#This is definitely my favorite animation I've done so far; not to mention it's a first for me in terms of everything it entails

[unicornal]

I've been juggling a lot of things at the moment but!!!! Just wanted to drop this here to show I am indeed still alive and making UWE fanart as promised! This is a little peek at a slightly bigger (?) animation I've been working on whenever I get the chance to amid everything else I'm doing! Animating his ear flicking back like a cat's ear was honestly my favorite part of this next to another little section not shown here

[kyemna]

Hazbin Hotel headcanons

TW: Mentions of sex and alcohol. some suggestive themes that's it, it's mostly just fluff.

(English isn't my first language)

Charlie

-Will do anything for you.

-you want flowers? Done. You saw a cute stuffed animal in the store front and you want it? You got it. Somebody harassed you on the streets and you want them punished? Let her take care of it. Normally she's against violence, but when it comes to protecting you? She'll do anything.

-will sing to you, all the time

-made a special song that she sings to you when you've had a bad day

-the best listener ever.

-will sit and listen to you talk for hours

-if she needs to get to work early, she'll make you breakfast and leave you a note that says something like:

-hi, good morning lovely! I hope you sleep well.

I had to leave early.. something happened at the hotel while Alastor was away, and they needed me.

See you 2night, i love you:)<3

-i think her love languages are physical touch and words of affirmation

Angel Dust

-whisper's provocative things to you during meetings

-definitely a physical touch kind of guy.

-Will cling to you at the most random times

-keeps Valentino as far away from you as possible.

-tries his best to keep his relationships hidden from him as well

-if you'd come home after a long day, he'd give you a massage

-is super funny, tell me otherwise.

-has a high sex drive, and is pretty kinky due to his job.

-so expect him to ring you up at the most unexpected times.

-PS. Don't put him on speaker when you're in public..

Vaggie

-was pretty cautious around you in the beginning, but slowly warms up to you

-once she's comfortable, she tells the wildest stories and acts them out for you

-if you don't know how to fight, she'll teach you

-if you do know how to fight, you guys spar all the time

-jealousy issues, and you can't tell me other wise.

-she hears someone talk to you in a tone she doesn't like? Glare. Someone low-key flirting with you? Glare. If looks could kill.. she will actually kill them though, so..

-not super experienced in bed, but she's open to suggestions

-once she finds something she likes/is comfortable with, she askes you for it all the time

-a "words of affirmation" and "acts of service" girl for sure

Alastor

(i am perfectly aware he's ace, but these are scenario's for if he wasn't, don't come for me)

-now, Alastor is a great dancer.

-he has great music taste too!

-listens to 1940's and below.

-i think he's mostly into Jazz and Classical music to be honest

-i do think Amy Winehouse and Dave Brubeck are his exceptions when it comes to listening to 1950's and above

-somehow always knows where you are..? You often see his shadows follow you, so that's probably why

-kills for you. Also because he has a thirst for blood, that needs to be satisfied. So that's 2 birds with one stone

-holds doors open for you

-just a general gentleman

-loves it when you wear dark red, dark blue and dark green

-it can be anything. Lipstick (just red though), a hat, a dress, heels, etc.

-expects you to respect his personal space but doesn't respect yours LMFAO

-gift giving and physical touch

Husk

-knows all your favorite drinks

-loves to dance with you

-also a Jazz person, but I don't think he'd mind country music to be honest

-once he secretly took a picture of you.

-he thought you looked so good, he keeps it in his nightstand.

-doesn't really talk about his problems/feelings, but prefers it if you do.

-respects your boundaries more than anyone.

-you don't wanna talk? He'll kiss your forehead, and leave you alone.

-you don't really like being touched? He'll always ask first.

-other than making amazing alcoholic drinks, he makes great coffee too!

-quality time and physical touch.

It's been quite a while since i've written something, so I apologize if there's any grammar mistakes or sentences that just don't make any sense LOL

Thank you for reading!

[mothymayhem]

leans politely into ur inbox. yap about ur aus and lunars? 👀

Xero,,, Xero my savior /silly

OK! Heads up guys!! gonna be a big ol yap sesh! I kinda just wanna cover my aus, its sums and neat things that went into them! I should also state that most, if not all my AUs have been made in collaboration with @radio-atlas !! And most these AUs have been fleshed out alongside aem through hours of VC yapping and RPs!! So if you'd like to know more indepth stuff about these AUs Eclipse's! I'd say you ask aem! (I'm the Lunar expert/writer!)

And obvi if anyone has any specific questions on any specific AU feel free to ask

On that note! Let's begin!

= "Wonderland" AU =

aka, My evil Lunar AU! Despite it's title, it has nothing to do with the story of Alice in Wonderland! Rather i've just drawn a lot of inspiration from the animated movie for Designs and Setting! It also is more inspired by canon evil lunar/lunara! Granted it has since spiralled off from it! Here are some important things to note!

Eclipse, instead of leaving the room in "Eclipse and Lunar MANHUNT for Monty Gator in VRCHAT" to grab a weapon, attacks Lunar. This obviously plants a large seed of doubt for xem,, aswell as a small resentment for Monty

Lunar teams up alongside Monty and Moon to get rid of Eclipse, while also using Monty to get Bloodmoon a body!

Bloodmoon and Lunar dynamic! They're brothers and they have eachothers back! They also probably encourage the worst parts of one another!

Lunar plays the long game when it comes to the star! Taking the time to bond with the celestial family and wiggle his way into it! It's not hard as there is that shared ground of hating Eclipse, and overall Eclipse's treatment of Lunar! Though in the end, Lunar has some pretty severe trust and attachment issues, leaving Bloodmoon as the only people Lunar truly cares about

Post obtaining the star, Lunar and Bloodmoon sort of warp the world to their our destructive and whimsical image! Constant Blood, gore and fun! It doesn't last very long though. Especially when the ones running it are three unstable and bloodthirsty animatronics

Post star is where most the theming draws from Alice in Wonderland! The world around them shaping into that of a wonderland!

Overall, Lunar ends up the last remaining being of his world/dimension, eventually ending up hopping into another dimension, which ties to another Au (That i'm not sure i'll mention)

Wonderland Lunar so far is the only one to have a design at this given moment!:

(Granted the art is kind of old!)

and even though i'm not covering the AU for post-dimension hop here, I slide over the concept of him after "domestication", as Atlas and I have been referring to his redemption

I'mma be honest, Wonderland Lunar is probably one of my favorites of my little collection! Stinky little bastard that became the person he hated most.

= Wolf in Sheep's Clothing AU =

Biiig TW for abuse, torture and unhealthy dynamics! Definitely one of Atlas and I's darker AUs!

In sum, the cast take on much more animalistic traits and behaviourisms! I've covered the exacts in This post from a bit ago!

Most stays pretty similar to canon up until "Eclipse and Lunar REUNITE in VRCHAT", to which, Lunar is tortured to death opposed to being blown up.

Unfortunately the worst part about this AU is that Eclipse does care about Lunar, and deals out this cruelty as a form of "leveling the playing field", almost like a sick lesson on Lunar's betrayal.

After this Lunar is brought to the space station to be rebuilt/brought back after extensive damage done, to where Lunar still obtains this star power.

Admittedly this AU has no happier endings. For awhile Lunar gets some peace after his return but it doesn't last long and overall ends with Eclipse taking Lunar and manipulating him to be his personal weapon. But moving along!

It's also interesting to note that Eclipse wears Lunar's horns, from his death, in his collar!

And as the design notes state on Lamb Lunar's ref, Earth sews the ears into his hood! It's originally to match spigot! (ending on a less aawful note!)

As for designs! My lamb Lunar might be one of my more known, outside my moth Lunar!,,

Eclipse also has a design which can be found here! The rest are in conceptual phases!

= Team Dark AU =

The brothers trauma bond!! This is the best sum of this AU! The main concept is Lunar, Eclipse and Bloodmoon are all forced to play KC's idea of house in the bunker. And while I love dadcode! I also love when KC is evil and a not so great father! So the Eclipse brothers all have the lovely opportunity to set aside differences and previous greviances to work together and escape!

Bloodmoon, Lunar and Eclipse are all quite protective of eachother in this AU. The brothers initially having a distrust towards everyone around them after their escape!

With Eclipse stuck within the lab, and being watched more thoroughly on what he did and created, he taught Lunar mechanics and technology to assist! So Lunar gets a few nifty skills to which leads to an interest in creating weaponry for himself and his brothers.

We have a "Bad end" to this AU in which Lunar dies. In this "Bad end" is where Wonderland!Lunar dimension hops to.

Post-escape, the four reside under the theatre within the daycare and basically travel as a pack of sorts. As time carries on the brothers become less codependent,,, but they still don't enjoy being apart extended periods of time.

Shifting back to weaponry! Lunar crafts himself a bazooka! Putting himself in a much longer range, and something to hit heavy. Lunar however cannot take a hit! Making him somewhat of a glass canon!

Bloodmoon gets a scythe, I know, very original. Though I find it makes their kills more personal and up close! The weapon really only working as an extension of themselves!

Eclipse gets a revolver! I haven't pried too much on why with Atlas, and if i have, I admit i've just got shitty memory but it feels very distant and less personal. Also cowboy vibes!

I'll admit that a majority of the AU is brotherly shenanigans with angst! And that I do not have any designs or art to share of the AU! Although the concepts are sat neatly in my medibang waiting for a chance of life!

= "Back-up Lunar" AU =

Last one!!! Eclipse and Lunar end up in the awful situation of sharing a body after their respective deaths! Which, starts off as well as one would think with Lunar and Eclipse inhabiting a body. Though after an incident with the two fighting to front t onec, their AI temporarily merges to create an awful amalgam of the two. After this, the two seem to come to an accepting tolerance to further explore the incident, also leaving room for the two to work through some shit together!

Abyss initially is more akin to a feral and hurt beast, A mass of hatred between the brothers that is unstable. As Lunar and Eclipse form Abyss more it stablizes itself

Because Lunar still blows up in this, he has star power! Which naturally carries to Eclipse and Abyss! I'm also keeping his nanites cause I love shapeshifting and it makes giving Eclipse a design easier!

Main plot follows a failed separation from Moon that does more harm to Lunar than good, causing a strain on the two

Moon gets more desparate to get rid of Eclipse that it becomes almost obsessive. This spirals to Lunar leaving and betrayal

It's also important to note that through most this AU, Abyss is formed and acts almost as a protector of the two. Abyss also develops more to be it's own person, similar to, in lack of a better comparison, fusion from steven universe

Eclipse and Lunar can't 100% remember everything that happens when they're Abyss, it's fuzzier and almost detached from them individually. Which is where the joke comes in that Abyss enjoys theatre and sewing, While Eclipse and Lunar do not

Momentarily! Abyss teams with Ruin and Bloodmoon! Who also gets a redemption alongside the amalgam!

Another AU that has more Sillies with angst!

And I'm sure most have seen me post my baby a couple of times! But Atlas and I's precious Abyss!! :

As for Lunar and Eclipse? Lunar just has my default Lunar design which you can see here and I'm not 100% on Eclipse's just yet!

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

Now obviously! These aren't all the Aus i've created or the whole stories but the main building blocks! Alot of these get worked on, added onto and played out overtime with Atlas! Though i'd honestly love more questions about any of em! and even the other characters of the AU if anyone is interested! It can be a bit hard to yap without a direction but!! AU DUMP!!!

Some of this is also written at like 2am and the rest after work and a nap, so i'm apologizing if this makes no sense or isn't as organized as I thought! ^^

[he-thaang]

Care to share your thoughts on how Arcane ended? I'm dying to talk about it with someone!

(Also, I sincerely apologize that this is the first ask I've sent you)

Hey Bay! Thanks so much for the ask! I love hearing from you :)

I have so many thoughts about the Arcane ending. Let's go episode by episode, because there's just so much to unpack.

Episode 7 is my favorite episode in the entire series, I think. I have no notes. Ekko has been my favorite character since season 1, and I was thrilled to see the show finally give him the focus he deserves. Painting the mural of Vi, bonding with Heimerdinger, the doomed romance with the alternate version of Powder that allowed him to understand Jinx better--my god. So good. The scene where Ekko and Powder were dancing was definitely one of my favorite scenes ever.

And poor Jayce--my dude spent the whole episode in the trenches. But I thought the writers did a really great job with him this episode. His leg injury mirroring Viktor's, realizing that maybe he overstepped a bit too far with Hextech, all that fun stuff. The funniest part of the episode, though, was when Heimerdinger and Ekko were all prepped to go home, and then at the last possible second, Heimer LEAPS out of the wild rune and is like "Be back in a jiffy, my boy :)" and then gets himself blown up. He couldn't have done all that stuff before the process started? Poor guy. He exploded twice in the span of 40 minutes :(

All in all, loved the episode. I'm home from college, so as soon as I finished watching it, I SPRINTED up to my little sister (who also watches the show) and started gushing about how well-written it was.

Episode 8 is where things went a little off the rails, IMO. I was so glad to see Mel again, and was very excited to see where they went with her plot line. (My League of Legends knowledge is limited strictly to Arcane, so I'm probably missing out on a lot of lore here, which is why I Did Not Understand What Was Going On.) Act II had this whole big reveal where Ambessa had a third kid, and I got the impression that that kid was the person who kidnapped Mel? But we never got into that, or why Mel was so attuned with the Arcane. That really disappointed me. I LOVED her new look, though.

Jayce and Viktor interacted again after the attempted murder, and something LGBT happened between them. It appeared that their whole conflict now revolved around the idea of perfection, which Viktor claimed he could create with the help of the Arcane. And Jayce is all like, "My partner (no homo), you're making a bunch of mindless soldiers with no personality and stuff." And then they fight. Jayce was very unfair to Mel this episode, so I'm glad they had a heart-to-heart later.

Now onto the issue of Jinx, Vi, and Caitlyn. Jinx was done so dirty this act omg. Also, there was literally no mention of Isha??? What happened there? She was completely blown up, but Vander/Warwick walked away totally fine? The only real indication that she ever existed was Jinx's grief, but even that seemed sidelined in favor of Vi and Cait. That sex scene was WILD, guys. I would have liked to have a scene where Cait apologizes to Vi for the way she acted, and how she got so caught up in the idea of avenging her mother that she forgot to view the members of the Undercity as people. BUT WHATEVER. The sex scene will do. If Mel and Jayce get to have one, Cait and Vi do too. Hashtag love wins.

On to Episode 9. What a time to be alive. The fight scenes were superbly animated, as always, but I felt there was something lacking. The central conflict wasn't really well explained (but I was also watching this at 1 am, so my brain was probably fried). I liked the scene where Caitlyn and Mel team up, but Ambessa's death was a bit wonky to me. There was a lot of stuff about foxes and wolves that did't really leave an impact on me.

Ekko kicked ass, as always. My dude knew what he was doing. Viktor and Jayce were being gay in the Hex Vault. I did really enjoy the scene where the mage that saved Jayce's mother's life was revealed to be Viktor. I'm a sucker for those kinds of plot twists. And Viktor's monologue about Jayce being the only person in every timeline who helps him realize that total perfection was meaningless had me kicking my feet and giggling. I desperately want to know where they ended up after destroying the wild rune.

Vi and Jinx--this was where I was most disappointed. The show is supposed to revolve around their relationship, but they were sidelined so hard in favor of other things. And I was so mad about Jinx's "death". Just when it seems that things are turning around for a former villian-turned ally character, (cough Shane cough), they end up getting themselves killed for no reason. Vi could have so easily moved off that ledge. Jinx's death (or not death, it wasn't really clear) felt very last minute. Their whole relationship this season has been about the two of them accepting that they both have changed, but that doesn't mean they can't love each other in a new way. Jinx's death felt like an easy way to avoid all these lingering feelings. And Vander was just in his beast form the whole time, with no indication that his mind was still there.

Overall, I still think Arcane is a spectacular show, but Arc III felt a bit rushed and stilted. It was a wild ride, but it left me a bit unsatisfied. I'll still miss the show and the characters a lot.

Thanks for sending this in again, Bay! Feel free to pop into my ask box any time :) I loved writing this, and would love to hear your thoughts as well. Hopefully my ramblings are understandable. Have a great day!

[doyouknowhowtowaltz]

What would a child of autumn and winter look like? As much as I love cutsy little fawn/kitten sapling looking things the idea of them making an absolute abomination is very funny. A thing (calling it a creature would be generous) that never was supposed to happen that simply appeared due to how close the seasons have come to each other, that’s far more mindless monster then either parent

I've been meaning to put all my thoughts on something like this somewhere, so I'll make a list.

"Ours" By A Technicality: This is an honorable mentions category for children that aren't actually from a union of the Beast and Enoch, but are the progeny of one of the two, generally I'd say produced asexually. Lorna from The Sins of the Father and Fiona from @faerytri's The Story Teller's Tales are good examples. (And everyone should read A Horrid Birth because I have never ever read accidental baby acquisition done so right. It has horror it has humor! But most importantly, it has little Fiona!)

Audrey II Electric Boogalloo: AKA the Weird Terrible Plant that we have joint custody over. I'm not sure you would technically count this as offspring, but I do! I think the most likely outcome is a terrible pumpkin-edel fusion. Mira-eyeteeth's Plunge is my absolute favorite example (I just spent half an hour tracking it down because I would be remiss not to include it). The flowering edelwoods in my Lotus Gardener AU are another, and I'm working on an even better version of the concept right now.

V'GER Fusion: Again, we're really playing with the concept of "offspring", but a true merger of the Beast and Enoch, would be its own entity in and of itself. The Maypole in A Great and Terrible Union is a proto-v'ger style fusion, though there are definitely a lot of fics that flirt with this concept, I don't know if I've ever seen it fully played out. I think a Beast!Enoch (I swear I'm going to write it) or a Mayor!Beast (now there's an idea) would fall in this category.

Neither Sentient Nor Sapient Nor Alive in Any Conventional Sense: A lot of things fall in this category, but Miss Inky once mentioned miniature blackholes and tears in reality. Miniature Blackholes I think are my favorite, little hungry things that can't sustain themselves and evaporate, or maybe even more permanent tiny things that either don't emit, or consume their own hawking radiation and are perfectly stable... until they're fed. To beat a metaphor of a horse to death, I like the idea that instead of sparks flying when they kiss, it's a bunch of primordial blackholes that immediately vanish, maybe they emit flashes of radiation as the go.

Little Abomination: This is I think more in the spirit of what you were asking about, kittens with big ears and budding antlers, or horrible amalgams of fabric and wood and fur that look like strange little puppets of... something vaguely animal like, presumably these are born, but I rather like the idea that they grow on trees or perhaps hatch out of pumpkins like eggs. I think we're definitely in negative heterosis hybrid territory here. And I'm not sure they would be particularly long lived, as similar as the Beast and Enoch are in a lot of ways, they're also actively destructive to each other in others.

[amberskywrites]

Hello! I return your STS-- I see that you do a lot of fanfic as well as original writing, which is awesome! Engage with what interests you! I wanted to know what your favorite part of worldbuilding was as well, and what worldbuilding is like in fanfic, if there's worldbuilding at all? I hope that doesn't sound rude, I just haven't really engaged with fanfiction on the writer or reader's end too terribly much, and on one hand, you would think the world is already established, but on the other, I feel like there have to be gaps you need to fill in sometimes? Thank you!

Thanks for returning the STS!!

So, first a disclaimer: I am still very new to worldbuilding! At least, worldbuilding in-depth. I used to just make sure I had basics figured out, enough for the story to progress, and then just figure things out as I went. Worldbuilding used to be super daunting to me 😅 and still is sometimes, I won't lie! But recently I've found myself really invested in it, and it's been a lot more fun than I could have imagined!

Alrighty, that outta the way...

A TL;CR as well because I kinda rambled on: favorite part of worldbuilding is magic systems and was the whole reason I began writing Not of This World. As for fanfics, I personally rarely worldbuild with the exception of my most beloved fic (by me. i adore writing this fic) Eternal, where I did quite a bit of worldbuilding especially where the magic system is concerned.

My favorite part of worldbuilding:

My favorite part of worldbuilding is definitely creating magic systems. I love writing high fantasy, and creating a system (or systems) of magic has always been a part of worldbuilding I've enjoyed, even when I was hesitant to do much worldbuilding. Usually, it's the magic systems that get me really invested in a world.

My current wip Not of This World began, really, with the initial thought of "what if magic physically manifested on a person?". Then it turned to considering what kinds of magic would have a physical manifestation, what those manifestations would look like, why would certain manifestations occur (arms vs legs vs hair vs eyes etc.), what are some kinds that wouldn't have much physical manifestation. This then led to considering, okay, what if people practiced more than one kind of magic? What would the consequences be? What would they look like then? And then as I started writing some characters, I also started considering would these characters feel pain when learning magic? Could this lead to these characters becoming disabled? How would they accommodate those disabilities in the world?

And I gotta say, exploring all that has been probably my favorite part of writing NoTW so far. I could talk all day about the magic system beyond like, the questions that led to my decisions, like full on just ramble about the answers to those questions and more, but I shall move on for now ^^

Worldbuilding in fanfics!

By the way, not rude at all to ask about this! Especially if fics aren't something you dabble in, I think it's really great that you asked, cause there are definitely differences I think! Personally, I don't worldbuild too much in my fics unless I am writing an AU and even then, it's still not often. Often I stick with the canon world, and only worldbuild if I am drastically changing the setting. (my awesome friend @hihopelessromantics does some fantastic worldbuilding for fics though!!)

I will talk about the one fic that I have done more worldbuilding than usual for though!! It's my darling child, Eternal. It's a canon rewrite and divergence of the anime/manga Nanatsu no Taizai (The Seven Deadly Sins). In a lot of aspects, I kept what was from the canon world, because I enjoyed how that world was already built. It was one of the things that drew me to the series originally on top of the potential the characters all had.

However, just because I liked most of what was in the world already does not mean I liked all of it. As you mentioned, there are definitely gaps in places, and in others, there are downright plotholes that, when planning a canon rewrite, just... gave me a headache if I'm honest. And then in some instances, I just outright did not like what was in canon.

Ironically, for me, this happened to be the magic system. Specifically how some characters were impacted by magic they either possessed naturally, were bestowed with by higher beings, or cursed with in some way. So, a lot of my worldbuilding for Eternal has focused on this, altering the magic system to make more sense to me but also, in my opinion, utilize potential that was not met in canon. Figuring out these aspects of worldbuilding genuinely makes ne super excited to write the fic, because I'm excited to share my twists with others and get their takes on it, and see how other's may like it compared to the familiar canon worldbuilding.

I think for me, I have two mindsets when it comes to worldbuilding: original fiction worldbuilding and fanfic worldbuilding. For the first, it's more of a sense of "What do I want to see/explore? How far can I take x concept and what would it then influence in culture, characters, and landscape?" For the latter, for me personally, it is very much a case of "What do I want to change?" And I'll admit, for fics? If I worldbuild too much/too far from the original world, I end up wanting to just turn it into an original story instead. That's how I got wips like You're Something Else and The Prince's Guard (which I still need to put info about here eventually lol).

Thank you again for sending the ask!!!

[rakruined]

The Religious Implications of GotG vol. 3

So, it's Easter, and while I've got a lot of stuff to work on and things to do, I wanted to take the time to discuss the utterly insane things Guardians of the Galaxy volume three has done to my brain chemistry. After seeing @adamwarlock's post here, I've been thinking about just how many religious themes there seem to be in James Gunn's magnum opus. From a villain with a god complex to Rocket Raccoon becoming my new favorite satanic archetype maybe, this is gonna be a deep dive into everything I've picked up from the trailers so far.

So, let's start with the implications of that post I linked: "some corners of the galaxy consider (The High Evolutionary) God".

Now, the High Evolutionary has always had a theme of 'playing god' in the comics, what with his whole deal being creating sentient life from animal experiments, but in the MCU, his connections to Christian notions of religion are a lot more fascinating. For starters, his goal is stated to be wanting to create a "perfect society", which you'll notice looks a lot like suburban Bible Belt America, albeit with a lot more hybrid animal-people.

Now, in the comics, he uses Earth animals as a basis for his new lifeforms because he was once a normal human named Herbert Wyndham. He eventually traveled into space to continue his experiments on his own world, later adopting Adam Warlock (this will come back later). Given his desire to make himself more powerful in the movie, this makes him an interesting counterpart to MCU!Peter Quill, who was born with Celestial (ie. godly) power and left Earth not by choice.

Now, there are a few things they changed from the comics, his connection to Rocket being the most significant in the context of this story. While Halfworld performed similar experiments on Rocket and the other uplifts, the H.E had nothing to do with the planet. And while I'll get back to why his connection to Rocket is significant, as well as what I said about Adam, I want to get into another major change: his design.

Here we have the comics design on the left and the movie design on the right. But isn't his movie look almost priestly? Almost... familiar...?

IT'S FUCKMOTHERING ENRICO PUCCI WITH THE STEEL CHAIR

Okay, JoJo references aside, the High Evolutionary's connections to Adam Warlock definitely add to the whole religious overtones. I mean, a guy who's considered God has a perfect creation literally named "Adam", trying to create a perfect world? This shit writes itself. But if you consider a few additional facts, this takes on a pretty wild meaning. For starters, Adam has been stated to be relatively naive and innocent, unknowledgeable of the universe.

But where this gets interesting is that, based on Rocket's absence from most group shots during what is clearly being billed as the midsection of the movie (spacesuits scene, that fight where they're all in orange, the team arriving on Halfworld) that he possibly is captured by Adam and brought back to his creator for additional experimentation. Shots of someone implied to be Rocket on the operating table and Gamora carrying him to the ship half-naked serve as further evidence of a rescue mission.

But if he's captured by Adam Warlock, that means he has the opportunity to tell Adam what his creator is really planning. He has the chance to tell him how he was made and what the High Evolutionary's "perfect society" is built upon: the blood of innocent creatures he'd deemed imperfect. This could be what changes Adam, what makes him turn against his god and his Garden of Eden.

The voice of the devil on his shoulder.

Edit: I forgot to mention this wild coincidence! Gunn once said Rocket was inspired by Frankenstein's monster. It makes sense on the basic level of a tragic science experiment abandoned by his creator, but it gets even more bizarre. In the novel, the monster identifies with Satan in the book Paradise Lost, making him the same sort of tragic figure as Lucifer. Rocket too was an imperfect creation cast out by the "god" who made him. In this light, it's undeniable that yes, Rocket Raccoon is as much a satan figure as Adam Warlock is space Jesus.

[ryker-writes]

Ryker's 19th birthday celebration

woooo I turned 19 today! I wanted to do something fun for my birthday, so here we have a question and answer interview like the birthday interviews in TWST. If you guys have any more questions feel free to ask and I'll happily answer! If you want the link for the picrew that made that image, you can find it here

NRC School Newspaper: A Birthday Interview with Ryker Crowley

Happy birthday!

Thank you! I gotta say that this has been one of my best birthdays so far! I love how NRC celebrates birthdays, and since we had one yesterday, it's like one very long party.

That's right, we celebrated Riddle's birthday yesterday.

Yup! Me and Riddle are pretty similar in a lot of ways. Aside from our birthday's being one day apart, we're also the same height, and even some of our personality. I'm a big rule follower and pretty strict when it comes to my school work and grades too.

Are you two close?

Well I'm a Heartslabyul student and he's my dorm leader, so we see each other often. I'd say we get along pretty well, but I wouldn't consider us close.

Who are you close with?

I get along really well with Ruggie, Silver, and Idia. I'd consider them pretty close friends. Ruggie is always fun to do practically anything with, even if it's working jobs, he can make it fun. Silver is really easy to talk to and fun to hang around with. He's the kind of friend I know I can always count on. Idia is the one that I spend most of my time with tho. It's not intentional, but when you're playing your favorite game or watching your favorite anime, you tend to lose track of time.

What are your favorite games and animes?

Some of my favorite games are Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, Genshin Impact, Honkai Star Rail, Pokemon, and Stardew Valley. As for anime...my favorite has to be One Piece. It's a very long one, and I'm not done yet, but I love it. I also like Black Butler, Jujutsu Kaisen, and Death Note.

Do you have any dreams for the future?

I want to become an author. I love writing so much, and I'm even taking writing college classes right now. I have a bunch of short stories that I've written and debated creating a separate blog for, but I'm unsure if anyone would even care about it. But I also have an idea for a book I want to write, so completing and publishing that would be my ultimate goal.

Speaking of your writing, how is your blog doing?

It's doing great! I say it often, but I never imagined I'd get as much support as I did. I'm really grateful to all of my followers who give me feedback and requests. I really love seeing their comments and responding. Hearing their thoughts, what they want more of, and interacting with them always makes me happy!

What's your most popular series?

Definitely my broken sibling relationship series. I'm honestly surprised how much everyone loves the angst. It started with Vil after a slight mention that I had an idea for how it could go wrong, but people keep wanting more. Those take a little bit longer to write than most requests, but I always love doing it.

Considering you've written so much sibling angst, if you had to choose someone at NRC to be your sibling, who would it be?

Oh man. That's a pretty tough decision, but I think I would have to say Malleus. He's pretty lonely most of the time, but I think if he had a sibling, he would be a bit happier. I firmly believe that Malleus would treat his sibling very well. Plus, I think growing up with him would've been very fun. I would've loved to be a part of Malleus' family.

Do you consider anyone in Twisted Wonderland your family?

I've accepted Crowley as my bird dad. I know most people wouldn't, but I do.

How are you enjoying Twisted Wonderland?

I love it! I've been playing for a little over a year now. I originally came to Twisted Wonderland through Obey Me, but I play more Twisted Wonderland now. I'm a proud owner of 25 SSR cards, and love the story. My favorite characters have to be Sebek, Leona, and Silver.

What are you talking about?

Don't worry about it.

Uh, okay. Can you tell us about your clothing style?

Sure! It varies from day to day depending of if I'm feeling more feminine or masculine, but lately I've been wearing a lot of Hawaiian shirts. My friend @l1ttleclouds actually made me an aesthetic board for my normal style. Take a look!

Nice! Are there any fun facts about you that most people don't know?

I always have trouble coming up with fun facts, especially ones that most people don't know. So I decided to come up with a few that people may or may not know; I love horror, I have a few succulents, and my eyes have two different colors. To clarify that last one, my eyes aren't two different colors, but each eye has two colors in it. Not mixed together, but separated. So about half of each iris is green, and half is brown. Fun!

Thank you so much for your time, and happy birthday again!

Of course! If anyone else has questions, don't be afraid to ask <3

[margridarnauds]

writers truth or dare: 🎱🕯️🔪🎨

🎱 ⇢ post your AO3 total stats 

User Subscriptions: 27

Kudos: 2,587

Comment Threads: 279

Bookmarks: 597

Subscriptions: 410

Word Count: 348,060

Hits: 32,507

🕯️ ⇢ on a scale from 1 to 10, how much do you enjoy editing? why is that?

6, probably. It isn't my favorite bit, because it's harder to tell when IT'S done VS when the overall plot is done, it's much harder to constantly reread what you've written and go "did I do what I set out to do?" I think that with my last thing, I spent more time editing than writing; there was one part that required the whole scene to be rewritten about three times. And it's never fun to have a part that you really liked and then have to cut (there was one line in my most recent one that KILLED me to cut -- it's safe in another document so I can use it down the line, but still). On the plus side, it's also where I get to fill out parts, add things to suit the mood, build atmosphere when I feel like I need to do that.

🔪 ⇢ what's the weirdest topic you researched for a writing project?

...oh. God. WEIRD, hm. I guess that depends on how you define "weird" -- for some people, authentic Old Irish is weird, but for me, that's just bringing my job into my fanfic. But I suppose for things that are far away from what I would usually do...

For anything set in the Toho RetJ world, I actually did look at pictures of, say, Chernobyl now, to give myself a template for how the world would look like. I looked up different predictions for how the world would look after a certain number of years, including weather patterns, natural disasters, etc., looked at videos like "Life After People" from the History Channel (which is...the History Channel, but gave me some inspiration), looked up photos of crumbling apartment buildings and how they look and the kind of natural decay that settles in, while also hunting down articles on the Shakespeare so that that could inform some of my characterizations.

Likewise, for my Terra Nova fanfic, I often found myself looking up fossils from the Cretaceous period, both plant and animal, trying to integrate them into the world of Terra Nova, looking through pictures of the sets so I could try to do some worldbuilding for how the world of the show works.

For my BG3 things, I have, like, 4-5 lore books on my computer, and I've looked up everything from, say, how to kill Lolth to drider transformation to Drow foods in the Underdark to Drow burial rites to coming of age rituals to necromancy to whether Devils in the world of DND eat mortals (...undecided) to Cambion biology (answer: they'd have to be able to decide on what a Cambion IS first) to what body temperature a Drow VS an Elf would have. I've looked up the ingredients to various potions for the sake of Kitrye's alchemy, common traits among albinos IRL VS the Szarkai in DND for Malla (Malla's eyesight is too good, but it's essential to her character, so sure), and real-world contracts and the language involved to write Raphael's deals. For a non-DND player, I've had to dive as deeply into the lore as possible (and often, esp. with regards to the Drow, going "that's stupid, I'm doing something better".)

For weirdest research OVERALL, definitely probably walking up and down a ~16th-17th century fortress so I could get a feel for how the Bastille might have felt.

...actual 18th century smut and how gay men in the 18th century usually conceived of sex. Opera schedules from the 18th-19th centuries, so that, when an opera's mentioned, it's usually something that was either playing at the time or plausible.

🎨 ⇢ link your favourite piece of fanart and explain why you like it

God, I've gotten to see a lot of really good fanart, and, especially, now that I'm doing BG3 things, I am really routinely being spoiled. I'm going to give a list, just because I think that there are worse things to spill a lot of ink on than giving people their proper due.

First of all, propping my friends, @hotelfgirl did a piece of Kitrye that lives rent free in my head. She has that specific sad girlfailure vibe that I love to see.

@drewsaturday did some Morléans fanart for my birthday that also lives eternally rent-free in my head; it really captured part of the appeal of the ship (besides the tragic ending), which is the level of trust involved, the intimacy of it.

For Irish Myth stuff, even if it's always slightly awkward to call it "fanart" in the same way that, say, BG3 things are fanart or things for my musicals are fanart, anything by @amylouioc, absolutely wonderful interpretations of medieval Irish figures by a modern Irish artist, my favorite is probably Nuada over here. I love the lighting, I love the color scheme, I love the detailing around the arm, especially the little blue tatoos...and, admittedly, I also love that Nuada's a KILF (King I'd Like To--terrorize the Fomoiri with) because I am, at the end of the day, a simple woman. (You all thought it was going to be Bres, didn't you?)

@aodhan-art - WONDERFUL pieces from medieval Irish lit; the first piece of his I was aware of was this one which...well. He knows the context, but it was a very memorable part of a very memorable trip for me. There's this real...sassiness Áed in particular has that I love, this real sense of personality. I also have to talk about this; it isn't often that we get Bres/Sreng fanart (or anything about Bres at ALL), so I love seeing him memed; I'm glad someone put up the money to do the commission and I'm even more glad he did it, it's perfect for both of them. Lest anyone think I'm forgetting Bres' better half, though, I love the work done on Bríg here; I love all the little detailing, all the textures, the little freckles on her skin, the clothing ITSELF looking like something from medieval Ireland.

Speaking of which, @violetcancerian's drawing of Bres and Sreng here, like. Look at them. It's Christmas. They're happy.

For BG3 fanart...

@lemmeurs Raphael fanart here is great; I love anything that captures the duality of Raphael's character, I love the use of lighting and shadow in it, the single strand of hair hanging over his face in both the Cambion and Human forms, the sharp edges of his cheekbones, the overall color scheme. Legitimately have not stopped thinking about it for days.

@shahs1221 ANYTHING by her is great, I really love this one here. For obvious professional reasons, I can't engage with any Professor/Student Raphael content on here (nothing personal, but if I don't engage with it, I have nothing to hide if anyone decides to link my fandom life to my academic life...which has happened before, regrettably), BUT her Professor Raphael art, both this and the follow-up, live rent-free in my brain (I will also note, if any colleagues, mentors, undergrads, potential peer reviewers, etc. should FIND this, they will note that it is based on a wonderful fic series where Raphael is dating someone who is NOT a student). LOVE the cozy academia vibe, especially the one in the follow-up where he's sleeping in a nice, incredibly comfortable looking sweater. (The real question in life: Do I want Raphael in this art or do I want to BE Raphael in this art?) Also...the baby cow eyes paired with sharp cheekbones are in full effect, causing me to briefly have my IQ drop into the single digits.

@adarlingmess WONDERFUL Raphael content in general, but I think I lean towards Dadbod!Raphael in the bath . I love it for the...plot? ("The plot" in this case being "Those cheekbones + a soft stomach"). I love the atmosphere, the kind of haze created by a combination of the steam + candles, Raphael looking relaxed for once in his immortal life, the way the candlelight plays on his face, the railing in the background (...not...that kind of railing...the railing from the game. The metal railing that is in the game.) Overall, it just really captures the feeling of that area of the Boudoir very well, it brings in a lot of small details, AND Raphael looks very good.

@potatocrisp Absolutely LOVE the dynamic that their Tav has with Raphael, the kind of push/pull dynamic on both ends, the way the two of them are both compromised for one another but are extremely stubborn about it (favorite Tavphael dynamic, ngl), the way that her Tav very clearly has the upper hand over this immortal, ancient being. I love her character design, I love the detailing on his doublet, especially the little shine of metal at his wrists, the little lace edging at her stockings.

@infernaldaydreams Hahaha, BG3 fanart that is NOT Raphael. I love everything I've seen of hers, but this one is probably my favorite, not the least because it was the first one I saw. I love how bittersweet it is, I love the tenderness, the focus on hands, the way that Gortash's face gets overshadowed and then lightens up for her, I just...God, these two rotten people have me in a chokehold, I love them. (But also, in the nicest possible way, fuck you for making me feel THINGS, knowing how Durgetash ends in canon.)

[cf56]

My thoughts on episode 6

SPOILERS for season 3, episode 6 of the Animaniacs reboot

My goodness, this episode was a well-needed pick-me-up! I loved everything about it!

Watching this episode will greatly reduce my potential of being spoiled further, since this is where like 70% of the unmarked spoiler screenshots I've seen come from. People just love posting their out-of-context Warner abominations.

Even from the first moment I saw it, I thought the mini tongue Wakko was kind of cute.

And Yakko heeling his siblings, just like it's supposed to be! I loved the twist of them actually being kind of friendly, just needing an older brother to keep them in check. That's what the Warners should be about.

HE HOLDS THEM BY THE SCRUFF LIKE A MAMMA KITTY!

LOOK AT THE TINY WAKKO HEAD! *melts of cuteness*

And a clever way for them to come back, with the mention of jelly donuts.

Great cold opening. The alien Warners are cute in a terrifying kind of way. But that could also describe the regular Warners just as well, couldn't it?

Let me talk about all of Murder Pals right now.

The first segment had me dying laughing because of how random it was and how it just happened in like 20 seconds. I liked the unobtrusive randomness of all three segments. And the animation.

Groundmouse Day Again was very good. I was genuinely engrossed in the entire plot, which, I'll be honest, doesn't usually happen for me with Pinky and the Brain segments.

I laughed pretty hard when Brain pulled out the calculations for how much wood a woodchuck can chuck. It's definitely a joke that's been done before in other media, but it was such an unexpected trope breaker that Brain would respond to Pinky's "I think so, Brain" with an actual, serious explanation. And just the fact that he also cared about this and already had the calculations put together. A rare moment where Pinky and The Brain are genuinely on the same page.

I had a good chuckle when The Brain went through 20,000,000 attempts to take over the US, and then said he just had to do the same thing for every other country. Say what you will, but the guy is dedicated.

I like how this episode broke down Brain's desire to rule the world. He gets the one thing he wanted, over and over again, but he can't enjoy the benefits. He gets so good at it that he succeeds every time. It just looses all meaning for him, and I believe that's what led to him valuing Pinky more as a friend by the end of the segment.

Although I do wish they had built up to this moment more directly throughout the episode to make it feel more earned.

I thought the thing Brain would need to do to break the loop might be valuing Pinky's friendship or getting a kiss from him or something. It turns out that was indirectly the case, as focusing on Pinky allowed him to uncover the true cause of the time loop, which he would have found right away if he just bothered to participate in Pinky's nighttime routine.

It does seem like Brain should now be well-equipped to take over the world for real outside of the time loop, but I guess most of his plans were time-dependent and had to take place at certain moments on that day to work.

It was an entertaining segment.

And now, my favorite segment of the episode. One of my favorite Animaniacs segments of all time. I had been looking forward to "The Island of Dr. Warneau" since the previews, and this one actually met and far exceeded my expectations.

I like that Wakko's first reaction to being hit with a coconut is to ram the tree with his own head.

Hatless boy

Ratto, Saffo, and Ditto were SUPER CUTE! I know the point was that they're off-brand Warners who are probably supposed to contrast with the regular Warners in a negative way, but I don't care. Hearing the Warner voices be so mild-mannered and cute melted my heart. Hearing them sound so timid in regards to their "brother" also broke my heart.

I liked that the Warners were genuinely nice to them despite probably feeling distaste over their opposite personalities.

"Yep, and get revenge on anybody who hurts your family." Now THAT'S more like the Warners I know.

I LOVED that Yakko keeps a picture of Scratchy in his wallet, and he seemed embarrassed when asked the reason, and the reason is never explained, so it probably does mean what I think it means! He really does care!

And Wakko, of course, has a special love for Scratchansniff and so keeps many pictures of him on-hand. Or, on-belly.

You know I love seeing some Warner history/lore being directly touched on. This is all very accurate to how it actually went down, right down to the detail of Scratchansniff having hair and ripping it out once the Warners showed up.

Imagine fleeing to an island to obsessively make nicer copies of the creatures you think ruined your life, and then those very same original creatures happen to randomly show up on your island because they got flung off a whale watching ship.

I thought it was clever how Yakko got out of the situation by mimicking Ratto's voice.

I loved seeing the Warners and pseudo-Warners unite as a family at the end!

I was terrified that there'd be some twist right at the very end that the Warners would just leave them on the island and reject them as true family, but I'm so very happy they didn't actually do that. Such a heartwarming ending!

The Warners actually killed Scratchy's brother! At least he'll have a valid reason to hate them now.

This segment was so much more than I was expecting. I thought it would just be a parody segment with Scratchansniff standing in as the in-story villain. But, no. It was actually directly connected to the Warners' real backstory and weaved really nicely into their history. I never expected that out of this segment or any segment in the reboot. I'm super pleased with it.

I have no idea how this episode can exist in the same season as episode 8. I don't want to bring in the negativity of yesterday, but I just have to say how much of a shame it is that this season has so much good in it, but I will always have a hard time looking back on it completely positively because of that one moment. You can call that unfair, and it is, but I really can't understate the impact that episode had on me, and I can't ignore my genuine emotions. I don't know how they could make so much genuinely good Warner content and then sour it all with that. It shows that they do understand the characters, but only sometimes? How does that work?

My one major complaint with this episode is, once again, no musical numbers. I've seen 7 out of 10 of the episodes in this season, and in those I've only seen, I think, 2 songs from the Warners. I know the three episodes I haven't watched all have major songs in them, but that's still unacceptable for Animaniacs. Music is such an important part of the spirit of this show, and when there's a truly good song in an episode, it really brightens my mood and leaves me happy singing it over and over again in my head. Last season did so well mixing in great songs on history and geography and science, just like the original did, but season 3 hasn't really done that at all. Did they just forget? I think it's part of why the mood of this season as a whole feels off to me. They should be making use of these legendary voice actors while they have them.

It's going to be hard for me to decide between episode 3 and episode 6 for the top spot in my ranking of episodes for the season so far. Episode 3 had a fantastic song, which episode 6 lacks, and probably better humor. Episode 6 has a more memorable Pinky and the Brain segment, and they really went for my heart by giving us a healthy dose of Warner lore, and some really fun and wholesome moments with the sibs. I think episode 6 just edges out episode 3 for me, but it's a really hard call.

My current ranking of season 3 episodes:

Episode 6

Episode 3

Episode 4

Episode 2

Episode 1

Episode 5

I really encourage you to add to the discussion of this episode if you want, but don't say anything about any of the episodes that come after. Thanks for caring about my thoughts on things!

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Yeet the Wakko

[a-deadly-serenade]

nocturne review, ramblings

obvs spoilers for the show down below.

so, i'm gonna be real with y'all; i dont think i would have watched this if not for one of my mutuals spilling the beans about alucard making an appearance 💀 s4 was ok and a fine conclusion to the og castlevania that started this animated franchise, but i dont think i will ever get over the absolute fumble and frankly, insulting way they wrapped up s3. even s4 had its cringe moments, like lenore getting a peaceful sendoff and carmilla getting to kill herself. but, i digress. i was going into nocturne with an already negative mindset and that may have made me more critical of the show. can u blame me though? lmao

i had seen a few clips and screenshots on twitter when they dropped the first 3 eps early and... they only helped solidify my decision to remain skeptical of the staff's writing capabilities. shit was already a little hazy and wishy-washy with their portrayal of isaac in s2 and how they treated hector thruought the show (not to mention the two asian-coded characters in s3). let's just say, the netflix castlevania team doesnt have the greatest track record when it comes to writing poc characters. so, when i saw screengrabs just outright stating that this show was going to deal with historically accurate racism? hm.

obvs as a white woman, i can only go so far on this criticism of the writing, but i dont really understand why they needed to include this? the comparisons and allegory of freedom from indentured servitude to the french revolution, was very weak and bare bones at best. you can keep the motif of the church existing on exploitation and blood of the people-- a whole cross section of the world was involved in the crusades, which is the priests & his entourages whole deal--but, why couldnt annette just be a witch? why did this "historical accuracy" need to get involved with the time period? bcuz the french revolution was name dropped? your main villain is a hungarian countess from the 16th century that made a pact with an EGYPTIAN goddess to become all powerful. like.

and also..... why the FUCK are vampires getting involved with the intercontinental slave trade bro??? 😭 theyre immortal beings that have seen the rise and fall of empires and can do whatever tf they want and go wherever tf they want and they choose to..... own a plantation? give af abut the economy? with selling goods??? okkkkk. also, this line of dialogue is insane to me:

you cant have a central theme of your story be standing up against the oppressors and then make said oppressors fantastical monsters. what kills me is that they've delved into the monstrosity of humanity in s1 and s2, and yet, when you bring in one of the most monstrous things humanity has ever done in its history for the sake of historical accuracy, you turn the very perpetrators into something mythical, and evil that the common folk had no chance of ever defeating even if they tried. its just overall, very messy and they certainly were not the creative team to try and tackle something like this.

speaking of, the writing, again, it definitely left something to be desired. there are moments that are good, don't get me wrong. episode 6 is a particular favorite of mine, shining through with its wonderful character moments b/w annette's soul searching with her ancestors, richter and juste's heart to heart, and olrox's confessions to mizrak. tera's sacrifice to ensure maria's safety is also really well done, as well as maria's final confrontation with her father in the church. however, these were fewer and farther between than i would have liked. a lot of the scenes that played out just fine, were ultimately sullied by this series' incessant need to insert swearing into every other sentence. its something that bothered me nearing the end of s4 especially, and i've just grown tired of it. it honestly takes me out of the scene to constantly hear fuck thrown out every 2 seconds for literally... no reason. i promise y'all can write meaningful and impactful dialogue without having your characters swear lmao

the writing itself is what unfortunately makes the first half of the show kind of drag a bit. the story doesn't really know what it wants to do. none of these new characters are really given time to breathe and be really fleshed out, bcuz every time things settle down and we're given the chance to learn more about their motivations, its like they're almost scared they'll lose your attention and any down time is immediately followed up with an intense action sequence. which, dont get me wrong, if theres one thing they dont disappoint with--its the action. but, i dont think that was ever up for debate to begin with. however, i believe that the characters really suffer bcuz of this. if you've never played the games, which, i believe most people tuning in to watch these series never have, you would have no idea who maria or richter are, and, i really don't think they were given enough time to be fleshed out. half the time, richter's dialogue just ends up being naive, walmart trevor belmont sarcastic one-liners and poor maria ping-pongs b/w the blandest, generic, wonderbread toutings of 'revolution' or calling richter a dick, wanker, or anything in b/w. episode 6, one of the better episodes as mentioned previously, is where we really get to see some actual growth around richter especially. there were moments where his trauma could have been further explored earlier, but they kind of got shoved to the wayside in favor of dragging out the interworking bw all the villains. which.....

if i'm gonna talk about the villains. my initial thoughts were that nocturne was going to be a one-and-done, standalone series with its own self contained story that would be wrapped up in these 8 episodes. i was wrong. and i really dont know how they're going to keep this story going. erzsebet is already a very weak and uninteresting and, honestly, confusing ? villain? for more than half of the series, she's talked about as the mysterious and all powerful Messiah and theyre gathering all these sacrifices for her to bring her back and create an army of night creatures. why is she considered powerful? bcause she made a pact with Sekhmet, an egyptian goddess. why did she do this? who knows! why does she have such a devoted cult of loyal followers when she hasnt done anything but kill a lot of people? again, who knows. why did maria's father think that a VAMPIRE would keep him in cahoots during this whole plan and not immediately fuck him over once she got what she wanted...? who fucking knows. olrox is the most interesting of the villains but even he isnt fully explored. the motivations are just not really explained very well and the buildup to erzsebet's arrival was so sudden that i literally thought i missed an entire episode. one minute, shes hiding in the shadows and the next ? waltzing in on a golden chariot and being heralded as the people's savior?? so damn messy and honestly? i really could not have cared less about her. which is insane to say, bcuz shes literally based off of a real countess who's case and life were a special interest of mine. i just... why an EGYPTIAN goddess?? shes from HUNGARY. were there no goddesses in europe to pull from she could have made a pact with? idk man it just makes no damn sense.

i am definitely more than a little peeved that this wasn't even the complete story, bcuz they did such a poor job establishing erzsebet as a villain, that i really dont give af what crazy shit they come up with to extend the story. you show her being a big badass in the very last episode. ok, you as an audience member, are immediately shown why dracula is so feared within the first 10 minutes of the first episode. and all of that wasnt even HIM fighting!!! the worst thing i've seen miss countess bathory do over here is summon a crazy orb and turn into a furry. like, where is the story going to go from here? they fight tera? save edouard and have a night creature alliance? make maria or alucard (yes, i'll get to him) summon the portal again? which btw... machine from HELL? im not even gonna touch that can of worms. somehow bring olrox back to.....? help kill bathory? idfk

and man...... i was hoping against hope that when i found out alucard was going to make an appearance, that it was just going to be some neat little cameo at the v end of the series after the main story had concluded. a little nod, a little treat to the audience that the next series would be encompassing the events of symphony of the night. maybe we'd even get a depiction of maria and richter when theyre older, i dont know, anything but throwing him in there as an overpowered hail mary to save the day. we couldnt just let these new characters figure it out and triumph in their own way? we had to drag him into this, now? i cant even tell you how disappointed i was when i saw that sword pierce drolta. ME! the resident alucard fan since i was like mf elementary school!!! ugh.

i think this is it for me and netflix castlevania lmao im a grumpy old man and miss when it was mainly fun easter eggs to the games, like how they brought in juste or how olrox turns into a big green monster and has an attack that sends flying skulls your way, or the REMIX of RICHTER'S THEME!!! but its just gotten so silly and the writing hasnt gotten any better..... from now on, im going to simply stick to the games that made me fall in love with this series in the first place & let this be the last time i ever feel the need to bitch about new 'netflixvania' content.

[dogaquarium]

Hey Laika, I saw your post about nightmares and I hope you’re doing alright :( that sounds really hard and on top of all the other stressors must be rough.

I’ve been curious about your thoughts on alien 9 recently, and was wondering your thoughts on it! If thats too much to think about right now how about some of your favorite foods or items?

Hope this helps a little 🫶 <:D

Hi star thank you so very much for the ask <3 I'm feeling a little better now, just takes a little bit of wind out of me whenever I wake up from something like that. Let me focus on answering your questions now though....

Asking me my thoughts on alien 9 in such a vague sense is a recipe for disaster, lol. I have so many thoughts and opinions on so many different elements of it. So feel free to ask for specifics later if you'd like, but I suppose I'll do a quick overview on as many things as I possibly can! Also going to try to make this as relatively spoiler free as possible since I'm pretty sure neither you nor a few other people following this blog have seen it yet, and I'm not sure if you're interested in attending movie night or not whenever I have time to plan a date for that.

Boy, where do I even start..... alien 9 is something so special to me. The entire franchise definitely does have its issues, and I do wish some moments were expanded upon or changed slightly. The pacing can be a little strange in the OVA, and even stranger in the manga (which is one reason I enjoy the anime a lot more; the manga sometimes feels almost detatched entirely). But it's something really valuable as it is regardless. It's such a foundational media for me that I came away from differently. Something I've found a lot of comfort and security in! The characters are all extremely charming, the story itself tackles such serious taboo topics in a proper sense, such a large part of it corresponds to the young queer experience, it doesn't poke fun at childhood mental illness, the core concept of the universe it exists within is endlessly compelling, the list goes on..... plus, kumi's character themes of identity (which I've already mentioned in precious posts) is something you can dig into forever. It's all so interesting. And it resonates a lot with me!

Episode 3 is one I'm especially excited for everyone to experience when I stream it. It's my personal favorite episode for a lot of reasons that I think we're masterfully tackled. It's a beach/vacation episode! Which sounds, admittedly, very frivolous and unimportant in the grand scheme of things. And to some degree it is!!! But what I personally find so compelling about episode 3 is the fact that it serves as a medium through which we can see how the main three girls function outside of a traumatic environment. It provides a baseline for us. It allows the audience to see them just be kids. I truly do not think it'd be as impactful of a series for me without that.

And now, since you can't have a general dump of my thoughts on alien 9 without mentioning the spinoffs.. prepare yourself......

I firmly believe that hitoshi tomizawa should have not been allowed to expand on this franchise any further after the original story had been wrapped up because after seeing what he's done with it you're bound to get a headache. There's two spinoffs from the original three classic volumes: namely alien 9-emulators and alien 9-next. I will not dwell on emulators (at least in this ask) because my rant on it will likely be even longer than this response, but know that with the way it handles the original subject material, it's not only incredibly insensitive, but I'd go as far as saying actively harmful. Tomizawa is a fuckin pedophile which SHINES in his later works in particular, and is very ironic considering so much of the point of the original classic series concerns the harm done by csa and how cyclical it can become (most blatantly in relation to kasumi's character). That's all I'll get into it for now because if I talk any more on it I'll get even more pissed. Idk where to even begin with Next, though.... such a strange expansion of the universe...... this spinoff takes place after the girls have all grown up and are on some kind of outer space mission.. idk how to even explain it to you and it's been far too long since I've read it but it's utter horseshit, such an anomalous entry in the series. Also the art style changed to be 3D models for no reason and it's ugly as sin.

Besides all the....... obviously glaring problems with both next and emulators..... there are also some simpler things that don't work for me in them. Namely kumi and yuri's relationship! In the classic volumes, such a major plot point is the evolution of their relationship from one that is tense, angry, and unhealthy to one that is mutually supportive and uplifting. There's a lot to be said about this change in relation to both parties- be it relaring to kumi's home life/preconceived expectations of her to yuri's mental illnesses/the way others treat her due to that. They act the way they do for a reason, is what I mean. And so when the audience finally gets the relief of them forming a genuine bond together, you expect that to be that, it's a plot point wrapped up and done with. And does stay wrapped up..... in the classic volumes, at least. In the spinoffs, kumi suddenly reverts back into someone aggressive and untrusting. Yuri reverts back into someone who has made no advances in her bravery and independence. All because fuckin tomizawa had no idea how to craft a story with meaning after he finished the first three volumes.

^ so cutes.. awwee......

I suppose this turned more into a response of why I dislike all the spinoffs rather than why I like the originals.. oh well..... easier to avoid spoilers in that way I suppose. Maybe you still found this interesting enough? Don't hesitate to ask more if I didn't answer how you'd expected!

[arrowpunk]

Gimme 4-9 on those dragon age asks!

Hi sorry I took so long with these whoops, I've had a tab open on my computer since the day you sent this with it like half answered and just didn't get back to it until today! Oops!

4. What was your first Warden (gender/class/race/personality)?

Hyacinth Tabris! Male/Rogue/City Elf, outwardly he presents himself as a very diplomatic and reasonable guy, and does genuinely try to figure out what is going to have the best outcome for everyone when making decisions. Inwardly though he’s just like riding the high of not being dead when he should have died like five times over at this point and is full of shitty jokes that he does not actually say out loud.

5. What was your first Hawke like (gender/class/temperament)?

Atlas Hawke! Male/Mage/Purple This deeply sad man uses a mask of humor to pretend he isn’t constantly falling apart at the seams! I love Hawke, DA2 is definitely my favorite DA game so far, I love the inevitable doomed tragedy of the Hawke family and also just like Kirkwall as a whole and just. Yeah. Favorite DA game, easily. 

6. First Inquisitor (gender/class/race/personality)?

Qwyllian Adaar! Female/Warrior/Qunari she’s pretty pragmatic and just doing her best to make the decisions that will cause the least damage and work out best for everyone in the long run. Qwyllian isn’t interested in returning things to the status quo and putting everything back the way it was beforehand, rather she’s doing her best to use her power and influence as inquisitor to make things better for the common people of Thedas as much as she can. (In my personal internal canon she’s got my other inquisitor, Thyrias Lavellan, with her, and he’s fairly knowledgeable when it comes to Orlesian politics and certain things that aren’t mentioned in the game but are uhhh. Incredibly Relevant especially when it comes to Wicked Eyes and Wicked Hearts (Fuck Celene, all my homies hate Celene)) 

7. Favorite DA:O backstory?

Tbh so far the only one I’ve played thru is Tabris so I am not qualified to pick a favorite yet.

8. Preferred class overall?

Rogue! I love being a sneaky little guy that can pick locks

9. Do you tend to play male or female characters most?

Definitely guys whoops- My first Inquisitor was a woman though and as soon as I started moving her around things felt so wrong because the walk/run animation was very like? Dainty? And the body language felt all wrong for how I had envisioned the character- I still finished the playthrough with her, but yeah when you make a character to be a butch lesbian with a massive sword and then the walk cycle animation looks like it was meant for a dainty fairy of a woman that goes prancing and traipsing through flower meadows it just feels… wrong. And just yeah the way the like body language animations are done for female characters in the dragon age games do not tend to jive well with the types of characters I enjoy making. Very excited to be able to make a nonbinary character in Veilguard tho. 

[nuclearjacks]

13, 15, 23 for ask game 👀

13. A character or ship you haven’t drawn/written for yet but would like to someday?

MegaRod 100%. They're one of my favorite ships in the TF fandom but god I can't believe I've never made content for them ;-;

I have one spicy wip that's been laying around in my folders since 2022, and was going to make a comic for a zine I had to drop out of with hints of MegaRod but it's all stuff I never got around to or never finished. I need to fix that in the future >:)

They are my beloveds who are such beautiful mirrors of one another, on top of I relate so heavily with their characters for one reason or another so they mean a lot to me <3

15. Have you noticed your style change over time?

Absolutely! It's much easier to notice the changes over a larger amount of time like my art now vs my 2021 art. You can see the drastic change in my lineart and especially with my shape work and how saturated my colors are now pictured below vvv

But there's definitely still some changes I've been noticing here and there in the past year, much more subtle and much more gradual. I've been improving on my speed and simplification of designs into my style, especially with Transformers. And I've also been getting a lot better with backgrounds/actually adding backgrounds in now bdavbdkvb not to mention, experimenting with lighting and learning about things like sub-surface scattering, reflective lighting, ambient lighting and a whole bunch of pretty overwhelming concepts tbh sdbksdbv

This year so far has mostly been a lot of experimenting and much more experimenting to come and I'm excited to see what my style evolves into next : )

23. Has your favourite character/ship changed over time?

Probably more my understanding of my favorite characters and ships.

I still ADORE MegOp and the mix of tragedy, pining and fluff it is but my understanding and interpretation of their characters has changed drastically from when I first entered this fandom at 18, now 23.

There were definitely influences from my anime fandom days where I thought "Orion is so baby and is a precious cinnamon roll who couldn't hurt a fly, lookit how smol he is with his big beefy warrior boyfriend who protecs him" to "Orion is a capable character who, while naive about the world, could be just as smart as Megatronus and in doing so created a whole other faction that inadvertently worked alongside a corrupt political system that Megatronus was trying to deconsruct" (Also not hating on anyone who still likes character interpretations like the first, it's just not my thing that much anymore personally kjbdvksbv)

I still like the concept of big beefy warrior boyfriend protecting his small librarian (cause c'mon that's just fun ksdbvksdb), but I merge it with my larger understanding of the classism themes, alongside the inherent religious themes of Optimus becoming a Prime that I'm such a bitch for kdbsdkjbv

Same goes for Rodimus in MTMTE. He went from "Haha he's just like me fr, lookit this ADHD baby who can't focus for a second haha he always forgets paperwork and has never done wrong I don't see how someone can hate him" to "Rodimus has done so much wrong and that's what makes him an insanely relatable character. People hate him because he's genuinely fucked up so bad and placed blame on everyone but himself because he wants so badly to be the hero of the story instead of the person everyone sees as the 'fuck up'. The fact he keeps trying to live up to a title that's bullshit and to a person (Optimus) who doubts himself every second of the day and doesn't see how fucked his own lineage actually is because the person he looks up to most is hiding things just like him and has fucked up just like he has, as has every other prime before him. But damn it, he's going to try and do better this time, he has to. Also he's so ADHD-coded it's not even funny."

Tldr: I merge the simpler concepts I loved when I was younger with the more complex concepts I love now that I'm older to create a nuanced narrative of the characters and their relationships while being a self indulgent fangirl skbgsbbihuft

[thiefbird]

H j t for the ask game :)

H: How would you describe your writing style?

Hm... I'm going to answer both ways this question can be read, I think!

So in terms of how I tackle writing, I'd say I'm both incredibly straight forwards, and incredibly chaotic. For the most part, when I'm writing fanfic or original works(and even to some extent non-creative writing like analytical/argumentative essays or research papers), I come up with the basic idea of What Will Happen, and then I start at the beginning and write each chapter, from beginning to end, without planning it. This is widely considered to be A Bad Idea, for good reasons. I'm currently trying to teach myself to at least plan out the scene by writing it as a weird first draft of a screen play, with general action cues and dialogue but no description, and it is going relatively well, so far, but we shall see if it sticks! [I also write all my fanfic by hand and then either use my reMarkable to convert it into text, or copy it over by hand because I am Not A Reasonable Person]

In terms of how my writing, like, sounds, on the other hand, I am told I have a really good skill at aping other authors' styles, so I think perhaps my writing style is Chameleon? I am a heavily masking sort of person, entirely subconsciously, and said mask adapts very quickly to what I'm around to the point that it only takes about half an hour, these days, of exposure to have an undetectably false British or Irish accent - not always even the accent I'm surrounded by, but a slightly posh central English accent, and a blend of a Dublin and Galways Irish accent, because Oxford&Coventry and Galway&Dublin are the places I've spent the most time - and this happens in my writing! Whatever I'm absorbing the most of at that time will reflect itself in my word choices, and the cadence and rhythm of my sentences.

J: What’s your favorite fanfic trope? Have you written it?

I think my favourite when it's done well is soulmate AUs, because there are so many concepts to play with in them: how does it effect the culture of the world you're writing in? What happens if you fall in love with someone who isn't your soulmate? What if you have multiple soulmates? What if you just straight up don't have a soulmate?

I haven't written soulmate AU yet, but I have an idea for one both for the Aubreyad, and a DA:Awakening into DA2 idea that I may explore at some point - the DA one next time my brain circles back to Thedas in terms of special interest du jour; the Aubreyad idea is sitting on the back burner until I either run out of ideas for So long lives this, or need to take a break from it.

Also, honorable shout-out to HMD/daemon AUs. Love those things so much. I love giving characters A Little Guy and thinking about how they as a person would sublimate part of their soul out of their body, what animal it would be, and how they would interact with it. I have a very slightly started Hannigram HMD AU(a True HDM AU taking place in Lyra's World, even, though in North America not Oxford ofc), and a partially thought out Aubreyad daemon AU(I don't know enough about the history of Lyra's world to write historical fiction within it).

T: Any fanfic tropes you can’t stand?

Hmm... I wouldn't say I can't stand it, but the thing I'm least likely to read is probably modern/coffeeshop/highschool/uni AUs, unless there is a compelling plot point mentioned in the summary, or I am familiar with the author. I don't always enjoy when the main themes of the original are gone unless there is an equally present driving force. They definitely can be done well, and I've certainly read ones that I was doubtful of at first that I really enjoyed, but for the most part that would be what I'm most wary of.

However, I do like AUs like this where they keep the driving force and change the circumstances. Modern Thedas with magic? Amazing, 10/10, I want to know how Isabela would text so bad. Hannigram AU where Will did something not at all FBI related, but he and Hannibal meet anyways and Hannibal is still a cannibal? Divine - they always will meet because they are entangled like atoms; Hannibal will always be Hannibal, and he will always be drawn to Will.

I think this is harder to do when there are less fantastical elements to the story; I have a harder time imagining a coffeeshop AU I would enjoy for the Aubreyad, for example, just because there are no longer tall ships or Napoleon to beat - and there are, in fact, not many modern AUs for the Aubreyad; there are a good deal more for Temeraire, because there are fantastical elements to Temeraire (dragons) that can be transferred over.

Thank you for the questions, @papercranesong and I hope you enjoyed my essay xD

[larsnicklas]

1, 8, 17, 43, 44 for the bookworm ask meme!

1. Name the best book you've read so far this year. this isn't exciting but i don't think i've read anything that's really really gripped me this year, at least so far. but on the bright side, i've still read a good handful of books i've enjoyed, chief among those the buried giant by kazuo ishiguro, a river enchanted and a fire endless by rebecca ross, and i'm currently reading the brothers karamazov and priory of the orange tree! will report back on those; i'm having fun with both in different ways lol

8. Favorite queer fiction book(s). it's terribly unoriginal of me but probably my favorite books that would be considered queer lit are song of achilles and the left hand of darkness! more recently, i've also really enjoyed the jasmine throne but haven't read the second book in the series yet!! oh and i didn't mention it above but i read most ardently earlier this year; i can be picky about austen rewrites but found this one largely well done and enjoyed the characters!!

17. Favorite finished book series. ah well every series tamora pierce has ever written goes here; i do feel like the tortall books raised me, in a way. my particular favorite heroine was daine because when i was little i wanted to talk to animals so badly, but i think protector of the small holds up the best and for me actually, the song of the lioness got read and reread the most. alanna and her generation were really so special to me lol. i would also say the first mistborn trilogy is high on my list, and if you really get down to it i guess at heart i really am just a lord of the rings girl.

43. Title of a book you own that's in the worst physical condition you have. Explain what happened to it. Post a picture if you want. i was very hard on my books when i was younger and have become a little more mindful as i've grown lol but i would take books everywhere with me, including like. literally into the shower lol and just leave them open on the table cracking their spines, so on and so forth. there were probably quite a few of them in rough shape!! i do have a very tattered mass market paperback lord of the rings trilogy that is still with me out of sentimentality lol. they're probably my most beat up books that i have right currently!

44. The book(s) whose stories have become part of your very makeup. the books i read as a child that i'd consider formative were definitely the three tortall quartets as mentioned above along with the emelan books; a wrinkle in time by madeleine l'engle, his dark materials by phillip pullman, and specifically the first three anne of green gables books!