#also sorry this makes me seem so negative i actually really enjoyed the episode!!

[clownery-and-fuckery]

As promised, my commentary on Hunter.... to the people that like him, im sorry.

Spoiler warnings and the like, this is pretty negative aside from like maybe three sentences?? Feel free to leave you're own opinions on this too ofc !!! >:)

I dont like Hunter.

Actually, that's not entirely true, I liked him in TCW season 7, when he was that silly man who fucked droids around the place, took no shit, and loved his brothers. I like the Hunter who, not putting this nicely, had a personality.

This is not a dig on him as a character, it's a dig on how he was handled, writing wise

Listen, I totally get that the "rugged-man-adopts-a-star-child" trope is popular, and I do LOVE that trope, really I do- I just don't really think it was done that well here? It's bothered me since s1 of the Bad Batch, and I don't think it's going to get any better this season....

My only real problem with the writing inconsistency of Hunter being an older brother of three to "Omega this, Omega that" and while I agree childcare is SUPER difficult at the best of times, Hunter had four brothers who were equally capable of taking care of Omega, too. It just never sat right with me that taking care of her became his ENTIRE personality

Hes a soldier, who despite being completely out of his element, had a routine he strictly followed for the whole war. Yet he seemed to completely forget about that ?? Stressed or not stressed, that worn in routines and LIFELONG LESSONS should not have left his head as quickly as they seemed to.

The most obvious and frustrating example of the oversimplification of Hunter's character is with Crosshair. I cannot even BEGIN to describe my anger when it comes to Hunter and Crosshair. It mainly stems from the way he just FORGETS his brother is with the Empire. Conveniently never bringing it up unless someone else did it first.

As the oldest sibling and squad leader, I personally think Hunter should have been the one to bring him up. It should not have had to be specifically mentioned by another character for Hunter to discuss it. He loves his brothers, he loved Crosshair, broody or not, he should have brought it up AT LEAST once, imo.

We also see this complete disregard for Crosshair AGAIN in s3, now that we have seen Hunter looking for Omega and not ONCE mentioning Crosshair. Has he forgotten that they were originally going to find Crosshair??? That they never actually FOUND their brother ??????? Annoyed me so much, tbh.

What else annoyed me was the singular language he used during the whole episode. "She's part of our squad." "Hemlock took SOMEONE from us." He's completely and utterly disregarding the OTHER TWO SIBLINGS that the Empire took away from him !!!!! It genuinely frustrates me so much.

I know I'm DEFINITELY nit-picking here, but even when Hunter looked to Tech's goggles, it was in a "He should've been here to do this." Way, not a "He should be here." Way. That's his brother, who died looking for another that Hunter has forgotten.

Hunter's tunnel vision is probably one my least favourite things about the Bad Batch, if I dare even MENTION that- and I love this show. It means so much to me, but I just can't handle this particular part of it...

I have so SO much anger directed towards the treatment of Hunter by the writers. I want the Hunter who was devoted to his WHOLE family, who fought for ALL of them, who would have NEVER allowed Crosshair to leave in the first place. Give me that Hunter back.

(Saying this- I do not mind Hunter and Omega's father/daughter and brother/sister relationship !!! I do really enjoy it- in small amounts. The fact that Hunter became nearly an extention of Omega really just- threw me off his whole character, really)

I specifically pick to ignore this when I'm making anything. Hunter has been a sergeant of three idiots(named endearingly) for the entirety of the war. One child who wanders around should not have taken up 100% of Hunter's attention, ESPECIALLY when he was surrounded and supported. It just bothers me, idk

Anyway, thats my rant !!! Back to some positives soon, promise !! I just had to get this off my chest, it's been BOTHERING me.

[darksvster]

Hi, I usually only send asks to people on anon, but I really wanted to say that I am so sorry this fandom has been so awful to you and made what should have been a fun and cool thing such a negative experience. I will be sad not to see the rest of the scripts, but I hope stopping the posts gives you some peace 💙

thanks for the kind words, honestly i need them right now. after some consideration, i've come to make a decision on how i want to operate moving forward.

as of now i've permanently deleted my scheduled posts on twitter, i won't be posting anything there anymore.

for tumblr, i removed everything from my queue and they're sitting in my drafts, but i may just post the excerpts i like this weekend.

on the whole, i'm taking a big step back from this fandom. i've met a lot of nice people here and made friends, but the loud voices of some of the worst people here just make this an overall unenjoyable experience. for my own mental health, i think it's important to simply cut off the opportunity for people to engage with me directly.

to give some clarity, this is not just about people doubting my posts. i find those to be funny since i have never made it a secret where i get my scripts from, people just seem to be unwilling to read or do research. i actually do have one single image of a script on my phone that the librarian okayed me to photograph. but i forgot about it while making edits and now i simply don't want to post it. (i thought i didn't copy down daemon asking for rhaenyra's hand in episode 4, apparently, i was wrong and just forgot about the picture.)

this is about people calling me awful names, accusing me of pedophilia, because that's everyone's favorite word to use in this fandom, and insulting my friends when i won't respond to them.

it's about people who seem to think i deserve harassment because i put myself out there. it's about people who think i'm just too engaged and need to be more "zen" about fandom and the insults being hurled my way. it's about people who feel entitled to my posts and regularly demand greedily that i post about their favorite character already.

it's also about people cozying up to me one minute and then calling me names the next. it makes it really hard to trust anyone in this fandom, much less want to befriend them. i shouldn't have to get used to people suddenly popping up in my dms trying to befriend me after finding out that i could be a "source" for them, but i did and that's on me.

i said before that if i stopped this project i would expose everyone who was an asshole to me. the hilarious fact is that it would literally be too many screenshots of people acting like the worst type of people. all the things i listed above are from multiple people across multiple platforms. it's not just twitter, or tumblr, or discord, or reddit. it's the fact that these people exist literally in every corner of this fandom that makes me want to pull back completely.

i'll keep contributing in the areas where i enjoy contributing, but i'm done engaging with people who seem to view me as entertainment or a punching bag.

to people who have defended me without knowing me, or have simply just been polite, thanks so much. it really does help even if i don't reply to every kind word.

[34saveme34]

SMG4 sim review + Idk things funny

this is gonna be. unorganised. witness !

he sleeps with starving pou good for him

dumb hobo knockoff.......... where have I heard that before...........

interesting he's getting called a knockoff though!

some violence today I see!

he barely just woke up and is already going right in to Meme

I mean, I. respect the grind but. damn

one could say.... it's going to be perfect? Huh SMG4?

Hey that's. pretty early! Uhm. wow

he's REALLY going for the grind huh?

Also I posted before the "plan out shit vs make up shit" and man I love it for him honestly, he really does feel like someone who likes to go with the flow

and I'll say his video was pretty charming! Although it is once again Hamburger. saying once again because of his phone apparently like, having a hamburger folder full of hamburger pictures. I don't remember which episode it was at this point

very intensive meme making btw. puts his whole memeussy into it or whatever. sorry I said that, I won't delete it though. you have to read it

HE IS SO INSECURE "it should be funny" BRO, YOU'RE THE MEME MACHINE THE FUCK YOU MEAN SHOULD

CMON

me for real. me when I post something stupid and wonder if people will like it. I'm so SMG4 in this moment

his number 1 hater...... even after all this time..... what is this if not true love?

okay but genuinely so interesting. He was working hard on a video and it got disliked and 3 also called it shit

Idk I'm just, whenever 4's insecurity in his videos come up, I get reminded of his little "nobody loves me unless I am meming good" episode

especially with 3 being involved here

I bet he actually chuckled once but decided to say that anyways because he doesn't want to feed 4's non existent ego

anyways the fact, the FACT that after 3 tells him his video sucks he dies?? I know that they probably weren't going for it but it really does feel like he really REALLY cares about what 3 thinks of his stuff

it's almost like he wantst to prove himself to 3 that he can make stuff beyond 3's imagination, which is, kind of gay

can.... can this be counted as him using his guardian powers? I mean, it IS meme related even if for his video

I wonder what else can he do. I also wish we could see more moves and stuff where both of them are needed. like sure, we got the wotfi 23 fusion move but other stuff we really only saw them working by themselves

forced to hold hands doesn't count because they didn't really. use their powers there so

so disrespectful to his boyfriend..... come on man. you know he is worth millions. and his kisses for you billions

also find it really interesting that he seems to be the brightest here, like lighting wise

I wonder if he got in there because he actually LOVES being involved in 4's videos. Like, nobody else did, all the other stuff were memes

it was only 3 who wasn't, which I think especially justifies his weirdly coloured outline

I wonder, maybe, he was counted as negative points because he's not a meme

or maybe it's a bit of a throwback at the idea that he can't be funny

I just love this shot. this is so me core, I'm so like this, I'm saying this all the time

this looks so cursed

also kinda funny the ice cream seems to replenish him more than a watermelon

I mean- at least his eating isn't complete wack?

into the deep pocket you go, child

Now, let me say something controversial. I think, if 4 got over himself, he would like some fanfics. like ASMRs already like, especially this type of thing he's listening to hold a cringe factor

a cringe factor outsider people also associate with fanfiction. I'm just saying, I think he would read angst fanfics. He would read them and feel really sad but would be too ashamed to tell anyone about it

This is also supported by the fact that he likes dating sims. I don't know what his exact type is in all of this but he definitely enjoys sappy, romantic stuff. All of it. If he wasn't scared of people judging him, he would be so so SO indulgent. I think this is one of the reasons he likes hanging around Boopkins. I think he might even envy his ease of showing his interests in even the most indulgent stuff without caring what others think

you should've comforted him. Anyways why are you here, there's no way that much time passed. you're here at like 7 AM. Do you just live here 3? You also said in wotfi 23 prep stream that you have your credit card linked to 4's pc!!! you're not beating the living together allegatins, 3!!!!!!!!

although really interesting he gets his stuff together over 3's comment

he lost it at 3's words, he collected his shit together over 3's words

again, what is this if not true love in plain sight?

Really loved the fnaf bit, though Mario smashing his PC was kinda Eh

especially cuz he got punished for it

can't even be attention seeking around 4 because he's just gonna freak out and call you a distraction

and he like memes all the time which means you could become a distraction to him VERY often

lowkey makes me think 3 doesn't like to bother with some stuff because of that, like i just KNOW he wants to hang out more

like CMON

hey that's his silly little music player from last episode!

the bootleg 3 plushie in his inventory!!

a little gay I'll say

what ya lookin so crazy for!!!!!!

maybe the only fans option wouldn't have failed you like the sponsorship did

I mean at least the merch worked

which uh.....

not to be like that but my mind went catboy 3

ME !!! ME FOR REAL

by the way this once again shows how fluid and stupid fame is in the SMG4 videos

or this is like a sly sign at 4 falling off again and trying to hide his insecurity!!! I don't want that

I hope that this is just a bit that doesn't get brought up again, we don't need It's gotta perfect 2 I think

anyways that's it for the episode! Overall fun honestly

would be interesting to see videos like this with other characters as well, considering it shows an insight into the character's brain

for example here, I could tell that 4 has problems and is also still quite insecure, though that's not something that can just change so easily soooo

yeah

overall real fun though I'm left desiring a normal episode

[transboysokka]

rating changes made in natla: episode 1

I wanna be clear that I overall enjoyed the series. Most things I had problems with were actually pretty minor.

Planning to attack the Earth Kingdom as a distraction from the Air Nomad genocide: kind of cool I guess but still a weird and random way to open a whole ass show with these randos. Maybe a good way to set up the White Lotus I guess. Cool excuse to see Sozin. Reaction: Neutral

Kyoshi narrating the introduction: Cool. Makes sense. We haven’t met Katara yet. Also cool that they didn’t stick to the original opening monologue bc that wouldn’t have fit as well actually. Reaction: Positive

Showing life in the Air Temple before it was attacked. I mean I get it. It shows Aang’s reaction with Gyatso and kind of leads us to understand where he comes from. It makes his loss hurt that much more. Reaction: Positive

Great Comet Festival: Obviously an excuse to get everyone together for the Genocide but cool I guess. Reaction: Neutral

Aang just going away to clear his head instead of running away from being the Avatar: I get it. It’s to make him seem more likable, not irresponsible. I really don’t care either way. Reaction: Neutral.

Showing the Air Nation genocide: It didn’t last too long and it wasn’t as terribly graphic as I thought it could be. It fit in with the tone and narrative. Did it add anything to the point that it seemed necessary? No. Reaction: Neutral.

Katara using the Fire Nation ship as a place to practice her bending? Badass. Reaction: Positive

Showing more of Sokka’s duties/leadership/burden around the SWT village: love it, delicious, I’m obsessed. Also leaning into Hakoda’s absence. Great. Reaction: Positive

Finding Aang for some random reason that isn’t Katara being pissed at Sokka’s sexism: Honestly I wasn’t bothered by this the first time around but now it’s clear to me this is the first in a long line of choices that make Katara’s character more boring and like. peaceful so. Reaction: Negative

Zuko’s fanatical journal and doodle wall: Love it. Super on brand. Reaction: Positive

Aang already having the bison whistle: whatever. Reaction: Neutral

The SWT having a longhouse: It’s a small change but I love how much more developed the set is… Reaction: Positive

Gran Gran doing the opening monologue from the original show: it fit but I’m sorry it was soooo cringe oh my god….. Reaction: Negative

Let me just mention this here but it’s kind of weird that Katara doesn’t mention her mother’s necklace in the whole show when it was so important to the plot of the original show??? Just another facet of her character ignored I guess. Reaction: Negative

The weird claw thing the Firebenders do: it’s ugly lol. Reaction: Negative

Iroh starting real early trying to convince Zuko his dad sucks: their relationship is so much cooler and better in this show and I can’t really explain it. But I like this and it fits. Reaction: Positive

Sokka’s real ass engineering and defensive skills on full display? Huge love. Reaction: Positive

That one boy close in age to Sokka. Why is he here? Wasn’t Sokka supposed to be the only one left? Glad he gets a boyfriend though. Reaction: Neutral

Iroh’s conversation with Aang on the Fire Nation ship: it’s whatever. An interesting choice to have him tip his hand so early. I have to believe there’s a reason for it and again it works with his overall narrative in the season. Reaction: Neutral

Not spending so much time at the Southern Air Temple… I get it, it was kind of the trade off for showing so much in the beginning. It’s fine, it works. Reaction: Neutral

Aang bringing himself out of the Avatar state by thinking about Gyatso/who he is/whatever, instead of Katara doing it: I get it, they seem to be wanting to cut out any overt Kataang stuff. Still, the relationships between our three main characters are just not nearly as tight in this version of the show and something like this might have saved it? Still, Aang crying in her arms afterward covers that a bit so. Reaction: Neutral

[glitchy-haha]

So I thought of something.

(Edit to give you a quick warning that most of this is not going to make any sense and I'm probably gonna end up rewriting this so I recommend you just skip this but if you wanna read it you can. Enjoy this dumbass comparison.)

After comparing the two, I've noticed the (kinda) similarities between when Kitana meets Mileena for the first time (in MK9) and when Mateo basically gets cloned (in DreamZzz season 2).

These similarities have led to me coming up with something called "The Mileena and Kitana Trope" (I am aware they are probably not the first ones who have the good guy fights evil cloned twin thing, but they are somewhat the first ones I even remember have this dynamic, so until I come up with a better name or find out this already has a name, this is what you are gonna get.)

To avoid any sort of confusion (which will probably happen regardless I'm sorry), I'm gonna explain what the hell I mean by going over each situation.

SPOILER WARNING FOR BOTH MK9 AND DREAMZZZ. BEWARE OF SPOILERS.

(I'm not entirely educated on the story of Mortal Kombat and Madteo only really appears in the last two episodes of season 2 (part 1) so please correct me if I'm wrong on anything.)

(I forgot to mention this, but feel free to give your opinion. I would love to hear your thoughts.)

Let's start with MK9.

In MK9 (Kitana's Chapter), after defeating Jade, Kitana walks into the Flesh Pits, discovering a bunch horrors that I'm not even gonna talk about because that's not really the main focus here.

Among these horrors, lies Mileena, Kitana's sister (clone really), and Shang Tsung's "perfection" of Kitana, lying on this weird, fleshy table thing. When Kitana gets closer, Mileena wakes up, and somehow, already seems to know who the hell Kitana is (someone please explain this to me) and starts calling her sister, yapping about them being a family.

So yeah anyway they fight and Mileena loses. Then Kitana fights Shang Tsung and also wins. However, her victory is kinda short lived when she found out that Shao Kahn approves of the existence of Mileena and has Kitana escorted to be executed for helping the good guys.

There's more to this but I wanna focus on this specific moment in the game.

Now let's move on to DreamZzz.

In DreamZzz (Season 2 - Episodes 9-10), The Never Witch uses Mateo's memories and negative traits to make Madteo, who rises from the cauldron like a zombie rising from it's grave for some reason.

However, Mateo dipped before he got to see Madteo be created, so he only got to see him in episode 10, right before he murks Phil (my poor baby-).

They never directly fight in this episode due to the fact that Madteo was busy basically trapping Castle Nocturnia in some sort of small dome thing, but judging by what happens in a clip in the teaser for season two, they are supposed to battle at some point, along with the others and their clones (Although Astrid does not have a clone from what it looks like.)

However, in episode 10, The Never Witch and Madteo successful trap the entirety of Castle Nocturnia in that crystal dome thing, with Mateo, Izzie, Cooper, Logan, Zoey, Astrid, and Z-Blob being the only survivors.

So after explaining all of that, I'm gonna explain the trope in question.

- Good guy gets cloned, basically now having an evil twin.

- Good guy finds out they got an evil twin.

- Good guy fights their evil twin.

- Good guy either wins or loses depending on where the story is supposed to go.

*Bonus points if the evil twin if favored by the main bad guy.

So yeah, that's all I got for now. Probably gonna update this or come up with a part 2 when part 2 for season two of DreamZzz comes out, cause then we'll probably get more on Madteo in general.

Also, to clarify, even thought I haven't fully checked out the story, the new MK game, MK1, is not gonna be involved in this, as the Mileena there is not a clone from what I heard, but the actual sister of Kitana.

Anyway stupid little thing done. Bye!

[terristre]

Could we perhaps get some info on your OCs? Their designs are so cool and they seem really interesting :)

jidsajidoasjiodas SCREAMS sorry its been like a week im just so happy i needed it to be good

uhh heres a good place to start for lore-grounding! alexander graves is a ghost from the 1500s who now serves in the court of the queen of monsters, notably being the only male member of the high court. hes far from a strong fighter, though his strengths are that as a ghost he cannnot die- and that for a ghost, hes VERY good at pretending to be alive

he has a confident, well-spoken air about him but its not hard to pin him as a more introverted, even shy person under it. the sort of person who would prefer keep their head down and go back to their business quietly, but one who holds the people close to him in an adoring regard. (hes NOT in the high court for his power after all- his value is in his kindness) hes been a diligent seamster since a young age & in-canon most of the clothing designs of characters under the queen can be credited to him lol

marcus deangelo THE BIRD BOY OF ALL TIME is alex's notably more introverted angel son. he tends to take the role of the silly goon/errand boy in the queens court & forms a light-hearted team rocket-esque duo with the plague doctor to take back pandora's box, stolen from the queen & brought to the monster hunters

marcus is an immediately curious character because he fits the high-energy genki archetype like a glove & has nothing but positivity for others- but his philosophy towards his own life & future are absolutely bleak. and the thing to pin about him is, he isnt really all that dumb- its more a mix of lack of worldly knowledge & this ascetic fold of catholicism where Bad Things Happen To Me Because I Somehow Deserve Them so he has LITTLE self-preservation & accepts misfortune without a fight

alexander holds the same self-poisoning principles, but marcus is the only one naive enough to say the quiet parts out loud. its not something the man ever pushed upon his sons but rather something they adopted themselves after seeing it from their role model. congrats to them for inheriting all their fathers positive traits AND his negative traits theyre both adopted btw

YES THIS IS AN INTERGENERATIONAL TRAUMA PLOTLINE anyways marcus talks to animals all the time & it makes other people think he actually has the power to communicate with them but He Does Not. also sometime his misinformed beliefs about the world will coincidentally line up with what europeans thought in medieval times & its like. who told you that buddy. HOMESCHOOLING if i dont know it you dont either LMAO

OUR BAT FRIEND IS THE PLAGUE DOCTOR! appearances can be deceiving my friend shes a recently-turned vampire whose only powers, really, are turning into a bat & burning in sunlight <:3c she refused to swear loyalty to the queen of monsters but couldnt bring herself to return to her old life Now Thats Shes A Monster so shes just kinda been. tossed around the court until she tragically rattled down to The Fuckers Whose Entire Personalities Are Being Catholic

if there is a musical episode the plague doctor is the one who goes WOAH WAIT WHATS GOING ON every day she wakes up & tries SO HARD to understand whats happening around her. shes definitely struggling to keep her miserable life together but despite that her kindness & good humor tend to shine through, most of the others actually quite enjoy her company the problem is shes always like "IM BETRAYING YOU GUYS FIRST CHANCE I GET"

but yeah as mentioned she makes for a good duo with marcus, hes great at fighting & she actually understands human society so together they make One Functional Person when venturing out of monster society lol. curiously for someone who doesnt want to be there, the plague doctor chose to assist in the chase for pandora's box of her own free will

[p-receh]

Hi! No neg to you at all but i really need to get this out so feel free to ignore :D

I feel like fandoms as a whole has started to become WAY too comfortable in telling their creators what to do. The drama, complaints, and overall neg that i've seen people spewing to monsta is disheartening.

Critics are fine here and there, especially when mentioned in a respectable way. But people seem to forget that nothing is perfect, they see a flaw and just... zero in on it

Monsta can't satisfy everyone. Heck NO creator can satisfy everyone, but complaining about the thing something is lacking and saying negative things about the creators is helping absolutely NO ONE.

If anything it makes the creators ignore you, at worse double down or get disheartened and stop creating as a whole. Other than that it creates a negative sphere that makes some people (who were fine and enjoying this thing they like) to also feel unsatisfied or be negative as well.

ITS RUINING THE FUN FOR EVERYONE

I feel like these people don't realize how HARD it is to create let alone make a show.. its actually something i've realized in media consumption over the years; people have consumed so much media that they believe they "know whats best" or "understand better how to create this and that"

Creating is not easy. It takes time. It takes skill. WRITING isn't easy. ART isn't easy. ANIMATING isn't easy.

You want a specific episode that cater to what you like and how you want the characters to be? Write it. Genuinely write it.

Thats what fanart is for, fanfiction, fananimation.

Want something? Make it yourself. People have been spoon feed with free content that includes 3 seasons worth of a show, 2 seasons of its sequel show, 2 movies, AND comics.

And again. THESE ARE ALL FREE.

People do not REALIZE how privileged they are.

Do you know how many content now that is under a paywall? Do you know how incredible and generous it is to be given free content of an animated show for years?

To be given a show that is so obviously made with passion and love?

And still having the nerve to complain that its not the way how some people want or like it to..

Write it. To those who fully believe they know how things should be created, then do it yourself. Make a script and give it to them. Make a fanfic. Make an AU. Make art. MAKE WHAT EVER IT IS YOUR COMPLAINING ABOUT OR MADE YOU DISSATISFIED

Sorry about the long rant, this is in no way directed to you, been really peeved with how ungrateful people have been (getting that much free content in anything is a privilege some do not realize). Thinking its so easy to make a free show.

Anyway can't wait to see the continuation of your AU :D

Allahuakbar—THAT'S A LONG TED TALK wwwwwwwww X'D

Lmao I was not ready for a minute with how long your ask was, so of course I couldn't ignore this! wkwkwkw

Ehem.

Truuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuu 100%!

I am new to this fandom but it genuinely got me a headache. Even with the recent drama "Boboiboy is more likely a fan service franchise now!" or "Why monsta always treat Boboiboy only and abandoning their supporting characters? This is why Ejen Ali is better!" and many other drama that I don't need to know in the past.

Like... Puh-lease. Don't you guys know how much it blessed that they released their show full HD on YouTube? Both TV and movie series? Released their comic on webtoon for free?

Maybe you guys didn't realize how illogical that sound for outside of... I dunno, maybe from sea countries. Like Japan with their infamous strict rules for any franchise when they promote their products.

(and with how ridiculous what had westerns entertainment corporations did to consumers, so pirating on us and Europe almost became a norm?)

Monsta I'd say is genius. They knew they cannot apply the same way with how the Japan did, and thus they find a way to make their show release without losing any money. Even me personally still find that strategy is "somewhat" illegal. But for SEA countries? I can understand why they choose this path. Because that's how The some of franchises from my country did that too to promote their products.

Buuuut does it make the corporate go impecunious?

Now that my friend, it all comes down with the quality and the general public reception themselves.

(I can give you examples buuuut it gonna be longer and might subjective since I don't have any uh... Marketing background knowledge)

Therefor Monsta creatively managed to survive that obstacle. Their shows already big enough across the SEA nations and beyond; their comics and card battle themselves are heavily sold out, and even managed to release on theater in Japan!

Aaaaaaaaand then again, anon. This is internet.

Sometimes criticism could cause endless of drama that never ends. And it's absolutely unhealthy. Uurggh..

Yet in rare occasions, consumer criticism had their own benefits. Like the infamous Gremlin Movie Sonic before Paramount had to change because of the internet. (HUGE internet criticism If you guys don't know)

It really is a gamble to take any discourse if their take was supporting and even disowning some product. Especially on the internet where you could freely critics without hearts content.

I admit I myself have my complaints but tbf, at the of the day I don't mind with what Monsta give to their product. In fact, I respect with how much they take risk to correcting their mistakes from the very first Boboiboy Series up until now.

Nobody's perfect anyway, so I highly appreciate it they way Monsta tried to please anyone.

But that's the beauty of the Fan Art. Whether in form of music, visuals, literary, and any kind of medium to ensure that franchise still has an active community with tons of new ideas to share for their franchises. Big or small.

Fan art for me is a clarification whether the franchise is acceptable to their target market or not. If no one creates it, I consider that franchise is failure and not exist.

"The difference between fanfic and a "real" novel is that fanfic is honest about its inspiration."

-Mary Robinette Kowal

"There's a time and place for everything, and I believe it’s called 'fan fiction'."

-Joss Whedon

Tho...

Why would someone would want to waste their talents for creating fan art that they didn't even like it at first?

I specifically refer to people who made fan art clearly for hate or trigger people who liked it, not for earning money(that's another story to tell)

What a pity to waste time, ya know?

Like, touch some grass dude :/

[stormyoceans]

Monica I'm really scared. It's ep 11 next week. We haven't got Mork crying. (Sam mentioned to me that we haven't even gotten the day bawling scene from the trailer?) This eye donation thing seems a little bit too happy and hopeful for an ep 11.

I know this sounds bad but I really hope day doesn't regain his sight. Because everything the series built up about how blind people also are able to experience this world will all go down the drain. And some part of me knows p'aof will not do that. But then. It's so cruel. To give Day the eyes, the hope of vision just to yank it back so heartlessly. It's so mean. I am scared for next Friday monica.

i feel like i should probably wait to answer you because rn the episode is still too fresh in my mind and i don't have the emotional detachment necessary to be, if not positive, at least not utterly and embarrassingly overdramatic about this but. my mood really flipped a whole 180 degrees because of that ending and ngl. im not doing too well ;;;;;;;

FAIR AMOUNT OF NEGATIVITY UNDER THE CUT I ALREADY APOLOGIZE FOR IT

the thing is. i don't think the surgery next episode is gonna be successful, but i still so deeply dislike this eye donation plotline regardless of how it's gonna end because what's the point of it? if the surgery is successful and day gets his sight back, then it's gonna defeat the entire message of the show. if the surgery fails and day remains blind, then it just feels completely purposeless since he didn't need this to accept his disability and learn that he can still have a fulfilling life: he had already accepted this at songkhla, and it was perfect. honestly the only reason i can think of for them to go down this road is to have the surgery be unsuccessful now, only to end the series with day getting it again after some years and this time working out to show that 'you should never give up hope'. and i can't even begin to explain just how much that wouldn't sit right with me. and i mean i don't have a disability so i obviously don't have any right to say this, but still

not to mention that i actually still feel like those two moments with day and mork crying that we have yet to see are both related to the two of them breaking up because mork doesn't feel like he can take care of day, so they're gonna make him leave until he can prove to day's mom that he can provide for day. which is another thing i would hate

i just don't understand why would they choose all of this when, instead, p'aof could have had mork and day figuring out their future TOGETHER and BOTH trying to prove to day's mom that they can take care of EACH OTHER. like the show made such a point of making day become more independent and empowered but now they're not allowing him to be. i wanna see him walking outside alone with a cane, i wanna see him go back to school and finish his studies, i wanna see him open up his little bookstore while mork works as a cook. it can still happen, i guess, but i still wish it would have been given more focus

im also the kind of dramatic person who can't be like 'at least we have the first 9 episodes, they were perfect and nothing can ruin them'. unfortunately that's not enough for me. unfortunately i need them to stick the landing or it WOULD ruin the entire show for me. and not being able to get back to it and find comfort in morkday would honestly be heartbreaking for me. and you know, obviously the message and the representation of the show is the most important part in this, but also i would be lying if i said i didn't want to have a damn DVD box set of a jimmysea series to actually hold and enjoy since we won't ever have one for vice versa, but what would be the point of buying the last twilight one if i dislike the ending

ANYWAY. im really sorry ismay, i ended up ranting because i needed to vent but im afraid im only making you feel worse with this ;;;;;;; maybe after i sleep on it i will be a bit more optimistic about this but. im really scared too ;;;;;;; for what is worth im holding your hand and im here for you whatever is gonna happen

[rocketturtle4]

Eclipse Episode 9

Okay so I am not as compelled to write but I wanted to inform my avid viewers (lol) that I have finished episode 9 and intend to watch epiosdes 10-12 in one hit, hopefully tomorrow afternoon evening so this will be the last update for 20-22 hours. (ADDED AFTER: I WROTE A TON LOL)

AND TUMBLR ERASED THIS POST AFTER I HAD FINISHED IT, T_T, TAKE 2:

@wen-kexing-apologist @grapejuicegay @thegalwhorants @plantsarepeopletoo You all are making this a ton of fun so thanks a bunch.

(this was earlier but I loved this pun ngl)

This episode started out with a bit of a sucker punch as Akk wanted Ayan to leave the school to be safe while Ayan wanted to stay in school because he was worried about Akk.

I just have to say that the utter wonderfulness of these boys relationship bring so much heart to the show it's amazing

He FLUTTERED HIS EYELASHES AND I DIED

Yes he has a boyfriend, ME - Loved this so much

I really enjoy that Ayan has decided they boyfriends even though Akk can't say it out loud yet.

Enough Simping, onto other thoughts

I get that the Car convo with Akk and Ayans mum was important but it was also PAINFUL ngl because Akk is already under so much pressure from adults and here's another one just heaping onto something I am sure he's already worried about

Principal speaking to Chadok is giving me chain of yelling vibes, principal Principal to Chadok DO SOMETHING Chadok to Ayan DO SOMETHING and so on, seems like Principal is being hounded by donors, money sure makes the world go round

Oh no if the prefect group is disbanded what about Akks future?

also has Akk told Ayan about how much he's potentially relying on financial aid? (and I say potentially because while the show has clearly shown this as key motivation they haven't really stressed how important this is).

The sign and the dripping paint!

Ngl I thought it was Namo but he's pretty convincing of his innocence

NAM BURNED THE POSTERS NOT AKK (sorry boy)

I'm still wondering how Wat's whole arc is going to tie in, I had kind of wondered if he's be filming and catch something by accident but now it sounds like he'll be looking to film it and tell a story on purpose so I wonder if it will be a key part of the resolution, you know a touching film to make the higher ups realise the light or something (though that feels a bit too neat)

actually that's something I hadn't considered, how neatly is GMMTV going to tie this one up in a little bow?

LOOK, Thua still feels SUPER SUS to me okay like he knows now that Chadok *probably* invented the curse so he's got to be even madder, and I still feel like he was behind the initial 3 protestors

I'm venturing into crazy town here but see, maybe he even encouraged Akk or Namo in their supporessive tactics and then turned around to egg on the protestors, now that Akks backed off, he could be the one doing the paint sign and burning the doll because he WANTS THE SCHOOL TO HAVE NEGATIVE ATTENTION. Like Akk says, he wouldn't do it because it's obviously going to get the wrong kind of attention but I could definitely see Thua WANTING that attention right?

And especially now he knows about the Curse origins and Akk no longer seems to be enforcing it maybe he's using it to his own advantage, how much of a mastermind is he??

OH SWEET THUA I'M SENDING YOU ALL THE VIRTUAL FLOWERS IF I'M WRONG OKAY.

Also I thought I'd been tracking what Akk calls Ayan for reasons, and I caught the slip up and self-correction but he called him Aye in the pool so did I miss it earlier?? I'm going to have to go back to the food scene and check because I want to know

Okay so last(ish) thing, it was actually in a previous episode but I want to talk about this

because it sent be into a bit of a tailspin about the KINDNESS this show is presenting as a core theme

In this scene the three protestors look confused and hand over their items with much less resistance than previously, Akk has seriously changed his approach and Namo comments later that 'he's changed'

Also they haven't really resolved this yet but Ayan Uncle has certainly been presented as a key point of kindness not just for Ayan but for the school kids too.

also previously Ayan used kindness to get the protestors to stop

actually Ayan is the core of this because he is SO CONFIDENT and FIRM is his convictions while being UNFAILINGLY KIND

His and Khan's whole interaction a couple episodes ago which I thought was going to be a jealous fight but then just...wasnt and then this episode Ayan was gently encouraging him to confess his feelings for Thua

Also Wat also just seems super kind

and the show has made a point of showing how different these three boys are when they're not enforcing the rules

Ayan and his ideals are a key stressors to Akks major ongoing identity crises (which may be the main focus of the post I can already taste on my fingertips for after I finish this show because Akk is...oh boy...very relatable) Yet he is also A PILLAR of patience, kindness and strength in Akks life even as he pushes and jokes and teases he accepts what Akk can give even when it's less than he wants.

Okay...I think I am done

Some bonus simping for y'all

Oh sweet boy everything about your face disagrees with you

(somehow his eyes look even more doe-y with dishevelled hair)

That's all

I'll back tomorrow!

He's so WONDERFUL

Okay I'm really done now

[nightglider124]

Titans: Season 4 - Ep11 - Thoughts

I have finally watched the episode. My God, my day at work was agonizing; I looked at tumblr and saw gifs and posts and was like screaming cos I wanted to watch it.

Anyway, since I've just freshly finished watching it, I am gonna note down some thoughts!

So... I feel weirdly mixed on this episode? As an episode it was good but as the penultimate episode? Idk... I feel kinda meh about it? I don't wanna come across as negative and the rest of this will mostly be stuff I enjoyed since I actually did enjoy the majority of it and as an episode in itself, it was good but idk... the fact the finale is all that's left, I feel like it's gonna be rushed... or the actual action is gonna be over super quick etc and loose ends won't get tied up... and I hate to say it, but I am kinda now doubting what is in store for dk fans in the finale? I would have thought this episode would have had more than it did, I gotta say. Idk... I just felt I had to say that to begin with.

Sigh, Kory continues to be and will forever be my absolute favourite. Idgaf what haters say and shit, I love Anna as Kory. I really do. She might not be like some of the versions people know Kory from but I think she brings close qualities and if anything makes this version of Kory edgier. Like, I absolutely adore her. Starfire is my absolute favourite DC character. Always has been, always will. I basically support any and all versions of my baby girl since DC doesn't spotlight her as much as they should cos she's fucking amazing.

Kory's dreaming and shit has me nervous for her. Like, we all know by now some bad shit goes down and happens to Kory. I am so dreading it. I know that she's gonna be fine from BTS stuff but like... it's still gonna hurt like a motherfucker.

Mercy was an interesting addition this season, I gotta say. I like the actress a lot since her days on Coronation Street (UK soap opera) and honestly, seeing her get choke slammed by Kory had me grinning but I like in the end she is purely like fuck it, take the documents, whatevs. Gar was also hilarious in that scene like no we don't need them all but I'm taking them ehehehehe. XD

Was... Was I missing something with May?? Like I thought she was dead when he burnt her ass up last episode? I was really confused cos she was just walking about like that didn't happen. Did she die and come back or was she never dead?? What... was that bodybag scene in the last ep real? I thought it was a dream. It was weird. I mean she dead af now and I enjoyed her as Mother Mayhem; she really had the villain oomf. Sebastian is... lacking in comparison.

In addition to that, Sebastian had potential to be scary but honestly, he comes off as a whiney mamas boy like he is grating. XD

Conner... my boy, I am always so left and right with you. I'm glad he is actually team Titans but... idk something in me still isn't trusting his ass XD. Like, I thought the bit with him and Dick in the tunnel was him tricking Dick or something but seems legit. We'll agree to like Conner and trust him... for now. XD

So, I didn't mind the Jason and Tim scenes but fuck me, wrong time. Like, I'm sorry. It felt so badly placed. We are at the penultimate episode and we're now just getting some Tim training as Robin with Jason? Nah, I was annoyed. And, they spent so many scenes on it?? Like miss me with that bs. It felt unnecessary, imo.

Another sour note, I feel like we actually could have had a lot more Kory scenes considering the episode was called Project Starfire. Like, damn. I promise, that's my only really salty thing.

Now, ahem... the dickkory scene on the balcony was cute af. It really nicely reflected the scene in S1 at the motel. But, it was too shorttt! Their sweet scenes are just... always too short for my liking which is disappointing. I'm happy for all and any scenes but jeez.

Gar and Rachel talking about wanting a change and shit, I was like are y'all gonna leave the famjam?? Cos I will not be emotionally okay if that happens. I literally just saw a certain new hero film where this was also a thing like pls CAN YOU NOT. My heart can't.

Lmao, Dick in the chamber thing when they were powering the orb thing was hilarious. Like, boy done fucked up the whole plan bc of his own anxiety for his wife. It was cute and his concern was very obvious.

Also, side note, the bit where Dick, Rachel and Gar appear where Kory is with Mercy made me giggle. Like Dick was so huffy like 'Making new friends?' and it was unusual like in this series its a real rarity that Dick is annoyed at something Kory has done like he has let her get away with literal murder whilst batting eyelashes at her. So, it was like tehe. Ya know? I'm assuming others know what I mean.

ALSO. When in the chamber thing as they got to 98% and before Dick fucked it up, did you guys notice Kory's eyes? That tiny bit where it went a bit slower and her eyes like flickered from glowing to normal? Was that something up with her powers or am I imagining shit?

I think that's mostly my thoughts. I still don't know how to feel on the episode. It didn't blow me away and I feel like with penultimate episode, I should be? I got excited in like the very last minute where he blows the horn and Kory's like 'There's only one way to end this. My way.' like bitch is dead serious and I'm scared for my girl.

I'm hoping the finale is really good buuut... I have also seen screeners really hyping it up and I'm just not trusting it. So, I think I'm gonna try and go into the finale with as less an expectation as possible to avoid crushing disappointment. I'm not gonna have any theories or anything or scenes that I would ideally like bc I think that's how you get set up for disappointment.

I'm gonna enjoy the ride and just see where the finale takes us. Weird that this time next week, Titans will be over. Sad times. :(

One upside, I'm working til 3pm next week so I am gonna try my absolute HARDEST to avoid tumblr and just not look at the tags so I remain blissfully unaware of what happens. Even if it kills me.

Each week when I am at work and a new episode of Titans comes out, I literally refresh the dc titans and dickkory tag like a thousand times to get me through the day.

Anyways! Hope others liked this episode and see y'all for the finale!

[biconickyoshi]

I finished your fic in college the other day while working on a group project for the BBC and it made me flop around like a fish I LOVE, your writing so much. Like I love AUs in general when it comes to ATLA when the story changes in a small way since so much happens, but your fic makes me laugh, gasp, lots of emotions JEJFJWJF I just can't wait for the next chapter!!!!!!

Aww omg thank you so so much for the kind comments!! I say this all the time - comments/messages like this are what inspire me to keep writing :) I both love and kinda feel bad that my fic was distracting you from your project lol! I’m so glad that you are enjoying it that much!

I really wanted this AU to feel “realistic” (to a degree, obviously I’m taking some liberties) in that if Zuko did discover Aang first in canon, the events that are occurring in my AU would believably happen. I also have been trying to make sure that everyone is in character while at the same time accounting for changes that occur in their personalities as a result of the timeline/events being different. Especially Zuko - he’s the character who is probably the most different from canon, so I have been trying to make sure to show that while he has definitely changed for the better in that his innate good personality traits are shining through (kindness, loyalty, empathy), he still retains some of his core “negative” personality traits (impatience, irritability, impulsiveness).

I hope you continue to enjoy the story as I write more!! The next few chapters are going to be adaptations of actual episodes - I’m really trying to make them different enough that it doesn’t seem like I’m just copying and pasting the episode and throwing Iroh and Zuko in there lol. I really enjoyed writing the more original chapters (i.e. the SWT arc), but there are pros and cons to completely fabricating stories from my head instead of having an episode to base things on lol

Sorry for the long-ish response - sometimes I get carried away talking about the things I’m passionate about (and this fic is definitely one of them, which I suppose is a good thing haha)

Thanks so much again!! :)

[egg-emperor]

[Hefty sigh]

How does one get into sonic prime, I mean I adore where they're going for the story but I'm still struggling to get through s1 because the voice are just not clicking with me. Don't get me wrong here props to the Canadian VA's and the crew as a whole but the fact that I don't really vibe well with the chaos council as a concept [since they aren't really as menacing as the actual egg but I get what they're going for..... kinda.... ] This is like the one sonic media I can't personally click into, and I honest to God adored Underground/Boom so it's probably just a me-squick....

I have literally been a sonic fan since birth reading the comics so it's just tonal whiplash trying to get used to it- I'm lost in my own confusion that they already produced 3 seasons @_@;;; I just feel like I'm alone in feeling this or something idk I'm just merely screaming into the sonic-fandom wondering if anyone else felt this way hsbshbsshv ////

I'm just as clueless as you on that unfortunately lol. Respectfully I'm not a fan personally, I think the ideas had potential to be interesting if done right but I just don't find the execution appealing. I hate to say it and don't wanna be overly negative but I was honestly bored watching the first eight episodes, they were hard to get through and it was a bit of a letdown for me.

It feels underwhelming and repetitive because practically the same cycle of events happens each episode and it's not very interesting at that. I haven't watched any episodes past those, I watched nothing but the Eggman prismatic titan thing in the last batch and don't plan on watching the rest. I just decided it wasn't for me, not what I'm looking for in a Sonic show.

I'm sad I didn't end up liking it after being interested in where they could take it, especially with how much potential I feel New Yoke City had because it was conceptually right up my alley but execution is just not to my tastes and I've accepted it. I shouldn't be surprised as I'm not into most of the non game media ^^; I was just hoping for a modern show like X again

If they had more regular Eggman they could've changed my opinion a lot not gonna lie because the small 5 mins of him was great. Characterization was good, he was funny, his model and animation were gorgeous, voice was okayyy just needed some improvements, and I was interested in what he would've done with the prism had Sonic not shattered it and erased him from existence. When he practically died my interest went along with it sorry dhfjsbfksbfks

The Chaos Council just don't interest me personally because each are missing all the parts of Eggman combined that make him his lovable whole to me. And when you just want the real deal to still have his place like he seemed he was going to initially in the concept art, only for him to not be there at all, it's hard to get into it when you're thinking about what could've been. Also yeah they're just not menacing and don't bring the same exciting world shattering chaos and action the real deal does

And oh no they're really still only on the first season, eight episodes isn't a season. Netflix is just being weird about how they have it realized in batches and how it separates them but no way is eight episodes a whole season. They only had the first season made and released with huge gaps but maybe they'll order for a second one to be made.

But yeah you're not alone. It's very popular and I'm glad people can enjoy it but yeah it didn't click with me either and I can relate on feeling like the odd one out. But that makes two of us! and I do know others who just don't like it either and I don't think we should feel a pressure to try to get into it, if we don't like it and it's just not for us then it's fine

[waddlehekk]

Admittingly, I prefer early gremlin Manga Goemon before Shin Lupin since Goemon became more stoic over time and the 2-parter Shooting Goemon and Goemon Star almost soured me on his later portrayal. However, I likely missed the point of the chapters. Later chapters highlighting him saving Zenigata and being too good to participate in the human filth race reversed my negative opinion, and I also wonder why manga Goemon's other skills with shuriken, iron-thread traps, etc. are overlooked too often.

Hey, thanks for the message! I can help explain the importance of Goemon's techniques and why they're only in the manga, and the way Goemon’s character changes in Shin. Sorry if this is too long lol.

If you haven’t checked them out yet, I really suggest you read Chapter 62, “Chasing Tail”, and my post about “Drifting Chronicles 1-3″. I get why you didn’t like much of his portrayal in “Shooting Goemon” and “Goemon Star” with how serious he is. I thought his reaction to Nami trying to sleep with him was funny at least, and I love the idea of him enjoying the ocean. There’s also a line I really like from Lupin that Tokyopop cut out where he tells Goemon, “Yes, her eyes were as clear as yours.” It was instead changed to a really weird comment about liking Nami being underage. These chapters mainly exist to offer a little context behind Ryusei, which was just briefly brought up being made of a shooting star in the first chapter (thank you Tokyopop for also cutting this out). They also kind of speak on how stubborn/determined Goemon can be, which chapters 120 and 137 show.

About Goemon's techniques, the chapter "A Day Without Killing" is very important, not only because how it is the basis for Goemon's growth in Shin and is referenced in "Goemon Prison", but also because it establishes that Goemon is okay with leaving behind part of the world he grew up in, primarily because he is accepting of new ideas. In the chapter that introduces Goemon, unlike what the Tokyopop translation says, he actually says he thinks it's okay to adopt Western culture for the good that it is, though he is shown to be naive to it, and he just wishes that Lupin and Jigen can recognize Japanese culture with it too. This is unlike the anime where he is typically depicted as disliking Western culture. I think Part 1 may have originally been going for something similar to the manga with how Goemon was using a radio secretly when his master wasn’t around, but it seems this idea was abandoned. His different hair color in the manga also implies that he isn't purely Japanese.

His techniques like with shuriken, iron-thread traps, and his most frequent one, throwing his own sword with a string attached to it, aren't really samurai techniques and yet are used anyways because Goemon is not actually a samurai in the manga, he's more like a swordsman, but the anime insists instead on Goemon being a samurai. He’s never even called a samurai in the manga. Goemon's rejection of certain samurai practices while retaining others aligns with both his open-minded perspective and his choice of leaving his masters because the manga as a whole represents the idea of freedom, particularly with Lupin, who as stated by MP, aligns with no style or nationality. In the anime, Goemon did not reject his master, he was instead rejected by him, and so it makes sense why he does not use these techniques.

Ok about Goemon becoming “stoic” over time, I kind of disagree because it isn’t exactly stoicism he’s growing into, though I honestly first thought that with the perspective of how Goemon is in the anime and how episodic it is. Sure, maybe MP was influenced by the Parts 1-2 a bit, he did start drawing Goemon closer to the anime years after the manga finished likely due to how much more recognizable it is, but there’s a very different theme being told and I think it’s really more that Goemon is still the same person as he was originally, but he’s been broken emotionally. The manga is very episodic with its adventures but there are some continuities throughout it. He’s still very silly in the beginning of Shin, but he certainly seems as though he has matured a bit.

Chapter 31, “Strange Bedfellows” is when Goemon is tortured nearly to death for the secret to Lupin’s weakness, but he refuses to say it, instead smiling and saying he trusts Lupin. When Lupin saves him and hugs him, it’s the most serious he’s ever been in the manga (have you ever noticed that in each manga in the series Lupin only really freaks out when he thinks Jigen and Goemon are hurt). I think it’s from this chapter where Goemon starts becoming more serious, and understandably so. Even then, though, he still refuses to kill at times. Then there is Chapter 100, “Hardened Steel”, which pushes Goemon even more as he ends up going on a murder spree for the child that died. He may be morally conflicted, and his hair, like it has before, covers his eyes to show he is upset.

Towards the end as the stakes get higher, he suddenly becomes more cheerful like how he used to be, but there are hints of something not being right. He appears upset when the others don’t notice, his fighting ability becomes stronger, and at least one of his eyes are always covered by his hair with often both being covered. He only ever covered his eyes in the past when he was upset, so why would he now start covering his eyes while holding a smile on his face? I think it’s because he’s just trying to cheer the others up while hiding what he feels. Before the end is reached after the special San Francisco arc, Goemon manages to prove himself deadly when training against Jigen as he balances an apple on his head, slicing and dodging bullets while sitting down, and even lands a knife on Jigen without him noticing, then he uncovers and takes down the fake Lupin, and after that in the last 2 fights before the ending, he takes over the fights entirely to save Lupin and Jigen. He's gone a long way from how weak he used to be.

I REALLY don’t want to spoil the ending of Shin Lupin and what Goemon says in it, but it does reveal how Goemon truly feels about himself. I picture him as a pure-hearted young man slowly torn apart by the harsh world around him, and in a way, he is forced to become the killing machine his masters wanted him to become. It’s tragic because he really doesn’t belong in the criminal world he’s in.

[markrosewater]

*DRIVE TO WORK PODCAST TOPIC IDEA* Hello,

I would really like to hear you explain the reason for the 13+ recommendation for Magic and talk about teaching Magic to those under 13. Is the age recommendation due to the game's complexity, themes/art, or both? I am sure you or your coworkers must have had experiences teaching Magic to their kids as they grew up. One of the things I love about Magic is that, at its core, it is actually a pretty simple game that can be scaled up to something beyond complex. Has there ever been any talk about marketing a product to younger kids? There does not seem to be that much about teaching Magic to younger kids on the internet. I think it would be beneficial for a lot of people if you could share your advice or any stories you might have about teaching younger kids magic. If you have already covered this already, please let me know the episode.

(Some background if you have time to read it) I taught my five-year-old son the basics of the game with 40 card mono color decks with old-school vanilla creatures and basic instant and sorceries. The decks played more than four copies of some cards, so it was easier for him to memorize stuff he could not yet read, and I made the decks to showcase each color's mechanics.  The only real issue was finding age-appropriate art, but I was able to dig through all my older cards for weaker-powered things that were not too gruesome, and Lorwyn / Morningtide has a lot more kid-friendly stuff. He was really into it for a bit but transitioned to playing pokemon, although his interest has now renewed at age 7, and now my 4-year-old son really wants to play too.  I have put together a giant box of kid-friendly cards, and now they can explore what things they would like to use to build their own decks.

(Also, sorry if this message comes up a few times for you. I know you get a million messages every day, and I feel like this is not the most horrible thing to send a few times a week to make sure you get to see it)

I can't thank you enough for everything you have done for the game and everything you continue to do. It is truly amazing to me how you interact so much with the magic community and how transparent you are about so many things. We are incredibly lucky to have someone with the ability to brush off the infinite negative comments and continue to listen and share so much with the player base.  

Thank you

The 13+ designation is all about rules that have to do with packaging laws. It's not some sign that we believe kids under 13 can't learn and enjoy Magic. When I met Dana Fischer, for example, she was 6 years old and playing in Grand Prix events.

[stellarlex]

Hey Marinette and Adrien salter here. feel free to ignore if you dont wanna read negative stuff >,<

Until now I thought both are equally bad characters bc they dont seem to care for each other but reading your posts I changed my mind on Marinette a bit.

They are a team so I always expected them both to be kind to each other but Marinette is sometimes very harsh to him. Since Cat Noir is also Adrien I saw her as superficial like how can you love and dislike the same person at the same time??? Dont get me wrong tho, I never liked how Cat Noir pursued Ladybug. I just thought "well Adrien is Cat Noir and if Marinette ACTUALLY knew his real self she would not like him. She only likes the character traits that she can see, she doesn't dig deeper.

Reading some of your posts i thought a little about their realtionship and I feel like Adrien shouldnt have a miraculous. I didnt watch SE 4 but when he put that ring down in kuroneko...dude...is a potential relationship with ladybug really the only reason you were a superhero? You cant just enjoy the time you spend together and be happy with that? What a slap in the face.

Marinette deserves a better partner. I hope she will eventually realize what kind of guy Adrien is...

sorry if this is an unwarranted rant >.< Have a nice day!

Thank you for sending an ask and sharing your view on things. I used to be a LS shipper and then Season 2 & 3 hit and I realized that something wasn’t right. I realized just how targeted Marinette was by the writing and it upset me greatly. She apologizes more than anyone else in the show.

(If you go to miraculous content’s blog they have gone through the entire show and made a chart to show the ratio of how many times Marinette apologizes compared to the other characters and it’s HUGE)

To be fair though, I started having inklings in Season 1 as well. The writing is so targeted towards Marinette that most people fall for the writing and began hating her. It’s designed to make her look bad and make things her fault even if it doesn’t make sense.

Like Gamer in Season 1. It’s framed to make her look bad for taking Max’s spot but the thing is, it was never his spot. It was a competition and he was still competing. Marinette may have entered to play with Adrien but that’s not bad. She barely ever got to spend time with him because of his schedule but because it was for Adrien she was found to be wrong.

How? She entered fairly, played fairly, and won fairly. Even Max said so, even though he was bitter and a sore loser about it. And what about the people who lost the competition before Marinette entered, none of them got akumatized. And what if Max beat any friends of his who were also in the competition? You don’t see anyone get bitter, just him.

Thomas has already admitted that Marinette has to learn a lesson ever episode, so he’s basically saying that Marinette is wrong every episode. But the thing is, she isn’t. If this was a show for small children I’d say ok. But it’s not and Thomas knows it’s not. The show depicts Marinette trying her hardest trying to change herself but either she’s not believed or she’s dismissed and forced into interacting with Adrien.

And yet Thomas says Adrien is perfect and he knows that’s not true either but the writing tries and fails to show Adrien as morally right. Adrien’s social understanding is low, how can he be morally right in situations he’s never experienced.

It’s a double standard that’s designed to make Marinette look like the bad guy even though she didn’t do anything wrong. I implore you to rewatch the episodes, or read other people’s analysis for Marinette’s side of things to get a better perspective of things.

[doctorofmagic]

My thoughts on What If... Doctor Strange Lost His Heart Instead of His Hands?

The very title of the episode sends a shiver down my spine. And this is where we’re going to start.

~ long post under the cut ~

A year ago, I wrote this post as an attemp to dive into one of the most important traits in Doctor Strange’s personality: love. Stephen is a being made of love, made to love, no matter which interpretation you have when you watch Infinity War. If you don’t read comic books, you’ll understand the moment you meet Donna. You’ll begin to understand how her death reshaped his entire subjectivity out of fear of failing, being powerless and unable to control everything around him (especially death), thus the arrogant and yet a disaster of a man we all know.

Where do I even start? Stephen loved her sister deeply and felt responsible for her death. And then, slowly, he also lost his parents and his brother. He fell in love with Clea but he also pushed her away. He loved Zelma platonically and lied to her, which was enough for them to break their bond. He felt attracted to Kanna but screwed things up, even though they remain friends. He was forced to kill the Ancient One, the only father figure he had ever since his father died. And lastly, the only person who would never leave his side... also left. Yes, even Wong. Stephen has SO much love to give but he’s also afraid because he’s cursed. He truly believes his love in poison. And would you look at that? What If really delivered a story where this is actually true.

What If Doctor Strange Lost His Heart Instead of His Hands?

The level of understanding when it comes to the character is... inconceivable. What could possibly reshape Stephen into following a dark path but love? The very premise of the whole episode. This is so much more than a love letter. This is literally too much, in all senses.

Fine, let’s begin.

What if the best of intentions has very strange consequences?

No. You used the word “strange” for the pun but this is not the word. Nah-ah. I’d go with ATROCIOUS, for starters. Things are gonna escalate so quickly, my friends.

Seriously, tho? Christine is SO SO SO SO beautiful, they’re so cute together. I have this feeling that MCU!Stephen was quite toxic because of his arrogance and this is why they didn’t work out. But WhatIf!Stephen???????? He’s always praising her, teasing her in a healthy way, respecting her and listening to her. HE TRULY LOVES HER, I’M GONNA CRY ALL OVER AGAIN, PLEASE, NOT THE CRÈME BRÛLÉE, PLEASE

I’m going to leave this shot here because we need to go back to it later. Hold that thought.

And bonus points to “Yeah, well, I would call that quite remarkable.” / “Well, I would say the same about you.”

GODS. THE PAIN. STOP THE PAIN.

So in this reality, Stephen didn’t caused the car accident because he was checking his phone while driving. Also it was not the reckless attempt to pass the truck. Well, maybe it was the consequence of this act? The fact is, the car behind them loses control, which makes them crash. Does it matter? We’ll learn later that no, it doesn’t.

And yep... Christine dies. Have you noticed the shattered heart? Ah, the pain only gets better and better.

Again, Stephen blames himself. More than anything, this is so important because Stephen is all about guilt. We still need to meet Donna so we can add yet another layer of guilt. But the feeling exists. This is what corrupts Stephen’s heart and soul in all his iterations. This is what makes him the character I love so much. I love this SO. MUCH. In addition, his stubbornness to accept his condition. Man won’t take a no. This, this is Doctor Strange in character. Stop complaining about NWH Stephen, it’s pathetic.

Okay, “grief-stricken”, Stephen found the Mystic Arts and became a sorcerer. That’s when he learned about the Time Stone, the Eye of Agamotto and Dormammu. Nothing changes, he saves the universe. But time does not heal his deepest wound.

I love Wong so much. Every time Wong does something, the world is healed. Really. We’re going back to him as well but for now I’ll just leave this shot.

BUT STEPHEN, DOING SOMETHING RECKLESS? HE’D NEVAH

Aaaaaaaannnnnnd then he did.

He goes back in time. It’s been two years since he lost Christine. I think he reacted pretty nicely, despite the circumstances. Now let’s go back to that shot I said I was saving for later.

Stephen is so light-hearted here. Also, during the first time he lost Christine, he had no idea what “The Price is Right” was. He knows now, which means he probably tried to learn more about the show because of her, because of grief. HAHAHA MORE PAIN

AND THEN HE

AND THEN SHE DIES AGAIN

AND THEN HE KEEPS GOING BACK IN TIME

AND SHE KEEPS DYING

AND THE MUSIC

AND HIS VOICE

AND HE TRIES TO CHANGE FATE BUT IT CAN’T BE AVERTED

HE EVEN TRIES TO STAY AWAY FROM HER LIFE BUT SHE DIES ALL THE SAME, WHY

AND EVERY TIME THEY CRASH, HE FEELS THE PHYSICAL AND EMOTIONAL PAIN AGAIN AND AGAIN AND AGAIN, WHY

I’M-- *ugly sobbing noises*

Apparently, not.

And this scene when he simply... closes his eyes before she dies again...?

This is where this episode had me in endless tears. It got me the four times I watched it. I’m dead serious.

Okay, so, next the Ancient One appears to Stephen, explaining that Christine’s death is an Absolute Point in time. It cannot be changed. Stephen needs the accident to become the Sorcerer Supreme and defeat Dormammu.

And this is where Stephen starts his journey into darkness. “Nothing is impossible, you taught me that. I only require more power.” Disobeying the Ancient One, Stephen then travels in time, seeking the Library of Cagliostro. Now, if you’re not aware of that, Cagliostro was a sorcerer who studied time in comics, and later became Sise-Neg (there’s a recent post on this because of the new Defenders run). It’s funny to think that Sise-Neg also destroyed the world when he became a god, however he grew past his pettiness and remade reality. Stephen did not possess such power, as we’re about to see.

PS: “Stop torturing yourself, Stephen.” Naur but he should use this line like a mantra. Especially comics!Stephen.

Not gonna lie, tho. This place reminds me of the Temple of the Vishanti from T&T (of course I was going to insert T&T somewhere, it’s me).

And of course they’d go for a pun with his name haha. I don’t know how to feel about this, tho. I feel like the episode is too heavy and dark for comedy. But it is what it is.

Okay but why some books are in cages??????????? And wow, it seems Cagliostro also gathered knowledge about several fields of magic.

And then Stephen learns that, in order to break an Absolute Point, he needs to absorb more power. This is when I went “oh-oh, here we go”.

And for real, is this Shuma-Gorath? Why are they keeping his name a secret? Is this the same creature from the first episode with Captain Carter, right? RIGHT? It has to be Shuma-Gorath.

Of course he tries to be polite and ends up all hurt haha. O’Bengh warns him about love but he will not listen. “Love can break more than your heart. It can shatter your mind.”/ “Is she worth the pain?”. Please, this is Stephen. He eats pain for breakfast.

Also, also, let’s take a break. We’re finally going to get monsterf0cker tentacle-lover Stephen Strange. It will cost us everything but here we goooooooooooo (yes, I went frame by frame for your more obscure fanservice needs)

Gods, I love this sequence so much it hurts. Okay, here we go.

Shmebulock???????????

AND HE STOLE THE CAPE??????????? AND DREW THE LINE ON BUGS??????

The grasp this man is holding on me right now...

Some of you will understand. I’m with you.

And here are the grostesque ones. These are hard to take SS but I had to.

Animation, sound effects, OST? CHEF’S KISS TO ALL

And lastly... the tentacles. Yeah, if you’re new... this is a thing.

Fanservice. Fanservice everywhere. (low-key the reason I also waited to write this review, I wanted to enjoy this part so badly but I was too sad for that lmao)

Okay so. O’Bengh is suddenly OLD and DYING, until we realize that Stephen spent CENTURIES absorbing mystic beings. CENTURIES. WTF STEPHEN. He had nothing in mind but the goal to save Christine. And people wonder why he went insane???? I’m sorry, O’Bengh, but I can’t take you serious when you still call Stephen Sorcerer Armani. Oh, and also because you watched him absorb beings for centuries in silence lmao. But I guess I have to because you said that Stephen is split in two since the Ancient One cast a spell on him, splitting the timelines and making them exist in the same reality before he could travel back in time. I know, it’s complex. Anything for the plot.

And now good!Stephen has an evil!twin who wants to absorb him back in order to become whole and break the Absolute Point. Cool.

I said I wanted to talk more about Wong because I think people are not talking about him enough. Wong is so important in this episode. He’s the one who’s trying to heal Stephen after Christine. He’s Stephen’s anchor.

Also, THEY FINALLY USED A SPELL WITH THE NAME OF THE VISHANTI. HOORAAAAY

So, for the sake of our understanding, I’m addressing the characters as evil and good!Stephen. Let’s go. Evil!Stephen summons good!Stephen and gods, he still holds such a strong grasp on me... unbelievable. THE DEEPER VOICE BENEDICT USES???? PLEASE, DIDN’T WE HAVE ENOUGH?

Imagine his strength to hold so many beings inside him, fighting to control him. BRO, THIS IS TOO TOO MUCH

Fine, I’ll not post SS about the fight because I’d be here all night long but I WILL say this: NOT CLOAKIE!!!!! NAAAAAAAAAAUR

Also if you ask me if I recognize any of the spells? Maaaaybe the Flames of Faltine, the not-so-crimson Bands of Cyttorak and a little trick Magik does with her portals. That’s how far I go.

I’ll not comment on the “seducing yourself to stay in the trap”. I will not. I’ll just say that the first person Stephen thought of when “Christine” was talking about the crème brûlée was Wong. That’s it.

And finally evil!Stephen absorbs good!Stephen and releases... UNLIMITED POWER (I love when the stone goes red as if it was bleeding aaaaaaa)

I can fix him...

This scene here? Poetic cinema. (I love his wings so much)

And when Stephen says her name and the other monsters’ voices echo “Christine”, AAAAAACKKKK

AND OF COURSE CHRISTINE WOULD FREAK OUT, BRO. LOOK AT WHAT YOU’VE BECOME BECAUSE OF YOUR TWISTED LOVE. I’M NOT DOING FINE.

Oh, but it’s too late anyways because Stephen broke reality haha. This scene is interesting because Stephen is the only one who sensed and/or talked to the Watcher until now. I read an interview that the Watcher kinda showed up but it’s also about Stephen’s keen senses. Bit of both, let’s say. Still, man, 616-Watcher is not that cold. 616-Watcher would watch this and say “how about I intervene anyway?”. WhatIf!Watcher is brutal.

The way Christine looks at Stephen one last time also KILLS ME, DESTROYS ME, BREAK ME INTO A MILLION PIECES.

And this is where my soul left my body.

This is how they end the episode. This is how you leave me speechless and with teary eyes. This is how you give me a whole existential crisis.

This... this was brutal to watch. Really.

What can I say after this? I’m used to reading painful things when it comes to Stephen. Aaron’s and Cates’ runs are heartbreaking on so many levels. Hickman’s New Avengers is not easier. Coincidentally, What If? Magik Became Sorcerer Supreme and The End. And now Death of Doctor Strange. And yet, after everything I’ve been through, I’d never expect to watch something so brilliant, so tragic, so heartbreaking and unexpected in the MCU. Never. This is top tier content and this is my favorite character with SO MANY LAYERS and SO MUCH UNDERSTANDING. I can’t put into words how meaningful this whole episode is to me, or how deep it touched my heart and soul.

I’ve been struggling to find the proper words since then, I still can’t. All I can add is, I cried for the 4th time now. This is too, too much, even for Stephen stans. Even for the ones who are used to pain, regardless of which media you’re into: comic books, live actions or animated movies. This is literally more than I can take and yet I’m so, so grateful. The voice acting, gods, how did Benedict manage to create a better Stephen than the one he’s literally playing in real life???????????? HOW

This episode really took the max potential Stephen had to offer as a character, added tons and tons of layers based on his grief, depression, arrogance and need to control everything and created a tragic masterpiece. In 7 years of being a Doctor Strange fan, I've never read or watch something that could go this deep into the character. The closest I can think of is Mr. Misery and the metaphor of Stephen's depression. This is a whole new level of respect and understanding. This is more than a love letter. This is peak maestry. It’s perfect, it’s heartbreaking, it’s... gods, I can’t.

Sorry for dragging you until this far. Before I wrap up this review, I just wanted to remind you all that Stephen will appear again, he will smile again, he will be surrounded by people again. So this is not the end. It was painful but be brave. We still have a few more steps to take.