#also give him his pilot arc please

[two-nine-eighteen]

hi argelite nation is this anything

lovable hot messes, both of them <3

[lover-of-mine]

Me? Wanting to talk about the locker room scene in comparison to the cemetery scene to make a point no one asked about? Raise your hand if you saw this is coming 🙋‍♀️

Anyway, this is madness written by a gifmaker/video editor who hates coloring the cemetery scene with a burning passion and who spent the better part of the past 2 days trying to make a coloring work for the locker room scene, who also did some asking around with other editors who also seem to be having issues with the scene, and who spends way too much time thinking about Buck and death (someone drown that man, please).

I'm gonna start this off by saying that I don't really believe the cemetery scene will be directly addressed on the show no matter how much I wish it would. But something about the cemetery scene besides the actual content of the scene that keeps me up at night and had me writing multiple fics dealing with it, is the fact that the sky is only blue behind Eddie.

Why is that relevant in any way, shape, or form? The colors when the focus is on Buck or both of them have this almost yellowish tone that the focus on Eddie doesn't have. The sky and colors strongly imply that they added a filter to it in post-production to ensure the colors looked like that, along with the fact that it is a scene that's really weird to color something that happens when they go too hard on the filters *cough* crossover *cough* pilot *cough*. What does that have to do with the locker room? The locker room also has this almost yellowish tone that makes it hell to color. But based on my 2 days of testing different colorings and techniques, it seems to be a hell of a lot worse when the shot has that wall over there where the sun is hitting as a background.

That suggests that they wanted the scenes to have a specific lighting that they achieved later. Considering the way that the tendency of the cemetery is that the colors get muted or weirdly blended together and that the locker room goes YELLOW, I am assuming that they messed with the colors on the cemetery to make the colors look faded, giving it that gloomy feeling, which in turn made the sky almost white, and that they needed that sunlight reflecting on the wall to look that bright, which made the scene look a lot more yellow than it should. Seriously, trying to work this out I legit make it look like Buck is a Simpsons character.

Okay, but Anna, why did you make this particular connection? Well, the word is muted when Buck is talking about starting to date Natalia and then the sun gets brighter when he talks about them breaking up? COME ON. He's calling the relationship boring and the word literally gets brighter as he says it, madness.

Buck talking about dating Natalia -> Buck talking about breaking up with Natalia (please don't judge the gifs I don't want the stress of coloring them combined right now lol)

But that's the same reaction. Dude is smiling going in, he's smiling going out.

And considering Buck's relationship with his own death and the way I strongly believe that what drew him to Natalia was the fact that she didn't think his death was a tragedy and he wasn't ready to deal with the reality of had happened to him yet, to get him to the point where death is boring is progress. Makes me fear for my Buck breakdown wishes, but it is progress for that particular aspect of Buck, considering he has a very intricate relationship with death down to the fact he was born as a hail mary to prevent it. We have multiple near-death experiences, we have him saving the lives of people loves multiple times, the first time we see him he's saving a kid who drowned, his first big conflict is the fact that he's not handling not being able to save someone's life all that well, I can keep going, but you see my point, right?

The arc with Natalia, even though we didn't see the originally planned conclusion since the actress couldn't come back, had this point of Buck looking at what happened to him through the eyes of someone who didn't know him before and was actually excited about that happening, so he could distance himself from what happened and look at it from a "safe" distance. That distance also allowed him to ignore the very important "I need to do this for myself" thing from the coma dream because Buck is terrified of being alone, and that definitely includes the fear of finding out who he is by himself. Buck is bad at being alone, from meaningless sex, to hanging on to Abby too long, to hanging on to Taylor too long, to jumping in with Natalia, the first pretty girl who looked his way, it all makes this part of him very clear (parenthesis because I just had a thought, yes, Buck latches on to Taylor out of fear of being alone triggered by Eddie almost dying, but he thought he could have died himself considering the crane and everything about it and also the way he could very much have been shot at the same time as Eddie, he latched on to Natalia because he did die, he also almost died on his first date with Abby and Abby actually reached out to him when he was feeling all sorts of bad over someone dying, and he is held at gunpoint and watched a death that deeply affected him before he started dating Ali, so we have death as a connection here too, if that makes sense, I might have to come back to this thought later).

But the thing is, when you look at 6a for Buck considering the fact that Buck is passively suicidal, in a very I'm not trying to get killed but I don't think I don't care if I do die way, and how he probably thought he was going to die in a blaze of glory saving someone, and how he actually died in a pretty run-of-the-mill call, by something no one has any control over it, Buck's relationship with what he thought death was and would be for him changed. For one, Buck was not ready for how much it affected everyone around him, he never considered what the grief of losing him would do to the people he loves, but also, Buck's main excuse for his near-death experiences/impulsive behavior that puts him in mortal danger was "but I didn't actually die" like with the blood clots or "I didn't get the worst of it" like with the shooting, I think even the tsunami a little bit with how he felt about losing Chris. But he did actually die, and considering the fact that he went up that ladder when Chimney was ready to go up and Eddie also got hit by the lightning, he also got the worst of it. So he lost his own coping mechanism.

So he arrived at a point where death is boring and he is smiling like an idiot at Eddie welcoming him "back to the world of the living" and that could have fun implications going forward. Because, one, he still hasn't dealt with a big emotion in a healthy way, and two, Bobby is in mortal danger. Considering his reaction to Bobby being dead in his coma world and the fact that he has no coping mechanism left when it comes to death anymore along with his own relationship with water and danger we could have some fun reactions to these types of triggers for him there.

And thinking about the way Oliver keeps talking about Buck learning more about himself and also about Buck leaning on Eddie, someone who had his own journey dealing with multiple layers of his relationship with death, they have a fun space to play with there, with Buck's relationship with death, Eddie's relationship with Buck's death, and everything else that could happen with Eddie fully dealing with Shannon's death, and Buck dealing with anything really, Daniel, his own death, his fear of being alone, all as someone who actually wants to live, who's not just moving because he's alive and has no other alternative.

That's it for today, as always, if you reached this I love you 💜

[stars-n-spice]

Clone OCs: Dusk Company

I made these guys waaay back in March (?) of last year and for some reason never posted them here-

Randomly I decided to go back to them because I think I stopped working on them simply because I couldn't decide on a name for the group/color scheme but I got ideas and the time/motivation to digitalize my initial doodles, so introducing members of Dusk Company!

Dusk Company specializes in (surprise, surprise) stealth missions, thriving in the darkness and all of that. They're great to have when you need a retrieval or assassination mission done! Still working on their Jedis though.

Check out Dawn Company as well!

Close ups and brief Introductions under the cut!

Commander Milo:

- Just thought it would be a neat name - Mom Friend (Squad jokingly calls him 'Commander Mom-lo") - 2W1 on Enneagram - Constantly stressed and worried over his men (it's a wonder he doesn't already have gray hairs) - A very good listener - Hanging on by a thread guys please do not push him, he is one really bad mission away from completely snapping

Captain Eclipse:

- Eclipse because of night and also because he likes to 'eclipse' people and show off whenever he can - He's like subconsciously a show off though, he doesn't really mean to, it just happens - 3W2 on Enneagram - Has a tough time talking about his feelings and likes to pretend nothing is wrong and will laugh anything off - On a completely unrelated note, totally having nothing to do with all his bottled up feelings, but does someone want to hold him tenderly? He just wants to be held. - Incredibly stubborn to the point where it's almost reckless; has cheated death probably four times now

Ranger:

- Just thought it would be a cool name - Sharpshooter - Mute, uses sign language to communicate - Tongue piercing and eyebrow slit just because - Cool older vod kind of guy; will give you candy before dinner and won't tell your parents kind of guy - 6W5 on Enneagram - Really great at keeping secrets - One of the more reasonable clones in the Company and keeps the others out of trouble (if only they'd listen and take his advice)

Chip:

- Got his name because he's a technology buff - Was born with a mutation in his eyes for some reason and now needs cybernetics (like Wolffe) to see - Has orange tattoos just because why not? - 4W3 on the Enneagram - Doesn't like to talk much and will talk when needed (so he gets along with Ranger pretty well) - Eyes give him an advantage in the dark (sees a little better than his brothers) - Eyes are also reflective when you shine a light on them in the dark and this has scared a few of his brothers shitless as a result

Clicks + Buttons:

- A set, do not separate - Clicks has a nervous tic that causes him to make a 'clicking' noise, hence the name - Buttons likes to push buttons, both in a literal and metaphorical sense - Buttons is their pilot (he's not a great one but in his defense they haven't died from a crash landing yet) - Clicks is a 6W5 - Buttons is a 7W6 - Fives and Echo type of dynamic (Clicks is the only one who can tolerate Buttons) - Dye each other's hair

Tats:

- Clone Medic - Got his name because of all his tattoos and because he's the one to go to to get them done (he's got a ready steady hand) - Really chill kind of guy, has an incredible amount of patience - 9W8 on Enneagram - Keeps the Company together (is usually the voice of reason outside of Ranger) - Whattaman wattaman; knows how to treat people right - Extensive hair care routine

ARC Trooper Shark:

- Thinks sharks are cool (pretend there's sharks in Star Wars) + used to bite people as a cadet - Are his teeth sharpened? Maybe. - Not much of a conversationalist; mainly speaks in grumbles, growls, and groans - 3W4 on the Enneagram - Usually grumpy and tired (he's gotta put up with all the other knuckleheads of his company) - Honestly has no idea how to interact with others in a normal way - Is a little off-putting but I swear he's trying his best. Maybe.

ARC Trooper Leo:

- No real reason why he's named Leo, just thought it was a cool clone name - He's an ARC trooper and sometimes people question how and why - A little cocky and stuck-up but means well - Loves his time off (don't ask him what he does during it) - 7W8 on Enneagram - Dyes his hair that color; tends to dye it different browns/reds at a time - Got clawed by a juvenile Nexu once (hence facial scars)

[death-limes]

Say, which characters in HB and HH do you hate the most character wise and then design wise

OHHH MAN i could write an entire video essay about this topic lmao, let me try to be as brief as possible

~~~

Hazbin - Worst Character: This one's hard, there are a few characters who probably suck but I just don't know that much about them. But based on what I know now, honestly…? Charlie. Coinsidering that… I think Faustisse?… confirmed that she's over 200 years old, the sheer level of naivete on her part is just annoying and unbelievable. She's over twice as old as Alastor, she should not be swayed so easily by him. As far as I'm aware she's not in a Disney Princess situation where she was shut inside the castle walls her entire life (PLEASE correct me if I'm wrong on that though) so there's no reason why she shouldn't be at least a little savvy to the ways of sinner demons. She should also have been able to see the VERY OBVIOUS SIGNS that Vaggie used to be an exorcist. Even Carmilla comments that it's super fuckin obvious; the Princess of Hell herself should be knowledgeable enough to pick up on hints that even the fandom picked up on when it was just the pilot. Overall, Charlie just comes across as kinda stupid imo. I don't find myself rooting for her at all.

Hazbin - Worst Design: Alastor. I know he may not necessarily look the worst, and I do in fact simp for him, but his design does absolutely NOTHING that a character design is supposed to do. Namely, it doesn't tell us anything about him & it doesn't help him stand out from the cast. Nothing about his design is uniquely 1930s (nobody wore their hair like that, pinstripe suits started in the 1800s and continue to be popular today, monocles were more of an 1800s thing and were considered old-fashioned by the 30s) or deer-esque (his ears really do not look like dear ears at all, and his "antlers" are just microscopic salad forks that don't even show up on his silhouette). The whole Voodoo thing, aside from being super disrespectful to a literal religion that is still actively practiced, is also so inconsequential to his character that it can be removed entirely and change NOTHING about him. Any of his traits that are in line with the Voodoo thing can still exist without it -- him being a trickster and a dealmaker, mostly. All the blacklight stuff doesn't match his aesthetic at all: in Princess and the Frog where everything was 1920s it gave a magic effect, but in Hazbin where all different time periods comingle it just gives a raver effect, which doesn't fit his anti-modern preferences at all. Also the living-shadow thing is yet another direct ripoff from Dr. Facilier (that might just be in the pilot though I'm not sure), I think the living microphone is a better route to take if you want him to have a spiritual companion type of thing; it's more relevant to his theming and more original. And of course none of this even touches on the "he's half-black" bullshit excuse that only came after V*v received backlash about the Voodoo thing. And it doesn't even solve the issue anyway. A mixed-race man from the 1930s would make for a very interesting character IF that unique experience/identity was actually integrated into his character in any noticeable way, but it's not. It was just slapped on at the last minute. Ugh. I could write an entire essay about Alastor alone tbh.

Helluva - Worst Character: Fizzarolli, but mostly when he was first introduced. Aesthetically he's the closest thing that I have to a "blorbo" in this show, but in the Ozzie's episode he just gave me the most rancid vibes ever. Definitely a "asexuality doesn't exist, you just haven't been with ME yet~" type of person. Admittedly that's more of a personal preference thing and less of a poor characterization; they're in the Lust ring, that type of attitude is kind of expected. What IS poor characterization, however, is his "development" later on when he and Ozzie basically get their own arc. His entire personality changes to be much softer and like…. idk, very obviously a trauma VICTIM and not so much of a potential trauma CAUSER? His character is not nearly as abrasive, but there's no corresponding event that would cause such a change. It just seems like now that he's supposed to be a sympathetic character, they changed his personality to be more appealing. He's not nearly as mean and rude as he used to be. Ozzie has a similar thing going on but it's not quiiiiite as severe, and he's saved from being the Worst by having a far more interesting and unique design. (If you had asked who I think has the BEST design in Helluva, I'd probably say Ozzie.)

Helluva - Worst Design: Beelzebub, no contest. A lot of people seemed to have a problem with her being bee-themed instead of fly-themed like the real Beelzebub in demonology, but that honestly doesn't bother me; I'm not expecting any Hellaverse stuff to be super accurate to The Real Lore so any tiny reference they can slip in (like with Ozzie's design) is just gravy. To me, bee and fly are close enough, I think it counts as a reference. Plus, the bee theme goes well with Gluttony ("nectar" is a common synonym for delicious food) and calling her Queen Bee is an easy way to make her name more appealing/sexy than, yknow. "Beelzebub." What DOES bother me is her canine aspect. Why is she a sparkledog? What is the logic behind that? Why isn't she huge-by-default like Ozzie and Mammon? (You'd think GLUTTONY of all sins would be a big character!) It really just feels like V*v wanted Ke$ha to have a cameo role as a major character and just arbitrarily picked one of the sins for her to be. So the character design has Ke$ha in mind faaaaar more than it has Beelzebub in mind. ***(Funny thing about Queen Bee: for a solid week after her episode came out, I was actually fooled by this page from an RP wiki: [https://hazbin-hotel-and-helluva-boss-rp.fandom.com/wiki/Beelzebub] The explanation that I'd gleaned for this version of her is that the picture shown is the REAL Beelzebub, and the one we see in the show is her daughter by the lord of Hellhounds, Cerberus, which explains her canine features. Queen Bee Jr. is the heiress to her mom's title in the same way Charlie is the heiress to Lucifer's title. The picture shown on that page is just SUCH a better design, and it looks like the show's style, and she seems to be a giant like Ozzie and Mammon…. can you blame me for being like "OH that makes sense!!" Cut to me a week later finding out this is just a fan RP wiki. Siiiigh.)

[mischas]

What do you think were the biggest missed opportunities when it came to the OC?

Lol my favorite topic (this is not at all exhaustive)

Not letting Marissa verbalize and process her trauma 1000% forever and ever amen. The show learns by the end of s1 that they can keep hurting her without much recompense. Oliver holds a gun to her head and bamboozles grown ass adults yet she shoulders all of the blame in the aftermath. Christ. Her father MOVES AWAY TO BE A BETTER PARENT BC HE CANT STOP SLEEPING WITH HIS EX? Please. How anyone came up with that and thought that was good writing I will never know. Marissa's SA'ed and nearly r**** by her boyfriend's brother and never says the words out loud or processes it because the shooting looms larger. Disgusting. Back in s1 Luke is more apologetic of his affair than Marissa's own mother is and HE'S the one who has to leave town? which leads me to

Getting rid of Luke made no sense. Instead of making Luke/Julie happen they should've had Luke/Marissa 2.0 happen. There was so much there to mine. Sometimes the show acts like they were a nothing relationship and other times like 109 we see they have deep-rooted love/fondness. Rushing RM (though they're my loves) after their 101-108 slow burn shot them in the foot since they were so uncreative later on. But then again TPTB were so reliant on the actors' mirrored personal lives that I'm convinced if they'd put RM off to s2 they would've butchered them thanks to the irl breakup. (This is still so insane)

Getting rid of Anna also made no sense. She was liked by the gen pop, she had good chemistry with everyone! What a damn waste

Seth/Marissa friendship!!!! It is so cute to think Seth is the one boy in Marissa's life that isn't falling all over her. They share the same music tastes, they have the same favorite book, they grew up privileged + depressed, they're neighbors, they're dating each other's besties, their families have a storied closeness, they've dated the same person, etc. It is SO insane how little they actually interact.

Not exploring the Jimmy/Kirsten dynamic more. I rewatched the pilot a few months ago and the hints to their history are so compelling. I remember thinking their tension was good enough to last several seasons. Cutting that out to uphold the sanctity of SK in s1 ended up being for nothing since s2 messed with SK even worse! So why!

Never utilizing Alan Dale well enough. Not only do they kill him for no reason, his death literally does nothing but give us an iconic coda and funeral scene. That's literally it. Having Caleb around while Kirsten goes to rehab is so much more compelling than having her go after he's died. And making us watch Caleb/Lindsay/Ryan for what seems like half a season is so unbelievably boring and ridiculous. Why are we supposed to care. This is taking away from Kirsten/Caleb material! which brings me to

Never giving Kelly Rowan much to do. What a goddamn waste. She absolutely kills her late s2 arc but then she leaves rehab two minutes into 301 and the Charlotte storyline mostly revolves around Julie. Jesus. People talk about the favoritism going on on that set with the younger actors (as they 1000% should and we should do it more), but there was some serious shit going on with elevating Melinda constantly and shafting Tate/Peter/Kelly forever. Especially Kelly. At least she was there and not essentially let go like Tate was (and Tate was a ~big name~ regular from the pilot!). But you can tell Kelly's got some feelings about how the show went for her and her screentime/importance.

Not cutting the Johnny storyline two minutes into filming 304. They had to know Mischa/Ryan D had no chemistry. We're supposed to believe Marissa's having some sort of emotional affair but there is absolutely nothing showing that to us. It's everyone telling Marissa she's got feelings for him, and Mischa doing her job well enough to convince us it's sketchy/complicated, but they have one (1) conversation in 306 that's mostly about Johnny's father or uncle that no one cares about. which brings me to

WE DONT CARE ABOUT GUEST STARS. stop spending so much valuable time on them. we just wanna see our s1 babes being cute and supporting one another that's literally it

[gay-disabled-characters-showdown]

LGBTQ+ Disabled Characters Showdown Round 1, Wave 4, Poll 8

A character being totally canon LGBTQ+ and disabled was not required to be in this competition. Please check qualifications and propaganda before asking why a character is included.

Check out the other polls in this wave and prior here.

Larry Trainor-Doom Patrol

Qualifications:

Canonically gay and has burns all over his body from an accident- the entire main cast is disabled, which is pretty cool.

Propaganda:

He's a former Air Force pilot from the 1960's who had to hide his sexuality and marry a woman as a cover- his entire life fell apart when he had a plane accident and an extraterrestrial energy being entered his body, giving him powers. Larry strugles with both the alien spirit and his appearance throughout the show, but slowly learns to accept both, with later episodes also giving him an arc involving his family and the complicated relationship he had with his children. While the show leans into the bizzare/dramedy genre, it's still powerful to see a disfigured queer character as one of the protagonists.

Charlie Spring-Heartstopper

Qualifications:

Charlie Spring is gay. He's diagnosed with anxiety, depression, anorexia, and obsessive compulsive disorder.

Propaganda:

Charlie is having a go at it. He's also having a really great time having a boyfriend. His very cliche romance is honestly adorable. His boyfriend also helps him when he's having a hard time coping with all his many issues. He struggles with self esteem sometimes.

[buck-up-buck]

Soooooo I didn’t do this last season but I decided to do a bingo card for everything I think/would like to happen in season 8- let’s talk about it shall we.

Let's talk about the obvious- the one thing I think the fandom all collectively wants. Mr Diaz to come out of the goddamn closet. Now, Gay Eddie makes so much sense, but also, so does Demisexual Eddie. I feel like, especially with his relationship with Shannon, him coming out as Demi would make so much sense.

I would respectfully like the writers to leave Henren alone this season. Give them a win, give them Mara back, let Hen beat the shit out of Ortiz, and then leave them ALONE. I want no drama for my moms this season please and thank you.

Now saying that (don't hate me) I think Hen is due a major injury... I am just saying, if someone is gonna be hurt this season, it being Hen would make sense.

RIGHT, give me a BuckTommy argument, give me some BuckTommy angst, and then, have them make-up. We have seen so much growth for Buck these past few seasons, let's see him resolve a problem in his relationship by communicating. And then, have them make out afterwards. Please.

I feel like we are so overdue a Halloween episode. We have a full season this time around so I want them to make full use of it. Saying that, let me also bring in the fact that I do also want a Christmas/Thanksgiving episode as well. Give me family bonding with the 118. Another Christmas Party, Bathena using their new place to host Thanksgiving, something, anything.

I know we all want it but, GET GERRARD FIRED. I don't want him to be injured, I don't want him to die, I don't want them to skip over the arc they ended with entirely. I want someone to get dirt on him, and take it to the chief, and for his ass to be dragged out of that firehouse.

I don't know where this sudden obsession with seeing Sal again has come from, but I would love a Sal redemption arc, or even for him to be a little bitch for Gerrard and also get dragged through the mud. Just, Sal.

SHALL WE INJURE OUR FAVOURITE HOT PILOT. I am not saying a major injury, but something, a little sprinkle of worried!Buck. Let's see him panic over his boyfriend.

I know I will hate it if It actually happens, but a mid-season cliffhanger. I think, we need something to keep us on our toes while they break. GIve me "missing groom" but more drama.

I have been asking for this since season 3 but GIVE ME A MADDIE BEGINS EPISODE. I want to see baby Maddie meeting Doug for the first time, I want to see them moving to Boston, and then moving back. The first time he hit her and his pussy ass apology. The day she escapes, and her journey to Buck. I BEG.

Bring Chris home please. Just, give Eddie his son back. PLEASE.

I want a Bathena cracking a case wide open and going full blown detective. I want to see Bobby with a murder board and Athena being so done with her husband but so in love. Give me treassure hunt vibes, but just, Bathena solving murder.

RIGHT- HERE ME OUT (this will get a separate post here). I want a Buddie begins episode. I want, realisations, and then, flashbacks galore. I want snippets of Buddie during Bucks recovery after the bombing, different POV's of things that have happened throughout the seasons, Buck sleeping on Eddie's floor the night he got home after the snipper. I want- I want so much.

Saying that, I also want, another Buddie argument. I want an argument over Buck and Tommy, or over Chris, or over work, just, give me, some Buddie beef. And then another hug when they make up. (or a kiss lol)

HOW ABOUT WE GIVE OUR OG GAY BOY A BOYFRIEND. Give Josh some loving.

BuckTommy having a dinner date with Bathena and/or Madney. URG, yes please. Cute vibes all the way.

Right, so when Madney got married, I so wanted the fact that Jee had a baby-girl balloon to foreshadow another baby. I know they were in a hospital and improvising, but OMG that would be such good foreshadowing. I want Maddie freaking out because what if she messes up again, I want Chimney doing the same, thinking he is going to lose Maddie, and then I what them to talk about it. I want Maddie to witness all the firsts she missed with Jee. I want another Madney baby. Or give them a dog. That will appease me.

Dosed is probably one of my favourite episodes ever, so if we could get another episode on par with dosed and jinxed, I would love.

Let’s get Mr Diaz in therapy shall we. I want to see Franks reaction to all the shit he did in S7.

I mean, I wish for this every season just because I love whumping my favourite Buckley so bad, but how about wr injure Buck again. Give me worried!Tommy/worried!Eddie/Dad!Bobby.

It would be such a missed opportunity if someone doesn’t get stung by a bee. I am just saying.

I am soooo obsessed with Christopher already suspecting that Eddie is gay, or at least having feelings for Buck. Like, I want him to come out and Chris be all like “thanks for telling me but I know dad” (insert teen eye roll).

I WANT BUCKLEY PARENT BEEF. Their redemption arc is so over and done with, especially after their reaction to Tommy, so I want drama.

Yuuup, I think that pretty much covers it. Let me know your thoughts, and if you made it all the way through this, I love you, have a cookie.

[ms-cartoon]

Episode 1 really feels like episode 2 and some things/plot seem like season 2. [Hey they probably didn't know there getting two seasons.] But if you didn't seem the pilot and you didn't know these character. Then you just get throw in and All these characters are just there.

Exactly. . . . Viv should've realized by now that not EVERY BEING ON EARTH watched the pilot before putting the show in production. Regardless, you still need to take time to develop your story and characters. It's all about taking things slow. Focus on the main thing first (all the while throwing in some hints about a reveal here and there) THEN you can focus on something else. Even if there's a second arc you want to explore (in each episode mainly) have it be your B plot. B plots are technically stories focused on your secondary characters. Plus, the letter B is second to A, meaning #2. So have the focus on your secondary characters be your #2 plot instead of your #1 plot (your main plot).

For instance, your #1 main plot; focus on Charlie trying to figure out a way to redeem her sinners and send them to heaven. Meanwhile, we can also focus on Angel in a few episodes, and explore his troubles working for Valentino, being your #2 plot. Maybe while Charlie can focus on achieving her goal, she and the rest of the characters can help Angel get out of his situation. And since Viv really wants to make this show about relationships between characters, she can try and develop some sort of bond between Angel and Charlie. I bring up Charlie cuz he was the first to accept her offer to live in the hotel, even though he doesn't believe in the idea of redeeming sinners. A friendship could blossom between the two and Angel could have more trust in Charlie. Charlie is fully aware of the troubles Angel is having now and should be more determined than anything to help him get out of his situation. And if Viv wants to give him a boyfriend, she can WAIT on that.

Another thing to work on is focusing on the main characters' conflict, what they're up against, and the story involving them first, THEN you can introduce new ones and focus on their arc (without fast-pacing it).

We already have a conflict going on with the villainous Angels and them exterminating sinners and we've introduced Adam and Lute as our first new antagonists. They can stay as our main antagonist until the season ends. We DO NOT need another conflict involving Vox figuring out a way to bring down Alastor in that same season (with only eight episodes mind you). That can wait for another season. Viv will probably forget about that shit anyway.

Don't just make things clear for newcomers, do the same for people who already watched the pilot, cuz there are at least some hints they aren't gonna grasp that they are meant to already know. Me for example: It came as a shock to me that Husk was an overlord.

... Actually, shocked isn't the right word. But it was unexpected.

Some people say that pilot watchers should've already taken the hint that Husk was in Overlord in the pilot just cuz of a picture scene that was shown:

In the pilot, Vaggie tells Angel about Alastor, and the picture of him and all the other overlords is shown. If you look closely, Husk is standing right behind Alastor (so is Niffty), Okay . . . I can understand them hinting at the "overlord Husk" thing by showing him as a silhouette, making it hard to recognize him. Then again, this is completely brushed over in like 3 seconds with the camera moving upward with Husk is off-screen. So of course I'm not gonna immediately see him and theorize that he was an overlord. That's why it came off-guard when he revealed it. Not only that, but NIFFTY is there too!? She's right beside Alastor, shown as a silhouette along with Husk and the rest of the Overlords. So what . . . you're gonna tell me that Niffty was an overlord too, but then made a deal with Alastor at some point and ended up losing her title?? (Seriously, PLEASE don't tell me that) No way in hell u can convince me she was an overlord too just cuz she was shown here. IDK why she's shown here. There's not much character in her anyway apart from "Hehe! Me is psycho! Me like bad boys! Hehe!"

[o-wild-west-wind]

I said I was done taking on baffling takes but I saw a really popular blog’s post against my will and it spun me into “please give me whatever drugs you’re on” mode so I’m giving myself a pass because unfortunately I can’t control myself around a good hill it’s like catnip for me: apparently—as I’ve just now learned—no characters other than Izzy had an explicitly queer arc of self-discovery and expression in this show! which is wild to me, because…come to think of it….maybe they’re…..right? I mean. I can’t believe they would make a show about a gay relationship in which the literal main character wasn’t responsible for the entire premise by leaving his heteronormative life behind to become a pirate and slowly come to find love, family, meaning, and self-actualization in a queer community! at least give his romantic interest an arc where he feels suffocated by a culture of violence and toxic masculinity so he goes through the ringer of highs and lows in which he finally finds balance and starts healing via queer love and found family…I mean, what were they THINKING to give the only queer arc in this show to Izzy and then kill him, smh. that’s the literal definition of burying your gays….idk what to tell you? (/s for legal purposes)

my dudes: you can be sad that your fave died without making it weird. stop watching the show if you don’t like it anymore. write fanfic in a different direction. you’re allowed!!! but can we PLEASE stop diluting what actual homophobia means because it’s not a silly gotcha for your blorbo dying and if you’re jumping through this many hoops to make that make sense, you MIGHT just be perpetuating what you’re claiming so loudly to denounce. because pretending the non-traditionally masculine and the non-white canonically gay LEAD characters don’t exist in favor of your fanon takes of the guy who for a whole season bullies those same characters for showing effeminate traits and then claiming THEM as a lack of gay rep isn’t a good look (and also just makes no sense. WHAT). rue ponder that long and hard. & if you think the show failed you for killing the “only” character with a late-realized queer self discovery arc…rewatch the pilot a few times, and if it’s still not clicking, honest to god you just don’t like this show as the show it is and has always been so please stop ruining it for the rest of us thanks ✌️

[morethansky]

***TBB SPOILERS***

But on last week's episode, "Flash Strike," because my mind is currently racing in circles and I'll explode if I don't do anything for the next hour. Less coherent than usual probably, because I feel like I'm about to vibrate into the stratosphere.

Immediate Crosshunt frame within the first five seconds. Perfection. And notice Hunter and Crosshair once again leave the scene together—because Crosshair is Hunter's copilot, Crosshair is Hunter's copilot!!! Also they're so obsessed with each other, during the piloting scenes they are constantly looking at each other. Crosshair popping out of his seat to tell Hunter things when he should be watching the screens, Hunter turning around when he should be looking out the viewport?? Are the two of you going to die if you don't make eye contact every ten seconds??? Focus!

"He'll find a way." And boy does he!!! Echo, the man you are. Like in the last episode, the infiltration scene is simple but cleverly choreographed but moves at a good pace.

Bro I'm so mad that it was so easy for Echo to nab a hand and he hasn't before this point wtf

I always like when the Imperials being full of themselves wastes each other's time and allows the protagonists to elude them, while also saying something about the enemy characters. A+ Star Wars plot device.

Please let Scorch make it out and not just die as an easter egg they didn't do anything with!!!

OH NO Scalder is hot

I really like Omega being able to distinguish the rumble of the laser cannons. Everyone who was all worked up about her imitating Crosshair, there you have it. Even without the enhancements, Omega has learned to sense things like Hunter does.

"My brothers" made my siblings > parents heart full. And the line is particularly kickass because she's no longer helpless. She's not waiting for the Batch to come for her. She already has an escape plan. But now she has the reassurance that they'll be working the same mission from opposite ends.

Noshir Dalal's work this episode is ACES. Every single scream he does is so different! And each of them have so much texture.

I love Hunter shooting the rappel line mechanism to save Rampart and it risking his life being a mirror for Tech shooting the mechanism to save the Batch and it risking his life. A much more graceful reminder than just someone awkwardly saying one line about Tech every episode.

Crosshair being 100% confident about which move Hunter will make and how he'll find his way back to them, WHAT IF I CRIED. Hunter, what did you track to find Crosshair, I have to know. Was it his scent? The sound of his footsteps? The flutter of his heartbeat? No matter what it was, it was gay.

Crosswrecker crumbs!!! I can't believe we got TWO emotional conversations in this episode, this is the content I've been starving for. I love the duo of Crosshair and Wrecker so much, and Crosshair being emotionally vulnerable with him specifically is so telling about the depth of their connection.

Love the mirror of Crosshair saying he's here because he owes Omega, mirroring the S1 finale. And you can just feel the ghost of Mayday lingering over this bit. Crosshair's arc in the finale will have to be about him taking an action that shows him growing out of this mentality.

"Cover you?" "What does that mean?" I LOVE THIS SO MUCH. My headcanon for the clones is that they use so much military slang and hand signs to communicate that it's often incomprehensible to outsiders.

This moment during Crosshair's conversation with Rampart!!! And I love the way the light casts them in darkness and light during this conversation, and the way Crosshair appears to be emerging from it. Crosshair carrying Hunter's words with him makes me so emotional.

"Depends on who's giving them." SUB CROSSHAIR SUPREMACY. God this line makes me insane. Crosshair stating both his disdain for the Empire and his allegiance to Hunter in so few words. This show has once again decided to pretend the inhibitor chips don't exist, but I'll trade it for what amounts to an emotional confession / oath of loyalty from Crosshair.

I've watched the scene where Hunter is facing down the beast and Crosshair is standing literally RIGHT behind him so many times oh my god. If he leaned down he could press their cheeks together. I can't believe my prediction that they would just move closer and closer on screen every episode was right. The next logical step for them is to kiss in the finale, obviously.

Also this moment where Crosshair and Hunter help Wrecker up!!!

And this one!!! Echo representing the heroic standard I've been desperate for!!!

Echo going undercover in blank armor to save all his brothers... Fives going undercover in blank armor to save the galaxy... I am unwell. If the Echo feature these past couple episodes has been to set up his death, I will go knock down LFL offices myself.

Every time they play the clone theme for Echo or Rex I start almost crying. The soft rendition in the scene with Emerie made me so emotional, and then the dark fanfare version at the end is so sick!!!

Okay, off I go to lose the rest of my sanity...

[orangeoctopi7]

New season of Ninjago! I'm currently six episodes in.

(also I'm writing this the morning after I watched these episodes so my thoughts might be out of order)

Awkward teenage Riyu design is cute, but in that awkward, mid-stage pokemon evolution way.

"Intelligent George" is just every adult Ninjago fan on YouTube throwing around theories over the last year.

Sorry Lloyd, prophetic dreams of doom run in the family.

Hey, wait a sec. You know who else has prophetic dreams? Why are you not going to Zane with this?

Please give Arin a "you don't need powers to be powerful" arc.

All this talk of shattering all the good inside someone is reminding me of a certain other spell used to remove all the goodness from Garmadon back in season 8, but I doubt they're actually meant to be connected.

Slightly disappointed that the pink Serpentine isn't Skales' wife.

Euphrasia couldn't take on the master of Smoke, the elemental master she probably has the best type match up against? I don't wanna sound like one of those fans, but jeez, Morro would have destroyed this guy.

The Kai-Nya siblings dynamic continues to be on point.

Wyldfyre continues to be the best character.

I was honestly expecting Sora's fear dream to be more of the same insecurities we saw from her last season, but she actually has moved past that and now she's afraid of having to go back to Imperium. I was pleasantly surprised by that.

Oof, Nya's dream is giving me so many feels. This is foreshadowing, isn't it?

"Jay would never forget me. And even if he somehow did, he'd never be this calm and collected about a stranger coming up and hugging him."

Oh. Oh, we're not seeing Wyldfyre 's fear dream? Oh, she doesn't want to talk about it? *Rubbing hands together* I think we're gonna get some backstory and lore here!

*Bonzle to Cole and Geo* "You are my da-ads. You're my dad's. Boogie Woogie Woogie."

Suddenly Basketball

Ah, the dragon masters. The fact that dragons can learn spinjitzu honestly makes sense to me, all the way back in the pilot, I thought the way the dragons spun around in order to travel to the other realms was obviously related to Spinjitzu.

I like that Rontu is basically just a typical gym coach in dragon form.

Egalt, on the other hand... Well, I do really like his design. But man, he's just every bad "teaching" method from Wu rolled into an even grumpier old man. Talking down to his students, constantly being negative instead of giving positive reinforcement, no clear instructions, giving no answers or even hints to Arin's question, nothing! Maybe I care about this more than other people because I've worked as a teacher on and off for years, but even when I first started watching the show, back when I was still in college, I was already noticing these things about Wu and they already bothered me.

Anyway, calling it now, the students from "last time" Egalt keeps vague-ing were Wu and Garmadon, and Wu learned all his bad "teaching" methods from this guy.

Bonzle being a living spell is weird, but honestly not that out of the question for a crazy fantasy world like Ninjago.

Ok, so I'm going to break the first rule of enjoying Ninjago and think about the timeline. Judging by what Wu said, I'm guessing Bonzle ran into him some time early in season 2? And when did all this with the Forbidden Five happen?

Anyway, very excited to see where this is going, if only I didn't have to work today.

[msn-04iinightingale]

KINSHIP 3

Guardian Angels

Kinship FOB, Helios 2 hours until Jericho Superheavy Drone Arrives on site.

The guardian angels came cloaked in black, and howling like beasts. The two Leopard Class dropships came in low over the battlefield, lasers and LRMs lashing out at Blakist elements engaging the beleaguered mining effort. As they circled, their hatches opened, and out dropped six mechs. 

—

Two lights, a Jenner IIC and a Raven landed lightly on their feet, immediately sprinting into the battle and opening fire with lasers and SRMs. They danced between incoming fire with a deftness that spoke of extreme dedication to their machines, the Angel ECM suite of the Raven providing an extra challenge for the Blakist mechs to surpass as they tried to target it and the others around it. 

Inside the cockpit, Flora felt alive. Not in the sense that she didn’t outside the cockpit, but here, going full tilt, through enemy fire, ducking and dodging and slewing around corners on nimble avian legs, the raptor lady felt truly alive.

“Hey Zippy, tango on your two o-clock!” called her running mate, Amaryllis. “Want me to get all up in there, girl?”

“Yes please that would be nice also he’s probably not gonna like that also he’s gonna shoot you so watch out.” She replied, rushing the words out through the comms as she does everything in her life. Fast.

The Jenner IIC pivoted on a dime, using the momentum of its speed to spin the machine around on one leg and bringing its SRMs to bear on the Malak that had been tailing the Raven since they dropped in. The volley detonated across the other light mech’s armor, blowing chunks away and staggering the other machine. Amaryllis punched his machine into a run again, weaving through buildings as the enemy mech’s pilot targeted him instead of the Raven, lancing laser and light PPC fire his way.

"That's right, sugar, eyes on me! I'm way more fun to play with than she is!" he teased over the open comms.

If the Word pilot had a reply, they kept it to themselves. They did indeed give chase, in turn being hounded by Flora in the maze of suburban homes and businesses, as the two lights worked in concert to take on the Word machine.

The dance ended when the Word mech was cornered in a cul-de-sac, and was hit by a volley of SRMs from both Amaryllis and Flora’s mechs, ripping its armor open and damaging the reactor enough that the machine shut down.

“Mech kill confirmed are there any more we should take out or was that it and should we link up with the other friendlies here?” Flora asked over comms.

—

Three mediums, a lethal looking Kontio, a Mad Cat Mk III, and a Skinwalker dropped next, moving to engage the enemy medium mechs. 

The first anyone on the ground was really aware of the Kontio was it skidding to stop between a Preta, about to burn a mortar crew it had found, and taking the laser hit on its armored shoulder. She pivoted the mech gracefully, the six ER medium lasers stabbing out and scoring the Preta badly enough it forced the enemy mech to pull back, no doubt the prospect of closing with the claw armed Kontio giving the Word pilot pause as well.

“I’ll tail it.” Sin says to his lance mate over the comms, pushing the Mad Cat MK III into pursuit.

“Are you all alright down there?” Carrie asked, her cool slightly husky voice coming over external comms to the mortar crew.

“Affirmative, Barghest. We’re wrapping up now, FASCAM ammunition at 10%” came the reply.  

“Good. I’ll keep them off your back.” she replied, staying on station as the squad hurried to pack their equipment and fall back.

Sin pulled the trigger and launched a volley of 20 LRMs out into the snowy air, they arced, and rained down on the enemy Preta, causing it to duck behind a building. 

“It’s ok, we’ve got you covered.” he says, intended for the damaged Silver Wing mech he’s stepped in front of. The mini Mad Cat had taken a light PPC hit for the other machine, but remained operational.

“Captain Veil, one medium coming your way.”

“Understood Pvt. Moving to engage.” the captain’s cold voice come over the comms.

The Skinwalker stalked through the streets, trading fire with the Preta with cool, almost mechanical precision. Weiss wasn’t one to get over emotional, in fact, Nero teased her about her coldness nearly constantly. Pulse laser fire danced this way and that as she chased the Word mech. 

The Word mech missed, she did not.

The kill was a clean one, a twin large pulse laser hit to the cockpit. 

Quick, clean, surgical. 

“This is Captain Weiss Veil, reporting mech kill. Linking back up with Barghest, CFRI and Silver Wing forces.”

—

The last mech was also the biggest, and the most striking. The 100 ton Berserker touched down with an earthshaking impact, before standing to its full height. Charcoal black with a red right shoulder, the mech barely resembled a normal Berserker, standing on digitigrade legs, and sporting a horned, saurian skull of metal over its cockpit, and finally, the hatchet had been fashioned to resemble a giant cleaver. 

With a blast of a warhorn over the external speakers, and a giggle from its pilot over the coms, the machine lumbered into the fray, belching fire and lasers at whatever targets it came across.

It found a damaged Grigori first, a Comminus variant with ECM, which explained why it had registered as a medium mech, lancing lasers and ER PPC blasting into the mech’s legs with practiced ease, tanking the retaliatory MLM fire across the torso armor before cleaving the smaller mech’s cockpit in half with a blow from the monstrous hatchet it carried. 

Clara laughed over the comms. She was having fun. She always had fun when she got to chop things. It was her favorite thing to do in the whole world!

Evidently, the Grigori pilot had called for aid, as a Malak came up behind her and started to stab at her with lasers, PPC, and, worryingly, two Inferno SRM rounds, bathing her mech in fire.

At least, she should have been worried, but Clara was past such early concerns as “heat” and “on fire”. She just wanted to cut things apart.

The big mech spun around, still wreathed in flame, and stitched large pulse laser fire across the smaller mech before it could withdraw. She evidently hit something important, as the SRM ammo touched off, blasting out of the blow off CASE II panels in a billowing fireball, and pushing the small mech forward with the force of the blast. The other mech stood back up, in time to meet the downward swing of Clara’s hatchet, the blow carving down deep into the mech’s torso, completely shearing off one side of the machine. The two halves crumpled to the sides in the snowy street.

The last thing the pilot of the other mech saw was the rapidly descending clawed foot of Clara’s mech.

“Ok Clara, that’s enough. Come on back.” the voice of Lt. John Smith, her “Piglet”, coming over her comms.

“Awwww…ok…” she replied, dejectedly. She was only just getting started.

“There will be more later.” the calm voice of the man she loved said.

Almost sulkily, and with one last burst of flame at the downed light mech, Clara lumbered her way back to join the retreating forces.

—

Back at Kinship FOB, the remainder of Barghest Company touches down, the Union class dropship and two Leopards landing on the landing strip and beginning to unload their cargo and mechs.

The assault mechs trundled around the FOB building, careful to avoid crushing anyone by mistake. The three heavies, the Marauder, Warhammer, and Warwolf followed. Last to join them was the superheavy T-Rex, the ground shaking more than usual with each step.

At the same time, the five Celestials made their way out of the union class dropship.

“This is Godkiller 1 to Garm 1, headed out, over.” Anya said, shocking herself with how, well, confident she sounded.

“Garm 1 to Godkiller 1, good luck and good hunting.” came Owen’s reply. “I’ll send your IFF tags to all friendly units, and if anyone shoots you, I’ll shoot them myself. Over”

“10 4, Godkiller 1 over and out.” Anya said, switching to her squad level comms. “Ok...lets move out.”

“Roger.”

“Ok!”

“Still think this is a dumb idea…”

“Understood…” The five Celestial mechs moved at good speed out of the FOB, attracting confused looks, but no fire at least from the defenders. Veering North, they took a route that brought them out of sensory range of most of the mechs present, before swinging west to the river, and then, back south…towards their objective.

@is-the-battlemech-cool-or-not @lt-chari @combined-arms-merc-groups @navcommrelay

[lilywily143]

I finally made a second analysis for a character but I have so many moments and therefore images that this needs two parts for this one character.

Makes sense, she's a main one. Unlike Khan.

Edit: The Second Part

So. V. She has my favorite character arc, period! I love her a ton and I can't wait to see her in the next episode.

So how she acts at the start? Basically a serial killer. All of the Disassembly Drones are killers but she is shown to be the one who loves the job a LOT.

Heck her first line, after killing a drone is, "And yet.. I still feel nothing." And the thumbnail for the pilot has her in the center with a pile of her victims behind.

You see a lot of her personality in the second episode. Saying she and the murder drones were programmed to solve a problem, making you think she would rather stick to the programming then N has.

But then you really REALLY see how she really acts in episode 3, mostly around her co-worker N.

V suggested killing drones off in the prom going on where N's friend would be, so N yells at her about the horrific stuff that happened last episode. And... She can't speak to him for a moment.

She stares at the one thing Uzi damaged before she left the ship. I think that reminds her of something that she doesn't like. Which I'll get into in the second part.

So, she suggests only killing enough drones so they can survive on their oil. Which is actually reasonable compared to her constant killing she is shown doing in the series.

But N specifically says that he knows V is holding things back and that she is okay to share the information. But she stays silent. Whatever the information is, she can't let herself speak about it.

She actually kills N [but not really, they regenerate], and says something very interesting to his question without letting him listen.

N: Please, what do you know-

Beheads him

V: What's best for you. Even if you hate me for it.

She seems very saddened at the idea of N hating her as well, but she does what she thinks she has to do for the BOTH of them, going to the prom to kill the drones.

But she can't even commit to it when [despite it being a plan against her] she is said to be the prom queen. She is shocked but she just doesn't go kill anyone, she even puts her wings and murder weapons away.

And the most 'unlike her' thing that happens is that she gets nervous to talk. She has the best lines and is willing to threaten. But to this nice thing she isn't used to, she can't speak super easily.

And then the most recent episode, the 4th one, has the biggest part around her arc. For me at least.

She is still staying with her murdering programming she says she has. She even shows her wings off, a big part of the murder drones even though N doesn't do the same thing here.

But she doesn't kill the whole class for the job, in fact she only kills one drone the entire episode for maybe not listening to N. I say maybe cus she'd kill the whole class for that

But the fact she is helping to distract the class for Uzi to investigate is very nice of her.

She actually gets close to killing a second drone for just annoying her and calling her defective, but she doesn't because Uzi just looks scared.

And small thing, she helps give N attention from the drones. Not just to help them stay distracted from Uzi, but it was also a bit of a compliment for N.

During the time with the class, she is actually having a lot of fun. She is acting in a leader like role, but it's a lot of fun for her without it hurting drones [on purpose, the drones holding her boat tripped themselves]

Then she meets with Uzi seemingly to just scare her and keep her from her and N.

But that's the main thing, to DISTANT Uzi from V and N. She says, "Better to stay distant. Don't cha think?" And then she says, "He'll [N] will move on just fine." After she threatens to kill Uzi.

It clearly is a threat, but there is the famous quote of "How people treat other people is a direct reflection of how they feel about themselves"

She doesn't like the idea of making friends and connections, but she cares a lot for N despite her pushy nature to him. So I think she says that N will move on so that she can convice herself to not think to connect with him.

But even then, she still hangs with one of Uzi's classmates. Lizzy. Even after Lizzy helped with a plan to try and kill her, V hangs out with her.

She also still has a lot of fun with the class. She does make a "threat" to the class, but again, she doesn't kill anyone else this episode.

But then Uzi comes back and accidentally summons a horrific creature...

The Second Part

[0vergrowngraveyard]

why is it that, in sonic x, anytime one of sonic’s longtime friends gets hurts he does his normal song and dance. but when chris, a kid he’s known for a whole few months, gets hurt, then it’s a problem and he turns into dark sonic???

like wtf bro, tails almost gets crushed to death in one episode and that’s not releasing a feral response??? you’re little brother is in danger is you’re not showing much interest???

am i just too used to the idw comics and prime to accept any other interpretation of brothers?? probably-

i could go on an entire rant about that show because it’s so bull how every character other than sonic and chris are reduced to “i love sonic!” in one way or another. ALSO WHY DOESNT TAILS FLY OR DO ANYTHING-??? his entire existence is tornado x pilot and giving sonic a ring

y’all have no idea how peeved i was when, in the metarex arc, chris was revealed to now be a genius scientist and engineer LIKE WTF BRO THAT WAS TAILS’ JOB?? there can only be one child prodigy and it sure as hell isn’t chris (ik chris was technically an adult but still. he was a kid again during that arc). let tails be the smartest guy in the room please

if you couldn’t tell i hate chris with a burning passion and they weren’t nearly mad enough at him during the season 1 finale and for stopping sonic from getting home in season 2. any time chris says “it’s all my fault” or something like that i enthusiastically agree with him

amy’s character is bs too. reduced to having a crush on sonic and girly girl with hammer. LET HER BE BADASS! LET ANY OF THE OTHER CHARACTERS BE BADASS!

this is very jumbled and ik the show has been over for years but i’m still mad about it. why am i rewatching it??? do i hate myself that much??

[guynamedultimax]

Giving Sonic characters an anime fighter-style makeover + dream roster for said anime fighter

So not too long ago, probably a year-ish, I wanted for a Sonic fighting game with Arc System Works graphics and gameplay (basically Guilty Gear Strive but for Sonic characters) and I was like "oh, imagine if it took place in an AU which is basically just my own take on post-SGW Archie but with characters from EVERY continuity and they all wear outfits that make them more urban or smth" I didn't have a lot of ideas for this AU but basically one of them was to make Sonic wear something like a bomber jacket that's more reminiscent of plane pilots (considering the fact that he was the original owner of the Tornado). I should have the drawing somewhere in my room, I'd just have to find it. I then kinda took a step back when I saw this:

(if someone is able to find who made the image above please send me the link to credit them, I know it's a Twitter image but I forgot the account)

This is a scrapped alt for Project M (for those of you living under a rock, the ORIGINAL Smash Bros. Brawl mod that made Brawl more like Melee and added Mewtwo and Roy back in the game) with Sonic wearing an outfit which is VERY CLOSE to that of his "humanized" version drawn by Uekawa. And after seeing this I'm like "y'know, he could wear this in Kingdom Hearts AND Guilty Gear and not bat an eye" (despite the fact that Guilty Gear designs have a shitload of belts).

I'd say a design like this could fit the vibe/aesthetic I'd be going for in a project that's essentially a Sonic fighting game in an AU which is made up of elements from all continuities. I know I also kept searching for a Shadow "equivalent" to this and I am so, SO torn between making essentially something similiar to the outfit above (so essentially either one of Shadow's outfits from Rivals) OR ramp up the edginess and make him wear something on the lines of this:

Horrible 90's Attire but it's Sonic Adventure 2 by Yanimae on DeviantArt (https://www.deviantart.com/yanimae/art/Horrible-90-s-Attire-But-it-s-Sonic-Adventure-2-705847763)

The cast would generally all have a clothes revamp and I'm gonna go over some of the most obvious ones:

-Tails should absolutely wear something that screams "I'm the smart prodigy" and I'm thinking he should get the bomber jacket I was gonna give to Sonic before seeing the PM scrapped alt -Treasure Hunter Knuckles like this is so obvious it's not even funny he fits perfectly with the tone, that's one of the top tier things Sonic Forces: Speed Battle did so far -same for Secret Agent Rouge (or alternatively her stealth outfit from Rivals 2 and Sonic X) and DJ Vector these are actually banger alts

-Amy wearing something on the lines of her Fleetway Comics outfit but with the colors of her more known outfit would rock ngl

-Eggman wearing an outfit similar to the one he wears in the first movie (so something like this https://twitter.com/RendersSSBU/status/1252674435342938113 ) -Metal Sonic having a new coat of paint that makes him more loyal to the Eggman Empire (essentially Chrome Metal from Speed Simulator) -Espio in his Ninja attire from Rivals 2 -Silver wearing some kind of Tron-esque time cop coat showcasing more that he's from the future or smth

-Blaze essentially wearing a more "regal" version of her regular outfit -Cream & Cheese dressed up like girl scout cookie sellers (its cute and it fits their personality) -ANGLER BIG ANGLER BIG ANGLER BIG ANGLER BI- -Omega possibly also receiving a coat of paint that shows he works for G.U.N with the rest of Team Dark

-Scrapnik Mecha Sonic and Scrapnik Mecha Knuckles enough said

-Surge cosplaying as Scourge. Hear me out on this one it makes SENSE-

This was more or less the roster I came up with for the fighting game itself

Mighty, Sage, Mecha Sonic by ShadowLifeman on DeviantArt Ray by Prime-01 on DeviantArt Nack, Bark, Mephiles, Infinite, Honey, Mecha Knuckles, Fleetway SS by ??? Classic Sonic by Kidd Kai on DeviantArt Bean by E-122 Psi on DeviantArt Zavok by Solbliminal on Twitter

Everyone else is from official SEGA art or from artists who worked with SEGA, template used from the DBFZ roster

Here's also a few details on each character and on some of the thought process behind this roster and/or gameplay:

-I considered a three button system a-la BlazBlue with an equivalent for a Drive that I haven't really developed in my brain, plus a Ring mechanic like Sonic Smackdown, where if you get hit with a strong attack you lose Rings and if you get said Rings you can heal back some of your health -The starting roster would mostly be Teams Sonic, Rose, Dark, Chaotix, Silver, Blaze, Gemerl, Eggman, Sage and Metal Sonic, with the final boss possibly being Mecha Sonic, the rest would be split among a few seasons of DLC -The only real characters I forced myself to include were Mimic and Rough & Tumble because I was running out of space to make a symmetric heroes-and-villains roster (and I originally considered for Surge & Kit to be a 2-in-1 deal like some of the Chaotix that would "mimic" a playstyle meant to evoke playing as both Sonic and Tails in Sonic 2) -Sonic himself would have a mix of moves between Frontiers and Smash Bros., but 90% of his Smash moveset would basically be used for Classic Sonic in general since he's 90% ball anyways there

-Everyone would have a movelist as big as that of the average Strive character (which makes sense when you look at how many unique techniques each character actually has from the wiki pages lol)

-Charmy and Ray are "built-in" assists like Android 17 for base DBFZ but I couldn't come up with full movesets for them sadly

-Super transformations are extremely hard installs to pull off (full meter stuff + super specific button inputs too) that make you utterly broken for a short amount of time at the cost of all your current red health (these include Super Sonic (both classic and modern), Super Shadow, Super Silver, Burning Blaze, Neo Metal Sonic and Super Mecha Sonic, possibly even Excalibur Sonic with the regular BK Sonic being instead used for the base form)

-I originally planned for Jet to call for Wave and Storm in battle but then I realized you could more or less flesh them out to be a bit more unique compared to him.

-Zavok is Ginyu from DBFZ, if you know you know

-Mephiles and Infinite LOOK LIKE they have the same "kit" but Mephiles' playstyle and game could and should definitely fit a shadow manipulator like him while Infinite is more of a guy who attacks aggressively at any distance

-Honey and the Hooligans would be essentially "translated" versions of their movesets from Fighting Vipers and Sonic the Fighters into an anime fighter environiment

-Emerl and Eggman Nega are alternate costumes for Gemerl and Eggman respectively (I did not use actual Emerl as the base because Gemerl has a cooler design and he does show up in comics these days) -I considered Lanolin to form a full Diamond Cutters team with Tangle and Whisper but I realized she hasn't done much so far action-wise to include her, so both her and Belle (for the same reason) could be assists for Whisper and Tangle respectively

-I ALSO considered Marine to be playable but she hasn't shown any actual powers beyond that one thing in the end of Sonic Rush Adventure which nobody ever really understood what it was- I recall Ian Flynn saying in the Encyclospeedia that it's water powers? eh, nobody really trusts that book anyways

-I'd find cute if other characters showed up in taunts and animations for the playables (like Chip for the Werehog, Vanilla for Cream, Froggy for Big, Tikal for Chaos, etc.) -Fleetway Super Sonic would essentially be the game's Omega Rugal (the extremely hard DLC boss you have to beat to unlock for playable use). Also he's voiced by Jacaris because I cannot picture any other voice for him at this point now sorry

-Instead of making Mecha Sonic and Mecha Knuckles full blown villains I'd make them anti-villains/anti-heroes where in the game's plot they don't immediately side with the heroes because they just wanna live in peace on Scrapnik Island

-Didn't add Archie characters because of space but if I DID do it, I would've done Sally (and made her another Ginyu with the rest of the Freedom Fighters) and/or Eclipse the Darkling

-Other scrapped characters from even earlier takes on the idea are Tekno from the Fleetway comics, Shade from Chronicles (deleted because of a horrible human being) and Longclaw from the movies

-Plot would happen in an original universe, again, but heavily focused on games and IDW, and essentially be dealt with like how Guilty Gear Xrd handled it (with multiple iterations of the same game progressing the plot): in the first "Phase", the one with only the base roster, Eggman is attempting to mess around with Ancient technology and data from the Starfall Islands to replicate the Phantom Ruby's powers, somehow "resurrecting" and/or "summoning" in the second "Phase" past villains, which causes the heroes (and, begrudgingly, Eggman, Sage and Metal) to call in for reinforcements/allies, and to search for the Chaos Emeralds so that they could stop the villainous rampage, with everyone mostly deciding to gang up on Mephiles, Infinite and the Deadly Six as they pose the bigger threats when combined together. A third and final "phase" would focus on the aftermath of the event (but more so specifically on Starline and his Imposters because I want them to get better in the public eye, I know a lot of people don't like IDW but I love the idea of Sonic having a more detailed Rogues Gallery in official SEGA-endorsed media)

Oh and that edgy Fist Bump remix from the Sonic Sessions is absolutely the intro theme to this game i'm not sorry.

That is all, thank you for coming to my rambling and stay hydrated. Just don't drink Dasani, it'd be like drinking poison (if you know you know)

[coredrill]

okayyyyyyyy initial bravern finale thoughts. i think i will be thinking abt this show for the next 7-10 business years so more to come ofc but. AH!

PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE ISAMI SINGING THE OP LET THAT BE DIEGETIC TOO!!!!!!!!!! AND ALSO ON SPOTIFY!!!!!!!!!!

isami off his Fucking rocker at that one point like Yeah you deserve it king go OFF LMAO. i found that quite satisfying :] real talk tho for as much as i call him baby rice cracker all the time i really love him as a protagonist? like he just feels so damn human in the way he struggles so much but tries his best and then gets hit AGAIN but keeps trying again and again anyways. it's really good! and his whole arc of like. learning that he Can rely on others and with that reliance brings mutual care..............sobs

i love that piloting these fucking things just makes your hair grow. LMFAO

okay i know i've been complaining abt the translation of "bang brave" or whatever tf smith keeps saying before he dies BUT the reveal that that is just ANOTHER thing he's doing bc he's a Fucking Freak and isami thinks it's weird too KILLED ME. smith: "brave bang :]" isami: If You Say That Shit One More Time You're Sleeping On The Couch Tonight". what is wrong with you lewis smith!!!!!!!!!!

i wouldn't be atall surprised if this show got the ssssg treatment and got four million random manga/light novel spinoffs especially considering it's consistently like the most popular show in japan lmao. the lulu-superbia spinoff sounds like a lot of fun so i'd def be interested to see more in that vein!!! i need to learn japanese tho cause no way they're getting eng translations!!!!

i feel like. there is a specific Vibe of mecha thing that verum vita fits which Also includes dissonanza backarrow and uhhhh idk the name but that one mf who pops up in ep30ish of gaogaigar and is just kinda like. observing? like verum vita is not a court jester like the other two and this analysis does not go any deeper than Vibes but. it had me leo dicaprio pointing like. another one!!!

i'm literally obsessed with the unhinged worldbuilding in this show. like?

population is nine billion???

the suez canal is still blocked????

if you're gay you can just. Do That ???

like i love that they don't explain this shit either it's so funny to me. LMAO

something something smith can only express himself and his love for isami as bravern not just bc it gives him as a character/person separation from his Human Self but also. bc i wouldn't be surprised if that was The Way to get the queer stuff so blatant, bc he was in robot form rather than one human man saying "i love you" to another and then glomping him in an explicitly romantic sense after all the talk of riding and him being inside him. LMAO. this isn't a complaint beyond a vague shake of the fist at Corporations and TV Censors, just smth i think is REALLY interesting and which i had a surprising amount of fun watching play out from a story perspective :]

i feel like my hottest bravern take is and will always be that i really don't mind the 12eps LMAO. like i thought it provided a fun variety of Situations with which to deal with the DDs and it didn't give it enough time for the gimmick or mystery elements to start to feel old. also i am just generally of the opinion that most stories would work better if you wrote them to be told in X amount of time and then had to trim off like. 40% of that. so i know it's a personal thing but i think it worked well for bravern!!

i do wish we'd gotten to see smith and isami hug if only cause i think isami fuckin needs it. LMAO. but overall i'm satisfied w their arc, especially bc i think the whole "beyond bang brave" thing works REALLY well w smith returning to his human body. like as soon as superbia kicked it i had a feeling that would happen, and obv it's textually referring to isami/bravern/lulu's massive super robot powerup, but i also think it can just mean like. what happens After? cause smith keeps saying "bang brave" or whatever tf when he dies but to go Beyond that is to come back to life and experience a life where he can receive love, too (i.e., via cooking and food AND ALSO via Literally being brought back to life from bravern's heart. who had just merged with isami on a particle level or whatever lmao). so i'm rly satisfied with how it played out in the end :]

overall i think my only real complaint w the show on the whole aside from the military propaganda was that the boys looked like such fucking DERPS in half their shots. lmao. like obviously i'm biased cause i'm a sakuga whore and i actually rly do like their more realistic style a surprising amount cause i usually don't go for that sort of thing but uh. there's a reason that lulu is the human i gif most often and it's cause she always looked better than them by a long shot FSKDLJH. her character animation was consistently the best & most expressive and she was always the most on-model which. FUCKING DESERVED BTW. her arc was incredible and i'm so excited to rly think about her some more and dig into her as like. a rei ayanami clone (maybe even specifically rebuild? w the "your hair grows long inside your mecha" thing) but who takes control of HER OWN STORY TOO and is able to grow wildly beyond being that story point. like i love that she's taken care of too. agh she's really such an amazing character maybe i'll have to cosplay her too FKLDJSHF i'm rotating her in my brain So Much

overall that was really good and i really enjoyed it and i can't wait for the blurays <333 i love it when robot shows are made by people who love robot shows!!!!!