#[ like one of the things I extremely enjoy about Micah's character is that they do firmly believe that they deserve love and being loved ]

[rat-king-writes]

Hi I was wondering if you could do some head canons for Cassidy? Where is his s/o is a big gamer and they introduce him to red dead redemption 2. (Not sure if you know the game or not) I can image Cassidy getting really attached to Arthur and hating on Micah. I can also see them playing the online to get her and Cassidy is just enjoying the scenery and then they turn around to see their s/o getting dragged around by another player.

If you don’t want to write about this it’s totally fine but if you do thank you in advance!

Thank you for the ask , I tried by best .

Synopsis ; You are a huge , HUGE gamer . However your boyfriend , Cassidy , isn't as in tune with the digital world. So you introduce him to a game that you think he will like . ( Red Dead Redemption 2 ) 

Cassidy isn't big on games, sure he likes watching you play them, (He just likes watching you do whatever) but he can never seem to win or even understand the concepts of a controller in his hand. The buttons are too confusing, and because you're a huge game nerd, you have multiple consoles with different controllers with different settings and oh my gosh he doesn't get it. How do you memorize all the different buttons, the moves, the characters? He's in awe when you play.

Usually, it would be you on the floor with some type of game projected onto your tv, and Cassidy’s head in your lap while you focus on your game. Occasionally Cassidy would ask you a question about it, but he generally just stayed pretty quiet and admired the screen, and you. That is how it usually went. Until you pulled out a new game, a game you had bought with the intention to show Cole. It’s something you had heard about before, but never really got into. Until you learned there was a multiplayer option.

You hadn’t told Cole about it yet, leading the day as any normal one with your boyfriend following you around like usual. When you loaded up Red Dead Redemption 2, you could already see the glint in Cassidy’s eyes as he sat next to you. You smile, already knowing your plan would work. You started as normally, eyes trained on the game as it played out in front of you. Cassidy was absolutely enthralled and would ask you many many questions about who was who, the premise, etc. He was just so happy to see multiple cowfolk in the media. 

He seemed to really relate to and enjoy Arthur. But he absolutely despised Micah, and even booed when the man would appear on screen. He gave his opinions on other characters too, relating Sadie to someone he used to be friends with, and saying you reminded him of Charles. It was cute how he would get excited when you booted up the game. And you absolutely loved it too, the game was quite fun. And seeing how Cole liked it, made it a even better experience.

It got even better when the next day you had set up an extra tv, controller, and of course another copy of Read Dead 2. Of course you had paid the online service fee for both of you, something Cole will never know, leds he lecture you on spending money on him. But how could you not? The way his eyes lit up, voice carrying a happy tilt to it. It made your heart flutter, and now that you could play with him things would be even better.When Cassidy got to your home you greeted him with a hug and a kiss before eagerly leading him to your shared room. 

He was confused at your sudden excitement, but smiled along with you as you practically dragged him. His confusion grew even more as his eyes set onto the extra tv setup. Though judging by your extremely large smile and you ushering him to sit down, he wasn’t too worried. You explain to him your plan, fidgeting nervously with your own controller as you tell him you want to try the online feature with him. He accepts almost immediately, though you have to spend some time getting him used to the controls. 

The online wasn't that busy thankfully, and you and Cassidy would ride horses side by side and go sightseeing. You would look over at him and just watch him play and interact with the horses. It melted your heart how he would verbally hush the fake horse after accidentally hitting it. He was so kind, and so silly it made your heart swell. Other players would come up to you both, often riding alongside or causing some type of trouble, but it was primarily civil.

One afternoon, Cole and you sat down to play some online as you usually do, however you wanted to show him the lavender fields in Big Valley. Something you knew he would adore. The ride there had you both chatting idly, mainly about Cole's line of work in overwatch. It was going well, and as you two approached the beautiful scenery you couldn't help but smile at Cole. It seemed stupid, getting happy over a game, but seeing how happy your boyfriend looked just made you giddy.

Unbeknownst to you, and to Cole, a player had run up to you with their lasso out, snagging you and just dragging you around the land. Once you had caught notice of this, you let out a burst of laughter. This prompts Cole to look over as well, and the sight of you getting dragged causes him to let out his own hearty laugh too. He chases the player around, vowing to free you from your silly predicament. And he does, fairly easily. The other player finally leaves, leaving you two alone to look at the scenery. And just like you had predicted, Cole loves it.  

Playing Read Dead became a sort of pastime for you both, something to do to relax and wind down. Of course Cole would be content watching you play the story mode, and sometimes he would prefer to. But all that you cared about was him having fun, and you achieved that goal. 

[justhere4kpop]

Jumpscare

Idol!Choi San x Reader

You watch a scary movie with your boyfriend, but you don't seem to have as much fun as you hoped.

Warnings: Mentions of anxiety but nothing extreme, Language, Just Fluff!

wc: 1645 (I know its short! Forgive me!)

a/n: Just a short San Oneshot not related to my other works just wanted to write a little comfort fic, I hope you guys like it! I am working on other things but this came to me as I was talking to a friend (@senpai-of-doom Thanks for letting me bounce ideas off you! <3 <3 <3!!) about comfort fic ideas. I had fun writing it, I hope you enjoy reading it!

Tag: @layzfeelit since I know you were also looking forward to it! Your support means the world to me!

Masterlist

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

To say I am a coward when it comes to scary movies is an understatement.I was not a fan of horror films but I knew they were a good date idea, and I barely get to see him anymore, not since the group started gaining popularity and I’d be damned before I ever thought about holding him back. I am his number one fan always, I was at every show I could make it to and I’d never stop him from living his dream like that, he meant the world to me so I’d prove it every chance I got. However, he thought it’d be fun to scare the piss out of each other and watch scary movies, you get all cuddled up together and it’s cute but I hope he doesn’t pick something that scares the piss out of me. 

“I was thinking about Paranormal Activity?” San smiled as I got comfortable on the couch.

“I don’t think I’ve seen that one.” I looked at him curiously.

“I heard it’s pretty scary. I think we can handle it though, it’s a found footage film.” he got next to me as he scrolled Netflix. He came over to mine, much more quiet than me trying to sneak into the dorms and all the guys. “Ready?”

“Mmhmm.” I nodded and grabbed the blanket and popcorn. You could tell he was really excited to watch this.

We got about halfway into the movie before I really started to get tense, the movie was building obviously but I was starting to feel it. My hands felt kind of clammy. I could tell he was trying not to let it show he was also getting a little paranoid but he had a certain look to him that told me he was almost as tensed up as I was. I don’t know why we suggested this he doesn’t like scary stuff either. This is so dumb of us. It was the end of the movie when the main character Katie screamed for her boyfriend Micah after watching him for almost 2 hours, that finally caused me to lose it. I practically threw the popcorn in the air when he got thrown at the camera letting out a yelp. San wasn’t doing much better but I think between the two of us I was the one that was terrified. I was hoping he wouldn’t notice, I mean it's just a movie I shouldn’t be this scared. 

“Maybe we should go to bed?” San suggested as the credits rolled.

“Oh yeah sure.” I nodded, closing my eyes to break my stare on the screen. As he got up I learned he had no intention of inviting himself to stay over, I wasn’t about to let that happen, there’s no way I was going to sleep alone. “W-Where are you going?” I stuttered. “I barely get to see you, please stay the night.” so I don’t get freaked out by anything.

“I didn’t…want to assume you wanted me to stay.” he looked relieved honestly.

“San we’ve been dating for 2 years now, I think it’s safe to say please stay after any and all date nights?” I gave him a warm smile trying to hide the fear in my voice.

We got ready for bed but that was the easy part it seemed. As we laid down, in my dark…dark room, I couldn’t help but start to feel the anxiety rise in my chest. I tossed and turned for the better part of 3 hours before I started feeling like there were things happening I couldn’t see, noises were coming from everywhere, and the worst part….he fell asleep facing away from me. Now I’ve never been one to be able to wake anyone up, I used to be so scared to wake my parents up during the night I’d rather suffer under my covers during a loud thunderstorm than go crawl to them. I heard a loud thump come from my hallway and it completely sent me over the edge, I threw myself out of bed and into the bathroom letting the tears flow down my face. I couldn’t help it anymore, I was so scared there was something in my apartment and I couldn’t ask for help. I yelped when there was a knock on the bathroom door and practically died when it opened. I threw the closest thing I could at the intruder which happened to be a towel….very effective.

“Baby…Baby it’s me. It’s me, hey take a breath.” San said, hushing me calmly. “Hey hey hey shhh shhh.” he wrapped his arms around me. 

“Th-There’s something out there.” I blubbered.

“I already checked it’s okay, it’s just your imagination.” he held my head. “I’m sorry. I didn’t know you were this scared.”

Was I really that good at hiding it? I guess that’s the troubled past coming through…I thought I was an open book when it came to that. 

“I’m sorry,” he said again. “I’m so sorry y/n. I thought…I’m so stupid.”

“No you’re not.” I looked at him teary eyed. “Please don’t talk about my boyfriend that way.”

“Hey your boyfriend did a poor job at looking after you, I can be a little harsh on him right now.” he picked me up. “Come here jagiya.” I wrapped my legs around his waist as we got up.

“I didn’t mean to wake you.” I said in a small voice.

“I was awake anyways.” he let out a little chuckle. “How about we watch something else. As silly as can be, even your favorite kids show. Youtube, we can play video games. Make cookies?” He brushed my hair back and wiped my face.

“You can go back to sleep.” I whispered.

“And leave my baby out here like this, no way.” he kissed my forehead. “I’m not leaving you until you’re smiling, and forgetting about this whole scary thing.”

“Can we watch Business Proposal then?” I looked at him.

“Absolutely.” he smiled and turned it on. It was just the amount of cuteness, no scares, and romance I wanted. Nothing terrifying happened and it was nice leaning against his chest while watching it. He wrapped the blanket over my head and rubbed my back. “I love you.” he whispered to the top of my head, giving it a small kiss.

“I love you too.” I nuzzled into his chest a little more.

“I really am sorry Jagiya.”

“Sannie, please don’t worry about it anymore. It’s really ok, it was just a movie.”

“I know, I just should’ve realized sooner you were scared. I honestly didn’t know.”

“Which is why I’m not mad Sannie.” I squeezed his other hand that was holding mine. “I know you wouldn’t just ignore it, you’re not that type of person.”

“How about some chocolate? It really does help after you cry.” he opened up a little piece for me and popped it in my mouth, not letting me grab it myself.

It felt nice to get taken care of for a little bit, I felt bad since it was so late but he kept telling me it was no bother to him, as long as I was happy.

“You do so much for me, you’re at every show, cheering, singing along, taking photos. I can take care of you for a few hours.” he chuckles and nudges my head with his nose. “I love you.” he kissed the side of my face again.

“I know.” I giggled since his breath tickled me. “You said it earlier.”

“And I’m going to say it again. I love you.”

“I know.”

“I don’t think you heard me. I love you!”

“I know!”

“I Love You!”

“I Know!” I started chuckling more.

“I LOVE YOU!” he kissed all over my face after his loud 2 am proclamation.

“I LOVE YOU TOO!” I said back with a laugh now.

“I love you y/n,” he smiled watching me.

“I love you too, San.”

“I love you more.” he pulled me closer and kept his hand on my back. “And I’ll tell you as many times as there are stars in the sky.”

“Whoa, that’s at least….like 20 times.” I chuckled at his expression.

“Probably more like 20,000.”

“I did say at least.” I smiled which was quickly followed by a yawn.

“Bedtime?” He raised an eyebrow.

“Bedtime.” I nodded.

Still he carried me to the bedroom, not letting my feet touch the floor for a second. He said it was too cold and I shouldn’t have to know what that feels like, whatever that meant. He cradled me to him this time and tangled our legs together, now I know how he feels, his feet are cold as hell. No wonder he complains when I do it in the winter, will that stop me…no. 

“Goodnight Baby.” he smiled his wonderful crinkled eye smile. I love that smile so much, it felt like home.

“Goodnight-” I yawned. “Sannie.”

We both got quiet if only for a moment, my eyes starting to shut peacefully.

“Baby?”

“Hmm?”

“I wish I knew you didn’t like scary movies either, it would’ve saved us a lot of anxiety.” he chuckled.

“Either? So…you didn’t like the movie?”

“I was honestly terrified the whole time. I thought you liked scary movies.”

“San, I honest to god hate scary movies with my entire being.”

“We really should’ve watched Up again instead.” he smiled into my hair.

“Maybe next time. No more scary movies?”

“No more scary movies.” he agreed.

“Good.” I nodded. A sense of relief washed over me learning he was just as scared as I was and thought I was fine. That was all I needed to finally put my mind at ease and fall asleep in his arms.

“Goodnight baby. I love you.” he smiled, pulling the covers over us.

[scarfacemarston]

Halloween with the Van Der Linde’s - Part Deux

This is part 2 of a Halloween post I did a while back. There are some lame memes of mine that reference part 1 but it’s of course not a necessity to read the first part. If you want to read it - here it is. Arthur - a pilot from Top Gun - he always thought it would be cool to fly and he loved the movie growing up. He thought about becoming a pilot himself as he loved freedom. However, he hated the idea of joining the air force and he didn’t want to be a commercial pilot.

Dutch and Molly - Molly *really* wants to do Bonnie and Clyde. Badly. So badly. Dutch thinks the idea is too basic. He thought about doing Elvis briefly. Finally, Dutch decided on King Henry VIII and Molly as a princess. Henry VIII was known for his romantic notions of courtly gentlemanly love and all things grand.......but is more famous for how his wives ended up and his politics. (No, that’s not commentary on Dutch but I suppose you could make an argument for some minor similarities). Molly’s dress is indeed based on the deleted Ball Gown dress.

Hosea- David Bowie 100%. He loved David Bowie for decades and since people have said he resembled David, he thought, why not?

John - Like every year, he didn’t want to dress up. He finally “forced himself” to choose a Yellowstone employee shirt....which then caused the family to goad him into adding pizass to his costume...which was a jacket and some spurs.

Abigail -Lara Croft, She watched the kids in one of her foster homes played Tomb Raider and she loved it. She always wanted to be like Lara. The only thing she changed was the shorts into longer pants.

”’My legs get cold, Gosh dang it!”

Sadie - She saw Pearson and Charles dress up like pirates last year and knew she could do a better job. You bet she’d be the most bad ass pirate queen you’ve ever seen....her epilogue outfit even looks like a pirate’s outfit. 

Charles - A Jedi and he’s comfortable as hell. He was a comfy pirate last year and intends to be comfty again. He almost convinces Arthur to join him, especially since “Jedi fly ships”. Star Wars gave Charles a lot of comfort growing up and he stills enjoys it through the ups an downs. Then Uncle appears....

Uncle -  is a Jedi, too doing bad Obi-Wan Kenobi impressions.......just to follow Charles around and annoy him.

 Sean, Lenny and Javier - the three Spider-Men so they can do the Spider-Men pointing meme....just with three Spider-men! Lenny’s back up was Marty McFly, Sean’s back up was Elton John and Javier’s back up was Legolas. Yes, I FIRMLY believe Javier is a “nerd” in the best of ways. 

Jack - wanted to be involved, but remembered he was spiderman last year and the year before that so now he’s decided he’s Batman. He was not allowed to watch the Robert Pattinson film, but he’s watched the Kevin Conroy original Batman the Animated Series and loved it.

Kieran - One of the classic Riddler styles, baby! He loves that Jack is Batman - the same version he grew up with. He tells lame riddles all night which annoys some of the gang members, but Jack has a ton of fun trying to figure them out.

Josiah Trelawny - lost a bet and did not get to pick his outfit. He was horrified until…….it was the ladies who picked it out. They picked out Dr. Stephen Strange.

Tilly, Karen and Mary-Beth - Charlie’s Angels. Mary-Beth wanted it last year and they didn’t do it so she INISTED this year. Note: I l literally do NOT know ANYTHING about Charlie’s Angels except that Farrah Fawcett was extremely famous because of it. If you know how to match characters to their personalities, go ahead!

Susan Grimshaw - Queen of Hearts from Alice in Wonderland. It’s a fun costume with so many different interpretations so she gets to pick what pieces she wants.

Micah - the Joker Heath Ledger version because he likes doing the impressions. He is monitored around Jack. (Oops, didn’t know I had 3 batman characters on here. Sorry, but I think it works!)

Mr. Pearson - Bob’s Burger and people actually like it! 

Reverend Swanson - Gandalf. He has a rivalry with the “Star Wars nerds”, but it’s all in good fun.

Leopold Strauss - doesn’t dress up. He thinks it’s a waste of time. Some of the less festive gang members agree with him. However, he does hand out items like pencils which....is useful at least?

Bill - Freddy Kruger - but does not wear the mask around Jack and his sister. He wants to be able to choose when he’s scary and when he’s not...besides, the Marstons and co would kick his ass. (Jack would probably think it’s cool, though.) (Doing a collage image because watch someone report me for posting a horror costume lol I know people who have been reported for less.)

Rufus -  Jack and Abigail decide Rufus will use his good boyness for good and make up for John’s lack of celebration.

Amelia Marston - My name for Abigail and John’s daughter. Abigail and John want to raise a strong little lady so who better than a feminist icon like Rosie the Riveter? (To those who don’t know, Rosie the Riveter was a World War II propaganda figure who encouraged all women to work outside of the home for the war effort - usually in factories.

[blazefirefox]

Finally, after 4 long months, I have finished the first part of my OC voice claims! I unfortunately had to make it a YouTube video because Tumblr wouldn't let me post my 40 minute long video ;_;. The editing is probably a little funky because I was editing at 11 at night on 5 hours of sleep. These characters are part of an Owl House AU I have that surrounds The Collector and the backstory I have made for them. I first made this AU all the way back in June, so some parts are definitely not aligned with canon, but I have tweaked some factors to match with the show more. This first video(s) are the important characters in my story, while the second part will be background/not as important characters. Here's a little key that will help with understanding some of the characters:

Red dot - this character is deceased/residing in the Stars (with one exception)

Blue dot - this character is residing in the mortal plane as a ghost

Red dot with a bit of black in the middle - this character is a resident of the Dark River (hell)

Green dot - they are in some other residence/it's complicated

I also would like to shout out to @wake-up-and-face-the-sun and @onyxstic for sitting through all my explanations of these characters, as well as being huge inspirations for me and for being so kind :3

Without further ado, enjoy ;)

Fluttering Bird, Sol, Millie, Delta, Sentinel Millie, and Kasai's take place during the events of The Owl House

Sierra, Soot, Kindle, Sunfire, and Sandstorm's take place before & after the events of The Owl House

Jasper, Slate, Mirage, Storm, Cyclone, Mourning Dove, Snipe, Quiet Rain, Juniper, Liana, Micah, Clouded Dawn, Thunder Fall, Shaded Dusk, and Hollow Branch's take place before the event of The Owl House

Vermillion, River Ripple, Misty Sky, Jackdaw's Flight, Floating Feather, Teen Falling Dusk (Dusky), Teen Fluttering Bird (Birdie), Teen Millie, Blackout Sol, Blackout Thunder Fall, and Blackout Hollow Branch's take place after the events of The Owl House

Here's where the characters with green dots reside: Sandstorm is in their own purgatory, based on their confusion and questionable deeds in their life, to wander around, slowly losing their sanity; Quiet Rain chose to be reincarnated so that she can watch over her dear friends, as she promised...; Sentinel Millie is basically a beast form of Millie, deciding to rear its ugly head whenever she is feeling an extreme negative emotion, or whenever they feel like it; Kasai was forced asked by the High Archivist Council to right the wrongs Sol has caused, so he has lived far past what a normal Sun Archivist should and has survived many life-ending events, and will not succumb until Sol is dealt with. Mourning Dove, unlike Sol's other victims, chose to stay in the Inbetween to keep an eye on her children.

If you have any questions, PLEASE ask! I would love to answer questions about family trees because I sure I made that confusing in the video lol. Thank you for watching, and I hope you liked it!

[I do not claim any of the voices or the show The Owl House. The only things that belong to me are the AU, most of the characters, and the art.]

[cephiwyrm]

please please please share all of your ocs!!

HELLO YES I WILL??? there was one i was specifically vague posting about in the one reblog which i will NOT but i will share something funny abt him

my ex made a cardboard cut out of him, hated him so much they STABBED HIM and then mailed me the arm, and of course i still own it. ANYWAYS! pulling these from my main toyhouse (i have an ugly watermark i am so sorry) let the rambling begin (extremely long i am so sorry LMAO)

(cutely pulls up a piece of art) alright this is my cherry pop story! they are 3 cryptid / unnatural monster type hunters in a universe that is pretty much exactly like earth 1:1 except it was cats and dogs that became the main dominant species. the main character (aka just the one we see through her POV theyre all main characters to me.sniff) is Annie! she is a quiet and get it done type of character, besides working the 9 to 5 monster hunting job, she really likes games (this takes place in the 2000s btw) and is interested in how mechanical stuff works! also she is a trans icon :)

next is Peyton! shes she nerdy, figure it out type. probably the one in the group the most interested in what they're actually being paid to do; also one of the first ones to notice what is actually going on. she mainly enjoys going out and fucking around with her skateboard and shes a little sillay gal

last but not least in cherry pop is Micah! hes the brawns and usually helps with doing physical objectives, and also just catching the monsters in general if need be. first one to come to conclusions, even if they are SEVERELY wrong. he is captain of the swim team and wishes to go to a bigger college one day (they are in a small town)

OK NEXT !! AFTER PARTY they are some of my oldest ocs (not OLDEST oldest but def. there) and their story is a little all over the place since its with me and my friends and we havent gotten into it recently (its basically a masquerade type kill scenario) all their art is a little old but this is Okano! at a very young age, her father died and she was able to take over a very well off company. Well she doesn't make huge decisions by herself at the moment, she shows great opportunity in the future. she is very distrusting because of it though, and takes a while to warm up to people.

next is kaga! (one next to peyton) shes a little silly gal, shes very reckless and kind of doesn't care about danger shes in it for the thrill. absolutelu kills it being a roller blader, but also just likes walking around with no shoes on. also ! she works in a tattoo shop :)))

now realizing i have a lot of. trio characters huh. anyways! heres kiki. no ur not getting a genuine image bebcause she iisss so baby...... anyways; she is a french vlogger! she loves exploring the world and showing it to her growing number of people. also has a small AU inside of stardew valley :) shes obsessed with seagulls as well

ok realizing i have too many ocs and i dont want this to be like two million word post (30+ on my main and more not even on TH) so ill end off with my TTRPG charas :) this is Milo my druid aarakocra for DnD! on like the second session he got struck by lightining and got a god that way. When he was just a litol baby he wandered off from his home and into a forest where his brother, an elf named Leo, went up to his soon to be mentor/father figure Crechir like CAN WE PLEASE KEEP HIM PELASEEEEEE and may or may not have lied about his entire home burning to the ground later on he found a little gold dragon which when touching different objects changed colour; and was named skittle. little funny thing about skittle was everytime a gold coin was fed, he would grow just a little bit. even more later on, he was sent an ominous message about his birth home about how his mother had died and he was the next chieftan and so he had to go do some special trials in order to become one! he also went to the hell casino and since crechir gave him chips he was able to get an amulet that lets him shift between his two forms, treefolk and birdfolk

and finally, this is Ash for MOTW! she is a twin in a small town in canamerica (canada and america fused because our irl party is in both) due to being a twin, she was born with some spooky (haha her class) powers, and will send her twin Ali memes via telapathy. unfortunately being a teen with powers, she is also kind of very angsty and prone to some bursts of outrage. besides that, she has a very strong interest in wood carving, while her twin loves to hunt crytids, due to the strangeness of their town they have to deal with it every once in a while! they have a pet snake belovingly named banana (or boenana. shes a boa constrictor) and is honestly a teen that is addicated to her phone

ty for reading if you did!! i fucking LOVE MY OCS. SO MUCH. I WILL GO ON AND ON ABOUT THEM UNTIL I RUN OUT OF THEIR ACTUAL STORY

[micahwritesweird]

About Me!

Welcome to my [slightly more detailed] About Me!!

My name is Micah, I'm 19 and currently live in the United States (EST)

My pronouns are they/them, and I'm genderfluid (transmasc & nonbinary)

I'm also autistic! Some of my autistic traits may transfer to my writing unintentionally. (i.e: awful at recognizing social ques and expectations, struggles with tone differentiation, over-explanation/details when its not necessarily needed, etc.) I also will use tone tags when I think it's needed on normal posts. Here's a list if you're unfamiliar with tone tags.

I have AWFUL executive dysfunction and an extremely busy personal life, so I apologize if it takes me a while to get to requests.

Writing is my biggest emotional outlets and comforts. It's something I do for pleasure, so it's not-so-fun when something you enjoy feels like an obligation <3. That being said, please be patient with your requests!

Okay on to the fun stuff!!

I enjoy many fandoms! Some include One Piece, BNHA, Tokyo Ghoul, Harry Potter, Star Wars, FNAF, Supernatural, The Walking Dead, MCU, Undertale/Deltarune, God of War, Sally Face, Stranger Things, and many more :)

I'm only about halfway through One Piece, and I'm horrible at picking favorites so here are my current top 3 characters:

-Buggy the Clown -Donquixote Rosinante -Bartolomeo

Anyways, thanks for readin'! If you stuck around this long, you deserve a cookie

[this-is-z-art-blog]

I was having trouble with the formatting in an ask so @sophie-the-diamond-fusion-hybrid​ here’s my answer to your question!

These are not in any particular order, but here goes!

1. Danny and Cygnus

This was not only fun to draw, it was fun to talk about! I didn't expect to get asked what the ferret's name was at all, but I had a delightful time thinking through the answer.

2. Lily and Abigail

I really enjoyed how @jus-a-lil-mouse​ picked out outfits that went together so well; it made it very easy for me to picture them sharing a scene, and from there I had such a lovely time

3. Extremely fancy Elena and Kamila

This may be the fanciest thing I've drawn in my life. I'm so proud of the magical, shimmering vibe it ended up with. Two fun facts: a) this program file was so big it regularly took over a minute to save b) I did accidentally flip who Mouse requested what outfit for

4. Micah's allergy

I was very bored and asked @thedreamer001​ what I should draw, and he supplied me with the text post, so I did then ask @premium-sky​ for ideas as to whom. I'm very proud of the chaotic energy it ended up with

5. Hoodie Thomas

The outfit was very fun and fitting without being too challenging, and I always love drawing Thomas!

6. Steph and Leah

The outfits are from different prompt lists I had sent Mouse over time, so I especially appreciated how they picked out a pair that matched!

7. Andrew's cool jacket

Not only do I adore drawing Andrew and found this jacket very fitting for his bright and silly disposition, but it was a fun challenge to try and make the material look shiny/waterproof. I don't think it quite succeeded, but I enjoyed it a lot

8. Dapper Chris

I just like drawing fancier clothing, and it was especially neat to try that with Chris, who as a default already dresses up a little

9. Sammy's little outfit

Sammy is one of my & Sky's ocs of whom I have the least sense of their personality, so I was really grateful to have a chance to feel him out some more and try to work on that. I'm still not quite there, but this was a fun combination, and I'm fond of how Sammy's hair looks slightly reasonable for once here

10. Danny and Annie

Reading up on someone else's really detailed oc is always a challenge; trying to portray them accurately and interestingly, giving someone something they'll enjoy when it's a character I've only just heard of, etc, so having the touchstone of a character I know and love in the mix was really helpful, and imagining what these two would do when hanging out was a blast

(To make this I heavily referenced the code here: TumblrTop10)

I do take drawing requests! I'm not always fast and reserve the right to say no, but I enjoy them a lot, so if you've got something you'd like to see me try, let me know!

[phoenixdnasty]

The Problem with Season Five

this is already going to have a lot of you in the replies yelling at me. obviously, massive SPOILERS for s5 of she ra and the princesses of power if you haven't already seen it.

okay, so She Ra is definitely a kids' show, but it has a lot of themes aimed towards an older audience: abuse, war, found family, destiny and knowing who you are. I loved She Ra because it made me feel empowered, made me feel seen. after this last season, however, I don't feel the same. I will, however, talk about what it did well.

What She-Ra s5 did RIGHT

I very much enjoyed seeing the character development for most characters come to the forefront here. For example, SW returned to her original motivations. When she lived in Mystacor with the other sorcerers, her thirst for power was borne of a desire to fight the Horde. When she was rejected, then she chose to do what she did. We see a return to that in s5, where she takes a stand against Prime by enlisting Castaspella to stop her if she tries to take any power for herself. She ends up just wanting to help, to do what she can, which was excellent. Glimmer, Bow and a bunch of other characters are given some love here as well. I especially enjoyed seeing Bow and Mermista take on leadership positions in the absence of Adora; it was an excellent look into another facet of their personalities.

Character interactions in non-serious moments were, for the most part, good. Swift Wind and Scorpia being bros was not something I knew I needed but something I want more of. Netossa basically being Batman and knowing the weaknesses of everyone around her was great and an iconic scene. Bow thinking Catra was super adorable was also an excellent moment in the season and I could watch 9 more seasons worth of that. Something that surprised me was Entrapta's "not good with people"-ness being talked about and addressed by the other characters and explained by her; I wasn't sure if that was ever gonna be talked about in the show.

Side note: thank you Crew-Ra for giving Scorpia her own musical number, it was great.

Prime was also a fascinating enemy. He's this sort of religious figure, this world destroyer who's been around for seemingly centuries, maybe much longer. He's cold, calm and calculated. I've seen it pointed out that he's everything Hordak is not. He's manipulative, knows body language and facial expressions, and has a perfect grasp on how to get exactly what we wants. My favorite aspect of this season was the hive mind control. This was a very interesting plotline to me, and I thoroughly enjoyed HiveMind!Catra as well as Wrong Hordak. I loved the idea of pitting allies against each other and the angst and emotional weight that carried.

Going to use that point to segue into one of this season's strengths: Netossa and Spinnerella. Wow! We get a chance to see what a healthy queer/wlw relationship looks like, and two background characters get major upgrades in relevance. Two diversity points for one being a big girl and for the couple being interracial (in our world anyway), but diversity is the norm is SPOP and we might have to stan forever. It was extremely heartwarming and resulted in one of my favorite scenes to ever show up in animated media (one which I'll be stealing to add to my vows if I ever get married):

It was beautiful and I will absolutely never shut up about it.

There were some beautiful moments this season!! Absolutely gorgeous. A highlight for me cinematically was episode 5, which will probably bother some people when I say what I will below. I will be honest, the new transformation sequence and the scene of Adora holding Catra as She-Ra was powerful and had my heart pounding with excitement. It was awesome.

On the other hand...

What She-Ra s5 did WRONG

I'm going to break my issues with the final season down one by one, starting with the narrative of abuse.

From the very beginning, abuse is the most prevalent theme in the show. Prime (HP) abuses Hordak, Hordak abuses SW, SW abuses both Adora and Catra, and Catra abuses Adora. I liked the Crew-Ra tackling this issue. Abused people abuse people, right?

Why was everyone redeemed in s5? (Well, except for Prime, he was blasted away by She-Ra.) Hordak was given a blank slate to start over, even though he was the reason Etheria was war torn for at least a few decades; SW was given a hero's sacrifice, where at the end of her life she finally decides to do some good; and Catra is immediately forgiven for doing one good thing and all trust in placed in her simultaneously.

Hordak and H. Prime as abusers are pretty cut and dry; at no point are they ever remorseful for their actions, except for Hordak in the case of being abusive to Entrapta. SW is much more of an interesting character to analyze, because her motivations are geared directly towards herself. This seems to change in the final season, when she returns to her original motivations from back when she was in Mystacor. Defending her home. In her pursuit of the power needed to defend Etheria from the Horde, she fell into darkness. She began to abuse Adora and Catra.

One could argue that the hero's sacrifice she was given for redemption was unneeded. SW was an individual addicted to power. She was manipulative, using fake affection as a means to control. She didn't deserve a redemption. The only evidence we have of this supposed change of heart is a line to Castaspella: "...and stop me if I try to take the power for myself." Okay... so, SW, um... what changed your mind? Was it Micah? Because at no point has he forgiven you. In fact, there should've been much more hostility between the two of you (which is a point I'll address in a moment). In all honesty, the relationship between SW and Micah reminds me of what should've happened between Catra and Glimmer, or Catra and Scorpia.

And Catra... My problem with her story is that she was kinda just... forgiven? instantly. no repercussions, no long talks about feelings, no... consequences. Catra got the girl and that was it. A small list of things she did over 4 seasons, in no certain order:

Scratched what was implied were scarring marks down Adora's back

Was the cause of Angella's "death" #angelladeservedbetter

Kidnapped both Glimmer and Bow

Opened a world-ending portal all to ensure Adora failed

Also pushed Adora into what looked like an abyss

Verbally abused Scorpia into leaving

Wanted to pit Corrupted!She-Ra against her friends (dehumanization)

Got Entrapta sent to Beast Island, a deadly place no one ever returns from

And this is just the stuff off the top of my head. We all knew Catra was going to get a redemption, but this one was completely undeserved. She apologized to Adora and Entrapta. Two very short apologies for what canonly was at minimum, months of abuse, manipulation, intent to kill (which is literally mentioned by Adora) and general disregard for anyone or anything but revenge for something that didn't even deserve it. The entire cast should've been outraged. Glimmer in particular had a very big reason not to ever forgive Catra ("I'm not losing another parent!"), but it was all glossed over.

The biggest issue with season 5 was the abuse plotline completely dropped. You can't spend 4 seasons explaining how the cycle of abuse affects you and everyone around you... and shelve it. And we know the reason why it was shelved.

Let me first preface this with the fact that I am super happy we got representation. As a queer nblw who grew up feeling alone, it's so good to see things changing in media. An onscreen wlw kiss on a kids' show is groundbreaking and I'm very happy that She-Ra broke this barrier.

But all representation is not good representation. Catra and Adora is not a good representation of a healthy relationship.

Catra is shown throughout the series to be very unstable. This is even prevalent in season 5, when Adora "chooses SW" over Catra, she runs away. This breaks Adora's heart. The last thing that Catra needs is a relationship when she hasn't even confronted the issues that she has. There's no healing done in season 5, no therapy as the fandom loved to meme about, no long talks about forgiveness and the hurt caused. There's no callback to any of the pain and anguish that Catra put Adora through. Catra may love Adora, but if there is no healing done for the both of them, their relationship will fail. They will fall into the same cycle again. Adora will do something Catra doesn't like, Catra will do what she's done for all of the show, and it will repeat until something breaks.

I'm going to talk about the implications of the ending we have now, and feel free to argue with me.

She-Ra is a kids' show. Abuse is one of the main themes. Catra is shown to be an abuser. Here's what we are teaching younger audiences:

a. if you love someone enough, maybe they'll change

b. everyone deserves a second chance

c. your abuser will change as long as you're loyal and never stop trying to love them

d. things someone does to hurt you mean nothing in the wake of forgiveness

e. if someone who hurt you changes suddenly and wants to be back in your life, you should let them back in

Character interactions for the things that mattered (plot threads from previous seasons, general personality clashes, etc) were absent this season, in the moments where they mattered the most. (The best three in my opinion were Scorpia and Perfuma, the BFS inviting Catra in, and Mermista and Entrapta.) Glimmer and Adora should've had their time to talk. Scorpia should've gotten to say her piece to Catra. SW and Micah should've interacted more. Micah and Glimmer should've gotten more than an introduction!

I'm not going to get into how the entire final season was wrapped around making Catra and Adora get together (a fundamental writing no-no; it never ends up working), or how it was bad writing. I just want everyone to think critically for one moment. There are so many other glaring issues in what was, overall, a stellar show. If there was another season, or some mini episodes where the characters talk out their problems and past transgressions against each other, then I could excuse She-Ra. But I doubt we're going to get any of that. So I won't.

[protectduffy]

hey there!! do you think you could do headcanons for any gang members, male or female, who have a female s/o that also joins the gang on robberies and stuff please?? feel free to do angst or fluff, basically whatever your heart desires. i just feel i haven't read many things where the reader also helps the gang out like that, so im interested. anyways, thanks a lot!!

i totally agree, i like finding fics where the reader is a bit badass! i picked some random characters and hope you like it! x

Hosea

- he’s very protective, although always proud when he sees you riding into camp with that successful, satisfied smile which indicates a good haul

- Hosea will always celebrate your victories with you, but he can’t shrug off how protective he is

- if you come back hurt, you will immediately see the flash of panic across his face. He’s so afraid to lose you

- however, he feels more at ease when you’re with one of the other gang members or himself, and he’ll always warn them to take good care of you. If they don’t, Hosea slips into a fury you aren’t familiar with, and you almost pity your companion

Dutch

- Dutch will introduce you with a warm, fluffy speech, but anyone in the camp can recognise the steely look in his eyes, a clear threat that nobody will be wronging you without severe consequences

- he gets jealous at times when you leave to a job or task for a few days with one of the other gang members, and he’ll always sit you on his lap when you’re back, reinforcing his claim

- sometimes he argues with you, though, when you get overly ambitious or mention you’ll be doing something that has high stakes for your safety

- on the nights when you do argue, he always soothes away your frustrations by laying beside you in bed, stroking your hair and murmuring about his points until you relax and probably succumb

Arthur

- he loves having you around the camp knowing that you’re more than eager to contribute to the harder tasks

- Arthur actively scopes out things for you to do, with him or on your own, trying to help you become stronger and more sure-footed

- however, if he catches wind of you accepting or finding a risky job, Arthur will insist on going with you, regardless of whether you ask or not

- he most enjoys riding back from a successful day with you back to camp, both beaming and a little ruffled, but otherwise extremely pleased. Occasionally he suggests racing back, loving the sound of your laughter being whipped away on the wind

Javier

- likes to show you off around camp, flaunting you, bragging with things like, “did you see how much my love brought in?”, “Have you made as much money as Y/N?”

- he waits for you to come back from jobs with his arms open, ready to pull you flush against his chest and share your victories

- Javier also enjoys scoping out jobs that he can do with you, including a few stagecoach or house robberies

- so proud, always has the biggest smile on his face as you tell your stories

Charles

- he’s probably quite cautious about having you around the gang, knowing that there will come opportunities and challenges of the dangerous kind

- Charles probably steers you away from Micah, Sean and Bill, but these three have a way of attracting the adventurous kind with big jobs, like you

- he is very supportive of you, but Charles harbours silent fears. When you sense that he’s uneasy, you reassure him by sitting by the fire, talking out your concerns

- overall, Charles is grateful he has someone as strong as you, but is always around to accompany you when things are too dangerous

Sean

- loves it! He adores the fact that you enjoy the adrenaline of the gang’s frequent jobs

- Sean will be the most keen to have you with him, no matter what the task is, so he can flirt with you in the midst of a fight as well as at camp

- you two will visit towns or read newspapers to find an interesting job that promises a big reward, and immediately rush to the other to inform them

- you can both be a bit reckless, but Sean never forgets that you’re precious, and that’s why he usually is in the line of fire before you

Sadie

- as she grows in confidence and strength, Sadie needs someone who can keep up, and that’s definitely you

- even though at times some of the gang may not agree, Sadie insists that you and her go out on robberies together. The usual point of concern is for the stubbornness of Sadie and your adrenaline rushes, but together you work smoothly

- she always likes to tease you, like it’s a competition coming back from a job, asking how much you earned and acting like she’s the best (when really, she just adores you and how good you are)

- her favourite jobs with you are the ones that take a few days, because Sadie loves camping with you under the stars, or staying in a fancy hotel room pretending to be rich for the night

[iam-kenough]

Will  you ever notice me? Arthur Morgan x Original Female Character

Summary:  During they wandering in deep snowstorm, man from van  der Linde gang found odd looking girl and Dutch decides to take her  to  camp to see if she can be any use, leading life of outlaw with them.  Quickly, new girl develops feelings towards Arthur, but he sees her just  as a kid…and she won’t take that! It’s an original character story  that starts in the place where Arthur, Dutch and Micah were supposed to  first meet with Sadie. Instead she’s already with them.  

Authors notes: It’s another chapter and you  can find the rest of chapters on my blog if you want to read more of my  fanfiction. Hope you gonna enjoy it. Word count: 2558 Chapter 9 Arthur woke up and he wasn't ready to open his eyes. Discovering it was all a dream was more than possible and he still wanted to linger on sweet, sweet fantasy. Iris stirred right next to him and he opened her eyes. He was her big spoon as she was sleeping in his arms. Now he reminded himself. He had her not only once but few times since she discovered it's fun. She was hot for him all night and he needed to be proud of himself. He was a real gentelman down here but he couldn't say that eating her out wasn't something amazing. He had never done that before, just knew it's really nice and he almost forgot about it, because Mary was too nice and well-raised to do such things. They usually had sex without any light too. Thinking about all of it made Arthur realise that for the first time in many years he woke up with morning wood. His eyes almost got back to his skull when she stirred again, rubbing her ass against it. He needed to go away. Do something proper. So Arthur decided to have a bath and shave his face while she still slept. He didn't know he wanted to face anyone from camp, but her and for one second he was thinking of running away from here to be alone with Iris. - You ugly bastard - he muttered to himself in the mirror, shaving right after he scrubbed his body making sure he's clean and fresh for what was coming this night. It was before midday and he was already thinking in what position they gonna do it first. He decided he gonna let her choose. - Morning - he heard voice behind his back and small hand caressing his bicep. - Ain't you the sweetest morning girl - he murmured and caressed her arm back. - I've got something for you - she smiled at him shyly - you need to swallow it without any questions - she said as she showed him spoon of something that was green and had strong herbal smell. - What's that? - Arthur asked, his brows rasing. - A medicine - she replied mysteriously - I said you can't ask, cowboy. You still should rest in your bed after what happened to you. - Told him the same as soon as I saw him - said Dutch, sitting near them and lighting up a cigarette. - Are you gonna in bed with me? - Arthur joked which made her blush. - Mr Morgan! - she scolded - just eat it. And drink this! - Iris handed him a cup of gold tea with honey. - And what's that? - he said, his face twisting in disgust when he tasted herbal paste on his tongue - is it also disgusting? - Oh, I can have it if you don't want it, Arthur - Dutch chimed in, knowing what a treat Iris has. - He's gonna drink this down despite the fact liking it, Dutch. It's for his health. Arthur didn't wanna argue about it and he started to drink. It was surprisingly good. - It's tea? - Yes, with honey. Is it good? - It's actually amazing. Never had that before. - Now you gonna have it quite often - Iris patted his head. She still didn't tell him she knew his sick. She decided to surprise him with results rather than promises. - No idea what I did to deserve that but thank you - Arthur smiled at Iris with small sparks in his eyes. Arthur Morgan would never admit he liked when she cared for him, even at the start of their relationship. At first she just shared food with him if she had anything extra and she asked him if he slept good. Now will at that extra care that he gained he felt amazing. He was starving for affection. With that thought he also started smoking a cigarette. - No way, Mister - she said and took it away, putting it out with her shoe. She also grabbed pack from Arthur's hand and quickly hid it behind her back. - Huh? - If I'm gonna see you smoking a cigarette even once again, we gonna have war and I promise that. - Ah, those women, ain't I right, son? One night of sharing bed and they think they own us. - Fuck you, Dutch - she said without any hesitation, causing Arthur to cough. They all knew he did it to cover ugly laughing - you not gonna give him any of those either - Iris's lips became thin, white line immediately. - What is it all about, huh? - Arthur tried to catch up - I feel like I missed something? - Just...just do what I ask you, and Arthur? I just want you stop smoking, drink that and have your medicine everyday. It's not bad thing to ask for after all what happened? Arthur was surprised. He was smoking since he was young, around 20 years now. He thought that it's gonna be difficult to quit, but seeing Iris's face made him to want at least to try. He was sure he haven't tell anyone but Dutch and Hosea about his condition, not even calling it by names but using metaphors and context, so her harsh reactions on him having a cigarette was weird. But she couldn't know. He nodded slowly and seeing sign of relief on her face was a gift. They first sex this night was something else. It wasn't only something new to experience, at least for Iris, but it showed how badly Arthur Morgan fell for her. He realised he wanted to do nothing but that, now, tomorrow and in ten years. Even if it made pervert out of him. First steps were stressful but as soon as Iris got relaxed she showed Arthur her true side. Which was being young, horny woman. Arthur almost doubted he's gonna be enough for her, with his extremely low stamina but at the same time he was oh so happy. It turned him on to know she was getting wet every time he touched her while they were naked. He was nibbling on her neck, on her breasts and on her nipples. It was third time they changed position this night. They started missionary but as soon he found out she's even more frivolous than he could expect, he decided he's gonna give her the most naughty sex he could think of. Iris was riding Arthur's dick, with her eyes shut and mouth open. Her breasts was bouncing, up and down and it was almost hipnotising to him, all he was thinking about now was her fast paces. He couldn't hold himself back and as soon as she started moaning and trembling, having an orgasm he pulled out and wanked himself at her breasts. - Oh God - she moaned. - Jesus- he groaned. Iris fell at his side, landing on her back. It was probably the nicest feeling she didn't know she could feel. - How was I? - she asked, looking at Arthur, as he tried to ease his breathing. - Look at me, darlin' and you gonna know - he leaned on his elbow to look at her. Iris didn't respond, just blushed and covered herself with blanket. - Aren't you a naughty girl, eh? - he whispered in low voice to her ear, causing shivers running down her spine. And from this night it was like this everyday, as soon as they got to bed Arthur did everything to make love to her the best way he could. To devour her. But it wasn't only in bed, he did everything to catch her off guard anytime he could. At some point he was sure there wasn't place they didn't fuck at. His tent, her tent, leaning against the tree or doggy style, bending Iris against rock or a log while they were away from camp to hunt. He was horny as hell and it was new to him to desire someone's body this much. He loved to talk dirty to her ear and calling her hot names muttered under his breath. Iris was caring about him every day, feeding him with herbs, tea with honey and her love. Where he was there was her, to hold on his arm, or caress his cheek. They were finally happy, together and at peace. But life was life, not a fairytale and it all started to fade. As soon as she discovered Arthur's lungs are better now and he doesn't need to be looked after this much it has loosen their ties. Iris also discovered that loving him is hard thing somehow, Arthur didn't like doing nothing much more than sex, he wasn't talking much. Everytime there was a question he wouldn't answer they ended up fucking. At first they were glued to each other and it lasted weeks but soon Arthur started disappearing, not saying about him getting back to bed at night. She reminded herself as he once told her, that life normal person who sleeps everyday in the same place wasn't for him. Iris tied to be considerate. She was aware that this hot romance will become more balanced with time. But then, she remembered about person who tried to make Arthur regular, obedient man. Mary. Something hit her out of the blue to search for clues as she was sitting in Arthur's tent while he was away again. At first it felt really bad to lurk through his belonging and she was looking around if no one will discover it. They wouldn't mind since everyone knew already that Iris Rhiannon and Arthur Morgan were a thing. But it felt bad to do so anyway and being caught red handed. In a wooden frame hidden under his bed was photo of Mary, her portrait. It looked like Arthur had it for a long time but he wasn't keeping it under the bed all the time, it wasn't dusted. It meant he was probably looking at this photograph before his sleep every day and it hurt her a bit. She could understand that although it was hard to understand. But she tried to stay cool and be true to her words which was promise of loving him even if she and Arthur are gonna be only friends. She put the photograph away but then she felt something under her fingertips. A piece of paper? She looked under the bed again and in the darkest corner he discovered an envelope. But not one, it was almost a hundred of them. Letters from Mary to Arthur Morgan. But they could write all of them in the past, right? Deep breath. Arthur probably keeps them to remember his past and that's okay, you not gonna read it, Iris. Another deep breath. Checking one wouldn't hurt anyone, right? Iris picked the one that look the most recent to her, looking at the ink and paper condition. Her heart dropped low and loud as she saw all the words in front of her. He was seeing her. All the time. Arthur even was with Mary right now. But it wouldn't be that bad if he only helped her with few things, however it appeared like he still was her obedient dog. And there was only thing Iris didn't know if she gonna ever forgive. Him lying to her instead of facing consequences as break-up. Anger? No. Fury? Maybe. She couldn't tell. High pitched sound was getting louder and louder, ringing in her ear. Her pupils became bigger, pumped with adrenaline as she threw letters back under his bed. Without any thinking she just grabbed a horse and got away, galloping through the night. Mrs Grimshaw was right telling girls not to wander alone, she was telling it over and over. Gunshot rang in Iris's ears as she looked at her stomach as it become red, flushing down with blood. Someone shot her. Doctor's office smelled like alcohol and formaline. Iris's didn't mind though. It was one of those weird but pleasant smells. Just like smoke or freshly cut grass. - What a time we have to shot and rob a lady, eh? - Person who did that was surely disappointed, doc. They did it for one dollar and fifty cents. But you are right, it's a wild world. Doctor gave her a gaze with a faint smile. - Am I gonna live? I've been shot before but I don't like that look of yours. - You gonna, miss. You had great luck to survive shot considered lethal. - But? - Excuse me? -There is always a but, especially when it comes to human health. So what is mine? - I menaged to make you safe and sound and it gonna heal properly...- man suddenly grabbed her hand - but because of how much blood you lost you couldn't keep the baby.  I don't think you could have any more of them thanks to person who did that to you. A...baby? It felt like doctor was talking to a stranger, not her. You can't have any more of them. It wasn't only the fact she just lost her baby not knowing about being pregnant in first place. She lost ability every woman around her had. Iris was to you to think about children, she never did. But now...It was Arthur's baby and she didn't know she would keep it or if she was able to take reponsibility for it.  But it felt bad. Now she didn't had any good reason for some man to love her in the future. Love...This word was weird. She used it not a long time ago to describe her feelings towards Arthur. Future? Why would anyone be with her in the future? She couldn't imagine it anyway. Not after her first love disappearing just like that. When she was sitting in the camp it seemed like people were talking to her. But she couldn't listen through that ringing in her ears. Her eyes were quite empty too. From that day it was just like that. Like a timelapse. She was sitting, not moving, not eating and life around were going on and on, people were walking around, trying to get to her. But they couldn't. -Iris? Hey! - it was Dutch's voice. It seemed to be far away though. But it wasn't important now. So I walked into the haze And a million dirty waves Now I see you lying there Like a lilo losing air, air Black rocks and the shoreline surf Still dead summer I cannot bear And I wipe the sand from my eyes The Spanish Sahara, the place that you'd wanna Leave the horror here (...)I'm the fury in your head, I'm the fury in your bed, I'm the ghost in the back of your head

[incorrect-pokespe-quotes]

I read every single Emerald fic on FFN so you don’t have to

There are 66 fics with Emerald listed in the tags. 

First, I took out any fic that was either not in English or actually gameverse, leaving me with 38 fics-- though I will say, the Spanish fics look like they slap

After filtering out “everyone appears” fics (I skimmed them to make sure) I was left with 26 fics. (While I would like to include “everyone appers” fics, I do not have the time nor motivation to read 30,000 words of derring-do and melodramatic heroics seventeen times in a row for Emerald to show up, deliver 2 lines, shoot something, and leave)

From there, I sorted them into various categories based on whether Emerald was a BG character or not, whether the fic had romance, whether Emerald was actually PART of that romance, etc. Then, finally, I was ready. 

Below the cut are the reviews of all twenty six fanfictions!

Category 1: BG Emerald      Every fic needs side characters, whether to provide extra voices or comedic relief or just a foil for the MCs. These fics don’t feature Emerald in a huge capacity, but he’s there and that’s what matters to me. I came into this site expecting anything: third wheel Rald, wingman Rald, Im-only-here-to-complain-about-your-flirting-Rald... I found everything but! It seems the most cliche writers among us don’t like using the Emerald tag, bc the few Frantic-with-BG-Emerald fics with I did find turned out to be spectacular! I’m pleasantly surprised and impressed. 

1. That Special Someone - Team Cap      Cap is on this list like 30 times so get used to it. This fic is mostly about Ruby refusing to shut up about Sapphire and how much he loves her (and how Emerald finds it infuriating). The details of this fic are super cute and the way Ruby and Emerald interact added 3 years to my lifespan, so I highly recommend this one if you want a nice, relaxing read involving the Hoenn boys (dare I say best boys?). In short, read this fic and all of Cap’s other fics while you’re at it.

2. A Picnic - Team Cap      Oh look. It’s Cap again. This fic, surprise surprise, is also good, and while it’s a little more basic than the others (Emerald runs into Ruby/Sapphire at a park and they mess around), it’s still cute and I still love it! Not really much else to say here... but the fic is good and I recommend if you’re in for some light domestic reads. 

3. High Hopes and Checkered Skies - aromatisse      I’ll be honest: my general opinion of frantic fics with BG Emerald is... low. A lot of them shoehorn my poor boy into whatever the plot requires at the cost of his characterization but this fic really surprised me in the best way! This one features Sapphire bringing Ruby to a “special place” the two of them arguing, and Emerald having to patch things up (mature Emerald? I don’t believe it!!). I found this fic while making this list and immediately bookmarked it bc THIS SHIT GOOD FAM. Please read this. 

4. Alpha and Omega- Ruby and Sapphire's Thoughts - Shadoweevee70     Not much to say about this to be honest. It’s exactly what it says on the tin. No plot, no development, not even 500 words. Emerald has a line. I think two. 

5. Boundaries - Team Cap     This fic hurt my heart. Though it focuses on Wally’s one-sided crush on Sapphire, there’s a touch of Emerald in there acting as Wally’s emotional support buddy, which tells me that either Emerald has matured or Hoenn is just devoid of emotionally stable individuals. Regardless, this fic is heartbreaking and beautiful but contains very little Emerald, so therefore I have very little to review. In short... not a lot of Rald, but you should read it anyway. 

6. Summer Days - eonentity      Crystal and Silver go on a “date” and Gold + Emerald try and stop them. It’s cute, it’s honestly kind of creepy if you think about it, and it involves Emerald. While the premise is kind of sketch, the banter between Gold and Emerald is incredible and I really like the general progression of the plot (especially the ending!) This is a very cute fic if you’re looking for something simple to read. Highly recommend, utilizes Emerald as a character really well!

Category 3: MC Emerald (gen)       This... this is my bread and butter baby. These fics run the gamut from friendship to domestic to drabbles to angst and everything in between, but the gist of it is that it includes Emerald as a focus without pairing him off. Not to say this is my favorite category... but it is. I’m biased, sue me. 

1. Family Inclusion - Team Cap      They say to leave the best for last, but I disagree. You’ll realize pretty quickly that Cap is one of my favorite authors to appear in this tag, and this fic is one of her best! I’m focusing on Chapter 3 (that’s the part with Emerald) where he has to entertain a shiny baby Ralts while Ruby and Sapphire are away (everybody say awwww). The fic is stupid cute, and while it doesn’t really offer much in terms of character development or stakes, it’s the type of domestic fluff you can read over and over and still find just precious each and every time. Also... Emerald takes care of a baby pokemon how can you NOT love that. Seriously. Look at this. 

2. At the Amusement Park - Team Cap       Oh wow, another Cap fic I really like. What a surprise. I’m astounded /s. This fic focuses on Emerald’s dilemma of being short at a place where height restrictions mercilessly mock the vertically challenged and how he deals with it with the “help” of Ruby and Sapphire. Though there is background Frantic (which shouldn’t really come as a surprise), this fic mostly focuses on Emerald’s insecurities and his relationship with the trio. It’s introspective, it’s wholesome, I’ve read it six or seven times (I lost count). Regardless, it’s good, and like every other Cap fic on this list, I demand you read it. That is a threat. 

3. Frantic Fight - Puph17      Any fic that drops a line like “margarine is in vogue” within the first three lines is immediately propelled to my top ten fics of all time list and this is clearly no exception. Despite the name, this isn’t franticshipping, just Ruby and Sapphire bickering and Emerald / Wally being annoyed about it. This fic, hands down, is one of the funniest pieces of fanfiction I’ve ever read on this godforsaken site. I am begging you to read this fic, if not for Emerald with a megaphone for the sheet amount of laughter it will cause. This fic may not be deep but it sure as hell is hysterical. ... Well, what are you waiting for? Why are you still here? Go read the fic, we’re wasting daylight. 

4. Weird War - storm-aurora      This is another fic I think I’ve probably read a dozen times and refuse to get tired of. Emerald and Sapphire are having a paintball fight in Slateport market, and I literally could not ask for a better friendship fic. The writing is high quality, the characters are very accurate (altho bc this is fanfic it doesn’t matter all that much), the friendships feel real, they’re having a paintball war.... everything about this is ideal. This is the quality content I live for. Please PLEASE read this fic, you’ll be happy you did. Close this tab and go read it immediately for your sake and mine. 

5. Skydrop - ayasato      Not a lot of people write about Emerald. The ones that do, for whatever reason, seem to do it very, VERY well. This fic, which is so long it might as well be considered an epic, is probably the piece de resistance of Emerald friendship fics. While not as snappy or funny or domestic as some of the other fics in this list, it more than makes up for it with a beautifully built slowburn friendship between Emerald and Sapphire, my favorite take on his living situation I’ve ever seen, and enough introspection to make your high school English teacher swoon. This fic is a must for any Emerald fan, even if it takes like an hour to read in full. It may be long but it’s magnificent.

6. Croissant Kings - ayasato      The fact that this fic is discontinued is irrefutable proof that this is the timeline god abandoned. Emerald and Pearl running a croissant stand is quite possibly the single most absurd fic concept I’ve ever heard but... it works. Somehow? It works. This fic is perhaps, hands down, one of the most ridiculously entertaining concepts and executions I have ever seen in my life. Everything about it, from the setup to the writing to just Emerald being Emerald is so raw and so ridiculous that I smile fondly when I think of it. I wish there were more than 3 chapters, however...

7. Perfect - Micah Debrink      I’m gonna be straight with y’all: I don’t like this fic. I’m not too sure what the plot is, and it was certainly an interesting read, but not my cup of tea. It’s good, don’t get me wrong; the writing is mature, very well paced, and overall well-written, but something about the characterizations is just not vibing with me. Thus, I’m not gonna pretend I thought this fic was perfect (har har) but I will say it’s something you should give a try. I’m admittedly a very biased party, so maybe you’ll enjoy this fic more than I did. For sure give it a shot, because maybe you’ll like it more than I did. This ain’t my jam, but it’s quality preserves nonetheless.

8. Roost - ayasato      This is short and sweet and may have some Sapphire/Emerald crushing if you squint, but overall a fun read. Very short, very good, give it a shot. This author is very high quality and that’s that on that. 

9. One Day - Jian-Kenkoku      This is short yet again but has a super interesting (if poorly explained) premise: Emerald gets adopted by Gold / his mom! This short oneshot details his first day, and while it is a tad rushed, it gives me the Emerald family content I have been sorely lacking. Not sure if this is one of my “reread until my eyes bleed” fics, but it’s certainly worth the trouble of reading through! It’s very cute and I recommend!

10. Emerald: Lying to Himself - reminiscent-afterthought        Very poetic and extremely well-written, but less than 200 words. This fic took me thirty seconds to read and it feels like time well spent. Please read it, even if for the sole reason that it’s super short. It’s also a super poetic way to talk about the Emerald arc. 

11. Go Away Gold! - jayfeatherelle      Ah yes, the “little brother enlists the help of a prankster to keep apart his sister and her boyfriend” trope... This may be cliche, but it sure as hell was enjoyable! Emerald enlists the help of Meddler Blue (side note: where did this trope come from bc she never does anything in canon that would be qualified as meddling other than just messing with Red at any given opportunity). Anyway, this fic is adorable, has a lesson at the end (that surprised me), had a really mature conclusion, and gave me Blue / Emerald friendship I really didn’t know I needed. In short? This is a cliche done well. It’s predictable, sure, but that’s not a bad thing! If anything, it’s a great nostalgic read. 

12. What if: Emerald never met Crystal - LetEveryoneOveraRip        This fic stole the last little bit of hope I didn’t even know I still had. You thought it couldn’t get more violent or sad? You were wrong. Everyone dies. This fic made me sad for like 45 minutes and I feel emotionally manipulated. I guess I should have seen this coming. Not much else to say except that this fic made me really sad, which, of course it did, but I still feel cheated out of a happy ending regardless. 

13. Emerald Owner’s Guidance and Maintenance Manual - Pokerescue18    Nothing happens in this fic. It’s literally an instruction manual and it’s well written and all but also has no plot. It is quite literally what it says in the title, so perhaps this should have been obvious but even still, I was left confused after reading this. I think I need a nap. 

14. Through My Eyes - Kaith1    Relationship angst that hurt my heart. This is less than 400 words so again, took me only around a minute to leave but the emotional impact scarred me for life. Very well done! This fic details Emerald’s inner turmoil as Gold and Crystal get together and Emerald worries he’ll be abandoned again. While I do feel like Emerald hating the two of them for getting together is a little ehhh, this fic does a great job of showing why Emerald would be so upset about it and his inner motivations for being so hurt by it. While I don’t agree, the author made me “get it” a little more, and for that I say bravo! 

15. At the Fair - IanDonyer      This one is short and focuses on Emerald meeting a security guard at a Halloween fair kinda deal. It’s also one of the first Emerald fics on FFN, released far before the remakes even came out! While obviously it doesn’t contain much in terms of character development, it also was written with only the Emerald arc to go off of-- so I can easily overlook any character inconsistencies. That being said, this fic is really cute and uses the OC pov really well! If you’re looking for a blast from the past, check this fic out! 

Category 4: Emerald shipping fics      On the rare occasion where the blue moon hangs melancholy in the sky, the planets align, and starlight rains down from the heavens... someone ships Emerald with another character. Romantically. Not sure where the aversion to shipping him came from, but for whatever reason everyone prefers him single. These authors, these brave knights, they’re changing that. Hell yeah for romance. 

1. Left Out - RedCharmeleon       Not to be like “this fic is painfully straight...” but yknow. Emerald is upset at Gold/Crystal’s wedding because he’s the only single one and needs a girlfriend. There’s also a “what are you, gay?” joke in here, which soured my mood for the rest of the fic. I’ll be honest, I never really liked the “all male protag / female protag ships and then taking Silver, Pearl, and Emerald and pairing them off with OCs” deal, so I’m heavily biased against this fic, but the writing is decent and the plot is fine. If you enjoy this style of plot (everyone needs to be paired up, blushing galore, love at first sight, everyone acts like they stumbled out of a hallmark movie script) then this is the fic for you!

2. Glances - Diemerald      A collection of drabbles about Emerald and Wally becoming friends and falling in love. I’ve read it seven times now. While the plot is a tad disjointed because of the format, this author really NAILS Emerald’s character. Emerald (and Wally) show a lot of growth between the snippets and god it’s so beautiful I need more of it. Please read this fic. Tell your neighbors about this fic. This fic is fantastic. 

2. Revolvershipping Cuddles - Charmerruby     You’re never gonna guess what this one is about. It’s very cute but it’s literally just fluff. Very cute, like marshmallows. This is kinda short so there isn’t really much to say, but I will am starving for Emeruby content, so though this be but little, it be fierce. And fluffy. Did I mention cute? This fic is so filled with love my heart grew three sizes after reading it. I could keep calling it adorable, but I don’t think that’s productive. Spend the time reading this fic instead. 

3. Misunderstandings - Pokeluv101      Reading this was very weird because I know the person who made the OC the story is centered around. Reading even the names thrust me so violently back into my middle school days I can almost taste the edge. It’s very good, and I suggest giving it a read even if you’re not a huge dexholder/OC fan. Also tsun Emerald is good Emerald. 

4. Unexpected - Diemerald     A fic about Emerald and Yellow falling in love. Not exactly my cup of tea so I skimmed it but this author is really good so it’s a great fic, even if it’s not to my tastes. I suggest giving it at least a once over because this author worked hard and I respect them, even if this isn’t really... my thing. Check it out!

5. Big Changes - Aquatales     You know how I said I would read every Emerald fic? I lied. This one is about Emerald getting genderbent and immediately shipped with Wally against his will by his friends. Reading the summary gave me hives and I could not bring myself to read it in full.

Final Thoughts      While I’ll be honest and say that I did find some of the the cliche fics I was expecting, I was incredibly and happily surprised to discover that more often than not, the people who bother to publish Emerald fics really care about his character and publish some pretty high quality stuff, and that’s pretty damn cool. There are shipping fics, BG Emerald fics, MC Emerald fics, and most of them are pretty fantastic! Way to go spe fandom writers, you did my boy justice, all..... 10 of you.

[diagnosed-by-doyle]

Scientists at Work

Character: Galileo Galilei (OC), part 3

Word Count: 1040

~~~~~

I got my first break early in the afternoon. All morning, I had been wondering what Galileo wanted to see me about. He said he wasn’t angry, but I couldn’t help thinking that this would have something to do with that.

I found him in the parlor with Isaac and Leonardo. The three of them seemed to be going over blueprints. At least, that’s what it looked like.

Isaac spoke up as he pointed at something on the spread out paper. “This piece won’t work here.” The other two leaned in to get a closer look at what he was talking about.

“You’re right. That bolt isn’t the right size. The whole thing will fall apart if it’s not corrected.” Leonardo leaned back on the sofa. “Fix that and it’ll work fine.”

Galileo stared at the paper for a few seconds. “Substitute it for a 20 milimeter. That should do it.”

Leonardo took a notebook out of his jacket pocket and jotted a note down. “I’ll let him know. I appreciate the help, both of you.” He rolled up the paper and stood up. That was when Leonardo noticed me standing there. “What are you doing here, cara mia?”

The astronomer looked over his shoulder at me. “I asked her to come find me. Needed to talk to her about something.”

“Not my business, then. Have a good talk.” Leonardo waved as he walked out of the room with a small smile on his face.

“Should I leave?” Isaac asked.

“You’re fine. Don’t mind us.” He patted the spot on the sofa next to him. “Come sit.”

I sat next to him like he asked. I was quickly becoming anxious about what he wanted to say to me. For a moment, he watched Isaac, who was making an effort to look anywhere but at me, tinkering with an object that I was unfamiliar with before he turned his attention to me. “Now, about this morning.” I knew it! “I’m sure Sebastian’s already told you, but I’ll tell you myself. I work late, so I don’t do mornings. I’ll wake up when I’m ready.”

I smiled anxiously. “I’m so sorry about that! If there’s anything I can do to make it up to you, please-”

He raised a hand to silence me. “No need. You didn’t know any better. If you’re unsure about something, ask. That’s my policy. It’ll usually keep you out of trouble.”

I found it strange that he was being so nice to me. The first time I met him, he seemed completely uninterested and didn’t seem to care at all about my predicament. Now, I think I was considering him to be one of the nicest people here. Of course, Vincent was like an angel, and le Comte was extremely generous, but Galileo had a different flavor of kindness. He was genuine in the way he dealt with people. I’d gathered all that, but I've only been here for a couple of days.

“Is Arthur still giving you trouble?” 

His random question broke me away from my train of thought. “No, I haven’t seen him besides when I went to collect his sheets this morning.”

“So he’s been behaving? That’s good.” He rested his elbow on the arm of the sofa and put his ankle over his knee.

“Are you two close?”

He nodded thoughtfully. “You could say that. We understand each other, so we can usually always tell what’s on the other’s mind.” He pulled out a golden pocket watch and looked at the time before snapping it shut and returning it to his pocket. “Hey, Isaac. Isn’t it about time for you and Napoleon to leave?”

The quiet boy sitting on the sofa across the coffee table looked up from the gadget in his hands. “Is it that time already?”

“Just about. I’ll take a look at that while you’re gone if you’d like.”

Isaac set the device on the table. “If you’re sure you don’t mind.” He spared me a glance as he left.

“What is that thing?” I asked Galileo as I gestured to the object on the table.

“It’s an old music box. I heard you’re from the 21st century. They don’t have these in your time?”

I shook my head. “Not many. The ones we have are much smaller. Most people use an electronic music player.”

He chuckled. “What an advancement! Humanity is moving along nicely now, aren’t they?”

“What do you mean? Were they not during your time?” I didn’t know much about his life, only that he was responsible for discovering Jupiter’s four largest moons.

He shifted in his seat and averted his eyes. “It’s nothing you need to worry about.” He picked the box up off the table and set it in his lap. His actions were giving me the impression that he said more than he meant to.

“Are you alright? You seem upset.”

His eyes widened for the smallest fraction of a second. “I’m fine, thanks. Unless you’re making an offer?” When he turned to me this time, his gaze was suggestive. “I’ll be as upset as you want me to be. I wouldn’t mind letting you comfort me, bella.”

I almost couldn’t tell if he was serious or not. Almost. His gaze was wavering as he struggled to keep up his flirtatious act.

“No offer here, just asking a question.”

He dropped his smile instantaneously and turned back to the box. “In that case, I’m sure Sebastian’s missing your help right about now.”

“Actually, he’s asked me to clean this room next. I was going to start once we got done talking,” I replied truthfully.

“Is that so? Then I’ll get out of your way. Enjoy the rest of your day, dolcezza.” Before I had a chance to stop him, he got up and left, carrying the music box with him.

Why did he run away? I couldn’t glean much information from what little he said, but I knew he was hurting. As much as I wanted to, I knew I couldn’t ask him to put his trust in me since I hadn’t been here long. I could only hope that he would open up to Arthur while the two of them were out tonight.

~~~~~

OC tag list will be different from my normal content tag list. Please let me know if you want to be (un)tagged.

Tags: @lunaavanzado @micah-drew @in-words-of-what-maybe @sadshaxkscoolmom

[hoerendous]

House of Earth and Blood - book review

- This is just my opinion. Anyone is allowed to agree/disagree with my thoughts but please respect them. Thanks! -

So! I wasn’t originally going to read this book. SJM is a very controversial author, and I didn’t want to contribute to any drama. That said, I have thoughts about this book. 

Most of my watered-down thoughts are on my Goodreads review, but here I’ll be expanding on those thoughts. I will warn you: there will be spoilers, so if you’d like to read the book, PLEASE fo not read this review beforehand. Otherwise, let’s dive in!

1. The villain: my biggest concern with the villain was how shallow their motivation was. Micah, the Archangel of Valbara (I think? I don’t remember anymore it was 800 pages) revealed to Bryce that he wanted to open a portal with the Horn in order to access another world--just because he could and wanted to assert his power? It felt similar to Maeve from the Throne of Glass series, but even she had more depth than that. Micah was just a Mean Slave Master, so I wasn’t surprised when he was revealed to be a villain. 

2. Discrimination: Bryce is Half Fae, as described in the description. In Crescent City. In Crescent City, Half Fae are hugely discriminated against, which is illustrated through treatment Bryce receives throughout the novel. While it was interesting, and made me sympathize with her character more, she was the only example we saw. I would’ve liked to see more Half Fae interactions in the world. 

3. Bryce is a very sex-positive character. She enjoys having sex, and is open about masturbation--which is pretty uncommon! Seeing a woman who is confident in her sexuality--especially regarding pleasuring herself--is so great when existing in a society that demonizes female pleasure. 

4. Danika was an extremely interesting character, one i was DEEPLY disappointed to see die. SJM has a pattern of killing the main character’s female friends in order to further the plot (ex: NEHEMIA and later in Crescent City: LEHABAH). And even though, she was dead, Danika still remained to be the most interesting part of the story. Revelations continued to arise about Danika, not only that: she’s a cop who loves doing all the drugs with her besties. That’s cute as hell. Yet, she was taken from us solely in order to give Bryce a reason to do anything. 

5. Bryce and Hunt’s banter was cute to read. I’m not saying it’s well written, but it was definitely fun. Once sexual tension started building, it became more comical in a way that benefitted the book immensely. There was much less sex than I was anticipating--ACOTAR had much more and it’s a Young/New Adult series. Additionally, it’s 800 freaking pages. I came here for awkwardly written smut. Whatever. I’m fine. Anyway, their relationship was cute and I appreciated it.

What did I rate this book? 2 stars! While there were enjoyable scenes, progressive concepts being displayed, and contained great characters, it wasn’t enough for me to say I enjoyed the whole thing. It was too long, the villain was basic, and Bryce’s best friends died for the sake of Bryce continuing the story just to end up with a guy.

[bloodraven55]

The Potential of Glimmer's Villain Arc

Okay so a lot of people have been theorising about what's coming next for Glimmer's character with everything that's happened in Season 3. And I have plenty of thoughts of my own so this is going to be my longest analysis post in a while. I'll put it under a cut for ease of reading, and I hope y'all enjoy!

So as an introduction let's briefly look at where Glimmer is now. She's getting ever closer to Shadow Weaver, and we all know how well that ended for her father, plus the loss of Angella is undoubtedly going to be hugely traumatic for her, especially because as she herself says she assumed that Angella would always be there since she was immortal.

Angella is gone, Adora is going to be under a whole lot of mental strain of her own due to the revelations she's had about her past and the pain of having lost both Catra and Angella for good as far as she's concerned, the rest of the Princess Alliance aren't exactly around a whole lot at Bright Moon, and it doesn't look like Shadow Weaver is going anywhere any time soon as long as there's power to be had and the Rebellion is where she can best work towards her own goals.

What I'm saying is, Glimmer likely isn't going to have much of a support system except for Bow next Season, and she's in a prime position for Shadow Weaver to employ similar manipulation tactics and methods of abuse on her as she did on Catra and Adora. Glimmer has no real experience with that type of abuse and manipulation, or any real frame of reference to understand the more nuanced form of evil that Shadow Weaver represents, and so she probably won't realise that she's being played and pushed down a darker path until it's too late.

So with that basis established let's look at some of the other signs that seem to point towards an arc of this sort for Glimmer.

One very significant thing is some of the cinematography in Moment of Truth.

First Glimmer is positioned directly in front of the image of her father in this shot, showing us that she's figuratively as well as literally taking the same position as Micah with regards to becoming Shadow Weaver's pupil. Note that she’s standing in darkness rather than in the light in this frame as well, because that’s going to be important going forward.

It’s also very telling that this shot comes right after Glimmer argues with her mother about the best course of action and first suggests accepting Shadow Weaver’s help. The visual symbolism of her replacing her father on screen reflects her taking the first step towards filling the same role as him in the story as well.

Then we have Glimmer flat out stepping from the light into the darkness as she decides to perform the spell with Shadow Weaver. Which is extremely Not Subtle.

Plus the angle of the following shot making Shadow Weaver's outstretched hand look bigger and more striking to highlight the threat that the offer poses.

And finally there's the way that the scene where they actually do the spell is framed. Shadow Weaver's hand extends through the circle, like a barrier is being crossed metaphorically, and again it fills the screen to make it seem threatening and imposing.

Meanwhile when we get the reverse shot, which I might add is clearly meant to actually be from Shadow Weaver's perspective, Glimmer looks very small and very young, an uncertain and far less powerful figure ripe to be taken advantage of.

There is no way that the tone of this scene was accidental. Without any dialogue being exchanged it's telling us that Glimmer is going to suffer for this choice---it's telling us to be worried---and it's honestly a masterful piece of television.

Another aspect that isn't hugely noticeable on first watching is the undercurrent running through the show of Glimmer's desire for power. She's not obsessively power hungry the way Shadow Weaver is, that's for sure, but she does often demonstrate annoyance at her own limitations.

"Glimmer is frustrated by the constraints of her magic, by the constraints of being a princess, the daughter, of this immortal queen — her mother is this kind of immortal, untouchable angel and her father was the best sorcerer that Mystacor has ever seen. And she’s in the shadow of that." (x)

This quote from a recent interview with Noelle Stevenson pretty much spells it out, and I don't think I need to mention the importance of the use of the word "shadow" here.

With all of that covered, I want to move on to something I haven't seen talked about as much, which is the ways that Glimmer and Catra are paralleled in the story.

"In some ways I think [Glimmer]’s a little bit of a mirror to Catra, although neither of them would ever admit it."

I find this quote from the same interview incredibly intriguing, and it gives me lots of ideas about not only the potential development that a villain arc for Glimmer could bring to her own character, but also the development it could bring in terms of her and Catra as foils for each other in the narrative.

For a start, Noelle then goes on to talk about how "it’s always been this kind of like losing battle for [Glimmer]" and I would like to point out the resemblance to Catra's lines about how she "never gets to win" and "if [she] wins a battle [she] loses the war", because this really does seem to foreshadow that Glimmer could end up in a similar place next season to where Catra was at the end of Season 3.

"So when someone comes to her and offers her more power and the ability to actually really save the day and prove her worth, she takes it. Glimmer’s also sorta crossed the line in the sand this season."

This part of the interview I want to bring up just to further prove that the way these things were written this season was certainly deliberate and it isn't reaching to draw these conclusions from them. It's apparent that the writers are very aware of what they're doing in terms of Glimmer and Catra's character arcs and the possible link between the two so I simply wanted to include this quote to give my analysis here a more solid grounding.

The one thing I'd like to pick out of that as well is the idea that Glimmer is looking to "prove her worth", which is something that has been the core of Catra's decision making throughout most of the show so far. In the past it was Catra making bad choices in an attempt to get respect and admiration from Shadow Weaver, and now I believe it will be Glimmer's turn to do the same.

But beyond that, I want to wind the clock back to the beginning of Season 3 for a moment, specifically to when Glimmer asserts that "evil people don't change." Adora is quick to point out that that is an extremely reductive mindset to have and far from always the case, though she does so by applying it to completely the wrong target in the form of Shadow Weaver who is almost certainly not going to be redeemed in any way, but that got me thinking about how Glimmer flirting with her inner darkness could be utilised in the story in exceedingly interesting ways.

The most obvious path is that through having to redeem herself for bad decisions that she made for understandable reasons, Glimmer would come to realise that things aren't as black and white as people being good and evil but rather there is far more nuance to be found with regards to morality. Basically, she would gain a greater understanding of what it means to be good or bad and the possibility of redemption first hand and grow to acknowledge that she was wrong to oversimplify it down to a binary choice of people being immutably good or evil and never able to change.

However, I would also like to discuss how Glimmer's villain arc could intersect with Catra's redemption arc. Glimmer has always balked at Adora's attempts to get through to Catra, telling her that Catra is evil because she's with the Horde and dismissing the notion of a redemption for her. But if Glimmer sinks to that same point---if she hits rock bottom the way Catra did---and she sees Catra pick herself back up and rebuild herself successfully to become a better person than she was before?

Well, then that could provide some amazing inspiration for Glimmer to then follow in her footsteps and break free from the cycle of Shadow Weaver's abuse herself as well. Add Catra getting to see that the Princesses are far from perfect but fallible people just like everyone else on top of that, and both Glimmer and Catra would evolve as part of the same arc and come out of it with a much stronger understanding of each other and just how people work in general.

Lastly I want to bring up this quote that I’ve put below from a recent convention.

"Interesting foil! Catra is a secretly sweet person with her darkness on the outside. While Glimmer is the opposite."

As well as again emphasising that Glimmer and Catra are in some ways two sides of the same coin, this would definitely seem to back up my theory and indicate that Glimmer has depths that she herself doesn't even understand that are now going to be pulled to the surface by Shadow Weaver.

To add to this, in the interview I drew from earlier Noelle comments that "the way this season ends has major repercussions for Glimmer. It throws her into a world that she never expected to be in." I think the second half of that quote is key. Glimmer never realised that she had this darkness within her, let alone expected to tap into it, and this is why it could lead to serious growth for her as a person to discover the worst of herself and in the end choose to cultivate the best of herself despite that.

There’s one more layer to the Glimmer/Catra aspect of all this as well if you combine this theory with the concept of Micah being alive and mentoring Catra during her redemption process. Because it would link Glimmer and Catra even more closely and beyond that it would create a great call back to the fact that this arc started with Glimmer being paralleled with her father.

And if Catra does work with the Rebellion at some point in the distant future, this could also serve as a starting point for the two of them constructing a friendship using the foundation of that shared similar experience (and also a shared father figure potentially) as they learn how to be part of the same team. It might also play into restoring Adora's faith in the people around her as seemingly losing Glimmer to darkness so soon after losing Catra the same way would undoubtedly nearly destroy her and it would give her some much-needed motivation to see both of them pull themselves back from that.

Anyway, there we have it. Those are all of my thoughts on why I do definitely see some kind of villain arc for Glimmer, and how I think it could be an excellent addition to the show for a number of reasons. Thanks for reading and see y'all next time.

[oosteven-universe]

Grit #1

Grit #1 Scout Comics 2020 Written by Brian Wickman Illustrated by Kevin Castaniero Coloured by Simon Gough Lettered by Micah Myers    When a routine troll hunting gig takes a gruesome turn, Old Man Barrow finds himself in the company of a wannabe doomsday cult. Just how's he going to get out of this backwoods nightmare? Well, that axe ain't just for show.    This is a book that comes out of nowhere but doesn’t stay there long.  There is this charm and wit that I wasn’t expecting as a darker sense of humour, for me it’s akin to British humour and that’s my sensibility.  I am continually impressed with the choices Scout makes when it comes to what they offer us.  It would seem as if they know the moment they see that it needs to be among the masses.  I like what we have seen thus far as it sets up what the story is about beautifully and it leaves wanting to see and know more.      Right off the bat we do see how the Trolls just south of civilisation are important to the locals.  We are also introduced to our main character and it doesn’t take long for the reader to see just what kind of man he is.  It is fun, interesting and full of surprises of the best kind and I wish that this had been one of those double sized issues solely for selfish reasons that I wanted to see more.  I like the way that this is being told.  The story & plot development that we see through how the sequence of events unfold as well as how the reader learns information is not only presented beautifully but it also moves everything forward beautifully as well.  The character development is great and as we see the men who hired Barrow show their true colours it becomes increasingly clear why he was hired in the first place.  The situations and circumstances that he finds himself in really give us these massive opportunities to really get to know him.  The pacing here is superb and as it takes us through the pages revealing the twists and turns along the way it’s easy to see how everything works together to create the books ebb & flow.    The way that this is structured is fantastic and how we see the layers within it coming together is really exceptionally well done.  How this is being told all around makes it much more intriguing and much more interesting than I had expected it to be.    The artwork is pretty stylised and it works extremely well for this book.  I do wish we’d see more backgrounds being utilised throughout, I think that they really enhance the story and help bring us depth perception, scale and that overall sense of size and scope to the story.  The linework is really nice though and I am totally enjoying how it does bring out the details that we see.  The utilisation of the page layouts and how we see the angles and perspective in the panels show a really nice solid eye for storytelling.  The colour work we see is pretty nice as well.  I do like how we see the browns through their hues and tones with the pops of bright colour it makes for something fun visually.   ​    There is a great usage of creativity and imagination that we see throughout the entire issue.  There are some truly memorable and unexpected moments that make this a heck of a lot more fun than you might realise should be here.  These quirky books are probably the best things on stands right now and I gotta say these are the ones that you really need to be looking out for.  They are amazingly well written and illustrated and I cannot get over just how excited I get each time I see a book from Scout hitting stands!  

[im-the-yang-lets-fight]

My thoughts on She-ra season 2

Oh boy, get your seatbelts on my friends, cause this will be a long one!

I just binge-watched the 7 episodes of the second season of "She-Ra and the princesses of power" and I, being the huge fan of the show that I am, couldn't help but want to share my thoughts about it. I'll try to organize this to the best of my abilities, and be warned, there are spoilers ahead.

1. The Plot

This season felt a lot like filler to me, at least plot-wise. There's not a lot of new things going on throughout the episodes, and the things we do learn are near the end of the season and seem like they are the set up for what's yet to come. 

However, the amount of character development we get makes up for the lack of plot (as opposed to the 1st season, where the focus of the show was on its story).

2. The Characters

Without the need to push the story forward, the show took a step back to focus instead on reaffirming the things we already knew about the characters and presenting us with some new depth to them as well. I was pleasantly surprised to discover those characters were exactly like I imagined them to be, which of course only speaks volumes to how well done this show is.

a) She-Ra/Adora

The first few episodes of the season showcase Adora as she trains with Light Hope in other to furder master the powers she possesses as She-Ra (and as you can see by the picture above, she's still learning).

On the later episodes though, the focus shifts to the shenanigans she is up to with the best friend squad and the princess alliance - and it is here we get some tidbits of extra-information and development from Adora.

In the first season, we didn't get to explore this character in depth (which is ironic considering she's the protagonist), but this season we did get to see a little of Adora's emotions and how she feels about dealing with her responsibilities, especially on episode 4.

Not only do we see that Adora is constantly worried about not being good enough and failing like Mara did, but we also see that her time on the Horde has impacted her in a meaningful way, because she deals with that stress like a soldier would: By overplanning and strategizing. 

(OBS.: On the note of Adora being raised as a soldier and still having that integrated inside of her, I think it was clever to show that she sleeps with a dagger on her hand

and that her first instinct about everything is to fight it,

because it contextualizes her "dumb jock" attitude into something more real.)

b) Catra

Since Catra was the emotional focus of the first season, on this one instead of getting development we get a reaffirmation of something everybody already knew, that Catra longes for acceptance and love - that couldn't be more clear then it is on episode 6 (as you can see on the picture above). It is Catra's need for validation that pushes her to help Shadow Weaver even after everything she has done to her, and this is the biggest thing Catra needs to overcome on her/in other for her to have a redemption arc, and I believe Entrapta and especially Scorpia have a huge hole in helping her overcome her past.

This season we also got to see Catra as Hordak's second-in-command, and I think that showed us how unprepared she was to deal with it (even if her violent persistence - allied with Entrapta's inventions - did help the horde gain terrain), therefore reaffirming that she needs to overcome her impulsiveness in other to truly succeed. 

c) Glimmer 

What I loved from Glimmer this season was her scene in episode two where, like it is illustrated in the picture above, she decides to punch Catra after finding out Entrapta is working with the Horde. I like this scene because one of my favorite things in Glimmer is that rage, that impulsiveness she has within her (as a princess she's supposed to always be level-headed like her mother, but her personality is clearly her father's - more on that later), it makes her different from Bow and Adora and - God forbid anyone mentions this to her on the show - similar to Catra.

I also enjoyed her interactions with Frosta, but I'll touch on that later.

d) Bow

Bow's story on episode 7 was one of the highlights of the season, getting to see more of his past and meeting his dads was an absolute delight, and it gives us a nice context on why Bow is the way he is, after all, with such loving parents it is hard not to grow so in tune with your emotions as he is.

Another thing I really loved was to see more of Bow's invertor side, this love for inventions he has is one of the things I wanted to see more of in the series, because I think he has the potential to rival Entrapta (although she will always be the best) and with them now working on different sides of the fight, this will make for an interesting plot-point. Not to mention he might just be the one to show the princesses that magic and technology can mingle. 

d) Scorpia 

If what they did with Bow made me happy, what they did with Scorpia blew me off into space. 

In the first season we did see that she cared for Catra, but this season we got to explore the depth of her feelings and it was magnificent! I can't say they are romantic even if they seem to be coded that way, because not only do I have faith that She-ra would portray them without the coding if that was the case, but also because I have a similar relationship with my best friend (I genuinely consider him to be my soulmate, even if it is platonic).

Of course, you can interpret Scorpia's feelings as you wish, because, regardless of the nature of that relationship, the important part is that I have absolute certainty that it is one of the things that will change Catra.

Just like you can draw parallels between Catra and Glimmer and how they relate to Adora, you can do the same with Scorpia and the Princess of Power (in relation to Catra, obviously). I firmly believe it is this new friendship, absolutely free of comparisons and regret, that will teach Catra about self-love and worth, and how there are people in her life that truly care about her (something I believe she didn't see with Adora because of, well, everything).

Another thing I loved was Scorpia and Sea Hawk being friendly to each other, it is definitely a relationship I want to see more of in the future.

e) Frosta

Of all of the princesses in the alliance, the one I think I loved to see the most was definitely Frosta. Not only is she ridiculously cute, but it was nice to see her step out of her "Ice Queen" persona and into a more carefree version of herself (as the show made clear that is because she finally has friends, and can let her childlike demeanor out more often).

Her relationship with Glimmer is precious and a good reminder that even with everything that's going on, all of them are just kids and teens.

f) Micah

Oh boy, I loved what we got to see about Glimmer's dad when he was young! It's easily seen that he is just like his daughter when it comes to personality (impulsive, eager, skilled but impatient) and I hope to see more of him.

And the fact that he trained with Light Spinner and helped her become what she is today just adds to the lore and I hope to see in the future what he did after that incident.

Oh and, speaking of Light Spinner... 

g) Light Spinner/Shadow Weaver

This season we got a little bit of backstory on Shadow Weaver, however, I can't say I'm that pleased with it. I did like to know how she came to work with Hordak, but I kinda wanted to focus to be on what she wants to do now. The best part for me was her manipulating Catra (and even Micah), that showed a lot about how cunning and perceptive she is, and how dangerous she can become, even without the Black Garnet.

h) Hordak

Last season Hordak was an ominous name being thrown around and a shadow on a screen, but this season we got to see more of him, and I can say I'm pleased. Although next to Entrapta he seems extremely non-threatening (I believe that's because Entrapta herself doesn't realize the danger he can be to her, and that puts him off-balance), with Catra he is very scary looking and I am dying to find out what will be of her after her failure to obey him. 

He also gave us a little bit of plot, with that portal he is trying to construct, I can only wonder what are his intentions and if they involve Adora.

3. Tidbits and Shenanigans 

Now, this wouldn't be a complete report on my thoughts about She-ra, if I didn't mention my favorite things that happened this season, so lets jump right in! 

a) Animation Fails

For the Glimmadora shippers out there, I can only say that I do agree Glimmer and Adora are made for each other, after all, they both rock the "I'm dead inside" look!

• Exhibit A: Adora

• Exhibit B: Glimmer

• Conclusion: 

b) Entrapta being Entrapta

5 seconds later...

c) The only hug you'll see Catra give to the best friend squad for a long while

d) The only hug you'll see Adora give to Scorpia for a long while

e) Do I ship it? I shouldn't

And don't tell me that these two fighting didn't give you a frenemies-to-lovers vibe, even if we do love Sea Hawk. 

f) The table RPG

Everything about it was great, but more specifically...

l) Glimmer's version

ll) Bow's version

lll) Sea-Ra

lV) Adora's purgatory/wet dream

g) Scorpia's love for Catra

(Lonnie's "I can't deal with this shit" face though)

"when you try to have a date but she is too busy thinking of ways to defeat her ex."

h) Glimmer being the voice of reason

 i) Adora's majors

(can someone make a fanfiction where Adora is an overachiever with at least 3 majors? Please?)

j) Light Hope  being weird

k) "Lunch"

m) Sea Hawk showing he knows what's up

n) Horses

o) Bow and Glimmer need to learn to kidnap people

p) And Finally, Catradora

We didn't get many scenes with them, but the ones we got were precious!

• Exhibit A: Hey, Adora

• Exhibit B: Hey Catra

• Exhibit C: You're mine now

OBS.: What I thought after this scene was what Catra said before it.

4. TL;DR

This show is amazing and even if we didn't get much plot-wise this season, the character development and how funny it was makes up for it! Thank you, Netflix, Noelle Stevenson, and everyone else involved in this amazing thing!