#batb: OTH

[popculturebuffet]

Supermay!: Battle of The Superheroes Review!(Batman BATB) (Patreon Review for WeirdKev27)

Hello all you happy supermen, women and everyone in between and beyond whose still just as super, and welcome to SUPERMAY, a monthlong celebration of all things man of steel.

It's also a great time for it as Superman is in one of the best places he's been as a character in a while: In the comics we have Joshua Williamson's stellar run on Superman, on tv My Adventures with Superman, the first animated superman show since The Animated Series and one of the best superhero shows period, comes back for season 2 and next year James Gunn takes a crack at a shiny new movie that gets to the core of who superman is.

So in these times my love for the character has only grown, and thus me and my fine patrons and contributers are bringing this month from across his life and career.

So naturally we start with an episode of.. a batman show. Yes despite getting a whole month to himself earlier this year, Batman just can't stay away. Or maybe Kev's just addicted to Batman Brave and the Bold. What do you think of the show kev?

Nothing suspcious there. Now to freebase more x-men.

Yet while this decision seems bonkers at first, it makes sense on two levels: the first is that Batman and Superman have a long history together, and their regular team ups in world finest lasted for decades and tied to the two at the hip with one another. It's not hard to see why either: Their the archetypes for heroes with powers and those without them. The bedrock on which the whole genre's built. Teaming them up with their contrasting styles, backstories and skillsets just works. The other reason ... is that Superman didn't have a solo series for a while. His last one was the brilliant and sadly didn't make the schedule Legion of Super Heroes Cartoon, and even that's a team series, if one with Supes at the center. He's been in plenty of othe rcartoons.. but it's been long enough it's understandable why we'd reach for an apperance in another cartoon.

It did take a bit though as Superman was noticably a no show from the first two seasons of brave and the bold. And that.. was by design. Brave and the Bold tended to spotlight heroes who needed the spotlight, ones who either hadn't been featured yet or if so, all that often. It's the series where Bwana Beast got a heroic sacrifice, Ted Kord finally got to appear on screen, and the green lantern was Guy Gardner, the angry asshole what looks like moe howard hit the gym. It's something I love about the series, as it gave a lot of heroes their shot, taught me some existed and is a good thing, and thus it makes sense Supes wasn't around till it's final season: he needed his own solo cartoon sure, that took way too damn long, but he didn't really need the show or have as many new avenues to explore. Both Batman the Animated Series and The Batman already teamed the world's finest up. We'd seen plenty of them together in justice league and young justice. To justify trotting out superman for more than money's sake, they'd have to do something only THEY could do

And that.. was salute the silver age. Like Batman, Superman had a pretty weird time in the silver age, if better sales since weird shit happening to an alien who could suplex the moon fit better than happening to a guy in a mask whose suddenly a baby. It was a time of unbridled creativity: thanks to this age we got my beloved Legion of Super Heroes, who are sadly sitting this super may out due to scheduling, the legion of super pets, supergirl, braniac, all the various flavors of kryptonite, super vintiloquisim. I'ts a period I need to read more of but deeply love as it's just.. fun. it dosen't always hold up, but when it does it gives us fun breezy weird adventures with stuff that's hilarious now sure but also really fun to go back to.

And going back to this age.. was part of the hook and brave and the bold. Having the style of those days, not taking itself super seriously, but still having just enough seriousness to not come off as a farce. We still get plenty of character moments, a death or two and what have you, but we have fun in the process and it's done in an optimstic way that most batman work isn't, as batman.. isn't the most optimstic character. So doing a superman spotlight, while good to keep off, was something they kinda HAD to do. If anyone represented this age, it was supes and if any show was going to celebrate him at this stage in his history while slyly winking at all the weird shit it was Brave and the Bold

It was also a celebration of one other thing which you can find out under the cut along with a full review!

That one thing of course is Superdickery.

Superdickery was a webstie in the 2000's where a snarky man on the internet made fun of old silver and broonze age superman covers where Superman was a dick. Granted it's usually exagerated or explained in story, but it still lead to good times and often the covers were funny enough on their own

NGL I just did a google of superman is a dick to see waht I got... it did not disappoint. I mean you have superman doing a cultural appropriation to marry jimmy to an ape, jimmy harvesting superman's tears in revenge, and of course superman making jimmy dig his own grave while batman plans to shoot him..

You can see why it's easy to do an entire website making these.. and why Brave and The Bold opted to just lean into that, make an entire episode homaging some of the more infamous ones. It's fun to see the purest hero in existance as an out of context king sized asshole, complete with pope hat.

The episode can't begin with superman being a dick though.. you have to establish that baseline of Superman being for truth, justice and the american way. All of that. So we begin with.. Batman and Robin as spooky mummies

Yeah and like many of the events in this episode it's based on ana ctual comic

Though in that case it was to not give away their identiteis because they'd turend green... so brave and the bold wisely changed it to "rags soaked in buttermilk to counteract king tut's zombie ray" And really if you ever wonder "WHy take comissions' besides you know...

It's getting to write sentences like that.

THey beat him and Vicki Vale gets a scoop. Vicki Vale is Lois Lane if she were in gotham and after batman. That's about it. The 87 film I covered in march did flesh her out a bit and My Adventures with Superman does a good job making her distinct if also the queen of asshole mountain, but the version here and at the comics.. seems to just be lois except she's a ginger.

The proper story begins with Jimmy Olson faking his death so Superman will reveal his secret identity.

Which kinda justifies the whole "marry you to an ape" thing jimmothy. It's a constant game of one upsmanship with these two that will end with both in a grave Jimmy freshly dug with robin I swear. At any rate this fails because superman you know.. has super senses, so he senses Jimmy's just fine and jets off and was just playing along because these two have issues.

Superman responds to a jewel robbery and finds his oldest and greatest friend, batman! Thankfully there's none of that "blaming batman for a crime" nonsense this go round, as Batman's been investigating some eastern seaboard jewlery thefts, and agrees to team up. I also love how they go back to the more silver age partnership for these two: it fits given the astetic of these versions, but it's also nice to see the two just.. be pals. No distrust, no long term ressitance, no asking him to commit election fraud, just two guys who like fighting crime teaming up.

Naturally the culprit is LEX LUTHOR who is less an evil billinoare in the silver age and more a sciency weirdo who likes to throw on a death ray, though most modern versions combine the two making him a genius.. but having put that genius into

While doing evil super science as a side hustle or because he was finally indicted and has kidnapped lois because that's part of what she did back in the day, though she keeps her feisty nature by kicking out of a plane.. granted she then shouts for superman.. and is mad batman saved her. Superman stops Luthor, he's sent to jail to break out next week, they do this a lot.

We have a larger guest voice cast than usual this go round so let's dig into them real quick: Roger Rose is the man of steel himself. Rose is a voice actor but mostly tends to do "Additional Voices" looking at his credits on wikipedia, with his bigger roles being Dr. Strange on the Superhero Squad show, superman in this show, and Kent Powers on Quack Pack. And given any time i've seen kent in an episode he's hilarously douchey, Roger was the right man for the job here.

Luthor is played by Voice Acting Legend and marathon man Kevin Michael Richards, who I now realized has voiced both Lex Luthor and Shredder and that's dope. You've heard him in everything and he's great in everything. He also voices Mxy in this same episode.

Lois is voiced by Sirena Irwin, who I hadn't heard OF before but had heard before as she voices Spongebob's Mom, along with Lady Upturn. She also voices Mera on this very show.

Jimmy is voiced by Alexander Polinski, another va I hadn't heard of.. but i've heard a LOT of: He got his big break voicing Control Freak on Teen Titans, followed up by voicing loveable friend on the black market and stool pigeon Argit from Ben 10 alien force all the way thorugh Omniverse, is currently a lead in Monster High, and most important to me was Chameleon Boy and Matter Eater Lad on the legion of super heroes.

Finally we have a character intorduced in the next scene as Lois pitches a day in the life piece on superman and is mad clark almost gets it: Perry White, voiced by character actor Richard Mcgongal. Clark here is portrayed as he was in the silver age: a clumsy ditsy suit superman wears to live among mortal people. Thankfully it's not around enough to be an issue but to me supes works best when superman is clark no matter the outfit. He isn't a reporter to get info or trick his love intrest, he's a reporter because he loves being a journalist and wants a normal life, but knows he can't just fuck off and not be superman. It's not who he is.

So we get a neat montage of lois as Batman and Superman do their thing, with Supes having invited Batman to hang around for a bit. It's also neat in that it shows just how much Batman thinks of this version of supes from the get go: While he respects most of his partners, Clark seems to be one of the few he's genuine friends with. They just get in synch and there's no bossing him around like he tends to do in most team ups on this show.

So we get a fight with metallo who has his silver age apperance which is...

It's a lot. The series DOES him favors by bulking him up but the color scheme just dosen't quite work. I get why most later versions go with silver instead, the green glow of the kryptonite from it giving him a terminator vibe. It works really well. We also get good old mxy, whose castually talked back to his home dimension after cycling jimmy through all his various transformations.

Lois and Jimmy then get gifts that are from "Superman". Really shoudl've checked the air quotes. Said gifts are a shiny new signal watch with red crystal inlays and a red jewel.

Naturlly these TOTALLY incouous gifts awaken something in Superman as he fights the flying fat man, the toyman, who in the silver age was just.. a guy who made toy shaped death weapons.. .which is still impressive but I can see why the animated series gave him that now iconic doll look. Brrrr.

Superman beats toyman.. then prepares to REALLY beat toyman

Deciding he's done with truth, justice and not kicking your balls into your face. He'll figure the anatomy out later. Batman stops the toymurder and it's clear Superman has changed.. he's EVIL now.. and also a real di...ffrent person. A gag I REALLY love from this ep

So we get one of the most glorious montoages ever as superman is just.. the biggest dick the writers can conjure. It works if you don't know what their homaging as they set up who superman actually is well and it's just so over the top it's hilarious. It works even better if you've seen a bunch of silver age covers as they just.. made that into a version of superman, from literally tying up traffic to my faviorite, PUTTING A KITTEN BACK UP A TREE. I love cats but I can't help but also love how dickish that is.

Batman can tell something isn't right here because anyone with two eyes can tell Superman is acting off and something is wrong. Everyone except Jimmy Olson whose angrily tearing down his superman posters and takes this at face value. Then again he DID make him marry an ape so I kinda get not trusting something's wrong. It dosen't help superman burned his thoughtful father's day gift

At least even on an evil rampage Superman was kind enough to adopt him. Jimmy wishes things were back to simplier times...

That's not a joke by the way,.. the real joke is jimmy starring whistfully after they animated this cover. It's what makes this episode work really: they do do a LOT of homages.. but don't make that their whole business, making up new gags along the way. Jimmy gladly gives Batman the new watch.

Batman goes to talk to Lois yet and Superman's been the worst to her... he cheated on her!

Superman's childhood friend Lana fought over him a lot. Superman int his versoin does add it's because Lois is always trying to trick superman into marrying him which is sadly accurate

Though some times it horribly backfired

I mean.. at least she got a pope mobile out of it?

Batman notices the necklace and the connection and goes to TRY to talk sense into super dick where we get the best bit of custom made dickery in this episode: him grabbing the bottled city of kandor, shaking it and shouting "EARTHQUAAAKKKEEEEE!". It is truly the greatest thing human knid has put to a cell. Batman TRIES to talk sense into his friend but fails as he declares if batman fucks with him again he'll fuck him.

He also gives him Krypto because he dosen't wants him anymore. I mean.. at least you got a free dog superman. Also if you don't know hwo krypto is he's superman's kryptonian dog who was also sent in a rocket from Kyrpton. He's a very good boy. Movnig on.

So Superman decides to take things a step further and declares himself KING SUPERMAN of metropolis... an homage to this iconic cover

Yes folks, it is the REIGN OF THE SUPERPOPE. And the series has him wear the super pope hat in all it's glory. They saldy removed the Cruella deville approved real dalmation fur but I put it back in on the title card because the fur just.. adds to it. LIke it's not enough he got himself a pope hat, which is glorious and golden, it's that he added a fur trim to both the hat AND his cape. It's so beautifully stupid.

The Reign of the Superpope is short lived as protestors come to .. get murdered by superman? I mean I get standing up to him but what was their plan. THey get saved by the new dynamic duo of batman and krypto, with batman wearing his dark knight returns armor.

And can we just.. sit back and bask in an episode of television that both homages internet meemes of silver age superman AND the dark knight returns, of all things in the same issue? I"m not a big fan of Frank miller, but I can respect how iconic that armor is and how fun it is to see it pop up in such a light hearted work.

Batman's worked things out: Superman is hopped up on Red Kryptonite. For those who didn't read a bunch of books about dc comics as a kid, red K is Kryptonite's wacky cousin. It's basically a magic story generator, with it's effects lasting 24 hours as said and allowing them to turn superman or supergirl into WHATEVER weird shit they want. It is the crown jewel of all plot devices and I respect it and i'm happy we've returned to i'ts oringinal form as there were attempted revamps, but none really worked. It's best as crystalized wacky nonsense and i'm happy.

Here though it just means batman has to hold out, doing his best and getting a few good hits in.. but ultimately even with bitching grappling armor an da REALLY well done fight scene with lots of nice tension and animation.. superman almost crushes batman's head... an image that's genuinely chilling in this otherwise silly episode

Thankfully he snaps out, everyone accepts superman was going through some stuff. I mean Jimmy accepts jit every week and he's still married to that ape.

Superman wonders who done it.. and Batman, being the world's greatest detective... found out who: Luthor. Turns out he sent a lexbot to prison in his place

And shoots batman and pulls out his green kryptonite ring what gave him cancer once. It was a whole thing. But turns out our heroes played swapsies and the day is saved and our heroes head out to fight braniac.

Battle of the Superheroes is true excellence, one of Brave and the Bold's best episodes. Doing a bonkers tribute to superman being a dick was a risky idea, as with superdickery now gone, the meme could've gotten old. But those old silver age covers are so charming in their over the top nature and the jokes around the homages so well done, it works. They even give us a geninely fantastic superman batman fight to go with it. The episode manages to condense how the silver age of superman feels into 22 minutes without being remotely boring or overstuffed, managing to hit all the high spots. The only things really missing are supergirl, superboy (superman when he was a boy, and the legion.. and even those I understand as simply overstuffing the episode. They got everything in they could while being utterly hilarious and unique, giving us one of the best stories of the world's finest there ever was in the process.

Next Time: Lex Luthor runs for president! Get ready for a lot of smaller stories chopped up into a graphic novel, a terrible christmas carol homage, and american voter idiocy. Just kidding your already aquanited with that last one.

[complexitiiesarchived]

                                 COM·PLEX·I·TIES

                               /kuhm-plek-si-tees/

       NOUN, PLURAL; the state or quality of being intricate or complicated

abandon the urge to SIMPLIFY everything, to look for formulas and easy answers, and to begin to think multidimensionally, to glory in the MYSTERY and PARADOXES of life, not to be dismayed by the multitude of causes and consequences that are inherent in each experience – to appreciate the fact that LIFE IS COMPLEX.  m. scott peck

( feat. muses from arrow, beauty and the beast, blue bloods novels, brooklyn 99, chicago pd, criminal minds, doctor who, fantastic beasts, girl meets world, hamilton, harry potter, high school musical, moana, once upon a time, one tree hill, riverdale, shameless us, sense8, sing, star wars: tfa, stranger things, supergirl, the 100, the chronicles of narnia, the flash, the originals, the outsiders, the shadowhunter chronicles, the vampire diaries && until dawn )

[edwinas]

Playlist for EiG

It has been exactly a year since I first interacted with the wonderful @faeriexqueen. So here is a little something to celebrate our one year anniversary!

You are such a wonderful person and have been with me through so much. It’s only been a year but my life changed drastically and you’ve been a shoulder I could cry on many times. But the moments I remember the most are the happy ones. I have been very fortunate to meet you and love you to bits! 

I’ve made a playlist of the emotions I’ve felt reading each chapter of Encompassed in Glass, an incredible Yulma fanfiction that I FINALLY finished! There will be some spoilers. (I am eagerly waiting for your Lucky head canons from this AU as well!)

Chapter 1: Prologue: Seed of Desire - Crazy in love Remix by Beyoncé

I chose this song because it holds a classy darkness that matches the epilogue perfectly: the tense meeting between the noble families and Tricia’s mental journey which ends with her caving. Faerie has really put an immense amount of effort to depict Tricia as a grieving complex woman and I think this remix does her justice! 

Chapter 2: A Light in the Darkness - Main Title: Prologue from Beauty and the Beast (2017)

This song perfectly conveys what I felt when I read the first part of the chapter with Suman wading through murky waters to get to the innocence flower (like the magical rose in BatB). If the scene was to be recreated in a melody, it would be this epilogue. It has this magical, suspenseful and hopeful quality that really permeated this chapter!

Chapter 3: A Voice from Within - Talking to the Moon by Bruno Mars 

This is because Alma starts hearing that voice in this chapter. He inexplicably (or not) gravitates towards his innocence which is reminiscent of the painful longing in canon with Yulma’s past selves. So even if it’s not necessarily melancholic in EiG, I loved the parallel to canon so I thought of this song because of the longing in both canon and this chapter! 

Chapter 4: The Visitors - Under the Sea from The Little Mermaid 

I’m such a sap for Lavi and Bookman’s dynamic so this is for them! I LOVED their exchange in this chapter. I have chosen this song because it is very fun and goofy but also carries a deeper message (vegetarianism and even cannibalism in a sense) and it resonated with the Bookmen’s relationship. They are a comic duo 95% but have a chilling purpose. So I found Under the sea to be an adequate(ish) match for their complexity! (I’m still not a 100% on board so if you have a better suggestion, please tell me)

Chapter 5: A Fragile Synchronicity - Runnin’ (Lose it all) by Beyoncé & Naughty Boy

I felt that this chapter was very much about Alma struggling with his innocence until he realises they are one and the same. So he stops running and is able to synchronise and become and accommodator. This song starts with an agitated tone and settles into a strong message of being true and accept yourself, hence why it was chosen! 

Chapter 6: Disquietment Afterwards - Once upon a Dream remix from Maleficient

So much happens in this chapter and I chose to focus on Tricia’s flashback with Victor. The memory itself is sweet and romantic (Victor is too sweet) but Tricia comes back to reality and it stings. This remix is the perfect mix of sweet lyrics and a haunted arrangement, which symbolises her pain and sorrow. 

Chapter 7: Night of the Autumn Ball -  People by Barbra Streisand 

During the ball Alma is surrounded by people but he is lonely in the sense that he has no close friendships (hence him being quite excited by Lavi’s arrival) and now he is infinitely more ostracised as a royal exorcist. Since the first chapters, we see how Alma tries to avoid conflict, especially with Sheril, and wants to get along with everyone. Alma’s loneliness was accentuated by him reminiscing about Victor and how close they were, which harshly clashed with the state of his current relationships. This song showcases Alma’s need and happiness found in others. 

Chapter 8: Before the Fall - I remember from The Little Mermaid 3 

The song is about better times when the Queen of Atlantica before things fell apart. There was a sense nostalgia with Alma looking forward to apple picking like in the old times and Suman thinking about the perks of being an exorcist like giving Jaimie better health care. Then everything goes to hell in a hand basket. So the song is dedicated to the happier times that the characters reminisce about AKA the calm before the storm!

Chapter 9: The Hunter and the Stag - Crying Crying Crying by Ali 

This song is played in a drama about mother-daughter relationship (and betrayals), which I thought worked quite well with this chapter. We see Suman trying to fight the lifelong relationship he has built with Alma as a parent figure. Hell, I see him as more of a father to Alma than Sheril. The disbelief and grief going through Alma when he point that arm at him just... this song fits, especially when you’ve seen the drama. 

(This chapter is a MESS but I know things will look up eventually!) 

Chapter 10: In the Woods - The Plagues from The Prince of Egypt 

I chose this song more for the visual aspect. Alma is chased from his home into the woods which is consumed by darkness. The situation looks even more hopeless with the hoard of Akuma that find him. The song is about being hounded by misfortune (mainly the plagues) and having to leave your people, which I found quite fitting for this chapter! Dgm’s imagery and plot line is closely linked to Christianity so the song works even better, 

Chapter 11: The Men in the House - Somebody’s got your back from Aladdin the musical 

This song definitely does not suit the tone of this chapter which has more of a homely and relieved feel with Alma finding refuge with Team Tiedoll to it whereas the song is just exuberant. But this song makes me smile so much and the message matches the chapter perfectly! This was more indulging in fun songs than one that reflects the scenes. 

Chapter 12: The Other Exorcists - One of Us from The Lion King 2

This song is for Kanda’s hatred towards royals and his immediate rejections towards Alma. I am quite proud of the song choice because it really works with Kanda wanting to banish Alma from his home and the lyrics “Someone once lied to us/ Now we're not so blind” which makes sense with Kanda’s past experience with royalty. So this one was more to explore Kanda’s initial feelings towards Alma which are not friendly, at all. 

Chapter 13: Entanglement, Entrapment - This Is My Idea from The Swan Princess

I loved hostility between Alma and Kanda (mostly from Kanda). As a Yulma shipper, I have always loved how their relationship began in canon and every AU imaginable with them fighting, though it is definitely more serious in this fic. The song does not match with the chapter but it was mainly for the hostility /bickering (even though Kanda loathes Alma first in EiG) and I also remember Faerie recommending this song for Yulma a while ago!

Chapter 14: The Aftermath - Bring him home from Les Misérables

It is a short passage but Tricia’s emotional journey into accepting her son’s loss stood out for me. The way she hopes that something will be different when she opens broke my heart and there is something so devastating when a mother looses her son. This is from a man’s point of view but it conveys Tricia’s desperation quite well. She internally begged her son to be there, which is quite similar to the whole premise of the song with Jean Valjean.

Chapter 15: Lullabies of Lavender - Meant to be from Anastasia the Musical

I know the chapter is mostly from Alma’s point of view but I tried imagining Kanda’s thought process when picking out the lavender (I SCREAMED when he did) and imagined him being at peace when he thought of this kind gesture for Alma. The song is definitely for the more mature character who understands himself, which is not quite Kanda at this stage. But the song is so peaceful and relaxing  (especially the instrumental bits) which was the whole purpose of Kanda’s gesture towards Alma. It is also a nice change of pace after Alma’s breakdown. 

Chapter 16: Remnants Intertwined - Save the Hero by Beyoncé

One of my favourite things from this chapter is Lulubell’s analysis of Klaud. The way she sees Klaud as a proud and dutiful woman whose swarmed with exhaustion. But Lulubell is reluctantly (or not) impressed by her strength and tenacity. There’s something so powerful in a woman respecting another woman. This passage is really striking and I need more female interactions. This song shows the duality of Klaud who is an exhausted hero on a one woman job. It encapsulates the complexity of a woman ready to save the world.

Chapter 17: Night of Terror - Take me to Church by Hozier 

This song is dedicated to Road’s character and Alma’s mental torture. There is something obscene about Road and how she can mentally manipulate people, both in canon and this chapter. This song is less about a relationship with someone but emotional heaviness and how the Noah are linked to Christianity but represent something insane and unholy. It sums up how Alma looses himself in the Noah’s powers and is almost broken.

Chapter 18: Shards of Broken Glass - Dusk till Dawn by Zayn and Sia 

This is for Alma calming down and Kanda being there for him. Hell Alma even goes “For the first time that morning, Alma felt comforted. And when he thought of Kanda, the comfort remained”. Kanda kept him company through the night and his presence reassure Alma, which works with the lyrics “But you'll never be alone/ I'll be with you from dusk till dawn”. The chorus is a bit too lively but the lyrics match the scene. 

Chapter 19: The Ripples Beneath - Don’t Speak by No Doubt

I know that Suman does not speak anyways so this song does not make sense. But I wanted to focus his helplessness and the overall situation where Klaud does not want to believe that he did it. But she still feels disappointed (”Klaud felt something break inside, and for a shattering moment disappointment flashed in her eyes as she looked at Suman regretfully.”) when he does not speak to deny the accusations. I chose this song more in the sense that Klaud does not want Suman to say that he was involved in Alma’s assassination.

Chapter 20: A Glimpse in the Well - Sakura Kiss from High School Host Club

I am sorry but Alma’s heart palpitations were the highlight for me!!! He is so confused and awkward and.... he just reminded me of Haruhi from High School Host Club, hence the song choice AKA the anime opening. Alma and Haruhi both think they are ill/ something is wrong with them when they start having feelings. Alma even goes “Alma’s own feelings to jumble more, as his thoughts twisted together into something incoherent”  so I chose the intro song not so much because of the melody (though the lyrics somewhat work) but because of Haruhi. (I am still bitter Faerie, you let me in Yulma heaven for less than 10min) 

Chapter 21: Twisted Heart, Suffering Heart - Flaws and all by Beyonce 

Gosh this chapter made me go from stressed to soft with Yulma kissing. I, of course, chose a song for that scene that was so well written. Alma’s selflessness shone through with him not being scared/wary of Kanda but more concerned about Kanda’s well-being while Kanda was petrified by Alma pulling away from it. They ended up accepting each other regardless of all their insecurities which is why I chose this song which is really about finding solace in one other (I mean “But holding each other quietly, and for a moment both finding solace”)  acknowledging the other’s flaws. 

Chapter 22: When Dusk Falls - Too Good at Goodbyes by Sam Smith 

... why, WHY FAERIE. Here I was ready to see the world through rose-tinted glasses but Kanda goes on and lies to Alma about not caring for him. Even though the chapter started with them cuddling, the prelude to Kanda’s lies was very easy to follow and very much in character. Kanda is a self-sacrificing fool and he wants what is best for Alma hence the timeless trope of the character pretending to no love the other to pieces. The song is about breaking up to protect your own heart which is the clear opposite of this chapter but I though that if you changed that bit, it fit quite well!

Chapter 23: Poisoned Heart - Trust in me (The Python’s song) from the Jungle Book 

The process of dodgy Kanda luring Alma out in the woods reminded me of the scene in the Jungle Book with Kaa hypnotising Mowgli. Both villains want the hero’s demise and the song is about the hero “sleeping” with “Shut your eyes and trust in me/You can sleep safe and sound” from the song and the whole Snow white imagery in EiC with Alma eating the apple (and falling into slumber). The song has a poisonous/macabre edge to it which is the vibe fake Kanda gave.

Chapter 24: A Deep Sleep - If I Die Young (Glee Cast version) 

This chapter messed me up. Alma dying and seeing Kanda struggle with his loss was very emotional. He felt so guilty for his last words to Alma be lies and Alma taking these lies to his grave. I knew that the AU would ha happy ending (courtesy of Faerie reassuring me many times) but Kanda’s realisation that Alma was gone was still hard to take. The song is oddly peaceful but the lyrics are what I focused on. There is a lot of nature imagery which echoes the lotus imagery in the chapter. “Sink me in the river at dawn” (from the song) really reminded me of ““Lotuses are always fated to sink back into the mud…” A voice repeated – this time, one that sounded eerily like Road.” It is not a hopeful message but more of a death sentence. 

Chapter 25: The Lotus That Rises - Keep Holding on by Avril Lavigne 

This for the whole troupe (partly) travelling with Alma back. It warmed my heart that Kanda decided to accompany Alma, especially when he was the prime fugitive and framed for murder. But Alma’s near death experience seems to have really opened Kanda’s eyes and he seemed to have finally made peace with his past. Kanda surprisingly seemed like the most optimistic character in this chapter because he promised himself that Alma will stay safe, even at his own detriment. So this song is about hoping and making it though! 

Chapter 26: A Broken Defense - The Host of the Eldar/ The Battle of Hornburg  from Lord of the Rings 

This chapter is so tense and very focused on breaching the castle without being discovered by people other than Klaud and Tricia. I felt that it was a stealth mission and an instrumental is more suited than a song. I am redacting the Lord of the Rings trilogy and chose one of its soundtrack! This chapter kind of reminds me of the battle of Helm’s deep (minus the crushing hopelessness from the film) in the sense of it the ramp up to the climax which will probably be a battle with the Noah. The soundtrack is when the elves showed up to support the people of Rohan at the fortress AKA when there is a bit of hope left, like its this chapter! But honestly, almost any soundtrack from LortR would work here. 

Chapter 27: The Fallen Siege - Who you are from Jessie J 

This is a mess of a chapter but what stood out to me was Alma standing up to Sheril which was so different from pre-Team Tiedoll Alma. He has really grown into his own and found his footing and himself. He is no longer tiptoeing around his royal life but is fully invested into doing what is right and no longer pleasing everyone (to be fair, he initially did not know the full story). So I chose a song about struggle and accepting your true self. 

Chapter 28: Gift of Grace - Two Worlds from Tarzan 

I loved Alma’s two worlds colliding harmoniously with Kanda (hopefully) being pardoned and Team Tiedoll no longer being fugitives. I chose the song very much for these two sides of Alma coming together and him finally returning home and yet not having to loose his new family. Tricia’s relief in seeing Alma can also be found in the lyrics “No words describe a mother's tears/ No words can heal a broken heart/ A dream is gone, but where there's hope “ even though Kala looses her baby.

Chapter 29: Epilogue: Seed of Hope - Lucky by Jason Mraz & Colbie Caillat

I am now wearing my rose-tinted glasses and can only focus on Yulma’s soft (last) interaction. It was such a sweet moment and I thought this song was perfect, both for Yulma’s relationship and for the whole epilogue. I really think Kanda is now one of Alma’s best friend and what is better than falling for your closest friend?

Extras:

These Palace Walls from the Aladdin musical

Let me by Zayn (maybe for Entangled in Your Arms AKA a wonderfully soft oneshot)

[dancingtothissickbeat]

Goal: tag 9 swifties and get to know them I was tagged by @taylorswift-made-me-fearless So sweet of you to tag me! Send me a message sometime if you want to talk and become friends💛 Relationship Status: Single 
 Favorite Colors: 
Green, yellow and sky blue Lipstick or Chapstick: I definitely use chapstick more, but I’m choosing lipstick Last Song: “Saturnz Barz” by Gorillaz Last movie: My Girl Top 3 shows: The Walking Dead, One Tree Hill and Grey’s Anatomy Top 3 ships: Belle x The Beast (BatB), Brooke x Julian (OTH) and Jack x Rose (Titanic)

Im gonna tag: some people I’m following and I enjoy their blogs, but haven’t really talked to: @taylorshazex @iknowplacesclean @fatisapositiveword @speaknow @blankspace17 @foreverandalwaysswiftienanami @inadaydreams @averytswiftie @thinkimclean13 

[violetfaust]

Is this the first year belle does not get a solo centric episode at all? I think in the othe seasons she still got one even if there was alsoa rumbelle centric .

I think that Changelings was her centric, but there’s only one (not a Belle and Rumbelle heavy one). Her yearly princess adventure was also handed to Killy. Lovely.

And that’s one reason that OUAT is hitting those big .8 ratings while BATB is climbing toward the billion-dollar mark. 

No one ever accused Kitsowitz of being smart.

[gemini-queen42]

What’s you favorite horror movie?Idk maybe the concept of the cursed prince stuck inside his own body yet he cannot recognize himself nor see himself as it feels so wrong and painful to him.With a time passing of the curse he’s descending into identity crisis and dealing with thoughts and instincts he hardly contains so much so that he probably forgot how to act as a Person and fails trying it.Terrified of people seeing him for his outside body as it’s an animal yet it’s not,terrified they would hunt him down,been killed or tortured and they won’t see his cry for help

YES YES YES !!!

[Also it admittedly took me a second to realize you were doing the trend & not actually asking me my fave horror movie lol]

but oguh !!! Yes !!! Yes !! Im SUCH a sucker for these sorts of themes- identity and monstrosity vs humanity - ough.. ouhhh...

That is a theme I do explore in Other Than Human with the princess !! Though its angle is veered more towards her actively straining and hurting herself to retain her image of "humanity" [Also very tied to her femininity, but that femininity also being deeply tied to her dehumanization while she was still human... ] [All very a la Black Swan, which is an honorable mention of my fave horror movie ! ♡]

However in OTH, the Beast she is turned into is much less Animal than the og is, and much more Eldritch Monstrosity- so the range in exploration is def different, and og gets to cover aspects that are more of a stretch for OTH- so the bits of having this beastly form be much more connected with Nature, that animal instinct so to speak, While still not being apart of the natural order- natural yet completely unnatural.. oh!! Delicious !!♡

But aa!! Look, any themes that have this sort of Visceral feel.. im a SUCH a sucker for- nature vs nurture, existing in a foreign body, the straining of identity- oh how I adore !!!

[gemini-queen42]

posting b4 I forget

Batb: OTH ENCHANTRESS DESIGN LETS GOO!!!

not the Official Ref but close enough for now-

Her nature in this telling is closer to that of a 'haunting spirit' than like.. classic Fairytale enchantress. So yeah she does in fact have an entire backstory being developed and whatnot. So uh, me rambling stuff for now:

-She has thematics of the "Mother - Maiden - Crone" archetype, where she naturally is actually that of the Maiden, but the appearance she takes on when cursing Eve is that of Crone & Mother (messily doodled below)

-The reason I say she's more of a haunting spirit is because that's actually literal. She used to be a mortal, (or at least once lived a 'normal' life-) that ended in Such tragedy she's now Magical about it.

-> The main events of that backstory occur in the Medieval era, hence her wardrobe & look mostly taking inspo from there

-> in terms of design stuff: No inner lines when it comes to her clothing/body, (so those lines indicating seperation of her sleeves from her dress & torso r actually a no-no lol)- So like the form of her body just isn't meant to be properly discernable if that makes sense. her hair is meant to be iridescent & also Spiarally (hello Michael Distortion...), Yes her pupil is intentionally yonic imagery and if given the chance I'd likely insert more- uhh there's actually less than I thouhgt lowk..

SO yeah basically OTH Enchantress is lowk Just A Girl<3 & her reasons for cursing the local princess are a bit more complex than "you're an asshole and u need to learn a lesson." we also have a mix of seeing the Self in the Other & doing something both from Bitterness & from Empathy.

[gemini-queen42]

Some doodles in the meantime of me working on stuff- me doing Comparisons of how I draw Canon vers vs their OTH designs lol (these three cuz they're the Least Obvious differences as of rn) (emphasis on "as of rn". Things change as time moves on but I felt like pointing out details..)

Under cut me rambling explanations:

Babette:

Her Canon self has longer/sharper shape language, she's more "sleek" in a sense. Her eyes also look sharper and her default expression/look comes off more cunning.

OTH Babette has larger, droopy eyes, and eyebrows that make her default expression look almost melancholic/sad. She has a slightly rounder face too, with a more defined jaw. Overall, she's more exagerated/contrasty in looks, looking very doll-like & 1920's inspired.

Cogsworth:

There isnt much differences as of now.. but that's cuz I haven't really been able to figure out what to Do with Cogsworth in OTH yet, so I dont have much of a direction for his design.

Canon self Cogs is rounder face & eyes, bit shorter front bangs, and is overall a bit boxier in shape.

OTH design has sharp upturned eyes, the Biggest Fucking Eyebrows, pear-shaped body, and I usually draw him with a bun instead.

They might have differences in mustache length, but I'm not sure how solid that is..

Lumiere:

I draw Canon Lumiere with shorter, more cartoonishly curled hair, more eyelashes, and his front curl is a simple following of Canon with some added side bumps for interest. His nose also has a slope.

OTH Lumiere has longer, straighter hair. Her eyebrows have a notable divet at the inner ends, kind of like a sharper version of Babettes. She has less eyelashes, and her curl is smaller but a little more complicated in nature- I swear It looks like some specific music notation, but I can't quite pin it down... Her nose is also straighter.

Thats abt out it for now.

If y'all are interested in me doing more of these comparisons- or in general design analysis of the OTH designs.. let me know because I would be VERY happy to 😭

(Yes ik I still need to finish these threes refs... plus others for OTH... but shhhh... I'll get to it eventually...)

[gemini-queen42]

you ever get just. Struck with a moment of Inspiration? Like you just had a Vision?

because. look. context: Princess Eve's theming's got a Lot of inspiration from this one video essay on Black Swan and the Madness of Feminine Perfection (by Final Girl Studios, if iirc?) and I had recently actually watched Black Swan around when I started doing batb: Other Than Human.

Now, Babette's human design in Other Than Human has some feathery wing motifs (because Feather Duster and ALSO I REALLY love what they did w/ her cursed design in the 2017 movie so I took inspo and added some birdy motifs as homage)

anyways, I was thinking abt Angelique- and how I kinda gave Babs like.. the same hairstyle but in a diff font than her. So they look kinda similar now, haha- Then I thought abt lumiere's flirtiness w/ Angelique and in came a prompt abt Babs getting jealous and whatnot and it was all very silly fun for my brain to ponder and mess w/.

skip a couple steps to the next important bit is I doodled a lil OTH design for Angelique- mostly just Translating her to my style & also adding fitting motifs for the design.

Which include feathery/wing motifs- because, y'know, Angel.

Now recall that Babette looks kind of similar to Angelique, w/ hair and Vibes and the Wing & Feather Motifs/shapes.

NOW RECALL WHAT I JUST ALSO RECALLED WHICH IS LUMIERE ALSO HAS DIRECT BALLET CONNECTIONS BECAUSE IN OTH SHE USED TO BE A BELLERINA AND IS THE ONE THAT TAUGHT EVE BALLET AND THIS CONNECTION IS MORE INDIRECT BUT CONSIDERING HER CONNECTING PLACE BETWEEN BABETTE & ANGELIQUE HERE-

So anyways, Black Swan / White Swan Babette & Angelique anyone?

(I feel like I sound insane/I'm going insane but THAT'S the CREATIVE PROCCESS BABY !!!)

[gemini-queen42]

Sketchbook dump part 2 electric boogaloo- batb: Other Than Human edition

Lumi & Cogs + lil Eve (ignore that i didnt draw clothes i didnt have fits figure out yet sjjesm)

Eve Sketches (including the one where my mechanical pencils erasure just Smudged so I just made all the values in the sketch darker and THAT i recently remembered is why she has her Skinton now lol) (also, first image is a sketch of Full Beastly form)

Og Helene sketch + her getting annoyed by Alamure + some lil Amalure's

And this OLD ASS doodle of Lefou & Amalure

[gemini-queen42]

the great thing about drawing Maestro Forte for me is that I do not believe there's any way I can fuck him up in a way that is not true to his appearence. the freedom of just making a lad look like a straight up corpse.

his hair tried to kill me though. dw I won but y'know.

"This is just a silly doodle this is JUST a silly doodle this is just a silly doodle ONE FRAME thing that you will finish BEFORE NOON"

I repeat as I force myself not to go in-depth on 18th century ballet costuming just to try and figure out what a character would wear during a practice/teaching

[gemini-queen42]

So, kept seeing cool Batb x Pokemon au art.. (*ahem* @Luni-mina they've got great art *ahem*) which ofc inspired me and immediately made me start thinking abt what pokemon Ophelia would have. Realistically she probably wouldn't have this many?? but also they're mostly plant pokemon so like.. she's a gardener guys it makes sense TRUST. plus I'm mega indecisive and I literally did a whole notes file & a google slideshow to narrow them down this much so 😭😭

I imagine if the curse doesn't happen in this au, she'd get her character arc via getting a bounsweet and having to deal with its shenanigans through all it's evolutions- learning to be more outgoing & social through her pokemon, or rather her pokemon dragging her into it lol.

Bonus doodle: Based on the Florges lore about how they take really strict & good care of their chosen garden, doing so for hundereds of years. I feel like it makes sense for the castle to have that going on, so Ophelia has a Florges for her boss basically.

& then there's a Lilligant that's just.. there, in the gardens. Ophelia kinda just assumed it was considered apart of the gardens and cares for it just as she would anything else- when they cross paths once in awhile, that is- but she's kind of realized she doesn't actually have.. like, any confirmation of that. This Lilligant could belong to someone. or be a wild one that just wanders in. But Florges doesn't seem to mind, so Ophelia will just carry on as usual.

I planned to post these with OTH x pokemon doodles as well (because I had Several Ideas) but I want to finish those sketches more so I'll post them l8r lol

[under cut is slideshow screenie & me just rambling abt her pokemon a lil]

first off- I am SURE each of her pokemon has like, an Actual Name but *I* Have not come up with them yet so. oops. srry abt that

She's had her pokemon through all their evolutionary stages besides Vileplume (got as a Gloom) and Cherrim (got fully evolved). I don't have a sure timeline of When her pokemon evolved and whatnot so I've just drawn them fully evolved. She isn't one to do pokemon battles so they were able to evolve via- other means, ig. Cultivating them like plants idk.

Fomantis I think is implied that their energy storage thing is to save up to evolve (iirc) so Ophelia would've just supported it in that.

Leavanny is more of a mystery to me? Tsareena would be picking fights of its own accord, so y'know.

I imagine she got her Gloom (plus got it evolved to Vileplume (necessity due to Glooms smell)(Vileplume has, surprisingly, no mentions of a bad smell in its pokedex entries. unless I missed something lol)) & her Fomantis before working for the castle- Fomantis evolving into Lurantis sometime into her employment.

(to clarify how she got Fomantis- it wouldn't have been a Personal Gift, rather someone needing to not it for whatever reason and Ophelia happening to be around to take up the offer of caring to the lil one.)

Sewaddle she would've gotten while working at the castle, not sure of the story though- probs found it hanging around the garden chewing on something it shouldn't lol. Since she got Swaddle though, it's helped her out with pruning & such around the garden.

Absol keeps near her and is the one to pull her out of her daydreams if she zones out to far or needs to pay attention to something.

Her other pokemon also probs help her around the garden, but not to the same extent. Just little fetch quests probably. Well, Tsareena would probs do more.. once that whole arc happens lol

uh i think that's it I HOPE that's it I ramble too much hope u enjoyed the art and maybe the ramblez ig idkokbye

[gemini-queen42]

Im working on some silly beach doodles of Batb: OTH rn but Until then have a batb related sketch dump:

[The last 2 are based of Musical Rehearsal moments lol] [rest is just... my usual.]

(I'll post a specifically OTH related sketch dump in a sec)

[gemini-queen42]

also lads sorry I've been kinda dead.. ik it ain't wednesday but here's some WIPS I've got / been working on!!!

1st one is the ref for a new dnd character of mine :] funniest part w/ how much getting her fur pattern down has been a struggle for me [as u can see w/ all the mini tests.. I'm trying to do basically the same thing w/ all of them hdfjgk] is that literally no one else is going to see it besides like, the DM maybe. like she's disguised and will be introduced as disguised to the rest of party, they will NOT be seeing this ref.

2nd one is one I've posted b4, but she's a lil further along now- lighting is the main point of this piece and by fuck is it screwing w/ me lol. also I'm just.. not good/practiced w/ environments & objects so yknow.

3rd one i'm not sure I'll ever finish? it'd Ophelia as, well... Ophelia from that one painting lol.

but yea :] I also have other pieces I plan on doing that don't have sketches even yet... [Magical girl au fanart, OTH doodles... meet the artist.. tomie x batb au.. etc jhdkgd]

so yeah!