#Go arc v enjoyers go!!!!

[tubbytarchia]

Don't be weighed down by the hate, you're allowed to love what you love!!! Use this opportunity as an excuse to make a post to gush about ARC-V and answer me this:

What do you like about ARC-V? ✨✨

[cyberdragoninfinity]

keep forgetting to post all this art from the Arc-V Fallout AU that's been nibbling at the back of my brain sinceeeee april or so 🥴

[dr-spectre]

Hey guys! I wanna share something REALLYYYYYY important with you all!!!

So, I was having a nice conversation with an editor from Inkipedia. Really friendly individual, we had a nice civil discussion and it was great to hear out their points and wiki related things. I learnt some cool things and how Nintendo operates in certain areas.

I asked them about some stuff relating to Callie and localisations, and they told me that the "Hypnoshades" are actually just called "sunglasses," in the original Japanese version of Splatoon 2 and theres no mention of brainwashing OR hypnosis. All of the events in the original japanese version of Splatoon 2 seemed to be a lot more vague and up for interpretation which i found to be very interesting!!

However.... the editor told me that the English localisation line from DJ Octavio, "I remixed Callie's brain!" is actually different in the original japanese version.

GUESS WHAT DJ OCTAVIO SAID...

"Aori-Chan is so simple minded! I was able to brainwash her with ease."

Nintendo JP.... WHAT THE FUCK?!?!?!?! I WAS YOUR BIGGEST DEFENDER!! WHAT IS THIS?!?!?! YOU MEAN TO TELL ME THAT IN THE ORIGINAL JAPANESE VERSION... CALLIE WAS STILL BRAINWASHED?!?!

Oh I'm gonna be sick....

You know, this ultimately just proves something to me.

Splatoon 2's writing... just fucking sucks. Straight up, it's ass. And not the good kind. It's poorly written and you wanna know why? It's set up is REALLY GOOD!!!! but it's pay off is the most uninteresting, vile, disrespectful, childish, lazy, DISGUSTING THING THEY COULD HAVE POSSIBLY DONE!!!

All this interesting set up with Callie and having this arc where she's so lonely and busy that she ultimately runs away to the Octarians, joins them willingly and ends up getting hypnotised, resulting in her becoming more emotional and seeping into the darkness in her heart... Marie, having to come and remind her of the good times they had together... to reignite the positivity in Callie's heart... to repair what they have broken... to have a fresh start...

But did this setup get paid off in a satisfying and emotionally deep way? No.... they choose to TREAT CALLIE LIKE A FUCKING MORON AND FOR WHAT REASON?!?!?! ARE NINTENDO JUST SCARED OF DEPTH?!?! WHATS THEIR FUCKING ISSUE?!?!?!

ITS SO DISRESPECTFUL!!! SHE LOST THE FINAL SPLATFEST AND YOU CONTINUE TO BEAT HER DOWN?!?!?! WHAT THE FUCK?!?!?! WHAT WERE THE WRITERS COOKING?!?!?! GET THEM OUT OF THE KITCHEN DAMN IT!!!!

They literally picked the most uninteresting and disgusting fucking outcome possible and I genuinely don't know why. There's SOOOO much concept art and multiple sunken scroll entries that showcase this depth for Callie, AND THEY THREW IT AWAY!!!

But you know what? Im gonna continue to hold my stance about the events of splatoon 2 because I would rather like to look at the story in a more interesting and narratively fulfilling way than what Nintendo is trying to push. Sure, it might not be what Nintendo said happened, but I would rather look at the events in a different, more character rich way for my own fucking sanity and enjoyment. I am going to continue to say fuck you to the notion that "Callie was brainwashed and kidnapped" because I like stories where characters go through character arcs and growth!!!! I hate it when that depth and agency for my favourite character in this franchise IS TAKEN AWAY!!!!

I would rather live in a world where Fresh Start ACTAULLY MAKES SENSE AS A SONG!! I would rather live in a world where OCTAVIO ISNT A FUCKING UNREDEEMABLE EVIL MONSTER THAT CUTTLEFISH WOULD NEVER WANNA SEE AGAIN AFTER HEARING WHAT HE DID TO CALLIE!!!!

I would rather live in a world where Splatoon 3 feels more satisfying to me and the Squid Sisters get proper send offs and pay offs to their arcs from the start of Splatoon 1.

I would rather live in a world where Tidal Rush is more emotional and personal, THAN SOME BULLSHIT "oh we gotta save callie because she's a dumb idiot and she's an object to grab because it's a video game!!! Ha ha!!!"

I would rather live in a world where Callie is given a proper character arc, INSTEAD OF GETTING KIDNAPPED AND THESE AWFUL AND DISGUSTING THINGS DONE TO HER! ONLY FOR IT TO GET REVERSED SO EASILY WITH NO MENTION OF THESE EVENTS EVER AGAIN!!!!!

UGH.... I'm actually so angry. I hate this so much.

When Splatoon 4 comes out, I'm not gonna hold back on my criticisms. I want change out of these writers because the current format we have for Splatoon stories is actual dogshit and I'm so tired of it. Everyone in the community is tired of the cool and interesting character details being pushed to the side and hidden away because Nintendo fucking hates narratives and only saves it for RPGS for some ungodly reason.

Im tired of important character details giving shoved off in optional and hard to find content. I'm tired of these awful implications and events being spread like wildfire in the community because daddy Nintendo said so.

Im done.

[zxal]

the biggest structural flaw with arc v imo is the absolute failure to engage with yuya's professed "make everyone smile" motivation on anything more than a glancing surface level. Ray tells zarc that yuya is the part of him that wants to make people smile, and yuya has that revelation himself in the finale (that zarc wanted to make people smile just like him) but doesn't manage to extract any takeaway from it other than "I guess we weren't so different" or "I guess zarc wasn't all bad" Which Like, Huh? guys, zarc wanting to make people smile was, like, the whole fucking issue. zarc felt pressured to conform to an audience's expectation of him (wanted to make them happy) and it made him hate humanity because what he wanted no longer mattered. It made him do things that disgusted him and it was never enough. He couldn't fill the hole in himself with other people's smiles. yuya is trying desperately to please everybody right up until the credits roll and he's miserable the entire time, he's still that part of zarc that desperately wants approval from others, without even the aspects of zarc that made dueling enjoyable to him (yuri's sadism, yugo's competitiveness, yuto's vindictiveness). I'd go so far as to wager that it's because Yuya is that aspect of zarc that he struggles so much more with zarc's influence compared to the others, BECAUSE HE'S EXPERIENCING THE EXACT SAME THING. it's not about entertainment or smiling or fun, it's conformity and it's going to break him. and they never address it. EVER.

[miki-kaname]

Anime I've Seen in 2024 (New and Old)

New

Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba Hashira Training arc - 5/10: Too short and over too quickly, really wished they could’ve added more.

My Hero Academia season 7 - 6/10: Tiring at this point, I actually don't care anymore.

Date a Live V - 7/10: It didn't shocked me like everyone else, I've seen heavier shit then this. Still, it's an appropriate finale. I've heard there's like two light novels left in the series. Maybe one day for season 6.

Sand Land - 7/10: The main story is fantastic and a great stand alone series. The second arc is okay. It's good but completely unnecessary.

Bocchi the Rock! movie - 8/10: Cramming a whole season into a two part movie is surprisingly good. Saw it in theaters and I had a good time. So... when season 2?

Bleach: Thousand-Year Blood War - The Conflict - 8/10: So far, it's still great. It's very intense.

Dragon Ball Daima - 8/10: Great story, great characters, great world building, and great animation. The pacing though... cocktease.

Old

Dragon Ball - 10/10: Revisited as myself paying tribute to the late Akira Toriyama, who pass away this year. This series is still amazing and charming. Please watch it and ignore the fandom who hated it for no reason. Your life will change forever.

Dragon Ball Z - 9/10: This was the first time I watched it in the original Japanese version. A completely different experience. I had a ton of fun going through the whole thing again.

Lucky Star - 7/10: At first, I really love how these girls just sit around and talk endlessly. But then... it kept going. Then it got super annoying. And then it got to be not fun anymore. By the time I got to ep. 12, I remember saying to myself," WE GOT 12 MORE EPISODES OF THIS SHIT?" The ending was cringing, I'm sorry, I did not like it. I give it some time and... it wasn't that bad in retrospect, I was just not in the right mood. I'll give it another chance one day.

K-ON! - 10/10: I read the manga a year ago and I greatly enjoy it, so I was looking forward for the adaptation. Unfortunately, an unexpected moment occurred in my life that made me delayed my binge watch. Once I felt better, I finally watched it and... it was what I desperately want: comfort. The characters were great, the music is pretty catchy, and the overall experience was enjoyable. When it was over, I felt sad, sad that it was over. But it did heal my soul.

The Melancholy of Haruchi Suzumiya - 4/10: Surprised I didn't receive hate mail from my opinion of this anime. Why did I really hated it? Haruchi Suzumiya herself. Fuck! That! BITCH! I hated everything about her, she gave me flasbacks to Asuka from Evangalion, who is also GODAWFUL! This anime reminded me why I hated tsunderes, I never felt so much anger in my life. If there's any silver lining, it gave me Yuki Nagato, and Mikuru Asahina is cute. I know there's a movie, but I refuse to watch it.

The Disappearance of Nagato Yuki-chan - 7/10: I got nothing to say about this spin-off, but I like this better then the main one.

Berserk (1997) - 8/10: Finally started watching this classic and, wow, this was not what I expect it to be. I was really into the story and the battle scenes were gory. The ending? Still haven’t recover from that dramatic experience.

Hidamari Sketch - 10/10: You know why I started watching this? I watch the second presidential debate, and it was a total shit show. To get away from politics, I put this on, not expecting what I was going to get. And what did I get? Possibly one of the cutest, comforting, fun shows I've seen in awhile. The girls were great, the animation was abstract, and it was pretty relaxing. I was a bit bother by the ecchi scenes, glad Madoka didn't had that treatment. By the end, you feel like you made friends with them. Or better yet, you became family with them. This is another show that heal my soul.

Miss Kobayashi's Dragon Maid - 8/10: This one has been on my watch list for awhile, but I'm glad I saw it. Another relaxing show that just happens to have plenty of scenes that goes TOO HARD! Like whole, was not expecting them to throw at me. Everything else is great too.

Yuru Yuri - 8/10: I thought I wasn't going to like this because of how mean spirited it can be. But... not only was this shit funny, but it's also heartwarming. This was a lot a fun.

What to expect next year?

[speedierthanasubmarine]

I decided to watch helluva boss and imma do 2 separate posts for seasons 1 and two (why did I write it like that…?)

Season one

God I love this show. The writing is way more my speed than Hazbin hotel on Amazon, I enjoyed the writing in the pilot, but once Amazon took over the humor just didn’t really land for me, and tbh the plot took over and I started focusing more on that, and in general I’m more partial to the rapid fire YouTube dry comedy and this sentence is a friggin mess- I found HB SO FREAKIN FUNNY

Dude when he goes “FUCK, a new hole” I lost it

“Just try and sue us”

“We’re rich and we’re hot”

“I can just buy all the things!”

“You should commit die”

“Hehe, Trumpet!”

These are just my kinda lines, I don’t know how to explain it, I was wheezing all throughout the season

The music OH LORD when I say I’ve listened to stolas’s lullabye, lulu land, cotton candy, and house of ozmodius like 100000 times I’m… exaggerating but like you get the point the music here is friggin fantastic I also really like how a lot of the music is diegetic, I think that’s a fun touch. I don’t remember whether this is the case in Hazbin, but in this one it was like… I don’t know, it made sense that they were singing when they were singing… am I articulating myself well? I don’t care, iykyk if not, no prob

The animation is great, Viv loves them spinny shots and I am here for it. The amount of genuinely amazing action scenes is super impressive, and even the chill scenes have a ton of personality

The voice acting might be what steals the show for me, idrk anyone’s names cept Alex Brightman but BLITZS VA NEEDS AN AWARD, also slight tangent but I don’t know what it is with stolas’s va but he sounds a lot like a bird in the same sense that Gary Oldman sounded a lot like a bird in Kung Fu Panda 2, what is it that casting directors recognize in actors that screams bird?! Because both of these men are just SO BIRD DOES ANYONE GET WHAT I MEAN moving on, Ozzie’s voice was also effing PERFECT it slid silkily over me like… silk butter or smtg it was the perfect lust voice, I loved it. Everyone else was also great, but they were extra great.

It was also just so fun? Like in hazbin there’s very little just… shenanigans to enjoy, nothing wrong with that because it’s not that type of show, whereas this season is jam packed with them. Like I’ve heard that everyone hated episode 4, but like I don’t know I loved it😆 I just found it to be good old fashioned chicanery, and I liked the chaos and stupidity of it, made for some entertaining TV. This story engine is just mad entertaining for me.

I also enjoyed the writing of most of the characters (Millie, Moxxie, Loona, and Octavia still leave a bit to be desired imo, but whatever, they can’t all be winners and there’s nothing wrong with them) Blitz kinda reminds me of a Barney Stinson type character, which I really enjoy, and I also really like how his boss persona kinda infects everything he does while simultaneously being what’s screwing him over, his nature is kinda like a snake swallowing its own tail, which is tragic and beautiful, and Stolas compliments him well by being, not an enabler, but… I don’t know a clever way to say this… Stolas is a wreck in the best way and he just works. He’s short sighted, like extremely so, like how he thinks sleeping with Blitz will fill his emotional void so he does it but it just drives them further apart so it’s like he’s in a hole and in order to get out he’s gonna dig to pile up dirt so he can climb out but he’s an idiot and that’s a stupid idea and I loved his whole arc. Very enjoyable stuff drama.

Kinda random but whoever Viv’s foli artist is also deserves an award, the sound effects in this show are pristine and it’s incredible (yes I’ve seen the scene where the gun sounds go off a few seconds too late, and yeah, mistakes happen, but every bone crunch sounds and other stuff like that being so enunciated in an indie show is extremely impressive)

Anyhoo, very fun, very emotional, nice to look at, very funny, yada yada- altogether great season 1.

[twst-beam]

I see you are in need of prompts, then I shall humbly bestow upon thee some a prompt.

Hmm, what about going to a farmer's market with *insert YOUR favourite character here*? I believe in shameless self-enjoyment when it comes to writing; be self-indulgent. Don't you want to go apeshit?

Also do give your hands a well deserved rest every so often ^v^

ohohohoho you're giving me a lot of power with the YOUR favorite character there dove dear, but alright let's go >:D

Gifts

??? words, featuring my THREE favorite boyos because self-indulgence ftw <3

Deuce Spade

Going to the farmer's market was his idea; the two of you needed groceries, and it just so happened that the farmer's market was convenient for you.

Early morning, it was decided, it would double as a date, and both of you were early risers anyway. It'd also boost the morale of the farmers, Deuce had reasoned, and you fell all over again.

A wicker basket, two, so that you could carry your purchases home, although Deuce insisted he'd carry all of them for you, and you laughed and told him no.

The morning sun shone brightly as you walked towards the farmer's market, feeding a few ducks along the way as you walked by the lake and watching as Deuce's expressions softened every time, it was cute, and he grinned sheepishly when he caught you staring.

The entrance to the farmer's market was marked by a decorated arc, and it was peaceful and fun as the two of you walked around, buying produce and chatting with the stall owners, at one point Deuce was given a comically large round of cheese to carry home when he fought off a bunch of menaces from an old lady's stall.

But the real highlight of that morning was when Deuce found the chicks.

One, two, three, more chicks than he could count properly waddled around in a pen, and with a joke, an exclamation of wonder, and a hopeful confirmation, the two of you brought home two very full wicker baskets and a baby chick that rested on Deuce's head.

Jade Leech

Though he thought foraging in the mountains would have been a better decision for both your budget and experience, he relented when he saw the eagerness in your eyes.

By midmorning, you were dragging him to the farmer's market, chattering about the crafts and produce that could be found, and he smiled despite himself.

He watched as you conversed eagerly with the merchants, calmly observing how you skilfully picked the best produce, and how you looked at the crafts with admiration.

You had just purchased a new scarf, wrapping it around your neck and grinning as you waved at him to come over.

"Jade, Jade, look at this one"

He leans over as you took a scarf from the layed out pile on the table, and widened his eyes slightly as he saw what made you wave him over.

"Mushroom print," you smiled as you showed it to him, "and with the coloration and teal ruffles it reminded me of you"

He took it gently from your hands, noticing how the fabric was smooth but thick enough to warm, and kissed your forehead.

"Thank you, my pearl"

You muttered a "you're welcome", dazed by the sudden display of affection as he thanked the stall owner and payed for the scarf, bringing you out of your reverie.

"Hey, wait a minute, I was the one supposed to pay for that, not you"

Jade grinned, displaying his sharp teeth, eyes glinting with mischief as he feigned innocence.

"You were?"

You huffed, "it was supposed to be my gift for you, for bringing me here."

He leaned closer, scarf now hanging from his neck as he tapped his lips in thought, smirk giving away his intentions.

"Then what about a different gift?"

Rook Hunt

Your expedition to the farmer's market was on a whim, a fancy, a spur of the moment thing, but who were you to complain? the moment his hand held yours you couldn't help but go anywhere he wanted.

So there you were, between the rows of stalls and booths, illuminated by the fairy lights as Rook marveled at each product, generously purchasing trinkets and produce and whatever caught his eye.

You couldn't help but smile as Rook's exclamations of fascination and wonder brought smiles to the farmers' faces, and as you sat he waxed poetic about all the beauties the market provided, and you looked at the moon, content to hear him speak amidst the chatter and bustle of the bazaars.

"...but you know what the most amazing thing is in this place, mon amour?"

You closed your eyes, tilting your head as you emitted a curious "hmm?"

He held your hand, looking into your eyes as he smiled in adoration.

"You."

[ladydaybreaker]

Bit of an Announcement

A year ago today I posted and finished the last chapter of Memento Nori with the expectation that no one was going to ever want me to continue. That the story was done and over and no one wanted to see more. 

Oh boy was I wrong . 

I mentioned that I did have a couple chapters of a story that would basically continue on to become What Friends Are For and people started clamoring for it.

I originally was asked by a close friend of mine Izayoi_Drifter on AO3 to make a oneshot of N teaching Uzi to fly as a birthday gift. I then started doing exercises on the characters to make them believable (V you absolute terror I still was fearful of writing you). And then I started writing what would become the fight between Nori and N in chapter 11 of Memento Nori . I got intrigued by the purple spitfire I created based off of the few pictures we saw of her and how Khan talked about her and she literally grabbed me by the hand, yanked me forward with “C’mon, loser, we’re writing.” and so Memento Nori was written. I am…incredibly surprised and incredibly happy that I managed to actually get her spot on from what we saw in Mass Destruction (I just wasn’t expecting her to be ALIVE).

After I started posting What Friends Are For , I reached a dead end…quite literally. As at the time I had just finished up the Home arc and Dead End had just released. I sat there thinking “What the hell am I going to do while I wait for episode 7?” and I looked back to Memento Nori thinking “Y’know…I could write more of her…” and by doing so I started To Stay In Heaven, For Fear of Your Creation and in doing that started the series of Ad Astra, Per Aspera . Which had gone from being just a short story on Nori and a retelling of Home and Dead End (at the time) to being something that spanned from the Lab Experiments of 98.7 to generations after the canon timeline. 

And I have you guys to thank.

If you guys hadn’t clamored on Memento Nori to see the oneshot turned seven chapters turned retelling of canon, then Ad Astra would not exist. I wouldn’t have found my enjoyment of writing these cute little robots with trauma and murdery tendencies, I wouldn’t have met my friends that have helped my writing improve and helped me find voices for characters that I never cared for or had difficulty writing. I wouldn’t have cried, have fretted, have worried, have cheered, have whooped and hollered over the little things of me being right in my theory crafting. 

So, from the bottom of my heart, thank you.

As a thank you and in honor of Memento Nori being a year old, I’ve completely revamped the story so that it better fits with the “canon” of Ad Astra . If you’ve read it already, that’s awesome! I’m glad you liked it in its not-as-polished-as-everything-else state haha. It’s always been a source of annoyance to me that it was the ‘weakest’ of the series because it was the oldest and done without any info on the Cabin Fever things. My writing was shaky there and I…want to say I’ve improved but I’ll leave that for people to say. 

I know the series is ending. I am a bit sad of it, but that means that I can do what I want with the story after haha. With Episode 8, the finale, coming up in two weeks, I am a bit nervous of what it’ll entail. I will admit that there will likely be very little that makes it into What Friends Are For . But, I still want to try and incorporate that. Now, when I get there in Cross the Jaded Stars …uhhhh yeah that might be canon. We’ll see. 

I’m a sucker for happy endings after all. 

But, all in all…I just wanted to thank you guys. And because some people don’t read authors notes, I wanted to make it a whole thing so y’all could see it. Thank you for sticking with me on this wonderful ride. You’re not getting rid of me that easily, I’ve still got more stories to tell after all :) 

Máriessë ar mára tecië

Farewell and fair writing

-Lady Daybreaker

[just-jae]

Eyo- So this is why I love OG Naruto

CW: Cursing.

Random projectile vomiting what I love about the first part of Naruto. Mostly from memory (so like, a decade+ ago) I decided to play the the Chunin Exams Arc while writing this to refresh my memory bc honestly, even though I dipped after tasting Shippuden and don't even care to aknowledge Boruto (even if it's good, i don't care) the fact that Part 1 is still so enjoyable shows how it's virtues were in that it actually executed, not just in what it promised. I'll probably be editing this as I rewatch-- like, apparently Choji and Neji also have arm wraps :,V

The theme around hard work. It wasn't a "Work hard to earn a comfy life/ those at the top deserve it" theme it was a "Go after what you love, be passionate, be persistent, build upon yourself to overcome obstacles," kind of hard-work theme. It encouraged chasing your passions and applying yourself to challenges. There was value in just doing that, even if you failed. The meaning and value in your life was tied to your own efforts and decisions, not your status or position in a heirarchy or social conscience.

Positive Father Figures: Forget that Naruto punches his dad in Shippuden. In the first episode, Iruka emotionally adopts Naruto after opening up to him and allowing himself to relate to Naruto as a fellow human being who was suffering and responding to that suffering in similar ways to himself. Before, he pretended not to understand Naruto for the sake of "evil demon kid" narratives and ignoring his own grief. Iruka scraggling Naruto's hair like a big bro/dad wasn't just a bonding moment; it was a found family moment. When Naruto hugs Iruka in the Forest of death, you can tell he adores that kid and is ready to sign the adoption papers.

One of Naruto's icon characters is Ichiraku, the ramen guy who basically serves as Naruto's Grandad. He fills this kid with soup ramen near-every damn day. He's probably why Naruto loves ramen so much.

The spooky, nature-y understones and setting: Giant dark forests, thematic, nature-inspired ninja techniques, the spooky music, the semi-traditional japanese instruments in the sound track (flutes, drums, lutes, etc.) It's got electric guitar too but the traditional texture of the music made it earthy and cultrally touching in the same way that Avatar: The last Air Bender's natural and spiritual eastern inspiration colored it's visual and audial aesthetic. The "HUH"s and "HUAH"' in the background music added so much bomastic, earthy energy, I LOVED hearing them. I'm telling you there's a healthy reason why I like screaming/yelling/hollering. I haven't articulated it yet, but Naruto's soundtrack scratch that itch well.

Horror: Naruto is one of the few anime I've seen with undertones of horror, without being a horror genre show especially for an action-oriented shonen inspired by feudal-age folklore hybrid with modern aesthetics like military vests and tvs. The realistic visual tone that Naruto leans toward compared to modern anime only helps this and makes how dark it gets believable when you consider how culturally and morally grey the base populations are. Sometimes the cultural vices are the main drive in a character's backstory, like Gaara, who's village was crumbling after betrayal and unreliable leadership reinforced the trust and connection issues that left him alone on a raft in hostile waters with the boogie man as his raftmate to where he couldn't even fathom caring for someone else. Bc of this, him being fucking insane, while Naruto wasn't made sense. It felt like the worlds they were in naturally led to the horrors.

Smarts and thoughtfulness being used to win battles. Earlier in the show, things weren't so flashy, not even elite ninjas were shown doing anything nearly as wild as what happens in the second and following parts. The limits of these abilities left room for the characters to use their heads to not only work around their limits but use them to their advantage to bamboozle and have some kind of chance even against physically stronger opponents.

The significance of jutsu also felt more thematic and narrative in nature. The First Hokage's super power was growing giant trees with his chakra.

Which not only suggests he created the very forest Konoha resides in, but also pointed to his approach to leadership, which was giving himself and his clan to stegnthen and lift everyone else up, not just through mixing blood with other clans but through building stregnth and resikience through connections and mutual care.

Much better than the brightest, fastest, most destructive energy bomb or powerup.

Look at the reaper death seal justsu and tell me that wasn't more terrifying than the tentails. Imagine how scared someone is using that jutsu. A demon ghost lady is gonna use your soul as a glove to grab someone else's soul, eat it, and then take you with her... him? It/they-- qhost.

Which leads me to another thing- vulnerability coupled with power. The imagery of the reaper death seal, reainforced a sense of vulnerability that is necessary for the power the user gains.

Gaara's insomnia and dangerously narrow buffer between him and Shukaku lead to him spazzing out in pain whenever something triggers an episode of whatever-the-fuck. Leaving him in a a state of disarray and uselessness.

He was supposed to be the nuke that destroyed Konoha but was too busy chasing after anyone who had a chance of beating him up. And then freaking out over hugs. His invulnerable body came with a trade off of a vulnerable and volitile psyche.

Even Zabuza only survived Kakashi because Haku incapacitated him with needles to his neck and then took care of him afterward.

The conversation between the 1st 2nd and 4th Hokage's was like. "Yo it's my bros!" "Hey bro. Sorry bro." "Bro i don't wanna fight you. But this is so cool. I miss you bro." "me too bro."

Now more character-specific stuff:

Rock Lee is my all-time favorite character. Not only is he the embodiment of part 1's major theme, but I just loved his design and voice acting (the green bodysuit could be awkward at times, but everything else is just pure "That's my son look at him go" vibes).

It's a simplistic, agile, adorable character. Pure serotonin. The way his hair flipped around when he fought was great, the (OMO) face, the scrawly, lanky body that moved a little too sharp bc he was legit always ready to explode-- just great. Rock Lee is so pasionate and just loves living. I got the sense that he isn't training just to prove ppl wrong. He loves the ninja arts, and learns to love taijutsu for its own sake not just for the sake of other's approval or besting someone in combat.

Kakashi Hatake was like the reassuring character. His calm and focused approach to conflicts and danger were a nice balance to everyone else's bamboozlement and dramatic/passionate personalities. Kakashi also comes off as a reality check sort of character. He's the one who makes team seven realize the mortality of ninjas via a monument echoing real-life monuments dedicated to fallen soldiers and victims of war/terrorism. You can tell that he cares about ninja as people despite his laid-back demeanor, and expects his team to understand the importance of respect for fellow ninja. His experiance with the inner workings of Konoha also make him more realistic and aware of the world's greyness. He knows how politically corrupt things are and wants his students to hold on to their morality instead of tossing it away to follow orders.

Zabuza- was not just eye candy-- okay Zabuza was 99% eye candy for me (looked a bit starved but-- damn Kishimoto knew what he was doing with that one)

Zabuza's situation of being emotionally dishonest with himself ties back to the whole vulberability associated with power thing. His cold world veiw ablut using and being used made it more obvious that he and Haku genuinely cared for eachother bc they acted in ways that didn't fit that narrative. This big, sharktoothed "Demon of the mist" having a soft spot that also had a soft spot for him was like 🥺

Tenten's affinity for weapon-weilding was legitimately cool and gave me mechanic vibes. They could have been so creative with that. But for now it's just sitting on its hands. I also just love her character design. She got those BUNS.

The Sand Siblings were my favorite team. They were scary as hell. Gaara was just danger personified. He was bloodthisty with a power that enabled it. Carrying around a gourd that reeked of blood-- like-- Garra was one of the horrors of the forest of death and the way he act and the way his siblings talk about him suggested he was chaotic and couldn't nessecarily be trust to keep to the plan. And I loved that he was this tiny scrawny thing with no eyebrows and eyeliner panda/racoon eyes. Some of his expressions were like- EXPRESSIONS dude.

He used have more expressions than 😐 and 😑. He was unintentionally adorable-- you can tell he was meant to look creepy and otherly but came out a little critter. His hair wasn't even meant to be red, that was an animation error. Like, a character even calls him a runt, Kiba's like "Oh no he's too small to be picking fights, run little dude" so he's canonically a little guy. Littler than normal.

Let me tell you, when I was scrubbing through the episodes (bc they spend so much time wasting time on nothing) my eyes would hook on a thumbnail of Gaara, and it'd be 2 seconds of him not reacting to something, and it'd be worth it everytime. Instant serotonin.

Seeing the smallest, most baby-faced member of the group, who looks even tinier with a giant gourd go:

Is just wild. At least for Naruto. And the fear in the other characters is just- a lot. He's not animated in a cuetsey way either. Like, he's not a loli character. He's a little eldritch horror. And I love that he's not infantilized or cutyfied by the creator for being tiny.

Kankuro was also pretty spooky. Not only did his technique look painful as a papercut, but his main puppet (Crow?) somehow managed to give off body-horror vibes.

They really milked it's spookyness by emphasizing the mechanical side of it (the clicking and the way it jerked) and its use of poisoned everything to make even the tiniest nicks a big deal.

Temari was the power house, aesthetically. Like, it's not even a girl-power thing. She just has shoulder-snapper posture. Her eyes , are this dark blue that I've rarely seen in a character design. She's got big sis vibes (bc she IS the big sis). Like, she's gorgeous.

And her explosive hair went well with her chaotic wind specialty. She just fucks the entire landscape up with the goddamned air dude.

The GODDAMNED AIR.

AND THEN LATER WITH THE FERRET-- LIKE DUDE.

Anyways...

Orochimaru as himself is a creep, at least later on-- mostly bc so much of his character is spent obsessing over a little boy's body- obv. this was meant to be creepy, but it's like, pedo creepy, not spider on the wall/ posessed doll creepy. His introduction as the Grass lady, and this slippery immoral scientist who wanted to catalyze a war was a great time He felt like a force of nature.

I dont have Grass Lady photos yet but this is the next best thing lmao. As the mysterious grass village lady, he was HORRIFIC. I really wish she and her team had been real characters instead of just a skin for Orochimaru to hide in. The way she's introduced is exactly the reason why ninja are traditionally thought of as practicing dark, evil arts. Bc they did dark, evil, spooky shit like pulling at their eyelids and being gross with their tongues. The organs and spooky singing in the background, the predator/prey theme, knowing about Naruto's seal when (at this point) so few others did. On top of that, ya'll gotta know that I'm a sucker for those conical sedge/ coolie hats. The fact that Grass LAdy had a long face and droopy eyes made it all the better. Like, how many other feminine characters have those features? All the character designs of the Grass Village team and the relation of grass to snakes and big hats was pretty neat imo.

Kiba Inuzuka honestly seems like he was inspired by Princess Monoke, which is pretty neat on its own, but i honestly don't feel like Kiba really fits into a ninja village. He's loud and bombastic and rarely uses clever or sneaky tricks. It's just brute strength and prey drive. Which isn't to say he shouldn't be in Naruto, but that maybe he could have been from a different village? Or just not necesarily a ninja. Idk. I love that he's this wild-child who's entire theme is dog.

If a dog were a dude.

If only they were good at drawing dogs though.

Hinata was one of those characters I didn't realize I identified with. A LOT. If Rock Lee is who I aspired to be, Hinata was who I actually was. Not just in demeanor (I too skalked around in a jacket no matter the weather) but also in circumstance. Struggling with comparing yourself to others, or others resenting you for the way you're treated (I was the baby of the family) or constantly dealing with people who think they're better or scold you for poor performance, being pushed into something you didn't even really care for. It was all very relatable, and I didn't even realize it at the time.

The fact that they were willing to give her those "ugly" veins left an impression on me too. Bc, that was her kickass look. It wasn't cute, and she didn't have a delicate, pretty style of fighting. Even though she got beat up she really threw hands in a way that felt realistic. Homegirl was just tryna get by despite being surrounded by assholes, and the moment she stood up to Neji, who was in the middle of phsychologically manipulating her into an anxiety attack (not a literal attack but same energy) was like 🥳. I can respect that. Even though she lost, it really felt like Neji learned there'll at least be trouble if he tries that shit again.

Shino was another favorite (I'm gonna end up going through every character at this rate). Especially with his english dub actor. For much the same reasons as Kakashi. Shino was reliable and cool headed. He didn't strut power or look to intimidate anyone, he just paid attention and tended to his bugs-- which, the fact that he cares for and works with a bunch of bugs is oddly endearing. It's like meeting a cat person who's just really good with cats but doesn't gush over them. He comes off as sensitive, but not obsessive.

His angry-neutral design is pretty neat too. Big Soundwave vibes.

Sakura's wake-up call is honestly pretty iconic. She was a bratty character who realized her flaws on her own instead of being told "Hey, be better you goof", She reflected on how she's been up until the moment when it was all on her and she was eating dirt. Sakura getting serious and learning to be proactive, now that she didn't have anyone as a crutch or a scapegoat, was a pretty awesome moment. And even though The show could have done more with her in that regard, I still appreciate that they went there. Watching Sakura with empathy (especially now that we as a society aren't starving for strong female characters like we used to be) makes me notice how realistic her nievety and dependance is. And also how funny she is at times. Even Ino realizing having that wakeup call like "Bro I'm being stupid, I can't let this girl die over a crush". It even feels like their feud isn't just about a crush but just social insecurity. Sakura used to be shy until she met Ino. Ino enouraged her to be proud up until attention started to be drawn away from her toward Sakura. This also suggested that Ino actually did look down on Sakura and was using her to feel better about herself. Sakura outgrowing Ino put her in a position of facing her own flaws or reframing Sakura as an enemy who didn't deserve to be loved.

And when the reason they were enemies (Sasuke) no longer justified being a dickhead (letting Sakura fucking die) Ino not only had to face her own inadequacy but allow herself to care for Sakura again, from a more genuine place.

I wish they had done more with that, but the fact that they did that in the first place was iconic. There's nothing like having to learn that the world you were raised in is not reality. Breaking out of a sheltered and shallow worlveiw is its own struggle. Its a learning curve, and it leaves you emotionally and socially unprepared when you thought you finally had everything figured out. Sometimes people hold on to bratty behavior bc they think their only other option is getting bullied and hating themselves. Sakura's snootiness comes off just makeshift confidence she learned from assholes. She didn't look down on Naruto bc she interacted with Naruto, she looked down on him bc that's what she's been taught to do about people like Naruto. The whole village was like that. Which is realistic. We just aren't told nearly as much of her perspective as other characters, but her learning how her words impact people, and how dishonest she is about her own competence is worth exploring.

The themes in Naruto were pretty nuanced-- even if the character's dialogue was exposition hell (they spend so much time verbally explaining things that dont need to be explained in such a longwinded manner), they were human condition themes, not just a power fantasy or a romance, or a black and white, good and evil conflict. Ninjas are already pretty shady, with Naruto being the most overtly good character in the show. Everyone else's morality (beside's Lee) is questionable at one point or another-- in fact I think even Lee was introduced as an intimidating upperclassmen. It feels true to life that regular people are actually pretty mean and flawed, which makes Naruto's themes hit harder bc you know it's not just one special character going through a special time, making friends with other 100% good people. Its life. Its people dealing with life. Like, these assholes love and hate eachother at the same time all the time. Some of Naruto's friends did some morally questionable shit. Like Shikamaru pretending to be asleep during the attack on Konoha. We still love the guy, but, get the fuck up dude.

Looking back, this just makes me realize that I've always had an interest in thematic/psychological horror and character realism. I can't stand gore/torture, but spooky grass women that infect you with curses, cursed puppets that spazz and split their faces open, and tiny murderous gremlins who nearly give people heart attacks just bc they thought he was gonna do something, being my favorite characters of Naruto is pretty telling.

Add the inky, Hidden Rain water Clones to the list too.

Iruka needs to get a pen. Reaper needs more soul spagetti and Naruto needs to give back SOME of Garra's personality. Just a little. Let him be a little bit of a little bitch.

[elemental-daddy-neos]

Oh oh I've got an idea for a poll, here's one for the dub enjoyers

If you are going to be mean about the dubs in general just simply don't do that

[aingeal98]

So, I have read pretty much all of Cass' Pre-Flashpoint appearances. As a Cassandra Cain connoisseur do you have any recs for her Post-Flashpoint content? Spirit World, Batgirls, Ram V.'s Tec and BoP (2023) are already on my reading list!

Oooh you have a solid reading list there! I know her technical reintroduction is in Batman and Robin Eternal and it is a story focused on her but to go from pre flashpoint to this... It's a massive downgrade imo. If you survived her initial character assassination post One Year Later you could probably handle this easy but I think I only enjoyed it as much because it was Cass's return to comics after YEARS. I will say Tynion's Rebirth Tec run has a few nice little moments with her in them, echoes of Pre Flashpoint that if you're looking for more content I'd recommend even though she's Orphan in them. She appears from 934 onward if I'm remembering correctly, and has a story arc focused on her from 950 to 956, and appears in the next few arcs as well. Issue 980 is when she and Steph get to see their past lives which is cool, although it is part of a silly evil future Tim arc that I can never take seriously. After that Bryan Hill takes over Tec and clearly likes her character, as she's featured from 983 to 987 and then used in his Batman and the Outsiders run. I'd recommend Batman and the Outsiders too as it shows her bond with Duke and has a different Shiva than the boring super evil one commonly used, although Hill doesn't get Cass's voice completely right I still found it enjoyable.

I'm probably forgetting a lot as this is just the few I've memorized lmao. If you want a list of every single appearance I have that up to the start of Batgirls, but this is a more general list of issues I can actually recommend for Cass content.

Thanks for the ask!

[gizkasparadise]

2023 wrapped: kdrama edition!

taking a page from @dangermousie, here's a list of all the kdramas ive watched this year, in order from least liked to most liked! because i dont have a spotify wrap-up to share :'D

cdrama one here!

and i'll do a webtoon one too /o/

overall i didnt watch too many kdramas this year, and finished less. kind of a "meh" kdrama year for me overall (with 1-2 exceptions). with that in mind, full disclosure that i didnt love a ton of what i watched this year in kdramaland:

we barely knew ye: ones i dropped only a few eps in

sweet home 2. dropped after ep 2. direction it went in is v much not my thing, my fave surviving characters were either killed off or put on the bench, and im not that motivated to see what happens next. might jump back into the franchise if word-of-mouth on s3 is good, we'll see

moon in the day. first ep was actually great and i enjoyed it a lot!! but im not doing cancer storylines rn so that killed momentum. may try this one again later

king the land. watched the first ep. simply did not vibe.

death's game. ditto ^

black knight. i LOVE a good dystopian scifi. this was not that. i was really bored after the first ep and didnt bother with the rest

my dearest. i watched the first ep and liked it, but just wasnt in the mood/wasn't immediately hooked. i'm going to give this one another try when i hit the Angsty Sageuk craving again

dramas i watched at least half of

6. twinkling watermelon.

it's pretty wild to put what i believe is the current #1 show on mydramalist as my bottom pick for the year, especially since it's written by my favorite screenwriter, but here we are. this one is far from objectively the worst drama but it's here because it made me the most mad!! the female lead and second male leads were both off-putting and selfish to me, and the whole drama i was actively rooting for ryeoun's earnest and endearing male lead and shin eun soo's underwritten second female lead to escape and have mother/son adventures on their own away from the rest of everyone else

5. arthdal chronicles: sword of aramun.

sigh. i was a big believer/supporter of this season, even with all of the recasts. but despite a few moments of brilliance, it was overall a slog to watch and just kind of joyless. too much time spent on the ago tribe, too many nonsensical victories and deus ex machina coincidences, and the bag was very much fumbled with some of the characters (particularly saya, who was to me the most interesting character in s1 and you KNOW ljk could have rocked that ruthlessness). positive standouts were kim ok bin flawlessly scene-chewing as taealha and lee joon ki working what he was dealt

4. worst of evil.

adored this drama for the first 2/3rds! it was gritty, neo-noir that reminded me a lot of the old school hong kong crime films like infernal affairs. lots of style, great acting, messy and flawed characters. but the last arc/ending was a boring dud for me. still very much enjoyed the ride up to that point though!

3. perfect marriage revenge.

so! much!! fun!!! just. full commitment to making a show as gloriously makjang/soap operay as it could get and it was a blast watching because of it. made on pocket lint for a budget but it rocked what it had and a special shoutout to lee min young's absolutely fantastically camp evil stepmother. the excitement died down a little toward the end, but still a good time overall

2. the glory, part 2.

a satisfying ending to a really excellent first half. love that the female lead just got to execute revenge and there was no moral or sanctimonious hangups about it. enjoyed the way the ending was set up as "the adventure continues," and all in all this was a really solid and enjoyable dark drama! only thing that was kind of a bummer is that the time split between airing the first and second halves killed the momentum a little, but that's entirely netflix fuckery and not the fault of the show

moving

hands-down the best kdrama i watched this year, and possibly my favorite kdrama ever. i didnt plan to watch this one because im sick of superhero everything, but the cast got me wanting to at least try it and omg im glad i did. great acting from literally everyone, wild action scenes, and just beautiful characters and dynamics across every level. the family narratives are so, so good and the whole show is expertly grounded in the concept of planting seeds so your children can see flowers. please give this one a try if you're on the fence about it!

2023 kdramas that i plan to watch (but didnt get to yet!)

my lovely liar

a good day to be a dog

my perfect stranger

revenant

mask girl

bloodhounds

my demon

AWARDS

Favorite ship: juwon and jihee from moving absolutely destroyed me in the like 3 eps they were in, so they win this one. he's a gangster who gets the shit kicked out of him for a living and loves stories with happy endings. she's a weary but always brave sex worker (coded, but still) who decides to trust a lonely man crying in the street. i never thought a motion-sensor light could wreck me the way theirs did. "you have worth to me, and i have worth to you."

Favorite FL: song hye kyo's dong eun in the glory just barely edges out han hyo joo's mihyun in moving. song hye kyo needs to play, like, all the villains and anti-heroes ASAP because that's been the most fun ive had watching her. she took on a dark character and rocked it

Favorite ML: juwon from moving, definitely. to quote my older post:

Moving really said hi this is Juwon. he has scars from gunshots all down his arm. he opened a chicken restaurant. he’s a gangster. he loves pro wrestling because the good guys win. he tried to rip out his own galbladder to prove a point. he’s a proud girl dad. he is unkillable. he stands in the street and cries.

Favorite 2FL: lee min young's incredible, over the top, villainous camp queen lee jung hye from perfect marriage revenge was just so much fun to watch and she ate every single scene she was in. 10/10 would watch her throw lawn chairs in a ballgown all day

Favorite 2ML: i would die for bongseok from moving. precious sunshine child who deserves only the best

Best Cast: im a broken record, but moving. so many characters with such great depth given to them and this was truly an ensemble show A+++

Best WTF: yura eating her paternity results in perfect marriage revenge!!

[aeskanera]

Exile: Lexie Angerell

Lexie Angerell • Zeltron • haunted by...thousands • compassionate, steadfast, fun-loving •

Age: 30 as of KotOR II

Backstory, Personality, Story Themes/Character Arc/Motivations and Fears, Looks

BACKSTORY

Lexie's a Zeltron who is several years younger than Revan. Her Jedi training was slightly rushed, and she was never considered to be a particularly powerful Jedi. In fact, there was concern about needing to send her to the Service Corps due to her difficulty with the attachment part of the Jedi code.

It's in her late teens that Revan goes off to fight in the Mandalorian Wars, and as a padawan she doesn't initially join. In fact, the loss of many of the Order's strongest Jedi works in her favour, as now her training is prioritised and her trials pushed up, even a padawan is selected for her once she passes the trials.

It's also in her late teens that she has her first sexual and romantic relationship, with Atris - at a point where Lexie is old enough that certain people could possibly argue that she consented, but young enough and with enough of a power imbalance that Atris should definitely be side-eyed for it at the very least. Apologies if you’re one of the rare people who like Atris but this story is not very Atris-friendly. She does have actual motivations and like emotional depth around this relationship, it’s not just Atris-bashing, but given the circumstances of it and that this is from Lexie’s point of view, Atris doesn’t come out of this story looking particularly great.

The timeline is somewhat hazy as to Lexie passing her trials and becoming a Revanchist, but it goes something like this (with anywhere between days and months occurring between each of these events) - she turns eighteen, passes her trials, is recruited by Malak, has her knighting ceremony, leaves Dantooine to join Revan, turns nineteen, is appointed as a general.

The events of Malachor V are already well known, as is her exile from the Order, don’t need to go into detail there. After her exile, she returned to her home planet of Zeltros in order to lose herself and pretend the war never existed. She worked briefly as a waitress, as a hologram technician, and once she begins to feel comfortable enough to begin going off-world again, as a contract merc.

PERSONALITY

compassionate, steadfast, fun-loving

generous, kind, compassionate, understanding - her "bleeding heart", expanded on more in a bit

a natural leader, fun-loving, relatable - she manages to walk the fine line of being a good leader, someone that people want to follow and respect without putting herself above them, while being able to maintain a sense of being equals. It helps that, while not a stereotypical “party girl”, she does like to prioritize just having fun, socializing, dedicating time to doing things that are enjoyable

defiant, emotional, avoidant - despite choosing not to face difficult emotions, she still feels very strongly, and doesn't shy away from confrontation or conflict with others

Best quality: her compassion, her bleeding heart for all the people around her, how firm she is in her belief that the only thing worth doing is making a difference in others' lives, that if you have the ability to help then there is no good reason not to

Worst quality: avoiding her problems and not acknowledging internal conflicts, preferring not to have to face uncomfortable feelings

STORY THEMES/CHARACTER ARC/ MOTIVATIONS AND FEARS

Avoidance of our emotions, healing through connections with others, individual free will

So an incredibly central part of her story is about dealing with emotions, handling them in healthy ways, effectively communicating them to others, accepting that they can be contradictory and irrational a lot of the time. Hence why I wanted to make her a species which can naturally sense and project emotions. And then I have to figure out how to write all that in without resorting to therapy speech.

There's also the general themes of the story based around free will, especially in regards to the Force, but that's less of a personal character theme. Although, part of her avoiding her emotions is directly related to fearing loss of control. A story theme that does tie in more directly to Lexie is connections with others, and moving past isolating to avoid facing your pain towards healing through the bonds and relationships we form with other people. Helping people and places heal can also help you heal.

A big thing for her is the balance of the Force. She's deeply embedded in the Light side, yet she is very aware of the corruption and inaction of the Jedi. A lot of her motivations derive from, well firstly from just learning to cope, but also from her attempts to maintain a balance between being a devoted servant of the Light while also attempting to completely dismantle the entire Jedi Order in an attempt to rebuild from the ground up.

LOOKS

As a Zeltron, she is humanoid in appearance, but her colouring is different. Her skin is a dark pink shade and her hair is a dark royal blue (which can look navy or purple in certain lighting). Her eyes are a pale grey-pink, which stand out against very dark eyelashes.

She has a square jaw, hooded upturned eyes, and full lips. She keeps her hair very long (think hip length) and wavy, often keeping it in dual braids across the top of her head. She is likely to let fashion and style take precedence over practicality. She always has at least some makeup on.

Her style is generally quite revealing, as Zeltron culture has differing views on modesty compared to humans (a fact which is often unfairly sexualised by outsiders). She favours extremely bright colours and wild patterns. She always accessorizes well, though her hairstyles and jewelry tend to be more natural than the rest of her style.

[snowballsmb]

Time for another one of my media review posts!

Murder Drones…. This is, with no exaggeration, one of the best shows I’ve seen, period. The writing is very self aware a fair portion of the time, and it doesn’t fall into the trap I see too many stories fall into of trying to avoid that fact, making it feel forced. Not here, this show is self aware and it leans into it hard (which in my opinion heightens the comedy aspect of the show.

The characters are so unbelievably loveable, even some of the background characters that feel like you should want to hate them. Uzi is so extremely edgy, and again, instead of pretending otherwise she leans into like there’s no tomorrow. N is like Silver the Hedgehog in my eyes: an absolute cinnamon roll. This dude has done horrible things, and has seen even worse, and yet he’s a seemingly unbreakable beacon of positivity, giving the people he cares about an anchor in a raging sea of bullshit. V went from murderous psychopath to the vibes of a protective older sister in only 6 episodes, and her character arc has been one of my favorite parts of the show. Plus she’s an absolute badass! If there’s one character I didn’t love the direction with was Doll, but hey, there’s still the season finale coming up.

The OST is honestly stunning! Like, there’s that gif of the dude playing a piano that catches fire? The whole symphony caught fire with this OST.

One thing that especially blew my mind was how fucking good the animation is. Like, I don’t think I’ve seen anything that can match Murder Drones in the animation department. The combo of the animation and soundtrack during the big battle in episode 7 was awe inspiring, nothing short of it! And there’s always layers upon layers going on visually, both artistically and lore wise, that makes rewatches even more fun, because you get to pick up on more and more little details here and there that you didn’t notice before.

--// absoluteSolver_trn

[like object non-interactive]

I’m gonna be honest, I usually don’t do well with anything in the horror genre. But this show somehow took my discomfort around horror and turned it into thorough enjoyment! I think something I appreciate about it is it doesn’t lean too heavily into jump scares (there are a few, but that’s far from its main source of spooky), and almost all of the characters are robots, so there’s not even close to as much blood as there definitely could be. Overly bloody things and jump scare spam are the types of horror shows/movies/games that I handle the worst… I don’t handle them well at all.

I went in with some expectations (due to seeing A LOT of fanart over the past months) but didn’t really know what to expect. Those expectations were blown to smithereens. And for all the reasons I listed above, I have to rate Murder Drones a 10.7/10

[littlebosslady7]

I've noticed your posts about plot rather character choices, who or what do you think needs to change about campaign 3 to make it better?

Better is complicated. I'm aware that it's their game, and circumstances are defined by the fate of dice rolls. Because this campaign is so focused on The Fate of the 2 worlds in almost an 80's movie/anime style narrative, My bias is that character driven stories are much more enjoyable than "Hey, we need to stop this [insert enemy here] 'cause the story/DM set it up that way.

Have more defined arcs. I'm going to show this with an outline/descriptions because as a writer, it's easier. I'm aware the show isn't scripted.

Arc I: [The Anger].

Bell's Hells meets at a bar. Imogen and Laudna are seeking refuge from a crowd. Ashton needs a drink after rescuing FCG from their own anger in a cave. Fearne and Dorian join Orym, who heard the person that murdered his family is making rounds in Marquet.

They start with an easy fight that's Otohan's lower ranked soldiers. They eventually have to face Otohan. They get their asses handed to them. But Imogen sees some similarities in her abilities. This leads into research about her Ruidian abilities for both her and Fearne. They decided to help Orym take on grandma with a backpack because of her connection to Ruidus and Ashton is intrigued once they hear Orym utter the word Ashari.

Bertrand dies in episode 1. The Treshi Arc is pointless.

Arc II: The Construction of the Malleus Keys

Bell's Hells discover throughout Marquet and/or maybe the Shattered Teeth that grandma with a backpack is really a pitbull for old ass wizard Ludinus. They learned that he's constructing Malleus Keys to get to the ruddy moon. Cue the alien discovery. In these various constructions, Fearne realizes her biological father is working for Da'leth.

Arc: III: First Contact

Predathos speaks to Rudiusborn saying they're hungry. This freaks out Imogen and Fearne. Cue the introduction of Ludinus' plan to free Predathos. Battle at Malleus Key happens, the group gets shunted across Exandria. In that time, Laudna confesses her growing feelings toward Imogen. Vax gets orbed.

Arc IV Parties Split

Goes the same as it does in the Campaign. Imogen reciprocates Laudna's feelings, but there's some wariness and tension after she kills Bor'dor.

[No, I don't think Laudna needs a Delilah connection. I've played around with the idea of Laudna becoming connected to a mage researcher, who ran trials/studied Lililiana.]

Arc V: Titanic Proportions

Ludinus' communing with Predathos to be his vessel happens in either Aeor or the Shattered Teeth. Ashton saves Fearne from him kidnapping her. FCG kills Otohan, so their friends can make it out alive. Maybe they set down roots at Esheross' place, or the Fey, or somewhere else in Marquet. Imogen has been seeing flashes of Ruidus in her dreams.

Shardgate goes as it did before.

Fearne is pissed at Ashton, but in their time to heal either in the Fey or elsewhere. Their relationship starts very physical, and the unspoken feelings surface later. In the midst of shardgate, Fearne learns and confesses her concerns over NegaFearne shall we call her?

In that time, Zuthuda tests with Mirror Fearne and trying to hurt her friends.

Arc VI Downfall and the aftermath

Liliana fails her deception, what the Gods did in Aeor gets released to the public. Exandra's people en mass are divided. For the record, I don't agree with Ashton's stupidity 80 percent of the time. As a disabled person and fellow individual with chronic pain, I understand their anger to an extent.

Have Ashton and Fearne commune with their respective Titans. Ashton is anti-god, but pro-Exandria. Imogen calls them out their hypocrisy. Fearne is anti-god to an extent because Nana Morri speaks of Emhira/the Raven Queen like a popular girl in high school. They're pro Ka'Mort and Rau'shan. Laudna is pro Raven Queen, but fuck all the other gods. Orym is similar to Keyleth. Understands the need for gods. Is not religious. Braius swore fealty to Asmodeus. Imogen is neutral, but sees value in stopping Predathos with aid from the Gods.

There would most likely be some arguments with 2 of them being pro Titan, but it would give backbone to an anti-god stance. It would be decisive, which has been talked about to no end. Even if a character decision is dumb, at least let it be definitive and firm.

Arc VII A Call to the Key

Also a gathering arc similar to VM, to obtain relics of the Red Solstice. Vox Machina and Mighty Nein cameos. Further exploration of the moon. 6 episodes of a couple to save Vax, 2 to stop the Weavemind, and 2 to stop Ludinus.

Arc VII The Final Battle

Imogen agrees to the Accord's plan outwardly, but is willing to become a vessel to stop Predathos. I feel like if Imogen leans more anti-God. It should be aware that she's pro-people and pro-living the life that she wants to with her friends. They stop Predathos, but it comes with a cost. Stopping Predathos changes the nature of Exandria is a whole. I still think that decision is dumb, but cut the fluff. Give characters more definition.

Edit: I'd also be down if they stopped backpack grandma at the the pre-party split battle.

[littlespoonevan]

How would you rank the 9-1-1 seasons? Also do you watch lone star?

ohhh what a question askdfh okay i'm going to try to rank these on overall quality of the season as a whole as opposed to just my favourite episodes that i always go back but also this task feels absolutely impossible and i will probably change my mind 20 times lmao. i'm not gonna include season 7 yet just because we're still in it so my mind might change but here's how i'd rank them currently:

Season 3

i do really think just in terms of the overall story and where we were at with each character s3 is the sweet spot. all the relationships are established, there's some excellent character work and i'd struggle to name a 'bad' episode from that season even if there are some i don't rewatch often

2. Season 4/Season 5

okay i'm cheating putting them side by side but i honestly can't choose sadkjhf season 4 has some of my favourite episodes from the entire show and has some absolutely Incredible storytelling but i will admit there are a few eps in that season that i find very boring lmao. and then with season 5, i genuinely believe 5b is some of the best work they've ever done on the show. like it's perfect, there are no skips, every episode is 10/10. and while i do like a lot of 5a, it's just not the same with maddie and chimney being gone for so much of it so it loses points for me in that regard

3. Season 2

a v fun season overall that i think really captures the tone of what 911 is. some of my favourite comfort eps are in that season and i think it's definitely probably one of the seasons that's most enjoyable to watch/rewatch??? so while i think it has some incredibly strong eps, parts of the season are just that little bit more forgettable to me than s3-5 are??? (but that could also be bc i was watching s4/5 live)

4. Season 1/Season 6

okay i'm cheating again but i have different reasons for ranking them both here askdjs. starting with season 1: it's a good season but i very often consider it the 'prequel' season since we don't have eddie or maddie and all the other characters' lives change so drastically afterwards. so while i do like it a lot it's just my 911 y'know askdjhf as for s6, its not a bad season by any means!!! like it's not. i rewatched it just before s7 aired and for the vast majority of the eps i was v much enjoying it (it also has some Stellar eps in there too like the athena's cold case, henren begins, the lightning strike arc and the madney proposal) however - and this is not the fault of the actors/writers - a lot of it does feel quite stagnant??? which i think largely speaks to the fact that the show was being prevented from being all it could be under fox. like the storylines are good and they have potential, they just don't really take that extra step, y'know????

and re: lone star, i actually watched it before 911 lmao. i've seen the first two seasons but i haven't kept up since, tbh it just didn't hold my attention the way 911 did!