#And Four was most underrated and second favourite

[myfavlinkistwilight]

The council has spoken.

[borisbubbles]

Eurovision 2023: #02 & #01 (Finale)

02. CZECHIA Vesna - "My sister's crown" 10th place

Decade ranking: 5/116 [Above Daði Freyr, below Käärijä]

Finland over Czechia seems like a no-brainer. Some midcarding bitches vs ~K*Ä*Ä*R*I*J*Ä~ come on, how hard can it be? Who is Czechia even for?!

ME, motherfucker. This entry is for ME, and FOR ME ALONE!!! and since this is MY ranking, that made the decision very difficult. It took me MONTHS to settle who to put at the top.

Vesna are often cited as one of the more overrated acts in the year. Overrated by whom? Who overrates Vesna? Isn't 10th a correct placement? i've met NO ONE who would even consider putting them as high as second? - and I obv don't count since it took me AN ETERITY to out myself as a Vesna stan!!

I'd counter that Czechia are THE MOST UNDERRATED by the fandom (not by placement - that is Slovenia, as always) and absolutely deserved all the good things that happened to them ^_^

So obviously, there are multiple factors at work here. The song is a fantastic earworm. Like, defo one of the best in the year? In terms of sheer replayability, "My Sister's Crown" is on the same level as "Edgar" (studio only :-/) and "Carpe Diem", and you know how much I value those. The song has four languages (including Bulgarian) and none of them clash. The lyrics are quotable and fun. This is a track with ATTITUDE and ZEST, that managed to criticize the war in Ukraine without beating us over the head with it via a poorly hidden, clumsily written political message. The song is SMART, and respects its listeners.

LOVE'S NOT A MONEY BAG BLOOD'S ON YOUR GOD'S HANDS YOU CANNOT STEAL OUR SOULS

However, going into the year, there were issues - Vesna were messy and dissonant, and the six girls often gave the impression of competing against each other for attention. They were not a UNIT. Although "My Sister's Crown" was always one of the best songs, many (including myself!) were sceptical it could come together.

And it did, spectacularly.

See, one of the things about this year is that the good performances and good songs were often mismatched. Albania, Estonia and Poland had great on-stage glam-ups, but they were severely hampered by the songs being what they were. Other countries such as France and Austria had good songs, but required really good acts to tie them together, and failed or, in case of say UK, has good acts that were performed badly.

If you made a Venn Diagram between the best songs and the biggest growers, there wouldn't be much overlap. Except for Czechia.

To quote Matteo Lane's pearl of wisdom; if there's only ONE GAY, everything gets done! Ahmad Malloun was the One Gay and channeled his bossbottom energy to fuss Vesna into shape. Suddenly, the girls were harmonious and disciplined and that made all the difference. Suddenly, Czechia had an act with a clear vision - Six women united visually through their outfits. Vesna had become a UNIT, united through sisterhood.

SESTRO KRASIVA OI TI SILYNA HOROBRA JEDINA KORONA TVOJA

It really doesn't get mentioned nearly often enough how amazing the Czech staging was. Sure, Loreen and Käärijä, both top notch. But this is my personal favourite of the bunch. It's a visually stunning, avant garde act that fits the music, that fits the thematics, that pulls you in and tells a story without overtly complicating matters. They start as a group of angry hexaplets and then burst into joyful sororian rapture at the end. The staging is both aesthetically pleasing and intuitive. They hit the gold standard for acts that everyone should try to strive for!!

There are times where I wonder whether I really should rank Vesna above Käärijä. My Sister's Crown fully morphed into a me-coded entry. And perhaps, if and when I watch 2023 again, I may do exactly that. For now though, I've decided against it. The argument for Finland is less complicated, so I went with that. And now for the winner of this ranking I am sure NOBODY saw coming ever:

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

01. FINLAND Käärijä - "Cha Cha Cha" 2nd place

Decade ranking: 4/116 [Above Vesna, below Chanel]

It's Käärijä, bitch.

I rest my case for ranking Finland first. I don't think anyone argues this as invalid? Good, let's pick it all apart because if there's anything Käärijä deserves, it is being talked about. 😉

So um, where to start? Maybe it's best to start with the song - "Cha Cha Cha" was that rare 1-in-500 entry. I always say that novelty always tends to become stale over time - once in a blue moon however, it endures. "Cha Cha Cha" is a novelty song that is also an excellent song in its own right, and it stil holds up very well. It's a fun song to listen to, even without all the circus and theatrics.

The circus and theatrics though, omg <3 Talk about a DELECTABLE act, once again. This is yet again an example of how staging compliments the song and makes it digestible. Cha Cha Cha is entirely in Finnish with only a few loan words tossed in - difficult to get into on paper. The staging however, brings the plot points home.

The song's about wanting to overcome anxieties to dance? So break from the crates

Confront the inner Dance Demons that harass your psyche

make your way to the dancefloor while dodging decapitation via errant wires.

and then, when you overcome all fears transition to that godly, campy key chance, ride your them, having overcome your inhibitions.

AND I GALLAVANT ON THE FLOOR LIKE A CHA CHA CHA AND MY ANXIETIES HAVE NO GRIP ON ME NO MORE

The act is BRILLIANT. The ballroom dancers with their creepy pearly-whites, the dorkopotamus choreography, the styling, the overwhelming sense of triumph once the key change hits... It's the same deal as Vesna and Loreen, just a handful of visual cues that visualize the song's themes (anxiety, rather than sisterhood or desolation) are easy to understand and don't further complicate matters. THIS is how it's done. This is how you Eurovision.

The magical ingredient that tied it all together was the man, the dad bod, the bolero himself - Käärijä. Talk about a personality so massive everything gravitated towards him. It's hard to put the extent of his likeability into words - he's just so disarmingly himself. The key here is that Käärijä doesn't see himself as anything special. To him, he's just "boy from Vantaa who likes queen Loreen". He's just self-aware enough to realize the effect he has on others, but not self-aware enough to understand what exactly endears him to so many people. So when Käärijä plays up for funsies, he magnifies all aspects of his personality which makes him... even more endearing. 😍

(it's the same magic dust that has people flock to Baby Lasagna this year, really.)

It's rare to have a contestant who managed to completely warp the meta around him to this extent. It's even more rare that the contestant in this position then loses the competition. I remember telling my friend André, who was behind on NF news, that Käärijä had won UMK, and he replied with an innocuous "great, I haven't been this excited for a contestant since Verka!". I think I realize in that moment, that was to be Käärijä's destiny. Verka was the Hot Favourite in their year, the breakout star of 2007 - and Verka placed second to a more competent entry (Molitva <3). It was in that moment that I knew that Käärijä's inevitable fate was to come second to Loreen.

And I feel like, we all knew deep down that was where we were headed. We all wanted Käärijä to win as much as we did, because we knew that he would not. He was blissfully cruising towards a loss, and that was too much of an injustice to accept it and not manifest a reality where he beats Sweden.

It even got to a point where some people are now retroactively trying push the notion Tattoo is better than Euphoria (that statement is more offensive than anything I've ever commited to print or speech, including the one time I called Lesley Roy frumpy on cam <3) and the best entry ever (excuse you?) largely because it beat Cha Cha Cha.

So if Käärijä is this great, then why the doubt? Why only fourth for the decade (for the moment)?

Well, it's same deal as Cornelia for me. The best live of Cha Cha Cha that we received was the first one, at UMK, and every other performance we've had since then was not as good. The one in Eurovision had terrible vocals and slightly less impressive staging compared to UMK. I know right? The ESC staging did MORE and yet accomplished LESS. They got rid of all the wrestling references? Where's the close-up at the end? The arena? THE LIFT?

Sure, these inaccuracies didn't detract from my personal enjoyment of Cha Cha Cha. They however did allow for Käärijä to fall behind far enough behind Loreen in the jury vote so that he could no longer catch up with her in the televote, like a death by a thousand paper cuts.

It was a great live, but it wasn't great enough to win. Eurovision Käärijä was not Käärijä at his best, while Vesna without question gave their best performance in the Grand Final. Hence my doubts.

However, I ultimately went with Käärijä anyway because he did something Vesna could not - he gave a concert in my city, and I attended. HE MADE ME LEAVE THE HOUSE AFTER DARK. And god, if you've not been to a Käârijä gig before, absolutely fucking go if you're able to - IT'S CRAZY IT'S PARTY is the perfect catchphrase for this hyperactive, sexually amorphous, adorkable gremlin.

He was his unadulterated self, slapping his belly only vaguely aware of his sex appeal, swooning over a group of Slovene attendees because they reminded him of The Love Of His Life Bojan Cveticanin, ripping one of his merch t-shirts in half and then wearing it as a jacket, airdiving a wayward balloon that floated its way on the stage. The music was also excellent. Exposed to to the FULL scope of Käärijäness, made all the good memories of the 2023 preshow flow back, how could I not rank him anywhere other than first? Maybe I will change my mind and rank Vesna first in a few years from now, but for now, let's savour him while he's still fresh in our minds.

REMINDER THAT THE 2024 ROSTER IS GREAT LARGELY THANKS TO KÄÄRIJÄ.

REMINDER THAT HE WOULD SO WIN ANY FUTURE EUROVISION IF HE WANTED TO:

(May I just name this as my fave song from the 2024 nf season MAY I????*)

He WAS 2023. He WAS Eurovision.

He may have lost the contest, but he has won life. (and paid his taxes.)

ALL RISE FOR THE BEST ACT OF 2023!

The RANKING (completed)

"Novo, Bolje" was my fave 2024 NF also-ran. Obv.

ADDENDUM: ABOUT ESC2024

Yeah, obviously i'm not going to do a pre-show ranking. With all the poison and controversy going on, it's just not the right time. I delayed this ranking specificially so that I wouldn't be temped to do the 2024 one later. (Unlike a certain broadcasting institution, I possess a modest amount of insight, foresight and self-awareness. 🙂 )

Hopefully, ESC 2024 goes down without too many incidents, and I'll able to start my post-show ranking the week after the Grand Final.

See you there, hopefully, if Eurovision isn't dead and buried by then! 💚

[anderstrevelyan]

Fic authors self rec! When you get this, reply with your favorite five fics that you've written, then pass on to at least five other writers. Spread the self-love ❤️

Hi, thank you!! And to @yesistolethisurl and @say-lene, who sent this, too. <3

I love how doable this is as a task when I only have four fics published for the fandom I'm currently writing for. (Incentive to keep kicking on my WIPs to take some of these slots!)

1) Haunted One (Durgetash, plus the Dark Urge & Jaheira; M; 19k) remains my favourite thing I've written, so let's lead with it! It's a bridge between bg1/bg2 and bg3, where the son of Gorion's Ward and Viconia becomes the Dark Urge—the first half deals with his falling into Bhaal’s clutches, and the second his entanglement with Enver Gortash. (And I always feel I should mention: it's written to be accessible to readers who've only played bg3, too.)

2) Her Undoing (M; 2k) This one's my most underrated, but I reread it recently and it made me emotional, so! Here she is. Another bridge, bringing Viconia DeVir through her bg2 happy ending into bg3.

3) The Heart (Durgetash; M; 2k) Valas shows Gortash how it feels to hold a still-beating heart (then gets on his knees).

4) My Blood Your Paint (Durgetash; M; 3k) Valas returns to Baldur's Gate—and Gortash realizes just how little he remembers.

Aaaand I struggle to truly rec from my Dragon Age writing, since the best of it's buried in an unfinished longfic I have no current plans to work on (oh, the things I've learned about myself as a writer since this first big-project attempt!)—but you know what, I'm really proud of parts of it still, so let's suggest some chapter pairings from:

5) Force of Nature (Amell/Anders):

"The Leap" and "The Lie" (Ch. 2 & 3)—Anders, caught mid-escape attempt by the Circle's star apprentice, shows him his first sunset as a distraction. Then the payoff in "Memories" (Ch. 13), during Awakening, in a we're-all-trapped-in-the-Fade sequence.

And for some more depth to that, going from "Alone" (Ch. 5), where Amell faces the consequences for that lie as an apprentice, to his active defence of Anders as Warden-Commander in "I Would Drown Us in Blood" (Ch. 16).

[goatswithtoast]

What's your favorite platonic duo among the OG four ninja?

Oh this is interesting!

You're making me think about the OG ninja and I thank you, I forgot how many different dynamics they had. (There are 6 options but anyways)

Zane & Jay have nothing actually. When do they ever interact? Even in the fandom I think they're the two least paired. (I know this is platonic so as a side note, this is the one shipname I didn't have a clue of and had to look up)

Kai & Cole are great, a nice solid duo that's well rounded, and I love the two of them, but platonically I prefer some other duos in this group

Cole & Zane are the two braincells in this group and they could have good bonding moments over that. And Cole's just a very grounding guy for any overplanning Zane might do, but again I never see much of them together and most of my opinions can be swayed by good art/writing.

Kai & Jay are great. They have banter, they have energy, they have the competitive spirit and of course Jay-gets-beat- moments from his brother in law. Their friendship is built off mutual insults and that's so fair. Very good and I love them

Cole & Jay are the Best Friends of the show so they of course have some very cool moments of friendship that I love. The show may have dropped them a bit, but the fandom certainly hasn't in their fics. I think I just take that for granted at this point

Kai & Zane. Ooo Kai & Zane. My underrated besties. They have all the good symmetry of hot and cold with the characterization to back it up. Obviously it's Kai's impulsiveness and action to oppose Zane's premeditative tendencies.

But of course they need to have something in common to have a decent friendship, and that's their driving forces. Everyone knows Zane's there to protect (he says it every two seconds) but so is Kai. He went to the first realm and did his best to protect and free the dragons. His whole True Potential was about protecting the green ninja. Hell, the only reason he's here in the first place was to find his sister to protect her.

For even more truly fabulous analysis of these two, please read this post as I have rambled for way too long.

TL;DR, It's Kai and Zane. They're my favourite.

[lovemesomeagnst]

THAT BONUS SCENE OH MY GOD???? Thank you lots for @charliedrawsstuffig for granting us the chance to see it and love u lots for it!!

Anyway I have SO much to say???? So spoilers I guess??

First of all, TWIN CENTRIC is something I’d never thought I’d see ever since I’ve long abandoned the idea of ever getting their own book. I’m still pretty sad about that but a whole chapter focused on them is more than what I could have expected so I’m not so upset anymore!!

I think it was so cool to see how the twins bantered with one another without the Magic Misfits around. Like they bantered exactly like I’d imagine them to and their little snark towards one another is so so sooo entertaining to read! I especially loved how they’re kinda sassy with one another and are just so silly and fun!! It’s exactly how I’d imagine them :3

Also this was killing me HELPPP

They’re so ridiculous but they’re my favourite siblings ever so seeing them with their own actual chapter was so good to see! I loved the fact that this chapter is basically a snippet where they found B.Bosso’s secret box cause I always thought that when they mentioned they had their own box from a treasure seek event it would be like a background mention or some old event that happened at the resort, not an actual chapter focused on it?!

I just found that SO cool cause it’s like those kind of stories where they actually give you a scene to something background that happened in the main series like ahhhhh.

ALSO THIS IS WILDDDD cause apparently we got to see Dean with sinister intentions already in the SECOND book instead of the fourth.

Makes it sorta interesting to think about how reading the bonus scene first would have changed our perception because I read all the main books first before I knew this bonus scene existed so I read it knowing Dean had deliberately planted them the clues cause he had bad intentions and was Kincaid and whatever, but if I had read the bonus scene in book two FIRST, that would have changed literally EVERYTHING???? The reveal that Dean was Kincaid would still be shocking but him being like an antagonist and on Kilroy’s side wouldn’t be so surprising and we would have been suspicious of him from the start…

Also the twins are so adorable and clever in their own way :33 I love how they discovered the clues and just went around the resort looking. That small scene where they performed for the people at the spa was great and I love how we got to see the twins have silly silly talks like no words can fully describe how excited I am or how my heart is literally AHHHHH.

I LOVE THIS SCENE SM ITS LIKE THEYRE REASSURING THEMSELVES CONFIDENTLY AWWW.

Yes they’re actually plenty clever cause even though they joke a lot and aren’t serious sometimes they’re also one of the most observant in the group? I mean there’s been MANY instances in book four and others where the twins would discover or notice something first and it’s just ughhh they’re so underrated you have no idea how much we need this chapter.

Also its SUCH a relief to finally have an official chapter for me to rely on whenever I want to write the twins cause now we have 👏🏽canonically👏🏽accurate👏🏽portrayals for themselves and its so so sooooo good and everything I pictured.

I love Izzy’s characterisation so much here like it’s so fun to watch how her and Olly literally just add on to each others comments and so on and its so aoshakhsjashjaha ahhhhh. Also Dean is so odd here and knowing the context I don’t trust him around the kids grr.

Also but appreciation to how amazing like the chapter is cause it even has little sections for us to decipher ahhhhh

Anyway mwah mwah fave chapter now! Adding on to reasons why Book 2 is the best and my favourite for REAL.

[monochromecoldness]

BTS songs I believe aren't recognized enough - Coffee

Did someone say café vibes and caramel macchiatos with a soft side of sentiment? Well, if you're all in for the warm, metaphoric vibes full of nothing but slow pace, "Coffee" is the right song for you. Released for the public back in 2013, "O!RUL8, 2?" (BTS's second studio album) contained 10 tracks, Coffee being the 6th on the track listing. And while it is viewed as a simple love song on the surface, Coffee has a much more deeper, nostalgic meaning in relation to the lyrics and storyline.

(It is worth noting that there is no music video for Coffee, so a GIF from the music video Just One Day will have to do)

Even though "Coffee" is the most streamed song in O!RUL8, 2? on Spotify at the current time of writing, I believe it still doesn't get enough attention by the general audience as it should.

Using coffee metaphors to describe their love and subtle café sounds, BTS is able to tell a story about a treasured past love through passionate melodies and relaxed vocals throughout. Not to mention the equally loveable calm vibes from the rap line, still getting their point across in a much more subtle manner than usual.

A great highlight of this beautiful song can be from the rap, emphasizing the main genre focused on in "Coffee", R&B, along with the wonderful additives of both Jin, Taehyung, Jimin and Jungkook. All four of them using their voices perfectly during the chorus and throughout added yet another dash of sugar to the mix, and best of all, the high note from Jimin completely sealed the deal for me.

"Coffee" is extremely underrated, in fact, too much for my taste that I feel like more fans should know about it, regardless if they're casual or stans. Because if you want a mellow, relaxing vibe to put on in the background as you indulge in some coffee on a winter's day, "Coffee" is a wonderful recommendation in my opinion.

Nevertheless, thank you so much for reading, and I really hope you enjoyed my little review and look on BTS's Coffee! If you would like to recommend songs for me to cover or review, please leave them below in the comments section. But apart from that, it's much appreciated, and thank you! Much love!

Favourite line of the song - 이별은 쓰디쓴 아메리카노 아직도 추억은 여전히 그 카페로 가고 있어

Breaking up was like a bitter americano My memories still go to that cafe

보라해!

[vegalores]

Tom Cruise Challenge

1: First movie of his you remember seeing.

Interview With The Vampire 🧛🏻 it was around midnight or just before, in 1998 and I was seven years old. When my brother and I were younger, my Mum set up little pillow and blanket forts in the living room while she slept on the sofa. There was one night when I hadn’t gotten to sleep yet but I pretended I was so as to not alert her to the fact I ended up watching that movie with her while I lay there hiding my open eyes by facing the tv instead of where she sat on the sofa. My mum is a huge fan of Brad Pitt, so she was watching it for that reason. I recall being both equally terrified and infatuated with Lestat. I only informed her I had snuck a viewing of that movie about three years ago and she was highly entertained.

2: The last movie of his you watched.

Had a much needed rewatch of Rain Man about two hours ago because I was browsing our movie library and spotted it on the first page so just decided that would do just fine. I’ve not watched it for at least four years, but it’s a classic and a gorgeous story, if you’re in the right mood for it. I generally get pretty emotional and end up deep diving into my feels.

3: Which movie of his have you watched the most?

Probably a handful if not all of them, because I rewatch all of my favourites every now and then, so since my Tom adoration began, there’s been a shitload of rewatches. I’d estimate that the ones I lean more toward for repeated viewings are Mission Impossible II, Interview With The Vampire, War Of The Worlds, Top Gun, Cocktail, Jerry Maguire, Jack Reacher and Vanilla Sky. They tend to fall into the most loved and appreciated of his movies, but I do cycle through a whole bunch of them.

4: Favorite Movie

Interview With The Vampire, hands down. As far as horror is concerned, it’s that one. Second place is Mission Impossible II and that never changes to be fair.

5: Least Favorite Movie

There are a handful I don’t really care for, including Edge Of Tomorrow, Tropic Thunder, Collateral. I just don’t find myself enjoying them very much when I watch them.

6: Favorite Character

Lestat, of course. I’m so attached to this character because of that first viewing at the impressionable age of seven. It began my lifelong appreciation of Cruise and has held strong over all the years. The light has never dimmed with that one.

7: Least Favorite Character

Les Grossman, naturally. I don’t know.. just don’t enjoy that movie or that character at all. Another one would probably be Nick Morton, mainly cause I couldn’t get into those movies at all, though I did try a number of times.

8: Underrated Movie

Far And Away 👌 also Legend, The Colour Of Money, Days Of Thunder and American Made! I wanna see way more love for all of those movies because I absolutely love them to bits.

9: Most Overrated Movie

Interview is possibly overrated? and so is Top Gun? as far as that term goes anyway, but I do not list them with distaste lol cause I really love those movies. I’m just assuming what other people would consider the most overrated.

10: Favorite Haircut

I have always loved his shoulder length ( or just above ) hair so that will always be my favourite of his styles. Thinking along the lines of his Mission Impossible II haircut and also how it is in Rain Man; both very lovely hairstyles.

11: Least Favorite Haircut

Anything that’s like super short really, like Mission Impossible, the very first one, or Jack Reacher. I think he looks better with his hair at least a little longer than that.

12: Which Movie would you like to see a sequel to?

Most of his movies that don’t have sequels, which is a lot. I want sequels to all of them because I love his characters so much. I would have loved more Chronicles movies so we could get more of his Lestat. I also would have loved a sequel to Far And Away so we could see their lives together <3 Vanilla Sky is one that also desperately needs a sequel. I also really want a Rain Man sequel and maybe also Cocktail.

13: Favorite line from one of his movies

“ You complete me. ” Rain Man

“ Don’t call me son. I’m a lawyer and an officer in the United States Navy, and you’re under arrest, you son of a bitch. ” A Few Good Men

“ Everything ends badly, otherwise it wouldn’t end. ” Cocktail

“ Don’t be afraid. I’m going to give you the choice I never had. ” Interview With The Vampire

14: Favorite scene from one of his movies

15: Favorite Mission Impossible movie

The second one! I know 99% of people hate that one the most, but it is and always has been my ansolute favourite out of the lot of them. Even as further movies for that franchise have been made, it has remained the best to me.

16: Favorite stunt

Most of his stunts for the Mission franchise! especially the one in which he is flinging himself around a rock face in number II and also his climb of the Burj Khalifa in Ghost Protocol.

17: Favorite run

All of them 🤣 they are all uniquely special. I like the run he did in Vanilla Sky a lot, though. That’s probably the best of them.

18: Which Character did you relate to the most?

Erm, probably either Jack from Legend or Joseph from Far & Away, cause I don’t think I relate to his others all that much.

19: Which Character (from books, comics etc. or a possible remake) would you love to see Tom play?

I just want to see him keep playing Lestat 😭 but I know that is not the question, lol. I’d like to see him as Heathcliff cause after Lestat, Heathcliff from Wuthering Heights is my second favourite character in literature, so definitely him.

20: If you could only watch one film of his for the rest of time, which would it be and why?

That would be a tie between my top two, so either Interview or the second Mission movie. Both for very different reasons. I’m probably gonna have to choose just one and pick Interview 😅 for the purpose of the question, but still.

21: A director you would like to see him work with.

James Cameron or Tim Burton! two of my favourites, but also would like to see him work with Spielberg again.

22: A scene where "he does that thing with his face that makes you die inside" the most

23: A sleeper hit. A movie that on the first watch you only thought of as okay, but over time it's become a favorite.

Most likely, for me, that would be Days Of Thunder. I’d never been a car girly until the first Fast movie came out, so getting into Days Of Thunder back in the day was a hard one. The one thing that helped massively, beside Tom of course, was the fact that Zimmer did the score. I absolutely loveee Zimmer. I do now very much enjoy that movie and can appreciate things a lot more.

24: Out of the three films in which he was nominated for an Oscar (Born on the 4th of July, Jerry Maguire, and Magnolia), which one SHOULD have won him the trophy and why.

See now, each of those movies is fantastic in its own way, so that’s quite hard because the performances he gave in each cannot be compared to one another. My favourite out of those movies is Jerry Maguire, but in terms of Oscars, I would say he should have gotten it for Frank TJ Mackey. While that movie is not focused entirely on that character and explores the lives of many others, Mackey had the biggest impact.

25: What's the performance that you think should have been nominated for an Oscar and why?

I wanna say Lestat so badly here. I think his take was spot on and the man did so much research and spent so much time in the books that he just embodied that character as a whole. He is the very reason I love that vampire so much and it is ‘cause of him that I even have a fascination with vampires in the first place. I have to give him credit where credit is due. Lestat is a character I think he portrayed beautifully and he did deserve a nomination for that role. Also, probably Daniel Kaffee? A Few Good Men is another fantastic performance for him.

26: Favorite 80s era Movie? Like besides Top Gun because that's obvious.

Cocktail! that gets the number one spot for this because omg younger me was obsessed with this movie and Brian. I still am but I’ve calmed down over the years, lol. That character is just perfection, in every sense of the word. I’m also still going back and forth on whether or not I’m gonna splurge and get myself a Cocktails and Dreams sign, though I don’t have a bar ✌️

27: Favorite co-star?

I really love him alongside Elisabeth Shue. I think they worked really well together. He was fantastic starring alongside Dustin Hoffman as well! and I also really like him working with Simon Pegg. They both work really well together, too.

28: Favorite fight scene? Like in everything counting M:l!

Mission Impossible II, that fight scene with the bikes will hold a special place in my heart forever. I really like his fight scenes in both Reacher movies as well, but especially the first movie and the scene where he ends up taking a bat to the back of his head and falls into the bathtub. So much is happening in that scene, it’s all over the place and so funny.

29: Actor you'd like to see him work with. (We know he's already been with everyone else ;))

My other favourites! lol. Tom is my all time favourite actor, so I would like to see him work with Johnny Depp, Gary Oldman, Leonardo Dicaprio. For the ladies, my three queens! Goldie Hawn, Emmy Rossum and Bryce Dallas Howard 🤗

30: Favorite TOM era in General?

Early 90’s to early 00’s seems to be my favourite so I’m gonna go with that cause it’s a pretty good range. I do love him in the 80’s and the 2010’s and onward, but anything between 1990 and 2006 at least, holds my heart the most.

[zxaxel]

are there any mega man side characters you think deserve a little more love/screen time?

hi! sorry for responding a few days late.

absolutely though!

for the classic series: definitely more emphasis on bass. he’s only been playable a couple times, and is a really cool character that could make a great rival or just another guy to play as if they’d add him more. you could argue he’s more of an antagonist or an anti hero than a side character but i’d still consider him one since he reappears multiple times. i could argue the same for protoman, but at least he gets more screen time.

x series: the navigators that were present for like. X5 and almost nowhere else. signas and douglas were used a couple times then completely traded in which sucks. dynamo would be nice to see more as well, great design but he’s only in two games.

zero series: an update on cerveau would be nice. he helped zero a ton and was just sort of cast aside after the mmz games. i’ve seen people theorize that he is fleuve from ZX, but i don’t know if i agree with that.

ZX: literally like, everybody. prometheus and pandora are my favourite bosses franchise wide, and they have the potential but weren’t given the game time to actually expand on it unfortunately. i plan on writing an analysis on them soon! however, i don’t think i’d count them as side characters when they’re purely antagonists (although justified in their actions to a degree).

more emphasis on the ZXA mega men (aeolus, thetis, atlas, and siarnaq) would be nice. they’re sort of antagonists too, but they had developed character traits and backstories so i’d consider them side characters as well. i love all four of them and would love to see them get more love.

battle network: raika and search man were really cool, wish i could have seen them more. lan’s friends also deserved more screen time and character development. mick was only in BN6 yet had more development than any of lan’s ACDC friends

star force: i’ve only played the first game and some of the second, so bear with me here. but pat/rey and gemini were really cool characters and i wish they had re-appeared. pat really made me love SF1 so it sucks he’s only in that game.

not sure about legends, still need to play it.

sorry for such a long post!! i feel like the star force and ZXA characters get the least amount of attention, so i’d say they’re the most underrated.

[techorgana]

thanks for the tag @idontgetanysleep this is so much fun (english is not my first lenguage so i apologize for any mistakes i make)

1. ride or die ship (your otp): kanera, they're healthy AND tragic what else would u want

2. most annoying ship: reylo, rexsoka, obikin, anakin + ahsoka and clone + clone, i just can't

3. second favourite ship: chopper + crime they're so <3 (i'm kidding it's obitine cause i like the banter)

4. favourite platonic relationship: i'm obssessed with the found family trope so every family/sibling relationship, especially the ghost crew, the domino twins and the bad batch INCLUDING crosshair (also asajj and obi wan but in a funny way cause the amount of time they flirt is ridiculous)

5. underrated ship: bail x breha they love each other sm and raised their girl SO WELL

6. overrated ship: i can't say

7. one thing i would change in canon: padmé and satine not being mentioned in the newest shows, when they were so important and did so much for their people

8. something canon did right: the entirety of rebels, it's so well done it's perfect

9. a thing i'm proud of creating for the fandom PLEASE BRAG ABOUT YOURSELF I WANT TO SEE/READ YOUR ART: i can't draw to save my live and i'm bad at designing, i have many ideas to write but i lack inspiraton, but i'm always happy to read and reblog everything i see cause people here are talented

10. a character who is perfect to me (wouldn't change a thing): every clone, ahsoka, plo koon, satine and everyone in the ghost crew

11. the character i relate to the most and why: hera, four reasons: i like to advocate and fight for the things i belive in, i always end up adopting my friends, i'm also working on some issues with my father even tho i'm exactly like him and the most important one i would (i already have) fall completly in love with kanan (i wouldn't be so cool about it but that's why hera is perfect and i'm not)

12. character(-s) i hate the most and why: i viscerally hate palpatine, krell, governor pryce, the troopers that punched grogu and the zygerrians and hutts (they are slavers and i hate them)

13. something i've learned from the fandom: NEVER pay attention to the haters, it'll only make you miserable cause they already are

14. three tags i seek out on ao3: i don’t use ao3 like that, normally i find fics here or twitter and then click the link

15. a song i strongly associate with my op/favourite character: i don't have a favorite character but the one i'm currently obssessed with is Ezra and the song is Vienna by Billy Joel (mainly bc i like to imagine hera singing the song to him)

tags: @r-2-peepoo @purplezombietumbler @starwarsbean @kyber-kat @plan-of-dissent

it's ok if you don't participate :)

[disneyfanboy13]

I know what I'm about to talk about isn't Disney, so off topic from this blog, but I wasn't sure where else to talk about this and this is a big deal to me: Kung Fu Panda 4.

I love the first three Kung Fu Panda movies. 1 and 2 are among my top 5 Dreamworks movies, with 2 being one of my favourite movies of all time. And while 3 isn't quite amazing, it's still really great and in my opinion, pretty underrated. Based on the first three movies, I honestly have no problem calling it my favourite animated film franchise of all time. If you'd told me four or five years ago that Kung Fu Panda 4 was happening, I would've been ecstatic, as the series was rumoured to be planned as a six film series.

But... seven years after the third movie ended, I... I guess I'm kind of over it now? I remember being absolutely ecstatic when the third movie's trailer dropped because FINALLY they were going to answer that cliffhanger that the second movie had left us on for years and while KFP3 had some issues, I still considered it a satisfying conclusion that could have and seemingly did end the franchise. But now... KFP4's trailer dropped and... I didn't experience that same endorphin rush that I did with KFP3's trailer. Maybe I'm just more world weary now than I was in 2015 (especially since it's the Christmas season right now), but something about this new trailer just felt... weird. As did the rumours about what the story was before said trailer dropped. I mean, bringing the series' past villains back from the dead to fight Po again? That just sounded... well, silly and I prayed that wouldn't actually be the plot.

Seeing the way it was actually done though with the new villain seemingly stealing the old villains' chi, which directly connects with the third movie's lore, did make it feel more natural but everything else about the trailer was just weirdly off. "Where are the Furious Five?" Was the most obvious question to me. They're Po's friends, why wouldn't they accompany him on a big dangerous journey? Are they being intentionally excluded? Why is this weird fox/wolf looking thing voiced by that one celebrity everyone hates going with him instead of Po's friends? Why does the animation look different but not in a "oh, it's been improved way!" but more like a "this looks more like those Kung Fu Panda TV shows I never bothered to watch outside of clips on YouTube" way. Is it because Ruby Gillman bombed and Dreamworks are in a tight place financially? Still haven't watched that btw is it any good? Was it a stylistic choice? I have so many questions but not the kind of questions that get me excited for the movie like I was for KFP3, they're questions that make me... concerned and confused. I love this series dearly and I want more than anything for this movie to be good but... I can easily see a universe where it sucks and bombs and ruins the series' reputation like Shrek the Third did to the Shrek series. And that would be genuinely tragic to me.

So please, Kung Fu Panda 4 be good.

[mousemannation]

3. 6. 13. 19. for the ask game!

- @shapovalovvs 💌

heyyy ty for sending some in :3

3. Top 5 ATP players

oh wow okay okay hmm okay this is turning out to be very difficult for me 🤔🤔 idk I feel like I don't categorise any players like this.. although I just thought about the wta and I could think of 5 hahsjsj.

I'm just so ready to cheer for the players y'all like and support...The only one that's obvious for me is nadal as I mentioned in my other one of these he is my og and my pookie. I don't actively dislike any players really (except the obvious ones. With court cases against them).

I am a staunch big four truther so Murray does have my support.. don't know if he lives in my heart though. And medvedev lives in my brain but I would never call him pookie. My family used to really like raonic too, and I'm always happy to see him around...

I feel like I've stopped making sense SKKSKSKS I think the takeaway here is that I like seeing all the posts on tennisblr about ur faves and I participate in a sort of second-hand fave experience. Like 100% I'm cheering for shapo or the americans or ruru or vava or lehecka and so on and so forth.

6. Favourite surface to watch?

I answered (or non answered lol) this in my previous post!

13. Who was the first player who got you interested in tennis?

I am such a broken record for these answers haha. My mum loves tennis and is the reason I care about tennis at all. My dad was always a federer truther while my mum liked both federer and nadal, but my friend in primary school liked nadal the most (at least until novak came along bc she was serbian!) and so I decided I did too.

Being as I was a baby child it was never really a conscious decision to care, and kind of the real answer is my mum, who did play recreational tennis sjjejsek

19. Who is the most underrated player?

now see this is one where truly I have no idea at all ejjejsjwjwjjw before i joined tennisblr and before ao24 I was not at ALL caught up with the newer players and really never paid much attention to the rankings/technical aspects. Once again, to me it's just ball go bounce..

[redshift-corridor]

Okay consider this me feeling prompted to just send an ask about whatever

What are some of your favourite Octopath tracks, from either game?

OKAY time to dig into this. I'm trying not to get too excessive so I'll keep it to a few thematic categories (yes there are way too many tracks I like that I don't want to cut out :,D) This will be heavily OT2-biased too - while OT1 is still my second favorite OST of all time, it lost a bit of ground in direct comparison to 2.

Character Themes

1. Agnea / Partitio

This is a case of "whichever I'm listening to atm is the better one" but overall I think Agnea has the upper hand if I take all versions of her theme into account (Song of Hope goes without saying, and I'm very partial to her pursuit theme).

2. Osvald

No one seems to like this one as much as I do :,) It's not as immediately in your face as most of the other themes and takes a bit to pick up, which is a bit of a problem with the pursuit theme (my favorite in the game by far) and short battle intro dialogue. I feel this this is the only theme where you can really hear the character development in the progression from character theme to final battle.

3. Primrose

Mainstream choice, I know, but this one stuck with me. Probably because of the immense Yuki Kajiura vibes.

Region Themes

1. Leaflands

Literally the reason why I decided to buy the soundtrack based on a 40 second sample lol. The day version is my second favorite theme overall.

2. Hinoeuma

A theme I didn't pay too much attention to until I played the game and ended up standing in the desert just to listen. The night version wins here. That flute. <3

3. Sundering Sea (Night)

Extremely underrated. Idk how much time I spent hanging out on the ocean to this theme.

4. Frostlands

Just so I have three real region themes in here, but this is one of my favorite winter/snow themes in games.

Town Themes

1. Wellgrove/Timberain (Day)

Probably my favorite game theme period. Wellgrove has kicked Tarrey Town of all things off the favorite town top spot and that's saying something. I just love that place okay. Sometimes it gets hard to listen to the rest of the soundtrack because I keep getting stuck on this one lol. (Reminds me a lot of Wild Wind too, another old favorite.)

2. Montwise/Merry Hills (Night)

I don't actually have a lot to say here, I just love this SO much.

3. Crackridge/Gravell (Day)

You know a soundtrack is fantastic when the theme that caters exactly to your tastes is only your third favorite.

4. Flamesgrace

Honorable mention to my favorite town theme ever before OT2 came out.

Battle Themes

1. Normal Battle I (OT2)

Another unpopular one because everyone seems to prefer II. I don't care. I wish this would play in higher level places.

2. They Who Govern Reason

Oh hey, OT1 got in the top 3 without the nostalgia boost. Favorite boss theme ever and not even the OT2 themes come close.

3. Fierce Confrontation / Critical Clash I

Another shared slot for the same reason as the character themes, I can't pick one.

OT2 Final Battle Themes

(yes these get their own section :D)

1. Song of Hope

No competition here, next. Lol. Agnea's theme is already that good on its own and this makes it so much better.

2. The Journey for Revenge Ends

Like I said, character development my beloved. You can hear how this man goes from nothing to lose to something to protect and they didn't even change the theme much.

3. The Journey for Kingship Ends

Took Hikari's theme long enough to do something for me, but it does it really well now. Points deducted for the fact that I couldn't really enjoy the battle because I loathe boss rushes and I didn't want to risk having to do the tedious duel again.

4. The Journey for Happiness Ends

Four again because I can't leave my beloved merchant out lol. What can I say, it's Partitio's theme. Probably the one that worked best for me while playing. Protip: sunset looks great here.

Other themes in no particular order

Victory Fanfares

Love those, especially 2.

Unshakable Resolve

I'm not crying. Phenomenal use in Castti's final chapter.

Beneath the Surface

OT1 wins in the dungeon theme department with this one, hands down.

Invitation to Darkness

Why didn't we get a whole dungeon with this. JFD felt really rushed tbh.

Final Final Battle Themes

Both are fantastic, but I very much prefer 2 to 1.

Sorry for the wall of text ;D

[raytorosaurus]

funny how everyone says boy division is their fave when spotify play counts for light behind your eyes and world is ugly are higher. also boy division is overrated (i love it but i'll die on the hill that everyone is just blinded by it being an upbeat opening track) (tomorrow's money is far superior to boy division) (and number five is the best of the collection)

lol i can see why those two from number three have a lot of streams from more casual fans because they have like...'sing-alongable' lyrics and are that classic kind of palatable angst yk, but boy division is very solidly the fan favourite in more dedicated bandom circles. and yeah i kinda agree sjdkgl - tho i hesitate to call things overrated bc often ppl take it to mean "i don't like it just because it's popular" when in this case i really mean i do love boy division and think it's a great song but just genuinely don't understand why it's this much more popular than the rest of cw, you know? (poll here)

i do get that it's really fun and that they played it a lot this tour and we were all excited about that together so that makes it more fun - what i don't get is why they played it so much this tour (i.e. why it was so loudly a fan favourite above all the others before then). it just really surprises me that it was The most played song besides the every-show staples, with the single exception of mama. look in your heart is it truly anywhere near as good as mama </3 (stats from this awesome awesome spreadsheet by @onedaythisday)

i know that sometimes things are fun to love because they're loved - like it's much more fun to be really hyped up about them playing a "deep cut" fan favourite when everyone can lose their minds in excitement together, i totally get that. a similar thing happens with heaven help us imo. boy division and heaven help us - both really great songs that i love, but which have a reputation of being the stand-out "best" from their respective collections that i don't understand. tomorrow's money is by far my favourite on conventional weapons - of course personal taste accounts for a lot but i do genuinely believe that if any song on cw could be called underrated and truly hold up against their best stuff, it's tomorrow's money. it's lyrically and musically much more interesting than a lot of cw, the production is really fun, the breakdown and distorted screams scratch my brain soooooo good, and it really plays on mcr's strengths as a dual guitar band with a ray toro up their sleeve lol. i also think kiss the ring is a lot more interesting than boy division and sooo fun but they didn't play that one at ALL :( again, just my taste - i defs get boy division being people's fave, just struggle to understand why it's considered such a singular standout.

my actual unpopular cw opinion is that i think surrender the night is a bottom tier mcr song JSDKFLSDF sorry anon. bottom tier mcr already puts them at better than most other songs out there at least. i definitely appreciate it wayyyy much more now after seeing the live version where it actually feels like the guitars are doing something interesting (it might actually have been promoted to second-bottom-tier actually) but the studio version feels kinda flat to me. also imo gerard shot himself in the foot by saying it sounded something geoff rickly would write because if it was a thursday song it would sound better SDKLGJSDKLGJLDS. but that's just me tho i understand why people like it. number one (tomorrow's money and boy division) is probably my fave overall, tho number four (kiss the ring and make room) comes close. then five because burn bright slaps hard.

[lily-blue]

own fic rec game

recommend 5 or more of your own works that you would rec to someone asking what they should read first & explain a little bit about the work. these can be the most popular, the ones you think are underrated, or your own favorites! then tag five other writers!

tagged by @dat-town​

tagging @twogyuu​

13 reasons why - seventeen, 86,3k (ongoing series)

this series started out at a drabble series. after reading seventeen soulmate aus for days in a row, i was basically wondering whether i could write thirteen different stories in the same universe without repeating myself. i think it’s a success so far, but i still have four more chapters to go. anyway, it’s basically a series of (more or less) light-hearted love stories where each boy gets a happy ending and cameos in each other’s stories. thus, if you’re looking for some good old fluff, some light angst and humour, this series is being written for you

code zero - bts & red velvet, 60k (co-written with @dat-town​)

another series on the list, a finished one this time. we came up with the idea of this futuristic au after we watched train to busan with kathy. it was so much fun building a smart city for our super smart candidates and even more fun coming up with numerous ways a city could kill a person, so we wouldn’t repeat ourselves while writing! if you enjoy reading stories about people fighting to survive against all odds, this is your story! i promise, there will be survivors at the end.

the choices you give » the choices he makes - huang renjun, 22k

this fantasy, especially the second chapter, which was written from renjun’s point of view, is one of my ultimate favourites on my masterlist. the characters have their own secrets and reasons to act the way they’re acting, their relationship might seem a little shallow from the reader’s perspective, but once you get to the second chapter, the puzzle pieces will start to fall into place and that’s what makes it such an interesting journey! if you don’t hate open endings, like reading stories from two points of views and have a weak spot for mysterious boys with a traumatic childhood and a demanding father figure, this story is for you.

come hell or high water - hwang hyunjin, 16,1k

this story is peak comedy. i don’t remember i’ve ever finished such a long story so quickly, but hyunjin demanded all of my attention while i was working on this one. poor guy is so gone for the girl in this story that his one brain cell has major difficulties to function or see the consequences of his actions. he is this close 🤏🤏 to accidentally start a war between his and the princess’ kingdom, but lucky for him, our girl saves his ass with her logical reasoning. so no, it’s not him who starts the war.

blurred lines - jeon woong, 13,5k

this one is seriously one of my most underrated stories, but it was so much fun to write that i couldn’t not put it on this list. the main plot is based on a misunderstanding: woong is certain you’re his secret admirer. do you have feelings for him? yes, you do. were you do one who wrote him the letter? absolutely not. still, he falls for you and you couldn’t be happier… until the real secret admirer demands the credit that’s rightfully hers. despite the inevitable drama, it’s a light-hearted university story with lots of fluff and a pinch of heartbreak. it’s also written from both the reader and woong’s point of view, so if you like these kinds of stories, don’t hesitate to read it or save it for later.

[moonlightperseus]

I don't know what comic's you've read but I know my favourites are Birds of Prey. I know you're a fan of black canary so that might already be ticked off the list but If not it's a big one for me. So

- the 1999 - 2009 birds of prey run

- the 2010 birds of prey run

(with emphasis on Gail Simone's run in that)

- the more recent Batgirl and the birds of prey

The four issue 2007 mini Black Canary run is also very good, though a continuation of the birds run.

And I'm also a huge fan of the current BoP run but it's only one issue in.

Most of my comic recs are highly Black Canary based (evidently) but I can also recommend

- Injustice: Gods Among us (though I am biased, as it's what got me into comics and introduced me to Dinah)

- Batwoman (I personally prefer the new 52 to rebirth but enjoyed both)

- Gotham City garage is almost exclusively women

And if you wanted comics that weren't the superhero kind I'd also recommend The Wicked and The Divine from Image comics, I don't know how easy it is to find now but a large part of the cast is women and would be great if you liked mythology.

hey there nonny, thank you soooo much for the recs!

first off omg come off anon i want to be ur friend i love these recs!

second off love that most of ur recs are black canary based SO TRUE of you, i have read most of these im pretty sure, i definitely combed thru as much birds of prey content as i could find though i did not know there was a new run out ! so ill have to look into that for sure. and god reading the black canary 2007 short run was sooooo. (ive also read the green arrow & black canary run).

im pretty sure ive read both of the batwoman runs? i definitely read one of the runs if not both. i cannot tell based off of the random comic screenshots i have on my phone which one/or both for sure. okay wait no this one image is def from new52 and the batwoman rebirth cover looks familar but i have no idea if that means i read it or not

gotham city garage!! im not deep in the comics world but it feels like a very underrated run it was literally so much fun and SO women <3 (demon's head dinah?? hello?????) great comic run second probably only to bombshells in my heart

i will definitely have to give injustice gods among us a try bc clearly you have great taste, ive never been super interesting in the injustice universe mostly bc batman and superman fighting bores me (except for the iconic holy musical batman production by team starkid)

ive heard about wicked & the divine and its definitely one thats been like vaguely on my radar so i probably should look more into it bc it sounds really cool.even tho at the end of the day i might just be.a superhero bitch. i do love women and mythology

anyways sorry for the long ramble, i'm def gonna look into the new bop run, and wicked & the divine, and at least attempt the injustice:gods among us comics !! tysm nonny!

[crusherthedoctor]

❣️, 💥, 👾, 🤖 (and 💙 :P)

❣️ Favourite Game?

Mania is still #1 for me. To make a long story short, this game is top tier for me in most of the ways that count. Gameplay, visuals, music, attention to detail, references that are actually clever, the whole shebang. The story might be mildly disjointed compared to something like S3&K, but it doesn't bother me too much. I love this game to death, and it steams my hams that fans have took to ignoring its success in order to prop up Frontiers.

Likewise, second place still goes to S3&K for similar reasons. The rest of my favourites include (in chronological order) Sonic 1 and 2, CD, SA1, the Advance trilogy, Rush Adventure, console Colours, and console Generations.

💥 Favourite Boss Fight?

To list which ones come to mind:

The entire Death Egg-Doomsday Zone confrontation. One of the strongest endgames to any Sonic game, and one of Eggman's finest moments. S3&K as a whole did a fantastic job in firmly cementing how dedicated and hands-on the doctor can be when he's portrayed at his best, and it's wonderfully capped off with this crazy bonanza of "For fuck sake, he's STILL not done?" The Great Eggman Robo is also an imposing design with how it looms.

Egg Viper and Perfect Chaos in SA1. The former for being a decent challenge and the epic as hell defeat animation ("Watch out, he's up to something!"), the latter for being possibly the only 3D Super Sonic fight that isn't complete shit, even if it is a little janky.

Sonic VS Shadow on the A.R.K. The atmosphere and music really make it work.

Deep Core is pretty underrated. A fun shoot 'em up boss, and the Egg WIzard has some creative and eye-catching attacks thanks to the Jeweled Scepter.

Egg Dragoon for bringing out the aggression from Sonic and Eggman alike, as well as the sheer intensity of the fight itself. You know it has to be good when even a certified Non-Fan of Unleashed like me fully approves of it.

Egg Reverie for neatly avoiding a certain undesirable event by instead settling on a three way deathmatch. The music's great, the background is hypnotic, and I love how the timer is inflicted with N64 cartridge tilting-style glitching.

The Mega Death Egg Robot in Forces may have been just okay as an actual fight, but I really, really love the sound design that went into it, as seemingly minor as that may be to some. And Eggman being mad enough to have a second mech inside the first one ala Doomsday Zone is peak... him.

Oh, look at that, most of them are Eggman! Guess the other villains need to try a bit harder, huh?

👾 Favourite handheld title?

Advance 2 was my first Sonic game, and I also think it's probably the most well-balanced of the trilogy (Special Stage rings and needing to get the Emeralds as all four characters to unlock Amy aside), so I'll go with that one.

Second place is a tie between Advance 1 and Rush Adventure. Can't decide which won edges out. :P

🤖 Favourite robot?

I struggle to pick an Eggman-made example because that would require listing every robot he has ever made that isn't Belle. If I had to pick one - one that counts as an actual character mind you - then the Hard-Boiled Heavies for being my kind of quirky and fun. <3

For a NON-Eggman example... uh... this narrows it down by quite a lot. Emerl was good, wasn't he?

💙 Favourite IDW character?

...I'll go with Simp Era Starline, and maybe Tangle before the flanderization set in.