#but it connects with the rest of the episode

[neptunesyellowsands]

The final piece of the DESTINY SET, the ever-gallant Lancelot! PDF here. These seven portraits are connected by love, hatred, destiny, and a hefty dose of symbolism. This is what they look like together:

The thing is, I legit thought I would get done with these and be done for a while, but I am not lol. I want to keep going, even if it's just for me! And I really do want to make this into a physical book. But we need more pages!

If you're enjoying these, lmk what category you'd like to see coloring pages for next. More portraits? The rest of the knights? Family members/older gen (like Uther, Gaius, Hunith)? Specific scenes (jousts, dragon caves, etc)? I've already got ideas for the knights, but I'm open!

Thank you all so much for hanging out with these. I'm having the time of my life :D And I hope you are too!

As always, you can find all the pages under this tag.

[mbg159]

I view Z-One as a fairly good antagonist who had the potential to be a much better antagonist. His main problem is that he has two very good concepts: the protagonist in the future, at his lowest, having abandoned everything he once was, and a guy futilely trying to emulate what he thinks of as the last symbol of hope. These are both good concepts. The problem is, the series uses one as a fakeout for the other, and in a way that ends up diminishing it.

Usually, when you want to have a fakeout, it's important for the thing you're faking out to be something the characters and the audience both think they know. That way, the fakeout can have some actual meaning, because the audience and the characters can learn about something at the same time. But that's not the case in the Z-One fakeout. Fans figured out "oh, he's probably Yusei from the future or something" from the moment he first appeared--but the characters didn't. They don't bring up the idea until the mask breaks. In fact, once Yusei does see what he looks like under the mask, he takes about half an episode before he dismisses the idea as something that could never happen, and Z-One basically goes "alright, fair cop, here's what really happened." After giving us a big emotional reveal, the series then nullifies it before anyone's really processed it, and the result just doesn't feel right. And that's not even getting into the catastrophic experience of watching it week-to-week, where audiences who had just had their socks knocked off by the end-of-episode reveal tuned in the following week to learn that all the cool ideas and scenarios they'd imagined for how the show could possibly explain Yusei's fall from grace were actually pointless.

I'm going to enter speculation mode here, but I'd be willing to bet money that when we first saw Z-One, the writers didn't actually know what his backstory was, and may have even gotten into conflicts about it. The series stays tight-lipped about him for a very long period, keeping his actions mysterious and leaving most of the clues of his identity as a future Yusei left to his visual design and the whole Shooting Star Dragon thing. That, to me, suggests that the writers were strongly considering the idea of him being Yusei, but didn't want to nail anything down in case they went back on it later.

Now, if they had decided from minute one that he was going to be a fake, then it would have made sense to have the characters think he was real (or at least strongly suspect it), well before the duel with him. That way, you can have Yusei struggle with the idea, have his friends distrust him a bit, and delve a bit into Yusei's attempts to reject that potential future--he might even question using Shooting Star. You could have the villains deliberately play into Yusei's doubts. You could have the angst and the character arc, but you don't have to tarnish Yusei. As it stands, the reveal doesn't actually mean much emotionally, because it's really only pulling the rug out from under the audience. To the characters, the twist was "hey, you know that guy from the future we don't know or have any connection with? Well, he's... still a guy from the future we don't know or have any connection with."

Basically, I'm not opposed to the Z-One twist in a vacuum, though I feel its actual execution leaves a lot to be desired (that flashback feels incredibly rushed, and in a bad way). But I feel that to make the twist work would require the rest of the arc to be written differently. With the arc as it was, I think it would have been better to just go for the full shock option and make him Yusei, letting the "holy SHIT" factor paper over the oddities.

The Supreme King arc of GX is a really good counterexample. As the arc stands, it was very clearly rushed and underplanned, the timeline is wonky, and believing that Judai would become that evil takes a lot of stretching of the imagination, but the strength of seeing this loveable dorky goofball have all that stripped away from him to become a cruel demon king with a heart of ice is enough to make you want to believe it. And it helps that, while it may not hold together logically, it does hold together emotionally, because it felt like it was informing what we knew about Judai. Judai was outwardly affable, but he'd always had an undercurrent of something worse, moments here or there where he just comes off as kind of an asshole. Then, the third arc kicks into gear, and people start calling him out for it--and suddenly all his behavior earlier starts to get recontextualized, and it becomes clear that Judai was only ever a "hero" because being a hero came easily to him. He didn't really have a moral code or a selfless motivation, so when he does suffer great personal loss for the first time, and completely throws aside any veneer of morality, dragging down the dimensions in a cosmic-scale act of desperation to never be weak again... it feels like it's coming from somewhere.

In fact, the arc went so far as to have a twist on top of its twist, but from the complete opposite direction of the Z-One twist. Initially, it seems that the Supreme King might just be some kind of entity of darkness possessing Judai, some supernatural, external force. But later on, we discover that, no, that isn't true. The Supreme King was nothing more than Judai at his worst, tapping into the power of Darkness that was his birthright. The series refused to let him off the hook for his selfishness, and it makes the arc incredibly powerful when he ends it by doing the most selfless thing imaginable.

Now, I don't mean to say every character should get a villain arc. Judai and Yusei are very different characters: in fact, they're almost opposites in a lot of ways. Judai's arc is about maturity and learning to accept responsibility. His arc is meant to be a positive one, where he starts out as kind of a bad person and ends up as a better person. Yusei's arc, meanwhile, has more to do with guilt, with refusing to accept that you are a bad person even in the face of the whole world telling you that's the case. His arc is a neutral one, where he starts out as a good person and then refuses to stop being a good person even in the face of the world telling him to not be, with the occasional stumble along the way. Either Z-One option would have played well off that, whether it's thinking he could become a monster, or knowing he could become a monster--which would make it powerful when he then recants it, denying even the forces of apparent predestination to declare, no, he could never become Z-One. But, by hiding the idea for so long, and then disproving it immediately after it comes out, we kind of get neither. Yusei doesn't really get his morals tested: we do get the "no, I'll never become you", but it just feels like yet another affirmation of what we've already heard a thousand times at this point, which is that Yusei Is Really Cool, You Guys.

But, on the other hand, I suppose I can't complain very much. On presentation alone, Z-One is still handily the second-best Gallop-era final boss, even if that mostly just means he's a B- in a sea of C's and F's (and one A, by all accounts).

dunno if you've ever been asked, but what are your thoughts on z-one? He's one of my favorite final boss villains in YGO but I know (especially for a while) people didn't like him due to the fakeout of not being an evil Yusei.

Hey there! As a matter of fact, I have not been asked. I think Z-ONE's a fine antagonist, frankly. The setup to get to him takes a while, but the reveal when he finally shows up is pretty good where I'm concerned. (Of course, some things about him are plagued by the same plotholes as the entire WRGP���mostly, the scope of his "godlike" powers is very, very unclear. But since it adds a lot of pizzazz, I can usually overlook it.) Moreover, I think the initial reveal of his face—where it's unclear whether or not he's Yusei at first—is perfect, because it really throws you for a loop.

That said, I'm a bit in two minds about the identity thing. On one hand, I get why people wanted him to be Yusei, as in, the actual, real Yusei, who was simply pushed to his limits by a horrid, inescapable future. The sheer amount of angst would have been unparalleled. And it would have posed the very interesting question of just what it would take to push Yusei, our very own protagonist, that far. After all, he's the hero, he's the one preaching hope and friendship even when everyone else has given up on it already. Just the implications alone of a person like Yusei—Yusei—being pushed far enough to become the villain would have been downright cataclysmic. It would have sold the sheer hopelessness of the Meklord future like nothing else. So I get why people wanted it to be true, there's certainly potential there.

But at the same time... I'm not sure I can bring myself to see it. And a lot of that has to do with what canon presents us before the big reveal of Z-ONE's face already. First, there's the fact that it's Yusei. As I said, this is the guy who's all-in on loyalty, hope, and friendship even when nobody else is. It is arguably one of his, if not the defining trait he has. To topple that unwaveringness by implying even he could be pushed to give up on these things... I don't know if it might not have soured his character a bit in some people's eyes. Even if it might have been more realistic, even if it might have been human. Then, there's also the things we get about Z-ONE, as a character, before the reveal. And yes, I concede that's very little, but frankly? It's enough to make him feel like he absolutely couldn't be Yusei to me. Like yes, granted, the unavoidable future of despair™ would have probably changed his personality somewhat, but to that degree? Z-ONE acts nothing like Yusei to me. His tactics in manipulating Sherry, the way he speaks with Aporia during their duel, hell, the sodding Timelords he plays. I mean, sure, obviously they gave him a completely different deck so they could a.) sell more cards and so b.) the reveal could be delayed a little longer for more tension, but something about the idea that Yusei, had he actually been Z-ONE, would have completely abandoned his old deck, kept not even a single card, not even Stardust, or Speed Warrior, or Scrap-Iron Scarecrow, doesn't sit right with me. And that's obviously not touching on the timeline shenanigans that don't quite match up, because Z-ONE's ruined future is implied to be far away enough to exceed Yusei's own lifespan. (Now, if they had actually written Z-ONE to act more like Yusei, and to perhaps, damningly, have kept some of Yusei's cards, I might have been more on board with the idea.)

I don't know, I might be in the minority there, but I think Z-ONE was fine the way he was in canon. We got the shock moment of him possibly being Yusei without delving into either the emotional can of worms, nor the timeline nonsense can of worms that would have come with him actually being Yusei. Z-ONE is an excellent, end-of-show antagonist to me, with or without that extra angst. I don't usually like fakeouts that much, either, but this one, I'll happily tolerate. (Though I would argue the guy could have used just a smidgen more setup and would be even stronger if not for the nonsense worldbuilding of the Meklords. But everyone and their mother who knows my blog knows how I feel about the Meklords, worldbuilding-wise.)

[gayhenrycreel]

i hate that "adult" animation is.... like that. dont get me wrong, i like rick n morty, its mindless and silly, but adult cartoons deserve to tell complex stories with themes and good writing. there are many mature childrens cartoons but i cant name a single mature adult cartoon. imagine if something as good as adventure time was allowed to be for adults. the new fiona and cake show is sorta for older audiences and thats as close to mature adult animation as there is. western adult animation i should specify, because anime is great at being both mature and adult. beastars and dungeon meshi are the sort of thing we could have more of if adult animation wasnt always trying to rip off south park.

[egophiliac]

Hi it's just to let you know that the official romanization of Revaan's name is Raverne ! Also they have romanized Baul's name to Baur !

Twst coming back at us again with the least expected romanization! thank you everybody (oh god my inbox) (no it's great, I literally asked for this and the reactions have been INCREDIBLE, thank you all!)

I do like Raverne though, I think it's got a nice fancy sound to it! (I had kinda suspected it was going to be an R instead of an L, so the fact that it's SO close to Laverne except for that is hilarious to me personally.) and Dragoneye Duke is honestly probably the best translation for his title, I wasn't envying the localizers that one. :') Baur instead of Baul I was NOT expecting, but in retrospect I think his name's supposed to be a reference to the Bauru crocodile, so that actually makes way more sense!

someone else also said Meleanor has become Maleanor, which is the REALLY weird one to me, because I was so surprised it was written as Mel instead of Mal in the first place?! oh god no I can't decide which one I like better. 😭 (I wonder if they might change it to Mal...they have made romanization changes before) (like I remember House of Distraction being corrected to House of Destruction in Playful Land) (I did check and she's still Mel for now, but I dunno, they might Mal her up and some point and save me from having to make a decision about which one to use) (HECK I CAN'T DECIDE)

uhhhh thank you for letting me ramble about anime names, let's just say MONOGRAMMED SWEATERS FOR EVERYONE

[spider-pete-man]

I've seen a lot of posts about the new episode revolving around Rio's reveal or a joke in the show that was incredibly funny, but I haven't seen a lot about Lilia herself, whose episode it was. This is by far my favorite episode of the show, and not just because Lilia is my favorite character. It was an episode about life and accepting death and a character out of time who just wanted to forget her visions and forget her past and all the tragedy she's witnessed from both her life and her visions. It also gave context to those, at the time, funny moments of Lilia randomly blurting something out, which was just incredible to see. Then the scene where she reads her own past and future, that was just so powerful. Each of the coven members played a part, and it makes me want to watch the whole series again with this context. All of this leading up to her beautiful and well-earned sacrifice. The cinematography of that scene was just incredible and tastefully done where we don't have to see Lilia's end. We just get to see her a girl again, happy, and with her coven. This episode really was a knock out of the park for me with Lilia and her character arc and a real standout in any Marvel show too. I loved it.

[lafilleestmorte]

I have been thinking about Q.

Falling in love with the person leaving him notes at the cafe throws him completely off balance. It's his final year of high school, his world must revolve around his art and getting into college. But he's sitting thinking about this person he has never met and how natural it feels to love them and how deep this feeling has settled into his chest and how little he knows how to deal with it.

So he leaves. He goes to university. He spends a year making friends, dating around, drinking. His art surrounds him again and if he ignores the memory of that milk frappe boy whom he left behind then he can return to the person he understands. He loathes that he is able to live with having left him behind. He draws and fools around some more. And so the year ends, and, walking into a new semester, he meets Toey.

Q's mentee is. strange. For a fine arts major, he has the most peculiar relationship to art. He doesn't have the faintest clue of the skills that, to q, are simple as breathing. Armed with blunt pencils and a conviction like none other, Toey paints beauty into the world around him

It's like I'm sitting in a vast grassy field, with a gentle breeze under a bright sky. It's like I'm watching a masterpiece of art.

Q recognizes the way he's starting to care about Toey, but he's still trying to learn how to show it. Small gestures, little invitations. Quite moments with just the two of them. He remembers the milk frappe boy and regrets what he didn't do then. But he likes the person Toey is showing him how to be.

You said I didn't take care of you at all, so I'm treating you to some desserts.

It occurs to Q all at once that Toey might just as easily slip away. Because of a love beyond his hands or someone else who gets there faster or his own lack of action. Q refuses to lose the person he loves ever again. He's never been in love with a boy. He doesn't even know if Toey has a reason to like him back. But he doesn't have the time to give thought to his feelings or his fears. He needs to run towards Toey, faster than he himself thought it possible.

So when he finds out the truth, the feeling of betrayal is difficult to describe. The love that he had kept concealed - from everyone and from himself - out on display for all of his friends. A boy who made him want to reach out and hold onto his own genuine feelings, working behind him to catch him off guard.

The boy he has been in love with loves him back. He has always loved him back.

But the person he has been becoming now feels like he might slip away. How easy it would be to let him go. How easily he had left him in pain and silence, two years ago.

[insistonyourcupofstars]

Once Upon a Time was so right for basically saying that the most miserable thing you can be is lonely

[aq2003]

i saw a post saying boom was good bc it feels like it could be done with any doctor/companion duo and honestly that was one of the things i felt was wrong with it

[qserasera]

i know it would have been absolutely a different genre for joy of life in an AU where fan xian Was raised in the palace with the princes (def more horror story feel in some of it, increasingly 6D levels of chess, more insanity), but the concept has a certain Fascinating appeal

(it's that one screenshot in the festival where he's just. walking with the rest of the princes in the center of a group as if he belongs there!! with the emperor talking about the flowers etc etc)

[hauntoblogical]

Watching Gunbuster for the first time, and I love how the show uses its sci-fi elements to examine the "traumatized soldier's return to a home they no longer recognize" trope from a new angle. Plays a similar role in the broader themes of the Horrors of War, but the relativistic space combat shifts the site of that change: the soldiers are stuck in their moment of trauma and the rest of the world has moved past them. A shift in reference frames, if you will. Instead of soldiers returning with forced maturity to an unchanged civilian world that only has space for lives they've outgrown, the solders return with extremely-recent unprocessed trauma to a world that has already forgotten the cost of their service. Whatever the extent people back home feared the alien threat before, they've long since known about each victory, had time to move forward with ordinary lives, while our protagonists lack even old ill-fitting lives to return to after giving their lives up to the space military more literally than normal.

[saintknightley]

i feel like i abandoned comics but i just have a tumultuous on and off again relationship with marvel and we are currently going through a divorce

[duckapus]

The Snail

As if living in the apocalypse, somehow getting blocked at every turn from finding a portal out of the hellhole Renata has become and into Mount Nexus, and dealing with weird blackouts (and an even weirder dream the previous night) isn't enough, Tulip finds herself tormented by a tiny green snail of all things.

Eventually her increasingly frantic (and completely ineffectual) attempts to get rid of it land her in a crowd of mid-level Twilight, and just as she's about to get torn apart a mysterious power awakens within her, manifesting as a big, motorcycle-themed, vaguely key-shaped, club-like weapon which she somehow Knows is named Road Rage. She manages to use it to make short work of the Twilight, and once she's safe again openly wonders what the hell is going on.

And then her phone starts talking.

As Tulip and Alice meet for the first time, the snail, forgotten in the chaos, watches from atop a nearby ridge for a few moments before vanishing in a flash of green pixels.

[go-setyoursoulonfire]

Man, Monster High G3 really did not want to commit to giving Toralei a redemption arc. In the season 1 finale she seemed to take a step on the right track...and then promptly did a 180 for the rest of the show.

[deadbeandrop]

i Do think it's funny how much dead bean drop has specifically like... been such a starting point of everything that's been going on in my mind but they really did just manage to hit a bullseye being all like "oh yeah and lumpus and slinkman went to camp together as kids" like Ugh. You can't just say that to me. Come on. look at this Stupid thing

"and there's so much potential there" - ME ABOUT PRETTY MUCH ANYTHING I'VE EVER GOTTEN MY HANDS ON

[microcroft]

going full pepe silvia mode on my theory that ruby sunday is the doctor and rose's daughter

[stuck-in-the-ghost-zone]

someone talk 2 me about the winters family torment nexus. or nhw. or danny phantom