#added tropes cause ppl seem to like that

[bumblesimagines]

So, we're already onto season 3 of OBX which means Midnight Beach will soon be coming to either an end or a hiatus (haven't decided yet as this season left me underwhelmed and I don't have high expectations for next season). This means, we'll be moving onto another series once it's over and done with/put on pause.

That brings me to three series I have either halfway fleshed out (as in plot, relationships, etc) or completely fleshed out. Keep in mind that regardless of the end result, the TWD fic will happen sooner or later as I have muse for it and plan to subject you all to 11 seasons of it cause if I suffer, you suffer <3.

The Walking Dead / The Last Days

(Y/N) Morales and his longtime friend and work buddy, Glenn Rhee, find themselves fighting to survive in a world newly plunged into a zombie apocalypse. Due to the goodness of their hearts, they rescue a fella named Rick Grimes and their lifes become intertwined with his as they travel together and try to stay alive while battling both the dead and the living. Follow (Y/N) as he's forced to make tough decisions and try to form a new life for himself.

TW/CW: Violence, gun mentions, lots of cursing, descriptions of gore/death, mentions/talk of depression, typical warnings you'd expect from a zombie show and/or The Walking Dead, 11 seasons to go through

Tropes: Found Family, Opposites Attract, very brief enemies to lovers (twice w different ppl), Right person wrong time, Shared Trauma, obnoxiously long Slowburn, Grump x Sunshine, Death of many loved ones, Friends with Benefits

Endgame Romance: Daryl Dixon BUT he is the slowburn and right person wrong time (later on becomes right person right time) so (Y/N) forms romantic relationships with others throughout the fic including guys and gals because we stan a bi king.

Game of Thrones / The Youngest Hound

After being taken to King's Landing as a child by his brother Sandor Clegane to protect him, (Y/N) Clegane earns himself a reputation for being as ruthless and frightening as his older brothers. Assigned as the Sworn Shield to the young Prince Tommen, (Y/N)'s had the unfortunate luck of practically being part of the Lannister-Baratheon family. Due to his job, he accompanies the family to Winterfell where he first lays eyes on the naive Sansa Stark who he brushes off as just another vain lady. But fate has a funny sense of humor and after a series of events, he flees from King's Landing with her when King Joffrey is murdered. Follow (Y/N) as he deals with everything life throws at him and Sansa Stark.

TW/CW: This is such a dead dove do not eat fic. Violence, descriptions of death/gore, implied abusive brother (Gregor), Joffrey and Cersei are warnings alone tbh, abusive relationship/actions (Half the men Sansa interacts with), trauma, predatory behavior (Baelish, Cersei) typical GoT warnings honestly, 8 seasons to go through

Tropes: Brief Rivals/Enemies to Lovers, Grump x Sunshine, Protector x Protectee/Bodyguard x Bodyguarded(?), Royalty, Opposites attract, Slowburn, Unrequited Love for a bit

Endgame Romance: Sansa Stark

Legacies / Forgotten Fairytale

Note: This will be rewritten from part 1 since this unfinished series makes me cringe when I read it. This does mean I'll be slowly getting around to finishing series that have been left uncompleted.

Sent to spy on the students at The Salvatore School for the Young and Gifted, (Y/N) (L/N) makes his presence known from day 1. Being a dragon-vampire hybrid with a sarcastic and often times mean personality, (Y/N) lands himself the bad boy role amongst the students and gets himself on the bad side of infamous Hope Mikaelson. However, he soon changes his tune and becomes a part of the Super Squad, although his many secrets make it hard for others to fully trust him.

TW/CW: Foul language, violence, mentions of things like demons and such, uhhhh yeah.

Tropes: Enemies to Lovers, Slowburn, Right Person Wrong Time, Villain x Hero, Antihero x Hero, Shared Trauma, Unrequited Love (different character from love interests), Found Family, Bad Boy x Good Girl, slight Miscommunication

Endgame Romance: Hope Mikaelson BUT (Y/N) does have a serious romantic relationship before her

[ssasides205]

had a realization that's making me insane but we as a fandom weren't angry enough abt sunshades

also, this is entirely related, so I'm dragging them here too, but the voltron fandom was not angry enough abt Shiro's sudden gayness

now, the similarities are these:

both were retconed gay during the second half of their series

both were given their "endgame" romantic interest at the very end of their series (yes I know TOA exists now, but it came out in 2016, 2 years after BOO)

both fandoms became really weird abt those who dared to have shipped the character with a girl (Nico was canonically gay for longer than Shiro was in their respective media, so it's very rare to see those old ships, but they exist all the same)

both fandoms were all too happy to start extreme shipping them with their last minute love interest (the voltron fandom latched to Adam so hard it makes the sunshades seem tame, Curtis way less so)

the differences:

the voltron fandom should've been angry bc Shiro hadn't had any buildup as a gay character (whatever shippers saw notwithstanding), the problem being that if the show had gone with it's original Shallura plans (I saw this in like a commentary on how the show got made), they would've had to make someone else queer (for bait reasons), and they couldn't make hunk queer cause they did the whole thign with Shay, and Pidge was the youngest so like,,, they couldn't make keith queer cause he's the only "white" character and therefore has to be the token straight protag, and if they made Lance queer without makign klance happen I think something would've exploded.

so last minute gay shiro, burry your gays trope included! but oh, don't worry, he gets married to this random two seconds background character in the end!!

the PJO fandom, on the other hand, went through more than half of HOO watching Nico and Jason be like thatTM and then just, acepted will? the same ppl who tell you valdangelo wouldn't happen cause they had only one interaction? those ppl??

what, they just took the 1.5 bit at the VERY END of BOO and ran with it? I know lack of representation was a lot worse back then, but if that thing came out now I don't trust y'all to call it out like you should

like, I remember spending that whole scene being like "who the fuck's this guy" cause I didn't register background characters unless they were plot relevant, and nothing about that scene was all that romantic either

it makes me so angry, and when they announced the show I hoped they'd make it as close to the books as possible bc then maybe more ppl would see it two, but apparently Riordan added to the first series post-fact? and the tv series is already making changes?? and they'll probably work sunshades into it earlier bc of TSATS but gods, even if they don't it might still not happen, bc y'all just settle for scraps.

anyway, sorry for the rant, I jsut wanted to get it off my chest, and sorry if I offended y'all, I just think you deserved better.

[shortpplfedup]

My School President Episode 4: Hopes and dreams

Oh my oh my oh my. That was even better than any clown theory I could have possibly dreamed up. I love so much about how this show is constructed and the things it wants to say about what it takes to make dreams come true and the importance of having people in your corner. I mean, the theme song is literally titled 'You Got Ma Back' and it took me until now to get it, silly rabbit. In this episode, the boys really start getting to know each other (giving the audience a look in as well), and the Bad Buddy DNA continues to be strong with the catalyst character showing up, the energy shifting between our dynamic duo and the face-cleaning trope/PPL making an appearance...lol.

Verse: Slackers gotta shape up

Bring it on, ring the alarm Don't stop now, just be the champion Work it hard, like it's your profession Watch out now, 'cause here it comes

Britney Spears | Work Bitch (2013)

I appreciate that the show made the point that slacking won't get you very far in anything you actually care about. The boys claim to be serious about music, and from the first episode and Gun's speech that he never got to give, you get that Gun understands what it will take to get to and win Hot Wave, but they all lacked the discipline to see their dream through. Sound, coming in as the hardass heavy, is the missing piece of the band's puzzle, and Gun was aware enough to realise it. The part he missed, that he learned by the end, is that Chinzhilla doesn't need Sound instead of him, but needs Sound as well as him. Because what Gun brings is the magic, the sparkle, the je ne sais quoi, the FUN. That's made clear elsewhere in the story this ep as well, as Gun taps into what's missing from the student council's approach to the student body and figures out a way for them to have fun and spread some joy while still achieving their goals. You start to see how Gun and Tinn are really well matched, as Tinn brings the structure and Gun brings the style.

Chorus: Eyelashes are being batted

Every time you look at me My heart is jumping, it's easy to see

Britney Spears | (You Drive Me) Crazy (1999)

The other thing you start to see is how Gun has game. Having realised that he likes Tinn, he is now paying attention and has noticed that Tinn likes him too. And he is going for it, and he's much better at flirting than Tinn is by several orders of magnitude. Tinn came strong with the hand stamp and offer to hang out with him if he was lonely, but Gun made the monster moves with the bow tie adjustment (classic) and the selfie. I mean, after the bow tie thing Tiw had to leave the room, and I FELT that. It felt like a 'let me just give y'all some privacy' moment. I love that Tinn saw how Gun lost his sparkle without music club, and he tried to give him back music via the council because Gun's sparkle is integral to why he likes him in the first place. And then he went beyond, to free Gun from the commitment he felt like he'd made and return him to music club, because that is ultimately where he wants to be. He let Gun go, and he came right back to him, because now Gun wants music and Tinn. Gorgeous.

Ad Libs

I know that high school cliques do seem impenetrable but it's still funny how everybody behaved like Gun couldn't be in music club and play for the student council.

Next week looks like they're actually gonna address some of the implied class differences between Gun and Tinn, interesting.

I loved the conversation Tinn and Gun had in the stairwell, Tinn giving insight into what feels like a fear of failure and Gun feeling like he was born to perform. Them getting to know each other is so sweet and you see them becoming more endeared the more they learn.

Sound making them all dress like they're in a boy band was HILARIOUS. I wanna see the inside of that kid's mind.

The Holy Chinchilla! 🤣 Sadhu

That one snobby kid from the council is gonna make one hell of a civil service bureaucrat someday.

I love a good pinkie touch/link 🥰

[daz4i]

dgmw it certainly has its own staples and running elememts but they're. a part of the format. like all the vhs effects or old timey tv programs, that's kind of the point

but some ppl take it as "creepy faces" "uncanny valley" etc. or they make the story happen in modern day but without justifying the use of analog technology via the story. and while i can suspend my disbelief obviously it still kind of misses the point, like why go through the extra effort of adding all these elements if the story doesn't back it up and it only looks jarring and confusing

and another way it's expressed is people just. making other forms of art with these common tropes (like uncanny valley and the likes) without including really any analog element at all. bc like. they're just drawings posted on a blog, for example

as usual it doesn't actually matter this is just semantics and me complaining but. this is just regular horror bestie you're making horror content. or you CAN just make regular horror content there's really no need to go through all that

i think the main reason is. younger audiences latched onto some series. and they genuinely don't understand what analog means or how it works bc they never grew up with it. hearing creators of some classics talk abt why they think analog horror hits as hard as it does, they usually go for nostalgia - "things that remind you of the times when you were young, like these old timey shows or commercials you used to watch on tv as a kid, but now there is something clearly sinister in them". this familiarity is part of the horror, part of the reason the format exists, yet a lot of creators and fans alike don't seem to get the point

i think. analog horror gained traction in part bc it's so accessible to make. due to the inherent low quality the end product has, you don't need to put too much effort into visual details, or get the best sound quality in every recording, which lowers the skill level and required equipment you may need in order to create other horror projects. buuuuuut the more the market got saturated, the longer the game of telephone went, and you started getting projects that don't understand why any part of analog horror is the way it is and just slap this title on it either out of a misunderstanding or to get the algorithm going

again this doesn't actually matter. i'm just complaining. i think it's unfortunate and i think the reason some people and esp other horror fans are so put off by it is they only encountered some of its late stage creations. in addition, it gives some well made series a bad name and causes people to mock them - best example i can think of is the mandela catalogue, which ppl think is generic bc of its "photoshop liquify tool" type of horror, but it was basically the first project that used this element (or at least the first one of thise that blew up), it just suffers from this oversaturation of people (both fans and haters) misunderstanding what analog horror is and thinking the creepy faces are the point. and that just makes me a bit sad

i think analog horror kinda lost the plot as a concept when ppl stopped treating it like what it actually is - a media form - and started treating it like a genre

[lannisterdaddyissues]

W - A trope which you are virtually certain to hate in any fandom.

And

X - A trope which you are almost certain to love in any fandom.

For the ask meme <333

omg aww @lauwrite1225 @fleurdufeu ty all for the asks!!! also @faeratil bold of you to assume you can retract your challenge just like that, watch me do all of them anyway

A: Ships/platonic pairings that you currently like a lot ok so thanks to @potatoesforsamoo i am simping on main for steven stone and flannery from pokemon which is such an obscure ship but she writes amazing fic for them!! i also love twiyor from spy x family rn! as for platonic pairings i'm obsessed with literally everyone in major. the father-son relationships in that show are EVERYTHING and i love the friendship dynamics so much. in my head i've written over 1 million words of meta about them

B: A pairing that you initially didn't consider, but someone changed your mind franky/nightfall from spy x family... i was a yuri/nightfall shipper for a while bc i thought it would be comedic and hilarious but i saw some art of franky and fiona and honestly it would be the FUNNIEST thing if he had a crush on her. they would be like fix-it felix and sergeant calhoun from wreck-it ralph if they were a couple i think. and i love it

C: A ship you have never liked and probably never will sheith i guess?? i'm trying to think of ships from fandoms im actively in but not sure. anyway yeah whenever i see sheith i'm like ew. not even bc of their familial dynamic, like i don't care who ppl ship or anything go ahead and ship them all you like i just cant see them together. it makes my blood boil for no reason at all. it might be bc i ship klance or smth idk i'm gross

D: A pairing you wish you liked but just can't i guess all the thomas ships in downton abbey but i just don't Like thomas that much and im not very interested in his subplots sorry... it seems like everyone who stans thomas is having a genuinely good time tho and i wish i could be one of them bc im starved for good fic in the dabbey fandom :(

E: Have you added anything cracky/hilarious to your fandom? If so, what? how easily you forget all the memes i made for tlk lmao... as for my current fandom i made this thread summarizing the entire plot of major through memes bc watching the anime made me so mentally ill. if u actually click on the second link tho don't read the tags i beg you... i thirstposted in there and it was bad

F: What's the longest you've ever been in a fandom? i've been in the fullmetal alchemist fandom for going on 8 years now and it's been pretty good. after that i was in the man from uncle fandom for 3 years or so

G: Have you ever had an OTP? If so, do you remember your first one? gee it was so long ago but i believe the first ships i ever actually shipped were like kimron and drakkgo from kim possible. the first ship i actually consumed content for was either shirogane and ichigo from tokyo mew mew or yullen from d-gray man i think. if we're talking actual brainrot otps tho then it was stony jdkfsjskfds

H: What is your favorite source text for fandom stuff? oh anime 100%! i watch so much anime its a wonder i haven't magically turned into an anime character already

I: Has Tumblr caused you to stop liking any fandoms, if so, which and why? h*zbin h*tel bc the fandom was toxic as fuck and the show is actually so, so evil...

J: Name a fandom you didn’t think about until you saw it all over Tumblr duh it's the gay pirate show and the vampire book club... i'm not in them but they ARE all over tumblr so i have to think about them obviously

K: What character has your favorite development arc/the best development arc? JOE GIBSON MAJOR JOE GIBSON MAJOR JOE GIBSON MAJOR!!!!!! I CANNOT EMPHASIZE ENOUGH WHAT AN INCREDIBLE CHARACTER HE IS!!! MY BRAIN IS SO ROTTED FROM THINKING ABOUT HIM ALL THE TIME OK YOU HAVE NO IDEA WHAT HE MEANS TO ME NONE OF YOU KNOW HIM LIKE I DO

L: Say something genuinely nice about a character who isn’t one of your faves ugh... ok aethelwold WAS admittedly really funny sometimes. i hated him but he made me laugh and sometimes i miss the levity he brought to a scene with just his overall existence

M: Name a character that you’d like to have for a friend alice from major!!! she's just so cute and i think we would get along super well i love her <3

N: Name three things you wish you saw more or in your main fandom content, content, and more content. the major fandom is a barren wasteland i hate it here

O: Choose a song at random. Which ship or character does it remind you of? the first song to come on was if u seek amy by britney spears... idk why but it reminds me of junior from major bc i think he would have the trashiest white girl taste in music i just know he would be belting out an impeccable falsetto in his fancy jag while bumping his hand on the steering wheel. i know it

P: Invent a random AU for any fandom (we always need more ideas) courtesy of ro i am still thinking about a major au where gibson adopts goro and raises him and junior together with momoko after shigeharu's death to atone for his mistakes. i just want gibson to be a father figure is that so wrong

Q: A fandom you’ve abandoned and why there are a lot of them so i can't really give one answer but like i said, the h*zbin h*tel fandom is so toxic i will never go back

R: Which friendship/platonic relationship is your favorite in fandom? GIBSON AND GORO ARE SO IMPORTANT TO ME!!!! despite their history there was never any lingering hostility or anything between them. they respected each other so much and took so much inspiration from one another and grew as people because of it. like gibson had been so arrogant and almost selfish in his debut eps but he transformed thanks to goro's influence and became such a humble and selfless person like even when he was dying he never put himself first. it was all about keeping his promise to goro, and making up for lost time with junior, and upholding the pride of his country, even if it meant putting his life on the line to do so. and in the last arc of season 5 we saw how he touched the hearts of fans all around the world with his resolve and i think it's so so beautiful

S: Show us an example of your personal headcanon (prompts optional but encouraged) major au where no one dies and everyone is happy that's my personal headcanon right there. bc if shigeharu had lived i actually think he and gibson had such potential for a rivals to besties dynamic like it was all there. in my heart shigeharu lived and he and gibson became reluctant carpool buddies during the little league arc. i just really wish they had been friends that's it. nothing else to see here

T: Do you have any hard and fast headcanons that you will die defending? toshi is so in love with goro it's not even up for debate he is in LOVE with goro!!!! also i think goro and alice dated for a little bit. i just need it to be true

U: Three favorite characters from three different fandoms, and why they’re your favorites roy mustang from fma/b, jaime lannister from game of thrones, and joe gibson from major. they're all war criminals (only emotionally in gibson's case) who are traumatized by the sins of their pasts but later redeemed themselves through their actions thanks to an excellently-written character development arc (in the case of jaime, this was all erased at the last minute. thank you d&d for your service)

V: Which character do you relate to most? KAORU MY BELOVED!!! i too am a spaz who loves sports but can't be normal if her life depended on it and i for one would LOVE to be goro's girlfriend so if she would just hand him over please <3

W: A trope which you are virtually certain to hate in any fandom i hate breakup+makeup/divorce+get back together aus i just can't stand the relationship drama smh

X: A trope which you are almost certain to love in any fandom slow burn mutual pining gets me every time its so basic. but if we are being oddly specific here then it's when a character who's the last person you would imagine to be competent in this type of situation is actually terrifyingly competent and you are So Confused and a little turned on right now like who is this and what have they done with [insert character here]

Y: What are your secondhand fandoms? succession, yuri on ice, she-ra reboot, attack on titan, mdzs and tgcf, and riverdale

Z: Just ramble about something fan-related, go go go! uhhhhhh i guess with the new pjo adaptation i'm a bit concerned with alleged racism in fandom spaces now?? so many people are up in arms about annabeth's casting like "you're racist if you don't support this casting!!" like it's not that we don't support it? i love that annabeth will be black in the show! it's great! but... in the books and the movie... she is still... a white character... and maybe... it's not so bad... if people PREFER the books and the movie... so they continue to think of annabeth as a white character as a result... like, it's not erasing black annabeth at all! it's just they will continue to think of annabeth as white bc it's the annabeth they know and love! either way, the character is still annabeth! same source material and everything! anyway that's it, people will probably come after me for this but i just wanted to say it :/

[wincore]

AHHHH ive been working all weekend at my part time job and reading ur wips/ideas literally got me thru it!!

WHEN U CATCH UP ON HAIKYUU U GOTTA LET ME KNOWWW omg who was ur favorite character from what u watched?? mine is kuroo & atsumu (s4)!! if u have any anime or drama reccs id gladly take them 🤲🏻🤲🏻

when do you hear back abt grad school btw!! :o like what’s the timeline for applying & hearing back?

OFC I LIKE THEM?? I LIKE ALL UR IDEAS!!!

DISOBEYING FATE??? does this mean 2 ppl who are nonsoulmates are pretending to be together/are together 👀👀 IS THIS GONNA BE ANGSTY!! u know i live for the tension... and u know i love the way u write it!!!! a more flirty and annoying yn sounds so fun to read omg

“this fashion designer fic is dedicated to you tata 💝” IM HONORED TO CONTRIBUTE TO TAEYONG’S DUNGEON ESCAPE HWHSHJSJ will there be runway character cameos 😳😳

“AFTER TWILIGHT” HELP MEEEEE i cant tell who in nomin is edward and who’s jacob.... jeno edward?? LOL

EVERY ROMANCE PLOT SUITS JAEMIN OMGGG SO TRUE WAIT THAT REMINDS ME pls tell me the tropes/plots that u associate with the members!! or which tropes u think suit them well, any pairings that rlly stand out to u. obviously we are both pro e2l & doyoung HSJWJJS but who/what else!!! i am a person fan of yukhei with the f2l/campus crush/heartthrob bestie trope.

ALSO i kinda went off the grid around the time u did that poll about people’s favorite fanfic tropes/plots so i didn’t see any updates on it!! did u find anything interesting from that survey?? :o

I HOPE UR HAVING A GOOD WEEK MOONIE 💛

- tata 💖

THAT MAKES ME SO HAPPY AHHH omg i hope your part time offers enough wage for all that work!!! i would be so mad if i had to work over the weekend (but.. then again.. i’m aiming for ..corporate jobs..)

OMG omg okay this is going to get REALLY longer now tata!!!! i think this is where i should include a keep reading 😭

LET ME TELL YOU I HAD THIS MASSIVE CRUSH ON OIKAWA like his character just got to me!! i think i even wrote a character analysis for him back then LOL when i tell you 15 year old me was absolutely enamored with a 2d man. i loved kuroo too omg and the whole nekoma team he was just so chill i wanted to be him 🤩 and i’ve seen pictures of atsumu from my friends!!! who keep spamming me bc they too are in love with 2d men and he looks like someone who would cause problems on purpose but that could just be me sdkdhsj��

and ooh, i have so many dramas/animes i’ve been meaning to watch but recently in kdramas, i watched run on which was super cute and i love the female lead; extracurricular oh BOY i love this. i love thrillers and crime fiction. like SO much. it’s a shame i can’t make my own 😔; and now i’m currently watching vincenzo which is a dark comedy about a korean-italian mafia man and it’s rlly funny at times and also i like the theme of evil fights evil bc i am tired of main characters with moral compasses 🙄🙄 it’s ongoing though!! my friends recommended true beauty and love alarm to me but the way they are sobbing over it i am very afraid. i was also planning to watch perfect crime (jdrama) bc my friend is obsessed with sakurada dori. <3

my all time fav animes are still one piece (which i still havent caught up with bc i am so slow) and demon slayer!! i havent watched much anime recently but i watched the ancient animagus’ bride (?? i think that’s the name?) it’s got SUPER pretty visuals and i was in awe of the animation most of the time.

i also watched this japanese movie fairly recently called shoplifters and it’s also crime technically but discusses more of japanese poverty and my feelings throughout the movie were like 📈📉📈📉 and it’s so well directed!!! i think it’s the same director as for after the storm!! idk if you’ve watched that but it was really good too!

i apply to grad school next year!! i’ll be joining in the fall semester so i have to get stuff ready by april and that’s when most of the applications start!! the scholarship im aiming for begins earlier though and like. ma’am slow down i don’t even get my degree that early i’ll have to use a provisional certificate now😭

YES about the soulmates omg hhh the official synopsis is this: 

if finding your soulmate is the same as a damn game of russian roulette, you are determined to not pull the trigger at all. except, you know who your soulmate is and he doesn’t—and given a choice to pretend, you find that jaehyun is the lesser of the two burdens to bear.

like jaehyun is not the soulmate but yn doesn’t want her soulmate bc a) he’s in a relationship and doesn’t rlly care about the soulmate system which hurt bc she’s even lonelier now 😔 and b) she thinks money > love but that’s just a coping mechanism for being a lonely (and romantically repressed) person as is her being annoying and nosy LOL. i will end the analysis of my own character here jshgdksh

YES TO RUNWAY CHARACTER CAMEOS and yes you are literally the reason taeyong is escaping the dungeon

PLS neither jeno or nomin can be blue screen filtered brooding men i would be so uncomfortable 😭😭 IMD YING DGKSHDK if jeno plays edward i need him to that apple scene like taemin did ♥

okay so i have nct dream categorized in this way (i feel like it’s kind of biased towards bff2l whoops):

bff2l - mark, jeno, jaemin, jisung

e2l - haechan, renjun

either - chenle

but adding to that, lucas is definitely the campus crush bff you’re secretly in love with but you just can’t tell him!!! he’s too hot and popular for his own good!!!! but a series of romcom-esque events will help you probably LOL (bonus points if it’s fake dating)

if it isn’t e2l with doyoung i will respectfully not accept it as valid ❤

i also associate xiaojun with bff2l likee they’re always together on campus to the point that people think they’re dating also xiaojun majors in music and gets complimented on his lyricism often but like every song’s about you lol and one day he’s like wait is it copyright infringement if he’s using your existence in his songs bc boy are you a work of art ;)

i think sicheng would do REALLY well in royalty aus like hello??? he already has the looks and the poise. also chaebol aus might also work bc what are corporate businesses but modern day kingdoms </3 bonus points if it’s e2l but idk how you beefing with sicheng would work like . i don’t think he can fight like ever y/n will bench press him.

jaehyun is another person who seems to go with any vibe/plot like mans really said i will not give you any onscreen idol personality to work with ❤ 

i think most of them would pair well with bff2l?? they are all so silly and seem like they’d be great friends LOL except they’re too good looking.

and oh!!! i don’t think i posted the results OOPS let me add them real quick.

the readability is low on this bc google sacrificed that for uniformity 🙄

but the ones i had as options were (in the same order):

i hope you have a great wekk too tata!!!!!! answering this ask boosted my energy for the week 🥰🌼

[mejomonster]

Hey uh. What happened to high jr? And the person who pretended to be chengcheng (who said that she was better than ning when their boss....clearly said ning was his best asset no shade tho) are they. Are they gonna come back at any point

AHAHAHAHAHHAAAA

No.

They weren’t in the book. They were just added to the tlt1 adaptation I’m guessing to make a more “stereotypical action genre” story. Which, to be fair, I liked Chengchengs inclusion as a team member and later villain a lot so I’m glad she was there. But yeah just think of them as one off characters for the tlt1 story.

It’s a little fuzzy because tlt1 does not follow the book and adds some stuff/speeds up some scenes from later books into tlt1 drama etc. And I get sort of Why it did it, and I think while different than the book - it does a good job of introducing the families and lore by doing what it did.

Like the whole auction house scene? Not in book 1. High jr isn’t in book 1, it’s just wu xie and Pangzi and xiaoge and sanshu and sanshus men like Panzi. A Ning and a nings ppl.

The auction house scenes I understand being added though - since they introduce the nine families lore and generations a bit, which the book does thru exposition more rather than visual scenes.

As far as I know high jr was made up for the drama cause I haven’t heard of him since.

And Pangzimeets them in the cave, not ahead of time. And xiaoge has less romantic tropes constantly in the book. (I think they tried to speedrun Pangzi/wu xie/Xiaoge dynamic to a degree, because they probably felt it was needed in a dmbj adaptation I’d guess).

Likewise, I haven’t read book 2 but it seems tlt2 drama sort of speedran Pangzi/wu xie’s friendship and xiaoge/wu xie’s closeness a bit. Which tlt1 did as well on both counts. And again, I think it’s not a necessarily bad decision. It was probably done because they felt people were partially coming TO see the iron triangle friendship and so it needed to be developed a little early and present throughout More.

Also, I think to a degree each show probs didn’t know if it’d get a next one, so including the iron triangle friendship in their drama instead of waiting for a possibly-never-existing future installment is a safer idea.

[moved99999999999]

U guys wanna know what I think about that hell hotel show

I feel like twitter’s very tired of seeing ppl talk about Hazbin Hotel, so I putting my opinions on tumblr where they belong. I’m not a “professional critic” by any means, but I’ll try my best given what I know. And don’t worry, I’ll be incredibly nit-picky to suit the internet’s needs.

I’m gonna mainly focus on HH itself instead of Vivzie’s accusations because that's a WHOLE other can of worms to open.

During the time of me writing this, I haven’t watched any YT reviews, but I’ve read a few threads criticising the show, so take that as my social influence bias.

My ted talk is allllll below the cut. Enjoy~

Context: 

My first exposure of Vivzie’s work was her “Die Young” animation that I came across around 2016. Instantly I fell in love with how “smooth” and lively her animation was, and especially the fact that it was hand drawn. Animation like that was extremely rare to come by (and still is) and seeing her execute it so well with such complexed characters was amazing to my fetus self. 

A few years later and I see the first trailer for HH. I instantly went OH I RECOGNISE THAT STYLE AND THOSE CHARACTER TYPE DESIGNS and was looking forward to what it had to offer. 

On “opening day” I watched the pilot ASAP to avoid my opinions from getting warped by all of the key-mash memes and post call-out bitching (literally the extremes of the HH opinion spectrum), and overall.....

I thought it was good. 

Not ground breakingly amazing, not horrifically terrible, but charmingly good.

(Ok now it’s actual review time)

Animation Quality:

As a hand drawn animation that has the freedom to get creative with its shots, a lot of effort was clearly put into how everything moves (it definitely didn’t take any lazy flash puppet shortcuts for the main sections of the show) and I can appreciate that. However it tends to be... rather inconsistent, most likely due to the varying skill level of the animators on the project. It’ll be nice and smooth one minute, and then awkward and choppy the next which can make the viewing pretty confusing at times. I’ll be honest I found myself overlooking these inconsistencies due to the characters and backgrounds themselves being very visually engaging, especially considering how over designed some of them can be (which I applaud the team for handling cuz wow that must have been painful). However, the needle thin and exaggerated art style makes some things incredibly hard to look at. While it helps with adding fancy details, it hurts in catching peoples eyes in the right place.

It’s also chalk full of little details, visual gags, and references that are hilarious to look at if you have the luxury of pausing every two seconds (the news segment and Sir Pentious turf war w/ Angel and Cherri are good places to look). But I feel like these lil details were put in at the cost of some some continuity errors (Charlie not wearing her coat in one shot, and having it back on in the next, papers being blank, etc.) and lip-syncing issues which really shouldn’t be happening considering all of the detail they were able to put in. There are also some shots that have just SO MUCH detail put into them, only to be shown for less than a second. I get that’s the cost of animation sometimes, but save the detail for the shots that need it, because at that point you’re just causing the animators to waste their efforts.

However, I was surprised at how professional the soundtrack and editing was. Not one but THREE songs in this single episode was really surprising, and the variation and quality of each was great (as cringy as Charlie’s song is)

But overall, the production quality is surprisingly good for a project like this, the editing, sound effects, and sound track act like a cherry on top. Of course there are some noticeable drops in quality, but given time and a budget, it has enough chops to look like an actual show.

Writing: 

As far as overarching plot goes, it seems like it’s going to be one of those procedural shows that tries to be serialised, but it’s a creative twist on hell and has an interesting premise to begin with. You can get really creative with seeing how you’d dive into getting redemption out of all of these seemingly lost causes, and I’m sure there are many people willing to know the backstories our main cast. As a pilot, it did it’s job of launching the plot very well, setting up the premise of the hotel and introducing characters in a very engaging way. I was legit really interested in each segment with who in introduced, and it didn’t feel like I was being overloaded with names to remember (which can be a problem for many medias and introductions). The cohesion between each scene is VERY smooth, and I genuinely enjoyed some of the cliché cuts/gags. 

Unfortunately I can’t extend this interest to our main character. Charlie is one of the most generic tropes we’ve ever seen. She’s a boring Disney princess who has a “cute happy positive goal to change her world” and the only thing that would make her more generic is if she wore a dress and cried “I’m tired of being so privileged”. 

(Although it’s impossible to tell, I honestly think Viv is just projecting through her, especially considering how horrifically accurate the hotel’s opening mirrors the internet’s reaction to the pilot itself)

I would be more forgiving if she was a supporting character or someone less important, but she’s the freaking protagonist, arguably the character that has to be the most interesting. Angel’s personality seems to be “flirty porn star”, and while that’s just as bad as being a boring Disney princess, at least he gets a few jokes and has a profession more interesting than Charlie’s. Around the end of the pilot he just seems like he’s getting involved because Viv likes giving him attention. If he’s supposed to be leeching off of the hotel, wouldn’t not care if it survives or not?

(There’s that whole stereotype issue that everyone keeps bringing up, but I genuinely think that’s BS because people are blatantly ignoring the fact that Angel is a porn star, Vaggie is portrayed as helpful, and that the show takes place in H E double hokey sticks.)

The transitions may be smooth, but the dialogue pacing can get really awkward at times. This paired with the animation sometimes having awkward quality drops makes some movements incredibly jagged, and has some detailed shots show for incredibly unbalanced screen time as mentioned before. 

I don’t have enough to give voice acting it’s own section so I’m just popping it down here:

The voice acting is legitimately better than several big name projects I know. It’s consistent, great at expressing the character’s mood properly, and each voice fits each character perfectly. My only gripes are that Alastor and Sir Pentious tend to grain on you after awhile due to them keeping a single tone for too long. 

Character Design: AKA the only thing I have legitimate experience with.

First thing’s first. The characters are WAY too over designed. There are so many markings and accessories that are incredibly unnecessary. I think the mindset for these characters was “the more complicated and attractive the better”, which makes them look like they’re designed by an edgy tumblr artist (heck I fall for this too some times).

Especially if a character is going to be animated, you have to keep in mind the value of simplicity. You absolutely don’t have to fill in your character with markings and trinkets to make them look unique, I mean just look at the gen 1 pokemon starters. Thanks to the limitations of the game, the sprites were forced to be simple, and it was that simplicity that made them such unique and varied creatures. You can tell Blastoise is a bulky water blasting turtle just with a quick glance. 

Many of the characters suffer from over complication, but I’ll look at Husk for example. He has these stripes all over him that do not contribute to who he’s supposed to be at all, and only look like they’re added to make him more unique. The markings that DO help are the little card suite marks on his wings, because those at least infer he’s linked to a casino/gambling type of theme. I would say his outfit helps as well, but formal wear and bowties are worn way to often by the main characters, which brings me to another problem.

They may look different, but they feel way too similar. From the same skinny body type, to generic head shapes, to outfits, the focus characters just don’t stand out amongst each other. Even the ones with interesting features still suffer from feeling generic. I’d say Sir Pentious is a good example of this. He has a serpentine/naga body and clever hair style that make his concept really creative, but his skinny body type, complicated eyes all over his tail, and generic “young but supposed to be at least middle aged” face just push him back into obscurity. He’s even wearing the SAME outfit as Alastor (who's an even worse offender of that generic face problem), and unless Viv has some plan to link the two, I’d say the characters need to stop using a dress code.

A successful character design can to tell you who the character is just by looking at them. You should be able to tell if a character’s personality, function, age, the universe they belong in, and if they’re important or not, and that’s a big problem when it comes to the background characters. If you pause on one of the extras for a minute you can see all of the effort put into designing them, and that takes away so much attention from the main cast. Not only that, but they have actual variations in their body types and outfits, which makes them more intriguing than who we’re supposed to be interested in.

Regardless, this pilot has potential, and if they can get someone to comb out the flaws, you can end up with something good. No one can deny a legitimate animation was made here, and the team successfully executed the start of a story, and that’s something anyone can look up to.

TLDR: The pilot is good. It has some major flaws, but it has potential to be a good show.

If you actually read this far epstein didn’t kill himself.

[zenosanalytic]

Great Beasts of Legend: Centaurs, Sirens and Chimaera: The Greeks and th...

I know I’ve posted this lecture by Dr. Jeremy McInerney before, but I was watching it again(third time; really love this one uwu) and at 41:55 he starts a discussion of a boundaries-based reading of Centaurs(good target for that given the melding/muddying of boundary btw animal and man Centaurs represent[1]), beginning with the Herakles, Deianira, Nessos Myth that I feel he doesn’t quite hit though he makes/brings up other great points and it made me want to write a short little thing about why this myth, specifically, is really open to such a reading:

Ok so the basic outline: Herakles and Deianira are traveling, they come to the river Evinos where Nessos[2], the Centaur, is selling his services as a living ferry(ppl sit on him and he carries them across). Herakles, of course, decides to swim across and pays Nessos to carry Deianira across. While doing so, Nessos attempts to rape her, Deianira calls for help, and Herakles whips out his bow and arrows dipped in Hydra’s blood, and shoots Nessos dead. As he dies but before Herakles reaches them, Nessos tells Deianira to take a vial of his blood(sometimes blood mixed with his semen). The story splits interestingly here, so remember this point for later. Years down the road, Herakles is off in some part of Greece partying in celebration of yet another city he’s plundered, and he sends a train of new slaves taken from said city-plundering back home, along with a messenger with an off-hand request to Deianira that she send his favorite cloak along cuz he plans to keep partying for quite a long while. This is another point of ambiguity in the story and its retellings so remember it, too. She steeps his cloak in water mixed with the vial of Nessos’s blood, sends it along and, while the poison doesnt kill Herakles cuz he’s part god and Hydra’s poisonous blood isn’t powerful enough to do that, it DOES cause him such enormous, unending pain that he builds his own funeral pyre and burns himself alive, apotheosizing into a god in the process.

So, regarding Boundaries:

Nessos, obvsl, is a physical manifestation of the close and ever-present boundary between humans and beasts; btw self-control and indulgence; btw “civilized” behavior and “uncivilized”, as discussed above, and particularly of the threat of rape Greek men present to Greek women.

This story involves a River, a physical boundary

Rivers are ALSO what separate the world of the living from the world of the dead to the Greeks, and this is a story ABOUT TWO DEATHS, both tied directly TO a River(one taking place in it, during the act of crossing it; the other a long-term effect of that event[but also Herakles’s hubris, though most versions, being written for men, don’t emphasize that totally obvs aspect of it]).

Not only that, it’s LITERALLY the story of Herakles’s apotheosis: of how he comes to finally transcend the boundary between God and Mortal which he has straddled his whole life.

Herakles is celebrating the sack of a city, ie, his violation&destruction of the Boundaries defining said city, when he dies. Greek cities are often protected by female divinities(Athena usually), so it’s yet another symbol of rape.

So Split 1: In most versions, the reason Nessos gives for why she should take his blood is that it is a powerful love potion that will ensure Herakles remains faithful to her if his eye ever strays. BUT, also in most versions, this is a lie and he’s secretly trying to poison Herakles, though how would he know Herakles’ arrows are poisoned with Hydra-blood? I remember reading a version where he presents it to her AS POISON, explaining about the Hydra, but I cant find any mention of it online, so maybe my brain’s just making it up(or maybe this was the Hercules TV Show version X|).

Split 2: BUT BUT, while in most version Deianira sends the cloak out of desperation to keep him faithful(and of course there’s a particular slave girl in the train she’s warned about just so all of this can be EXTRA the fault of women, rather than Herakles for being a giant asshole like he always is), in other versions she sends it OUT OF VENGEANCE, TO FUCK HIM UP because Herakles is being a giant asshole, wrecking up Greece, partying as much as he likes, flaunting his rapes and his victims in her face(this is VERY RELEVANT given the nature of other versions of this story), and leaving her to run his household alone while ordering her around like she’s a slave rather than his Wife.

These are mutually exclusive: she cannot be both seeking to punish him, and trying, in anguished desperation, to keep him faithful to her[3].

Herakles in this story, as is ALWAYS THE CASE IN ALL HIS STORIES, is flaunting the boundaries of Proper Behavior, in this case those defining a happy and successful marriage(IE Hera’s Domain; which you’d THINK would be kind of relevant, given the deep narrative connection between Hera and Herakles and her quickness to anger regarding marriage violations, yet it somehow perennially goes unmentioned), and getting punished for it.

Now here’s an ADDED kicker. There’s a version of this story were Herakles initiates the conflict. one day he visits the house of Deianira’s father, Dexamenus, and while a guest, rapes her. Dexamenus can’t fight Herakles, of course, but he demands by the gods and tradition that Herakles marry Deianira to “repair” the injury(WE LIVE IN HELL!), and Herakles agrees. After he leaves to prepare for the wedding, a local Centaur, Eurytion(name meaning “Widely Honored”) visits Dexamenus and proposes to marry Deianira himeself(you know: without the whole BEING HER RAPIST thing), and Dexamenus complies. Herakles arrives a few days later, kills Eurytion, and sees that their marriage is carried out. Presumably in this version, the blood poisoning the cloak would be Eurytion’s.

What I’ve tried to get across here is that, among other things, there are readings of this myth were Herakles is the bad guy and Deianira the agent of divine punishment, if not the actual Protagonist. And those readings suggest certain ideas we would be prone to consider “modern” about the agency of women, consent, personal and social boundaries, morality, Greek ~Heroic Masculinity~, and yes even Centaurs, might not have been so alien and “anachronistic” to the ancient Greek mind as we tend to think.

But anyway, even if you think that particular part of my little argument here is total Bunk, I hope I’ve managed to get across that Deianira and the Cloak is a myth Absolutely LOUSY with the theme of Boundaries, what they mean, what it means to Cross them, and the Consequences for which you Cross, when, how, and plain just choosing to cross them in the first place. It’s a really great example for him to suggest for this particular topic, and it really inspired me quite a lot today, and I just wish there was a lecture online where he developed it further uwu

[1]And not only that, but of course owning horses was a common sign of aristocratic status, and trading horses a common aristocratic activity(this is one way you know Hesiod’s claims of poverty are a put-on; his family breeds and sells horses). I feel like it’s pretty well understood that Centaurs are in someway a commentary and meditation upon the nature of Greek masculinity, on the capacity for violent cruelty and wanton appetite Greeks inculcated men into beside all the talk of civilized society, but I also feel it’s less well understood how open they also are to a similar reading regarding the appetites and barbaric capacities specifically of the upper classes of Greek society.

[2]In some versions Nessos and Herakles actually have a history, and the whole incident is Nessos’s attempt at vengeance. There is another story, where Herakles visits a centaur who is his friend named Pholos, and a gang of nearby Centaurs(I like to think they were Rowdy Teens myself u_u) smell the wine they’re drinking and crash the party to share some. Herakles, being Herakles, of course immediately begins killing them for the perceived insult, which inevitably leads NOT ONLY to Pholos dying(cuz Herakles isn’t careful and shoots him too, or in other vers bcuz he refuses to so much as retrieve his arrows from the bodies due to concerns with “pollution” from the corpses, and Pholos cuts himself on one of the arrows), but ALSO the poisoning, and eventual death, of Chiron, who was one of Pholos’s neighbors and who Herakles accidentally knicked while wildly chasing down and shooting the interlopers. Nessos is one of these Centaur teens, and the only centaur in the whole situation to survive (:T

[3]Which, btw, the whole “faithful” thing doesnt make much sense(even though it pops up regularly in Greek Myth), because her “competitor” in these versions is a slave. These next sentences are going to be gross and awful, but in the society which told these stories male slave-owners already had unrestricted sexual access to their slaves and, beyond that, I’ve never read a single example in Greek or Roman sources of a slave being legitimized and married as a wife(which doesnt mean such examples dont exist; I’m an amateur). So the idea that a slave could threaten Deianira’s position as Herakles’s wife seems very dubious to me(as does the general trope of slave women as threats to wives in Greek stories). Again: this is all super-awful, but it’s something complicating the traditional presentation of the myth, which is rarely addressed because most academics writing for a general audience are super-loath to deal with classical slavery as the awful, body and soul crushing institution which it was.

[comicteaparty]

July 8th-July 14th, 2019 CTP Archive

The archive for the Comic Tea Party week long chat that occurred from July 8th, 2019 to July 14th, 2019.  The chat focused on Court of Roses by Kelsey Peterson.

Featured Comment:

Chat:

RebelVampire

COMIC TEA PARTY- WEEK LONG BOOK CLUB START!

Hello and welcome everyone to Comic Tea Party’s Week Long Book Club~! This week we’ll be focusing on Court of Roses by Kelsey Peterson~! (http://courtofroses.thecomicseries.com/)

You are free to read and comment about the comic all week at your own pace, so stop on by whenever it suits your schedule! Remember, though, that while we allow constructive criticism, our focus is to have fun and appreciate the comic. Below you will find four questions to get you started on the discussion. However, a new question will be posted and pinned everyday (between 12:01AM and 6AM PDT), so keep checking back for more! You have until July 14th to tell us all your wonderful thoughts! With that established, let’s get going on the reading and the chatting!

QUESTION 1. What has been your favorite scene in the comic so far? What specifically did you like about it?

QUESTION 2. What do you think is the story behind Merlow’s bad dreams? What demons is Merlow fighting exactly, and why do some of those “demons” want him to hurt others? What does it have to do with Merlow being triggered by Nocturne?

khkddn

1) hmm visually speaking I think my fave scene is when Diana shoots all those arrows http://courtofroses.thecomicseries.com/comics/117/ it just looks so cool

But I also liked when merlow bonded with the kiddos who were curious about his bagpipes, that was a cute moment

RebelVampire

QUESTION 3. At the moment, who is your favorite character? What about that character earns them this favor?

QUESTION 4. What do you think is the cause of Nocturne’s unfortunate circumstances that he mentions having to make due with? What might this have to do with his poor amount of stamina or immense magical gifts?

RebelVampire

1) Probably the scene where Nocturne and Merlow sleep in an alley under the rain. I am a sucker for rain, and I liked seeing Merlow's acknowledgement that he was kind of a dick but that Nocturne was still able to forgive him. Plus, the atmosphere the rain added was too perfect. Somehow a spot of warmth among the cold and bleak. 2) I see this going in one of two ways in terms of my current theories. Way 1 is that Merlow's dad wasn't just an elf, but like, ultra evil wizard elf. And his dad is trying to control Merlow and use him as a beautiful and dangerous pawn. Way 2 is that Merlow got possessed by a literal demon and that fighting the demon from taking control is a daily battle. I think in regards to hurting others, asides it just being that's what evil things do, having Merlow hurt others is a pretty quick way to break his spirit and just have him cave to the dark side. Nocturne kind of looks demon-y so there could be that connection. Or maybe whatever Merlow has within him just hates Nocturne's species since that seems to be a common theme in the world.

3) Nocturne. Nocturne is classy, powerful, but has that cute smidgen of vulnerability that makes him endearing. Also very classy, and how can you not like classy people? 4) Nocturne maybe had a fight that did not end well due to overconfidence maybe. And this left him permanently weakened with poor stamina. I also get the sense that there is some deeper emotional trauma hidden in this. Like the person that caused his weak stamina was someone super close who probably betrayed him. Cause every story needs a good betrayal? XD Alternatively, maybe he just had a poor dice roll to begin with for the game.

Nutty (Court of Roses)

Those theories with Merlow and Nocturne are really cool, Rebel! aaaaa it's so neat to see people speculating this stuff.

That alley scene came out so nice too, I was happy with it. My own favorite scene so far... it's hard to pick, but I think it was the whole sequence of the main bards fighting the bandits that stormed the festival. Getting to let everyone show off, from Sven's muscle, to Feliks' conjuring madness, to Diana's enchanted tidinit, to Nocturne's mysterious power saving Merlow.(edited)

RebelVampire

QUESTION 5. What has been your favorite illustration in the comic so far? What specifically about it do you like?

QUESTION 6. What do you think the background stories are for Feliks and Sven? How might Merlow’s pre-established friendship with Feliks affect his interactions with the rest of the bards given they have more history?

Attila Polyák

I like had no time the entire week and could only read till the page where we see Sung from a distance. I didn't want to comment before I catch up, but now that I found a bit of time I get a server not found error. My luck is horrible. :( That said I do feel like my favourite scene will be the bit where Merlow performed and the cats came to listen. That was soo hear warming, but I'd like to read the rest before saying anything.

Nutty (Court of Roses)

Ugh, sorry, comicfury just, goes down sonetimes...

khkddn

3) merlow is my favorite character, he just seems so nice and sunshine-y! Diana is also cool too though, and I also like Feliks... decisions is Hard

ErinPtah (Leif & Thorn | BICP)

I don't feel like I know any of the characters well enough to have a favorite yet! I know how they act on the surface -- so far Merlow is the most entertaining and Nocturne is the most aww-inducing -- but we haven't gotten into the depths yet. Anyone could become my official favorite with the right reveal.

Was Merlow actually "triggered" by Nocturne, or just upset? Important difference there! I took it as the standard fantasy trope of "these two species have a history of antagonism, but after fighting on the same side for a while they'll develop an Unlikely Bond, and discover that they are Not So Different After All."

Favorite scene so far, hands-down, this page. Perfect cinematic smash-cut, makes me laugh every time. http://courtofroses.thecomicseries.com/comics/22

...no elaborate backstory theories from me, pretty sure Guilded Age permanently ruined me for theorizing about fantasy comics. Just looking forward to seeing where things go.

Nutty (Court of Roses)

That's a really popular page lol!!!

keii4ii

I have yet to catch up with the archive, but omg that is an awesome-tastic page (and now I wish Discord had a horrible bleeding music note emote to go with this)

snuffysam

real talk? my favorite scene in the comic was this: http://courtofroses.thecomicseries.com/ not even technically a scene, but the two panels side by side of merlow drinking alone, followed by merlow having a good time with all his friends, just got me right there in the feelings instantly. and the way the panels link to the first and latest page respectively is a stroke of genius. instant hook.

besides that, my favorite scene is the one of diana, sven, and feliks banding together to stop the bandits. these three were at each others' throats a second ago, but having to fight off those attackers brought them closer together. and we got to see them performing as a band while doing it. really makes me look forward to more things to come with the protagonist quintet working together.

Nutty (Court of Roses)

That makes me so, so happy, Sam, I was really excited to make those and code them properly, and I'm happy they have such an impact. :3

RebelVampire

QUESTION 7. Which characters do you enjoy seeing interact the most? What about their dynamic interests you?

QUESTION 8. Do you think Merlow will ever meet his father or open up regarding the subject? What about Diana and her mother? Will something regarding Diana’s enchanted instrument and the history behind it come to play in the story?

RebelVampire

5) Favorite illustration is definitely this place. http://courtofroses.thecomicseries.com/comics/135/ I adore the particle effects, the change in colors and tone, and everything just works really well together. It's super awe inspiring to see Nocturne get a moment of badassery. <3 6) Feliks probably got banished for too many shenanigans. Since I'm pretty sure Feliks is a bit too comfy with spending nights in jail. As for Sven, I don't know. Maybe he's the one without some sort of tragic back story. Or maybe Sven has a tragic backstory but the tragedy of it all just flew over his head and he didn't notice. I do think there's gotta be at least something bad that drove his desire for justice. Like maybe he had a hero who died tragically or something. I don't know. But I do think Merlow and Feliks' past relationship is gonna drive some wedges. Cause Feliks seems like the type to go "well I've known Merlow longer than all you have" so ya know, everyone will be mad cause it can mean nothing while also being still true and itll just make everything awkward. And Merlow will make adorable faces and try to peace keep.

7) Merlow and Nocturne. They're both really different in terms of their relationship with being bards (or w/e Nocturne wants to call himself). And I think that their different viewpoints really bring out different sides to them that we wouldnt normally get to see. And theres no like bitter conflict either. Just two ppl filled with warm fuzzies trying to get to know each other and navigate the world. 8) Yes to both. The latter because I think he'll have to explain his past more in detail at some point, and that probably means telling everyone the circumstances of his birth. The former because wishful thinking cause there's nothing like meeting your long lost dad who went to get some milk and never came back. Diana too, of course, will probably have to talk about her mother who probably died tragically or, at the very least, when Diana was least prepared for it. I do think Diana's instrument will create conflict. In that someone will go, "Let's steal that enchanted weapon." And then it gets stolen and Diana freaks and everyone does bard battles to get it back for her.

Copper Mouflon

Been reading the comic and so far I'm really enjoying it! Didn't expect to as it's not what I usually read, but hey you kept me hooked and going for the next page! Absolutely loved http://courtofroses.thecomicseries.com/comics/118/ made me laugh out lout. There's obviously a lot of backstory in these characters and I'm curious to see where this will go!

Copper Mouflon

NNNooooo! I reached the end! Job well done! It only gets better as the story goes along, by the way, Nocturne is BAD ASS, but most of all I love who they all seem rather normal (in the context of the story) yet they all turn out to ... well be so awesome.

Nutty (Court of Roses)

:D!!!

RebelVampire

QUESTION 9. What sorts of art or story details have you noticed in the way the comic is crafted that you think deserves attention?

QUESTION 10. Besides getting hired for a murder investigation, what other consequences do you foresee for the group in regards to what happened at Saung? Will it gain them notoriety, or will it be swept under the rug?

RebelVampire

9) Honestly the detail I'm addicted to is Merlow's hair. Like I like the thought that goes into that colored bit of it, cause that seems like it'd be annoying to remember to include all the time. But more than that, I like seeing the fact that Merlow will actually undo the braid http://courtofroses.thecomicseries.com/comics/70/ . Like there's several scenes like this where theres recognition that hair isn't plastic and displaces and people don't wear their more elaborate styles to bed usually. It's a nice realistic depiction of how hair works in everyday life. 10) I 100% think they're gonna have some notoriety from it. Cause what makes a better story than some bards who beat up bad guys at a festival. Plus, I'm sure other important people will sing their praises as well. Of course, this notoriety doesn't always mean good. Like sure maybe the king's 2nd cousin's butler will hire them for a job, but now bandit dude's secret twin brother can come and exact revenge on them. It's gonna be a dual edged sword where benefit and trouble will both come looking for them all.

RebelVampire

QUESTION 11. What do you think are this particular comic’s strengths? What do you think makes this comic unique? Please elaborate.

QUESTION 12. Who do you think murdered the count and for what reason? Was there any specific reason the murder took place during the festival? Do you ultimately feel Merlow and company will be able to help?

Attila Polyák

Okay, so questions, yummy! 1, Definitely playing for the cats in the alley, buut the beginning of the bard festival was pretty cool as well. That said, I just feel like that scene grabs the essence of performance so well. I really liked it. 2, I feel like his demons are literal demons and they cause his nightmare, tho I have no idea how he met/got posessed by them. Connection to Nocturne? Probably looks, he is an infernal after all. 3, Torn between Merlow and Nocturne. Merlow is just an ultimate positive dude even tho his demons seem to be rather messed up and Nocturne. Well... He's just plain awesome. 4, I think Nocturne is in this state mostly because of his own decisions. While we do not know much about him, we do know that he is: Not a bard, Someone used to having money around but not in any fear of not being able to use it, Fond of music, Is, magically speaking, rather powerful, In general a sophisticated person, In possession of some rather unusual items. While these circumstances could mean a lot of things, my guess is that he's kindof an alchemist and he somehow traded his stamina for magical capabilities in pursue of another, probably greater, goal. 5, I think my favorite illustration is the middle panel on http://courtofroses.thecomicseries.com/comics/134/ but really anything on this and the next to pages are. Just. Pure. Awesome. 6, I don't think Merlow's earlier friendship will influence the rest of his relationships as he seems to be generally friendly with almost literally everyone. 7, Merlow and Nocturne. I just find it to be a cool friendship, even though there are quite a few hints that there should be some friction between them for very real and serious reasons. Also Merlow "fanboying" about cool music is just adorable to see. 8, For Merlow... Yes, and I wouldn't be surprised if the topic was very eeply connected to his demons. Diana and her mother... I donno, maybe, but I'm more leaning towards no right now, but it could still happen.

10, I think that being part of the murder investigation will literally mean that they will be doing less bard stuff, which is obvious, but considering that they specifically came to town for the bard contest, it's still a shame. Now... beating the bandits already started them on an inevitable ride to notority, and being involved in the investigaton of such an inportant murder case. That will also boost them on their personal hype trains'. 11, Imo the greatest strength of the comic is the simple fact that even though a lot of not so great things happen to the characters (being thrown out to the streets for night, a murder case, bandit raid, inner demons, etc...) both the characters and the general tone of the story manages to be very positive. That's kinda odd, because this should be like... a bit of a dissonance. But the positive tone is just, simply there. I'd attribute that mostly to how Merlow reacts to everyone around him, but still since we see the story mostly from his perspective it just shines through a lot. Even when he is in pain, literally at times, he just somehow manages to feel positive. 12, I'm really unsure about the murderer, but I kinda feel like it's somehow directly connected to Merlow. Thus I ultimately think that the party will be able to help, one way or another, but the entire situation still feels a bit hazy.

RebelVampire

QUESTION 13. What are you most looking forward to in the comic? Also, do you have any final thoughts to share overall?

QUESTION 14. Overall, do you think the new troupe of bards will be able to get along? What obstacles do you think there will be in them learning to cooperate with one another?

RebelVampire

11) While there are a lot of strengths, the one that stood out to me the most was the character designs. They're all so individualistic, yet each one is very specifically tailored to the character's personality. Like the minute I saw Merlow I was like "this is just a nice dude who maybe is a bit sensitive." and thats exactly what i feel like i got. and i always appreciate when the writing and visual design go hand in hand. 12) I think the count was murdered because nice counts disrupt the order of corruption and makes all the other nobles look back. As for the festival, yes. I actually think someone is trying to pin it on a bard. Especially if that bard's name is Merlow cause Merlow seems to have shitty luck. As for helping, I mean, I'm sure Merlow and company can find something. Although I personally feel like investigative wise Feliks and Nocturne are probably the best suited for the task. But hey the others can provide moral support?

13) I'm looking forward to just finding more out about Nocturne and why people seem to hate Nocturne's species. But just more Nocturne being fancy and classy is fine too. 14) I think the group will get along, but I think some relationships will fair better than others. Like I don't think Feliks and Sven are gonna become best pals anytime soon. And I kind of feel like Sven is gonna struggle fitting in cause he seems a lot more high energy than a lot of them can handle. Outside of that obstacle, I do also think that the biggest obstacle for them will be secrets. Cause they all seem to have something they want to hide, and hiding things from people who are supposed to be your allies can lead to bitter feelings. as everyone wonders why they arent trustworthy etc. etc. so i guess a better way to put it is trust will be their biggest obstacle, and that theyll have to accept a certain level of vulnerability.

RebelVampire

COMIC TEA PARTY- WEEK LONG BOOK CLUB END!

Thank you everyone so much for reading and chatting about Court of Roses this week! Please also give a special thank you to Kelsey Peterson for volunteering the comic and creating it! If you liked Court of Roses, make sure to continue to support it via some of the links below!

Read and Comment: http://courtofroses.thecomicseries.com/

Kelsey’s Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/kelseynuttyp

Kelsey’s Ko-Fi: https://ko-fi.com/kelseynutty

Kelsey’s Twitter: https://twitter.com/CourtofRosesCmc

[professional-anti]

Chapter Eleven: Magnus Bane

Okay, kiddos. Let’s go.

Jace and Clary leave the Brotherhood HQ, and Jace calls the cab driver a “brain-dead moron”. You know what, here’s the full quote:

Jace leaned forward and banged his hand against the partition separating them from the cab driver. “Turn left! Left! I said to take Broadway, you brain-dead moron!”

Oh, man, I’m so hot for Jace you guys. He’s so evil and cruel. I’m fanning myself. And the reason he wants to take Broadway? He wants breakfast. That’s it. It’s not a life-or-death situation. He wants fucking breakfast.

I like the idea of the diner they go to. A place where magical ppl can get together for some spaghetti. I don’t know if I’ve mentioned this, but I LOVE the idea of a secret (or not-so-secret) magical Manhattan. It’s just so unfortunate that Clare’s is so bad.

Clarinet asks Jack-Jack about Magnus Bane. Jack-Jack explains that he’s a warlock. Alec shows up. Clare is the foreshadowing master.

Clary freaks out about a guy in front of the store who looks like a demon. Clary. Girl. Come on. You know about this stuff already. It’s been like two days. Calm down. Apparently he’s a bouncer (for a diner) and is the warlock equivalent of a squib.

Honesty, I love this diner. They have blood on tap!!!! That’s so cool!!!!!! Plus, the people eating there sound way more interesting than our MCs.

[A] boy with spiky blue dreads was sitting next to a beautiful Indian girl with long black hair and gauzelike golden wings sprouting from her back.

Gotta love how the only people of color are basically set-dressing, though. At least Simon is Jewish, even with the messed up antisemitic crosses-burned-into-him dream thing. Clare’s Jewish, though, so of course she represents only herself and leaves everyone else out in the cold.

Alec shows up:

There was a kinetic, almost feverish energy to [Alec] that hadn’t been there before. Something about Jace sharpened him, brought him into focus. If she were going to draw them together, she thought, she would make Jace a little blurry, while Alec stood out, all sharp, clear planes and angles.

Oh, here it is. The “poor gay boy only comes to life in front of hopelessly straight crush” trope. Bc Alec has nothing better to do than obsess over Jace, a boy who is currently being rude to the waitress. Does Clare honestly not know how annoying rude boys are?

Isabelle and Simon show up. Apparently, even Isabelle’s perfume is evil:

Isabelle’s hair tickled [Clary’s] face, smelling of some kind of vanilla perfume. Clary fought the urge to sneeze. She hated vanilla perfume. She’d never understood why some girls felt the need to smell like dessert.

Haven’t I mentioned? Clary is the best girl to ever girl. Isabelle can’t even order right. Instead of getting something reasonable, like a large order of coconut pancakes (gross, Clary), “Isabelle fastidiously order[s] a fruit smoothie”.

Jace goes off to flirt with the waitress. Clary is confused bc the waitress is a Downworlder and aren’t they, like, totally evil? Isabelle and Alec assure her that the only kill the bad Downworlders. The rest they let live.

“Like letting spiders live because they eat mosquitoes, Clary thought.” Uh, not really. The Downworlders aren’t spiders. They’re just people, living their lives.

“So they’re good enough to let live, good enough to let live, good enough to make your food for you, good enough to flirt with—but not really good enough? I mean, not as good as people.” Isabelle and Alec looked at her as if she were speaking Urdu. “Different from people,” said Alec finally.

This doesn’t really seem like such a difficult question? Isabelle and Alec are just trying to cover up their bullshit.

“Better than mundanes?” said Simon. “No,” Isabelle said decidedly. “You could turn a mundane into a Shadowhunter. But you could never turn a Downworlder into one of the Clave. They can’t withstand the runes.”

So Shadowhunters judge others based on their ability to become Shadowhunters? Seems not at all racist. I’m so glad we had this chat. Jace comes back and explains that there’s just a shit-ton of hostility between Shadowhunters and Downworlders, so it’s not really racism.

Miracle of miracles, Isabelle reveals that Magnus Bane has invited the magical community of New York to his house for a party. God, I love parties.

There’s a whole day before the party, so Simon and Isabelle decide to go for a walk in Central Park. For some reason, this makes Clary feel a “murderous rage”. These emotions are seriously not healthy.

Back at the Institute, Clary goes exploring in the library and finds a photo of her mom and other Order of the Pheonix members-cum-Deatheaters Shadowhunters. Evil Giles shows up and points out Valentine, Luke, the Lightwoods, Jace’s mom, and himself in the picture. Clary mentions that Jace doesn’t look anything like his father. What could this possibly mean?

Honestly, the concept of a book about the children of villains isn’t terrible. It really just the complete ripping-off of Harry Potter that annoys me.

Oh, God. Clary gets back to her room (armed with a sleeping potion from Hodge) to see Jace looking at her sketchbook. I’m not even good at drawing, and my sketchbooks are still deeply personal. You can’t just look in someone’s sketchbook! It’s like a diary! WTF, Jace!

In fact, Clary tells Jace that it’s  basically a diary and that he shouldn’t look at it. This should be obvious.

Wait, I’m laughing:

“You could try not being charming all the time,” Clary said. “It might be a relief for everyone.”

BITCH, WHERE???

Jace offers to tell Clary a bedtime story. It’s the famous falcon story, the one that Clare used in her Harry Potter fanfiction. You know, where Jace’s father gives him a falcon to train, and when Jace loves it, his father kills it. Proof that Jace is Draco.

Somehow, Clary makes the connection that this story is about Jace only as she falls asleep. Whatever.

Isabelle wakes up Clary. Again, a famous moment:

[Isabelle] looked like a moon goddess. Clary hated her.

Bitch, Isabelle is a moon goddess, and I love her.

Yes, we have a makeover scene!! My secret weakness. I’m sorry, fellow patriarchy fighters. Makeover scenes are just so good.

Isabelle continues to be the coolest person in this book:

Her room looked as if a disco ball had exploded inside it. The walls were black and shimmered with swirls of sponged-on golden paint. Clothes were strewn everywhere: on chairs, spilling out of the closet and the tall wardrobe propped against one wall. Her vanity table, its mirror rimmed with spangled pink fur, was covered in glitter, sequins, and pots of blush and powder.

I want this room!

Clary gets a slinky black dress, fishnets, and boots. I want this outfit, too. When Isabelle does Clary’s makeup, Clary asks if Alec is gay. For some reason, this causes an intense shock in Isabelle:

Isabelle’s wrist jerked. The eyeliner skidded, inking a long line of black from the corner of Clary’s eye to her hairline. “Oh, hell,” Isabelle said, putting the pen down. “It’s all right,” Clary began, putting her hand up to her eye. “No, it isn’t.” Isabelle sounded near tears as she scrabbled around among the piles of junk on top of the vanity . . . She sat down on the edge of the bed, ankle bracelets jingling, and looked at Clary through her hair. “How did you guess?” she said finally. “I—” “You absolutely can’t tell anyone,” said Isabelle. “Not even  Jace?” “Especially not Jace!” “All right.” Clary heard the stiffness in her own voice. “I guess I didn’t realize it was such a  big deal.” “It would be to my parents,” said Isabelle quietly. “They would disown him and throw him out of the Clave—” “What, you can’t be gay and a Shadowhunter?” “There’s no official rule about it, But people don’t like it. I mean, less with people our age—I think,” she added, uncertainly, and Clary remembered how few other people her age Isabelle had ever really met. “But the older generation, no. If it happens, you don’t talk about it.”

Okay. So. I’m trying to judge this for when it was written. But, like. Is the homophobia necessary? It’s kind of like the ridiculous sexism in ACOTA/R. It’s a choice the author is making, for, like, no good reason. This is a case of a straight author needlessly torturing her gay character. But since this was published in 2007, I feel like this has been talked out, so let’s move on.

IT TURNS OUT THAT ISABELLE’S ANKLETS ARE WEAPONS. I LOVE HER. WE ARE GETTING MARRIED. WEDDING INVITATIONS TO FOLLOW.

Ugh, Simon short-circuits bc Clary is wearing a short skirt. Please calm down, sweetie. You’re embarrassing me. Wait, what is even going on here? Jace gives Clary a dagger, and, uh, this happens:

“I could give you a thigh sheath to put that in,” Isabelle offered. “I’ve got tons.” “ABSOLUTELY NOT,” said Simon.

I’m actually laughing. Lol for real. What does this even mean? Is a thigh sheath too sexy or something? Simon, can you chill for .2 seconds? This isn’t your body. Let’s all take deep breaths.

Clary puts the dagger in the outside pocket of her backpack because there’s no way having to unzip a backpack to get to the dagger could bit her in the ass during a fight. Then Jace reaches over and undoes her hair bc, uh, shipping moment.

I’m so grossed out by the fact that in a short while, they will think they’re siblings.

[kwamiwayzz]

Look Patricia, I used to be an e/l/s/a/nn/a shipper back in the day when Frozen came out

But never did I once ask for the pairing to be canon in the movie or the sequel or whatever like that. In fact, I never gave two shits about shipping when it came to canon and I have such a love/hate relationship with Frozen because I love it for what it could be but hate it for what it's stuck to being (tired tropes, limited and arguably messy writing, unnecessary romance, etc etc)

Like...Brittany...I just thought Elsa and Anna looked cute together and occasionally read fanfics of them back in the day. I don't ship them as much ad I used to mainly cause I've just always had a different perspective of the relationship between them versus what the shippers wanted. And honestly, a majority of me losing interest in EA was because of the fandom. But that's another story for later.

I'm not one for focusing on ships in Frozen, and I've always focused more on the potential story. So like...I have my own reasons to why I'm not really on the side of giving Elsa a love interest whether male, female, or Hans (and pls not him, I'm tired). Frozen just seemed like the movie that could easily not have romance in it. And ppl being all like, "Frozen's main aspect is romance" or "Frozen is all about romance"

Like...pls

I just want Frozen to be focused more on the adventure and character arcs and ahvjajvjsjcjjsjckd

Romance is fine, but I felt it didn't need to be in this movie

[randomuser678]

This may be my own kinda ask but I really want to hear your opinion cause you seem to have a really great one about alot of stuff! Which danganronpa game do you feel was the best story, gameplay, characters and twist wise?? I hope you don't mind me going though and finding your other ask posts and ask8ng dome more asks. but thank you very much if you do This!

Oooohhh, thank you so much for asking!

Well, firstly, Im no entirely cought up with ndrv3, even tho I already have a pretty general idea here, and honestly, I don’t feel too motivated to continue, but that’s definitely gonna change at some point

I’m gonna say I’m biased towards the first game, at least when it comes to best story, twist and characters, because it was what started most trends in other dangan games, the story on dr1 served as a base to the following games and it introduced to everyone the dangan world and most of it’s rules, so when the other games showed this world it just felt weaker, just felt like they were rehearsing the same story that Ive heard b4, there was the same basic plot with ultimates trapped on a place and forced to murder eachother, the only differences being what their talents and main location were, so it feels like the shocking plot of teenagers and murders just got less shocking over time, they kept using this plot and it stopped being original.

But that wasn’t a bad thing, they kept following the same storyline, of course they’d have the same base story, so maybe it would have been better if they kept changing canons for each game? I doubt that would work, but hey, that would mix things up for sure.

But the worst part abt the trends that the first game started, is that I just can’t help but feel like so many story points were done much better at DR1, for example: Junko, the big bad gal, the queen of despair, the main villain of the franchise.

She has appeared in all of the games, and just everywhere really, as cosplay, as AI, whatever, she was there since the first game, and always as the villain, or some sort of force related to the villain, which is good, I love her, but since the first game, y'know how that turned into less of a plot twist and more of a boring pattern.

On the first game her villainy was the biggest plot twist, the girl that had died on the first chapter and never mentioned ever since, was actually alive and the one behind the murders, that just surprised me so much, who would even go on that direction. I absolutely loved it, and the whole basis of the plot twist was that the gyaru was actually the villain, and even tho I didn’t get that right of the bat I now find this pretty smart, and just goes to show how dr likes to subvert these anime tropes.

But then she was the mastermind on the second game.

I mean I loved having her round again, but “The villain this time is the villain from the last time“ isn’t that much of a surprise anymore, and seeing how Junko just turned into basically an all seeing always present god, I wonder why they kept pulling that off years after the first game, that is the most noticeable trend from the first game, and repeating the same plot twist just doesn’t seems like a good writing strategy.

But I can kind of see how that could work, you keep pulling the same plot twist again and again but adding more stuff each time, so the new one feels different from last ones, like “You were classmates” and then “You were classmates, and also you were evil“ or “It was Junko all along“ and then “It was Junko all along except it she is a fictional character“ and I guess that’s kind of creative, if that’s what they were going for here, but that doesn’t explain why they kept repeating so many story points and the character patterns.

The parallels between the first game and the second are pretty easy to make, first chapter there’s always a plan where the wrong person dies, second chapter is something or someone from the character’s past “coming back” to haunt the murderer, third chapter there are two ppl who are killed, and only one death was really planned from the beginning and the murderer is the least sympathetic of them all, on the fourth chapter the gentle giant dies and they always has good intentions and the chapter has a sacrifice being made and there is a blah blah blah abt what a life is worth and all of that, the fifth chapter is leading to the end, so many plot twists are made here, that one character that seemed like they were too badass and too present in the story dies (I mean Mukuro wasn’t present, but the story was hyping her as this mysterious force leading up to the final revelation) and then the two last games have final chapter revealing the mastermind and additional plot twists, the first game didnt have a sixth chapter cuz they had less of a plot to discover, the other games just kept adding to the basic line that I talked abt here.

So the discussion here is basically which game did all of this better.

The first game introduced this pattern, so it has some sort of advantage, the second one just felt like a copout for me, and the third one was pretty linear with this too but the last chapter was just, wow.

The final game had the biggest final plot twist, as in, it was a giant middle finger to the audience, which is not really a bad thing, but it still shocked me, the first chapter had already a plot twist that made some fans abandon the game, so you can only imagine what the last one did with some fans, I never expected the franchise to be this meta, and I honestly don’t know how to feel about it just yet.

Of course, nobody likes discovering that the characters you got so invested weren’tactually who you thought they were, I mean, yeah, they are fictional characters so of course you knew that they were fake ppl anyways, but knowing that the fictional characters that you love are fictional on their own fictional world, that’s fictionalception! And just hard to follow tbh.

So on one hand it was a shocking twist that took a really different turn from the last games, but in other hand, it made the story feel weaker somehow, knowing that this fabricated morals were fabricated on it’s own world, if that makes sense, I don’t know how to describe it.

I also wanna mention that on ndrv3 almost all of the murderers were sympathetic, the only exceptions being the mastermind and the third chapter, but that’s how it always is. On the first game it was all very gray, the murderers had their own reasons and you could feel bad for them if you wanted, but the game didn’t seem to side with either the victim or the culprit, you could understand how the Sayaka planned to murder Leon, but you also could see how Leon took advantage of the situation (And tbh they both were pretty stupid), you could understand how Mondo just lost control and did something horrible, but you can also see how that happened and how Chihiro was stronger than him (And that chapter was amazing tbh), but on the second game it felt more guilt-trippy for me, doesn’t help the fact that everyone just forgot abt the ppl who were killed, bcuz they had connections with the murderers, and I didn’t like the twist on the second trial at all, I felt like most of the characters got no development on the main plot line at all, the only really big exception being Kuzu and Hinata I think.

I preferred when they left it more gray, when the story allowed us to understand the murderer’s motive without feeling like they were forcing you to love them. That’s what it was like for me on the second and third games, but mostly on the second one.

It also doesn’t help that they almost always forget about the ppl who died as the story goes on, either that or they only remembered of their respective love interest.

And oh God, love interests, I don’t care about any romance on this franchise, the biggest offenders were So/n/dam/ and all of the hets in ndrv3, but I’m not gonna go in details here, that would be just  too unpleasant.

So like, ndrv3 had many cutscenes, which meant more character interactions, and seeing how a character interacts with other ppl is always a great thing, it builds better both characters, makes them feel more real, makes things less boring, and it’s just great, and dr1 didn’t have much of that, or at least not any remarkable ones like the other games, which sucks bcuz I wanted more of those characters, but they were still starting the franchise so of course it was gonna be like that.

And can I say how in sdr2 it felt like the coolest girls felt like were all forced to have a boy on their story lines? Sonia doesn’t do anything big on the story even tho she is pretty smart and curious, she only really did something when she was crying over Gundham, Peko is limited to her young master, which makes sense on the story (She was raised to only care abt him) but still feels like a waste of a character, almost everything Akane does on the story is related to Nekomaru somehow, or ends up with Nekomaru and as a result she gets no development, and hardly ever interacts with anyone outside of that dude. Peko and Akane never interact and that’s honestçy the worst of all of this, they are the two fighter girls with totally different styles! They should have hanged out more.

The guys were always on the spotlight and that makes me kinda sad, such wasted potential, and while that’s kind of a problem on this whole franchise, it was easier to see on sdr2 tbh.

The girls on ndrv3 and dr1 were great tho.

And also I rate male characters on dr based on how date-able they are, so it’d be like

Best boys- SDR2 (Would date them all)

Second best boys-DR1 (I dont like Togami that much but most of them are ok)

Worst boys-NDRV3 (I only like Hoshi and Gonta)

And gameplay wise ndrv3 wins, just, so many minigames and bonus content, it’s the newer game so obviously they’d have great gameplay.

So to cut it short, cuz I just went everywhere here

Best story: Ndrv3, dr1 is a close second, but since ndrv3 had two other games to live up to, they had a more solid basis when it comes to what to expect and how strong plot twists feel, even tho I still lean towards dr1 that started this mess.

Best gameplay: Ndrv3, the newer one with tons of bonus content and weird class trials

Best characters: Dr1, I loved the characters and was never able to get over them, even tho they didn’t have tons of character interactions like the other games. On a side note Ndrv3 has the best girls and Sdr2 has the best boys, but as a whole, I like Dr1 gang the best.

Best plot twist:Ndrv3 just loved having a bunch of those, but I still liked the whole Junko thing on the first game.

                                    Some other stuff too

Dr3 was an alright anime, I didnt like the end or how the character were treated and just forgotten abt forever, and I want them back, but still, I just loved seeing them animated and full of life.

Despair girls followed my fav from the first game, Toko, and an awesome protag, too bad the game felt like pandering to pedophiles so much, I know that isn’t anything new to this franchise at this point, and anime generally is like this, but it was just disgusting, they tried to tackle on the subject of child abuse while having fan service scenes with minors, that made everything worse, and was a waste of a cool concept and characters. At least the kids survived in the end.

I haven’t read dr0

So that’s it, thank you so much for sending an ask, I hope you have a great new year and stuff!

[silversunshine2012]

..okay this sounds like more of an “anti hero” thing or smth like a turning point for the character where it’s more about practicality than the “goodness of their heart” type deal

And.. honestly? ..this is probably what would be the most common outcome when dealing with superheroes

Like, okay, (I’ve been watching matpat on FT and GT so bare with me okay djm) imagine this. Person with good intentions gets powers, then wants to do smth good with those powers. But like the scene above said, the government, the press, the public, etc all hate them for trying and they never get paid they’re only doing it out of a personal desire to help that quickly becomes an obligation after a while.

Now suddenly they have a chance to get paid for using their power that they don’t know what else to do with other than “hero work” Well- yeah. Actually seems far more logical than just, yknow, thrusting ones self at danger in the hopes of fulfilling some personal, moral goal or social obligation and getting shit on for it instead? Not to meantion all the other shit they go through, like if we’re talking Spider-Man then he’s not exactly the epidemy of “livin large”. If it weren’t for uncle Ben then.. he would’ve turned out like most of the supers for hire we see in a lot of super hero stuff.

Id honestly love to see this play out in media more often, showing the difference between the ideal “moral compass” of selfless ambition and showing the practicality of having to actually eat and sleep and make a decent living without adding on stress and taking away from your success in life outside of the hero-ing around town which we see time and time again causing supers to almost lose their jobs and risking relationships and friendships and big opportunities for themselves just by being a “hero” for zero pay

I mean it’s actually detrimental to themselves to always be saving others all the time without some sort of actual financial or legal backing like the police/military/fire department/medical and emergency medical stuff/etc, or even just some gratitude and pats on the back from the press like when you hear a story on the news of a stranger saving a child or dog from a river??

So it honestly makes more sense to use it for their own benefit. Even though it would cause a lot of non-powered people a lot of problems, and it’s not always the best selling movie trope that the hero doesn’t put down their own wants and needs and life in order to save the rest of humanity (even while there are ppl out there questioning said super’s own humanity physiologically) and instead tries to use this power for their own benefit and gain and actually trying to make a living from it instead of just doing it bc it’s “the right thing to do”.

TLDR

Because sometimes the “selfless” thing to do, isn’t actually always the “right” thing to do. And superheros need to eat too. (Esp the flash, poor guys metabolism is insanely high like holy fuck)

The villain gives their customary “join me and we can be great” speech. The hero accepts.

[mc-dude]

definitely love your cw wanks! they are full of shit. "there's no flash without iris west" thing is pissing me off because they always try to make the flash all about someone else. first it was the tragedy of his life aka his mother, now it's iris. because they want to make this cringe-worthy relationship between iris and barry (thanks for ruining my favorite straight couple, cw) but it doesn't work. 1/4

Everything is about someone else. The suit, every device used to catch metas, now flash itself. wtf. this barry is just a guy who takes all the credit for others' work, a selfish self righteous asshole who doesn't know how to do anything. how can they disrespect my son like this?! the flash was used to be a guy who can run really fast, he wasn't always stronger than his opponents but he took them down with his wit and by oversmarting them. 2/4

he was a humble, dedicated, simple guy who sees himself no different than any citizen. and then there's wally, my favorite speedster gets ruined in everything lately. his actor looks older than grant lmao and hes so annoying, where's my sweet, funny, a lil bit of an asshole sometimes but cute wally?! grant's barry can't be a mentor to him since he himself knows nothing about speed force still needs all those people to tell him what to do which means this beautiful relationship is also ruined 3/4

and I have seen no development how does he still live? even at the beginning his superhero days, barry has never been a loser like him smh and he definitely didn't need anyone to create him smh don't let them anywhere near hal jordan pls.. i am so pissed u can tell lol 4/4

yeah well it’s kind of the problem with any network show (aka shows whose plots are dictated by ratings and ad revenue) is that they basically just take the show in whatever direction will get them renewed for next season and get them $$ in their wallets.

what they did to barry and iris’s relationship was so awful tbh.. they ruined their relationship from the start with the whole incest vibe and destiny bs. it’s really annoying too cause candice is the only one who can act on that show besides maybe joe & wells and they sidelined her for season 1 and did the whole friendzone trope that really made me just not want her and barry to get together at all.. like her and eddie were even ok.. i didn’t really think they had any chemistry but their relationship seemed way less cringey than her and barry lol idk why cw decided to do the things that they did.. such poor choices!! who let that pilot thru with her and him basically being brother/sister?? wtf!!!!! enough!!

it does really annoy me that they also made barry so dependent on everyone else (especially when his team is like 80 ppl big and every time one person fucks off they replace them with two more) when he’s supposed to be a smart gentle boy who can outthink & outrun any opponent. they also spent like an entire season getting barry to mach 3 which would have been ok but then they brought in jesse & wally and they were like.. instantly that fast.. even faster.. lol ok

i wish they would have made wally a small yeah B( like the whole ‘kid flash’ thing is so dumb because wally looks way older than baby-faced grant lol. i like wally’s actor tho he has a vry cute smile & cute ears..  but his suit looks really bad and they also just did his plot very poorly tbh........ like with the rest of the cw plots... absolutely terrible

yeah i agree i don’t want them to bring hal onto the show at this point.. just keep him away from that steaming shitpile of a show they would just butcher his character to the point where he’s unrecognizable

[xconfessionsofabibliophile]

Unpopular Opinion Books Tag One

I am a big big bibliophile. I use to have hundreds of books. So decided to do this tag.

1. A Popular Book or series that you didn’t like. <b>TWILIGHT! I had someone buy me the books as a gift for Christmas a few years ago. I could not get past page 10 of the first book. I was so bored and I could not get into it at all. I have tried multiple times and failed each and every one cause I pass out.</b>

2. A Popular Book or series that every one else seems to hate but you love. <b>VAMPIRE ACADEMY or BEAUTIFUL CREATURES!!! I absolutely LOOOOOOVE these two series and most people despise them. If you give them a chance they are pretty good.</b>

3. A Love Triangle where the main character ended up with the person you did NOT want them to end up with (warn ppl for spoilers) OR an OTP that you don’t like.  I have numerous for both haha. 

<b>A. Rosemarie Hathaway I liked her with Mason but knew that wasn;t gonna last nor happen so I ship her with Adrian so it frustrates me she picked Dimitri! </b>

<b>B. A lot of people ship Clarke and Bellamy but I am Clarke and Lexa all the way.</b>

<b>C. Katniss I think she should have just been single.</b>

<b>OTPS</b>

<b>-Harry and Ginny hate it Harry and Luna and Ginny and Neville is what I ship</b>

<b>-Stefan and Elena I am a Delena shipper</b>

<b>-Bianca and Lucus the typical vamp and human love but I reckon Balthazar would have been good.</b>

<b>-Schuyler and Jack yes, I understand they are true loves forbbiden loves but I think Schuyler is better off with her conduit/human familiar Oliver. I love Oliver.</b>

4. A popular book Genre that you hardly reach for. <b> Non-fiction or Contemporary but I ave found myself reading a few more Contemporary books recently. Also very picky with certain Chick Lit</b>

5. A popular or beloved character that you do not like. <b> Elena (Nina ruined her for me)</b>

6. A popular author that you can’t seem to get into. <b>Stephanie Meyers</b>

7. A popular book trope that you’re tired of seeing. (examples “lost princess”, corrupt ruler, love triangles, etc.) Soooooo many xD<b>-Hardcore female lead who is a badass then all of a sudden the handsome guy arrives and suddenly she is as hopeless and helpless as shit.</b>

<b>-The wrong side of the tracks”society” relationships</b>

<b>-not popular girl gets made popular by guy as dare they fall in love.</b>

<b>-The best friend never wins or goes bad for not winning</b>

<b>-Always a female lead </b>

8. A popular series that you have no interest in reading. <b>50 Shades</b>

9. The saying goes “The book is always better than the movie”, but what movie or T.V. show adaptation do you prefer more than the book?<b> I will probably get A LOT of shit for this but I liked The Notebook better as a movie and I am a MASSIVE Sparks fan. Also Steel Magnolias, Fried Green Tomatoes and Of Mice and Men.</b>

I am adding 10 OCD even numbers xD<br>10. What is one character from a book that has been made into a movie or t.v. show that you don’t agree with and why? <b>I HATE who they got to play Rosemarie Hathaway: Zoey Deutch, to me she did NOT fit who I had pictured nor what I think the book described. I also don’t think she did a good job at trying to portray Rose. It drives me NUTS!</b></p><p><b>Also Nina Dobrev has killed Elena for me due to that ONE facial expression she does ALL THE BLOODY TIME she might as well be Kristin Stewart!