#but also the way it suits him so well as a character both personality wise and narratively

[mcrunchybones]

something something photography being the art of memory and recording and basil being the photographer something something the way hes always the witness and never the subject and maybe he doesnt think he deserves to be the subject something something taking a photograph being the act of freezing a moment in time forever and basil (and sunny by extension) never being able to grow up and move on from what they witnessed the day mari died

[buried-l0cket]

Polygun but it’s how they all see each other

i always really like in books with different narrators when how a character looks itself is unreliable narration bc they describe themself differently compared to how the other pov characters see them, and the dungeon meshi shapeshifter chart scratched that itch for me art wise and I got inspired ✨

To be more specific this is what they each picture when they think of each person 👉👈

Details under cut!!

Meryl clothing details aside because I think she’s just short and the boys aren’t looking at her traveling clothes too hard (and vash clearly likes making his own clothes with how much his overly intricate jacket design changes so ofc his version of her outfit just looks like another one of his designs 🙄) all of the clothes are based on specific parts of the manga!

A big thing with these designs was taking moments that were important regarding each characters relationship with the pov character and adding in visual nods to that to show what memories stuck with them to shape their image of that person.

The clearest example of this is everyone thinking of a different Vash coat, for Wolfwood it’s what he was wearing when he turned him over to Knives, to Meryl it’s his final fight coat, and for Milly it’s when she met him.

It may be Trimax but I will always have a soft spot for 98 millywood so those two’s impression of each other has been influenced by that, but more specifically just the idea of them both alone together, layers and walls down, hair messy from sleep. Their relationship is one I just see very clearly developing over a lot of late nights at inns and bars during traveling!

Vash is the trademarked inventor of Savior Martyr Victim complex supreme and when he thinks of everyone he sees times they’ve been let down by him. To me he’s the biggest broken gear in their dynamic because of the way he holds himself back and isolates, the ship really works in spite of him most of the time. But he also sees traces of times his desire to be by their side was cemented. His Meryl is heavily based on after she was kidnapped by the GHGs and he lost control in front of her, but her hair is longer + earrings are gone like when they saw each other again after Knives released the ark, and she has a black turtleneck peaking out from under her traveling clothes the way it did under her space suit during the final battle. His Milly has the hair and undershirt of the final battle but her outer clothes are from when they traveled together for the majority of Trimax. His wolfwood isn’t doing too well.

Meryl’s versions of Milly and Wolfwood are both pretty similar to how they looked when she first met them, wolfwoods hair is just a little longer like I imagine it being towards the end of Trimax and is very windswept, from their short first meeting in the original Trigun manga run I always got the impression she thought he looked very cool lol, she was staring up at him like ://0 the whole chapter.

I mentioned it before but honestly most of Wolfwood’s Vash is based on how he looked when he turned him over to Knives, not only do I think that moment stuck with him but I feel like it’s a good visual summary of all the mixed feelings he has towards Vash. He’s drawn to him and sees how sad he his but he also sees how inhuman he is and the threat he and knives pose for the people he cares about and prioritizes. At the end of the day Wolfwood chose the orphans over Vash twice and never went back on that, and a big part of why he broke Vash our of Knives prison was just so he could go fight Knives to the death for humanity’s sake, and I think that’s important to his character and their relationship.

Similarly, Meryl’s Vash is really just final arc Vash. She’d already developed a very strong impression of him before then but they would go weeks to even years without seeing each other and each time the way he looked and the way she felt about him would change drastically, it seemed to me like it wasn’t till she was on the ship advocating for him and the people living on gunsmoke that she knew how she felt about him and what kind of person she saw him to be. It was also a huge moment for her character wise with the way she faced her fears in the name of human connection and made the active choice to not be as apathetic and closed off as she realized she had been in the early manga.

I think Milly’s first impression of Vash was strong and accurate enough to not change much, this nice guy is Vash the Stampede and there is definitely something weird about him.

I don’t know why Wolfwood doesn’t know what Meryl’s hair looks like, what’s wrong with that guy? In general his version of Meryl is very inaccurate now that I’m looking at it, I promise he likes her

+small details that are my personal headcanon and not the characters interpretations are Meryl and Wolfwoods hair being a bit more curly/textured than canon, Milly’s eyes being green, and Meryl’s earrings being silver (gold earrings with a white black and blue outfit and silver guns?? C’mon girl accessorize properly)

[danfrik]

CAN I GET A WA-HOO??

I'm bacK, yes, you can all see that.

I finally finished this silly little drawing of mine and god I love it, and yes I'm going to make more drawings of them 'cause I have no self-control, also

HELLO, LGBTQ+ COMMUNITY

⚠️Spoilers ahead for both series⚠️

So... about those takes that I have about this two (and a few others that I plan on drawing, don't worry, we'll get there), well, you can see that Phoenix is Crowley while Miles is Aziraphale...

It makes sense, I swear-

At first I was thinking of them but reverse (Phoenix as Aziraphale and Miles as Crowley) because, ngl they could fit either role anyway.

But character-wise? I think this is the best, mostly because of interactions the four of them had on their respective series.

To give an example, this dialogue in Ace Attorney:

It feels strangely similar to Aziraphale's "hereditary enemies" dialogue in the first season.

I might need to write some things down or else I will forget, fuck- (I'm writing this without any plan, help)

But hear me out, I'm not crazy-

Just take a look at Aziraphale's and Miles' fashion sense, that old-timey style they both have (and it's even more obvious with Miles' debut suit), that stubborn personality and undying faith about their side (Prosecutor's Office and heaven), etc.

While Phoenix's and Crowley's personality are more care-free, going their own way, their own side, bluffing away their problems and always chasing or following their "best friend" anywhere.

Phoenix getting a law degree just so he can reach Miles and save him, Crowley always being there for Aziraphale when needed and saving him...

Do you see where I'm getting at?

Also, you remember that scene with the bookshop being on fire and Crowley thinking that Aziraphale was dead?

..."Prosecutor Miles Edgeworth chooses death."

Yeah... the only difference is that Aziraphale didn't dissapear for a whole year and much less left a cryptid ass note behind and it wasn't really his fault-

But the feeling is quite similar, isn't it?

Now, after all the sad or complex feelings aside, let's see more happy things that I noticed:

Crowley's fondness of children / Phoenix's habit of adopting kids anywhere he goes.

Aziraphale liking yellow because it reminds him of Crowley's eyes / Miles finding a particular shade of blue relaxing once in a while.

Crowley's tendency of following Aziraphale like a dog following its owner / Phoenix's constant chasing after Miles (and also having a dog-like personality.)

Aziraphale not admitting that Crowley is his friend (or that he likes his company) / Miles also not admitting Phoenix is his friend (or that he likes his company.)

Yeah... the pattern is getting more obvious the more you look at it...

But I guess this is enough for one post, if you read it all the way, thank you for indulging my delusional brain!

Any comments, requests or... anything, really, will be much appreciated :DD

(If there are some errors, mispellings or anything of the sort, feel free to correct me because even though I've been learning english since I was like five years old, still isn't my first language so yeah👍)

[acourtofthought]

Elain and Lucien knew they were mates from the moment they locked eyes.

They both felt the link between them when he reached out through the bond.

It's confirmed their bond is able to be scented.

Based on everything we've been given that means Elain and Lucien are bound on a biological, molecular level, something that cannot be undone.

I'm not saying Elain has to accept Lucien for this reason but it does not make logical sense for her to forever ignore Lucien because he is (in canon) an actual part of her on a molecular level. Two souls sharing one thread.

The only way for Elain to have growth, the only way for her to know herself as she now is, is to embrace Lucien. Not embrace him as her lover but embrace him as someone who will always exist inside of her because he ALWAYS will, jut like Rhys told Feyre in ACOWAR.

She doesn't owe Lucien her time or attention but she owes it to herself to discover why fate, the Mother, decided that she would always be connected to him because it's not something that can be undone even without a romance. From the moment of their bond snapping the Elain of the future was never going to exist without that link to him.

Does that seem unfair to some? Maybe but since when is anything fair to these characters? Was it fair that Elain's fiancé rejected her? Was it fair the King of Hybern killed her father? Was it fair that Feyre was kidnapped by Tamlin or manipulated into a bargain with Rhys or Nesta was forced into training with Cassian when she didn't want to be or that Lucien had his lover slaughtered in front of him?

Fantasy books aren't about what's fair but about a character learning to embrace the path fate has set them on.

Knowing that fate has set into motion something that Elain can not escape (any anti's trying to magic away her bond so she can be free and clear of Lucien are making Elain's journey a cop-out, it's too neat and tidy to say "no worries! You don't need to deal with your bond because I'll conveniently magic it away for you!) it's logical to assume that Elain will have to eventually face that which she's hiding from. She will have to truly confront Lucien and their bond because it's the only way for her to finally come to terms with who she is now and that fact should scare anti's because there's not much that Elain could dislike about Lucien. He loves nature as she does, they share a similar sense of humor, they try to avoid violence, prefer to forgive rather than seek revenge, apologize for their mistakes, are both wise, both enjoy making friends and being social. These are clear reasons the mother felt they were equal to one another, why they were made mates. The author may have given Elain a little fling on the side after her broken engagement but do you know what she was also doing while laying those "cute" little E/riel moments? Building up the narrative that it is Elain and Lucien who are most similar, who share the most in common, that Lucien is the son of the HL of Day and Elain wants sunshine, reminding us time and again that mates are special.

Sure, Sarah could go a different route and give us a rejected bond even after Elain is ready to face the person who now shares a link to her on a biological molecular level but when the author has done nothing but remind us how well suited Elain and Lucien actually are I'm not getting the vibe that's what will happen in their story. Facing her bond with Lucien means finally facing all that she is, something that she's clearly been hiding from when you consider Rhys's words in the Feyre bonus, that maybe she's acting a certain way for fear of disappointing others (and consider that her mate while also kind and good, is also capable of getting his hands dirty when necessary).

[mayullla]

Hello! I love ur work, and was wondering if I could ask for dottore (?) with 🌹🍁 ??

if you can’t that’s ok =) take your time!

Note: I am gonna assume (?) means that I could pick if it is yandere or platonic yandere and reader? well either way hope you like it!

Title: Unfair Trade

Character(s): Il Dottore (Genshin Impact) Summary: You trapped yourself in your mind after you and the traveler had been lured into a trap made by Dottore. Why you were stuck in your own conscious Il Dottore and the Grand Sage talked about their little deal. Warnings/tags: Dendro archon!reader, fem!reader, yandere themes, possessive behavior, manipulation, power imbalance, 3.2 archon quest scenario, drabble, this is related to a really old brainrot I had before (here)

[ - A little present~! Event - Closed - ]

"Now that I have done my part of the deal, it is only fair that you, too, hold your end of the deal."

"Yes! Yes!!" Azar spoke in a hurried tone. There was greed in his voice of a hopeful future that he could not wait to come. The price was cheap for what it was. Something that he would gladly give.

"You may take the pitiful dendro archon. With our new archon who will rule Sumeru with wisdom and knowledge giving away that weak archon is but a far small price to pay. In fact, I feel as if this deal is not even fair." Azar spoke to the expelled scholar of the academia once he would have looked down on such a man now he spoke with respect. 

Yet he could not help but furrow his eyebrows. Why did this man even want you... "Considering how much you have helped us, we would gladly give you anything else you want?"

"An archon is still an archon while she is weaker compared to others. She is still an existence above many beings." Dottore smiled at the grand sage, appearing more satisfied with the trade than anything. "I do not need anything she alone is enough for me."

"Suit yourself. I must go now, I have another scheduled appointment that I must go to. I apologize. Stay for a while if you wish, and I will have someone bring in more tea if you want." No longer willing to push the subject matter. Azar stood up about to call someone to come in.

"There is no need to worry. I too also need to go soon. The Tsaritsa had called me, and I must prepare to leave for Snezhnaya soon." Waving his hand, he let the Grand Sage leave as he too left the room, heading higher and higher up the stairs of the building.

"If only our own archon was wise in wisdom and knowledge, would we never have to resort to this."

"Trust me, I know your sufferings. I only provided you a way the rest you have worked hard for the benefit of Sumeru." Dottore could only laugh at such useless talks, both knowing well they have their own goals and motivations, yet spewing lies and deceit.

Reaching the place only the higher-ups could enter.

Dottore looked at the person with the orb, sleeping soundly as if, once upon a time, a few days ago, she wasn't trying to rebel with the traveler to rescue her land.

"I still remember the emotions in your eyes when you saw me. Standing in front of the academia with the traveler, it was only proper to cheer for the hero and their own archon." Il Dottore smiled when he got a clear glimpse of your peaceful sleeping face nothing like the face you gave him when you found out and realized what he has done to your people. "Your expression that time is still something I relished every time I remember it."

"How unfortunate." There was a small movement on his lips that looked like a frown of displeasure and dissatisfaction but quickly curled into a smile again. "I was so close to having you back then, yet you soon left as soon as you realized that the traveler was far away and safe. It was a shame back then, but I wouldn't put it past you to do something like that. And even now, you have avoided most of my trap with something like this.”

"It is quite disappointing, I must say. But no matter, it was all pure entertainment. After all, no matter where your contious was, your body was always here in this little orb."

He circled around your orb. His mask looked in your direction. The sounds of his shoes tapping the floor echoed within the quiet wide place where it is just you and him.

"Would you push me away again after Sumeru had abandoned you like this?" Dottore asked mockingly, "The sages were so thrilled by this chance of a fake god that they were so quick to make a deal that once they have their man-made god they will give you as payment."

"All the Tsaritsa wants is the dendro gnosis. She doesn't care much for how we attain it, so I am sure she would let me keep you from myself. After all, I have already done many things for our Tsaritsa's sake." Stopping his body turned towards you as he raised his hands a little as if showing you something that he was proud of. He knew that he was talking to deaf ears and that you couldn't even hear him. But that didn't stop him. He had you, and now you belonged to him.

"It is, after all, only a matter of time dear. We shall see how long you can hide in this darkness that you have created, this barrier to keep me out. I will slowly take away those walls that guard your consciousness." His grin could not go down no matter what as he looked at you curled up in a ball within the orb.

"Those sages are foolish to give you away from a man-made archon. But that doesn't matter in the end so long as you are mine. It is only a matter of time, dendro archon. Soon, your consciousness will be mine, and I will make sure that it will be locked away from the world with only myself in your thoughts."

[kehlana-wolhamonao3]

Reblogged a picture of Lavinia Swire and it got me thinking what makes a good love triangle and why I think Mary - Matthew - Lavinia were a very good one.

Basically, you have to be able to see both possible relationships as potentially working. If, as with Lavinia and Mary, it's believable to see the person in the middle building a relationship with either of them - if they are both likeable - so likeable that even if you're rooting for the other ship you end up feeling sorry for the character who ultimately loses - oh, it can be exquisite and, in my opinion, more true to life.

In Matthew's case especially I think him picking Lavinia as Mary's replacement was very realistic. He is a romantic. He wants to marry for love and scorns more materialistic considerations when choosing a partner, at a time when it was not an obvious position to take. Of course he wouldn't choose an awful girl to propose to, even if he did it on an impulse after a pretty short acquaintance. He needed to believe that he could love her. While I think that a big part of Lavinia's attraction to him at the time was that she was as different from Mary as possible - in looks, personality, background, views - she was also remarkably well suited to him. If you think about it, better suited than Mary in a lot of aspects. Lavinia and Matthew were from the same background and shared a lot of views and values. There definitely was less of tension and conflicts between them than between Matthew and Mary. There was friendship, tenderness, support and gentle, genuine affection. You could definitely believe that they could marry and be happy.

Except, of course, that in the end you couldn't because it soon became obvious that Matthew was still passionately in love with Mary. And this was one component which we never saw in his relationship with Lavinia - passion. At least not on his side, there are hints that Lavinia loved him passionately - but we never get such hints about him. He loved her, I think, but differently than Mary. There were no open mouthed stares at Lavinia or following her around the room either just with his eyes or literally, like a puppy. There were no heated glances exchanged over the dining table or through the length of the room. We never heard this kind of risky flirting as we get with Mary when he is finally engaged to her. And this is why it seems all too probable that if he went through with marrying Lavinia while still feeling all this for Mary it would end up in disaster of some kind for everyone concerned and when Lavinia finally gets the proof that this is the situation she is in, she immediately and wisely decides to cancel the wedding and break their engagement.

Matthew and Mary are so different from each other in so many ways - background, views, values, tempers - but they also are similar in some very important things. They are both principled and dutiful people in their own way, they are both sharply intelligent, they clearly have compatible sense of humour and common interests. Of course they are also madly in love with each other and have explosive chemistry, but it's those other things which makes them work as a couple in the end. There is a clear intellectual connection as well as physical attraction. There is respect on both sides. There is deep commitment to each other, even when they don't expect to be together.

There is a reason I remain obsessed with them and yet care for Lavinia very much.

[doodle-pops]

Hey girl! 😁

How you’ve been?? I hope you are doing great and that things are easy.

I wanted to ask if you had any advice for writing Maedhros and a little bit of Namo as well? While I have my own thing going on I don’t think I like it and wanted to know if you have some tips and tricks.

With my love! ❤️🫂

Heyo! My life has recently been a tragedy as a series of unfortunate events (nothing severe, more comical) keep occurring to me. All my years of being accident-prone have caught up to me. I hope you’re doing better than me 👁👁🫵

Description & Dialogue:

But onto your question. Everyone has their view on a character's personality, and for both Maedhros and Námo, it seems pretty evident in the source material what their traits are.

Maedhros

Prideful & Tempered

Determined & Ambitious

Brave

Burdened

Compassionate/Caring

Intelligent

Enduring

Conflicted

Propriety-based

Family-oriented

LOYAL

Reserved

Námo

Authoritative

Solemn

Stern

Just

Omniscient

Detached & Reserved

Respectful

Wise

Mysterious & Enigmatic

Those are also the personality traits I tend to use when writing their character with the inclusion of them having a bit of humour, ie; their sense of humour. It is also important to remember that it’s fanfiction, so you have free will to alter their personalities a tad bit based on the genre and AU. At the same time, keep certain traits they are renowned for having.

Example: Maedhros being the son of Feanor enables him to have the classic Feanorian temper and pride. Furthermore, taking a look at his role during their exile, he becomes driven and feels burdened by the weight of the war. In any situation for Maedhros, we can assume that’s the qualities he’ll display for sure, not just in exile.

When writing, dialogue or describing an action is a great way to display their quality. For most people, dialogue tends to be easier than going through the trials of describing. It all depends on you the writer and the scene you’re setting. There are times when description is better than dialogue and vice versa because show and not tell. So, ensure the scene you’re creating focuses on whichever is your strong point.

Writing Tips:

I sometimes feel like I’m the wrong person to give writing tips when I write like a mad woman when inspiration hits me out of nowhere. So:

Create lots of headcanons to make writing scenes and personalities better, and then include them in the stories. Eg: Námo reacting to you falling into Middle Earth, Maedhros Meeting Modern Reader (Valinor or Beleriand), Námo adopting Reader…

Play around with the timelines and find which suits you more, which would give you more room to create, or source material. You can turn it into Canon Divergence, an AU or the 4th Age when everyone returns.

Write down dialogues and descriptions when they pop up and note the scene it would occur.

Make lots of drafts and edit over and over and over again until it’s to your standard.

Get yourself into a writing mood. Listen to music, watch a show/movie, or a cartoon, go for a walk and let your mind wander. It’s terrible writing a story or creating a plot on an empty brain.

Sometimes the original plot you had in mind for the fic doesn’t work out. That’s alright. Do a little more brainstorming, rewrite the storyline or lastly, alter the plot.

Let me know if you require any more assistance! 😊

[paletigers]

Some Stardew Valley redesigns/reimaginings!! these pics were about a week apart from one another so theyre in two different styles lol

some explainations below the cut!

For Context: A lot of these headcanons are based off of my own personal lived experiences! They're also just my preferences for their characters in general. I have only romanced Sebastian in-game but looked at Alex's Wiki page for context on the background for his character. I don't really know much about him canon wise, I've only read fanfics with him in it LOL ANWAY!

Sebastian: -25 yrs old + Transman + Gay/MLM -I really liked how he had a motorcycle in-game but thought that there wasn't much to say about it, so I wanted to make it apart of his core as a character! He's a sport motorcyclist as a hobby. He loves high speed racing.

-He's still a programmer, but he's now a Game designer! This is mainly because my lovely boyfriend is a game designer irl and he's like my muse and I love cramming his traits into my favorite characters.

-He plays bass istead of keyboard in Sam's band. I dunno, I think keyboard is fun and all (i actually own two keyboards and played piano in hs) but like. cmon. Bass would suit him so much better.

-I gave him a battle jacket he wears over his normal hoodie. I feel like he has a couple of these from over the years that are DIY with his ever growing music taste. Battle jackets are such a staple in the alt music scene I felt like its a crime he doesn't have one in game. Sebastian you would love battle jackets.

-His motorcycle is a sportsbike instead of a standard/chopper. His helmet also resembles a cat, but definitely not on purpose! Definitely not.

-He has a LOT of scars. Some self inflicted (but he's recovering), others from surgery! He has top surgery scars designed to resemble spider webs, a phaloplasty skin graft scar on his left arm, and gnarly huge scars on his ribs down to his legs.

-He suffered a motorcycle accident resulting in his bike being damaged as well as giving him a limp. He's constantly fixing up his bike since then, wanting to ensure another wipe out won't happen again and that his bike is reall okay to ride again.

-HIS PIERCINNGNSSSSS he has a shit ton of piercings! Not shown, he has a Jacob's ladder piercing. :3c

-His personality doesn't really change much from in-game. I'd personally prefer if he was less bitchy and more just a rarely speaking type. The kind to keep his comments to himself. Bitching about your step sibling and your step dad gets stale, bro

Alex: (Sorry to any alex fans, I changed him a LOT)

-27 + Cismale + Closeted Bisexual

-An ex-pro hockey player (goalie). I don't really care for "gridball" since it's just a couple of sports mixed together (from my understanding) so I decided to just give him a real world sport to play. Plus, hockey just kind of suits him for some reason?? I dunno

-Moved back to Pelican town after the news of his Mother's condition worsening and his Father jumping ship. In my version, he got recruited straight out of highschool to go pro for hockey. He had reservations about leaving his Mother with his Dad, but decided it was the best solution to the shitty situation. This way, he'd have more money to help her medical costs since his Dad's insurance was shitty anyway. A few years go by with constant health updates from his Grandparents, when one day his Dad just calls it quits on caregiving, deciding he doesn't want to waste his life away caring for his wife, and leaves. Without physical support from his Father to help around the house and help his Mother, Alex makes the choice to move back home and become his Mother's caregiver. He struggles with the emotional weight of this job ontop of how extremely demanding it is, but does his best for his Mother. She dies, and now he's taking care of his Grandparents. -I really wanted him to be a caregiver to his grandparents because my family were caregivers to both my Mother and my Father's parents LOL we spent all 23 years of my life taking care of them, so i thought it would be fun to think about. I imagine Evelyn and George to be my grandparents and constantly give them their favorite gifts in-game. (mainly george. i love him) (hes not homophobic hes just OLD and STUPID i LOVE HIM !!!!!!)

-Alex is constantly worried he won't be the same after caregiving for this long. He's worried he won't be able to go back to pro-hockey without reliving the stress of his mother's death. He's been having trouble keeping asleep at night, often waking up every few hours and being completely restless. He'll decompress at the sauna at unbearable hours of the night just because he can't sleep.

-He's the town helper! I thought it would be cute if he's the guy the town usually went to if they needed serious physical help with something, like setting up festival decorations, fixing fenceposts, shit like that. He loves helping out the town and INSISTS sometimes to be the one to fix a problem. When the farmer first comes into town and starts being the more dependable one, he starts feeling hopeless and easily emotionally distant. It's hard being the one everyone depended on to suddenly not being needed anymore. (It's not all entirely in his head, but he gets really worked up sometimes about feeling useless)

-Still an arrogant little shit! Instead of dreams of stardom, it's kind of a "washed up" celebrity kind of arrogance. He thinks he's hot shit because he travelled the world playing games for a couple of years. This backfires in his face, he'll sometimes sit for too long on his "glory days" and spiral, getting depressed about not playing anymore and his role as a caregiver despite loving his grandparents immensely.

-This headcanon is just silly but i think he likes to fish. He's so arrogant that he thinks hes amazing at it but fish rarely bite his line and when they do, they drag him into the river or sand at the beach. It's even more embarrassing because he thinks he's fine and continues to fish despite having sand and dirt all over himself.

-He's covered in moles! I also gave him freckles in places where his skin sees the most sun. (He's also got chest hair bc yall know i love hair on a man LMAO)

anyway. Long post! My bad. I was thinking of writing some Stardew Valley fanfics while working on some other stuff bc I want to explore my versions of Alex and Seb, and also maybe they explore each others bodies???? Let me know if that's something you'd guys like to read/offer up suggestions!!!

[miraculouslbcnreactions]

Tbh I don't see the point of Luka learning mirakungfu while Adrien and Marinette don't, even more so if the reason why Suhan teach that to him is because he knew LB and CN identity. Then shouldn't those two learn it also since they basically holding the miraculous that the villain want most? But then again it feels like "adult is useless except for some" seems to be one of the rule in this show.

I kind of despise the concept of mirakungfu because it makes no sense and because it feels disrespectful. I am by no means an expert on Chinese culture, so I don't know if it's actually offensive, but when all the writers are white, the name for the made up martial art is a parody of a real martial art, the box of magic items has nothing to do with the culture it's supposedly from, and the main character is completely removed from her heritage, it's just not a good look, especially since the monks are Tibetan and everything about the miraculous themselves is pretty explicitly Chinese. It just gives me uncomfortable vibes of Asian cultures being treated as both window dressing and an interchangeable monolith, but I don't have the expertise to really discuss that issue beyond "this feels like a bad idea and you probably want to talk to an expert on these topics to make sure you're not doing something offensive."

On the other hand, I love the concept of Guardian Luka! I have actually always wished that he had been given the miracle box instead of Marinette simply because I don't think that Marinette's personality is well suited to the role of Guardian and because I wanted her to have an actual team. Meanwhile, Luka freaking shines when they have him in a mentor role (Wishmaker & Migration) and I am of the firm belief that the Guardian should be a mentor to the other holders. It's why I said Marinette isn't suited to the role. As written, she just kind of hands out miraculous and orders people about. That's perfectly fine for a team leader! It's not so great for what I expect when I hear "guardian who chooses the holders of the ancient and powerful artifacts."

But that's not what they did with Luka. He isn't the holder of the miracle box. He just knows how to fight off miraculous wielders because reasons, so I have no idea what they're trying to do with him. Especially since his existence is straight up breaking their lore. In this case, it's the lore established back in Furious Fu, Su-Han's intro:

Su-Han: Let me remind you about some of the Perfect Precepts that you have broken. (flips pages) Precept 14: Kwamis must not live outside the box. (flips pages) Precept 52: Guardians must never lose a Miraculous. (flips pages) Precept 133: A guardian cannot, under any circumstances, wear a Miraculous. (closes the book)

Su-Han accepting Marinette as Guardian because what's done is done makes sense because of the memory BS (why is there no other way to hand off the box?), but that whole "Guardians don't wear Miraculous" rule is there for a reason! I think it may go a step too far, but the general principle does make a lot of sense. The Guardians should be in more of a support role simply from a security standpoint.

It's another reason I'm iffy on Marinette being the Guardian. The Guardian knows everyone's identities and - in the context of canon - has a direct line to the miracle box that any rando can access by capturing them. This makes it a really bad idea to have them fighting on the front lines as they know too much and are something of a security risk. Meanwhile the snake feels like a perfect miraculous for the Guardian to wield since the snake is meant to watch the battle from the sidelines.

It's all very confusing to me because I'm getting a thing I wanted, but in the most confusing and least interesting way. Instead of this feeling like a big plot point, it just feels like something they did because it's cool. I fear this is going to be like Luka learning the secret identities: a thing that should lead to something big plot-wise, but that ends up mostly ignored because it would complicate things too much. If anything, I expect this to mean that he's left out of big moments because the writers very clearly don't know how to write him now. Like he should have been involved in the Risk/Strikeback fight! His powers made more sense than anyone else's! But he couldn't be because then the Felix thing couldn't happen.

I do very much agree that Luka leaning mirakungfu is a big WTF because, if holders are randomly allowed to learn it now, then Marinette should be learning it too! She's actively fighting against a rouge holder, she knows all of the other holders' identities, and she is the guardian! Why is Su-Han mentoring Luka and not the actual guardian? It's all very annoying and I do not like it. It would honestly make more sense if Jagged and Penny were trained, but Luka was not, because Jagged and Penny are not holders, but they are acting as Luka's bodyguards of a sort. Instead, the writers have once again shat all over their lore in the name of doing something cool for a season finale and I would bet you that they're now going to have no idea how to handle the consequences of that in the coming season because they keep doing that. See: season three ending with a mass reveal and the writers subsequently ignoring the identity rules.

[sorrinslays]

OKOK SO IDK IF YOU'VE DONE ANY POST LIKE THIS BUT

What do you think a 5 star Sampo would be like? Both in lore/personality, and in design or even kit! Hell, maybe how he is introduced as his 5 star version would be cool to think of too. I want more opinions on this, and the idea of his 5 star version makes me more and more excited

Hello anon!!! So, I have talked about it a bit while reblogging @feroluce's post about 5* Sampo ideas but I don't mind elaborating on my thoughts a bit more.

In that post, the idea of Sampo having a 'stage hand' inspired abilities/design was presented and I fell in love with it, so a lot of my thoughts are inspired by it.

First and foremost, I think he would have the fire element as a five star. I've seen a lot of people wanting him to be Quantum, but honestly it doesn't speak to me. Maybe it's because I'm not a fan of the Quantum element in general, I don't know.

I think fire suits him for a variety of reasons, but most importantly, it creates contrast. I'd like to start by mentioning that fire is eye catching, going against his theme of the stage hand, a background entity. Can you imagine? Aha creating Sampo to be eye catching, giving him powers that are meant to be viewed, admired. Sampo being created to be the center of attention, yet he goes against all that. Preferring to stay in the shadows and watch everything unfold from a distance.

I like to think that his design is dark, full of cool colours and drenched in black, showing that he himself wants to blend in with the background and his element being the exact opposite. Him going against his 'nature' you could say. Against his purpose.

If we want to look a bit deeper we can go two ways. Firstly, fire represents enlightenment, self-awareness, rebirth, and rebellion which (if we follow my headcannon of Sampo being a Creation of Elation turned Emanator) would suit him a lot. Enlightenment when he understood the real meaning behind Elation. Self-awareness showing that he understands what he is, what he wants to achieve and how. Rebirth as in leaving the Masked Fools and their flawed view of Elation. Rebellion because he goes against his Aeon, his creator.

Furthermore, it's be nice to see how a character like Sampo would respond to having Aha as a "parent"/creator. The struggle of sharing an ideology yet trying to distance himself from his creator. His appearance being the complete opposite of his powers would be a cool way to show how he resists Aha's view of Elation.

As for his playable path... I want to keep him Nihility. The path of IX is very similar to the Elation at it's core. Both believe that the universe has no meaning, THEY just respond to it differently. Where IX does nothing because there's no point in doing anything, Aha acts in a way that would entertain only THEMSELVES.

Alternatively, it'd be nice if Hoyo made the Elation a playable path only for Sampo's 5* design. It'd be mad funny but also on theme with how meme-y hsr really is.

Now, for his clothing. Like mentioned previously cool tones and dark clothing is the way to go. But, to elaborate more on that I think there's specific parts of his original 4* design that I would like to keep, like his jacket that looks like a ring leader's jacket, just in a different colour and with other accessories/details.

The snake symbolism should stay as well, I think. It's be nice that instead of snake bones it would be leather and shit, to show that it's "alive", that he's back to being an active Emanator.

I also really like the idea of him having two sets on hands that at his fingertips end in different colours that was proposed by the original post I linked earlier. The first set fading to white and the second to black showing how one set is pulling the strings in the background while the other is the one everyone sees.

I think his mask should rest on top of his head like Sparkle's, a plain red thing contrasting with his blue hair and dark clothing, another contrast to Aha.

Personality-wise I think he would be pretty much the same, expect less greedy and money-driven. I don't know, I feel like that's a part of Sampo Koski's personality, not his, if that makes sense.

If you want a bit more on how 5* could work in my mind in the story I recommend you read my post on Gepard's role in the story, although it's mostly about Gepard I managed to sneak in a few thoughts on Emanator Sampo because of course I did

[octahyde]

1, 14, 25, and 28 for the twst ask game? (if that’s too many feel free to pick and choose lol)

the fact that we chose so many of the same questions and were both like “if it’s not too much 🥺” FAVE

1. who is on your home screen right now?

Pumpkin Knight Idia is one of my defaults even not around Halloween!! Unsurprisingly as sawluvr199x and my love for horror as a whole, I’ve grown up with Halloween being my family’s biggest holiday of the year. I think it suits her and also her gushing about 80s horror in the vignette made me Feel Things.

BG rn is mostly a holdover until playful land’s out for the music LOL

(also don’t look at my gems I’m Saving. that child took me to pity on his birthday and now I have to start all over for playful land. i only need to really grind out 2 more to soft pity with bdays)

14. if you could wear any outfit from the game, which one would it be?

I wanna say it’d be hard to pick as a romantic goth playing a yana toboso game, but it’s not. It’s just not. Heartslabyul Halloween fit.

I would wear this every day of my life if I could. The corsets and the raven skull. Fuck me dude. The gloves are even velvet.

I’ll also put Malleus GloMas because I wanna cosplay it So Bad when I’m further in transition. Malleus is a character who made me very comfortable and gender wise also. It’s why I decided to go by Drac online and want to change my middle name to Draconia irl despite him not even being a fav LMAO

25. who is the first person to be banned from entering ramshackle?

My self insert actually isn’t Yuu, but a Pomefiore student!! I mentioned a day or two ago that I didn’t really like Yuu as a character at all until I read Octa manga and used Yuuta as my Yuu. That being said, he seems way too nice to ban anyone and would inversely invite them in for a meal LMAO.

As for me, Drac Draconia Octahyde… well Grim is part of the deal so I can’t ban him. Probably Rook. He isn’t my least favorite character and I actually like how absolutely fucking insane he is. But also I do not want him anywhere near me because of how fucking insane he is. My qpp has had nightmares of walking through the city at night and a bus passes him and Rook is in the back window. Staring straight at him. Standing and unmoving. We’re both really obsessed with it.

28. a song you'd recommend to your favorite character?

OHHH IDIA… MY WONDERFUL EMO WIFE. There are a LOT of songs I connect to her (I literally had an idea for an entire series of 17 pieces based on her and every single Black Parade song.)

I think my biggest one is ironically not an MCR song. So Much for Stardust by FOB is a song I very very deeply relate to, and I feel like it really captures her grief with the death of Phantom Ortho.

Another big one is Cemetery Drive by MCR, again one I deeply relate to and one that definitely encompasses Idia’s grieving.

Also like, I can’t NOT post Black Parade songs after mentioning it, so I’ll say This Is How I Disappear because of how encompassing it is of despair and loss, and also Kill All Your Friends because it’s about the anger and isolation when you have CTPSD and nobody around you understands. Also it’s my favorite song on the album when I’m forced to pick one and it goes so fucking hard.

[adetolasblog]

Gintama and Colonialism

While rereading the Gintama series for the nth time, I realized something so unexpected..... I completely relate to the situation in Edo, specifically with the amanto being basically colonizers, and as a person living in a country that was colonized up until only 64 years ago I decided to share my thoughts.

I wanted to examine the implications of colonialism on everyday people using the joui 4(Gintoki,Takasugi, Katsura and Sakamoto), as well as my country Nigeria as a case study.

I noticed that the actions of these four characters as well as the way they dress portray a view of their acceptance of the "modernity" that amanto colonialism has brought to Edo and discuss it.

I realized that the four members of the joui4 seem to be on a spectrum of acceptance. I'll be taking each character one by one and explain more from one end of the spectrum to another.

Takasugi: He is one the farthest end on the spectrum. An extremist who completely rejects modernity that the amantos bring with them and seeks to destroy it at the expense of everyday people. A terrorist through and through. My mind immediately thought of the Nigerian terrorist group Boko Haram when I saw him and learned of his ideals. They are an extremist group that reject western ideals, especially on education and seek to destroy it, at the expense of the innocent majority. They bombed places and kidnapped people, all to make a point. Takasugis complete rejection of modernity is shown even in the way he dresses;in traditional kimonos and sandals.

Katsura: Katsura is a strange case, because while he disproves of amanto control, he completely benefits from the technology. Using bombs, watching TV dramas, getting a driver's license, piloting a Gundam, being close friends with an amanto and even becoming president Zuramp. He's quite hypocritical in his protests. In my opinion, he's like those old people or so called 'old souls' who hate what the country has become due to colonialism then go home in their cars and watch western movies all day. Clothing wise, unlike Takasugi, he alternates between traditional kimonos and modern clothes like the space captain outfit and the president Zuramp suit.

Gintoki: Our main character finds himself right in the middle of the spectrum with him embracing both tradition and modernity. He respects tradition, while embracing the new technologies. I feel that Gintoki represents the majority of people in the country, who speak both English and their native languages, who eat burgers, fries and pizza when they go out but eat fufu and soup at home, who make ties and western style dresses out of adire and other local fabrics and so on. The way he dresses showcases this perfectly, with his shirt and trousers being distinctly western while his traditional style kimono is on top. He also goes through a bunch of outfits, both western and traditional.

Sakamoto: He is on the complete other end of the spectrum. He is someone who has fully embraces westernization at the unfortunate expense of his traditional values. These are the people that leave the country and JAPA, completely forgetting their home country and culture. These people most likely will not teach their children of their culture. Most people like this usually see all things western as good and African things as bad. He dresses in western clothes and is the only one in the joui4 to use a gun as his main weapon.

The idea for this essay come to me as a shower thought and I needed to share it with others because I cannot be the only one who made the connection. Apart from peoples reaction to colonialism, the ways in which the amanto rule over edo-through the Bafuku is just indirect ruling system which was used mainly in countries like Nigeria( indirect rule is when a colonial government rules a country through it's traditional leaders in order to quickly Garner support from the people).

What do you think? Please feel free to share your own opinions on the matter. I have seen so many similarities in the politics of Gintama and the colonial systems of a lot of African countries.

[alienssstufff]

i luv ur dr art recently @_@ if you don't mind me askin who are ur fav dr characters design wise (not personality/story?)

LOVE when people ask me stuff like this yes - i'd gladly <3

Only included DR, SDR2, NDRV3 - we'd be here forever if it was the entire franchise. Also only accounting for their ingame default outfits

The placements on each tier is deliberate, the closer the character is to the top of that tier, the higher they are. I judge them by: >Prominence of the Talent, its practicality >Relevance to the character's identity/personality >Colour and aesthetics :]

[ramblings undercut]

[S-TIERS]

Like Gundham for example is an S-Tier design as it ticks all above boxes whilst still in a school uniform. The Four Dark Devas are important to the design, they go with him everywhere and the 5 of them are a UNIT which shows his strong connection with animals. I love the bandages and the eye-scar as it has a double meaning that indicates yes he works with animals (they can be rowdy), but as a character Gundham builds onto this detail using these scars to create this dark angsty facade. Aesthetic-wise by his hair he has a unique character silhouette, and I like how his purple is made the focal point by the blacks and whites of his uniform... both reinforcing the villain-facade and highlighting the importance of the Four Dark Devas.

Similar reasonings for the other Top 2 of Souda and Miu this time toppled with the strong yellows and pinks in their design. It's eye-catching and easily conveys what their talent is. (I really wish they kept Miu's promo-art backpack into her regular sprites, imagine her emoting with 4 arms isn't that awesome >:] )

Honorable mention to Impostor (Twogami) as well. While the regular Togami design is... mid. I really appreciate how contrasting Impostor's colours and accessories are down to the necktie and poses! Like yes they are impersonating Togami, but their values and personality as a person are not the same. The deception of Togami's dark clothing vs honest white suit of the Impostor's. Impostor fucking CLEARS regular togami any day on all accounts I will die on that hill.

[GOOD CHARACTER DESIGN]

A lot of the talent indications on this tier are more subtle in compare to S-tier but they get the job done and they do it in a pleasing way (I like the colour palettes on Chiaki, Mikan and Ibuki for example). Like I loveeee Sonia's uniform especially for it's simplicity. And yet the design still alludes to the Princess talent by elegance in the bow, the brooch, her crowned braid and how the shape of her skirt resembles that of a puffy princess gown. I also think the reds in the design like Snow White are a cute touch!

To me, Sonia should be the standard in what a Danganronpa design SHOULD be in accordance to detail.

[BAD CHARACTER DESIGN]

[ie the Green and Blue tiers] Reasoning why I put them here mainly because of wasted potential, either too basic (in a sense it doesn't tell much about that character) or not practical in any way for their talent... I HATE Ryoma's stripe leggings ik he went to prison but the execution of the concept looks awful.

And I hate Akane's and Sakura's outfits particularly cuz you KNOW why they made those skirts so short and I hate that. We could have gotten awesome gymnast of martial artist outfits but no......

I added Kiibo in that bottom tier because structurally even as a robot he is a visual nightmare if you're an artist trying to draw him. Especially when most of his suit is different shades of black and complicated chest cavity. And I despise the way that it looks like these robo-plates are attached on top of what looks like fabric long sleeves and pants as if the designer was too scared to fully commit to him being a robot. He is NOT 3D-optimised and he is NOT animator-friendly I'd throw up if I ever had to deal with him.

[see-the-ending]

Locklyle Headcanons

@waitingforthesunrise and I had a whole conversation about this. Some of these are hers, some are mine. By the way, this is a long post.

Lucy wears Lockwood’s pajama shirts to bed.

Holly is the one who started all of the bets on how long it would take Lucy and Lockwood to confess their love, kiss, and start dating.

Lockwood is a closet/hangers person. Lucy is a drawers/floor person.

Lucy organizes her clothes by feeling. Lockwood organizes his clothes by color, activity, and how much he wants to impress Lucy.

Lockwood does the laundry. Lucy says she makes the bed but she really just throws the comforter back on the mattress and goes “Done!”

Lockwood does most of the chores.

Lucy says “Thank you, love” and kisses him and that’s his payment.

They’re literally every trope ever.

Big moment of catharsis after a fight in the rain with “I love you, bloody idiot?” Totally in character.

Saying “I love you” by accident? Totally in character.

Established relationship but then someone finally says it? Totally in character.

But you see, if the big fight were to happen…

Lockwood: *does something reckless and stupid*

Lucy: *is mad*

Lockwood: Why do you care so much?

Lucy: Because I love you, you bloody idiot! 

And she kisses him.

Lockwood’s all like, “what?” 

And Lucy starts storming away.

And so Lockwood runs after her and he’s like “You can’t just tell me you love me, kiss me, and then walk away. I love you too, Lucy Carlyle.”

And then they kiss.

Dinner was very awkward that night.

So something will happen, romantic-wise, and Lockwood blushes and looks like a dork.

And Lucy’s like, “Wipe that silly look off your face, Lockwood.” Then she does it for him.

And he’s all like “Well, what if I put it back on my face? Then what happens?”

So she’s like, “Then I’ll just have to kiss you more, I suppose.”

At their wedding, Lucy either wears a white dress for the ceremony and a blue dress for the reception.

OR

She has one of those dresses that’s all shimmery and shifts depending on the light.

I like the skirt on this one.

Lockwood wears a blue three-piece suit.

And he matches his socks.

Before the wedding, Lockwood’s like, “Let me in, I want to talk to Lucy.”

But Holly’s all like “No.”

Lucy says it’s fine.

They end up kissing when she’s in her wedding dress before they get married.

Holly’s just like “Why? Why am I here?”

Lockwood cries when Lucy walks down the aisle.

He dips her when they kiss. Exactly Something like this

He has a different suit for the reception.

George also got him a tie with cartoon ghosts.

George is best man for the both of them.

Barnes is standing in the back, just watching. “Those two crazy kids. Finally.”

I have a whole list of songs for their wedding playlist, but first dance is: I Want You by Stephen Sanchez

The pure duality of they sleep together but then they SLEEP together. Y���know?

Lucy’s more flirty, but Lockwood can be really soft and make her blush.

“Hi.” “Hi.” “I love you, you know that?” “Yeah, I do :).” “I need you to believe that, Luce. I love you more than you can imagine."

Lucy’s crying because no one ever really loved her like that before.

He just hugs her. 

He traces circles on her shoulder a lot. Soft gestures like that.

Lucy’s the little spoon because Lockwood protects and Lucy needs protecting.

He's like “Luce, love, it's okay. I'm here. I love you and I’m never letting you go."

She’s still crying.

He kisses the tears running down her face.

She’s like “fuck you <3”

"You don't get to make me feel like this, Anthony Lockwood" "Like what?" "Happy and sad and amazing and bad all at the same time. I love you."

Okay imagine: Lockwood's sitting in an armchair. Lucy goes to sit next to him, perched on the arm. He wraps his arms around her waist, she wraps hers around his shoulder/neck and then before you know it, she's sitting on him and they're cuddled together and she's like "Mine."

COFFEE DATES

Lockwood’s had a bajillion coffees and now he’s buzzing and hyperactive

Lucy’s downed like six espresso shots and she’s still tired.

It’s raining when they walk home.

He gives her his suit jacket.

But they forgot an umbrella so he’s soaked.

But he doesn’t necessarily mind that he’s in a wet shirt clinging to his chest because Lucy’s totally checking him out.

She keeps stopping to kiss him on the way home.

And then they get back home and Lockwood's like "Yeah I need to change" and dude just takes his shirt off right in front of Lucy.

She’s red-faced.

George is in the doorway just like “Get a room.”

So they do.

Their respective rooms.

And it’s been a few minutes so Lucy thinks Lockwood is done changing so she goes to return his jacket.

But no, he’s not.

He’s just sitting there, on the bed, without a shirt.

He just spent the last ten minutes thinking about how Lucy Carlyle just kissed him over 20 times in the same hour.

He’s grinning like an idiot.

And Lucy comes in and she's like "Lockwood, what are you doing? You're still wet and you're not dressed and as attractive as I may think that is, you're going to freeze!"

He's like "What a blissful death though."

“But if you die, I can’t kiss you anymore.”

She tells him that every single day and then kisses him to prove her point.

When Lockwood puts his arm around her shoulders, Lucy reaches her hand up to hold his so she's both making sure no one takes him and that he's not leaving.

I'm gonna make a Pinterest board for their wedding.

[okamirayne]

Hey Rayne-chan! (ɔ◔‿◔)ɔ ♥ It's a TWD Ask. I'm so hyped to know you're a Walking Dead fan and love your pairings. Just curious as I read that you weren't sold on the Richonne pairing. Why is that? And also, are you a Darol fan? No pressure to answer if you don't want, I'm just curious because i love how you write characters and would love to hear why certain pairings appeal more than others. Thanks (✿◠‿◠)

Hey there TWD-fan Anon! 💜

I'm so hyped to know you're a Walking Dead fan and love your pairings.

Just curious as I read that you weren't sold on the Richonne pairing. Why is that?

Right you are. Yeah, it just...didn't gel for me. I get it objectively, but I don't feel it. That might have something to do with chemistry. Andrew Lincoln is a bloody brilliant actor. Hell, he sells it.

Pick any character or actor and Andrew could probably make me believe he was head over heels for them if he wanted to😅. Danai, for me personally, isn't telegraphing on the same frequency. Not saying she's not a good actress, I just feel a disconnect from her side when playing off Andrew's energy. It just doesn't translate for me and I can't quite pin it - it's just a feeling. For others, I appreciate that it does translate and they love the pairing, and that's great. I just don't feel it sadly. Chemistry-wise, Andrew seems to carry it. Character-wise, I can't fully make the leap from friends to lovers for Rick and Michonne...I really tried to, but it just didn't quite land for me. I love the idea, but I just don't feel it as it's played out.

And also, are you a Darol fan?

Not anymore. Once upon a time...like...8 seasons go...during the prison arc. Yeah. Back then? I could get on board with that and I even wanted to see it play out.

But I personally felt the showrunners/writers dragged out the whole "will they, won't they" tension until it fizzled out into a more familial kind of bond (same thing with Harvey/Donna if you've ever watched Suits). I think the slow burn can turn into cool ashes if not done right and I really feel the relationship tease just ran lukewarm then cold for me. Don't get me wrong, she was great for Daryl's growth, but it hit a wall at a certain point. And I think that can sometimes be an obstacle as well as a guardrail for him emotionally.

Post-prison Arc, I feel Daryl shrinks or stagnates when he's around Carol. He doesn't seem to expand or plumb any depths. Sure, I feel his love for Carol, but that doesn't read for me as romantic love. I think the chance of that ran its course. In fact, there are times when I've wanted to literally shove Carol out the bloody way (seriously, I get vexed lol) because I feel she might've posed a hurdle to Daryl actually finding the kind of love or connection that will grow him and deepen him...now some could argue Carol does try to encourage him to explore romantic connections (i.e. Connie) and that's fair enough, but I still feel there's an unfinished agenda the writers are pushing (I may be way off here) which annoys me...and has only irritated me further given the Season 2 spin-off with Carol.

So yeah, long story short: I personally don't see Daryl deepening or growing around Carol. It's the same old.

Now, place him with a romantic interest like Connie...and damn, I could wax lyrical about these two. It rings so true. Developed so beautifully. I absolutely love their interactions. The way he is around her is beautiful to watch. And that goes both ways. The layers that are added given that Connie is deaf, Daryl is naturally quiet so it pushes him to be more communicative. She also totally blows the racist "Dixon redneck" shadow of Merle right outta the water. It's just...*chefs kiss*

Even Isabelle (Daryl Dixon spinoff) feels more enaging for me than Carol. How she is with him. The way he looks at her. How their worlds collide. What they go through in a contracted period, with a kid involved too, deepens him.

So yes, put Daryl with Connie or Isabelle and I see growth, challenge, spark, a more self-actualising character. With Carol, their history, their love, feels like comfort zones and safety (nothing wrong with that in and of itself, but it doesn't make for the dynamic I personally champion or engage with in fan ships). I like how he's pushed and somewhat tenderised (painfully or pleasantly) when he's with Connie (💖) and Isabelle. So no, I'm not a Carol fan. Once upon a time, I rooted for it but now I see them as family. Different strokes for different folks, right?

I'm just curious because i love how you write characters and would love to hear why certain pairings appeal more than others. Thanks (✿◠‿◠)

Aw! Thank you so much. 🥰 I'm hugely chuffed you enjoy the way I choreograph characters on my crazy stage. I hope I've answered your question...I could waffle on and on (probably have) so I'll spare you further ramblings. Of course, Rickyl is a pure fangirl dream of mine that doesn't touch on canon-verse (😆🥰), which Connie and Isabelle most definitely do. And I'm so here for it, for them, though I'd lean stronger towards Connie.

Thanks for the ASK, luv! 💖🫶🏼💖

[bi-lullaby]

So I really loved the PJO show. I wish we get a second season, and a fourth and so on all the way through heroes of olympus because it’s just so good. If you feel like reading my (NOT spoiler free) rambles:

- Percy’s loyalty and dedication to his mom is just so integral to his character and they RESPECT THAT.

- I really like what I’ve seen mentioned about how both casting wise and storyline changes wise there have been some adaptations that were less “lol lets change it” and more to connect better with today’s audience and cultural paradigm. Like Annabeth being blonde because of the stereotype of “the dumb blonde” that was so prevalent in the era the books were released versus her being Black showcasing the extreme undermining Black women go through instead, or Luke being less 00s/10s boyband boy looking and more tiktok softboy looking now, but also Sally being less 100% perfect and more active in the story and upbringing of Percy as both a hero and a demigod and Luke being less cool and detached and more… Sweet? Emotional?

- I did feel pretty meh about a few changes: Zeus immediately accepting that Kronos is scheming and is a threat (Ik they couldn’t know if they’ll get that far but it cuts the stakes of the third book by a lot if there’s no pressing time limit to get Artemis back to Olympus to convince the Gods into action if they’ve been Doing Stuff for two years now, and even the second book loses a little in regards to the behind-the-scenes political climate that leas to it being what it was). Luke going to every length not to kill Percy is such a 180° from the books it was a little jarring and I feel it cuts out how much of a Menace he was and how bitter/jealous he was of Percy. Like we could have seen their bonding and even Luke trying to recruit him but I’d still have liked to see the scorpion scene so the betrayal and anger and wariness Percy feels is that much deeper and bitter and personal like in the books.

- I’m of two minds about the entire Gabe arch. Like on one hand I do understand toning him down (including his demise) for the public’s intended audience, I even think it kinda goes along the adapting to new times by showing that the useless, insensitive, disrespectful aspect of a bad husband is harmful just as the “darker”, more explicitly abusive/exploitative and mean drunk book version, but on the other I feel like he had such an impact on Percy in the books (he’s literally the Oracle’s “mirage” for his prophecy, he thinks of his smell in tartarus), and I really had loved the line “you’ll fail to save what matters most in the end” coming true because Sally saves herself - although the post I’ve seen about his fate showcasing how his lack of respect was his doom did make me appreciate it a little more.

- The only castings (or maybe it was the directing and styling of them more so) that I can’t really get behind are Hades and Hephaestus. Hades felt like they were going for the Disney’s Hercules comedic relief one in a slightly toned down costume. None of the gravitas and intimidation, he didn’t feel like a god at any point. And Hephaestus was just… So different. He’s supposed to be a deeply secluded, antisocial, gruffy mechanic who’s self sequestered by his inventions and forges. The show version looked like an eccentric professor more than anything imo. Which I feel could be one modern retelling of Hephaestus in another series, but isn’t the one we had and, imo, doesn’t go as well with the rest of the vibe. Which is a shame bc I do feel like Timothy could have been used in a way that would work fantastically for those vibes.

- Lin Manuel Miranda’s, acting actually shocked me. I never really had a Hamilton phase but I am on tumblr so I was expecting something cringe and honestly, I thought it was good (and to bring it back to Hades: Hermes in sweats and a hoodie actually gave me the feeling of “this is merely a cover to a deep well of power” than Hades in his suit and dark colors ever did)

- Meanwhile, perfect Ares casting. Yes this man is beefing with (and losing to) 12yos but he’s also an ancient force that revels in bloodshed and carnage.

- Annabeth from the show encapsulates the character so well while also bringing her own notes to it. Like as time went on back in my peak pjo days I felt she got “Hermionified” by the fandom too much? And I lost sight of how fond I was of her but the show (and having reread the books) really rekindled that and made me remember why she is a force to be reckoned with and also someone that must be protected at all costs. I cannot express enough how much my fondness was reignited.

- Like I feel this could be a whole post but basically I feel the books showcase the “ideal” characteristics the gods and their kids could have versus how they wind up twisted into something else (Percy’s sea-like indomitable spirit vs several of his brethren’s ruthlessness and disregard for what’s good) and Annabeth feels like, beyond amassing knowledge for it’s sake… She wants to actually Learn, and in the show maybe even to a deeper degree than in the books and it is endearing and very enthralling.

- On that note, Leah, Walker… This is supposed to be a SLOWburn goddamit. Like in the books you can see where it’s headed but in the show they have such silly crushes I can barelyy stand it. My children.

- Speaking of Walker that kid IS Percy like you cannot convince me otherwise. Disney farmed him for this role.

- I actually really loved Poseidon having a british accent? Idk, something about england and nautical exploration and it feeling older and more… Powerful? Like the ocean

- And Zeus had all the “I’m the god amongst kings and king amongst gods” that I’d have expected from him. He was crackling with power and that was beautiful to see. What a tragic loss.

- Grover is my precious child (although I do wish we had gotten the silly, goat like details of him like eating cans and making the bleating noises). And since the last book I finished rereading was the Battle of the Labyrinth (where I cried like a baby at Pan’s death) watching this sweetheart getting all excited with his literal flower searches license? Made me wanna weep.

- Overall most of my criticisms that came to mind besides the alterations I cited came from being hushed because of too few eps and those being too short. Really really hope the next season (fingers crossed) we’ll get like, 15+ eps (and/or at least longer eps) so we can really sink into the meat and potatoes of it all.