#also the animation looks like the netflix show (it’s bad)

[angst-is-love-angst-is-life]

Well

Kung fu panda 4 will certainly exist

[01tsubomi]

apparently disney+ made a stargirl movie in 2020 and it’s strange i didn’t know about it until searching “lgbt” on disney+ (since netflix apparently has, count ‘em, zero live-action yuri series) which is a whole other can of worms bc unless they adapted the (still perfectly good) story for modern times the only thing lgbt about it is that it follows a girl who’s not scared to look weird. speaking of which

this is how they styled stargirl in the movie. and yeah it’s a little out there and i don’t really remember how her outfits are described but times and styles have changed enough since the early 2000s that teenagers who look like this are everywhere. at a more conservative school yeah maybe there’d be nobody with this cardigan but if i saw this girl on the street i’d just be like aw i love gay kids

[waterberry-strawmelon]

finally watched rottmnt movie! i’ll put my thoughts below the cut lol

so basically, i...just kinda thought it was okay? nothing great, unfortunately? it obviously had some great moments, but i think the arc of the movie as a whole was hindered by a couple key things:

1. it was kinda just Leo: The Movie. and i didnt really dig that. i think it would’ve made a much stronger story if they’d had ALL the turtles grow in some kind of way, but all of them stayed static except for Leo.

2. and even if people WERE clamoring for a Leo-centric movie for some reason, his movie arc is LITERALLY AN OBSTACLE HE’S ALREADY OVERCOME IN THE MAIN SERIES. IT’S LITERALLY A POINT OF GROWTH FOR HIM TO STOP BEING SO ARROGANT ALL THE TIME AND WORK AS A TEAM. THEY ALREADY RESOLVED THIS?!?!?!?! ASJHCFJKNHKGMH. just...why????

3. i’ve heard people saying that the creative team was pressured to make this as appealing as possible even to tmnt fans who maybe didnt actually watch Rise, but in the end it that means we lose a LOT of what made the Rise characterizations and writing so great in the series itself. the writing isn’t as snappy or quirky; maybe these writers are just more suited for writing serialized stories instead of a feature-length story, and that’s fine! or maybe they felt the need/were pressured to tone down some of the more Rise-specific narrative style, if that makes any sense. (small example that i feel reflects this vibe: the moment where they finally call themselves the teenage mutant ninja turtles. it was a running gag in the show to never actually claim that name for themselves in that exact order, and so when they finally do, it feels almost inauthentic, because i think that running gag helped re-inforce the whole theme this series was going for in terms of separating this iteration of the Turtles from the past iterations and really stepping out and making their own way. that’s the joy of the Rise series, honestly, is how unafraid they are to make their OWN world with these characters without diverging completely from the source material.) And i couldn’t help but feel the stark absence of the typical Rise running jokes/catch phrases/references in the movie. that’s something i love so much about the show: the careful attention to detail in maintaining continuity and continuing/resolving past gags. they literally only said “hot soup!” twice in this movie. and i feel like that’s really, really indicative of the whole vibe of it, honestly. it just lacks the explosive energy that makes the show so great. :(

as for a couple key things i did like:

the animation was obviously gorgeous, just as it is in the main series, too. seriously, rottmnt has forever spoiled me for tv series animation. and i did really like what they did with the Krang! THIS part certainly felt like how the series normally runs—taking a traditional TMNT concept and breathing fresh, new life into it, making it take on a different form so it’s unique to THIS tmnt universe. i love it!!

they went out of their way to devote time to donnie’s softshell! ahhhhhh!!!!!!! i love it!!!!!! (tho i think a majority of donnie’s dialogue was missing a little.... je ne sais quois. the donnie-ness, if you will. his snark often felt either too dry, or not quite witty enough—never in the sweet spot that it’d hit in the show. but maybe im just being nitpicky and other fans didn’t really find a problem with it!)

the escape pods just as a general concept were fucking GREAT. (tho here’s another negative, oops: i feel like donnie’s tech didn’t feature in the movie NEARLY as much as it does in the show, precisely because of how this was trying to still have watch value even for non-Rise fans. i mean, the number of times donnie’s been without a battle shell and just called one to him remotely, and yet somehow that couldn’t happen this time? am i missing something here or.....?)

all in all, it was definitely enjoyable, but i’d say it has MUCH lower re-watch value than the show does for me. i think what’s the most telling, though, is how i teared up and had goose-bumps for the entire final fifteen minutes during the Rise series finale, during the absolutely GORGEOUS Shredder fight scene—which was even better than the final battle in the movie, imo (though the fight scenes in the film still looked fucking amazing). i truly loved the emotional catharsis at the end of the movie, and mikey’s big savior moment was well-executed, too (huge shout out to the movie soundtrack which really helped drive the tension and emotion in critical scenes like this!), but all in all, i guess i’ve just got one thing to say to sum up how i’m feeling:

i never thought i’d prefer leo’s odachi over his katana.

[rockpaperimpala]

So about Netflix's the Last Airbender....

I am literally so confused you guys. You made me think I would HATE this show. And I LOVED it. Me. Known perfectionist and hater.

Katara was lovely. Yes, she started as a more soft spoken character than her cartoon version, but she was still passionate and hopeful throughout, just visibly unsure of herself. I think people were thrown off by this actress' natural way of expressing herself, which is Different from animated katara for sure, but not bad. Then she spends the whole season growing in Confidence and Fire. I Adored her fight with Paku, it really did feel like a payout of the whole season's development, and the bending kicked ass!

The Bending Kicked ass!!! The martial arts was fun and fast and creative and exciting! It looked SO good. That alone would be enough reason for me to watch and enjoy any show.

Zuko's actor was fantastic. He really captured the rage and confusion of this 16 year old banished prince. And there were so many Added moments between him and Iroh wich to me enriched their relationship. Like YES! This is why I'm watching, to see more of them, to see things done a little differently.

Iroh facing the consequences of his actions at Ba Sing Se!! That's what I'm here for!

Zuko's relationship with the men on his ship! That's what I'm here for!

The Extra layers we get to Ozai manipulating his children!

Also no one is talking about Admiral Zhao, who I had SO much fun with. I feel like they slightly fleshed out his character in a really dramatic way, really developing the hubris and frankly insane grasping ambition of someone who would kill the moon. I completely enjoyed this wilder, less controlled version of him, who comes up through the season from basically nothing and no one!

I am OBSESSED with King BUMI and his anger and disillusionment with the world! Like this was SO real. Living a hundred years of futile war would do that!!!! It is one of my favorite changes to the whole series. This new layer of emotion and character depth is what I'm here for!

Sokka was SO funny. He literally had me laughing out loud so often. That actor GETs Sokka, and GETS the way his humor is delivered. And is also able to tap into the more vulnerable side of him. People said he was "obsessed" with leadership. WHAT? That is a young person trying desperately to do his best and to try and find his place in the world, to figure what he has to offer. I loved his pride at hearing the Mechanist say that he would make a good engineer, and the sweetness of the moment that Yue's father says that he can be a hero without being a warrior. Sokka does so much growth in this series, in understanding himself and life.

And his chemistry with Suki was adorable!! I even like him and Yue (who was a totally unexpected sweetheart, despite her terrible wig)!! Like he has that same ability that Sokka has in the original to Connect with people.

Aang was great! He WAS fun loving and sweet and funny. I don't know what you guys wanted. Cartoons are always bigger and more exaggerated than live action. People's eyes swell up an, birds fly around their heads, and there are funny sound effects. That larger than life quality is the strength of animation! You have to look for different strength in live action. Like the SUBTLETIES of the acting choices. This little actor brought so much kindness, innocence, and strength to Aang.

And I FELT his frustration at being asked to do this at 12, his fresh hope anytime it looked like someone more experienced would be able to help him and no one did, and that's why he didn't learn waterbending this season, because he kept waiting for an freaking ADULT to show him the way, to help him carry this immense burden, but every adult he meets asks him for help instead, asks him to carry it himself, and then the finale hits and he realizes that there won't be any adults helping, he does have figure this out himself, and he makes the hard choice, takes on responsibility more than his years and offers himself to the ocean spirit, and he might have been lost entirely if not for Katara!

And that counter running theme to the show pays off: that he doesn't have to do it alone. He may not have more experienced guidance, because the adults have let him down again and again, but his friends will be with him, and they will figure it out together!

This is there throughout the series! Katara tells him this about learning waterbending, when he says he still wants to wait. Bumi tells him this in the palace at Omashu, and Aang sees the faith he has in his friends repaid!

I like these changes! And the show still found time for silly fun adventures and character building moments.

The show was never going to be the animated original. That is already a Masterpiece, and it frankly did NOT need to be adapted at all. I did not WANT a live action adaptation. I was adamantly convinced I would hate it. But the changes that they netflix show gave are what I Iike most about it. If I want to see Zuko say "you rise with the moon, I rise with the sun," I will go watch the animated original, because that version is perfect. And now, if i want to see Zuko say "Lu ten would have been proud to have you as a father," and see iroh pull him into a tight hug, I can watch this live action version, which is very good too. I'm going to disagree with most of the people on here and say that the Netflix's Avatar: The Last Airbender, DOES capture the heart of what we liked about the original show. It's spirit, fun, excitement, and characters. And the changes made are the reason we should be watching.

[strawbvrriluv]

can you do soft chris sucking tittys after a hard day but make the story kinda long

I LOVE Boobs

ᴘᴀɪʀɪɴɢꜱ: ᴄʜʀɪꜱ ꜱᴛᴜʀɴɪᴏʟᴏ x ʀᴇᴀᴅᴇʀ

ꜱᴜᴍᴍᴀʀʏ: ʙᴀᴅ ᴅᴀʏ = ʙᴏᴏʙꜱ

ᴡᴀʀɴɪɴɢꜱ: ꜱᴍᴜᴛ(ɪꜱʜ), ʙᴏᴏʙ ᴘʟᴀʏ?, ꜱᴏꜰᴛ ᴄʜʀɪꜱ

꧁༺ ᴍᴀꜱᴛᴇʀʟɪꜱᴛ༻꧂

Your POV:

I sighed frustrated, Chris was being cold and distance on text which wasn’t like him.

Maybe he had a bad day, but he shouldn’t take it out on me that wasn’t fair.

I laid down on the couch watching some random show on Netflix as I heard my apartment door open. I sat up looking at my door to see my boyfriend Chris walk in.

"How was your day?"

I asked smiling softly at him, hoping he’d open up and talk to me about it. Instead of doing that though he ignored me as he took his shoes off.

He then mumbled an okay and walked straight into my bedroom, I got up from the couch and followed behind him. I sighed running my hand through my hair.

"Did you have a bad day?" My voice low as he turned to face me in the doorway. He rolled his eyes scoffing, as he stuck his tounge out in his cheek.

"Can we just not right now."

His voice was cold, not the kind of tone you'd use with your girlfriend. I put my hands up in defeat not wanting to fight with him.

As I walked back to the living room, I sat down on the couch calling Nick.

"What's up?" Nick's voice rang through the phone as I paused for a second.

"Is Chris okay he-" Before I could finish my sentence I heard Nick sigh and say something I couldn't make out to Matt.

"He's fine. He is just being a baby that's all. We awnsered questions in our video and a lot were about you and him dating than just about him. He got upset about it." Nick explained as I furrowed my brows together.

"Okay. Thank you Nick" I said before hanging up. I sat down for a few minutes debating if I should go and talk to Chris or let him calm down a bit before I talked to him.

I stood up walking to my bedroom, my door was kind opened as I peeked in. Chris was laying down on my bed cuddling with a stuffed animal I had.

"Do you wanna talk about what happened today?" I asked, as I walked in the room sitting down next to him as I moved some of his light fluffy brown hair out of his face.

"No I don't want to talk about it. I heard you talking to Nick. I'm not just some baby. I sure as hell do not need to be treated like that either." Chris said sitting up looking at me with an angry expression.

I looked at him for a moment not sure what to say, he usually wasn’t this upset or cared if I asked his brothers what was up with him.

"I'm sorry I called Nick, I was worried and for the record I don't think you're a baby at all. I just want you to talk to me. You have been cold and distance towards me all day. That isn’t fair at all.”

I placed my hand on his cheek as I kissed his forehead softly. He sighed and looked down at his hands in his lap.

"I know I’m sorry… It’s just w e were doing a Q and A. Every question was about our love life, why we didn't post one another as much anymore. They even asked if we broke up. Some were even asking if you cheated on me and all these rumors I know shouldn't let get to me but they did. And I didn't want to finish the stupid video. Matt and Nick got on me for it and said some shit and we got into a fight." Chris explained as I listened nodding along with his story.

I looked at his hands fidgeting with one another as I grabbed them into mine.

"Hey, it's okay baby. I know they got to you, but that's okay. I love you and you love me that is all that matters. Not what some hardcore borderline obsessed fans think. And I know Chris and Matt just want to finish videos but they should also listen to your boundaries. Im so sorry that happened, what can I do to make you feel better?" I asked as he looked up at me blush slowly creeping onto his face.

"U-uh.. I don't know.."

"You do know baby what is it?"

He gulped as looked up at me making eye contact before looking down at my boobs.

I raised an eyebrow, "You want to play with my boobs?"

This question set him off as he tried explaining but failing due to his stutering and embrassment.

“I-I mean Maybe.. But like we d-don’t have to do that since like y’know w-we’ve never done that before and-“

I giggled a bit at his blushing and antics before shushing him.

"I was joking with you, you can if you ask properly."

He furrwoed his brows as he sighed, "Y/n.. Can I play with your.. Y-your um... B-boobs." He said trying his best not to sound stupid as I smiled at him and nodded.

"Words please" He asked as I rolled my eyes, "Yes baby".

Hearing the magic words he pushed me down on my mattress his lips colliding with mine as he moved up my shirt.

I wasn't wearing a bra because I was home all day, he inhaled looking at my boobs as he grabbed them both moving them around.

“God I think I feel better already” He said smirking a bit as I rolled my eyes.

He kissed them both before piniching my left nipple with his fingers as he began to suck on the right one.

My head fell backward onto the pillow as a breathless moan came out of my mouth.

His tonuge swerling against me causing the lower half of my body to get butterflies.

"Mmmm... Your boobs are so perfect ma. I love them, I could suck on them all day" Chris said softly leaving my right nipple with a pop between his lips.

He moved to my left one leaving a bunch of small kisses around it.

He moved towards the bottom of my boob sucking on it leaving small hickeys in places only he would be able to see.

My hand found it's way into his hair as I pulled on it slightly.

"I love you ma. I love you so so so so much" He said looking up at my face, as he went up to kiss my nose. I smiled softly as he kissed me. His scent being the only thing I could smell or think about.

He was intoxicating, every time he would pull me in more like a drug.

"I love you more" I said after we finished kissing, his hands still on my boobs as he went back down.

He pinched my left nipple before putting his mouth over it sucking on it. I arched my back a bit due to the sudden contact, my body feeling like it was on fire.

He cupped my boob with his hand as he began sucking harder.

“Mmm… You’re mine. You’re all mine”

He whispered softly before going back onto my boob.

His other hand finding any place on my body to touch or pinch.

His hand roamed down to my hips as he held it for a bit.

He moved from my boobs down to my lower stomach fluttering them with kisses as he went back up to my boobs kissing every part of my body he had access to.

"Youre so perfect. So beautiful. God I'm so lucky." He muttered almost to himself.

His hands went back down to my inner thigh as his fingers pressed down onto my clothed clit.

My breath hitched as I looked up at him my eyes questioning him.

“I’m gonna make you feel good okay?” He said as I nodded.

His fingers entered the band of my shorts as he made contact with my clit again. His ringer and middle finger rubbing circles softly on it as I moaned.

“C-chris oh fuck…”

I muttered as he smiled at me before going back down to my boobs sucking on it. His fingers moved further down as he thrusted his fingers in.

I let my head fall back profanities escaping my mouth as he curled his fingers.

His long fingers hitting my g-spot over and over again until I couldn’t take it anymore.

“Please I’m going too-“

Before I could finish I felt my body tense up as everything went white, my vision became blurry. My body started to tremble as Chris muttered things to me.

“You’re so good for me, good job ma.”

He said lifting his head up as he kissed my cheek, his hand leaving my shorts.

I smiled at him as he moved to lay down next to me.

I moved my body to face him as he pushed me down moving up so his face was in front of my boobs.

He kissed them both before sucking on each nipple for a few seconds.

"Can I just lay here and suck on them until I get tired?" Chris asked shepishly as I nodded my hands running through his hair.

He looked back at my boobs sucking on the closet one to him.

I held him close in my arms as I felt him relax around me, every few minutes he would swtich to the other one.

This continued until he eventually fell asleep in my arms.

"I love you pretty boy" I said in his ear as I held him. I kissed his forehead softly before going to take a nap myself.

[midnightechoes]

Five years ago today, She-Ra and the Princesses of Power premiered on Netflix. I had seen a few preview articles about it, and liked what I saw. Those articles mostly focused on She-Ra’s, Adora’s, Glimmer’s, Bow’s, and Catra’s redesigns, and I thought they were fabulous. I loved Adora’s new red jacket and bouffant hair style. Glimmer’s entire redesign was inspired, and I loved that they made Bow black so we could have more diversity in the main cast.

It was She-Ra’s and Catra’s redesigns that caught my eyes the most, though. They made Catra an actual catgirl, and not just in the anime sense where she's just a cute girl with cat ears and maybe a cat tail. She was a full-on furry. It was a brilliant design choice. Honestly it’s no wonder that so many were instantly drawn to her.

And of course, She-Ra herself. I loved her new look, and her huge ass new Sword of Protection. In fact, I loved it so much that I drew this picture of her before the show even came out:

Then the show came out, and needless to say, I fell in love. And honestly, it changed my life.

I know, I know. That sounds very hyperbolic, and to an extent it is, but in a lot of ways, I’m absolutely serious.

Alright, I have to back up a little. Back when I was in college, and for a few years after, a couple of friends and I tried to make a webcomic called The Devil’s Gate. It was minorly successful but eventually floundered. Then I met some people and we tried to make a video game, which also failed. After those few years, I found myself on my own and trying to rework the concept of my webcomic. Making comics, creating stories, those have always been my dream, and I was desperately trying to figure out a story I could make work, something that I believed in. But it never truly got off the ground. By the end of 2015 I had given up on the comic, realizing that after working on it for years in different forms that I needed to step away from it.

I didn’t really know what to do after that. I was still doing my quick daily doodles, but I wasn’t writing, I wasn’t drawing anything of note. I felt emotionally and physically drained of my creativity. I was honestly getting to the point where I thought it might be time for me to give up on trying to be creative or making things all together.

She-Ra and the Princesses of Power came out on November 13, 2018, but despite looking forward to it, I didn’t actually watch it when it came out. It wasn’t until that weekend that I decided to check it out.

I was instantly hooked. I binged through the entire season in two days, and did plenty of crying and cheering. And then rewatched it immediately. I was in love. I was obsessed. It had been a long time since anything grabbed me like SPOP did. I loved the characters. I loved the colorful, sci-fi-fairy tale world of Etheria. I loved how unapologetically feminine it was. And most of all, I loved how queer it was.

I hadn’t done a ton of shipping before SPOP. I’ve been down bad for harlivy for what feels like my whole life, and I was angry when Mika and HG didn’t get together in Warehouse 13, but more often than not I had just been conditioned not to look for queer things in mainstream culture, and even barely in subculture.

That is to say, when I was smashed in the face with Catradora I was surprised how much I glommed onto it immediately. I was absolutely taken with Adora and Catra and their relationship. Both characters were so relatable, and despite not quite being text (although the subtext was so loud and obvious it might as well have been text), it was impossible to not read their feelings for each other as romantic.

It wasn’t just Catradora, even if that was a lot of it. Spinnerella and Netossa being canon from the start was wonderful. How much Glimmer and Bow screamed “BISEXUAL DISASTERS” from the start was adorable. Scorpia’s crush on Catra was as cute as it was sad in its one-sidedness.

I had never really been in a fandom. That is, yeah I’ve liked things, loved things even, but I never found other people to talk about it at length, never found discords just for that thing, never read or wrote fanfic, barely ever drew fanart. 

But, I watched SPOP, and then I watched it again. And then I drew Catra. And then I drew Adora. And then I drew them again. And suddenly I was on AO3, a site I never frequented, reading Catradora fics. And then I had an AO3 account. That December I participated in Catradora Week 2018 (I’d never heard of this kind of thing) and drew two pictures for it and wrote my first fanfic.

By the end of February I had drawn more in the three months since the show had premiered than I had in the previous year. I was working furiously on a long, multi-chapter fanfic, and writing more words than I had in the previous couple of years combined.

I was inspired again.

In the 18 months that SPOP ran for, I drew more than I had in years, I wrote hundreds of thousands of words. I felt so rejuvenated and happy about my creativity and free for the first time in years.

It’s hard to put into words exactly how it felt. I was so close to giving up my art and writing, which honestly, would have been giving up a part of myself. An important part of myself. It’s not overstating that SPOP saved me, or at least my creative spirit.

I also learned about the wonders of being in a fandom and fandom things like fan weeks, big bangs, zines. And I made some wonderful friends that I cherish to this day.

Even as I inevitably moved onto other hyperfixations, my love for She-Ra hasn’t diminished. Plushie Catra and Adora sit next to me on my desk every day. Catradora art still hangs on my wall.

The inspiration that SPOP ignited in me hasn’t died either. It’s carried me through a tremendous level of creativity that I’ve been riding since the premiere. It let me create a ton of fan art for SPOP, and then RWBY and then the Witch From Mercury, and I’ve written a ton of fanfics for RWBY and Supergirl. And perhaps the best, that inspiration has helped me create more OC stuff in the last couple years than I had in a long time.

I owe She-Ra and The Princesses of Power so much. I am so happy that it exists and that it happened when it did. I’ll always cherish it.

And for real, Netflix, SPOP spin-off movies WHEN?!

[heaven-s-black-box]

Choice- Dan Heng x fiancee!fem!Reader

Return to File

Recovery date: May 8th, 2024

Description: I just got an idea, the reader is female, a quiet, humble and kind girl and is engaged to Dan Heng but the readers evil stepmother and half sister along with her neglectful father decided to kidnap them and try to force them to leave Dan Heng but they refused because Dan Heng made them feel like they actually belonged somewhere and they also knew that Dan Heng would save them. This all occurred not long after Dan Heng went to the readers family home with March and Caelus after he officially became engaged to the reader, The reason the three of them were even there was because Dan Heng wanted them to sincerely apologize for all the pain and suffering they put his fiance through. (This was inspired by episode 6 of the Netflix anime My Happy Marriage)

Notes: This work was recovered in conjunction with an anonymous researcher, we thank them for their contributions.

Word count: 891

Back to directory

Dan Heng may be quiet, but he’s not opposed to confrontation; a fact that his future in-laws clearly missed even after he explained what he did when they asked. Hell, he would have thought that Caelus would have been enough of a tip off that he did serious work– the man carries a baseball bat and looks like a delinquent, though maybe that’s where he went wrong.

Maybe bringing March as a vouch of character and mediator was a bad idea, maybe it gave Y/n’s parents the wrong idea. Maybe Caelus didn’t make him look serious so much as dangerous. 

All he’d wanted was for them to apologize, to let his fiancee turn over a new leaf with him.

He did not want this.

He did not want to break down the door of his fiancee’s childhood home. It tore off its hinges, flying inwards and startling his future sister-in-law. She jumped back with a yelp, shaking as the Vidyadhara loomed in the doorway.

Perhaps he was taking it a touch too far as he glared down at her, stepping gracefully over the split door.

“Where is she?” His voice was cold and level.

She pointed down a hallway, he was almost worried her arm would rip off with how fast it moved, stumbling over her words. He offered her a stiff nod, and set off, barely catching the heavy sounds of footsteps following behind him.

“Dan Heng,” Caelus gasped, “slo-slow down.”

The Vidyadhara may have considered his friend's words if this situation were any different. Had his in-laws simply decided to harass him and his fiancee, maybe bombarded them with cruel messages and calls, he would not have even bothered showing up here. He would have blocked them, and comforted his fiancee with sweet words and some of Himeko’s coffee. Maybe they would invite March and Caelus to join them, the archer would surely break out some sweets to enjoy as well. They would make happy memories as a new family. They would move on.

But no, he’d returned to their hotel room to find it trashed. The table was on its side, the items on it scattered about, and the chairs pulled out like someone had grabbed on to them. Y/n’s stuff was gone too, and that was what told him the story. They just wouldn’t let this go.

“You’re wrong!” Y/n’s hoarse voice filled the hallway, and the anger in it encouraged him to pick up the pace.

He reached out, read to wretch another door from its hinges, when he was tackled and pulled back. A partly gloved hand clamped over his mouth as March and Caelus pulled him away from the door.

Before he could snap at them, throw them off and give his future in-laws the fright of their life, Y/n’s voice spoke again.

“You’re wrong… I am happy with him, I’m not just saying that. He listens to me, and my troubles, and doesn’t make me feel like a burden.” Dan Heng stops struggling against his friends. “He makes me want to help him in return. So I’m going back, and you can’t stop me. If you try I’ll…”

There were rapid footsteps and the door flung open.

Y/n looked almost mid sprint, with her mother lunging up from her seat on the floor. Her father wasn’t even present, typical.

“Dan Heng?”

Now that he could see her, there were tear streaks on her face which explained the hoarse voice.

“Hey, Y/n,” Caelus responded, removing his hand from his friend's mouth and waving.

“This is who you want to go back to?” Her mother practically squawked. “This ruffian with his delinquent and side pie-”

“Excuse me!?” March yelled. “Who are you calling a side piece!?”

Caelus reached over from behind Dan Hengg and pulled her back to the floor. That seemed to remind her why they’d really come here and she huffed. March pulled herself up, grabbing Dan Heng’s arm to haul him up too with Caelus ready to grab them both at a moments notice.

Dan Heng noticed the faint curl of Y/n’s lips at March’s outburst. He was glad she seemed okay, but he would have to make double sure later.

“I saw the hotel room,” Dan Heng said, answering her earlier question. “I assumed you would want a ride home.”

“Ya,” she breathed, “I would love a ride home.”

Her mother reached for her wrist, but with a flick of Dan Heng’s wrist she was launched backwards onto her ass by a beam of water. Y/n spared her a quick glance before rushing across the room to her haphazardly packed suitcase, which her mother had packed when she grabbed her, and joined her fiance in the hall.

Y/n and Dan Heng took the lead, walking back to the front door, and brushed past Y/n’s step-sister with Caelus and March close behind.

“Love?”

Dan Heng felt his cheeks heat up at the term of endearment. The road they walked may be rough, but to hear her gentle voice call him love while so full of adoration he would do anything.

“Yes?”

“What happened to the door?”

“Ah… don’t worry about that, must have been a strong breeze.”

“Try a tsunami,” March giggled, making Caelus snicker and earning a glare from Dan Heng.

[ohnoitstbskyen]

one piece live action thoughts?

It looks very much like a live action adaptation of One Piece. For better, and very much also for worse.

I mean this in the sense that it's adapted to fit a form that helps it make sense 1) in live action and 2) to a general audience which isn't intimately familiar with manga or anime, and which a broadcaster or streaming service would want to reach.

Luffy especially, at least going by the relatively tiny snippet we have seen so far, seems to have had some of his more peculiar edges sanded off to fit more comfortably into the mold of a typical young adult protagonist, which includes the... I guess what people call "marvel speak" now? The little funny quips and asides and ironic saying-the-obvious-thing-out-loud beats, which are more Americanisms than Marvel specific but I digress.

In One Piece, Luffy is most often not the point of view character, especially early on. Luffy is usually observed from outside by other characters - Koby serves this role in the early chapters, and from then on usually we see Luffy through his crew, or through whatever secondary characters they're interacting with in that particular arc.

People have observed this before, but in the manga, we essentially NEVER get any internal monologue from Luffy, he always either SAYS what he's thinking, or he runs on head empty no thoughts just vibes instinct and gut reaction.

And that... probably doesn't really work with a typical young adult protagonist. If adapted faithfully to screen, I think a lot of audiences would read him as just a reckless, inconsiderate and kinda heartless asshole, because a framing and presentation of Luffy that makes sense in a manga or anime just doesn't read the same in live action filmmaking.

Like, One Piece opens with Luffy recklessly sailing off to sea despite having no idea how to sail, getting sucked into a whirlpool and surviving on sheer dumb luck, getting picked up by some pirates in a barrel. Then he meets an abused child named Koby who has been getting the shit kicked out of him daily for months and immediately calls him a clumsy, stupid, cowardly worthless loser to his face and laughs at him.

Like, if you adapted that faithfully, how would that come across to a general audience? Imagine this scene staged in live-action, with human actors having to portray this conversation rather than stylized cartoon people. It simply wouldn't come across the same way, Luffy would come across as an It's Always Sunny character at best. Why would a general audience sympathize with him? Why would they find him compelling or worth investing emotionally in?

And I'm not saying there aren't ways to adapt One Piece faithfully into live action, there absolutely are (much like the manga, I would make everyone ELSE the point-of-view characters looking AT Luffy rather than try and present him as a Likeable Protagonist, for example).

My point is just that in any translation into live action, there are going to be concessions to the medium, there are going to be concessions to film language, concessions to audience expectations, concessions to the market conditions, concessions to the studio funding the filming, and so on. That's just the nature of the endeavour.

When it's done well, you get an adaptation that preserves the spirit of the thing while fitting its medium. Lord of the Rings comes to mind, an adaptation which changed huge amounts from its source material, but preserved the spirit.

When it's done poorly you get... well, Cowboy Bebop on Netflix.

I don't know from the tiny trailer snippet we've seen whether this show will preserve the spirit of One Piece, it very well may not, and end up another victim on the pile of bad anime adaptations. But I don't think the fact that it changed the vibe of the characters or Main Character'd Luffy alone are reasons to dismiss it, at least not yet. Those might have been necessary concessions for the show to work in live action at all. We shall see.

I'm not super optimistic or excited (because, again, I remember Cowboy Bebop), but I'm not despairing of it yet either.

[redpool]

So I have been rewatching the live action One Piece for the hundredth time, and I've come to realize that there are minor details that have been changed and I wanted to list the ones that I noticed;

(also just to clarify, I know that there are big differences between the live action and the anime so none of that matters, I just mean like little details that actually mean something)

(so originally this post was going to be little details that I noticed but I think it might also be commentary so I apologize.)

(To make it less confusing, I'm going to do something to set the minor details out for those who read this post for that and not for my commentary)

I could have sworn that I already made one of these posts but I can't find it so.

I really hope that, that unknown woman is Crocodile it would be really cool if Crocodile was trans, but imagine a female Crocodile. I reckon she would be so much hotter.

Shanks looks so out of place.

No hate to the costume designers but some of these costumes look authentic and fucking awesome and some just look like really bad cosplays.

Why are you gasping, it's an execution you knew what was going to happen?

That also doesn't make sense because there's a wide shot where you can see him die and then there's a close-up where he dies again.

I know he's a hungry, growing boy but that's a lot of food for one person, several crates of fruit and one giant barrel of fish. Which I assume he had plans on eating raw. And which I also assume sat in the sun for however long he was out there.

Wait does this mean that Koby is canonically trans because Morgan is trans?

I know it's for information gathering for the viewers watching at home but wouldn't Shanks already know everything that Benn just told him about Luffy?

I just noticed that he scratched the knife under his eye, that makes more sense because I thought he genuinely stabbed himself in the eye socket.

The ego on this one.

Side note, MacKenyu's hand is genuinely so f****** pretty.

I heard that the whole point of the live action One Piece was for Oda to answer unanswered questions so I tend to keep that in mind.

Really the only critique I have about this show is that there's not enough blood and I know that it's because it's a Netflix show but my bloodlust is quite strong.

The only question that I genuinely have is if you were to see something as ugly as a devil fruit why would you willingly choose to eat it? Like I get it if the situation is you're being forced to or you're starving and don't have any other options but pushing that aside why would you willingly eat something that ugly? Or that weird looking?

Where is Hongo, I want to see the live action Hongo.

The vibe that Shanks & Luffy have in the anime versus the live action is very different.

Hopefully that is not what the live action Bellamy actually looks like because I'd be very upset.

I haven't reached Foxy in the anime yet so..

I do really hope we get to see Jango though and hopefully he looks like what he looks like in the poster.

I JUST NOTICED THE CAVENDISH POSTER

I think I may have known about that one but my brain is not remembering.

CABAJI!!!

I know Zoro is supposed to sound like emotionless or just very monotone but it kind of sounds like he's forcing it...

Yeah I really do not like these camera angles.

Why is he naked?

Having this show playing for background noise while I do a word search is so funny when you're not looking at the screen and there's a fight scene.

Shanks's stitching must be really f****** bad for Luffy scar to turn out like that.

Crazy eyes

That was pretty funny, I would have laughed.

If all of these pirates are just stationed on these different islands why don't the marines just come and get them? Yeah Buggy is surrounded by his pirates but like it's shouldn't be that hard to take them out.

Ok for my first question, is that a new boat? Second question, if that is not a new boat where the f*** did Shanks come from because he's not wet.

I have also come to realise that, that bit of debris that you see fall into the water after the Sea King lunges at Shanks is indeed not Shanks his arm, it's a piece of the boat.

Ok so now that I've watched a fair amount of the anime I know that, that was Haki.

So Shanks decided that to teach Luffy a lesson he let the Sea King bite his arm off.

And here again, it's not just my bloodlust this time Shanks just got his arm bitten off there should be a s*** ton more blood than that.

I fucking love Peter so much.

Can't argue with a man with his tits out. Whatever you say tit- man.

Not going to apologize for loving Cabaji.

What are the chances that we get a live-action Uta?

I'm sorry but why would you want to put a snail in your ear.

Just think about it, anytime we have to listen to Usopp sing in the future he'll actually be able to do it.

You want to elaborate that on that Zoro?

The f*** is that supposed to mean?

Oooop full body goosebumps

I don't know what it is about these two episodes that I don't like but.

Yeah I prefer the animated Kuro.

Strong self-harm? Against who?

Catboy confirmed

Well that's lovely, leave Kaya all by herself.

Tag yourself I'm Zoro

Get all awkward and avoid looking while also squirming when the PDA happening.

Yeah those hammocks are real s***.

Wait, where does Kuro end up after he gets defeated by Luffy? Do we know?

Is that supposed to be a duck?

SANJI BABY

SANJI MY LOVE

SANJI MY HEART

SANJI MY BEAUTIFUL BABY BOY

I'm sorry but Luffy looks like a Bunnings Warehouse worker and it is so distracting.

I don't think you know how many times I have watched any episodes after five.

Like it's to the point where I will just watch them over and over and over and over and over.

Like put episode 5 on and then re-watch it three times consecutively.

YOU OLD SHITBAG!

Did that guys mustache just fall off???

That last kick wasn't necessary babes

The switch is so f****** quick

His voice dropped like three octaves

It gets me every time

HAWKIE BABE!!!

It took me so long to get used to Mihawk's facial hair.

Actually it took me a very long time to get used to calling him Mihawk because I used to just call him Dracule because that's a cooler name than Mihawk.

I knew about the last name being first thing that Japan does but I know that doesn't apply to some characters. And I thought that it was like that for him.

Until someone shattered that dream.

You remember that tiktok filter where if you stood at a distance the camera was zoom in on your face and then it would move along to whatever the face was doing, that's what the zoom in camera angles in this show remind me of and I think that's why I don't like it.

That was a good callback.

HES SO PRETTY

I think it's safe to say that we can blame Taz for reigniting my love for Sanji.

While working my way through the anime anytime I start being annoyed by Sanji and his perverted ways, I go and watch the live action and then it's wiped clean. It's just like my brain reset my feelings about Sanji.

Zoro is also beautiful.

Yeah I've noticed I don't really have any notes for any of this because a lot of it is new.

And it's also been like half a year since I started watching the anime because I had to take a break after the Alabasta arc and I've only just started again.

His side profile is so AHSGDGDGSHS

You know for a cigarette smoker he doesn't smoke a lot of cigarettes or finish them.

You think as a picky eater Sanji would hate me for my eating habits?

Maybe me being a woman might cancel out his disliking for picky eaters.

Assuming that he would even like me. I know he'd be respectful because I am a woman and he treats all women with respect but.

That 5 second shot right there, the close up of Sanji's face while he smiling, literally tattoo that on my f****** eyelids.

How long do you think Mihawk was sitting there?

Yeah sorry I was only looking at your titties

You would probably be more intimidating if you were taller...

You know it's bad when you can quote the entire scene

Is he wearing eyeliner?

HANDS

Yeah there is not enough blood, you just got slashed in the chest I'm expecting there to be a f****** puddle or something at least.

What would you say Mihawks accent is?

That's barely any blood, I bleed more than that every month.

What the f*** was that, when Zeff asked Sanji what he's doing, it's like it's a completely different person answering, that was not Sanji answering.

He really is like a rabid dog.

Like the noise that he makes just before he starts cackling, it's literally the sound of a dog with something in its mouth shaking his head back and forth and growling.

Where is this kid from, because his accent is vaguely British and then sometimes it sounds like Taz's accent and then it also sounds Australian??

See here's what doesn't make sense to me, Buggy is a devil fruit user which means he has a weakness towards water and because he's just a head he should be dead. Because I'm assuming those fishmen didn't stop for air breaks every couple of minutes. So the question is why is he alive.

Other question is why are the fishmen not wet when they get out of the water?

They are a bit wet but they're not soaking wet like they just got out of the water.

ZEEEEEFFFFF!!!!

TITTIES

NAKED

SHIRTLESS

SOAKING WET

HEAVING FOR BREATH

ON HIS KNEES

Sorry but my automatic response to hearing someone say "land ho" is "what did you call me?!"

Look at these old homosexuals

SEE

"More rare than medium" that man is part dog.

I saw that Sanji

Ew

There is literally no hetero explanation for this scene.

Just kiss already, God.

Why does Sanji keep looking at Zoro?

You have a noticed how Sanji just glances are nine times out of ten?

Where would it even go?

Love how Usopp is literally the only one helping.

Real question is how did Nami turn that Arlong symbol into the berries/belli symbol

Just kiss already part 2

Love that the only time that Zoro is misogynistic is when it's aimed towards Sanji.

See that's the amount of blood I want to see.

Flashback to that time that I was watching this with my sister, she was so f****** excited to see Arlong's teeth do the thing that they did.

I'm pretty sure she keeps coming back to you because she doesn't have a f****** choice.

DOUBLE CHEEKED UP ON A MONDAY MORNING

I'll hug you Sanji

The most unbelievable thing about that scene is that no one covered their eyes when that dust washed over them.

Sanji literally looks like he's about to start crying.

Oh Sanji is the one that's holding her.

Seriously. Just kiss already.

SMOOCHIES

Sorry, idk what that ^ was

How's that for a bloodline: You are a vice admiral for the marines, your son is the leader of the Revolutionaries and your son's son is on his way to being king of the pirate.

That's because your methods are just straight up abuse, how many 'fists of love' did you throw at Luffy, Ace and Sabo??

Yeah I'm sure you could.

Just take each other right now... In front of me... Please....

SMOKIE BOY!!!!

I'LL DRAW A MAP OF THE WORLD

Props to you if you actually stayed until the end of this post because it's not at all what I said it was going to be it just turned into a f****** commentary post.

[renthony]

🏳️‍🌈

(Drop a 🏳️‍🌈 in my inbox and I’ll respond with a queer media recommendation!)

Everybody who follows me already knows that The Dragon Prince is my favorite TV show in the whole world. Created for Netflix by Aaron Ehasz (an alumnus of Avatar: the Last Airbender) and Justin Richmond, it's an epic fantasy series that kicks off with a trio of plucky protagonists who are determined to return an egg kidnapped from the dragon queen by a dark mage, because the kidnapping of the dragon prince (hey! the title!) puts the entire world at risk of war.

One of the fundamental themes is exploring the cycle of violence and abuse, and how that cycle can only be broken when people commit to it wholeheartedly. It also shows that, even when someone wants to break the cycle, there are others who are invested in continuing it, and peace takes incredible and painful work.

The worldbuilding is phenomenal, the character and creature design is incredible, the story is gripping, and the writing is...*chef's kiss.* Every season is better than the last, and the increase in animation quality across the years is unreal. Season six was utterly ethereal.

Phase one of the series spanned seasons one to three, and we are currently in the final stretch of arc two ("Mystery of Aaravos"), encompassing seasons four to seven. Season six just dropped, and according to the official Instagram account, it's been #1 on Netflix for the past five days! That's really great news, because they're trying really hard to get greenlit for arc three--so now is a really, really great time to get into the show! You want to do it, you want to do it so bad. Use the hashtags #TheDragonPrince, #ContinueTheSaga, and #GiveUsTheSaga if you do! Please, for the love of fuck! 😭😭😭

Currently there are six seasons of the tv show, several books (including novelizations, original comics, and art book, and in-universe guides), a tabletop roleplaying game, a board game, and a brand-new video game that launched this week. This world is huge, and it's so fun to explore!

Here's the trailer for season one of the show:

Here's a trailer for the most recent season, for those who saw the early seasons but didn't keep up:

And here's the trailer for the mobile game:

As far as why I'm recommending it as a queer show, there are so many queer characters. The show prompted some griping early on because it had a pair of tragically dead lesbian queens, but in the seasons since, they've introduced a gloriously alive lesbian battle couple who get married on-screen, a married pair of gay men, three different trans characters (one of whom joins the main cast in season 4 and remains a major character), and a general lovely air of casual queerness in a high fantasy setting. The tabletop roleplaying game has multiple canon queer characters, too, and the show's cast and crew have made it clear that they have queer people among them, they fully support queer people in the fandom, and they want to include queerness in their world. It's awesome.

(And I'm still sticking with "when one man looks at another man and says 'our baby was so cute,' that's canon enough for me." So there's some fantastic queer villainy that's, like, the perfect icing on the cake for me personally. The Dragon Prince: for all your unholy dark magic mpreg bug baby needs!)

Also, this show has my poorest, saddest, littlest, wettest meow-meow babygirl of all fucking time: Lord Viren, (former) High Mage of Katolis, the most turbo-divorced man in all existence. If you follow me, you've seen that motherfucker. You know who he is. You have seen his sad miserable little face. You know who I am and what I'm here for. This paragraph is not a surprise to you. You know.

Here's a picture of me in Viren cosplay, as both a shameless cosplay self-promo and a reiteration that, no, seriously, this is my favorite TV show ever:

Ask For a Rec | Other Media Recommendations | Support Links

[icarustypicalfall]

HEAD CANONS!!

how cod men would use their phones

this is my first time doing head canons lmao if its bad just forget it 😭 i tried to be realistic but that was extremely dump lmaoo

warnings: none, totally sfw and maybe funny? 😀

captain john price

honestly, i see him as the type of people who'll lecture you when they see you using a phone, while he plays candy crush and similar games on a loop when he's alone. he isn't much interested in social media, maybe he'll use Twitter for infos and What's up to talk with his team. Otherwise, he'd be a Facebook dad watching videos with that annoying laugh on full volume while cackling. Gaz tried to  convince him to use other platforms but it resulted in Price giving him a 10 minutes lecture on how bad social media is.

(john secretly watch tiktok video complications on YouTube)

simon ghost riley

he doesn't use his phone much, he knows how it can be addicting and he has much things on his mind to worry about being social with others. although, he looks for dad jokes and have a laugh at them when he's alone. his camera roll is full of blurry pictures he took by mistake and screenshots of recipes.

kyle gaz garrick

he's the youngest and the one who convinced price into buying a phone. i think Kyle is the the type of people who'd be popular on every platform, twitter, Instagram, you name it. he's funny (also really handsome 🤭) which makes it easy for him to have much moots and friends. He watches streams or horror stories at 2 am. (spoiler: he got scared more than once)

johnny soap Mactavish

he watches shitty shows on Netflix to complain about them. he loves, and i mean really loves annoying people with stupid meaningless Messages when he's bored. if you are texting him, god be with you, this man makes 20 typos in a single word. he'd make comments on random posts to fight people for months.

"jus fer fun lass/lad"

(sorry if this isn't how Scottish people actually talk I've seen it around in fics 😭)

he looses arguments most of the time and asks Alejandro for some back up.

Alejandro vargas

he uses his phone to call only, he despises texting and if he did, it'll be like this

you:"when shall i meet you tomorrow?"

Alejandro:"9"

you:"pm?"

Alejandro:"👍🏻"

although, he takes lots of pictures, sends them to you most of the time. rudy forced him to make an Instagram account and he ended by liking it.

rudy parra

this cute man 🤭💕 he might be a military man, but he has a soft spot for cute videos of pepole taking care of animals. he'd watch them for hours. he doesn't use his phone much due to his job but he's keeps up with the trends and explains them to you if you're confused.

i can see him using this one a lot :3

Phillip graves

he hates social media, he uses what's up to send to his shadows shirtless pictures of him. he'd drop the most heart wrenching pic ever and say"what's for dinner" (you sir 🤭)

he secretly loves watching those videos of reddit stories, he knows it's probably fake but he lives for the drama and enjoys it.

-fin-

i hope y'all like it, it's shitty and short lmao.

i Just got up from a nap lmao can't believe people actually liked my other work

shall i do other operaters from like Kor-Tac and ghosts? (and yes i know König is in Kor-Tac)

*just realized I didn't add tags im

✨d u m p ✨*

[picturejasper20]

¨When The Owl House finishes we aren’t going to have more story driven animated shows/ shows with arcs¨

This is a rumor that has been spreading lately and it isn’t all true.

Moon Girl and Devil Dinosaur has been confirmed to become story driven early on and based on the latest episodes, it looks like it is starting to do that.

The Ghost and Molly Mcgee Season 2 has been confirmed by Steve Loter to be more story driven. The first season has a ¨bigger narrative¨ as well.

And if you are fan of Star Wars, you could enjoy ¨The Bad Batch¨ on Disney Plus. It’s has story arcs with some standalone episodes in between. Great stuff.

Moving to shows that aren’t from Disney:

Craig of the Creek later becomes more or less this from Season 3 forward. It’s semi-episodic.

In Summer Camp Island takes a while but it later develops complex lore and some character arcs.

Hilda the series is a beautiful show that has an overall story with each episode being a standalone story connected to other episodes.

Lego Monkie Kid is great show with a story driven narrative with complex characters and some morally grey situations.

Kung Fu Panda: The Dragon Warrior has a whole story. It isn’t an amazing show but it has its moments.

My Dad The Bounty Hunter is an space sci-fi show that turns into the protagonists fighting against an exploitative destructive company and explores a complicated family relationship.

Sonic Prime has an story with characters jumping into different dimensions and a main character arc for Sonic.

I also heard that The Legend of Vox Machina is good. It’s a show with a medieval story fantasy setting. Note: It’s an adult animation show.

In addition to that, Fionna and Cake mini series spin off and Unicorns: Warriors Eternal are coming out this year.

I understand if some of you can’t access this shows because they are on Netflix or HBO Max. But the point is that there are still some story driven shows out there and the rumor that there aren’t anymore isn’t totally accurate. You can find them if you look for them.

[nattikay]

I just finished the last season of Sweet Tooth on Netflix, I gotta vent a little, warning that this post probably won't be everyone's cup of tea but I gotta say it somewhere. [there be spoilers for anyone who may care about that]

so I've been pretty invested in this show since the first season; yeah, some of the acting is pretty corny and some of the effects look a tad clunky (hello awkward Bobby puppet), but I still enjoyed the characters well enough and wanted them to succeed and also, hey, I'm a simple woman, show me cute animal-people and I'm hooked.

But....I've gotta admit that I really didn't care for the ending. Within the last three episodes of the show they pivot from "we've gotta find a cure for this virus to save humanity" to "actually on second thought humans are the REAL disease and their extinction is the cure" which........ewwwwwwww, no dude, keep your cringe nihilism to yourself k thx

And yeah, in the end they do stop the virus so the remaining humans can survive for a while longer, but all babies are still born as hybrids meaning "humanity" is going to die off within the next 80 years or so anyways.

and they try to dress this up as a great mercy, and they say oh, yeah humans have some good in them but it always comes with Bad, unlike the hybrids who got all the Good in humanity but also they're Better because they're part animal so all the Bad will die off with the humans and hybrids will live in peace forever and I'm sorry but I call bullcrap

Animals are not these great bastions of altruism and morality. Animals rape. Animals steal. Animals kill. Animals cannibalize. Animals eat prey alive.

Even the "oh but humans are greedy and want to take everything and upset the balance of nature" spiel. Buddy, contrary to what some environmentalist stories want to tell you, animals do not actually have a concept of "the balance of nature". That's why invasive species are such a big problem. Introduce an invasive predator into a region and several native prey species go extinct. Those predators don't have a concept of "conserving resources", they'll just keep hunting as long as they're hungry.

And it's not a problem unique to predators either. Remember when wolves were hunted to extinction is parts of the US and then the deer populations exploded and ate all the grass and the whole ecosystem kinda fell apart until wolves were re-introduced to the region? The deer didn't give a crap that they were eating all the grass. They weren't even consciously aware of it. They're not capable of conceptualizing abstract ideas like that.

Natural ecosystems have a balance to them because they're intricately designed systems, not because the animals that live in them are actively making Morally Right Choices to preserve them.

One major thing that separates humans from animals is that we have the capacity for morality. We have the ability to comprehend abstract concepts like freedom and conservation and honor and sacrifice etc., and with it the ability to make moral choices. We are capable of great good, and great evil. You cannot have the capacity for one without having the capacity for the other, because good and evil rest on your choices. Even if you go through your whole life doing only "nice" things, if you did those things because you had no other option, no say in the matter, are you really "good"? Good people choose to be so. I love animals and they're super cool and all, and yes some of them are very smart, but they are not really capable of making that choice (no, I don't care how much of an "angel" your dog is). They are amoral, neither morally good nor bad.

And the hybrids? It's clearly shown that they have the same capacity for choice as humans....which in turn means that yes, whether the narrative wants to admit it or not, the hybrids still have the capacity for evil just like the humans did. Giving them some animal ears or special powers doesn't change that.

Not to mention that all but one of the hybrids we've met are children. They haven't even hit puberty yet!! Of course a bunch of innocent kids are gonna look like sweet little angels compared to hardened desperate adults trying to survive an apocalypse holy flip! And just because Gus happens to be a particularly good person who strives to see the best in others does not mean that all other hybrids for the rest of time are gonna be the same! He's not good because he's part deer, he's good because he's Gus! Because he believes in good things and acts on it!

The one adult hybrid we briefly meet isn't a sweet little kid who sees the best in others, he's a grouchy old man who wants human genocide. And while I can totally understand why he as a character feels that way....that's not good dude!!!! That's not any better than the humans who want to kill the hybrids!

You didn't "remove worst of humanity and preserve the best of it" by replacing humans with hybrids. You just gave them a makeover.

Human/animal hybrids as a character concept are totally up my ally, I think they're very cool, but pretending that being part animal makes them inherently morally better than regular humans is just ridiculous imo.

tl;dr I just really hate the nihilistic "humans are uniquely evil, deserve to go extinct as a Punishment, and literally any other sapient species would be better" trope and I'm very disappointed that this show pivoted to that at the last minute.

[tzilatza]

NATLA Review - spoilers

Woke up today still feeling annoyed after finished the Netflix ATLA remake last night, and I think I've figured out the core reason.

It's the fact that: If they had held truer to the original source material, we could have had a truly great show. I disagree with those calling it a complete disaster. The acting was good, great in some cases. The effects were very well done, the bending looked about as good as it can in a live action media. The scenery was lovely.

But what happened in the writer's room?! The way they just reveal all the back stories up front EVERY TIME is honestly insulting to the audience. It's like they're so terrified that smartphone culture has made the public so accustomed to instant gratification that they have no faith we will stick around and keep watching if they make us wait for anything.

They're also clearly terrified of complexity. One of my biggest gripes with this remake is Jet's story. They completely took out his plans to murder a whole town of innocents in order to get a few enemy soldiers. Now, Jet isn't my favorite character, but his story is so important. Because it is real. The world is full of people who have been so brought down by injustice that they lose their sense of right and wrong, and we need to see that on screen. If Jet is too complex for them, how will they handle Ba Sing Se in the second season.

This goes along the same lines as removing Sokka's sexist moments. They felt they had to do it to make him more 'likable.' Yet the writers themselves went full sexist on Katara's character. They've taken out so much of her spark, her righteous and justified anger, and they've done it because even in 2024, people expect women to be more passive to be palatable. Enough people have already commented on them removing Aang's choice to run away. Heaven forbid the main character not be an absolute paragon. Did y'all notice that they even made Hahn likable? Hahn?! What reason do you have for making Hahn likable Netflix?! His role in the narrative is to be an example of toxic masculinity that is clearly the bad choice compared to Sokka who has learned and grown out of his own.

Don't even get me started with what they're doing with the fire nation family, I'm not ready to tackle that. In general, I have no problem with Azula getting a little more backstory and humanizing, but why season 1? Throwing in all these extra scenes just sacrifices screen-time where they could've actually fleshed out the real season one plots instead of rushing through things at breakneck pace. (ex: Aang escaping Zuko's ship in about 2 minutes flat)

At the end of the day, the scenes I most enjoyed were those that held true to the original like the Blue Spirit sequences. They could've easily done more of this, held onto the important plot points and even more important character complexity, while maturing it for an adult audience. I'm not disagreeing with every change they made. Go ahead and take out the silly Nickelodeon gags, add cussing and more realistic violence to get your mainstream viewers. Go ahead. They could've easily made a darker more mature version of the show and still held onto all the old fans in my opinion. But claiming that you're making a 'more mature' version and then removing the complexity and subtlety because they didn't think viewers could handle it...

What makes me most sad is that there are a lot of people who will experience ATLA for the first time through this show. There are a lot of adults who are not willing to watch original ATLA because they refuse to acknowledge an animated series can be anything other than a kid's show. Those people will watch this and think it's the real deal, and that just makes me sad.

If you've read this far, a very sincere thank you for listening to my rant. If you're an OG fan who enjoyed it, I have no problem with you. It was a fun watch, I was just hoping for more. If you are a new viewer who has never seen ATLA before, I sincerely want to hear your opinions. Is it a great show to someone who isn't holding it against the context of the original? And do you plan to watch the original now?

[captainnameless]

Just got off my 16 hour flight 💔 Sat next to an ADORABLE baby who was so well behaved for the first few hours but then became actually feral. Reminded me of how danny and lando (and alex?) flew to spa together (i think) and lando would so be feral. any ideas of lando being naughty on a flight, maybe he would be acting up for alex.

a 16 hour flight? where did you go?! goddamn bestie, that sounds miserable. when i went to New Zealand my flights were 12 and 14 hours and i thought that was bad 😭 also i do not blame the baby i too would go feral.

Lando’d for sure be having a rough time on a 16 hour flight. Daniel’s lulled into a false sense of security at first. Lando’s exhausted post race, freshly showered and all bundled up in some of Daniel’s enchanté merch. The joggers and the matching soft hoodie. Lando’s basically stumbling into the plane, there’s only a small bit of whining going on when he has to sit in his own seat for take off, but Daniel manages that by holding Lando’s hand and promising a cuddle as soon as the seat belt lights turn off.

He fulfills his promise and has a lap full of curly brunette seconds after the light switches off, cradling Lando into his chest and pressing a soft kiss in between his brows. Lando finds his thumb and is out within minutes.

“That was easy.” Alex comments and Daniel shoots him a look.

“Never say that at loud.”

- - -

Proof they jinxed it shows itself when Lando wakes up due to turbulence a little under 2 hours later, definitely not ready to wake up yet.

Daniel tries his best to lul him back to sleep but Lando notices the empty plates and is immediately upset they ate without him. Daniel reassures him they will heat up Lando’s food for him but it’s already put Lando in a mood.

Daniel tries to win him back with some of the snacks he packed but has to intervene when he offers Alex some too and Lando whines “Mine!”

“Lando,” Daniel chastises, holding the snack out of reach. “We share with our friends, Danny packed enough for all of us.”

“No, mine.” Lando whines, now back in his own seat but trying to reach over to prevent Daniel from giving the small packet to Alex. Instead, Daniel manages to snatch Lando’s own packet of animal crackers out of his hand.

Lando screeches.

“If you can’t share, you’re not being rewarded with a snack, buddy. No, Lando-.” Daniel sighs, holding the snacks out of reach as Lando tries to take them back.

“Hey, look at Danny. You can have them back if you can share.”

“Share.” Lando says miserably, making grabby hands towards the crackers and snatching one of them out of Daniel’s hand, shooting daggers at Alex when Daniel hands him the other one.

“Lando.” Daniel warns, grabbing the younger’s chin. “Stop it. I mean it, if you think Danny won’t discipline you because Alex is here you’re going to be in for a surprise. Understood?”

Lando pouts, soft flush on his cheeks. “Yea.” He curls into his seat after that.

Lando’s mood improves slightly when dinner is served for him, Daniel helps with bites when the plane gets wobbly and for a second he thinks the attitude might have just been Lando being hangry.

He’s proven wrong when the card game Alex brought only upsets Lando again when he doesn’t win, and Daniel intervenes again.

“Alright,” Daniel says, a little exasperated and Lando is worried for a split second before Daniel gets the iPad out, setting up the bluetooth headset. “You need a bit of quiet screen time.”

Daniel pulls up Netflix, goes into the downloaded episodes and plops the iPad in Lando’s lap. “Pick something you like, buddy.” With that he puts the headphones on Lando and lets the little guy be for a while.

It works for a bit, Lando’s interested in his Bluey episode until he notices Daniel and Alex have returned to their card game and feels the need to reach his foot out to nudge at the airplane table the cards are on.

Daniel catches his ankle, squeezes it and gives Lando a look.

Lando huffs, curls his leg back in on himself and goes back to his episode until Daniel’s distracted enough. He’s quicker this time, a quick kick, just to show his displeasure with them playing that stupid game except he doesn’t really have control now that he wants to be quick with it. Kicks the table harder than intended and sends some of the cards flying, but more unfortunately, Daniel’s coke.

It goes very quickly then, Daniel curses and quickly flips the can upright again but the damage is done. Alex snatches up some of the napkins that are left from Lando’s dinner and starts dabbing the table and the cards.

Daniel stands then, a little crouched from the angle of the plane, grabs the headphones off of Lando and the iPad, puts them in he’s seat before he’s got both hands hooked under Lando’s armpits, hoisting him out of the seat and into the aisle before marching him towards the back of the plane.

Lando starts struggling the moment he realizes what’s happening, digging his socked feet into the floor but Daniel simply wraps his arms around Lando’s waist and carries him the last few steps into the sleeping compartment at the back of the plane, shoving the screen door closed.

“Nooo.” Lando whines, clawing at Daniel’s arms before he’s released, stood facing the wall but immediately turning back around. “Da-”

“Lando.” Daniel warns, a quick tap to his thigh. “Face it.”

There’s a miserable whine thats followed by tears, hands twisting into his own sleeves. He only has to do 2 minutes, Daniel taking mercy on a clearly very tired little but Lando swears it feels like 2 hours.

He gets a “that was a big no no” speech after and a good cuddle, before Daniel suggests that maybe they should try to catch some more sleep and Daniel promises to lay down with him.

He’s reminded that Lando has only eaten and leaves the little for a quick second to get him a juicebox, confirm with Alex they’re going to have a lie down who assures him it’s fine, and returns with a juice box that Lando downs immediately.

Lando swears he doesn’t need the bathroom, and so Daniel cuddles him close and thanks whatever God there is when Lando actually falls back asleep relatively easily, figuring he could use some shut eye himself.

[mdhwrites]

I was thinking your takes of how TOH fails at making a bigotry allegory with the witches that I can’t help be reminded of this post regarding Netflix’s The Dragon Prince (I’m not sure if you watched the show): https://www.tumblr.com/chronicallylatetotheparty/757857588414152704/i-think-western-media-has-relied-on-non-human

The writers of both TOH and TDP have far more interest on [insert magical creature]. They’re unintentionally bias that narrative reflects on it.

They make humans look worse than [insert magical creature] for reason that justified (in TDP villagers attacked a dragon who was harassing them for days and TOH have witches eat babies in the 1690s while they have a main villain be against witches and was probably in the same time period). They ignore certain details that make [insert magical creature] look bad and result in messy world building and messages (in TDP there was a reference to the Trail of Tears that the humans have to endure from the elves and dragons and in TOH witches sees humans as inferior).

Amphibia actually doesn’t ignore that the fantasy creatures can be messy. In fact they have Anne deal with being treated like a freak because the frogs never met a human.

They have Andrias and the Core be the bad guys who attempted to take over Earth. They considered humans as lesser beings because they have knowledge, power, and technology humans don’t have.

Amphibia is by far the only recent fantasy story that is willing to let the magical creatures be flawed and their society changed.

So I think you and the blog you cite are actually two very different points. The blog you linked is about lazy recycling of tropes from better media to the point where we have stopped considering what made those tropes powerful and those stories impactful. Anime is also facing a problem of this but when you try to apply it to more allegorical elements, like trying to use non-humans as an oppressed underclass (something even most classic fantasy fucks up in a number of ways) you get some really abhorrent, accidental undertones.

Your complaint on the other hand is... A little hard to tell if I'm being honest, especially since the TOH stuff (I haven't watched TDP) appears to either be VERY arguable (the Isles does not give a flying fuck about humans, positive or negative) or seems to be taking words that I assume either were said as a joke or by Belos, the bigot, about witch behavior in the past. "They eat our babies" is just about as stereotypical of bigot speech from someone who's a moron as you can get.

And I keep trying to find something to grab onto with your point and I'm just struggling. Honestly, it just sounds like the general complaint of 'smart' stories actually being dumb as rocks. The stories that can actually tell a complicated narrative that portrays every side properly in a conflict is extremely rare. This is how you get TOH being so pro-self expression that acknowledging ANY societal requirements, or any amount of engagement with 'the system' is portrayed as negative when like... Luz assaults people in the first five minutes as part of her 'self expression'.

It is preachy and lazy and leaves these cultures with no actual culture because they are there to make a statement. A lot of sci-fi struggle with this because of The World of Hats problem where they want to comment on one type of person so an entire race is just that type of person, like the ever present Warrior Race in all speculative media. It is the storytelling equivalent of writing an analytical piece with the conclusion set in stone. Your ability to make the piece properly will inherently be tainted.

I haven't watched TDP but for TOH, this is how you get Belos' death as it is in the show. Belos claims that humanity has mercy. Has sympathy. That a human is moral enough that if they see someone in agony, they will be compelled to save them, unlike these witches. However, the thesis behind TOH is that witches are good and people like Belos are pure evil. As such, he is written lazily and so are the witches. Belos' speech is 100% just recycled from elsewhere. A final plea to a hero to be saved, with the witch response being a badass one liner or meant to be one that makes them look cool and superior. It plays to the thesis and 'theme' of TOH... Without examining the details for even half a second because if you do, yeah, they're rancid. This race accused of not caring for other people or their lives just agrees with the villain before proving him right by stomping him to death. This isn't saying that Belos should have lived, absolutely fucking not, but that someone who was worried more about their point, who was being careful about their allegories, might have made it so that instead of glee, literally one of them calls murder 'satisfying' which... Dear god why? They might have made it horror, or hesitation or a dozen other emotions that do have this race thought to be monstrous consider reaching out to this man who has hurt them so much. That in his final moments, Belos would be proven wrong because while they hurt him and so they could never forget, they at least provide him with mercy. Genuine empathy that he never gave them despite everything he's done because, you know... They're good people and not what he thinks they are.

But if you are certain about your message, entirely unquestioning... Why would you do that? Not when you can do the 'subversive' thing despite the fact that these tropes exist for a reason and subverting them might not happen a lot for a reason. That some plot beats are just mandatory for the sake of making your point function. It is being a confident dumbass about your story because you're never going to blink as far as questions on how well you did go.

But do you know what happens when you don't blink? Irritation, which sure seems to be how people feel about these mixed messages. See you next tale.

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