#Cartoon logic and whatnot

[banditblvd]

Trying out this whole "animation" thing, it's kind of a small niche community though so idk

[thestargayzingheroine]

Why A Better World is my favourite "Evil Superman" Story

So in the last two decades or so, there's been a notable amount of dark and edgy stories around superheroes turning evil and whatnot and most of them really love to do their own expies of Superman. I've never been the biggest fans of these kinds of stories.

And then there's the actual stories of Superman and other heroes being outright villains or at least just massive assholes. In recent years, this has been largely thanks to the influence of media like the Injustice Games or the Synderverse DC movies. It's... honestly become a trope I am tired of.

Because you know the damnest thing? There is a story that does all these ideas really damn well and arguably better. It is the two-parter from the Justice League cartoon "A Better World".

Now, I am aware how most people favouring the DCAU has become a bit of toxic nostalgia at times and it's something I myself am trying to work through a bit. But in this case, I do think it's the best idea of doing an evil DC story, much better and more interesting than the Crime Syndicate, who if you ask me are not very interesting, though I do remember liking the Crisis On Two Earths movie a lot, which funny enough, was originally going to be this two parter before various things led to it being canned and then later repurposed as a direct to DVD movie.

Anyway, my main crux of why I love this story is simple... The entire Justice League turns evil... and the reasons are very much in-character for all of them. You look at the scene with Justice Lord Batman for example.

As fucking evil as the Justice Lords are... Batman can't quite fully hate his alternate self for his reason for taking part in all this being basically one-step further than his own mission, that no child should ever go through what he did. Hell, I recall reading that the reason the writers had Batman drop his batarang at the end of this scene... was because he genuinely wouldn't be able to come up with an argument to that.

Superman likewise kills Lex Luthor because yeah, Luthor literally exploited the flaws in Democracy and became president of the US, threatening to kinda basically start world war 3. It's obviously horrible... but Superman is a character whose main motivation is making the world a better place. And if people who abuse the systems of power of the world are hurting people, why shouldn't Superman put a stop to that?

And yeah, Superman should obviously never kill, he's the most paragon of paragons of the DC universe, a man committed to always being better than the villains he fights... but this is him pushed to his most logical extreme. Hell, the main Superman knows this and its why Lex used his knowledge of this alternate universe as part of his plan in the season after this, to goad our Superman into crossing the line because yeah, there's a part of him that could go this far.

But right as Superman is about to apparently finish him, the big guy says this.

"I'm not the man who killed President Luthor. I wish to heaven that I were but I'm not."

Because Superman like everyone else, obviously would have those same thoughts and same urges. He's human.

I've kinda gone off Injustice a bit because to be honest... the injustice games were kinda just this but a bit too edgelordy. Hell, in A Better World, Lois Lane still lives and the whole genesis of it doesn't revolve around her getting fridged.

So yeah, A Better World is probably one of my favourite mirror universe stories because of the fact that well... it really is like looking in a mirror and seeing just how easy the greatest heroes can become evil and how they wouldn't be massively out of character doing so. But also it reminds us that as much as this darkness can tempt some of our finest, the ones who don't go down this dark path are stronger in heart than anyone else. Because when the world becomes a dark and horrible place, it becomes very easy to be just as dark. But even though it can be hard to still try and be a good person even in dark times, it's ultimately worth it. Because good always triumphs over evil.

[omegansamurai]

You know what would be so funny? (NATLA-related)

If Zutara wasn't even mentioned in the early part of s2(I do think it will be hinted at near the end of s2 of NATLA), and the only relationship that's developed in the first part of the season is Taang. Like if they're going with a teen actress playing Toph, then something must be happening with their relationship in the future, at least. I mean, come on, they ask in the casting call for dancing moves.

Look, all I'm saying is, it would be so funny if the Kataangers would be like...super invested for hints of Kataang in the next season of NATLA, but they find out that Aang is crushing on ANOTHER girl, which that girl is Toph. XD Like, I think he'll be trying to flirt with her in NATLA, and I so believe that, and Toph would be like, "What the? Bro, calm down". I mean, it's like, Kataangers think Aang has to hook up with Katara, but...Aang has other options...like options that are HIS AGE. I mean, look at Toph. XD

And like...they're in a real-world setting. They can't go by the cartoon's (stupid) rules, logic, and canon. Honestly, the story is more important, and it wouldn't matter if some ships change in the original ATLA, the story will still be in tact. Seriously, it's telling the story just fine. So what if the ships changed? The story stays the same. X)

I just think it's so funny that they're so worried that only Zutara happening would ruin the show for them, when they're not even thinking about the OTHER ship that could potentially happen. XD I mean it, I feel like they're gonna do something with Aang and Toph's relationship in NATLA. I can just feel it. ;)

(I also got a lot of cool ideas on how they would interact and whatnot! X) If any Taang fans want to hear, DM me! :D )

[pineappleparfaitie]

AAAAAAAAA

Person made response and mentioned me so ya

Lots of shit under cut

lets go

1

Screenshot from OPs post

Person is refering to this

My takeaway:

While I think this specifically was blown out of proportion by op who ill call Vee - I do agree this isnt the best way for Suzy to conduct herself. However this isnt like the torture commentx i use slapping someone with a wet fish as a joke and its exaggerated. This also applies to Suzy here however hers is much more violent and no one expects her to be able to pulverise anyone into red paste. However i admit it isnt a good look.

2

Screenshot of Vees post:

my takeaway:

While i agree however most NSFW blogs use tags that are only used by nsfw vore accounts and dont use stuff like extreme cuddling for example to separate themselves from the SFW crowd. Most people who are artists are well aware that genitals ≠ NSFW , ive seen many statues, paintinfs ect as part od my school program with genetelia. Does that make it porn?No . Thats the first bit

Second bit is if the OP INTENDED for this to be sexual they should use nsfw tags or sexual ones if thats their goal. Seriously why tf would a fetish acc tag their shit as anything other than kink,fetish amd nsfw?Your example doesnt make sense as ive stated genetlia isnt a good comparison here. Its a fetish.Its on THEM to tag their shit accordingly.

Third. Yeah no i agree with the 2nd half of the post most of it anyway. The reason they say well respected person i. THe community is cause I said that in my previous posts regarding this. I said that not Vee

3

Screenshot of Vees post

my takeaway:

Heres why /why not:

Vore is a latin word first of all. Its used as a slang term for vorarephilia. Its in reference to the act of eatinf another.

Heres where stuff is different.

Eating someone alive is a trope used in cartoons for ages , Tom and Jerry, Miss Frizzles magic school bus, Disney shows have it, Nick shows act ect ect. Its a trope in media.

Diapers ,Feet, Pee is not a trope in media. These are not thinfs that are tropes and common accurances thag are explored. If its used its for comedic purposes in kids cartoons.

Vore is one thing as it can be nonsexual and sfw.

Diapers ,Feet and PISS fetishes should not be exposed to minors - sexual or not these are not things minors would even remember seeing in csrtoons growing up.

And Sadomasochism/sadism/masochism is just NO. This is not okay this is shit kids should not look at as it will cause them to see this stuff as okay and fuck them up it is the pleasure in ones or another pain its fucked kids should not even know about this

Alao this is so stupid its not a kink or fetish anymore if its nonsexual its a different thing for God sake. Kink is something that has to do with sexual fantasies and whatnot. Fetish is simmilar but its more to do with objects and certain situations.

If its not sexual, then you dont have a fucking kink or a fetish you just enjoy that shit.

4

Screenshot of Vees post

My takeaway:

Yeah this is true Suzy did do this however i wasnt able tk find any dates on the archived posts that could help me see how recent some of this stuff was. One post/reblof a friend helped me out with was from June 27th . However if Vee can provide dates to the archived posts or tell me howtl to see em on the links provided that would be great.

5

Screenshot of Vees post:

My takeaway:

Vee, thats not ableism

Ableism definition

When i said that both sides were not the sharpest tool in the shed- i meant this.

Vee youre anonymus i dont know if youre disabled or not.

It is mot ableist to call someone stupid for doing a stupid thing. It is not ablesim if i say a commonly used phrase to say someone isnt very bright.

Im not saying this cause i think people with disabilities are lesser ik for a favt that byllcrap ik multiple disabled people who sre smarte than me and better than me. But by your logic if i aay the word IDIOT its ableist?

Idk how Suzy feels about me rn, i still have respect for her and see her in a positive way but i will call my friends stupid when they do something stupidm i will say they werent smart for doing something idiotic.

As for the last bit while your intent was good Vee you are deflecting from the main issue if you not reaching out in DMS before making shit public and adding baseless accusations of ableism to actually suported claims.

I will say it AGAIN

BOTH SIDES, DIDINT DO GOOD. NEITHER ARE IN THE CLEAR IN MY EYES.

Intent was there but the execution was shit.

Both of these people fucked up but one left to take a breather and maybe even process everything while the other keeps postinf amd reaponding to people.

If you WERE concerned about the safety of minors- Vee ehy did you ONLY focus on where i wasnt on your side when i AGREED with you on others?You are nitpicking and trying to still come out on top or at least make yourself seem smarter.

Was that your intent?Probably not but thats how youre coming across.

That was the end of the post i am so tjred GOD FUCKING DA-

[punsmaster69]

1/DEC/20XX

waiting until i put my (paint-covered) ornament on the tree, tori put her (properly painted) ornament right next to mine.

when i moved mine, the second i looked away, hers had moved with it.

"...it's like the beds."

"what's the logic now?"

tori looked at the ornaments, side-by-side. quietly, she tapped mine, making the two clink together.

"There is no reason."

"I just think they would be nice together."

"i think you just wanna overshadow the artistry that is mine."

"My intentions were pure. How could I ever even dream of such a thing. Mine does not even compare to your 𝘦𝘭𝘰𝘲𝘶𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘭𝘺-"

a twirling flourish with her hand- "Dipped and rolled around in blue paint 𝘮𝘢𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘱𝘪𝘦𝘤𝘦."

tapping her outstretched hand like a high-five, i played in.

"it's a tough thing, being just so talented."

"When all is said and done, why, I say we even submit it to a museu-"

a

𝘵𝘩𝘶𝘯𝘬

against the glass snapped our attention to the right.

a skeleton (clad in a fuzzy red christmas sweater,) wrapped with string lights dangling outside in front of the window.

the ladder he was using, following his action like a cartoon, toppled over shortly after.

undyne tried to pull him down, with a little too much force. she accidentally brought 𝗮𝗹𝗹 the lights, skeleton and everything, down with her.

wide-eyed, alphys dropped a few cords in defeat.

the door opened about three minutes later.

papyrus, who looked like a light-up ball of yarn, wriggled around in his accidental captivity.

lifting him by a singular side of the cord, undyne set him on the floor in front of us.

"JUST- GIVE ME A MINUTE TO-"

"He's stuck."

"AM NOT!"

"I AM SIMPLY FINDING THESE LIGHTS TO BE A MORE EFFECTIVE TRAP THAN THEY WERE ORIGINALLY DESIGNED FOR!"

"IT'S.. RESEARCH."

"ok."

"would you like to be 𝘶𝘯-researched?"

after a bit more struggling, papyrus sighed defeatedly.

"...YES PLEASE."

——

everyone painted ornaments this morning, and it's very apparent whose is whose.

mine, sloppily dipped into matte blue paint.

tori's, a shiny purple and silver patterned one.

papyrus', flashy and red, with multicolored stars on it.

frisk's, an intricately painted ornament of snowdin - the old one.

flowey's...not sure. green and rainbow-ey, definitely.

undyne's, painted with spears and various weapons. half a yellow heart is painted on one side.

matching that, alphys' has half a blue heart painted on, so they line up when next to each other.

painted elsewhere on her ornament is some ice-related character i don't recognize.

mettaton's, sparkly pink glitter, stickers of his face.

napstablook, who mtt managed to drag along to (try to) paint with us, had mettaton paint music notes in a specific arrangement. said it's their favorite holiday song.

——

𝘴𝘯𝘢𝘱.

"here."

with a candy cane half in hand, i tapped tori's shoulder.

"oh."

but she already had one in her mouth.

"welp."

"Ha! Apologies."

she giggled.

"You should have expected this, however."

"yeah, probably. thought that counts, and whatnot."

"here, kiddo."

frisk caught the other half, stuffed it in their face, gave me a thumbs up, and immediately resumed their project.

undyne, papyrus, and alphys are on outside decor duty.

me n' tori are decorating the tree.

and the others are...

"what're you up to over there, anyway?"

flashing a glittery paper tree garland, frisk looked quite proud of themselves.

mettaton held up one as well.

napstablook seemed happy with it.

flowey was too concentrated to pay any attention to me.

frisk took it from him

(to slight anger that was quickly dismissed with a candy cane)

and lifted it to show me.

he's created one of those gingerbread-garland things, but each one's been made to look like one of us.

one of them's a short, slightly round figure who looks like he might be wearing a jacket.

that figure had a cut made partially to the neck portion, but was spared.

"cool."

——

"READY, FLOWERY?"

papyrus lifted flowey up to the top of the tree.

he gripped the tree's star in one of his leaves.

unceremoniously, he jammed the star on the tree slightly off-kilter.

with that, we were officially done decorating.

"COCOA TIME?"

"cocoa time."

——

with the comforting warmth of dinner and hot chocolate, pretty much everyone's conked out.

some holiday movie plays on the tv, but i'm not really taking it in.

'pretty much' everyone, but i'm really the only one still awake at this point.

papyrus has his knees up on the couch, flat to the cushions otherwise. frisk lays curled up in a ball on the tall skeleton, flowey in their arms.

undyne's not even on the couch anymore, nearly completely starfish-posed on the floor; other than the one hand that's on the couch still, to meet alphys'.

mettaton's gone box-form, resting to the side of the couch.

napstablook's on their back, laying on the floor near mtt.

tori's-

"You have been writing for so long, Sans."

"Will you not get comfortable instead?"

with a fuzzy hand, she's pulled my skull against her an-

[The handwriting switches back and forth.]

Removed this from his grasp.

Rest, my dear bonehead.

ok.

You do not have to write that.

ok.

Enough, silly.

Simply closing the journal will do.

ok.

stop writing in it and i'll close it.

You first.

ladies first.

That does not apply here.

does too.

𝘚𝘩𝘩𝘩𝘩, my dear.

𝙍𝙚𝙨𝙩.

[plantify]

TOONTOWN HEADCANON LORE POST THINGY NUMBER 2

(Like last time, this is also cantered around TTCC, and is mostly just me rambling like a lunatic about my headcanons.)

Topic: Toons

(This is sorta like the Toon counterpart of the Cog post I made earlier)

Basic Details

Toons are generally very silly beings, and are a very social species by nature. They come in a variety of sizes, shapes, etc.

They can be a singular species, or they can be a mishmash of different parts, there is not much limit to what a Toon can look like.

Variation in "animation style"

Their mannerisms and motion is usually akin to that of the kind of cartoons Toontown was inspired by (rubberhosey, vibrant and colorful) but there is also much variation in this as well. One Toon may move around/look like they're "animated" differently than another.

Toons are spread out far and wide, but when I say spread out, I mean it. Compared to how much of the world is inhabited by Suits, there aren't as many Toons, to the point where many Suits don't even know of their existence.

(This is largely because Toon culture/Toon subjects aren't really taught or talked about in Suit societies, both due to lack of knowledge on them, and the deliberate desire to stamp them out of public knowledge)

Regardless, there are notably other significant populations out there (think stuff like where Ducktales takes place and whatnot).

The Toons at Toontown aren't the only ones who have had to deal with the whims of Suits and their expansion, desire to take land, etc.

More Biology Stuff

There isn't really much that is concrete to the biology of Toons. Like stated earlier, they're extremely diverse and have many differences across each other.

Some might have skeletons or bones and whatnot, but whether they do or not probably wouldn't make too much of a difference.

Probably something like cartoon logic, where whatever is funniest at that moment will be true. That's probably the answer to a lot of things about Toons now that I think of it

Sillyness

Just about every Toon by nature needs to be happy to be healthy. The Laff meter is an invention that helps track a Toon's sillyness/happiness at a certain time. This is measured/quantifiable with the Laff formula. (I'm literally just making that up cause I thought it sounded funny so make of it what you will)

Laff increasing is essentially a sign of increased resistance to negativity, in a way. Not that high Laff Toons will never get sad, angry, or otherwise never feel negative emotions, but a Toon with high Laff may have a better time faring against deliberate attacks to one's happiness. Laff is generally increased by having fun, and is often boosted when experiencing that fun with someone else.

Sad or otherwise unhappy Toons often have very low Laff, whether it be that they have less than others, or that they have lost a lot of their Laff.

Some Toons are more serious than others, and may not show happiness/joy in the same way, but that doesn't necessarily mean they're a scrooge. Like us humans, (which don't exist in this world) they have wide ranges of emotions and may experience them/show them differently.

Despite this, some Toons might be edgy........... and reject happiness or something IDK why you'd willingly want to be miserable

Culture

It varies a lot. There's quite a lotta Toons of all shapes and sizes out there. Lots of communities. They all got different cultures! But they all most often share the same general traits (happiness, sillyness, helping each other out, etc. How nice.) i really dont know what else to write here.

Fin (i dont know how to end this)

:3

Previous

Next

[lodestarrush]

Me, turning to my Fallout mutuals: so the Emblems have a digital imagery around them when people use their powers at their strongest while linked physically, probably so that a sense of otherworldliness is better conveyed since the setting already has dragon deities and magic and ghosts if you go back far enough in the series so you need something really unfitting to a medieval fantasy to get that idea across. Anyway it stands to reason that the Emblems are like the magical equivalent to hyper-advanced tech

Me, turning to my Fire Emblem mutuals: in Fallout talking robots are everywhere but them having true sentience is not meant to be a commonality, even though you encounter at least a few sentient robots in every game. New Vegas tends to lean toward those robots formerly being human though so if you take the idea of the Emblems being copies of people, it’s really easy to equate them to the formerly human robotic AIs in fallout. Some models like the Mister robots seem to tend toward sentient more than the other types and there’s a whole New Vegas dlc about sentient robots

Me, turning back to my Fallout mutuals: anyway the Emblems are all really eager to help for the sake of good and righteousness and protecting people and whatnot. It’s a bit off-putting sometimes but the narrative of Engage is a super hero cartoon, basically, so it follows the narrative’s logic. You could link that with how allied/friendly robots in fallout are really eager to help the player because that’s how they’re programmed. We’re ignoring fo4’s clearly sentient robots like KLE0 or Whitechapel Charlie who don’t give a shit about you unless you’re buying their stuff

Me, turning back to my Fire Emblem mutuals: also robots tend to be harder to kill with conventional firearms and melee weapons, and the best way to fight them is using EMP-based pulse weapons. So, y’know, powerful bursts of energy being what can take them down is at least a common thread

Me, tapping a projector showing a slideshow titled “Why a Fire Emblem Engage and Fallout New Vegas Crossover Makes Perfect Sense”: so that covers the Emblems, at least. Now, on how to adapt the weapon triangle to Fallout’s weapon types,

[that-darn-clown]

so...i know i already sent you a message about Rewrite!Animatronics singing Heartaches, but! i have a sadder/creepier one! (it's both. trust me, you'll see how)

so...the Diner Animatronics are meant to be more "old fashioned," based around old cartoon characters and the sorts of culture and whatnot that both Henry and William grew up around: Fredbear was meant to be an old southern gentleman, goofy but wise, not unlike some of the older men Henry would've met/seen growing up. O'Hare was based around those silly and eccentric book characters set in England, as well as characters like Mickey and Bugs (and perhaps William's actual personality that he wished to express more openly). due to this, most of the animatronics would sing older songs, but in a way that they'd still be popular with the children and families that visited.

and that included the older version of Heartaches. like the 1930s version. not like the newer version along the lines of how RAE sang it.

songs would be sung one of two ways: either Henry and William would sing it themselves onstage, or they'd play the music prerecorded. depended on if the suits were being used by the pair or not.

so, with this context out of the way, now let me set the scene for you:

it is late 1983-early 1984. William is working during the short amount of time he has before the animatronics awaken and immediately try to tear him limb from limb. he's trying to make sure the old springlock animatronics still work.

("Just in case we ever get the chance to reopen the diner," William says, only somewhat jokingly.

the look of hatred that Henry's been giving him lately is now mixed with something else: Pity.

as though William's hopes were naive, unattainable.)

one of the many tests he regularly does include making sure the animatronics could still "sing." in other words, making sure the prerecorded voice lines and music weren't corrupted, out of time with the movements, or too scratchy.

so he gets to Fredbear, and decides to try and play a specific track from Fredbear. not Heartaches. but as he tries to get the song to play, it...only plays Heartaches. of course....a version of Heartaches Henry sang. O'Hare had only done some vocals like humming in the background, nothing too noticeable.

William is a bit frustrated, but just shrugs it off. eh, these things have gotten a bit buggy since...You Know What. so perhaps that's why it seemed to ignore his choices and override them. he ignores it...for now.

(he can ignore the pangs in his heart that this causes. if he just pretends Henry is singing to someone else.)

eventually, William is satisfied with the results, and goes to turn Fredbear back off, trying to turn off Fredbear's voice box. it...seems to work very briefly, and William turns to leave the backroom.

...only to hear the song start all over again, without his input.

William, now startled, tries to get the animatronic turned off, to get the practically taunting music to stop. hearing Henry's voice singing a song about how the subject broke his heart...well, when directed towards William, he can tell what the purpose is. guilt. "see what you've done to him?" it says.

at some point, it clicks for William that this isn't a simple animatronic malfunction. this is some Paranormal Shit. and maybe it's not just that the animatronic won't turn off despite his inputs.

...maybe it's also that the animatronic is leaking some black fluid out of its eyes and mouth as the song starts to distort.

he leaves. uneasy, frightened, and utterly baffled. there's no logical explanation for any of this, certainly not the fluids. he'll tell henry about this in the morning, after William's calmed down and got some sleep.

but his biggest mistake was assuming that Kelsey was the spirit behind this...event.

because there's no other spirit that could possibly be inside of that thing, right?

(tl;dr - Cassidy decides to taunt his murderous father by using his homoerotic feelings for his business partner against him.)

yebdebdebdebbwebwebwebumbumbumbumbobobobobumbumbumbumbumbumheartaches

[onepiece-oc-archives]

what's something you would not recommend when writing one piece ocs?

Hi, thanks for your question!

At first I thought it was a duplicate of the question I answered here but then I looked a little closer. So: In this post, I'll be focusing on the actual writing of OCs, as in fanfic stuff. If you're still in the creating phase, go here for my tips on what to avoid for that.

Alright, writing! My favourite activity on the world earth - I could literally write for entire weeks straight if I wasn't bound by the limits of my human body and mind lol

This list is probably going to be even shorter than the one for OC creation because I'm not about to mess with other people's writing style. Do what feels right for you. You should always be writing for yourself first and foremost because writing should be fun! That being said, there's one One Piece-specific tip I have for you:

Don't translate everything you see in the anime and/or manga directly into your writing. It won't work. Animation/manga and written stories are two very different mediums. I think the best way to explain this would be to look at the changes made between the animanga and the live action:

Changes had to be made because certain things just don't translate well into a live-action format.

For example, most characters don't yell out their attacks in the live action, because it comes off as very silly outside of the animanga format. They're real people after all. The characters who still shout out their attacks are either very silly (i.e. Luffy and Buggy) or... well... Sanji. He's very serious about it. I saw someone theorize once that shouting your finisher attacks is probably a pirate thing and Zeff taught Sanji that - so of course he'd take it seriously because he respects Zeff and takes his word as truth because Zeff used to be a pirate and he should know. Anyways, other example:

Sanji's heart eyes. We're sticking with my boy Sanji, simply because he works really well for tackling changes made to the live action made for genre/format/medium reasons. Why? Because Sanji, in the animanga, is a character who's very reliant on physical comedy. Don't know what I mean, maybe because you're an OPLA only fan (in which case: Welcome, glad to have you here <3)? Here, I'll show you:

That's animanga Sanji. Full-on heart eyes goof and noodle arms. As you can probably guess, this wouldn't work in a live action format. So, we went from literal heart eyes...

... to figurative heart eyes. Still very much head over heels for the ladies, still a hopeless romantic, still an idiot, but not so much of an idiot that it comes across as over-the-top and wildly unnatural.

I would highly recommend that you do something similar for writing One Piece fics, including OC fics. If you want to keep the over-the-top, physical comedy, cartoon logic elements from the animanga for your fic, I won't stop you. I've just noticed that, in my opinion, it's hard to pull off, because describing the absolute tomfoolery of the animanga can be very difficult, and I'm personally not too much of a fan of it. It works in specific situations (caught-up animanga fans might know what I'm hinting at), but I personally prefer my fics to feel more natural - like OPLA. Still silly, but silly in a way that works for a live action and/or written format. That might also have to do with my writing style as a whole, so, like I said, keep the animanga elements if you want or tone them down if you like.

One thing I love to do though is to drop hints to animanga tropes and elements without implimenting them fully. Best example? Sanji's heart eyes. Because look at him! Figurative heart eyes are a thing. Use metaphors and figures of speech, figurative words that imply something cartoony but don't have to be. It's really fun! I really don't know how to explain it better, but I hope you know what I mean.

So, now that I've talked about general things and canon characters and whatnot: What does that mean for OCs specifically?

Maybe try to make a rough separation between their drawn form and their written form - or between their animanga and live action version. This works especially well if you can draw (even just a little bit) but it's also just plain fun to think about without drawing anything. Think about what gags and animanga tropes your OC could have in that format and think about how those things translate to a live action or written format. Do they translate seamlessly? Do they have to be cut because they don't work at all? Would they be changed? Experiment with what works for your own writing style. How does your OC interact with your interpretation of canon characters? Generally: Throw stuff at the wall and see what sticks. The only way to start writing is to start writing and to try out what works for you and what doesn't.

And in case you don't know where you want to start with writing or want to try a few things out: Take a scene in canon that your OC would be participating in and write down your version of it. See what changes, try out the dynamics, get a feel for what works and what doesn't...

So yeah, I hope this helped! This feels pretty disorganized (I'm so sorry) but I hope I got my point across.

Hope you're having a lovely day!

[musclemanveryregular]

I'd like to know more about Starlas and Twilights sister relationship, they appear to be close which i think is quite sweet...do you get along with ms Sparkle,Muscleman?

Okay so get this. Okay. This is like ooc and unrelated if this were to be considered a role-playing blog. Which maybe it is. I dont freakin know.

But here's what I'm trying to say: imagine this.

And I hear you, you're saying get to the point already so here it is.

Regular show has all these like weird talking animals and little green guys and a living candy machine and whatnot. What if the universe of regular show is akin to roger rabbit, ya get me? Like all the TV shows we see on TV are just live action shows starrin' toons. Except. For the guys at the park. So like.

It makes sense that cartoons don't actually follow any real logic in their relations. Like how Barbie and Shaggy are related.

So Starla being related to Twilight Sparkle? Believable. Not every toon has to be an actor, y'know?

Anyways sorry for doing this here I feel like a Facebook grandma who types in Facebook her google search question because she forgets which is which because I meant to make this its own post after I already opened your ask, but I had moved apps for a sec and came back and forgot your question was there. Also for some reason this was all meant to be read in a Brooklyn accent. Also also there is this problem on the version of the app I have. Y'see I haven't updated the app in like a year or so maybe? But my wife? She's always gotta have the latest version of everything. Me? Not so much. She tells me how nice it is to be able to see polls without going to the website version of this tumblr website, and I says to her, "honey I get it but I cant stand that tumblr live junk." She said to me, "that's fair." Boy, do I love my wife. Anyways I cant copy more than one paragraph at a time. Anytime I hit enter it goes to a new paragraph and in order to remove this from your ask I'd have to copy every single one so i dont have to start over and it's all just so time consumin I just chose to keep going here... So anyways, I've passed the phone over to Muscle Man.

MUSCLE MAN: Yeah, we get along pretty well together.

[autisticgirliesbracket]

What makes Dendy from OK K.O.! Let's Be Heroes the autistic girlie ever of all time? Here's what the people have to say:

Dendy-related asks/reblogs: x This post will be updated after each round!

Image ID in alt text and under the readmore.

[Image ID. White slide with a screenshot of Dendy in the top left corner. She is surrounded by text boxes which read,

"literally just look up a photo of her and youll understand. buuuut lets see uhh. she shows special interests in technology and these things in the show called pow cards. she has trouble understanding others emotions. her expressions are so. yknow. :|. when she shows up the show literally has this running gag where it plays a YAYYYY stock sfx in the bg. its literally the autism creature yippie. also shes just really cool and deserves to win everything ever. thank you for your time. watch ok ko."

"She's the little tech dork trope but I actually like how she pulls it off! She's constantly impressing K.O. and K.O. even calls her 'A science wizard' once! One of her nicknames that's canon is literally just 'Science baby' and I think that's so cute for her- She even says that she taught herself coding because it's a way to express herself, and I love that so much for her! Anyways I think she's more autistic coded than canonically Autistic but I love her anyways and think she'd fit right in!"

"Idk I just think she's cute and some other people like her, I hope she does well in this bracket"

"Shy, intelligent, and very good at hacking. Takes idioms literally and can act insensitively, but is sweet and has good intentions. Special interests are technology and trading cards. Often accompanied by the sound of kids cheering (not ASD related i just think its neat)."

"Okay, so: Dendy from OK KO is portrayed from the very beginning of the show as a young girl (around KO's age, since he's somewhere around 6-9) who is very logical and structured in her way of seeing the world, but struggles with social cues and expectations that aren't clearly laid out. She has a keen special interest in POW Cards (in-universe trading cards, basically), and this is how she first meets and connects with the protagonist KO. What I adore about this show is that it highlights what lots of people consider to be her being autistic, in a positive light. She has character arcs and self improvement like all of the characters do, she's not perfect, but her way of thinking and being is not demonized in any capacity, even if some characters occasionally don't 'get' her perspective, that's shown the same way as when /she/ doesn't get /their/ perspective. It's not canon that she's autistic, but there's a lot in this show that is coded without being stated explicitly, and because the show is very heavy handed (it is a kid's cartoon!) you get a lot of the positive messages you might expect like "celebrate differences" and whatnot without ever explicitly saying that she's autistic. However I think that it was very much intended! There are probably way better infodumps on Dendy being autistic than this one, haha, but I love her so much!"

"OUGHHH I CANT EVEN WORDS!!!! ANY DENDY CLIP SHOWS IT, SHES THE WORLDS BEST KAPPA UFHFHDBSB"

"Look at her. Silly kappa. I love her. She loves computers. She doesn’t understand emotions. She loves her friend K.O. She wants to be a hero. She’s so good. My sweet baby"

"she has a special interest (coding/robot stuff), she has trouble with empathy, she doesn't pick up on social cues, and more stuff I can't completely put into words cause I'm really bad at that :,)"

"I resonated very deeply with this awkward little kappa but aside from that I got the vibes from her monotone and formal speaking pattern and the way she struggled with understanding social cues or sarcasm. She's also extremely literal and logical to a fault sometimes (like myself) and she's got special intesests in tech and pow cards. She does struggle with understanding how her actions may effect others sometimes but she means well and does try to show that she cares once she does understand. I also see her backpack ("hack-pack") as a comfort item for her as she tends to take it with her everywhere and doesn't allow others to touch it, including her best friend, K.O."

"She's shown to behave in a way where she doesn't show her emotions that much, but when someone brings up her special interests she becomes a gremlin (In this case, POW Cards), she stims on screen, she's shown to be hyperfixated on technology and that's where she's able to infodump and such, im not sure how to explain this very well but yeah, as someone who is autistic themselves, i feel dendy is a great autistic girl!!" End ID.]

[runthepockets]

I think transness is seen as a subculture more often than not, at least by white trans people, which is really.....fascinating to see as a black person. Growing up my politics were always shaped by an indisputable aspect of my identity that I couldn't shirk off or hide. Compare this to my transness, which I can easily hide or cast aside whenever I want (and very much do on multiple occassions.) This might be part of why white trans people get a little too involved and touchy about LGBT representation and politics and whatnot, they never really had that culture or pre-existing, immutable experience of marginalization like I did, so every microaggression feels like the end of the world cus institutional corruption and violence hasn't shaped their worldview like it has for a lot of the rest of us. Their identities are important and they should be allowed to celebrate them, don't get me wrong, but it's all latteral and circumstancial. A white trans guy will experience less scrutiny if he passes, I also experience a lot less scrutiny for my choice to abide by traditional male gender roles, but I'm probably always going to experience some level of scrutiny cus of my skin.

I think this is also why some more fringe folks see things like wanting SRS or to go on hormones as "becoming an assimilationist", or "selling out". They engage with transness the same way they would a music subculture, they see "wanting to make changes to your beautiful natural transgender body (garden variety transphobia but use a bunch of emotionally provocative language to make it radical, this time)" the same way Punks see Kim Kardashian wearing that stupid luxury Crust Punk jacket, which are two completely different experiences entirely. But they don't have anything better to do or talk about, so they're dickriding other trans people about it.

There's cliquey things about black culture too but, I find them less relevant the more I age, and less hurtful the more I see other black people as human and not one dimensional bullies in cartoons, or the biggest immediate threats on my person like white supremacist society tried to socialize me into believing. Like, no one calls me an Oreo for liking rock music anymore, no one thinks me a "sellout" for just naturally being a nerd who calls out anime moves when jumping off the couch when we have, like, Candace Owens and Umar Johnson types to worry about. I don't think white trans people have quite had the same revelations yet. And, ykno, everyone goes at a different pace and being trans is pretty scary rn, but damn. It's really not that hard to just mellow out and think logically instead of reacting on every kneejerk. There's cool people, there's assholes, there's people in your circles that you're gonna like and people you're gonna hate. It's the human condition. You're not special.

[livehexmoments]

OK SO I HAVE AN AU YIPPEE!! I love the hex side characters sm for some reason, im making an entire au centered around them. These are just copy and pasted from my doc i made (and still working on so it might be a little rough!)

So, basic plot summary because it's not that deep: Wizarro found a bunch of supposed “dead” characters somewhere far off into the void on his travels and took them in to travel with him. Some characters like Shrewd and Rocky are actively looking for someone, while others like Jack and Alley just follow because they have nowhere else to go. Catarina joins them later on because she feels bad and wants to at least help them in finding a safe place to stay. Chaos ensues. Adding onto this, I was thinking they would eventually find a place to live in “beneath the Surface” or somewhere like it! (for fellas who don’t know, it's a free game that was made by Carla in canon. It contains the secret ending for the Hex).

Main Cast:

Wizarro:

Description: Very cryptic guy but friendly (Like “I don’t sleep, I dream'' cryptic)!! Always calls people his friend and isn’t afraid of much. Tends to wander from place to place, which is how he found most of them. His magic is VERY weak, even weaker than Moji’s. He’s trying to get better throughout the events of the au and does manage to learn some powerful spells to protect himself and his new found family. At least he is able to fight back and can do some hand to hand combat (he wasn’t the best fighter in combat arena x but got by). He used to work for Gameworks and was assigned to Combat Arena X but quit during the development of Secrets of Legendaria and has chosen a life of wandering in worlds/engine (which explains how he ends up in the weirdest of places). Irving didn’t really care too much, since his hands were full with SOL, so he was able to get away with just leaving. Wizarro is someone who appreciates the newfound company and is actually afraid to lose it. He’s been wandering by himself for a while and it does get pretty lonely.

Appearance: Wizarro still wears the same clothes as he did before, with the addition of a little handbag he carries around, a scarf around his neck, and maybe a patch or two on the shirt. The handbag actually works on cartoon logic, as he seemingly can fit a lot of stuff in there (yet constantly forgets to put what they actually need in there). His sunglasses are still there too and he’s never seen without them. Even when it’s cloudy, he refuses to take it off. One change he does have is with his hair as it grew a bit longer from his travels and he doesn’t want to cut it.

Rocky:

Description: BELOVED ROCKY ...He's so confused on this journey and just wants to go home with his pops (if he could find him that is). He doesn’t remember too much from his death, just the forest and the hat lady shooting him out of existence, which he still has nightmares from. While Rocky is confused, he is also very kindhearted and protective over his new found friends. Like Rust, he doesn’t understand the concept of being a video game character and whatnot and tends to ask a lot of questions. Well, he always did that, he’s just a very curious person. Like to crack jokes and puns to lighten the mood and hear the stories of everyone. His protective nature came naturally from his time in the wasteland, the unfortunate downside is how he usually treats himself as a meatshield and will take a lot of hits for people, which isn't good.

Appearance: Rocky’s appearance hasn't changed too much. Instead of the undies he wears in game, I gave him shorts that are a bit torn up from being in the wasteland for so long. He still wears his worn out sneakers and bandages on his arms. I also gave him a lot more scars. Not only on his arms from those implants when the mods took over, but also just from cuts and bites from when he fought raiders and rad rats. One notable thing I did give him compared to his canonical design is he wears a large brown hooded cloak. I don’t know how he got it yet (thinking either they found it or Wizarro/Mr. Shrewd made it for him) but I wanted him to wear something that was a bit similar to Rust’s hood. I also think that most of the members of this travel gang wear stuff that covers their identity a bit, since they don’t want people immediately recognizing them and causing issues (especially Gameworks).

Jack:

Description: SNARKY BITCH. Has a hatred for liars and hates being here sm. The only person he tolerates at first is Wizarro as they knew each other well from Gameworks, everyone else is for him to get used to, ESPECIALLY ALLEY AND JUNIOR. They both annoy him so much. He is still a door, so he moves around with magic and floating. He is the best magic user by a long shot, but his only spells relate to ankhs and that’s it. He says his sense of smell is good…that’s a lie, it’s really bad. He misses his queen sm and he honestly misses Secrets of Legendaria, as he truly did consider it one of the better games he was assigned to.

Appearance: There’s not much I can say about his design because I didn’t change much. I will say that since coming back, he does have a couple of more cracks showing, specifically on his door body, arms, and face. I’m thinking about also just giving him a chipped ear because why not. OH and a tail on the backend that yes, will wag if happy or excited (he hates it).

Alley:

Description: Uncontrollable swearing. Is the reason why Rocky now knows 10 swears including Fuck. He is a pretty strong character too (apparently from dialogue, he was put in the npc detention center for being OP), but only in short bursts. He then gets tired and can’t fight so he’ll either give up or pass out. Known for having a bad temper and short patience. Easily irritated and only calm during rare moments when nothing is going on. Despite all that, he is not one to pick fights unless he’s approached directly and feels threatened…which is a lot of the time.

Appearance: Alley is the one character who died that doesn’t have any major design changes in this au, other than maybe his clothes being scuffed up with rips and a few scratches (he’s perfect as is <3)

Mr. Shrewd:

Description: Wonderful old man and dad. The father figure of the group and someone to keep everyone calm. He’s used to dealing with impatient or jerkish people (see Weasel kid and Mr. Squarrel here), so he can handle whatever fighting is going on that day. Pretty stern yet always giving good advice and support to anyone who needs it. While is a horrible fighter, he is decently quick with getting anyone out of a sticky situation and his ability to burrow underground will be useful. He honestly wants to try and find Weasel and/or Squarrel but realizing how much time has passed, he grows more unsure of that plan since he doesn’t want to upset them and bring back old trauma. “I miss my husband and kid…I miss them a lot. I’ll be back.”. Honestly I think he is pretty protective overall. He’s so used to being like that in Super Weasel Kid 1 and I do think it does come from a genuine fear of seeing people he cares about being hurt in any way :(

Appearance: Mr Shrewd has big ass glasses because of his old ones being “missing” (with mr Squarrel). He also has an amount of gray on his sideburns and mustache as he still is considered a bit older. It applies to his fur too, as the color is much paler. The wiki says he wears a green tee, so i'm gonna change it to be a green plaid sweater vest with the white shirt and tie kept because honestly i like that better. Oh so because he was initially designed (COUGH no legs COUGH), i think that the gang manages to code him in some legs and they’re so small. He would have khakis and a small tail with these new legs.

Moji:

Description: I feel so bad for Moji, he’s honestly seems so nice and just trying his best. Kind of a dumbass and too naive for his own good but he tries. Goofy little guy who’s just trying his best and desperately wanting to spend the time he missed with his kid. The resident healer of the group who makes sure everyone is in good health and spirit (Even if they don’t want it). He can get upset, but it’s very hard to genuinely make him mad or sad. If you do, what’s wrong with you, he’s been through enough. He’s more lenient as a parent, basically letting “the kids” which consists of Junior and Rocky, to do whatever as long as it isn't super dangerous. He honestly forgives Chandrelle for killing him, he isn’t the type of person to hold a grudge (Junior does that for him). He still is apprehensive towards actually seeing her again and honestly I do think that forgiveness comes from him wanting to believe the good in people, even someone like Chandrelle who killed him in cold blood.

Appearance: So many burn marks and a scar from being stabbed by a sword on his chest. It’s honestly kind of horrifying. Moji otherwise has barely any notable design changes such as that. I will mention it here (and it applies to Junior too) but I think moglees’ eyes work in the same way as Olimar’s does in Pikmin. Basically always closed but when expressing extreme shock, fear or anger, go wide open. idk i just thought it would be funny

Junior:

Description: The “Wildcard” of the group. Very chaotic and a “You can’t tell me what to do kind of guy” (except when his dad tells him no). Does not regret killing Jay at all as it was per the agreement. LOVES COMMITTING WAR CRIMES (and regular crimes). He does regret one thing: Blaming his father for abandoning him when that didn't happen at all. He is so traumatized from secrets and his own death it's insane. Loves denying it though to keep up his toxic masculinity. When he finds out about Chandrelle and how Lazarus kept quiet about it, he is going to lose it. While him and Lazarus aren’t the closest or anything, he does respect Lazarus’s skills and actually looked up to him since he was a kid (he thought being a knight was cool, he was like 10). Although being a bit older than Weasel, he is very much more immature than him and doesn’t know how to take responsibility for his actions that well.

Appearance: Junior has a lot of scars from his days in Vicious Galaxy, his child self dealing with the Vallamir attack, and his untimely demise being crushed by debris. He also has some stitches on certain parts of his body that he doesn’t remember getting at all. He absolutely ditches his armor and goes for the most punk/goth clothes you can think of. I can imagine him finding a red trench coat with combat boots and ripped jeans and being like “yep, im wearing this from now on, this is badass”. He carries his shotgun on his back at all times and is not afraid to use it. He’s very much taller than Moji

Jay:

Description: Oh god, this man has so many issues. He is still a meek and cowardly man, but since his death, he’s…changed. He’s honestly become a bit more jaded and bitter, actually getting over his anxiety when the time calls. He’s less afraid of getting into arguments but still is relatively quiet. I know I compare him to Lazarus a lot but they are alike in my eyes. But unlike Lazarus who became more depressed, Jay became more angry. Finally being sick of being treated like a tool and dirt (dying does change your mind lmao). He looks out for everyone as best as he can. Out of everyone, he’s the 2nd person to know most of Reggie’s plan but refuses to ever step foot in there again. His feelings about everything and his death and…them are complicated and too much for him to handle. So he’d rather avoid the pain than confront it. He does not tell the others about it though. Only him and Catarina understand the extent of his revenge and both would rather not let the others know to avoid any potential problems.

Appearance: Jay has scars from the vicious galaxy and his death. But his death scars are the biggest pain to deal with it because they fucked him up physically. I think the shotgun bullets hit his backside (need to check in game and stuff) so id like to think his head, back and maybe arms are a bit fucked. He gets frequent migraines, mood swings, and even can have serious back/arm pains during the worst of it. Jay still wears his old armor (and occasionally wears his old robe if necessary), the only real difference is with the helmet. Think of Master Chief's helmet but with the visor being in shape with the arrow and a removable mouth piece for drinking and eating. He wears it not for protection, but to keep his identity hidden if needed.

Catarina:

Description: Now I was debating on making her a side character or having her be a part of the gang...Ultimately, I chose the latter because 1. Cat lady and 2. I love her. Barely see anything about her so I'm gonna change that. She’s the last person to join their little traveling gang and she didn’t do it out of a big reason or wanting anything. She did it for fun. While she had nowhere else to go, she was feeling rather lonely and just wanted to be with other people. This group seemed chaotic yet welcoming when she stumbled upon them so why not join them? She gets along with everyone fine (especially shrewd who she sees as an old friend). She actually cares about them a lot. The group’s safety is important to her (she grew attached to these silly men) so if she foresees some bullshit, then she will let them know and try to get them to avoid it. She is also someone who knows everything about the plan and stuff, and agrees with Jay that going to the Six Pint Inn is a bad idea. Before the Hex, she actually knew it was going to happen, and yet felt powerless to do something. it’s one of her biggest regrets to let it happen (not because of Lionel but for the npcs that were killed and how the patrons’ lives were basically fucked).

Appearance: No change to her design at all. The only thing I will say is that she can be seen walking more rather than using her carpet everywhere. This was a personal choice by her. She wanted to be on their level and walk alongside them so she only uses the carpet for emergencies or if they need to get somewhere fast (it shockingly can hold all of them but only barely).

[beanist]

angry rant about censorship below

i hate the fucking tiptoeing that adults have to do on the internet now. using "think of the children" to censor everything because that is what is fucking profitable now. and why is it profitable?? it certainly can't be fucking "market pressures" when adults want to spend SO much money on sex ALL the time! i'm a very young adult and even i fucking remember when dick and pussy was inserted into everything to make it more profitable. i remember it as a prepubescent child, and i much prefer that children have to shake their heads and be like Oh those Adults they are So Obsessed with their "Having Sex" and whatnot (and don't you fucking come at me with what about children who are abused? what about children who are traumatized? oh, do you think acting like sex is the most shameful fucking thing in the world helps with that abuse and trauma?) than fucking adults be struggling to get anything done. "bean is this about your silly dick cartoons that you hand out for free and don't affect your livelihood at all" yes it was certainly inspired by it but i'm not mad on my behalf. i'm mad at peoples lives who get upended due to this fucking shit.

locking humanity away behind capitalism, i fucking hate this shit.

and didn't we have heavily censored websites for children? webkinz? club penguin? the 8 year olds would much prefer to keep to themselves rather than have to humour gross weird adults who like "taxes" and "meal planning" and "intercourse" on "all ages" social media. i know because i fucking did! i knew webkinz and club penguin were censoring the shit out of my "bad words" but i didn't give a fuck because i got to talk to the sane people of the world, which at the time, was fellow 8 year olds! but i guess we cannot have nice things. i guess we can only have the logical endpoint of capitalism. i guess we can only have one internet, where everyone can be miserable.

and yeah, i guess if i personally want to get away from this stuff, i can get off the most mainstream of platforms and actually try snooping around the dark web or whatever. i don't want to have to do that. we are all tired adults with less and less time to look into these things. we are so tired.

[carebearbro]

I don't even understand why Hugs and Tugs needed their diapers changed in "The Turnabout"

Yeah, it's always been kind of an odd topic. Hugs and Tugs' personalities have been equivalent to young kids, if I had to guess I would say six years old. And yet they've always worn diapers. This is very different from the cubs in the 2nd movie that pretty clearly act like one year olds. You could argue Hugs and Tugs seem slightly younger in their debut in The Freeze Machine, but even so, they still seem like kids. I think this was more common in older cartoons, though. The idea of them wearing diapers makes them seem young and innocent and cute, and I actually agree it makes them cuter. In the more modern versions, the cub characters don't wear diapers, which makes more logical sense, but I find less cute. However, The Turnabout is the only time that I can recall that it's actually mentioned that they need/use their diapers. In every other instance, it feels more like a symbol of their youth and innocence rather than having a practical use. In The Turnabout, it does feel kind of odd to have a scene where they need their diapers changed. All of the other stuff they do is typical kid behavior. Even the crying is a little weird....it's forced. The only other time I remember Hugs and Tugs crying like that is in a joking way in The Music Video episode. However, I guess it was a big opportunity to play into the trope of boys not knowing how to take care of babies and how to change diapers, which kids probably found kind of funny. Even in older cartoons, the idea of changing diaper being unpleasant is used. Also, it can be kind of funny seeing that Champ and Bright Heart know so little about it that they put Hugs and Tugs' diapers on in crazy ways...especially since Hugs and Tugs know how to put their own on in a flash. Despite all of that, I like the idea that the icky part of it is so subtle..it's just hinted at. Instead there's more focus on the powder and clean parts...kind of like in I Care for You. I always like how old cartoons ignore icky stuff like that, not even saying the words. Very unlike modern cartoons that seem to point it out clearly. Of course, I still like my theory that all Care Bears don't actually need or use diapers, and that the ignoring of the icky part lets you think that it's not even there. I like the idea that they just needed new clothes like any regular person does from sweating and whatnot. Or, my other theory is that Care Bears poop sweet, clean smelling things like sprinkles or rainbows.

[msvblight]

Thinking about Val and how he works on keeping up a certain appearance.

A sort of... slickness he likes to present to the world - secretive as he's being (he is, of course, considered a dead man in the eyes of the corrupt government and police of the city - and for his purposes he wants to keep it that way as he acts in the criminal underworld.)

He moves with a confident swagger, always smiles and jokes. He's got his "modern and fashionable" hat. He makes a point to only smoke fancy cigarillos around most people.

But behind that? He's not as affluent as he presents. He lives in a small attic apartment that he purchased outright in cash - the last of what he had stashed away at the time - and it's barely furnished. When around people he trusts or relaxes around (Such as Madame Doux, a prostitute that's Val's best friend. She fished him out of the bayou and nursed him back to health after he was shot.) Val smokes cheap cigarettes and loses his smile.

Having grown up working in a strongly blue collar theatre in his home district, Val is an actor. He also likes to claim that the five plus years he spent in the navy as a marine taught him how to bullshit too. It even reflects his role in the party, as he's the face. A slick smooth talker that can don disguises and infiltrate in plain sight. He has a network of false identities (amusingly his "thing" is that they all have the initials VH. I like to think it's sorta... cartoon logic that nobody puts things together and realises they're connected.)

He's able to forge documents and whatnot too.

But he also acts like a detective, and a bloodhound at that. He trawls the city burning the midnight oil to gather information on people. He's working on setting up a network of informants.

But the main point I have is that 99% of the time he's acting. The only two people in the world Val feels comfortable enough to let his guard down is Madame Doux, and her young son Henri (whom Val calls "Poivre", and Henri knows Val as "Uncle Val"). Val cares about those two more than anything else in the world too - he likes to bring them gifts sometimes, and even procured some books for Henri to get an education.