#G2 could have been great

[artificial-transmutations]

Friday Friendship

Hey there! This one is kind of a spiritual successor to Calling the Plumber - and as such, it is one of the rare gay to straight stories of mine. While I do try to keep it friendly and without any homophobia or hate, feel free not read the story if you don't like g2s!

It was hard to overlook Montgomery and Archibald. Of course, that was always the case. But here, on the dirty construction site of their new home, the expensive silk suits of the couple stood out even more than elsewhere. Yes, the two of them were together - and they made sure everybody knew it. Not only were the two gentlemen standing in a tight hug whenever possible, but their flamboyant and colorful clothing left little doubt about their sexuality.

They were those kind of gays that conservatives were afraid of. Both were old enough to have been alive during the stonewall riots, although only Montgomery was actually there as a teenager. Still, the aged couple embodied everything the gay community prided itself on having achieved during the last decades.

Their house, too, would be a statement. The mansion was the largest construction in the area, and the most expensive one. It was going to be built on a large hill, overlooking the town, and its style was... extravagant. The house was to be built in a modern architectural style, but the two men had insisted that the walls would be entirely covered in rainbow colors, although that was still in the future by now. Surrounding the mansion would be a magnificent garden, a park even.

"My dear, are you satisfied with the construction?" Archibald asked his husband in his lime green suit. Montgomery had dyed his hair in an orange-pink tone today and wore a purple tie to his green suit. It was hardly the first building site he visited, since he had made a fortune in real estate.

Archibald, on the other hand, was a bit more conservatively dressed. His suit was a more subdued shade of beige, although his tie was of a bright sky blue color. He usually didn't dye his hair, and today was no exception: He wore the gray with pride, although he spent a fortune on hair and skin care products. He, too, had a respectable job as a top manager in a logistics company.

"Well, darling, I'm not sure yet." Montgomery replied. "I want it to look great, and the work has been good so far. But frankly, it feels that the workers motivation is somewhat underwhelming."

"I think I know what you mean, my dear." Archibald commented as they walked through the empty shell. "It is barely three in the afternoon on a Friday, and there isn't anyone around anymore. The workers must be out partying already. I can't fault them for that, but it is rather annoying, isn't it?"

"Indeed. It would have been nice if they were a little less lazy, though. The garden is behind schedule, and I believe the electrics are going to be delayed by another month."

"That is quite unfortunate."

Montgomery nodded and they walked a bit in silence. It was true. There was still a lot to do, and it looked like the workers left early for the weekend.

Finally, Archibald sighed.

"I guess I could take a look at the progress the electricians are making. I do know a bit or two about this. Maybe then we can talk to the foreman about their work. It's a pity that we cannot supervise every little thing here, but our jobs demand a lot of our time. If only we had a bit more hands-on control."

"My, what a fabulous idea! I will take a stroll through the garden then, to get a better picture there."

The husbands kissed each other on the lips as they split up and Archibald opened the fuse box. He had indeed done a bit of electrical maintenance in his prime, so he knew that what he saw in the box was nothing less than a mess. He sighed and was about to close the box again, but hesitated. No, he couldn't leave the mess like that. He would just tidy things up a bit, to show those inexperienced workers how it was done.

Carefully, he began to work on the wires, but before long, he felt uncomfortable. The fuse box was located in the bright afternoon sun, and it was just positively hot here. Still, not wanting to leave his work, he slipped out of his jacket and hung it over a nearby wall. He didn't notice that the piece of clothing disappeared once he turned away, nor did he notice that his hands became nimbler as he rearranged the wires.

Montgomery on the other hand found the garden construction even less advanced than he had hoped. Even worse, someone had left a few plants out in the heat. They would surely be dead by the time the construction continued on Monday. Montgomery couldn't let that happen. This garden would be beautiful, and no plant would die under his watch.

He carefully carried the plants to the place they were supposed to be. Of course, he knew - he had planned the park all by himself, so he knew where everything was supposed to go. As he arrived at the shady place, he understood why the plants hadn't been placed yet. The ground was wet and muddy, and there weren't any holes yet. He would need to talk to the foreman about that, but the man was surely already in the weekend as well. There was, however, a shovel nearby. Now, aside from ceremonial groundbreaking, Montgomery had never held a shovel. It wasn't that he didn't understand the concept, but he was just not the type for physical labor.

Well. He looked over his shoulder to his husband, who was apparently still busy looking at the fuse box. It seems like he had some time on his hands, so he might as well. Grimacing, he grabbed the shovel and carefully stepped on the soil, trying not to ruin his expensive shoes or pants. That worked well, for about two steps. But as soon as he tried to break the ground with the shovel, a big clump of wet soil splattered on his lime green silk pants.

Montgomery frowned. Well, that suit was ruined anyway. No reason to stop there. Determined, he pulled the shirt out of his pants and opened his vest. He wasn't going to ruin his custom tailored suit for no reason.

Meanwhile, Archie was getting into his work even more. From time to time, he had to wipe his brow, though, as he was sweating like an animal. His dress shirt was stained with multiple sweat stains already and didn't really *look* like a dress shirt anymore, but more casual. The same could be said for the rest of Archie as well. A certain youth had returned to his face, as he was concentrated on his work. This way, he didn't notice when his hairstyle dissolved into an unkempt mess or when a bit of stubble grew in on his chin. His shirt clung to his body now, drenched in sweat. It had long ceased to be a dress shirt though but had become a plain - although rather filthy - beige t-shirt. His tie was nowhere to be seen.

Due to the wetness, the shirt didn't leave much to imagination regarding his body. Not just his face had rejuvenated, no, his entire body had. He was leaner and his muscles firmer now. Out of the V-neck of his sweaty shirt poked a few golden hairs, and before long, his main hair had turned into a Nordic blonde, as well.

Meanwhile, Monty was digging like crazy. He had to get those plants in the ground, or the foreman would... Wait, what was he thinking?

He stopped for a moment, to scratch his head. Thinking was not his strong point, and Monty knew that. But he had other qualities, that made up for that. When he grabbed the shovel again, to keep digging, he heard a ripping sound that made him stop again. The shoulder of his shirt had ripped. His boss was going to kill him! Although, it appeared somewhat strange to him that he was wearing such a colorful and impractical shirt. Perhaps there weren't any other shirts left?

He looked around and saw only one of the electricians still on the site. He knew the guy, he was friendly enough. He surely wouldn't mind if Monty went shirtless for a bit. With an effort not to damage the clothing even more, he peeled out of the garment. He was only half successful with that, and a few more rips sounded before he had finished taking it off.

Monty looked down at his muscular and hairy torso. The cold air was good, and he wasn't afraid to get dirty.

With every movement of the shovel, his arm muscles tightened, and his frame filled out more. A short beard sprouted on his chin, and his now full earthy brown hair shortened to a more practical cut. It wasn't like he had money for an expensive hairdresser, after all.

Finally, he had the holes ready and wiped his hands on his sturdy pair of work pants. Now, he only had to put the plants in. Despite his impressive physique, Manny was always very careful with the flowers, and he made sure that none of the roots got damaged or that he didn't break the stem.

He looked at his work. Good, that would look great, once the plants grew. Someday, he would have a garden of his own, and a house like that. And a beautiful wife and two, no, three children. But that was still a long way to go, with his poor pay.

Someone behind him cursed and Manny looked back to the electrician.

Chad was still sweating like crazy as he worked the wires. His mates had all gone to the clubs by now and he was stuck here and had to fix the mess he had created. That was only fair, but he wished the foreman wouldn't have noticed until Monday. He had to hurry up, though. He didn't want to spend his Friday night on the site, after all. Perhaps he would even get lucky and find a guy... No, what was he thinking? Working on these fruits' house had made him all confused. No, perhaps he would find a busty bombshell to take home tonight. Chad felt his cock growing hard at the thought, creating an obvious bulge in his work pants. Great, more distraction.

Chad tried to readjust himself, just in time as he sensed the big burly gardener approach. He knew the guy loosely but had forgotten his name already - if he even had known it at all.

"Hey, everything alright with them wires?" the low voice of the brute asked in a friendly tone.

"Yeah, I just need to finish up here... Should be done aaaaany minute now..."

Manny watched Chad connect the last wires. Poor guy. His t-shirt was soaked with sweat, and he looked like he was really hot and stressed out.

"Cool. It's no fun working late, and on a Friday. Hey, do you want to hit a bar after that? I could go for a cold one."

Chad looked over his shoulder at the bear of a man. Was that guy hitting on him? Na, his face only showed dumb innocence.

He shrugged. "Sure, why not, eh..."

"Name's Manny." Manny said.

"Great. Manny." Chad said and closed the now somewhat better looking fuse box before wiping away his sweat once more.

"I'm Chad."

Manny and Chad left the building site together this Friday afternoon. Neither of them knew that they were going to become best friends over this and many more beers. Manny turned out to be a great wingman for Chad, and Chad even ended up as Manny's best man during his wedding and godfather for his first child. Sometimes the closest friendships are forged in the Friday afternoon sun of a construction site.

[wildsaltair]

This will be my single controversial rant about Gladiator and its sequel (specifically my thoughts on Maximus being retconned as Lucius' father), and then I will be silent on the matter because this blog is meant to be A Good Time and I just enjoy sharing my love for Gladiator with everyone on here :)

KIND OF SPOILERS FOR GLADIATOR AND THE SEQUEL (BUT NOT REALLY) BELOW

As everyone knows, Ridley Scott made the choice to reveal in Gladiator 2 that Lucius is actually the son of Maximus from a secret affair with Lucilla. In G2, it's apparently implied that Lucilla was trapped in a bad marriage, fell in love with Maximus, and kept the truth about Lucius' father a secret. Lots of viewers have been split about this, with some thinking that plot point was implied in Gladiator and others feeling that it contradicts what was established in Gladiator.

I am strongly of the opinion that this choice was a bad one, that it does interfere with the integrity of the original film, and that Gladiator 2 would have been much better without that change. I'll give my reasons below.

1. Yes, rewriting Maximus as a cheater does destroy his entire character arc in Gladiator.

We've all seen Gladiator, right? The one where the hero has everything life can offer but longs only to return home to be with his beloved wife and son? Carries their figurines with him into battle, cares only for them when his own life is threatened, lays down to die by their graves after he finds them dead? Spends the whole movie only wanting to meet them again in the afterlife and only gets peace once he's there.

Yeah. Apparently that guy cheated on his wife with a princess. His son and Lucilla's sons are the same age, which means Maximus would have to have been married to his wife while also sleeping with Lucilla.

Maximus' entire character arc relies on his pure, unconditional, self-sacrificial love for his family. Take that away, and you have a generic action movie about a guy who wants revenge because the Emperor tried to kill him once. Even when Maximus has lost everything inside himself and cares about nothing else, he still honors the memory of his family and fights to avenge them as well as join them. He is shown still talking to his wife in the afterlife through prayer and believing she can hear him. As @streets-in-paradise pointed out, it's the equivalent of having Aragon or Hector of Troy cheat on their wives — it's just painfully out of character for them.

There's also an element of Maximus' love and respect for his Emperor, Marcus Aurelius, another driving force in his characterization. I think Maximus has too much respect for Marcus to have had an affair with Marcus' married daughter, even if he knew Marcus maybe would have wished Maximus had married Lucilla. We never get much insight into that part of the past, but if we go by the virtues Maximus upholds throughout the movie, I just don't think Maximus would have considered sneaking behind Marcus' back to sleep with his daughter.

Either way, the emotional heart of Maximus' character is his love for his family, and retconning that so your sequel has a "bigger emotional impact" is nothing short of undignified and sloppy.

2. All the conversations between Maximus and Lucilla in Gladiator imply that they did have a romantic relationship — but that it was public (not clandestine) and took place before either of them were married.

Yes, Maximus and Lucilla definitely were in love at some point. Russell Crowe and Connie Nielsen have great chemistry, and their conversations (both of them) hold so much weight with "what could have been." Lucilla talks about how she wounded Maximus deeply as he did her, and their conversations are full of things like, "Is it so terrible seeing me again?" The weight of their previous emotional attachment pervades the movie in a way that is inextricable from the plot.

BUT. Maximus and Lucilla had their relationship A LONG TIME AGO. This is very clearly established by the way they talk to each other. Maximus has been in Germania for twelve years (taking breaks only to go home, but NEVER to visit Rome). He and Lucilla presumably met sometime before that, probably while the royal family was visiting some city where Maximus was serving in / commanding the army. The details are never established.

However, Maximus and Lucilla clearly had a public enough relationship that Marcus and Commodus knew about it, but there is never the slightest mention in Gladiator that Lucius might be Maximus' son — something Commodus surely would have exploited had he known it was a possibility.

Maximus and Lucilla were in love, but it was before they married other people. They were probably teenagers or young adults who fell madly in love, wanted to marry, but were stopped for whatever reason (probably Maximus not wanting to play politician's games, as he implies). Maximus met the woman he eventually married, Lucilla married Lucius Verus, and they carried on with their lives until they met again at the beginning of Gladiator.

Also, Maximus talks about the respect he had for Lucilla's husband (a far cry from what Gladiator 2 implies about Lucius Verus), and she talks about how she mourned Maximus' family. Sure, you can read into the script and find stuff about how Maximus could have been Lucius' father, but it explicitly goes against the values and implications of the overall acript.

Connie Nielsen stated that she played her scenes thinking that Maximus was Lucius' father. She's an actress, and she plays Lucilla brilliantly. But she's not the scriptwriter, and no matter what her intentions were, the script implies that their relationship took place much longer ago, before either of them were married. @becomelions made a great post about how Lucilla, too, can wish as much as she wants that Maximus was Lucius' father, but he couldn't have been. Not unless you retcon all of Gladiator as fanfiction.

3. Maximus' relationships with Lucilla and Lucius are not meant to replace those he had with his wife and son — they are meant to be reflections of some of the bigger themes of the film.

With all that said, this is not a hate post about how Gladiator should have been about Maximus and his wife and son, and how I hate Lucilla and Lucius' story and think it contradicts that blah blah blah. NO. The storyline with Lucilla, Lucius, and Maximus is one of the strong points of the whole movie — but not as a replacement for the family he has lost.

In a lot of ways, Lucilla represents Rome as the ideal Maximus always believed in: beautiful, noble, and proud. When he becomes disillusioned with Rome, he becomes disillusioned with Lucilla; when he starts to believe in the hope of Rome again, he starts to believe in Lucilla again. They're always linked. Lucilla is not the woman he wants to start over with and marry now that his wife is gone. She is an old friend and ally whom he eventually learns to trust again.

Lucius, on the other hand, represents what Rome can be again. Lucius is the grandson of Marcus Aurelius, and I think Maximus longs to honor his mentor by preserving the life of his last living heir. Lucius reminds Maximus of his son, yes, and he brings out the protectiveness and the desire to do for Lucius what he couldn't do for his own son. But that doesn't mean Lucius has to be his son for that relationship to have emotional impact, as I will explain further in point 5.

4. Maximus' relationships with Lucilla and Lucius are genuinely integral to the film, but as they are — not as what they could be.

Again, I absolutely love the dynamics between Maximus, Lucilla, and Lucius throughout Gladiator. Russell and Connie play off each other so well with those "I remember how you used to be but that was a long time ago" vibes. Russell and Spencer Treat Clark only share one scene, but it's one of the film's most memorable scenes.

However, we are not meant to question those relationships as "oooooh but what if Lucius is actually Maximus' son????" Maybe Ridley left that door open for the audience to consider, but again, I feel like the film contradicts that by implying that Lucilla and Maximus loved each other much longer ago.

When you make Lucius Maximus' son, Lucilla's seeking out of Maximus as his savior becomes less interesting. It becomes "I'm calling on you to save your son even though you don't know he's your son" instead of "I'm asking you to act out of the goodness inside you to save a boy who doesn't deserve to die any more than your own son did." The version we see in Gladiator is so much more impactful.

It also cheapens what Lucius' journey could have been in Gladiator 2! Again, @streets-in-paradise pointed out how much better the sequel could have been if Lucius had been acting in the shadow of a brilliant man who captivated the city of Rome but also was his friend for a little while. As I'll discuss in point 6, having the reveal of Lucius as Maximus' son is just the laziest possible route for a sequel, and it certainly drags down the dignity of the relationships we see in Gladiator.

5. One of the strengths of Maximus' choice to fight for Lucius' survival in Gladiator lies in the fact that he doesn't have any familial obligation to him.

This is one of my favorite points, because I do love the dynamics between Maximus and little Lucius! Maximus has a bone-deep obligation to save his family — he rides for days and nights to get home and save them, but he misses them by a matter of hours. He wrestles with guilt and misery because he feels like he failed them. He was supposed to be their protector, and he couldn't save them.

BUT. Maximus has no such blood ties to Lucius. This kid is the son of Maximus' ex, the grandson of Maximus' dead mentor, and the nephew of his most hated enemy. Maximus doesn't have an obligation to Lucius as his father: he doesn't even know him until Lucius approaches him in the arena.

And that's what makes his decision to fight for Lucius so powerful. Maximus sees Lucius as the hope of Rome, and he decides that's still worth fighting for — something he had given up on before. Even though he has no obligation to save Lucius as his son, he wants to save him as an innocent young boy caught in political matters over his head.

Again, making Lucius Maximus' son cheapens the impact of that decision. Ridley Scott built up so many amazing plot points and relationships, and it really disappoints me that he just cast them aside to make some easy money by relying on the success of the original.

6. Relying on such a trite, overused plot point to make up the emotional foundation of your sequel can only weaken your sequel and ruin the dignity of your original film.

My final point is simply that Gladiator 2 could have been really well done. They could have done something original with it (or something totally off-the-wall like Russell Crowe's vision LOL). But I think Ridley Scott was banking on that nostalgia factor, and he chose a plot point that he knew would be easily marketable — the hero of the second film is the hero of the first film.

We've seen it done literally hundreds of times, from Star Wars to Superman to Toy Story, and having that be the big reveal of Gladiator 2 is just lazy writing. To have Lucius trying to live up to the legacy of Maximus the hero would have been interesting. To have Lucius discover that he's the son of literally anyone else would have been interesting. To have Lucius discover that he's the son of Maximus is an eye-roll-inducing move that should have been trailer bait and nothing more.

Primarily! Because it can't be the emotional foundation of the movie! Lucius has to have his own journey if it's his movie; he can't just walk in Maximus' footsteps and be like, "Father, speak to me," if he's not going on his own individual emotional journey. We as the audience have to relate to our hero because he's our hero, not because he's the son of our hero.

I'll be honest — I probably wouldn't go see a sequel to Gladiator no matter what it was about because I think Gladiator is a perfect standalone movie and should have stayed that way. I just don't think you can recreate the scale and impact and simplicity of Gladiator in today's film industry.

However, I could at least have had respect for a sequel to Gladiator if Ridley Scott had shown some respect for his own movie. I just hate the fact that Maximus' noble, honorable character is reduced to a cheating husband whose only character trait of note is that he served Rome. Maximus is one of the best characters of the 21st century, and I love him too much to support a movie that trashes that legacy (as well as tries to replicate the beauty of my favorite film of all time).

Final thoughts:

Gladiator is a movie. You can read into it whatever you want, and it doesn't hurt anyone.

I love Gladiator more than I can say, and it's really important to me not just as a cultural icon but on a personal level as well.

Anyone who knows this blog knows how much I love Maximus Decimus Meridius, and Ridley's choice to change Maximus' character so drastically is one that really just ticks me off.

To me personally, Gladiator 2 is not canon, and I will never consider it so on this blog.

[tiredspacedragon]

What's more frustrating? That there were plans for an Earth Tribe on Spherus Magna, complete with their own Element Lord, thus further confusing the Earth/Stone/Sand distinction? Or that the canonicity of the Earth Tribe is itself dubious, since it never appears or is mentioned in any official material, actively contradicts said material at several points, Greg waffled on its particulars constantly, and the name Earth Tribe was used both as a placeholder for the Iron Tribe in the concept stages and an alternative name for the Sand Tribe in official marketing?

Like on the one hand, a whole other tribe with their own lore to explore is pretty cool. And the Element Lord of Earth pretending to abstain from the Core War, all the while manipulating the other Lords into continuing the conflict so she could swoop in and claim the Energized Protodermis, makes for an interesting character. But the constant references to The Six Element Lords, by official story material, the other Element Lords, and even the Great Beings themselves, make the existence of a seventh one that was totally there the whole time guys trust me... a little jarring. And yeah, having Earth and Stone be distinct has always been a quirk Bionicle is known for, but the further distinction of Sand as its own thing too is where it starts getting a little ridiculous.

But then again, as mentioned above, the Earth Tribe was used in some official marketing to refer to the tribe the Vorox and Zesk belonged to. So maybe it would be possible to fold the Lords of Earth and Sand into a single character? They're the only two to have ever been (inconsistently in Sand's case) referred to as female, and the Lord of Sand doesn't exactly have a character of their own that would be erased. And it would smooth over the element issue in some ways. It does make sense that on a primarily desert planet, the element of Earth may manifest more prominently as Sand. But in that case, shouldn't Toa of Earth be able to control Sand? They never do in story, sticking to soil, mud, and clay, but unless I'm forgetting something, there's never any point where it's plainly stated that they can't. They do terrain, and sand is terrain, so maybe? But then why are Po-Matoran the desert dwellers? And in G2, Pohatu could control Sand. But that clearly wouldn't work in G1 because the Element Lords of Rock and Sand are definitively different characters. And around it goes again.

For the record I'm not interested in starting any debates here, BS01 has been having variations of this argument on and off for years, and I think at this point, especially when dealing with so much information that is Word of Greg-exclusive, it's best to let everyone decide their own headcanons here. I'm just curious what people's thoughts on this whole mess might be.

[skylinx2o]

Admittedly, I've been feeling terrible lately. I didn't even finish my weekly drawing and broke my now months long streak. I thought I would be able to do it, but my emotions weighted me down too much. I might go back to drawing one art every two weeks.

Anyway, I feel like I should do more fun things. I mean, drawing is fun, and I love creating stories for my OCs, but I do have a lot of other interests. And tho I'm sticking to talking about LEGO today, I want to talk more and get out of my shell. And maybe give you more insight into me as a person.

So today I'm going to talk about my favourite LEGO themes and why I love the series, plus how I personally got i to all of them. It's not a normal review whatsoever, just an excuse to ramble about my interests freely. Just remember this is my experience and my feelings.

(And it's not at all like I'm making this post because I need all of this to prepare for a speaking class and the only way to motivate myself is by making a post about it o _o Come on, I'm killing two birds with one stone here!)

Okay, so, my all-time favourite themes are (in chronological order to when I found them):

1. Bionicle

Honourable mention: Hero Factory

2. Ninjago

3. Legends of Chima

4. Monkie Kid

5. Dreamzzz

1. So. Bionicle. I have a weird history with Bionicle. My dad's friends used to get movies for us, and one day it just happened that my dad's friends gave us a pen drive with Bionicle: Legend Reborn on it. I think I would be around... Seven or eight when I watched it I've seen fans say that it was a pretty weak film, but I didn't know Bionicle back then, and I really enjoyed it! That movie was a soft reboot of the series, and as someone who started their Bionicle obsession with that movie, in my opinion it worked really well as a standalone supposed to capture new audiences. I really loved the sense of mystery that was probably lost on new fans. It wasn't exactly explained what or who Mata Nui was, besides him being a warrior who lost his people. And the ending... I really thought there would be a sequel to it, and was really intrigued by whom the great beings were, and what happened to the world, why Mata Nui knew them, what the giant ahh robots were supposed to do.

Of course, when a few years later in middle school I looked for the sequel, I didn't find it. And to be honest, the ending was disappointing to me. However, there was a whole other storyline in Bionicle to catch up on! And so one faithful summer was spent reading all the comics I could find, reading wiki pages one after another, playing Mata Nui online game obsessively, refusing to use a walkthrough. Believe me when I say I was obsessed!

And then out of nowhere in 2015 g2 came out, and I was stoked since I missed out on practically the whole g1 as it was being made. (I mean, it's understandable, I was born the same year the first Bionicle movie came out.) I mean, can you blame me for being excited? A dead franchise that I just started becoming a devoted fan of is suddenly revived from the grave. I felt like the luckiest person on earth that day. Honestly, g2 was a lot simpler than g1, but I really like it, even if most people said it sucked. Sure, it wasn't exactly like g1, and even I cringed a few times when watching the g2 show, but for what it was, it was cool in my eyes, and loved finding all the g1 references. And there were quite a few of them! The story of g2 was simpler, but for little kids I think it would've been fine. But alas, LEGO did a crap job promoting it, and it died early, with an ending that was so bad even I can't defend it. It just didn't make sense, and it was rushed as hell. But I still wished it would've continued.

I love both generations for different things, and I'm sad I didn't get any g2 sets when they were out (Lewa was my favourite one). But years later I managed to get a promotional anniversary set of Tahu and Takua, and you wouldn't believe my happiness when I was building it. It's strange being a relatively new fan compared to others I see online, but I still remember seeing Bionicle commercials, and even have a very vague memory of seeing a Phantoka commercial on our ancient TV. I mean come on, I was so into it, I even learned the Matoran alphabet! My mom had to listen to my countless rambling, and if I ask her about Bionicle today, she still remembers some answers, that's how much into it I was. Hell, this blog started as a Bionicle blog before I moved fully to Monkie Kid content.

Okay, this Bionicle ramble is getting a tad long, so I'll wrap this up. Would I recommend Bionicle to anyone? Well... Not really, unless you like long lore researching adventures. The story is so convoluted, with many sides stories, and it went on for so many years, that despite my obsession I still probably missed like, 40% of the lore. G1 at least, wouldn't vibe with casual audience probably. G2 might be easier on the brain, despite it having some deeper lore too. Plus, there's the cultural appropriation issue, that I'm not qualified to talk about, but others already made pages long blogs and articles about. Plus the weird gender situation. But, it's still a good story in my eyes, despite its many faults. But that's just me, and if you didn't catch on yet, I'm already deep in this hole and there's no getting out of here now.

Honourable mention: This brings us to Hero Factory. I watched the first few episodes at around the same time as the first Bionicle movie. Came from the same source as before. I think it deserves a mention, because I still loved it, and did some lore digging, but I wasn't as obsessed with it as the other positions on the list. I didn't like the later stuff as much, tho some concepts were really cool too. But the story of the first episodes was really well done, and worked great as a movie. The fights were tense, and when watching it for the first time, I couldn't really know if the characters would be okay. Honestly, it got me really excited and invested. A factory of heroes is a unique concept, and I always found it intriguing how they made the robot society work. But, I don't think it needed more time than it needed, unlike Bionicle, where I didn't like the ending of either generation. I think it wrapped things up quite well with the first episodes, and the later ones just feel like cool side stories, and it works in my opinion.

This one I would definitely recommend, because I feel like it's underrated, and it's not long. Like I said, the version I got was just a one movie like compilation. I checked and there's just 11 episodes. It would probably take 1–2 hours to watch it, not counting the later movies and all.

2. Next one is Ninjago! I started watching it almost from the start. I must have been around ten or so... The episodes aired on TV, so I had easy access to it! I almost never missed an episode, and watched even the reruns. And believe me, I was hypnotised when watching it. Tho, starting from rebooted I watched the episodes online, first in my native language, then in English since I started getting too impatient to wait. This was my first obsession. For the longest time, when people asked me what I wanted to do, I said I wanted to be a ninja. One of my oldest OCs is Mika, and she grew up with me. Whenever a new season was to come, I would design a new suit for her. I have a whole dedicated blog to her, I wonder if you all can find it lol. Anyway, for a kid's show, the first seasons were really well written, and the show could be dark when it wanted, but it didn't lack jokes, and most were very funny. And honestly, Ninjago had a really big impact on my life. It taught me not to give up, and it made me want to make the world a better place. Grade school was a horrible time for me, and Ninjago was like my escape. Tho, I might have daydreamed about it too much at one point...

I started distancing myself from Ninjago around hands of time. I didn't watch the show as regularly, catching up on seasons long after they aired. I think that's also where the writing quality started dropping… I just didn't like it as much any more. But it should've been expected with a series that went on for so long. I'm not one of the people who think old Ninjago was better than anything. It wasn't perfect at all. But I didn't like the short format of newer seasons. But then secrets of forbidden spinjitzu dropped, and i as a person started getting better too, so I went back to Ninjago, and while it wasn't still the best and people had a lot of issues I loved those few next seasons. I mean, they somehow hit right into my interests with those seasons. First the adventure movies like atmosphere with the Egyptian like tomb, then they get sucked into a video game, then the very DnD like feeling Shintaro. It was right up my alley. My love for Ninjago was back in full force by then. So you can imagine how sad I was when the word that Ninjago was ending started going around. The series has been with me for half my life. My friends even knew how much I liked it, my best IRL friend even bought me a Ninjago set for Christmas one time. But you know, I thought it was probably Ninjago's time. Nothing can last forever after all, and it had a very good run. Why not end it when the story was still quite alright? And then… Crystallized happened. I didn't watch Crystallized. I heard the spoilers, and I wasn't… thrilled. Especially with Harumi. And people hated that season. It left a bitter taste in my mouth. It didn't feel like a send-off Ninjago deserved.

So you can imagine how damn happy I was about Dragon Rising! And surprise, it's the best Ninjago has been in a while! I absolutely loved the first season. The new characters are wonderful, and that change was certainly what Ninjago needed. And the fact that it's merged with one of other of my beloved LEGO series only makes it better. And that's probably my cue to move to it hehe

So, would I recommend Ninjago? Yeah. Its story is easy to follow, you just need to watch the show. If you're ready to watch sixteen+ seasons that it! Even the worse seasons have some value to them I'd argue. But I may be biased with how close to my heart that series is.

3. Yeah boy, Legends of Chima! I started watching Chima around the same time I started watching Ninjago, and I was equally hooked. And yes, my mom remembers this one as well, I watched it every time it was on too. Actually, I think the first fanfiction I've ever written was about Chima. With a pencil on paper. I think that, while the other series captivated me because of magic or the setting or the action, in Chima it was the characters and their dynamics mostly, despite there being plenty of magic powers and action too, plus a unique setting. The main characters all have distinct personalities, and it's fun to see how their personalities clash or work together. I think it's cool because the conflict between lions and crocodiles takes the main stage in the first season. Later seasons are great too, and they shake things up to make things interesting quite well. The lore isn't as broad as in other series, but it's pretty cool and interesting either way. There were some unique concepts there. I can't explain my love for this theme as well as with other series, because I don't think there was anything big that made me like it. It's just a cool show. I think what there was has been satisfying, tho young me was really sad and angry it ended anyway. But it's great for what it was. But I can't say I'm not happy that Chima is now merged with Ninjago, and it works so well together, and I absolutely love Lord Ras.

I would absolutely recommend it. It's a fun show, and only three seasons long. It can be both fun and serious, and I definitely had a blast watching it.

4. Now one of my newer obsessions! Monkie Kid! I watched the pilot in Chinese when it came out, then I promptly forgot about the series and binge-watched it all when season 3 came out. I was reading about Journey to the West long before the series was announced, since I have a liking for old stories and legends and myths and stuff. And Asian cultures fascinate me. I blame Ninjago with its Japanese influence and all the martial arts movies that were on the TV all the time. Plus Mulan and Kung Fu Panda. Anyway, I can't say much about how accurate it is or anything since I'm not Chinese, but I think the show is great. I noticed a lot of references to Journey To The West. No shocker here, it's inspired by it. But being in this fandom made me learn a lot of new things about China, tho I still have a bunch of things to learn. I'm no expert yet. Tho, I try my best to be respectful.

Umm... Like I said, not much to say about how accurate the story is. But I really liked Journey to the West, so naturally I like Monkie Kid too. Plus, MK i really relatable to me. I feel like my personality is really similar to his, tho I'm more introverted. For some reason, I relate to this portrayal of Macaque and Wukong as well.

I dare to say that from all the series so far, I find this one to be the most well written. I just find the writing to be the most impactful. Plus, the artstyle is very different from other LEGO shows. Action scenes are really fun. The artstyle definitely works in its favour. And yeah, I would recommend this show 100%.

5. And finally, the newest addition to the LEGO series, Dreamzzz! The show is really new and just starting, but I love the concept and the writing! Plus again, I really relate to Mateo. The characters feel like real people you would meet, and how they interact feels realistic. And I found myself liking even the characters that annoyed me, because their personalities were the realistic type of annoying, one that you might find out in the wild. And the concept of a dream world just really speaks to me. And it gives the creators a lot of creative freedom. All wacky things can happen in a dream after all. One thing I didn't expect in the show was the secret agency, and I think it's a clever addition to the story.

I would recommend this series. I hope it'll have a bright future, and that the writing will stay this good.

Well, time to wrap all of this up. Whoever suffered through this whole ramble deserves a juice and a cookie 🍪🧃 For a few finishing thoughts... I noticed a lot of the series I like blend magic powers and technology together. I just thought it's interesting. And I wanted to mention that the songs for Bionicle, Ninjago and Chima absolutely slap. I used to listen to them on repeat all the time lol Even my mom really enjoyed those songs

Yeah, I don't know what this post was for, I just felt like writing all that :v

[magpiemagica]

Monster High Reboot Movie Antagonist Appreciation Post ❤️

I’m not a big fan of either reboot (for different reasons I will not get into) but the movie antagonists always stood out as strong and interesting to me. This is my opinion; feel free to disagree.

Moanica D’Kay🪱 stands out in her movies; her evil intentions and antagonistic demeanor really make her a memorable threat, especially in contrast to the more kiddy world of G2. She commands an army of zombie boys (Zomboys) and is strong leader. Her main goal is to terrorize mankind as vengeance for humans forcing monsters to live in hiding. Moanica has been hurt so much in the past that she wants others to feel the pain she has. She doesn’t want peace; she wants havoc and destruction. Because of this, Moanica doesn’t understand why Draculaura would rather educate and befriend the humans rather than harm them. She is overall pretty f*cked up, even compared to G1 villains, and that’s what makes her so interesting.

Some other interesting facts about Moanica is that her favorite food is vermicelli pasta; she finds it “a scream that the name means “little worms”. She is from South America, more specifically Peru 🇵🇪. Moanica D’Kay is the last doll designed Garrett Sanders, Monster High’s creator.

Mr. Komos 👔 (legal name Eddy Hyde Jr.) is a teacher who serves as the twist antagonist of the first G3 live action movie. He seeks revenge against the monsters of Monster High for exiling, discriminated against, and expelling his father, Eddy Hyde, for being half human. This discrimination by the school led to his father being killed. Eddy teaches anti human sentiment in his class, despite his heritage (True Monster Heart). The movie ends with him being turned to stone by Clawdeen. What interests me about Komos is that the movie tries to sell us on him being a big bad villain. I could never really see his motivations as evil? He is a pretty regular guy. Taking his anger on our main characters was the most cruel thing he did; besides that, he seems more justified than not? If an institution killed my father and spread lies about people like him, I would be pissed too. The fact that Komos wasn't redeemed, even though it would have been so simple as an exchange of apologies, confuses me. He could have been a great resource in making sure half humans feel welcome at Monster High. It would have been such a more satisfying conclusion than literally killing him??

Eddy/Mr. Komos is a intriguing character who could have been so much better if given better writing :(

Toralei Stripe😼 is a foil for Clawdeen and the second G3 movie's secondary antagonist (The main antagonists/villains of the movie, the witches, sucked). She is loyal to monster kind, has a grudge against humans and half humans like Clawdeen, and is Clawdeen's election rival. She is pretty toned down and likable here compared to her (in my opinion more annoying) G3 animated counterpart. Toralei is wrong for her prejudice of Clawdeen yet very sympathetic in her motivations to keep monsters/students safe from human witches. She seems realistic as a character and has a natural charisma to her. A pleasant surprise from a not so good movie.

The writers sometimes miss the mark with her (mischaracterize her very valid concerns about witchcraft as bigoted) but I hope that she continues to be present in the inevitable Monster High movies to come.

[thunderstomm]

As someone who love collectible blind box figures and Monster High, i have always been very captivated by G2's Monster High Minis. I love a lot of the concepts they came up with, and honestly, some of them were wasted being just minis, and should have gotten dolls. Then again- I would not trust G2 to make these waves look good.

I would, however, want to see these ideas in the style of G1 dolls! I wanted to take a moment to share some of the minis i found cute, and how I think they could be made into an adorable doll.

I only have plans for this one post at the moment but I MAY do a part two if this one goes well!

(This Image Is Just Here As an Example of What The Minis Look Like)

Mermaid Catty Noir

If Great Scarrier Reef was a little better- I think they could have made the idea of mermaid dolls work. This Catty mini is super cute, and i love the shade of yellow they chose for her tail. I think that she could make a cute doll, if they made her swim top with similar ruffles to her core doll's shirt, but in silver, and perhaps having the hair fall in loose curls- something a Catty doll has never really had. This Catty would be in the style of a G1 Doll.

Candy Ghouls Lagoona Blue

Sweet Screams was a very small but beloved line, and I think that some of the themes for the Candy Ghouls minis could be adapted wonderfully to suit this theme- and my favorite idea would have to be this bubblegum Lagoona Blue. The bright blue hair with yellow streaks, paired with a ruffly yellow and pink polka-dot dress would be such a fun doll concept, and i'd love to see a Neptuna quite literally made as a bubble. I also think she could sport an adorable pair of heels with circular pumps. This Lagoona would be in the style of a G1 Doll.

Glow In The Dark Venus McFlytrap

This Venus mini is absolutely adorable, and the skeleton pattern reminds me a lot of early 2000s scene, which I think could be a fun vibe for Venus. They could keep her skeleton tee, but add some fishnet gloves, and a big green-and-pink mesh skirt, held up by a chunky belt, and some big platform shoes. Of course, she'd still glow in the dark too. This Venus would be in the style of a G1 Doll.

Fruit Frankie Stein

It's a crime that not many doll lines don't do fruit-themed lines, and I that Monster High could do an awesome job at this concept. This Frankie would be so cute with a Kiwi-themed headband, and brown and green streaks in her hair. I would give her a kiwi-themed jacket and green shirt, and change her skirt to be brown, as well as giving her some tights and jewelry. This Frankie would be in the style of a G1 Doll.

All Of The Space Monsters

I adore space themed lines, and this was a big missed opportunity! I would have loved to see all of the characters included in holographic, spacesuit inspired fashion. I think that large boots, fun skirts, clear plastic accessories and cute visors could have made this wave. And honestly- I think G3 could do an even better job at it than G1! All of the characters in the wave are in G3 and it would be such a cool line to see them make! This line could be in the style of G1 or G3 Dolls.

[chronotsr]

No. 1 - G1, The Steading of the Hill Giant Chief (July 1978)

Author(s): Gary Gygax Artist(s): Erol Otus, Dave C. Sutherland III (cover), David A. Trampier Level range: Average of 9, preferably 5+ players Theme: Standard Swords and Sorcery Major re-releases: G1-3 Against the Giants, GDQ1-7 Queen of the Spiders, Against the Giants: The Liberation of Geoff, Dungeon #197, Tales from the Yawning Portal

I'm not sure if G1-G3 are the most remastered adventures of all time, but it's gotta be competitive. I think Tomb of Horrors might have it beat, but I haven't counted. The 4e conversion [the Dungeon #197 one] is really weird in particular because…4e feels like the edition least interested in the legacy of DND? It was boldly doing its own thing. A good quality, actually.

Anyway, it's time to slag off* on a beloved adventure. Note, I am using the earliest copy of G1 I can find, which is from waaaay later when D3 was complete. I apologize.

*And by slag off, I mean "be critical of at all". In practice, this module is actually showing some unusual acumen compared to its contemporaries.

EDIT: I forgot to mention a rather important thing when this was made live -- note the title there! We are officially in ADND land now, so put away your little brown booklets and switch over to the fuck-off awesome player's handbook with the iconic Moloch statue!

Somehow I had gotten my whole life at this point never really…understanding what this structure was supposed to look like? It looks like this.

I honestly think exterior shots of dungeons are critically underrated. Handouts are amazing and being able to flash the back cover art to safely show the party "like this" is actually great, I deeply wish that….any? of the previous modules had done that? I think the only one that did was Tsojconth. Weirdly, the interior drawing is very subtly different. Look at how the logs face:

Not a huge deal but, a kind of weird inconsistency that top one looks like a stockade and the bottom one looks like a log cabin. Side note, we know that the long dimension of this is using 210 feet tall logs, which is to say, the size of an average redwood. These are some big fuck-off trees -- which could be a very interesting detail about the local area.

Now the setup is pretty simple. You were hired to go beat up the giants because they've been raiding the local humans, figure out why they're raiding, and comeback posthaste. The locals have kitted you out with horses, guides, maps, et c -- but no compensation, they have simply omitted a finder's fee (cheap bastards). Also, if you fail, they'll execute you. With friends like these, who needs Giants?

Gary starts with some mild railroading (you accepted the job already, you are already kitted out, you already walked to a nearby cave, you waited til dusk to approach, you notice two guards are missing, and the cave is guaranteed to be moderately hidden. Sure, whatever, I'm going to ignore that if I run this tho. Gary notifies us of a few critical details:

Don't run this stock, that's immoral

Any surviving giants will flee to G2 if they have the opportunity (which, kind of inherently punishes clever play that avoids combat?)

There is a 2% chance per round that the wooden structure will be lit on fire due to chronic rain (why is this a dice roll??)

If you will permit me a tangent, player arson is truly the bane of interesting scenarios everywhere. Whenever a player wonders, "why are all the GM's dungeons underground or in stonework buildings?", it's because doing anything else invites arson as the default and best answer to all problems. Magic items are fireproof and most metal items will not get hot enough to be destroyed, so very often the best solution is to burn the place to the ground and loot it the next day. So, yeah. No wood buildings. Gary's fix is to have all the giants flee into the basement, then waste a week of the PC's time for daring to use arson. Kind of sucks!

Tangent complete.

Here's some random interesting bits:

Gary explicitly states that you can pass yourself off as hill giant kids, which is extremely funny. Minus the implicit child murder.

Naturally there are giant moms doing giant housemaid shit in several rooms. Presumably they have giant curlers too.

The secret door is, literally just a doorway covered by a pelt. I have to hand it to them, that'd trip up most players in 2024 AND make them feel stupid for not figuring it out!

The big reveal that Eclavdra the Drow is secretly behind it all is so lightly teased that it feels downright tasteful.

A giant that uses a ballista as a crossbow (based) and spears for arrows (also based) -- between the prevalence of lightning spears and greatarrows, one starts to think of a certain famous video game. Genuinely I think it'd be a fun exercise one day, for someone who is more knowledgeable than me about Japanese fantasy roleplaying culture, to talk about how anglophone fantasy works made their way into Japan and were interpreted.

One of the cloud giants has hidden a sentient giant slaying sword that speaks all the giant languages, it feels like there's a hell of a story going on there that is only alluded to!

To my knowledge, this is the first official depiction of an orc in DND? Which implies that Gary is team pig-orcs, which is cool. Frankly, I love porcine orcs, or even better just pigfolk in general, they're great.

I think it is actually a rather bold early stance for Gary to hold that, even here in 1978, Chaotic aligned creatures are not automatically friends. Granted, that's how it is in Elric, so it's not THAT bold, but clearly everyone else missed the memo. The orcs are willing to side with you at least in the short-run, and in our previous modules it was very rare to have groups of chaotic-aligned creatures fighting one another. It was always just personal beefs. In fact, the overall theme of G1 so far is that despite the boxy-ass dungeon design, there's already a command of naturalism that even modern dungeons really struggle with. Factionalism truly is the gift that keeps on giving for the GM!

So the big reveal internally to G1 (just think of that -- a reveal internally to G1, and externally to the GDQ supermodule -- we're already getting pacing!) is that the orc slaves have rebelled. And -- hey -- good for them. There's also a kind of…built-in companion refill system going on here? So in oldish DND the way it works is, the expectation is the party is not just 5 guys with swords. You've got companions to help fight, and you've got hirelings to do other stuff (test suspected traps, if you're evil). And you can only hire so many of these guys from town, but attrition is going to happen. So the modules simply provides, automatic replacements should you negotiate worth a quarter of a shit. A dwarf slave here, an orc slave there. Maybe a giant dissenter if you're really clever. One of the potential "rewards" you can get is more dudes to throw at problems.

More interesting bits

There is, what I can only really call an abortive idea going on here where there's a scary temple in the basement? But no one worships there and no information is provided. It is merely a fucked up altar. I think I vaguely recall that it's retconned Tharizdun in one of the remakes? They always retcon things to be Tharizdun. Busy man, Tharzy.

Gary, Gary no. Stop it. Stop this 78 guys bullshit. I thought we had established that giant rooms of giant clumps of guys was bad. I know you have terminal Napoleonics brain but stop.

Wait, Steading is a noun? I always thought it was a verb. Yknow, like "Steading those hill giants", taking 'em down a notch. Apparently, a Steading is a small farm -- same etymology as Homestead. I guess mark that as our first Gygaxism?

Our second Gygaxism is gill, which is "a quarter pint of an alcoholic drink", which is to say a few mouthfuls

Always end your adventures with weird, ominous non-diegetic text. On the flip-side, absolutely do not do what the adventure does, and end on a teleporter that takes you to the next dungeon. That is the worst option.

Anyway, that's the whole Hill Giant situation. Honestly, it's better than I remembered, but in proud module tradition up to this point it gets weirdly filler-y in the basement. There's just something about basements that makes dungeon designers stop giving a shit, I swear. I do need to give the man his due, even though he was a shitass person: Gygax wrote an 11 page module that is of noticeably higher killer-to-filler ratio than any of his contemporaries. G1 is better than any of its predecessors, pound for pound. It is way, way shorter which is I suppose a plus to me and a minus to others, but -- there is a clear internal logic to this place that is tragically missing from (say) The Dwarven Glory. And that internal logic is the beginning of good adventure design. Anyway, we have two fun tidbits to discuss before we end for the day.

First up, we have an of-the-time account of events in Dragon #19! It turns out that in Origins '78 they played G1-G3's prototype. The account is of the winners (mostly West Virginians, a few Michiganders), who used their magic extremely liberally to hide what they were doing as well as to scout. They did opt to light the place on fire, good for them! If you want to check this out, it's on page 3. I will mention G2 and G3 here as relevant later.

Second up, there's a weird interquel hiding in Dungeon #198! Hanging out as an informal G1.5 is "The Warrens of the Stone Giant Thane!" I will not review it in full because my understanding of 4e is, basically just skimming the PHB and reading the DMG, but essentially the Stone Giants are hypothetically aloof and not particularly loyal to their Fire Giant superiors, but someone gave them The Rock That Makes You Crazy and so now they are. Smash the rock!

Man, map design in the 4e era was so fucking bad. It looks fine, but like, this is four circles. And downstairs is, of course, cave as far as the eye can see. Aren't stone giants supposed to be skilled carvers? Anyway, If you feel like G2 would be too big of a jump mechanically compared to G1, this exists. I'm sure you could use it if you liked, and certainly there is a Genre of Grognard who would be kinda tickled at the thought of finding "lost content" for el classico GDQ.

Next week, we cover G2, which was also in July. So was G3! They're triplets!

[downtofragglerock]

Ok this Makuta profile is going to be a bit different than the past ones, there's only one today, but for good reason

I didn't just want to fill up the Brotherhood's ranks with random oc ideas, so I searched around for some tertiary stuff that I could incorporate. There wasn't that much that was workable, but I found a few things. Obviously one of the places I looked was g2, because if Transformers can take characters invented in later incarnations and reincorporate them back into their g1, why can't Bionicle do the same?

Unfortunately Bionicle g2's storytelling and short lifespan means there's not much to work with, but I made do, and now let's look at the story of Makuta Kulta.

Kulta was for certain one of the more middling members of the Brotherhood, certainly not at the bottom of the barrel like Spiriah, but there was no chance he'd ever be in Miserix or later Teridax's personal circle. Kulta knew this fact and absolutely hated it, and thusly sought ways to greatly increase his own power. Eventually, he seemed to have found it.

Okoto was a rather remote island in the Matoran Universe, mountainous with a healthy diversity of biomes and a steady population of Matoran. Okoto did have one particularly interesting feature, either due to some technical glitch in the GSR's mechanics or deliberately designed so by the Great Beings in service of some esoteric experiment, the island was supercharged with elemental energy, from the landscape, to the rahi, and even the inhabitants. It was this feature that caught Kulta's eye when he learned of it. An island positively overflowing with energy? Well he just had to see that.

Since the island was quite remote, Kulta was able to set up shop and begun looking into this phenomenon without much fuss. The results spoke for themselves and Kulta became far stronger than he'd been before. He then began to crave even more power and came up with various ways to try and achieve it. This included using his Tryna in conjunction with this energy boost to create an army of undead warriors, hiring out the Dark Hunter Umarak to hunt and capture some of the island's more elementally-supercharged rahi so he could study them and apply their particular manners of power absorption to himself, and even coming up with the concept of a "Mask of Ultimate Power", a Kanohi that could wield multiple elemental powers at once. Kulta, however, was not a skilled mask maker, and had to forcefully conscript the Okoto Matoran Ekimu, a skilled mask maker and unbeknownst to all and even themselves an Av-Matoran that the OOMN had mind wiped and spirited away, to make it.

Worried that some Matoran might get away and tell the greater universe about what he was doing, Kulta created dangerous rahi to terrorize the population and keep them from leaving. He wasn't very good at naming them though, content with just calling them skull spiders and "beasts". The Matoran got fed up with this and, unable to call upon Toa to help them, sent their strongest and most skilled to try and stop Kulta. Narmoto, Korgot, Vizuna, Nilkuu, Kivoda, and Izotor accepted the task and went underway. While on their journey though, they came across a fissure of elemental energy that struck and supercharged them, transforming the Matoran protectors into a Toa team, the Toa Okoto.

The Toa Okoto fought off the skull spiders and their "lord", tussled with the Umarak and freed his captives, came to blows with the elemental beasts, and destroyed Kulta's undead army, allowing those restless souls to finally sleep. However, when they finally made it to Kulta's inner sanctum, they were too late. The Mask of Ultimate Power had been finished and Kulta had put it on, granting him even greater power and transforming his body into a massive titanic form. Joined by Ekimu, the Toa engaged in a fierce battle with Kulta, who beat them down with ease. Just when it looked like all hope was lost however, Kulta seized up. As it turns out, a mask with that many different elemental energies running through it isn't exactly stable. The mask shattered, and the resulting energy blast knocked the Toa and Ekimu back, and caused Kulta to explode, setting his Antidermis on fire and killing him. The Toa were victorious, Umarak fled back to the Shadowed One, and any straggling threats were defeated, ushering Okoto into a new golden age.

When word eventually got out of what happened on Okoto, the Brotherhood, as this was long before their deception was known to the larger universe, denied all knowledge of what Kulta had done and disavowed him, claiming the Makuta had been a renegade. The lie was quite easy to sell, as it was partly true, Kulta had kept all of his going ons a secret to the rest of the Brotherhood. In private, Teridax was quite glad Kulta had gotten himself killed, as when he thought over things like a vast undead army and a "Mask of Ultimate Power", only one word came to mind: Treason

[taybatwo2]

Another Magic Mixies Pixling Review!!

This time of Marena and how she compare to similar themed dolls.

So many fins and shades of blues!

Here is a close up of Marena herself. She’s really cute (I have been loving the Pixling dolls). She’s similar to the other dolls in the line, with a ball joint in the head, shoulders, hips and elbow joints, a (very nice) fabric skirt, and a molded on top.

She’s supposed to be a mermaid Pixling, but she gives me more of a water nymph vibe…..yup, that’s just going to be my head canon.

A close up of her face up. Her screening is lightly pixelated, but it’s not distracting like what Mattel uses on their Fashionistas. I love the little scale pattern around her eyes and wish that’s what would have been printed on G3 Lagoona’s forehead. Her ears look to be added on as separate pieces and have a tiny bit of glitter in them.

While her shirt is molded on, it is a very cute mold and “ties” around the back. The extra molded detail, paint, and unique design adds to her cuteness (they could have just had the same top design for all the dolls, but instead they have made separate molds for all the characters….so far). Her skirt is silky (but not the paper-like silk that Disney/Jakks Pacific/Mattel uses), hemmed, with a tule around the bottom (along with the cut, it is is reminiscent of a mermaid tail).

Even the shoes have cute little pear, heart and scale patterns (matching her skirt). More under the cut:

Marena was swarmed by some adorable, big haired aquatic monsters. Marena meet the Mermalades! I always like to compare the Pixlings with Moose’s Zelfs. Their ancestor of sorts.

Marena likes the look of these sea buddies.

Mermalade is a darker blue, and the newer Mermalades actually has more fins than Marena does (I wish she did have some webbing in between her fingers and maybe some fins off of her forearms). Interesting to note, that the fins are more curved than the pointy fins Marena has.

She actually has a much closer color pallet to Sealia or Oceana. But I do not own these little guys…yet.

Huh, something scared them off….I wonder what it-

Well that is startling, but not an usual sight around my house. “Is this how you treat your dolls?!?”

No no no, this Taylee Turtle Enchantimal was going to be a Monster High custom…and that’s as far as I got…

“I can’t see anything!! Hello??”

Don’t worry Taylee, you’re doing great.

Enchantimals are about the same height as Pixlings, but have smaller proportions. They also have opposite joints (well, at least Taylee has knee joints, I don’t believe most Enchantimals have these). You can also see how basic the molded (granted I acetoned some of it away) and fabric pieces are compared to Marena. I mean it’s not really a fair comparison because I think of Marena as more of an aquatic mammal, fish, or amphibian and Taylee is more of a:

Here are Dolce Dolphin and Sedda Seahorse.

Yeaaaaah, the skirts might look a bit more inspired, but none of them have fins sculpted to their legs or arms, and their shirts are still kinda boring. Also wanted to compare her to this unreleased mermaid Novi Star, just because her decorations around her eyes and her large ear fins reminded me of them….and actually the large head, small torso and hands are kinda reminiscent or Marena too, huh….

Okay, Taylee wandered off when I was looking at the other Enchantimals and Nobvi Star concept, soooo, let’s compare Marena with Ebbie Blue, the youngest of G2’s Blue family.

“She’s like a mini me!” She is both less and more detailed than you Marena (I LOVE the scales on the arms and under her pigtails, her little fins on her arms, and how the scales merge into her tail, but she can’t tip her head up and can move her arms out).

Also, she’s got widdle, round fingers that look like they have not finished growing.

Let’s compare you to someone a bit older: Kelpie Blue from G2!

“Look at her sharp toe-nails, and those shoulder spikes! I think she’s more sea monster than nymph.” “Is someone saying something down there? I can’t move my head down to see.”

Well….that’s a little better. Kelpie has really cute and unique scales, fins, and shortened webbing in between her fingers, but her articulation is REALLY poor (she can’t move her head up/down, or move her arms/legs out).

Her ears were also added on later, like Marena’s.

“I wonder if all dolls get stiffer when they grow up?”

“I dunno, I have a torso joint that es magnífica.”

“Are you a sea monster too??”

“Sí! But don’t worry I won’t eat you up, you’re too cute like my Señor Squishy.” “Whoa!!”

“Let me introduce you to more Lagoonas.”

After chasing the speedy G2 around, she finally got to look at her tiny little ear fins while playing with her hair, and Freshwater Lagoona and Saltwater Lagoona both couldn’t get over how cute she was.

“Look at the lil’ kindy!”

“A lil’ sea grub!!”

She’s actually closest (design wise) to both G1 Lagoona’s. A lack of scales, she’s in-between both their colors of blue and she has the added pink accents too.

Side tangent about Lagoona:

Thought I should add a quick summery of my thoughts on my different generation Lagoonas. G1 Lagoona:

pros: All the different material used in her clothing, her face-up, her personality, her addition of a diary, her fully webbed hands (with different colored webbing and see through fins). cons: she has an ill-fitting swimsuit, her fins keep falling off, her thin joints make her pretty delicate, glue head (this one is treated with La’s Totally Awesome cleaner, but I still need to treat Freshwater Lagoona, and de-yellow her head), and the elastic hip joints make her floppy. Her character being ALL about Gil in the series (I really don’t hate his character and I LOVE his G1 design, I just wish there were more to her stories than just him).

G2 Lagoona (I’m still looking for the OG G2 Lagoona, so have the Beast Pet one here):

pros: Her softened face is kinda cute, her sculpted scales around her arm and leg fins, her stronger joints, her fins stay in SO MUCH BETTER. cons: I remember her being a lot more hyper and speedy than G1 and it’s an odd choice to me, her eyes were changed from green to blue, her webbing decreased in size and is no longer another color (and many of her dolls didn’t have this much articulation).

G3 Lagoona (I originally gave her braids to make her have kinky hair, but the braids are kinda growing on me).

pros: torso joint on most of her dolls, see through legs, her fins stay on pretty well, larger ear fins, a really fun personality on the show, her joints are stronger/her doll feels sturdier, I like many of her shoes and themes (jellyfish/tentacles/pearls).

cons: I didn’t like her first couple of releases, her pink (while it reminds me of an axolotl) is a bit too sunburnt looking for me…? Maybe a paler or darker pink. I would have liked it if they would have painted her ears/and had a blue to pink fade on her arms as well…also her dots on her forehead should have either been sculpted scales or drawn scales like Marena. Biggest disappointment: should have hand webbing, a diary, and accessories that have to do with her love of telenovelas!!! I’m still getting used to her being really different than G1 Lagoona and would have really liked it had she been her cousin from the Amazon (because I want to see them interact with each other SO BAD).

Anyways, Tangent over:

My last take aways is: MARENA HAS THE BEST HAIR FIBER OUT OF ALL OF THEM!!

okay, now the review is over.

[just-someone-online]

More Monster High Headcanons

There'll probably be one more of these before I get them out of my system lol. Again, I haven't finished the diaries yet so some of the G1 headcanons might not gel super well with them.

River Styxx does in fact have a scythe, but after putting one too many holes into her dad's boat due to carelessness, her access to it has been restricted.

G3 Lagoona's scales were indeed blue when she was little, but as she grew older, they began shifting hues to pink.

While most monsters say nonboonary instead of nonbinary, skeletons and similar boney monsters refer to it as being nonspineary.

Despite all three versions of Draculaura being vegetarians, one of them (Not sure who. Probably not G2) has turned somebody to save their life. She doesn't like to talk about it.

While most monsters lived alone after the Great Fright Flight, many formed small communities around the world. Emphasis on small, as they needed to be able to quickly evacuate if any humans stumbled upon them.

Not all zombies speak zombie. Some grow up speaking whatever the dominant language is where they live while others simply don't use the language until their larynx begins rotting away. Moanica is the former and G3 Ghoulia is the latter.

Even though humans have largely forgotten that monsters exist, there have been some unfortunate incidents, hence why a lot of the monsters the Ghoul Squad found were living on their own.

G2 Clawdeen (And I suppose all werewolves by extension) has a tail, but after being bitten by teething werepups one too many times, she prefers to keep it tucked away.

G1 and G2 Twyla are autistic, they told me themselves. One of them (Both of them?) has a little hourglass necklace that she stims with.

For a few months after Electrified, Frankie had some issues regulating her electricity. Sometimes they'd give off a minor jolt, but other times she was shooting off enough electricity to power a classroom. They hope they never have to absorb a city's worth of power ever again.

Alivia has a habit of twisting at her bolts when she's thinking and it makes Frankie's heart stop every time they catch her doing it. "Those are holding your skull together! Stop it!"

G3 Cleo has never had a good school picture. You could take a picture of her falling down the stairs with your iCoffin and she'd look amazing in it, but if it were for the fearbook, she'd look like a mess.

The first time the ghouls invited G2 Twyla to a creepover, there was a brief moment where they thought she bailed on them partway through. Turns out she had fallen asleep and sank into the shadows.

G1 and G2 Frankie have no idea where babies come from (Well, non-simulacrum babies) and none of their friends want to deal with the secondhand embarrassment of explaining. G3 on the other hand, learned when they got a flashback to one of their brain donors learning.

[randomwriteronline]

Do you think love can bloom even despite Greg Farshtey if we don't have mouths between two sets 15 years apart?

so a friend got me a g2 Kopaka--

Mata Pohatu was a gift from my beloved beautiful chum @cantankerouscanuck and when i went to pick up my other boy my friend n i ended up doin a lil photoshoot at their house bc i couldnt resist trying to make them kiss, which was Fucking Hard due to the mata build's terrible posability but thank god Pohatu's got at least one loose leg and Kopaka has many more joints and is so stable. homeboy was holding this whole thing together all by himself like the gallant gentleman he is

my only regret is not having a proper camera with cool lenses and all to properly devote an insane amount of effort to this stupid thing... have a documentation of our tribulations under the cut instead XD

first problem we incurred in (aside from my shaky ass hands making some pictures blurry) was the height difference.

it doesnt look terrible bc kopakas got his knees bent in the photo but effectively the only way pohatu got to his face was by standing on his tippy toes, and while his steel toed boots did give him the added cms necessary they did NOT let him stand on his own, so either we held him up or he fell over even when propped against a wall. we tried pinning him to the wall with kopaka but he still slipped so both cute ideas had to go down the drain

(we also tried a classic kabedon pose but kopakas fucking pauldrons SUCK for arm mobility so tragically, that was also scrapped)

the good news was however that they COULD hold hands! sorta. kinda. im still counting it. the mata hands have axels for fingers, so they fit snugly in the handpieces the 2015 gang has :)

only problem with it is that

straight in the tits.

(me trying to browse a tag in peace but overly horny fanart pops up)

BUT ANYWAYS. the hand holding did provide some stability and so we started trying out poses by seeing how far we could tilt pohatu while keeping him standing - this because he has another problem, that being that his head bobs up and down with no way to keep it up or down on its own, so we had to work with gravity

came out a lil foreboding, like kopaka is threatening him. but we're getting closer!

thankfully me being a big ol sap helped in figuring out how to make the whole thing more tender bc i love that shit. so we decided to push pohatu's loose leg out to balance him and one of his arms up, like he was reaching for kopaka's mask, which was also very good bc kopaka's hand lodged itself right between pohatu's tiny elbow and hip so he looked like he was wrapping it around his waist. then we adjusted them a lil bit, teaked them here n there, and

OH YEAH.

OH YEAH BABY WERE GETTING SOMEWHERE NOW

we had to uh. briefly stop. and laugh really hard for a second bc pohatus entire head fell off. i dont have photos for that but it was so sudden and unexpected that we had a fit of hysteric giggles

as you can see however, their faces are Not touching. this is due to the aforementioned problem with the Mata neck, plus the fact that kopaka couldn't bend further down to close the gap on his own, though tbf cut him some slack hes already holding the both of them up as best as he can

so we meddled a lil bit to pull pohatu more upright and strengthen kopakas pose so they wouldnt topple over, considered a maskless version, scrapped it bc they looked VERY silly, and THEN. AT LAST

THE ELUSIVE BONKLE KISS..........

from as many angles n lightings as possible bc im Unwell

AND a cool version from the hand-holding side bc the transpieces look great and i find it very sweet :)

but yeah that was a fun time :D it was great and the lads have been untangled and retired on a shelf where theyll stay nice and tight hehe

hope yall enjoyed these, they were great fun to make and i think they came out really well despite my shitty hands and cameras. maybe ill do more or not, who knows ahah wait what was that.

that sound... its like. plastic smacking plastic... to mimic kissing...

you dont think... the bionicles... they couldnt... no...

oh... oh good heavens. oh theyre canoodling in there

[catcas22]

CAT!!!!!

I want to ask you about THE ALBINAURIC WOMAN! She hides in a cave to the west of the Laskyar Ruins which jut from the mist-shrouded lake of Liurnia. She knows the location of the medallion's counterpart, I am sure.

(sorry)

In all seriousness, I want your thoughts on something. A post crossed my dash today that was speculating about if Albinaurics, being originally artificial entities, are at all capable of reproducing independently. The OP concluded (and I agree) that they probably can. Despite the fact that Albinaurics are hunted for their blood and frequently tortured/imprisoned/killed for being "impure", and the fact that both generations were deemed failures in the eyes of the Academy (g1 had the bad legs, g2 came out all froggy and was too stupid to use magic) and therefore probably aren't being produced there anymore, they exist in large numbers and many appear outwardly young.

I was doing some more looking when I came across Latenna's dialogue when you take her to the Apostate Derelict.

Oh young yet towering sister of ours. Let the birthing droplet in. And create life. For us. For all the Albinaurics.

Thank you. I've finally fulfilled my purpose. Our young yet towering sister will give us hope. Now that nothing is left unfinished, I will join you in battle to the bitter end. And when the fighting is done, then you may lay me to rest.

As well as if you kill her in the Liurnia cave instead of talking to her there:

Ohh... Phillia. Take...the birthing...droplet...

So the obvious question that I've been pondering is, what in God's name is a birthing droplet??? Why does it need to be "let in?" Why does it need to be Phillia specifically? Why won't Latenna or Albus or any of the dozens of other g1 Albinaurics milling about in the Consecrated Snowfield suffice?

I'm trying to muddle through my own thoughts on the matter, but while I do that I'm curious to see if you have any ideas.

Hi Bri! Sorry this took so long, it had me stumped for awhile. The more I dug into it, the more questions I raised. Long rambling theory below the cut.

So I'll start by saying I agree with OP. Albinaurics have to be able to reproduce somehow, otherwise they would have long since died out.

Going into this, I had the vague idea that Latenna was from Liurnia, probably from Albus's village. Makes sense, right? She's looking for a path to the Haligtree, chasing tales of a safe haven in the hopes of saving her people.

A quick look at her dialogue disproves that. So there's my first assumption dead in the water.

We have reached the land of Miquella's Haligtree, where Lobo and I began our travels. It's entirely thanks to you that I'm so close to home. These great snow-laden lands stretch far to the north. And beyond the ancient bowers, and the liturgical town of Ordina, lies the place to which I must return.

So Latenna is from the Haligtree, specifically the Ordina subdivision. The Apostate's Derelict is located just a bit north of Ordina.

I originally thought the "birthing droplet" might be something similar to a sacred tear produced by the Haligtree. But if the Droplet had its origin with the Haligtree, Latenna never would have had to leave the snowfields. I think we can safely assume that whatever the Droplet is, Latenna journeyed to Liurnia to find it.

It could have had its origin in Raya Lucaria, or in Nokstella. Both would fit, geographically speaking.

Then I realized that Albus's village is located directly beneath the Moonlight Altar.

I'm not sure exactly what to make of this, but it feels important. It feels intentional.

The Altar, specifically the Cathedral of Manus Celes, was at some point bombarded with a shower of these bad boys.

An ephemeral sliver that gives off a pale blue glow. What remains of a passing flash of starlight.

A prized item that was once used in the Eternal City as an ingredient in intoxicating draughts.

Put aside, for a moment, my theory that the g1 albinaurics originate from the Eternal Cities, with the g2's being modern glintstone scholars' clumsy attempt at replication.

Instead, direct your attention to the Amber Starlight Shard.

An ephemeral sliver that gives off a pale amber glow. What remains of a passing flash of starlight.

If the stars command our fates, then amber-hued stars must command the fates of the gods.

This item is found in the alcove just outside the walls of Leyndell, at the foot of a statue of Malenia and Miquella, surrounded by land octopi (who consume human blood) and sacremental buds (believed to originate long ago from a strain of buds cultivated with youthful, sacramental blood).

I believe that this hidden alcove was the spot in which Miquella initially nurtured his stolen Erdtree sapling, hiding away from prying eyes and watering it with his own blood. I also believe that this is the spot where he and Malenia formally severed their fates from the Golden Order, with the Amber Starlight Shard being a byproduct of this act.

Via Albus's dialogue, we know that albinaurics fade away, starting with their legs, due to some imposed fate.

My legs will soon fade, and with them, my life. Alas, this is the immovable fate of all Albinaurics...

If killed by the player, he adds:

You merciless brutes. Let the curse take everything.

Assuming he's talking about the same thing, does that mean that the albinaurics' affliction is the result of a curse? He also refers to Gideon's men as "cursemongers." Not entirely sure what to do with that.

Back to the Birthing Droplet. The name itself immediately brought two things to mind: dew, and tears. We know that the Erdtree used to produce dew, and that said drops could impart blessings and good health. There's also the Celestial Dew -- another connection to the Eternal Cities.

A hidden Tear found in the Eternal City. Also known as a Night Tear.

Allows one to carry out an Absolution at the Church of Vows, reversing all antagonizations.

Once upon a time, the stars of the night sky guided fate, and this is a recollection of those times.

"Tear?" That jogged my memory. Down a fresh rabbit trail.

The Erdtree used to produce sacred tears and crystal tears, but I'm more concerned with chasing the Eternal Cities connection. Thus, we have larval tears and silver tears.

Silver Tear Husk

A hardened husk shed by a formless life form known as the Silver Tear, found in and around the Eternal City. The Silver Tear makes mockery of life, reborn again and again into imitation. Perhaps, one day, it will be reborn a lord...

Larval Tear

Core of a creature of mimicry known as a silver tear. As much as a substance as it is a living organism.

Material required by the amber egg cradled by Rennala, Queen of the Full Moon, to birth people anew.

This is where inspiration (madness?) hit me. Doesn't "Birthing Droplet" basically function as a synonym for "Larval Tear?" Sort of like how Fia refers to what everyone else calls a "Cursemark" as a "Hallowbrand," because she's seeing it in a different context?

I will now attempt to draw a definitive link between g1 albinaurics and the Eternal Cities.

Albinauric Staff

The albinaurics harbor a secret; they cast sorcery with their innate arcaneness.

Silver Tear Mask

Mask fashioned from the corpse of a formless Silver Tear, supported by its hardened, shed husk. Greatly increases arcane to the detriment of physical attack power.

Albinaurics and silver/mimic tears both run off of arcane energy, both bleed silver, both are considered a mockery of life, both are made by hands. If albinaurics were not developed in the Eternal Cities, surely they were developed by someone building off of the technology of the Eternal Cities. Albinaurics fit the EC brand in basically every way.

We also have a few oblique references to the origin story of the g1 albinaurics.

Silver Mirrorshield

Shield of radiant silver, festooned with amber and carried by Loretta, Knight of the Haligtree.

The shape is said to imitate that of a sacred drop of dew, which inspired the absurd rumor that Loretta herself was an Albinauric.

So albinaurics are associated with sacred dew in some way? But aren't they supposed to be anathema to the Erdtree?

Albinauric Shield

Tall oval shield made of metal carried by young Albinaurics.

The ornamentation represents the primordial drop of dew from which they are said to have been created.

Blue Silver Mail Hood

Worn by the wolf-riding Albinauric archers.

Blue silver is a metal born from the same mother as the archers themselves, and provides protection from magic and frost.

Put a pin in the "mother" thing. Here we have multiple sources saying that albinaurics originated from a sacred, primordial drop of dew. But that's the Erdtree. That's the Golden Order. The albinaurics shouldn't even be compatible.

I now have to thank two people. One, shoutout to @caelaan75 for suggesting to me that albinaurics might not be subject to the Erdtree's cycle of reincarnation -- their souls may be subject to an entirely different cycle.

Second, thank you @thistoowillpasss for asking...

Prompting me to realize...

Now, let me just get into character...

Okay I'm ready.

I think I was accidentally right about Helphen and the Lampwood Tree.

At first I thought we were looking at an "as above so below" situation, with Helphen being a sort of afterlife mirror to the Erdtree. But then I recalled that albinaurics originate from a drop of "primordial" dew. Primordial. The same adjective used to refer to the Crucible, the previous form of the World Tree.

From the Crucible Tree Set:

Holds the power of the crucible of life, the primordial form of the Erdtree.

And I may be cloudspotting here, but does the primordial Erdtree carving we see in Farum Azula resemble the etching on the Albinauric shield? The shield whose description references primordial dew?

Guys... guys I think I was accidentally right. There may have been an actual Helphen Tree, predating the Crucible just as the Crucible predated the Erdtree. And I think the Nox used the sacred dew of that tree in their development of their various brands of homunculi.

The albinauric curse may have been a deliberate handicap imposed by their creators, or it could simply be a result of the fact that the tree that gave them life no longer exists. Or it does exist, but in a form that fundamentally rejects them.

Whether it originates from the Moonlight Altar, Nokstella, or the stars themselves, I believe that the Birthing Droplet is similar in function to a mending rune, a patch inserted into the albinauric cycle of reincarnation in order to cleanse their curse.

I'm not precisely sure how Young Yet Towering Sister Phillia accomplishes this. Her name is two letters off from filia -- Latin for "daughter."

Wait, didn't the Silver Blue Mail description say something about a mother?

There's only one divine force in Elden Ring that can claim such a title.

Bloodboon

Sacred incantation of Mohg, Lord of Blood.

Thrust arm into the body of the Formless Mother, then scatter the bloodflame to set the area ablaze.

The mother of truth craves wounds.

Briars of Punishment

The guilty, their eyes gouged by thorns, lived in eternal darkness. There, they discovered the blood star.

The Formless Mother's incantations all scale with the arcane stat. Just like albinaurics with their innate arcane energy...

Both the Nox and their Raya Lucarian successors were a highly astrologically oriented society. Could they have venerated the Formless Mother in the form of the Blood Star? Could they have petitioned her aid in the creation of the albinaurics?

Mohg seems to recruit heavily from amongst the ranks of g2 albinaurics. Could he be luring them in with a bastardized version of their own creation myth, with Miquella as their promised savior?

Which brings me back to Phillia. Given her unusual size and rather significant-seeming name, I think it's likely that she was created with the express purpose of using the Birthing Droplet to repair the albinauric "code." Obviously Miquella would be the obvious candidate for her creator. He sought to aid all those cast out by the Golden Order, and he's in the business of thwarting curses and rebuking the meddling of outer gods.

Now, I'm not a fan of the theory that Miquella was in on his own kidnapping. But I think that he and Mohg may have collaborated for a time before his half-brother's true nature became apparent -- likely in the interval between Godwyn's death and the later wars of the Shattering. Like Miquella, Mohg styles himself as the champion of those abandoned by the Order. And if Miquella had traced the albinaurics' creation back to the Blood Star, it would have seemed highly beneficial to work with someone who had a direct line to the Formless Mother.

I think that Phillia was a joint project, a clone of sorts created by Mohg and Miquella. Either Miquella overlooked a whole forest of red flags in order to keep Mohg cooperating, or he decided that the risk was worth it. Maybe he took terrible chances with his own safety in favor of just a little more research -- he was so close to breaking the albinauric curse, after all. Maybe he even made a deal, only to find himself in over his head when, by sheer dumb luck, Mohg imprisoned him directly beneath the territory of the one person who could fight Malenia to a stalemate. But I'm just speculating now. I've already far overstepped my evidence.

Thanks for the ask! This was an experience.

[siphersaysstuff]

LOCKTOBER!

It's "Locktober", a month entirely about Dinobot leader GRIMLOCK! I mean, what else could it be? So let's close in on some of the plastic toys of the Autobot warrior who simply won't be restrained in this month's batch of Patron-backed @tfwiki pictures!

Sadly, I don't have wiki-worthy samples of the first Grimlock toy, G1 or G2 (also I'd want all 3 G2 decos represented). But here's the Action Master, the fourth release of the character in the original toyline. He came with an "Anti-tank cannon" partner/drone (bonus pic!).

Robots in Disguise 2001 Grimlock, named to secure the Trademark, is one of the most awkward Transformers toys ever made. Them arms, man. This yellow deco was a Hasbro exclusive, released in a post-RID 4-pack of the entire Build Team on Black Friday 2003. Thank you for preserving the name.

The only Unicron Trilogy Grimlock wasn't even originally supposed to be in that series! The Energon Grimlock & Swoop toys (who can combine into Mega-Dinobot) were originally meant to be in the concurrently-running Universe line, but got shifted to the combination-centric Energon.

Grimlock was a natural choice to be in the very limited 2006 Classics line, though him being a Deluxe baffled many. Still, for my money this is a great redesign. I can just see him biting down on a Decepticon, pinning him to the floor, and transforming to stand directly on top of him.

Grimlock made a splash in Animated, though his role and number of toys ended up being pretty limited overall. Still, aside from the big Voyager toy, there's the smaller Activator version, with a partially-spring-loaded conversion activated by pressing the gold button on his dino-butt.

Shattered Glass Grimlock started as a brainless beast. But the pre-convention "prank" comic pages by @therobotmonster and myself portrayed him as highly intelligent and verbose, inspired by the Brain Gremlin from "Gremlins 2". Which went over so well that's how he ended up in later SG stories!

Weirdly, it took some time for Grimlock to show up in the Kre-O building-brick line. The first were Age of Extinction sets, including one with an inexplicable G1-based build and Kreon in the "Grimlock Unleashed" set! G1 Grim also showed up in the "Kreon Class of '85" San Diego Comic Con 2015 exclusive set.

Speaking of Age of Extinction Grimlock, one of the oddest toys of this version of the character is this Walmart-exclusive redeco of the ten-year-old Energon Cruellock mold! The "energon star" accessory has been glued into place to hide that the toy lacks its "spark crystal".

And speaking of weird Grimlocks, Angry Birds Transformers! The app's still going, what the hell? It briefly had actual toys, which included this Jenga-branded "Optimus Prime Attack Game" set with a Grimlock Bird Jenga frame! And yes, this thing is in the mobile game. In both, the goal is to knock out as many tummy bricks and pigs as possible.

The large "Hyper Change Heroes" 3-Step version of Robots In Disguise 2015 Grimlock is possibly the perfect-scale dino-mode toy compared to his teammates' Warrior-class toys (def a bit too big in robot mode)… but ooh, does he take a big hit in robot-mode posability and accuracy from the waist down.

Cyberverse "Spark Armor" Grimlock came with a "Trash Crash" dump truck that forms incredibly bulky armor for him. Interchangeability of the Spark Armors has not been extensively tested to the best of my (admittedly limited) knowledge on the subject.

Of course, G1 Grimmers gets loads of merch. He's currently the only TF to have two wholly-different molds in Super7's ReAction retro action figure line, with both robot and dino mode figs. This G2-colored (but not G2-symbol'd, boo) figure was one of many, many Target exclusive ReAction figs.

Let's end on the "ultimate" G1 Grimlock (well, non-Masterpiece version, though one can argue which of those two is truly "ultimate"), Studio Series! He came with a semi-posable Wheelie figure, so when his price point was inevitably budget-cut, the "partner" fig could be dropped, a sacrifice so the later Dinobots could still afford AN accessory.

If you enjoy these stomps through Transformers toy history, you can help out by joining my Patreon at "gregstfwikipics". Every little bit helps get more pics out a month, plus at higher pledge tiers you can even pick a theme!

[scottxlogan]

StarkBucks Bingo 2022 Master List

Hey everyone! This year I participated in the @starkbucksbingo​ and this is my master list of every prompt I filled on this bingo. It is super exciting to post this because I finished the entire card and it was a lot of fun. Thanks to those in charge running the bingo! It was a great time! To take a look at my master list of prompts read under the cut below:

1.Title: Reconciliation Collaborator Name: scottxlogan Card Number: 311 Link: https://archiveofourown.org/works/40270578 Square Filled: B2 “Don’t make promises you can’t keep.” Ship/Main Pairing(s): Bucky Barnes/Tony Stark Rating:  Teen and Up Major Tags & Triggers: Adult Content, Mild Language, Post-Break Up, Misunderstandings, Idiots in Love, Reunions, Love Confessions, Restraints, Happy Ending, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Bomb Word Count: 7127 Summary: Six months ago Tony Stark asked Bucky Barnes to take their relationship to the next level and move in with him. The next morning Bucky disappeared leaving Tony wondering where he'd gone wrong. Now reunited and facing a threat to their future, the two are forced to face the truth that it took six months to return to in Bucky's absence. Will they find a way to reunite or end up in a situation beyond their control after the bad guys managed to gain the upper hand?

2.Title: Up In the Air Collaborator Name: scottxlogan Card Number: 311 Link: https://archiveofourown.org/works/40435989 Square Filled: G2 On the Run Ship/Main Pairing(s): Bucky Barnes/Tony Stark Rating:  Mature Major Tags & Triggers: Enemies to Friends to Lovers, Mile High Club, Sexual Content, Confessions, Foot Massage, Bucky Barnes has PTSD, Tony Stark Needs a Hugh, Implied/Referenced Alcohol Abuse/Alcoholism, Bonding, Secret Crush, Idiots in Love, Mutual Pining, Protective Bucky Barnes, Hurt Tony Stark, Mild Hurt/Comfort Word Count: 12342 Summary: When a threat is made against Tony's life, he is forced to leave New York and retreat to a private island with Bucky at his side serving as his bodyguard. Although the two have come a long way with one another during the time Bucky has been protecting Tony, it seems that the flight to their destination brings them closer in ways that neither had anticipated moving forward. A quiet conversation leads to awakenings between them as Tony finds himself tempted to explore new heights with Bucky. Could this be the real thing happening between them?

3.Title: Innocent Until Proven Guilty Collaborator Name: scottxlogan Card Number: 311 Link: https://archiveofourown.org/works/40339539 Square Filled: Square G5 Fluff Ship/Main Pairing(s): Bucky Barnes/Tony Stark Rating:  Teen and Up Major Tags & Triggers:   Fluff, Mischief, Cuddling & Snuggling, Making Out, Established Relationship, Kissing, Romance Word Count: 4848 Summary: Tony has big plans, but when he loses something important in his lab his search ends up leading him nowhere. After a frustrating search, Tony ends up cuddling in Bucky's arms and spending time with Alpine. Will Tony discover what happened to his missing item or has it disappeared forever leaving him to face new plans for his future?

4.Title: Sleep and Other Things Collaborator Name: scottxlogan Card Number: 311 Link: https://archiveofourown.org/works/41023590 Square Filled: Square O5 Insomnia Ship/Main Pairing(s): Bucky Barnes/Tony Stark Rating:  Mature Major Tags & Triggers: Awkward Flirting, Idiots in Love, Naked Cuddling, Declarations of Love, Implied Sexual Content, Adult Content, Misunderstandings, Swearing, Angst with a Happy Ending   Word Count: 7222 Summary: Bucky and Tony's shared insomnia leave them facing a potential solution to their mutual problem. When Tony suggests they sleep together, Bucky is both intrigued and anxious wondering what it means moving forward with life at the tower. Will it bring them closer to rest in each other's arms or spark a fire too enticing to ignore?

 5.Title: Now You’ve Done It Collaborator Name: scottxlogan Card Number: 311 Link: https://archiveofourown.org/works/41156601 Square Filled: U2: Changed into an Animal Ship/Main Pairing(s): Bucky Barnes/Tony Stark Rating: Teen and Up Major Tags & Triggers:  Animal Transformation, Magic, Minor Loki/Steve Rogers, Angry Loki, Cat Tony Stark Word Count: 6694 Summary: Bucky returns home from a morning mission only to discover that Tony has been transformed into a tiny kitten after he pushed Loki too far in a debate the previous evening. Unable to find a means of fixing the problem, Bucky's plans for a romantic night are no more as he struggles to bring Tony back to his true form. Will Bucky be successful in his mission, or will Loki's anger forever leave Tony as a tiny fluffball?

6.Title: Breaking Point Collaborator Name: scottxlogan Card Number: 311 Link: https://archiveofourown.org/works/42254982 Square Filled: B5-Cold Ship/Main Pairing(s): Bucky Barnes/Tony Stark Rating:  Teen and Up Major Tags & Triggers:   Misunderstandings, Enemies to Lovers, Implied Sexual Content, Sharing a Bed, Winter, Stranded, Miscommunication, Cuddling, Swearing, Adult Content Word Count: 5562 Summary: When a last minute mission ends badly, Tony and Bucky wind up trapped in a cabin in the middle of a storm with only each other to depend on. Seeking out warmth in one another, the two share a tense exchange that turns passionate as Tony discovers that maybe he doesn't hate Bucky as much as he leads on.

7.Title: I Love You Collaborator Name: scottxlogan Card Number: 311 Link: https://archiveofourown.org/works/41246319 Square Filled: I4, Handle with Care Ship/Main Pairing(s): Bucky Barnes/Tony Stark Rating:  Mature Major Tags & Triggers:   Love Confessions, Light Angst, Angst with a Happy Ending, Insecurity, Scars, Idiots in Love, Tony Stark Needs a Hug, Insecure Tony, Declarations Of Love, Sexual Content, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Angst and Fluff and Smut, Jealousy Word Count: 2874 Summary:  In the aftermath of a disagreement, Tony rethinks his decision to tell Bucky to walk away when Tony realizes that what they've found in one another means more than hiding his heart from the hurt that opening it to love could potentially bring to his life.

8.Title: The Assignment Collaborator Name: scottxlogan Card Number: 311 Link: https://archiveofourown.org/works/41866719/chapters/105057972 Square Filled: G3: “Let me Help You!”, N3: Free Square, G4: "I'm just as average as the rest of you.", N4: On Opposing Sides, N5: Paper Airplane, I5: Plot Twist, O1: Redemption, I1: Friends to Lovers, O2: Evil Exes Ship/Main Pairing(s): Bucky Barnes/Tony Stark Rating:  Explicit Major Tags & Triggers:   Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, No Powers, Bodyguard, Sexual Content, Age Difference, Implied/Referenced Drug Use, Alcoholic Tony Stark, Howard Stark's A+ Parenting, Forbidden Love, Bodyguard Bucky Barnes, Bratty Tony Stark, Lust at First Sight, Dirty Talk, Bad Boy Tony Stark, Sex Toys, War Veteran Bucky Barnes Word Count: Summary: Bucky Barnes is working for his best friend's security company in the hopes of turning his life around and so far it's been working out for him. That all starts to change when Steve assigns Bucky to the role of bodyguard for Howard Stark's blatant, life of the party, ready to unapologetically take what he wants son Tony. As Bucky spends more time with Tony, he finds the job increasingly harder than he'd anticipated. As much as Bucky wants to keep things professional, Tony's flirtations prove to be far more than Bucky can take as it seems that they both want something more from their new association. Bucky has promised to do the job to the best of his ability and not let Steve down, but as Tony continues to pursue something more Bucky finds that it's hard to resist the trouble that comes with his new assignment.

9. Title: Now You’ve Done It Collaborator Name: scottxlogan Card Number: 311 Link: https://archiveofourown.org/works/41156601 Square Filled: N2-Magic Ship/Main Pairing(s): Bucky Barnes/Tony Stark Rating:  Teen Major Tags & Triggers:   Animal Transformation, Magic, Minor Loki/Steve Rogers, Angry Loki (Marvel), Silly, never argue with Loki, Happy Ending, Tony Stark Needs a Hug, just a light story with a little silly stuff happening, Cat Tony Stark Word Count: 6694 Summary: Bucky returns home from a morning mission only to discover that Tony has been transformed into a tiny kitten after he pushed Loki too far in a debate the previous evening. Unable to find a means of fixing the problem, Bucky's plans for a romantic night are no more as he struggles to bring Tony back to his true form. Will Bucky be successful in his mission or will Loki's anger forever leave Tony as a tiny fluffball?

10.Title: Resolution Collaborator Name: scottxlogan Card Number: 311 Link: https://archiveofourown.org/works/41511879 Square Filled: O3: Sounds like a Gigantic problem. Ship/Main Pairing(s): Bucky Barnes/Tony Stark Rating:  Mature Major Tags & Triggers:   Light Angst, Angst and Feels, Implied Sexual Content, Cuddling & Snuggling, Love Confessions, Miscommunication, Implied/Referenced Sex, Drunken Shenanigans Word Count: 4361 Summary: Bucky's journey leads him to Tony's doorstep where he's forced to face his feelings for Tony once and for all.

11.Title: Movie Night Collaborator Name: scottxlogan Card Number: 311 Link: https://archiveofourown.org/works/42326265 Square Filled: O4: “Shh…I’m sleeping Ship/Main Pairing(s): Bucky Barnes/Tony Stark Rating:  Teen Major Tags & Triggers:   Domestic Fluff, Family Feels, Family Bonding, Kissing, Hair Braiding Word Count: 4320 Summary: Bucky and Tony begin date night with plans for a night filled with horror movies and time together, but Alpine and Morgan have other plans that bring them all together as a family.

12.Title: Down Time Collaborator Name: scottxlogan Card Number: 311 Link: https://archiveofourown.org/works/42394161   Square Filled: B1: "Take my hand." Ship/Main Pairing(s): Tony Stark/Bucky Barnes Rating: Explicit Major Tags & Triggers: Explicit Sexual Content, Established Relationship, Fluff and Smut, Miscommunication, Stripping, Needy Tony Stark, Married Sex, Rough Sex, Aftercare, Parent Tony Stark, Dirty Talk   Word Count: 9896 Summary: Tony's been having a great time showing Morgan the family vacation of her dreams. The problem is after all the bells and whistles, he's really missing out on the kind of attention he can only get from his husband when they are alone together. After two weeks without alone time, Tony reaches out to Bucky to let him know what he wants hoping that Bucky has the same ideas in mind.

13.Title: The Gift that Keeps on Giving   Collaborator Name: scottxlogan Card Number: 311 Link: https://archiveofourown.org/works/42940212 Square Filled: I3: Alien Planet Ship/Main Pairing(s): Bucky Barnes & James Rhodes (non-romantic), Bucky Barnes/Tony Stark, James Rhodes/Pepper Potts   Rating:  Teen and Up Major Tags & Triggers: Gift Giving, Reluctant Friendship, Mishaps, Adult Content, Monsters, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Enemies to Friends,  sexual innuendo, Supernatural Elements, Bucky and Rhodey's reluctant friendship in the making   Word Count: 9952 Summary: When Tony goes away with a team on a mission, Tony decides to encourage his fiancé Bucky and his best friend Rhodey to get closer to each other with a series of gifts scattered around the tower encouraging them to spend time together. In doing so one of Tony's gifts has surprising consequences as Bucky and Rhodey are forced to work together to face down one of Tony's exotic presents in a grueling battle. When Tony returns will his plan bring Bucky and Rhodey closer together in forming a friendship or will disaster follow?  

14.Title: Fireworks Collaborator Name: scottxlogan Card Number: 311 Link: https://archiveofourown.org/works/43471695 Square Filled: B4: Missing Scene Ship/Main Pairing(s): Bucky Barnes/Tony Stark Rating:  Teen and Up Major Tags & Triggers:   Missing Scene, Flirting, Fireworks, First Kiss Word Count: 2932 Summary: Remember when Bucky asked Tony to go see some fireworks with him? Well, here's a brief glimpse of what happens when Tony says yes and they end up going together to see the fireworks.

15.Title: The War is Over Collaborator Name: scottxlogan Card Number: 311 Link: https://archiveofourown.org/works/42593226 Square Filled: B3: Soulmates Ship/Main Pairing(s): Bucky Barnes/Tony Stark Rating:  Teen and Up Major Tags & Triggers:   Alternate Universe-Soulmates, Reluctant Soulmates, Canon Divergence-Avengers: Endgame (Movie), Flirting, Enemies to Lovers, Awkward Flirting, Making Out, Bruce Banner & Tony Stark Friendship, Bucky Barnes & Steve Rogers Friendship, Swearing, Healing, Adult Content, Hurt Tony Stark, Parent Tony, Post-Canon Fix-It Word Count: 9614 Summary: In Tony's final moments in the battle against Thanos, he's prepared to die except at that exact moment his soulmate bond emerges and he discovers that the last person he ever thought he'd be linked to was the one he was meant to share forever with. In the awkward aftermath of the revelation, Bucky and Tony are forced to figure out exactly what it means for them moving forward.

16.Title: Strut Collaborator Name: scottxlogan Card Number: 311 Link: https://archiveofourown.org/works/43764519 Square Filled: N1: Murder Strut   Ship/Main Pairing(s): Tony Stark/Bucky Barnes Rating: Mature Major Tags & Triggers: Implied Sexual Content, Established Relationship, Fantasizing, Lust, Love, Adult Content, Swearing   Word Count: 3115 Summary: Alone in his lab Tony contemplates Bucky's Winter Soldier strut and how it makes Bucky completely irresistible as far as Tony is concerned.

17.Title: The Holiday Celebration Collaborator Name: scottxlogan Card Number: 311 Link: https://archiveofourown.org/works/43895119/ Square Filled: G1: Team Bonding Ship/Main Pairing(s): Bucky Barnes/Tony Stark Rating:  General Major Tags & Triggers: awkward flirting, holiday fluff, idiots in love, mutual pining, holidays Word Count: 5758 Summary: Bucky is surprised to receive an invitation to Tony's yearly weeklong holiday celebration up north with the rest of the Avengers. Upon arrival, Bucky soon learns that the trip is full of fun festivities and activities where the team shows off their skills and enjoys the season. Still feeling like an outsider Bucky tries his best to fit in, but worries that he's making a bad impression on their host until Bucky suddenly discovers that maybe his perception of Tony has been slightly off in what Tony thinks about him :)

18.Title: Three Things (Chapter 4) Collaborator Name: scottxlogan Card Number: 311 Link: https://archiveofourown.org/works/43743691/chapters/110312799 Square Filled: I2: AU Android/Cyborg Ship/Main Pairing(s): Bucky Barnes & Peter Parker Friendship, Bucky Barnes/Tony Stark Rating:  Teen and Up Major Tags & Triggers: Post-Spider-Man: No Way Home (Movie), Winter Season, Second Chances, Developing Friendships, Adult Content, Swearing, Holidays, Bucky Barnes & Peter Parker Friendship, Post-Endgame, Sexual Tension, Flirting, Canon-Typical Violence Word Count: 5251 Summary:   Bucky's skepticism is followed up with a violent confrontation that leads him to realize that things aren't always as they seem. When Bucky discovers the truth about Tony's return, what does it mean moving forward?

[life-in-the-monster-haus]

I have some issues with you calling freshwater monster society "cruel and male-dominated". Since we know almost nothing about freshwater monster culture and traditions so we have very little to go on. Also, you are casting judgement on Gil's entire culture. Just because his parents are prejudiced asses doesn't mean that casting judgement on an entire society isn't harmful. And seeing as many interpret Gil as Asian-coded, calling his culture "cruel and sexist" carries additional implications.

This is a fair & lucid critique. I will address it as such.

I based my assumption on Fresh water culture being cruel & male dominated based on what Gil’s parents teach Lagoona in 13 Wishes & what Gil himself has said about them, I have A LOT to go on since I’m not pulling them out if the air. If you read my media analysis on Gil well enough to have an issue with it, you’d know that.

However my assumption MIGHT not be fair, you ARE correct. We ONLY see Gil’s family as our freshwater representation so I don’t exactly have a huge data pool to pull from. Lorna is freshwater but we only get a peak into her home life but her and her (ex?) boyfriend Fin - NOT Finnegan Wake, this guy ⬇️

are ALSO having the same saltwater vs freshwater prejudice problems that Lagoona & Gil had. This is why Lorna asks for Gil’s advice since he’s been there in the Episode “Looks Gil-Ty”Lorna is Gil’s friend. (just, his friend) it’s his job as a good friend to help her.

Most of our other sea monsters in Monster High are family to Lagoona (Kelpie), from the same sea as Lagoona (everybody in Great Scarrier Reef) OR non-descriptive of WHAT water they come from, I COULD be wrong but I don’t think it’s ever stated what body of water Sirena is from. Honey is from freshwater but we get even LESS of a peak into her home life than we do Lorna’s, her parents could be racist too, we don’t know. But I’m not disparaging Freshwater monsters as a whole Gil’s parents are the only bad ones we’ve met so far.

You’re right we don’t know what freshwater culture is like. There is a HUGE lack of information, I agree. But I can’t really DO anything about that, G1 is over, G2 didn’t matter & G3 is probably going to do with a new canon entirely.

So I have to go on what I saw & what I saw was Gil’s family teaching him AND Lagoona when she was freshwater some ancient stuff that does not favor women.

I’m aware Gil is Asian coded I said so in my media analysis several times. It’s also pretty obvious if you look at Gil closely (which no one seems to have done) but his varsity jacket, gym bag and most of his accessories have ”Great Wave” imagery on them also: his father was in the “Koi scouts” so they are heavily implying he’s Japanese. But if you don’t like my theory I got it from another Monster High fan who IS Asian & can correctly identify themes in Gil that I sometimes miss as well as relate to his struggles culturally in ways I just can’t because I don’t have the proper context. My dear friend @peppapigvevo has mentioned they see themes in Gil.

But just for the record… Gil’s parents being racist seems to be a Gil-only problem. Other Asian characters such as Jinafire Long & Kiyomi haunterly don’t have racist parents (as far as I know?) but Lagoona herself specifically stated in 13 Wishes that Freshwater Monsters look down upon Saltwater Monsters.

I don’t create the canon I just analyze it.

[caxycreations]

Character Intro - Ryder Trayson

Ryder Trayson is a Greatwolf, a species similar to both the dire wolves of ancient times and the Grey Wolves of the modern world. Greatwolves are different from normal wolves in a few significant ways:

Greatwolves are much larger, often standing a full two heads taller than their counterparts, have thick, heavy fur, and are vastly more voracious eaters, with many Greatwolves eating multiple pounds of food per meal, and several meals a day, to satiate their appetite due to naturally rapid metabolisms.

Ryder is seven feet and four inches tall, with light blue-grey fur and amber orange eyes. His fur is solid color, with no notable markings. He is particularly muscular, though mostly lean muscle with little excessive muscle mass.

He has a notably strong athletic build, mostly "worker's muscles" rather than those typical of bodybuilders. These are, mostly, from his Blessing but they are further increased by his regular exercise and the constant moving of his equipment.

His Blessing is Beyond Peak, rendering him at the absolute physical peak his body is capable of at any given age, while also amplifying his strength and durability beyond what he could naturally achieve. It takes a great deal of punishment to slow him down, and a great deal more to stop him, and he's been known to be more than capable of carrying twice his weight and striking with force beyond that of professional boxers.

He is not particularly intelligent or stupid, he is average in most mental regards, and bears a strong moral code. He knows what he considers right and wrong, and can't stand seeing injustice in action. He has a history and habit of stepping in to right wrongs he sees and to defend those who need it.

He's not shy in the slightest, and is a prime example of a Relanian predator species, a blend of confidence, boldness, and a very direct nature leaving him a textbook example of "predator".

He works in the music industry as a freelance DJ, offering his services to various bars, clubs, parties, and more. His job, as a Leisure job, pays little compared to others but his circumstances and popularity allow him to pursue it as a career anyways.

He lives in Tylvin, in the Trayson family home, which was left to him by his parents when he turned eighteen. They own a home nearby, but are often on vacation traveling the world. The house was originally built by his family, and his monthly expenses only consist of food and the gas bill, which is how his career as a musician is able to cover his lifestyle costs.

He has a strong southern accent, and his voice is a course, gravelly, deep sound. His vocal range is roughly G2 to E5. He is a poor cook, and often finds himself resorting to whatever can be thrown in an oven, forgotten for half an hour, and pulled out and still be good to eat due to his lack of culinary skill.

The one thing he is able to cook well is a sort of bibimbap, with rice, fried eggs, and sliced brisket.

Overall, he is a fun-loving, casual, devil-may-care type of individual with a sense of responsibility to him. He can't stand bullies and isn't afraid to get physical to uphold what he believes is the right way to be, and to knock down what he believes is the wrong way to be. He is respectful until he has cause to be disrespectful, and is quick to judge.

While his judgements are quick, he is quite skilled at reading others character, and can usually tell the good from the bad. He has been reprimanded in the past by his boyfriend David for not accounting for the fact that people can, and regularly do, change, but trusts his gut too much to look that deeply.

Art by me.