking protagonist powers jackson comes in and turns a quarter of a century into wasted work.

#my post #pjo #it's very key that zeus is big butthurt about this #and that most of the olympians are ethically nonmonogamous thanks to some great work done by either aphrodite or eros #back at the end of the 1900s #being a child of hera is extremely weird because you're not prepared for it like most single parents of demigods are #also most of heras partners come out okay but ALL of them are 'blessed' to never be divorced which uh #can have some variability in terms of results #gods are complicated kids #a lot of hera demigods come up with parents who have very healthy relationships and pass on those emotional intelligence skills!#and then they start coming into their powers and suddenly they inherit a girlboss pta mom who will speak to the manager #and WILL support them taking over the world cause it's what they deserve. if that's what they want <3 #most of them are emotionally healthy enough that they don't even Want to take over the world but uh. they sure are offered that as option #if they want to #hera kids have the Oposite problem of a lot of demigods who have gods practiced in loving mortal kids #they're like i cannot stress how much we Do Not Have To Prove Ourselves to her #we have to be very careful about wanting things she will just handle them to us also #once we get married we can't divorce she would either kill us or it would Be A Thing for the rest of our lives #it's... very stressful to be a child of hera #they mostly try to befriend the chill party kids because they need to catch some Chill

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khamomile-kitty · 5 months

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Only thing I’m gonna say abt it bc I haven’t read the books or participated tje fandom since I was in elementary school but. Ppl’s reaction to Squirrelflight becoming leader is so funny. The misogyny of the authors has rubbed off on the fans I see, how are you gonna tell a victim of domestic abuse that’s she’s a worse leader and suffered less than her husband. And all the alternate leader suggestions from these ppl are the lame ass guys. this is one of the saddest characters in cat fiction let the girlie win at least once good lord

#‘but she’s old so she’ll just die right away’ and? she’s still kickin so far anyway #they’re gonna pull some nightstar shit w her and pull sims bs excuse I just know it but. I’m gonna enjoy the win for now lol #also heard that they introduced TNR to the books. this will my be handled well #*not be #I loved warriors but it wreaked havoc on cat care. your cat is not a warrior quit letting it outside to die.#and TNR is not a viable long term solution it’s just putting a bandaid on a gaping wound #introducing this controversial tactic into annanthrpromorphic cat book is. NOT gonna help I already know ppl who don’t spay or nueter bc #‘what if they want to have babies later 🥺 I don’t want to take away their freedom’ ma’am they are animals.#and there is such a massive amount of cat overpopulation that the only option to make sure the ones able to be adopted actually get to be #would be to cull massive amounts of them. talk to a shelter worker they are literally up to their knees in cats #and half of them are so feral or sick that the only humane option is euthanasia #anyway. I support women’s rights and wrongs lmao #squirrelflight #squirrelstar #warrior cats

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nerime · 9 days

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my coworkers are being turbo transphobic and literally refuse to listen to answers to questions they fucking ask argh!!! I can just tell you!!! I can just answer you!!!!! I have answers!!! to the ridiculous questions you ask in a mocking way!!!! if you listen for one second I can just fucking explain!!!! 😡😭😡😭

#they ask why would trans men NEED tampons for men since they are WOMEN why cant they juat use WOMEN ones those stupid silly women ugh #they keep coming back to the topic #and im like hey they are not women ^_^ and try to explain the concept #in easy kindergarten terms like hey you know how you wouldnt want to buy pink girly items because you are a (cis) guy! well #and them im cut off with more transphobic shit before i can say anything else #my coworker literally said her son told her and her husband they were playing spin the bottle on a school trip #and she asked so did you kiss any girls? and he said #sure when it landed on a girl then i kissed a girl (implying he also kissed guys)#and she said her husband was so shocked because hes conservative #while she said she just ordered the son not to say anything else #and she tells us 'i think he was just testing us or something'#wtf. i said well okay maybe he was testing your reactions and now hes not gonna tell you shit anymore #and she went like hm 🤔#also the irony of saying her HUSBAND is conservative while she fucking. misgenders trans men all day and jokes about gay men constantly #in a nasty way #all of them do #im so tired #she complained kids nowadays are so caaual about gay people #and i said okay well i love it personally they should keep it up #and NO ONE at the table supported/agreed with me #sorry i am on a work trip and suffering #transphobia tw #neri stfu

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itsalwaysforyou · 2 months

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the black sky and all those lights

a silly little something i wrote for jalentines!!

When Mal opens the dormitory door, Jay is standing in the hallway in his workout gear, hair tied up in a bun. He’s already grinning in that way he does when he wins a fight. Mal rolls her eyes at him. Grabbing her bag, she says bye to Evie, and joins Jay in the corridor.

She scowls as they walk, her workout clothes tight on her skin. Jay had insisted they’d do things properly, and not in their usual leather.

The hallways are decorated for Valentine’s Day, making Auradon Prep even more gaudy and colourful as usual. Pink and red hearts plastered across the walls, boasting the abundance of love here in Auradon. Jay’s had a thousand notes in his locker. Mal’s had none. Every morning, she watches Jay approach his locker like he would a target on the Isle. Weight forward, shoulders squared; ready to fight if needs be. And the paper falls to the floor like blood, only sickly pastel. Scrawled glittery gel pen. Words confessing passionate love, or asking him on dates, or doodles of hearts. Jay smiles the whole time. Greets and winks at girls. Scrunches those notes up in a fist.

“Everywhere looks disgusting,” Mal says as they approach the sports hall. Heart-shaped bunting crests the doors.

Jay holds the door open for her. “It’s fun.”

“You would think that.”

The sports hall is mercifully free of décor. They drop their bags in the corner and begin to warm up, another stupid practice Jay insists on. His top rides up as he side-stretches. Isle rule: never show skin, especially to the enemy. Except, Jay loved to parade around in those stupid sleeveless vests. She’s yelled at him plenty of times about it—Are you insane? You’re a walking target. He would just grin and say, they’ll have to catch me first.

Jay laughs as he grabs the practice swords from their stands. “Here.”

He throws it, and Mal catches. The weight in her hand is familiar. Already, her pulse is thrumming faster, and maybe if she closes her eyes she’ll be back on the docks, with the wind ripping at her hair, and the salt stinging her nose, and half a dozen of Uma’s crew jeering over the clanging of swords.

Jay chucks her a mask too, before attaching one to his own face. The mesh turns her vision slightly hazy.

“Ready?” Jay asks.

Mal’s watched fencing practise a few times, mostly as an excuse not to do homework and instead watch her boys wipe the floor with all those prissy Auradon princes. Coach Jenkins appointed Jay captain of the team a few months ago, a role he takes more seriously than she’s ever seen him take anything.

“Rassembler! Salute! Lower the point. Masks down. En guarde!”

Mal lunges first, which Jay clearly anticipates, parrying her blow. He circles. Strikes. Mal blocks it. He’s quick. Reflexes honed to a sword’s point; learned by practise and theory. Mal lashes out again, just catching his free arm before he jerks away. She grins underneath her mask. Her breath comes quicker. Jay’s blade arcs down, hitting her chest. Mal swats his blade away. She hears him laugh. She growls. Strike. Parry. Strike. Block. Strike. Jay lands another hit. Their shoes squeak against the linoleum floor.

“Come on, Mal,” Jay teases.

Mal lunges like a cat on its prey. Jay’s blade grates against hers like steel against flint. Jay may be quick but Mal’s smaller, and she weaves her way through Jay’s blade until they both have the sword’s point angled at each other’s chests.

They’re both panting. Jay lowers his sword first. Takes off his mask.

“You came in clutch at the end,” he says.

Mal huffs, wiggling the mask off her face and wiping her forehead with a sleeve. “You actually get training.”

“And now I’m training you!”

His hair has loosened during the sparring, spilling out at the seams. He unties the bun; flips his hair down and shakes it out. In this late-afternoon light, his hair could be made of gold. Hair longer than Mal’s ever had.

He pulls his hair back into its bun, deft fingers making quick work. When he straightens back up again, his face is slightly flushed from the match.

And Mal looks at this boy she’s known most of her life; this face and these hands; a boy that has held her at the end of the world and the start of a new one. And she snatches back down her mask.

“Again,” she says, lifting up her sword.

She’s swinging before Jay’s even had the chance to pull his own mask back down. Her blade slices against his chest, and she hears the breath escape from his lungs.

“Fuck!’

Jay’s blocking her hits in no time. Mal grits her teeth. A boy who’s inhabited every place she’s ever been. The shadow along the street; a fixed point on the rooftops. Those long, quick fingers that know their way around bandage; around open flesh; around her own hands. Like a comet to Earth. Like an eclipse. Totally consuming.

And here, where the sun shines brighter than they could have ever dreamed, she is left blistering. Those girls that fawn over Jay, professing their love with the same ease that Mal can hold a dagger to a throat. Jay’s clicking tongue, and that low fry to his voice when he’s chatting someone up. Everything is always so easy to him. He can wrap anyone around his finger with a wink.

His blade slams into her stomach. Mal pants, the budding pain in her side clearing her head. Jay’s standing above her like some heavenly deity.

“Best of four?” he offers.

“Yeah, whatever.”

“C’mon. Let’s take a break.”

Jay drops his sword and grabs his water bottle from his bag. Mal joins him, still gripping her sword, gulping down her water like a man in a desert.

“We should do this again soon,” Jay says.

“Tomorrow?”

“It’s the Valentine’s Ball tomorrow.”

Mal snorts. “Yeah, and?”

“I was gonna go.”

His words are coming too slow; too considered. Like when he used to talk about his dad, or a particularly bad Barge Day. Rehearsed. A guard dog who’s smelled danger, prowling at the sidelines.

Mal presents her blade. “En guarde!” she shouts, and Jay ducks her swing before scrambling over to his own sword.

“Really, Mal? Another sneak attack?”

“I’m keeping you on your toes.”

They waltz around the sports hall, the blades clashing and slicing and singing.

“We all agreed we weren’t going to go to the Ball,” Mal says, jabbing at Jay.

“We never agreed anything.”

Jay lands a blow. They are at the dockyard, with its rotting wooden pier and dead fish stench. The screeching of metal; the shouting; Mal’s heart hammering like the tide. Blood, and life. The roar in her ears. A dragon’s call. Body moving without a thought, as quick as a lightning strike. Not having to look behind her because she knows Jay is there.

“Exactly!” she says. “Why would we want to go to some stuffy Auradon ball?” Jay tries to say something but she ignores him. “Why would we care about Valentine’s Day? It’s corny, and over-commercialised, and a stupid excuse to make everything about love.”

Jay has her backed up against a wall. With no time to mount his mask, his lips are slightly parted, and his hair is escaping from his bun again. He looks just like he did on the Isle; none of his perfect prince act that fools Auradon. His sword hovers above her throat.

“Do you yield?” His voice is low.

Mal stares at him. Those eyes that have seen every part of her. All the blood; every smile; her pale skin in the dark Isle nights. The boy that has beheld her every action; weighed it all against his own understanding of the world, and decided that they slot together as easily as a bullet in a pistol.

“Who are you going with to the Ball?” Mal asks. She’s still clutching her sword. She could claim the upper hand, if she really wanted.

A grin creeps across Jay’s face. All those notes and heart-shaped lollipops. The giggling girls at his locker. He could pick any one of them. All of them so beautiful, in their sunset-coloured dresses. He could have anything he wanted.

“Well,” Jay says. “I was going to ask you.”

The sword’s point makes sure they keep their distance. Never too close. All touches so light; so fleeting, as if you could’ve mistaken them for a dream. As if you could’ve imagined the whole thing. All those nights in the hideout where the barrier of the body seemed thin, and the world became so small: just two kids who wouldn’t even dare knock knees.

So Mal shakes it all away with a laugh. “I’m not going to the Valentine’s Ball.”

Jay lowers his blade. Neither of them move. “Not even with me?”

“I’m sure there’ll be plenty of other girls who actually want to go with you.”

“I want to go with you.”

His words echo through the empty hall. His word is as steadfast as ever, the only opinion Mal will ever trust. Compass, anchor: Jay does it all.

Heralded here, Mal as real as the vast sky outside. Here, in his gaze, held aloft by trust where there shouldn’t be and compassion where there shouldn’t be and understanding where there shouldn’t be. A home for all her broken bones.

Mal’s lips unfurl into a smile. This ache in her chest. In her throat. Jay always being able to disarm her. Jay in every place she’s ever been. Jay as her shadow; her skin; her second self. A reflection in the mirror. The line of separation is nonexistent. Like the sun, like the moon: one cannot exist without the other.

#did this turn out way longer than i anticipated? absolutely #but i had a lot of fun writing it :) ive had to write a lot of things that Matter recently so it was nice to just. not have to try so hard #anyway anyway I LOVE THEM #i just think. mal being soooo annoyed that jay gets to play the carefree flirt #all these people that dont know him being 'in love' with him meanwhile mal can barely come to terms with her own feelings for him #and she communicates that through violence :)#and jay. jayyyyy. doesnt really want anything to do with these notes. like sure he likes the attention but he doesnt KNOW any of these girl #and they dont know him. and no one could know him like mal does :)#i also purposefully left the ending ambiguous teehee :) so i guess we'll never know what happened thumbs up emoji #descendants #jal #jay son of jafar #mal bertha #my fic #also i am not a fencer so everything i know is from the jay/lonnie right in d2 and google 👍 sorry to any fencers out there 👍#*fight

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chuthulhu-reads · 11 months

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[ID: Four panels from Trigun Maximum. The first three are all somewhat fuzzy, indicating that they're a flashback. The first shows a hand holding a derringer pistol, as a voice says, "...a tiny girl like you has to carry one. A single bullet... can even the odds between you and the strongest man." The dialogue continues over the second panel, which is a mostly obscured image of a gently smiling man, implied to be Meryl's father, and wearing headphones like the ones from a shooting range. The third panel shows a prepubescent Meryl with a serious expression, wearing thick gloves and clutching a book as her father continues, "It may be small... but its power is sufficient." The fourth panel is a close-up of the top half of the adult Meryl's face in profile, a distant expression in her eyes. End ID.]

IIRC, this is about the only thing we ever learn about Meryl's family background, aside from that she very rarely writes home. Though it's brief, it shows a practicality and emotional warmth that fits perfectly with Meryl as we know her as an adult. It also packs in a lot of gender politics regarding gun ownership as a force equalizer, especially on Planet Shithole which is full of testosterone-loaded bandit assholes including sexual slavers and roided-up giants. And a perfect quote regarding Meryl which deserves more usage, the Gunsmoke version of "though she be but little, she is fierce". That's a whole lotta symbolism and meaning packed into such a little gun!

#Trigun #Meryl Stryfe #I try not to just rag on Stampede but 'generic alcoholic mentor dies and leaves Meryl his gun' is just so rote #and does not have a FRACTION of the emotions and symbolism going on here #We don't know much about her dad. He may not have been all that communicative #meryl barely writes home and didn't really think anything of it until she saw the Milly Monthly #but he loved her and wanted her to be safe #while also enabling her to go out into the world and live life on her own terms #he wanted her to know #that though she is small her power is sufficient

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